| Larry Kralj and I don't always agree on strategy, process, focus, presentation or outcome. But one thing we absolutely see eye-to-eye on is motivation. If we are at all honest as liberals, progressives and/or Democrats, then there must come an admission that our efforts are not only to foster world peace, harmony and lambs lying with lions. There are simply people out there whose greatest desire is to drag our happy asses to hell. I dedicate this post of links to the endeavor such that maybe most all of us can agree why we fight.
Larry just posted a diary not too long ago. I'm not going to elevate it directly to the front because it is essentially just a link to a book, a 372 page book. It's in PDF format, so I suggest it be downloaded and read at whatever leisure you find. The title of the book is "The Nazi Hydra In America". I have encountered it before, and I support Larry in giving it a wider promotion.
Duganz, at 4 & 20 Blackbirds, exposes Jeff Laszloffy of the Montana Family Foundation for the hateful man he is. Laszloffy attempts to use the Bible to deliberately and directly attack one of the Montana InterWeb's greatest friends and allies, Jamee Greer.
Lizard, at 4 & 20 Blackbirds, exposes the efforts in Michigan to install an authoritarian regime. Are we getting the idea that these people hate us yet?
problembear, you know the drill, shows us what I, David Neiwert and many others have been saying for some time. Hate is right here in Montana, and it's growing. What I truly appreciate about problembear's post is that he states the obvious. One needn't be embarrassed and should be pissed off when pointing out the truth of one's assertions concerning those who hate. Many on our side are acting like living in this country is some kind of moderated behavior video game. The opposition is acting like this is Grand Theft Country. I'm of the opinion that maybe we need to get over the idea that this is some kind of video game.
Still don't believe that the right hates you? August Pollack spells it out very explicitly. They Hate You.
One of the things I keep repeating over and over again is how everyone needs to understand that Republicans enjoy hurting other people. More often than not it's simply how much they enjoy doing things that piss off liberals or make ideological opponents angry but at the core of it, they don't care if it's actual physical suffering. It amuses them. Sometime they're honest about it and sometimes they lie and make cutesy little winks--that's honestly why so many teabaggers love Sarah Palin; not because they actually support a fraction of her incoherent babble but because she makes them feel like it's okay to be mean and bitchy and awful to people if you're the one doing it.
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Half of Americans who vote, vote for people who hate Americans. When we are open about this factoid, things can start to change.
That was actually most of Pollack's post. I was tempted to post the whole thing, because his middle paragraph deals with exactly why they hate you. Anybody ever see the movie Mississippi Burning? Gene Hackman tells a story about his father and a black neighbor's mule. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's fine. But the moral of his story is very simple: If you want to feel better about being kicked down, then kick someone else down farther. That's hate, my good friends.
Perhaps you're still not convinced. Perhaps you want a more analytic view of the situation. Fine. Here it is. Notice the very specific efforts that are being taken to hurt you and I and the middle class and women and ...
If you need an example, look no further than here. We are becoming slaves, highly profitable slaves, right at the root of our existence. To even have our progeny born requires our service to profit.
They have the tools to hurt you, and they're giving those tools a workout. Our ability to fight back is at best weak. Our national production is geared only towards mistake and violence. And our press celebrates that.
So. How do we fight back? I wish I had a clue. Others will tell you to organize! I think that's a hella great idea. But it's not certain. See, I'm a process guy, not a theoretician. So I can't paint a path out of this malaise, but I can certainly identify how to make it worse. This is how. We stand 4 Senators and one President away from giving up the whole ball of wax to those who hate us.
There's an idiot out there in InterWeb land who really doesn't like me. He posted some nonsense about how anything these GOoPer goons, who really hate us, do can't be undone after we all learn our progressive lesson at the feet of Ralph Nader, presumably. He's wrong. There are websites and people out there who recognize that damage to individuals can't be "undone". I'll cast my lot with those folk, if'n you don't mind. |
