I grew up in grew up in a family of Democrats – Dad was a teacher, Mom had a little hippie inclination – and it’s probably not a huge shock that’s how I started out as well. At North Dakota Boys State, I wrote a party platform that would have made Paul Wellstone blanche in horror – not because I was an especially well-read or committed econommic “progressive”, but becasue that was the water in which I figuratively swam as a teenager.
In college, my major advisor, Dr. Blake, convinced me that it just wasn’t true – that I was in fact a conservative. And he was right. I voted for Reagan in my first presidential election, and never really went back.
About ten years later, disgusted with the 1994 Crime Bill, I left and went to the Libertarians (just in time to miss a great redemptive moment in GOP history – but I had two babies at home at the time, so I wasn’t actually doing that much political thinking, to be honest.
Four years later, I went back, figuring the problems in the GOP were best fixed on the inside. It’s still an ongoing battle – maybe never moreso.
One thing I didn’t do? Spend years making theatrical amends to Republicans for having been a Demorat; trashing my former Republican friends to my (temporary) Libertarian pals; hovering over Libertarians’ sayings to find things to pounce on to show my GOP friends I was a true believer.
I’ve encountered a lot of that lately – various people I know who’ve left one party or another, and felt the need to not just express their new beliefs (yay, more power to you!) but expound on how blinkered, deluded, malformed and stupid the people in their old party are, and how very decisively they’ve left them behind.
One longtime real-life as well as social media friend felt the need to issue a heartfelt – “theatric” might be a better term – public apology to all his new (Democrat in this case) friends for ever having been a Republican sympathizer.
But that was just the most extreme example.
The only comparison I have is with a jilted spouse whose ex ran off with the cabana boy or secretary, and spends years sputtering first with rage, then the sort of passive-aggressive sniping that becomes a lifestyle (and a tiresome one) if you let it.
And it’s a pretty ecumenical phenomenon. I’ve seen it with ex-Republicans in the Libertarian party, Republican Trump supporters AND Never-Trumpers, ex-Trump supporters of any and no affiliation – and I’m sure it happens with ex-Democrats too.
I mean – your political beliefs changed. If your politics are so closely tied to your personality and the fabric of your life that you have to spend that kind of time and energy attacking not only your old beliefs, but the people who still hold them?
It creeps me out. Seriously.
I’ve never been a Republican. I’ve always been a Conservative. I was probably the only person in senior high school, who didn’t like JFK, and showed no remorse when he was killed.
“No remorse” ^ Not a high character crowd here at Shit in the Dark
I have always considered myself a conservative, not a Republican. Political parties are all crap, and, yes, I know parties are needed, and they need people like me.
But I do not need them.
I have never had a personal like or dislike for a politician. How can you hate or love a person you have never met? All you can really react to is the carefully crafted persona that they & the media present. Reagan? He killed the tax deduction for consumer loans (aka credit cards) and started taxing unemployment benefits. These actions hurt the poor and working class.
Trump? I voted 3rd party in 2016 because I figured the establishment GOP would refuse to work with him and that he would be co-opted by Schumer & Pelosi.
Boy, was I wrong. In the end his personality got in the way, and it cost him the election. He couldn’t get votes beyond the margin of cheat.
But I still have no emotional reaction to Trump. Don’t like him or hate him.
As an aside, I do not know any of the Emerys or JK. For all I do know any or all of them might be great guys to hang out with, stalwart friends, well thought out in their opinions (outside of the internet comments they make), etc.
I was in the fourth grade when Kennedy was shot. Growing up in a Democrat home (dad was a construction trade unionista and mom was from Illinois, the assassination had an impact, especially on my mom. Her brother in law was the Cook County Commissioner in Daley’s Chicago Democrat Machine at the time and I do remember her talking to my aunt on the phone about it and crying.
Now, my dad wasn’t normally a conspiracy theorist, but he was convinced that the CIA killed him for threatening to dismantle their organization. Having grown up with guns and holding several marksmanship ribbons and insignia from his army and national guard days, he later declared Lee Harvey Oswald a patsy and Jack Ruby a CIA operative.
As I learned more about both JF and RFK, I began to believe that it was most likely globalists that took them out, because they both wanted to get rid of the Federal Reserve.
As an aside, I do not know any of the Emerys or JK. For all I do know any or all of them might be great guys to hang out with, stalwart friends, well thought out in their opinions (outside of the internet comments they make), etc.
I don’t take it that this thread is about me. But that’s a good headspace to maintain about most of the people here I’m sure.
MO, you’re a knowledgeable person. You’re not in that much disagreement with my “internet comments” about Joe’s analysis. It’s just that as a matter of affinity you’re not motivated to rebut him.
If I listened long enough to you
I’d find a way to believe that it’s all true
Knowing that you lied straight faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe
—Tim Hardin
Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.
— Eric Hoffer
Can’t have a full life with a hole in yer soul.
Politics has always been the doppelganger of religion (or vice-versa). As Pastor Carey Nieuwhof wrote:
God is not a Republican, a Democrat, a conservative, a liberal or a socialist. He transcends all our political categories, however important they might be to us.
