Thursday, April 19, 2012

YOU Might Be Crazy


I had a conversation in Twitter the other night with a Tea Party Conservative. I'm saying that's what I believe she is, since she seemed to believe that there really is a threatening New Black Panther movement, and because of their rhetoric, it was OK for Ted Nugent to speak his mind. I have yet to grasp how it is that 2 wrongs equal 1 right, but there ya go. Someone thought so.

I held my temper, didn't attack her person by calling her names and spent time trying to find out why she felt it was acceptable for someone to threaten the life of the President. First off, she didn't see it as a threat. It wasn't until I advanced the view that celebrities have adoring fans and not all of them are sane that she sort of sat for a bit and thought about what I was saying.

Stop to think about this. The Republican Saint, Ronald Reagan experienced an attempt on his life from someone who was trying to get the attention of actress Jody Foster. So, what happens when someone stands up at an NRA assembly and states that "he'll be in jail if the President is re-elected"? Now, I do not believe for a moment that Ted Nugent would actually try to assassinate the President, but what if someone there wanted the attention and approval of Ted Nugent? Despite rumors to the contrary, lightening can and sometimes does strike twice. The NRA's rabid defense of the right to own a gun under all circumstances is a little nutty to start out with, who's to say they're all perfectly sane?

I kept up my attitude of trying to make her see what my objection to Ted Nugent was without saying she was being stupid. Turned out, she didn't know in what context or where it was that Mr Cat Scratch Fever shot off his mouth. Which brings me to the next item on my mind. Why is it that people don't see that inflammatory rhetoric is what's standing smack dab in the way of anyone being able to find a workable solution to our problem? 

All we're doing is sowing fear and anger in people whose help we need to find common solutions that will work for all of us. What we've done so far and what we continue to do has reaped us the bountiful harvest of the Paul Ryans, Eric Cantors, John Boehners and Mitch McConnells of the world. None of whom have anything in their minds except protecting the pockets of their rich and famous friends. 

I have another hot flash for ya too. Sitting online in Twitter giving those guys a piece of your mind isn't doing one damn thing to create change. All it's doing is gathering followers for you who like your attitude, but then, maybe that's all you want? If that's what's floating your boat, then go for it. As far as I go, I'd really like to see my poor, elderly, disabled clients be able to afford to eat and take the needed medications to control their various health problems. If insulting John Boener or any of the others worked towards that goal, I'd be all over it like flies on...well...you get the picture. The proof that it's not working is that nothing has changed in Congress and it's been more than a year. Now, STFU and find a way to really make a difference? 





11 comments:

  1. You've got the patience of Job. It sounds like you did a good job and gave them something to think about, at least for the moment.

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    1. I've done some good with that patience, which I don't happen to have. What I do have is a desire to know why some people believe what they believe. That takes digging and I'm pretty good at that. I've gotten myself a couple of Conservative followers in Twitter, they don't agree with me, but they appreciate my insistence on civil discourse. I admit it's a lot easier face to face, but I'm working on it.

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  2. The real question is, are they really reflecting and thinking about it?

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    1. jadedj,

      I'm not positive that I'm making that much of a difference online. I KNOW I am in real life. When I explain how Social Security really works, and how much in Food Stamps people actually get and at what income, the Paul Ryan Budget is beginning to scare them. I'm keeping up the pressure IRL and have a dozen Repubs thinking they'll vote Obama this year.

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  3. You can't get through the bubble: recently a tea party supporter was telling me that if Obama is elected to a second term he will change the Constitution that restricts presidents from serving more than two terms and will become a dictator and do away with all elections....Where do they get this crap? And what is more incredible is they believe it.
    the Ol'Buzzard

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    1. Buzzard,

      I saw Libs saying the same thing when Bush was president, and they should have known better. What started this particular line of thought for me was the misinformation they base their theories on and why they fail to accept that it is misinformation?

      In life, I can counter it, but not online so I'm thinking it's more about drawing attention to themselves rather than honestly having that opinion. I'm not really sure, but I'm still studying the problem.

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    2. Buzzard,

      You might think about explaining how a Constitutional Amendment gets changed. Any President could try, but it still has to be ratified by 35 of our 50 states. There's absolutely no way around that other than by military coup. Which would give you one damn good reason why we need to give the Pentagon a lot less money than we do.

      There's a win/win argument right there. LOL

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  4. I do not talk with conservatives of any stripe. While I do believe there are rational conservatives still alive they have taken on the characteristics of Bigfoot. Silent and very well hidden amongst all the nutcases.

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    1. Beach,

      Yuh, the nutcases multiply like rabbits. I generally steer clear of them, but I just couldn't understand her reasoning and decided to see what I could learn.

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  5. Interesting tidbit I read in another blog was that Ted Nugent, gung ho fan of testosterone, guns, the flag, etc, avoided the draft for Vietnam by crapping in his pants for a week before the draft board interview, and getting off I assume as a crazy person.

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    1. Skinny,

      He did that. He's just undesirable all the way around. He also seems to have pedophile tendencies. There was a confession from rocker Courtney Love that she performed fellatio on him when she was 12. I knew about the 17 year old, apparently there were more underaged interests.

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