there is an ongoing discussion over at sachiko mclean's blog- and i wanted to link there and at my original post because she has updated and changed some parts of her article. and then- i will add my two cents worth:
my original post- i did change the paragraph to the updated version
sachiko's post- why conservative middle america is so angry
now, we all know how i feel about conservative thinkers- we have them on the left too- and it is a big reason i left the democratic party.
my thought is that the conservative middle americans are pissed because they don't like change of any kind- unless it suits them directly. in my opinion, they have to be the most shortsighted, self centered, bigoted, racist, homophobic, misogynistic group of people in this country. i don't think i left anything out. i am using the conservative tactic of overgeneralizing and stereotyping. these people are predominately white, christian, middle classers who firmly believe that they are better than anyone else on the planet- and generally drive pick up trucks, suvs or mini vans to their son's football games. they fear black people, smart people, poor people, hispanic people, and any type of religion that isn't christian. did i mention their persecution complex? yes, you see, since the world revolves around them- the rest of the world must be against them.
unfortunately, these people are not content to sit in their split level ranches and let people be- no, they have to try and bring everyone else down to their ignorance by promoting fantasy instead of truth through getting creationism in public schools and generally bullying and bludgeoning people by 'ministering' to them about the 'word of god.' they firmly believe that a woman should submit to men in all realms and are working fervently not just to outlaw abortion but contraceptives as well- because women should be popping out 'snowflakes' by the 'quiverfull.'
the recent fiscal debacle was helped by a republican in republican controlled congress and actually started under a republican president in the 1980's- you know, the last time we had a financial mess. this country has gone to hell in a handbasket by republican hands- with props from dinos in every level of government. and why there is even a question in anyone's mind who they would vote for is beyond me. i can't imagine that it's only democrats or independents living in the tent cities that have popped up around the nation- and here middle america is actually thinking about voting mccain because they hate gays. give me a fucking break.
there is always the lip service paid by politicians to middle america- 'real americans', salt of the earth, working americans, etc, etc. but that's simply flattery. it's the only time these people get any attention from anyone i guess and they are simply simple enough to continue falling for it time and again. 'vote republican because obama is black and scary'. 'vote republican because we don't know anything about obama'. 'vote mccain because obama is muslim.' give me a fucking break. if middle america wasn't so goddamned stupid and brainwashed, they would go looking for answers instead of waiting to be spoonfed answers from the wrong wing media. obama isn't perfect but if you intend to vote- he is the best choice on the ticket. it is unfortunate- but there it is.
i have zero respect for middle america precisely because they are willing to go through with this charade. they are willing to bring a nation down because they believe in god- because they hate people of color- because they feel women shouldn't be in power. it is unfortunate because thinking people; compassionate people; critical, longterm thinkers- are the minority in this country. so, we will most likely end up with mccain/palin because of the rightwing, conservative, neocon, neanderthal republicans in middle america. and if the left doesn't rise up against it- we deserve it.
update:
apparently, i am not the only one who is beyond irritated with right wing victimization and the idiocy that surrounds it. for the record- i am about as big a hick as you can get. you want my family history- email me.
11 comments:
These are not Conservatives they have hijacked the Conservative party. They are using the facade of conservatives and perverted Religion in this facade of a Democracy so they can clandestinely emplace their new Fascist society and bankrupting America is part of it. They are almost done and McPaling is scheduled to continue it after Bush. Okay I will shut up!
It's tough with a quarter of the population being outright authoritarians. They only need another quarter to dupe for their lock on power.
Half the country has some sense, but the media only confuse them.
I truly believe corporate American media wants a republcan president to give them their FCC puppets.
jim- there might have been a time when i would have agreed with you- but if you are right of center- you are lumped with all of the rest. i am not in a tolerant mood and i do not believe that there are benevolent right wingers out there who got duped into voting for republican candidates. the right hates the left- and will do everything they can to wipe us off of the planet. or at the very least marginalize us in to the have nots.
we are reaching a tipping point here in america. i fully believe that ideologies will clash again- very close to the issue of slavery- because it is clear that the right wants haves and have nots. the right does not want anymore left. so, i ask for no excuses for having a zero tolerance policy for anyone right of center. i feel about them the way i do about christians- and they overlap. it would be fine if both of those groups stayed in their own groups and didn't try to force their beliefs on others- but they won't- so i fully expect another civil war.