Politics matters, but it will never change the world the way the Gospel can (or has).
So how much distance should there be between you and your politics?
Just know this: if God has all the same opinions your political party does, you’re probably not worshiping God.
I have told my groups that we need to be careful about what we “love” if it’s not God, because it is so easy to respond with hate when what we love is threatened. Thankfulness should be our over-riding attitude. As it says in Colossians 2:6-8 – “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
There may be no more “elemental spirit” in the world than politics, full of empty deceits that will lead us to embrace one deceit in the name of defeating another deceit, and clouding our thinking. Don’ t let your thankfulness be stolen away by other philosophies and deceits.
Ding! I tripped the moderation wire. Hmmmm – oh, I think I see. Let’s try this version:
Politics has always been the doppelganger of religion (or vice-versa). As Pastor Carey Nieuwhof wrote:
God is not a Republican, a Democrat, a conservative, a liberal or a s***ist. He transcends all our political categories, however important they might be to us.
Politics matters, but it will never change the world the way the Gospel can (or has).
So how much distance should there be between you and your politics?
Just know this: if God has all the same opinions your political party does, you’re probably not worshiping God.
I have told my groups that we need to be careful about what we “love” if it’s not God, because it is so easy to respond with hate when what we love is threatened. Thankfulness should be our over-riding attitude. As it says in Colossians 2:6-8 – “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
There may be no more “elemental spirit” in the world than politics, full of empty deceits that will lead us to embrace one deceit in the name of defeating another deceit, and clouding our thinking. Don’ t let your thankfulness be stolen away by other philosophies and deceits.
“didn’t like JFK, and showed no remorse when he was killed.”
Do ya one better, Allen. When RBG bit it, I actually cheered, was pretty satisfied when Wellstone fell out of the sky and danced an Irish jig when Nick Coleman croaked unexpectedly.
The world is a better place for each of those incidents.
I get it. Politics ain’t softball. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Having lived for three score and ten, I’ve observed some changes between garden variety political combat and the new breed of scorched earth electoral warfare. I don’t pretend to know who started it. Seeking the answer is a fool’s errand. I can point to a few watershed moments: in 1964, LBJ successfully painted Barry Goldwater as the man most likely to start a nuclear war with the iconic commercial featuring a little girl and a mushroom cloud. George HW Bush got to Michael Dukakis with the Willie Horton ad. Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney like a drum by promoting the idea that Romney made his fortune ripping off the hapless 99%.
Trump took the Dem’s identity politics and turned it around with an ad feminem campaign that fired up his base against Hilary.
The succeeding four years turned into a campaign to reverse the 2016 election. All limits vanished. Not since the decade before the Civil War have Americans hated other Americans more.
Contributing factors: 24 hour news cycle, blatant brainwashing in the educational system for the past 25 years, social media tyranny, manufactured crises requiring suspension of due process and other Constitutional guarantees.
How will it end? To quote TS Eliot, not with a bang, but a whimper.
Some people need a good killin’.
HL Menkin once famously said “There comes a time when rational men must spit on their hands, raise the black flag and start slitting throats.
We may not be there quite yet, but you can see it from here…it’s gonna get a lot worse before it gets any better.
That’s not the quote, fucknut
PS, the actual quote from H.L. Mencken is “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
So how dare you mangle it and completely render it meaningless! You rube!
There’s a difference between asserting the attractiveness of the fantasy vs the attractiveness of the reality. But yeah I forget, at the blog here’s it’s mostly guys with 8th grade reading comprehension
JK, what is least educated group of American citizens?
In your opinion, do SITD commenters belong to that group?
I hate these “you are so stupid” comments. Except when applied to Emery.
And yes, John, you’re raising the bar so much with your comments…..to perhaps a kindergarten reading level. Come on, you want the intellectual level to be higher, maybe….lead by example?
(for reference, since AllenS is not the person who killed JFK, my guess is that he showed no grief when JFK was killed, not remorse. )
OK, to the point, while I’ve been conservative as far back as I can remember, in adulthood I’ve become more so, and have repented of a number of positions I used to hold, and hold those who still hold those positions to be “wrong”. I must be a hater.
Not a high character crowd here at Shit in the Dark
I don’t take it that this thread is about me. But that’s a good headspace to maintain about most of the people here I’m sure.
That’s not the quote, fucknut
But yeah I forget, at the blog here’s it’s mostly guys with 8th grade reading comprehension
The Dale Carnegie coursework didn’t take. You may want to get a refund.
p.s. successful writers aim for an 8th grade reading level, especially if they want to reach the largest possible audience. Fahrenheit 451, Moby-Dick, To Kill a Mockingbird, All Quiet on the Western Front — all are written at that level.
John K,
I do in fact value those who help keep this comment section from being an echo chamber – especially the ones who can do it without slowly going demented (as Dog Gone did) or losing perspective (as…others have done).
