Happy Festivus Everyone!
It's been one of those out on the ledge times for me the past few weeks.
When the kid in my avatar is more optimistic than I am.
Anyone else noticed the level of hate and insanity among online trolls going to DefCon 5 the past couple weeks?
Its like someone exploded a Hate Bomb or Kill the Liberals Now Bomb in a megachurch basement full of Hell's own mix of red-eyed feverish knee-jerking keyboard-pounding self-righteous Xtians, Libertarians, Racists, and bile spewing Dittoheads. Did Beck or Limbaugh, or whoever pulls the strings these days--Jim DeMint and his network of slimeballs--send out the marching orders to go full court press 24/7?
Or is it just me and bad luck and too much time on Facebook?
For example:
Several days ago I had a little run in with a friend of a conservative strictly online 'acquaintance' of the Libertarian-Gun Nut Rights variety with whom I've engaged in some pretty decent debate over the past several months. He's the exception to the rule. He doesn't buy or spew the usual bullshit most of the time, so we can actually talk and discuss things. Although we never get anywhere, he never really budges on his "Individual Liberty always trumps the Common Good" fixed belief (and there is that Confederate Battle Flag on his Facebook page above his arsenal that's shall we say a little concerning..) Its uncanny, but that's another whole article or 3. At least he doesn't deny the concept of Common Good, so there's that.
I had a run in with one of his followers on his Founding Father's oriented Facebook page, (he has an impressive in depth knowledge of their writings actually) that left me feeling rather hopeless, but thought I'd let it go until I came across this final statement at the end of an otherwise humorous article on Wonkette:
How Will Republicans Bungle Their 49-47 Generic Ballot Polling Advantage?
The article lists some possibilities and the odds, ending with this one:
1,000-1: People wise up and realize that the entire purpose of the modern Republican party is to enact policies that help exceptionally wealthy people become even richer at the expense of their job security, fair wages, and any hope they ever had of joining the middle class
Good point I thought, we should try to do that. Then I remembered "Tonya" and her blind hatred of the moochers who are 'the problem.'
One would think that publicizing this simple concept would work but I can report from repeated experience that it does not.
What happens instead is this: (actual quote from her post to me)
"I have read several of your posts on here and you get all over my damn nerves with your babbling. This is the problem, you say Government Assistance was designed to help people until they get back on their feet. Well, there are too many people taking advantage of that and LIVING off of all of us when they are quite capable of getting a job and providing for their families. This is not the case for all, but there are way too many that take advantage of the system. I get tired of hearing this BS about no jobs. If this is the case why are there pages and pages of job openings online. Work two minimum wage jobs if you have to. It is not our responsibility to float all these people their entire lives because they have no drive and determination to be a productive member of society. It is not our responsibility to pay for their cell phones, and yes we do that, check your cell bill and see for yourself. If you can't afford food for your family then you don't need a cell phone. There are people that lie and cheat to get assistance, and I know some first hand. There are not enough strict guidelines to eliminate the smooching (sic, LOL). If we have to get drug tested for a job then they should be drug tested for assistance. If you can buy drugs, then you can buy food for your family. Today people are all about what is in it for me and aren't willing to give up anything to better themselves or this Country."
and she followed up with this when I asked her why she went off on that topic in response to my post to someone else which was about something else (it was the 'Democrats are borrowing money to buy votes is the cause of the massive debt' Big Lie):
I won't go back and forth with you. you are a typical Liberal. I'm responding to the first part of your post because quite frankly, I can't stand to read much more than that.
Short version: "Nyah nyah nyah I can't hear you. As long as there is one person I know of that is receiving government assistance who I personally deem is not worthy of it, they are all living off my back and we can't afford it. You Libtards are to blame. Vote Republican. Freedom!"
We could slash food stamps to nearly nothing and cut even further the minuscule amount going to welfare still in the budget, end Medicaid completely, repeal 'ObamaCare' and they would still vote against us, if there was one person somewhere they even imagined was getting something they didn't deserve. It is irrevocably in their mind that the latter is the goal and sole purpose of Liberals and by extension the Democratic Party. Any other information, or ideas, such as the numbers on wealth disparity, conceptual arguments on how that hurts them and is the true cause of so many needing assistance, and how many aren't getting it or how many deserving are helped and how that actually benefits them and the country in the long run, are simply brushed away.
They simply will not listen. We cannot hope to ever penetrate the bubble with reality. Can we?
Is this the End of Hope?
3:16 PM PT: I actually wrote this at Thanksgiving as a draft and meant to come back and work on it some more, then forgot all about it. Since then, after much sturm and drang, real knock down drag out brouhaha fireworks online, ending in us becoming closer after the smoke cleared (interesting how that happens after you beat the shit out of each other sometimes) and I tossed out a peace offering (I asked him about his father, and told him about mine. We connected in our love for the men who influenced us so much and found common ground at last.) I've at last gotten my 'acquaintance' to admit that wealth disparity and the corporate control of our politics is the key problem facing our democracy.
So there is still hope. I told him he gets to convince Tonya that "liberals" aren't the enemy and show her who is.