In fact the phrase appears to be tautological.
There’s no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy.
The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes can contribute to prejudice….
And speaking of those yahoos on comments threads, the National Post’s Matt Gurney nails it, and never mind his grammar:
[T]he group I consider to be the largest block of hostile online citizen [is] the emotionally stunted person of average intelligence who’s convinced they’re actually quite clever (even though they know inside they’re not). In my opinion, these are the people who cause the most trouble. Their entire worldview can be explained in a couple of talking points they read somewhere else, and they’re sticking to them. Anyone with a divergent view, or anyone who causes them emotional upset in any way (i.e.: blows a football play) becomes an enemy that must be HURT. Not proven wrong, not debated, not educated or informed. But caused emotional pain.
…It’s nothing but schoolyard bullying tactics given an electronic twist (and is generally quite amusing when viewed in that light). Some attacks are absolutely vile….I think we intuitively understand we’re just providing an outlet to someone who, in an earlier generation, might have given vent to their feelings by scrawling their opinion on the wall of a bathroom stall.
A more accurate description of the Usual Suspects™ would be hard to track down—and their comments do suggest a remarkable correlation with the findings of the study.
[via Jymn and The Political Carnival]