But if you want to call this blog “Shit in the Dark” again, then do (apparently) yourself a favor and avail yourself of other opportunities.
Fapliar gets pretty salty when he’s kept from fiddling with himself for too long, don’t he. lol
But yeah I forget, at the blog here’s it’s mostly guys with 8th grade reading comprehension
An MD, a couple lawyers, a literal rocket scientist, a couple actual writers, a polymath or two, a couple engineers (electrical, software and biomed that I know of), an accountant, and a bunch of the smartest people I’ve met are regulars here.
Smack <> an argument.
Speaking of throat slitting, check this self inflicted bit, from Yahoo sports:
“NBA’s social currency is gone after national anthem decision”
“Yahoo Sports
NBA’s social currency is gone after national anthem decision
Vincent Goodwill
Wed, February 10, 2021, 7:27 PM
If there was ever any doubt, a single statement from the NBA’s league office sealed it.
The moment is over.
The racial reckoning that opened eyes around the country, buoyed by the nation’s most prominent Black Americans — NBA players — has come and gone.
Mark Cuban’s subtle but effective act of removing the national anthem before the start of Dallas Mavericks home games caught the ire of the NBA, which stomped all over Cuban and proclaimed things shall return to normal with fans returning to arenas soon enough.”
Don’t know, but I’d be willing to wager my next paycheck Mr. Goodwill is a Negro man. He also has a high paying job with Yahoo.
Mr. Goodwill and his ilk are killing pro sportsball. Who wants to watch a bunch of 100IQ men, once removed from thugdom at best, signal their hatred for the country and the people that for the past 50 years have spent billions of dollars to raise them out of poverty and illiteracy?
The viewship of the Stupid Bowl hit a 50 year low this year, and the NBA is sucking wind. Personally, I don’t have any fucks to give it the whole thing comes crashing down, but honestly, how fucking stupid can these people be? And who is forcing them to endure such hardships?
Indeed, Mr. Goodwill and his ilk are welcome to catch the next plane back to Africa, or the destination of their choice at the first opportunity, with our blessings and sincere hope for their happiness in their new land.
That is to say; fuck off.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nb-as-social-currency-is-gone-after-national-anthem-decision-002750572.html
BTW
” buoyed by the nation’s most prominent Black Americans — NBA players”
Really? Not the doctors, engineers, scientists, spacemen? Semi-literate sports ball players? What about rappers? lmao
Way to toss your people under the bus, Mr. Goodwill.
Waittaminute, Doctor, you peeked at a picture of Mr Goodwill.
Mitch, Fapliar is presenting all the symptoms of classic self consciousness and low self esteem. He knows he’s among his intellectual superiors, and it’s intimidating, so he lashes out in the only way he is comfortable with…lashing out with his lizard brain.
We’ve seen his type many times.
Oh, jdm I see it now. I honestly didn’t see that little picture of poor, downtrodden Mr. Goodwill’s face.
I felt the presence of Ta Nehisi Coates in his writings.
That made me chuckle. Thanks.
Fapliar should take Mark Cuban’s face as his avatar. He’s the perfect twat to represent an anonymous twat.
I believe that I am the most conservative member of the SITD commentariot.
I am positively medieval, for God’s sake. I hate Libertarians as much as I hate commies. I would be happier all public speech was in Latin.
When the NBA loses all of their white audience, and through necessity lowers the price of admission, NBA games will turn into Saturday night at the local “Swank”, or “Platinum”, or “Lavish” night club.
The play will be much improved with the addition of dodging caps while dribbling, IMO.
I dunno, MO.
I think my full back piece of a laughing General Pinochet tossing screaming commies out of a helicopter might give me a bit of an edge.
Nah, I got you all beat the bottom!
And while Mr. Goodwill squirts tears about how downtrodden sportsball players are, in Minneapolis, the Somalian muzzies want some park land to park in. The park board says no, so the Somalians are headed to court…sounds like they’ve got a rock solid case:
“The challenge we’re facing in the community is the needs that we have, these white people don’t,” Hussein says. “They don’t go to church, their kids have graduated, they don’t even see the concept of little children running around. This is a bias that they have mentally. They don’t really see the need for us.
Hussein gave the Park Board until this month to schedule the proposal for a vote or CAIR would consider it a discriminatory outright rejection. He says he now plans to organize protests and file a lawsuit.”
Well, that’s a wrap. The ultimatum has been delivered. Pave over that grass, or you’re a white supremacist!
lmao
https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-mosque-says-park-board-s-refusal-to-sell-land-for-parking-infringes-on-religious-liberty/600022027/
Spoiler alert:
He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn
what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless
misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast!
Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all
right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won
the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.
Jesus, am I the only one that actually READS BOOKS these days?
Nineteen Eighty-Four (not 1984) is a tragedy. There is not a happy or ambiguous ending. The best way to understand it is to read Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia, his memoir of his fighting in the Spanish Civil War. This echoes into the modern age, particularly into the feud between the late Christopher Hitchens and George Gallway.
Sorry, wrong thread!