In the literal sense, you can apply more paint to a larger area in fewer strokes using one.
Figuratively, however, assigning the faults of a few people to all others who might share similar/related beliefs or other characteristics does nothing but antagonize. Not only does it piss-off the other members of the group who haven't engaged in the behavior being ascribed to them, it upsets those who, like myself, see no place for such general categorization, classification, or stereotyping here on this site, or anywhere else for that matter.
It accomplishes nothing but to further divide people. The right does this incessantly. In the spirit of practicing what I preach, I'll re-phrase that: most of the right does this incessantly.
We're better than that. They lose by division, we win by addition.
When in doubt, it's helpful to remember:
● Not every Christian is fundamentalist
● Not every gun owner is a "gun nut"
● Not every supporter of the President is a "cheerleader"
● Not every critic is an Obama-hater
● Not every Grateful Dead fan is a drugged-out hippy, though it has its advantages. ;)
As I alluded to above, being a Democrat on a site devoted to electing more and better Democrats makes it difficult to apply this "no broad brushes" rule of conduct to our friends on the other side of the aisle, so I guess I could technically be labeled a hypocrite, to which I would reply:
Ok, not every Republican voter is Rand Paul, but until Republican voters stop voting against their own interests and those of the country by perpetually re-electing people like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, I guess I'll have to live with being a hypocrite.
I don't
personally come across this "broad brush" behavior too often, but that's not saying much — this is a big site, and I have no doubt it occurs in a variety of subtle ways, and more frequently than I manage to witness.
When I do, however, it's plain as day. A diary posted earlier did indeed qualify as this type of diary, and I felt compelled to write this brief meta diary to let off some steam about it.
Thanks for reading.