If you actually believe that there is "Something You Can't Say" then you most certainly are a person who can "dismiss an argument made seriously".
"At any given moment, the [Overton] "window" includes a range of policies considered politically acceptable in the current climate of public opinion, which a politician can recommend without being considered too extreme to gain or keep public office."
The US government has generally admitted to torture, in its "fight against terrorism". Given that the US government wasn't replaced, even partially, or its policies changed in any significant way, through the massive outrage of its citizenry, I am guessing that most people agree with "something as appalling as torture", today, in Western Civilization, as long as it's done for "all the right reasons".
EDIT: I didn't notice this the first time around.
"And capitalizing white as if that accident of birth should be an honorific like an accomplishment? That sounds kind of unhinged."
Why don't you use that line on jews, who insist on "J" simply and entirely due to the mother's religion? They get very upset when you don't capitalize the "j", no matter where the word appears. Even the spellchecker in my Google Chrome browser underlines "jews" in red when I write it in all lowercase. If the power which jews possess is significant enough that it reaches deep down into the bowels of my web browser, then I think that I can get away with referring to the originators and guardians of Western Civilization as White.
You might find it even more unhinged that I usually refer to non-Whites as "unWhite", and I try not to use it at the beginning of a sentence, so as to avoid having to write it with a "U'. Likewise, I avoid using "jews" at the beginning of a sentence. Also, I refer to neo-nazis as "nazis", who are most of the ones you see today, mere pretenders, and I save "Nazis" for those, such as myself, who I think deserve the capitalization. Therefore, "White" doesn't mean every person with pale skin, so, really, it's not about honoring someone because of an accident of birth.
That was a reference to http://paulgraham.com/say.html which explored his fear of arbitrary fashion being mistaken for morality. As for torture, I regard that as something we're guilty of through having effectively lost democratic control of the country, and I've seen very little disagreement and none I find convincing.
"At any given moment, the [Overton] "window" includes a range of policies considered politically acceptable in the current climate of public opinion, which a politician can recommend without being considered too extreme to gain or keep public office."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window
The US government has generally admitted to torture, in its "fight against terrorism". Given that the US government wasn't replaced, even partially, or its policies changed in any significant way, through the massive outrage of its citizenry, I am guessing that most people agree with "something as appalling as torture", today, in Western Civilization, as long as it's done for "all the right reasons".
EDIT: I didn't notice this the first time around.
"And capitalizing white as if that accident of birth should be an honorific like an accomplishment? That sounds kind of unhinged."
Why don't you use that line on jews, who insist on "J" simply and entirely due to the mother's religion? They get very upset when you don't capitalize the "j", no matter where the word appears. Even the spellchecker in my Google Chrome browser underlines "jews" in red when I write it in all lowercase. If the power which jews possess is significant enough that it reaches deep down into the bowels of my web browser, then I think that I can get away with referring to the originators and guardians of Western Civilization as White.
You might find it even more unhinged that I usually refer to non-Whites as "unWhite", and I try not to use it at the beginning of a sentence, so as to avoid having to write it with a "U'. Likewise, I avoid using "jews" at the beginning of a sentence. Also, I refer to neo-nazis as "nazis", who are most of the ones you see today, mere pretenders, and I save "Nazis" for those, such as myself, who I think deserve the capitalization. Therefore, "White" doesn't mean every person with pale skin, so, really, it's not about honoring someone because of an accident of birth.