A interesting development

[mbdonner]

Period.

[Alcon]

The only people that think it is racist, truly are racist. The little racist voice in your head is saying "oh no, oh no don't say anything about Zimmerman, that white (Hispanic) guy is racist, the media says so!" Then the voice goes on to say "Oh no, don't show a video of blacks beating up whites, that makes black people look bad and that's racist". Tell that racist voice to shut the fuck up, that you just don't give a fuck. Of course that little fucking racist voice in your head wouldn't have said those things if the example was set with transgressions against minorities, it wouldn't have said a damn thing, you racist fuck.

I think that other article is changing how I write...

[Mark E. Hurling]

Let me guess: it was racist.

Nope, it was use of the dreaded word "G-word", grievance.

[jusmoren]

Yikes. If the audience for this website is old white guys I'm sure it won't be a big deal

[Jonathon Sullivan]

I didn't see anything racist or offensive about the PJ article, or even particularly offensive. I just thought it was a bit breathless and silly.

For me, strength training has nothing--absolutely nothing--to do with my politics, or that of my clients, or my friendship and affection for the very strong, very smart, very kind, very decent people I have met on my journey into strength. Rip and I have virtually NO common ground on politics. And I love him like I love my own brothers (who also have no common ground with me on politics).

"We own strength" was a deeply, deeply silly, unconstructive and unsupportable thing to say.

We pinko-tax-n'-spend-tree-huggin'-terrorist-coddlin'-welfare-queen-bleeding-heart-socialist-commie-anti-Amercican-satanic-Big-Gummint Librils need strength too, and some of us (not enough yet) go out and get it. And we tend to be responsive to evidence, which is on the side of strength.

So. Yeah. Silly.

Which is NOT to say that the stereotype on the left to which Rip alludes in the quote, which certainly does exist, of the muscle-brained racist redneck conservative Bush-votin' meathead isn't every bit as stupid and silly. Of course, this kind of pegholing cultural bullshit is the warp-and-woof of the American mind. Stupid and silly is what we do.

Seriously. I love America. It's Americans I can't stand.

I'm glad strength has a foothold in conservative culture. But it can't be a Conservative Thang. We need to break down the stereotype of the meathead, to be sure, but making strength a Thang about conservative/liberal, 'Murican/un-'Murican, Culture/Counterculture, Us/Them just completely misses the point and will ultimately work at direct cross-purposes to what we'd all like to see: strength training for everybody.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

This completes my once-per-decade post on anything political on this board.

[DaveJF]

I thought you might say that, since I've already had another comment from one of your fellow travelers to that effect. Let me guess: it was racist.

Yes, the attackers in the article's 2nd video did appear to be quite racist, as well as sexist. I must've missed that video on the evening news, I'm glad you shared it.

[Patrick Devine]

That's a good word, interesting.

I would have rather mixed feelings about having my business hitched to this particular wagon, were I you, mind.

The obvious solution is for Rip to get his articles published on Huffington and Salon as well. Problem solved.

[CJ Gotcher]

Interesting. What is his argument? Does anyone know?

The study he quotes to justify that stronger people are more conservative is poorly defined. At best, it's correlation. At worst, nonsense (I can't tell for sure because it's behind a paywall). This gem from the press release says it all: "Wealthy men with high upper-body strength were less likely to support redistribution, while less wealthy men of the same strength were more likely to support it." Wait... the wealthy resist redistribution and the poor support it? Shocking.

I guess, at heart, I think sayings like these are just silly.

"Each side should embrace the aesthetic that flows naturally from their respective values."

Fuck embracing a weak aesthetic (fuck 'embracing' any 'aesthetic,' for that matter, but a weak one especially). I don't want anyone to 'embrace' anything... except a barbell.

"We are strength. They are weakness."

Why would he even say that except to feel superior when he sees Pajamaboy clones in chrome and fern land doing shoulder rotations with pink dumbbells. A liberal should (and many that I know do) lift weights for the same reasons a conservative should lift weights- reasons Rip, Jordan, and Sully have outlined so well. There is no reason why a political moderate can't do a DL, or a liberal can't power clean... because monstrous strength has nothing to do with your politics.

People will take up the SS banner for whatever reason they choose, and good for them! I know I've learned a lot from this community. If some police officer, military servicemember, or Fox fanatic reads this and gets inspired to lift weights, Mr. Macdonald will have done some good. I just don't see what good can coming from crossing streams between weightlifting and politics, and if I wanted a ra-ra motivation speech, I'd read "Dinosaur Training" again.

[hector_garza]

"men’s upper body strength even correlates with more conservative views against government enforced redistribution."

"Conservatives", or at least the congress people who use that term to describe themselves, along with the legions of voters who similarly use the term and supports those "conservatives" in congress, LOVE wealth redistribution.

"Conservatives" like to, under threat of force, redistribute my wealth do border defense (protect me from the would-be dishwashers and day laborers!). Conservatives like to redistribute my wealth to fund dumb wars that offer a negative return on investment. Conservatives like to redistribute my wealth as corporate welfare. Conservatives love to redistribute my wealth to defense contractor welfare queens.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Whilst I am aware of your personal politics Rip, Starting Strength, the method and the brand are ultimately an apolitical product. Making it into a political product or stance is perhaps not the best idea considering I think you want the brand/product/method to have the widest appeal possible.

The question is, how does bringing politics into it help grow the Starting Strength brand? A question for all I know you have already considered.

Do you people realize that this is not my article?

Maybe this one, which I wrote, will be more pleasing: http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2015/01...trength-coach/