Ok, call me slow to catch on.
What's happening on the right wing side of the great American divide is scary. There is something going on that is so much like rabid racism that I am at a loss to give it a proper name. This name needs to be one with the emotional impact of "racism," or perhaps worse. More on that later.
Let's harken back to "all Irish have lice." Or "lazy, shiftless Nigras." Or "Theivin,' scheming Kikes." You get my drift. Gross generalizations about some ethnic group or another that demonized them. Sort of humankind at its worst, whipping up hatred and mindless prejudice toward them among the unthinking mob. That unthinking mob might include any of us. You, maybe, unless you are really determined to be a thinking person. Which of course you are. Of course.
What's happening in certain quarters of the Right has a direct bloodline relationship to this kind of repugnant activity. I've been hearing it and reading it for a while now, but it was only last night - early this morning actually - when I brought it all together in my rather slow head.
I remembered hearing the Demonizer-in-Chief, Rush Limbaugh, rambling along one of his endless monologues a couple of days ago. As best as I can remember, he was saying "You have to remember, the basic position of the Libs is self loathing. They are incapable of assuming responsibility for anything that happens to them. Any problem that they have is because of how much they hate America. Any problem they have is the fault of some failure in the American system. It's never their fault... they blame it on the failure in the American system." Something like that. Not true. Not even close. Horrid and demeaning and unfair and cruel and really stupid.
He does this all the time. He generalizes about "Libs" much the way the Nazi propagandists generalized about the Jews…. Much as the southern racists generalized about the Blacks. They say all of them have this terrible flaw, this gross and revolting characteristic. Every "Lib" is worthy of only your disdain and disgust!
The Mother Superior of demonizers on the right is Ann Coulter. Her new book "The Church of Liberalism - Godless" paints all "Libs" with one tar soaked brush. She could have worked for any of the great Demonizers of the past. She would have been a star of the Inquisition or - need I say it - she would have been a fine lieutenant for Joseph Goebbels. She gets the right wing Medal of Honor for slimy propaganda. She is the Big Lie boogie queen.
Anyway, I don't hear a lot of comment on this. As the conservative movement is taking a little heat these days based on the performance of the Bush Administration, this simplistic, generalized hate talk is getting more rabid and desperate. It can't be good for intelligent dialogue.
So who should we look to to douse these counter-productive fires? How about the original "I'm a uniter not a divider" guy, Prez Bush hisself? Surely this is the role of a national leader, especially one not looking to get reelected.
So I appeal to you, Leader of the Free World, call off the dogs of talking points, and quiet the new racists of the right who are treating the opposition like NiggersKikesWopsGooksSpicsMicksPollacks. It just ain't right. And it sure isn’t Christian.
What's happening on the right wing side of the great American divide is scary. There is something going on that is so much like rabid racism that I am at a loss to give it a proper name. This name needs to be one with the emotional impact of "racism," or perhaps worse. More on that later.
Let's harken back to "all Irish have lice." Or "lazy, shiftless Nigras." Or "Theivin,' scheming Kikes." You get my drift. Gross generalizations about some ethnic group or another that demonized them. Sort of humankind at its worst, whipping up hatred and mindless prejudice toward them among the unthinking mob. That unthinking mob might include any of us. You, maybe, unless you are really determined to be a thinking person. Which of course you are. Of course.
What's happening in certain quarters of the Right has a direct bloodline relationship to this kind of repugnant activity. I've been hearing it and reading it for a while now, but it was only last night - early this morning actually - when I brought it all together in my rather slow head.
I remembered hearing the Demonizer-in-Chief, Rush Limbaugh, rambling along one of his endless monologues a couple of days ago. As best as I can remember, he was saying "You have to remember, the basic position of the Libs is self loathing. They are incapable of assuming responsibility for anything that happens to them. Any problem that they have is because of how much they hate America. Any problem they have is the fault of some failure in the American system. It's never their fault... they blame it on the failure in the American system." Something like that. Not true. Not even close. Horrid and demeaning and unfair and cruel and really stupid.
He does this all the time. He generalizes about "Libs" much the way the Nazi propagandists generalized about the Jews…. Much as the southern racists generalized about the Blacks. They say all of them have this terrible flaw, this gross and revolting characteristic. Every "Lib" is worthy of only your disdain and disgust!
The Mother Superior of demonizers on the right is Ann Coulter. Her new book "The Church of Liberalism - Godless" paints all "Libs" with one tar soaked brush. She could have worked for any of the great Demonizers of the past. She would have been a star of the Inquisition or - need I say it - she would have been a fine lieutenant for Joseph Goebbels. She gets the right wing Medal of Honor for slimy propaganda. She is the Big Lie boogie queen.
Anyway, I don't hear a lot of comment on this. As the conservative movement is taking a little heat these days based on the performance of the Bush Administration, this simplistic, generalized hate talk is getting more rabid and desperate. It can't be good for intelligent dialogue.
So who should we look to to douse these counter-productive fires? How about the original "I'm a uniter not a divider" guy, Prez Bush hisself? Surely this is the role of a national leader, especially one not looking to get reelected.
So I appeal to you, Leader of the Free World, call off the dogs of talking points, and quiet the new racists of the right who are treating the opposition like NiggersKikesWopsGooksSpicsMicksPollacks. It just ain't right. And it sure isn’t Christian.
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