Betmo
We agree! We are screwed but we have to keep fighting this is about to come to a head and it will not be good. It pisses me off we have imagined or exaggerated nothing!
Hi Betmo,
I can certainly understand where you're coming from - and I feel pretty much the same way - but we also have to be careful not to put people who could be swayed one way or the other off side. It's a difficult balancing act - on one hand, we need to fight fire with fire, but on the other, we don't want to bring oursleves down to their level. As the article you link to in your update shows, there are people from this background who aren't fundamentalists, and we need to do everything we can to bring them over to our side. If they feel we're lumping them together with the fundamentalists, then they might become fundamentalists themselves.
Anyway, as I cache my blog, it seems you still didn't get the fully updated text of my article - here is the fully updated first paragraph:
In response to my last couple of posts - which implored Americans to vote for Barack Obama in the upcoming US presidential election - those who disagree with me (both here and via email) often put forward arguments that basically amount to one thing: that I should have a better understanding of conservative “middle America” (of course, when they say “conservative” in this case, what they really mean is “Christian fundamentalist”). Indeed, they seem to think that everyone across the world should try to gain a better understanding of them. Well for one thing, understanding is a two way street: one of the biggest problems the outside world has with fundamentalist middle America is their apparent unwillingness to try and understand the rest of the world, and the effect of US foreign policy on it. Besides, they seem to be confusing understanding with agreement - just because we don’t agree with them, doesn’t mean we don’t understand them. Indeed, I suspect the majority of people understand fundamentalist middle America quite well, as they are - let’s face it - so simple.
I am currently working on my own article about the culture wars promoted by the conservative US media to support Sarah Palin - stay tuned!
thank you sachiko :) i had gone and recopied after you dropped by but apparently, did not refresh the page or something.
i understand your drive for unity but there is no way to bring them over to our side. for the most part, people have lived side by side amicably and voted and gone about their way. there has been a seismic shift in ideology from around the reagan era on up and the right is not content to share power or america. it is becoming increasingly clear that they have no compunction with rounding people up, tasing them, and incarcerating them.
now, the argument usually goes- well, that's the government, the rank and file aren't for that. i disagree. they view people they fear as enemies and they want nothing less than for them to disappear. now, the enemy could be muslims in iraq, people of color walking down the street, or the dreaded liberals manning the abortion clinic. we all look the same to them.
america is coming to a close and i really can't see a reconciling of anything anytime soon. i see further splintering and further divisiveness in spite of team obama's best efforts. the right fears change- and obama is running on it as a platform. the right will get no quarter from me. i have picked my side.
"Divide and conquer" has always been the modus operandi of the conservatives right across the world - the Howard government did the same thing here in Australia, although fortunately we came to our senses (it did take us far too long though!).
It seems that when we're divided, it plays in the conservatives favour. Historically, progressive governments have always won elections by uniting the country, and to his credit, this is exactly what Obama is trying to do, with a very positive campaign. I hope for all our sakes he succeeds!
Oh yes: for some reason I'm still seeing my original text in your previous artcle - try cutting and pasting in the text from my comment above.
And don't be shy to come on over and comment on my blog, and feel free to link back to your's if you wish. I'm sure my readers would love to read your point of view on these issues as well!
Hi again Betmo,
I just checked again, and the text is up to date now - thanks!
"my thought is that the conservative middle americans are pissed because they don't like change of any kind- unless it suits them directly. in my opinion, they have to be the most shortsighted, self centered, bigoted,"
You haven't got in a pissing match with a Democrat lately, I can see that!
as a matter of fact, i have dropped many from the google reader- so, no :)
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