I agree that someone who behaves like Bob is almost certainly being performatively-fake-innocent, but I think you’re wrong to say that someone unfamiliar with the stereotypes couldn’t behave that way. For one thing, Bob-as-portrayed isn’t impervious to explanation or flatly uninterested in understanding. He asks for explanations and doesn’t really get them, and if he ends up not understanding it’s mostly because Alice hasn’t really tried to help him understand (perhaps because Alice thinks, as you do, that he can’t be sincere).
If someone told the “abortion clinic for pianists” version of the joke in my other comment in this thread, I can imagine responding very much like Bob. (Aside from the black paint / black people misunderstanding, which wouldn’t have a parallel in that case.) I’d be assuming that there was some relevant thing about pianists that I didn’t know, or some pun I was failing to detect, and I’m not sure I could do much better than “I still don’t get it”.
I agree that someone who behaves like Bob is almost certainly being performatively-fake-innocent, but I think you’re wrong to say that someone unfamiliar with the stereotypes couldn’t behave that way.
I didn’t say couldn’t, I said would not. Anyone could behave in any way they please; it’s just not likely.
By “couldn’t” I didn’t mean “would be physically incapable of”, I meant “certainly wouldn’t”, which is what I took your “would not be …” to be saying. “Usually wouldn’t”, I have no disagreement with.
I agree that someone who behaves like Bob is almost certainly being performatively-fake-innocent, but I think you’re wrong to say that someone unfamiliar with the stereotypes couldn’t behave that way. For one thing, Bob-as-portrayed isn’t impervious to explanation or flatly uninterested in understanding. He asks for explanations and doesn’t really get them, and if he ends up not understanding it’s mostly because Alice hasn’t really tried to help him understand (perhaps because Alice thinks, as you do, that he can’t be sincere).
If someone told the “abortion clinic for pianists” version of the joke in my other comment in this thread, I can imagine responding very much like Bob. (Aside from the black paint / black people misunderstanding, which wouldn’t have a parallel in that case.) I’d be assuming that there was some relevant thing about pianists that I didn’t know, or some pun I was failing to detect, and I’m not sure I could do much better than “I still don’t get it”.
I didn’t say couldn’t, I said would not. Anyone could behave in any way they please; it’s just not likely.
By “couldn’t” I didn’t mean “would be physically incapable of”, I meant “certainly wouldn’t”, which is what I took your “would not be …” to be saying. “Usually wouldn’t”, I have no disagreement with.