Are there Liberal traits that you DON'T like?

[Locut0s]

We can all agree here that we hate rethugs, right wing nut bags, tea partiers, etc etc... And I'm sure if asked we could construct a killer list of traits that we absolutely can't stand in our fellow right wing citizens that we have the misfortune of sharing the environment with. But let's face it we liberals aren't perfect either, well ok maybe we are close to it compared to them but you know what I mean. Scrutiny becomes much more difficult when the lens is turned on yourself. The question is simple. What traits do you often see in your fellow Liberals that you have difficulty with? These don't have to be universal traits by any means but they do have to be things that you see more in your fellow Liberal, or maybe in yourself, than you would see in others. And yes we are stereotyping here just to get that out of the way.

My 2 cents:

I agree that Liberals DO at times like to get on their high horses. I like to think this is because we are usually right, but there are times when I just cringe to hear a Liberal person in an argument approach his point of view with a complete lack of subtly and a whopping dollop of condescension.

The other that is mentioned bellow is the "nice" trait that I think some Liberals overdo. I think being "nice", or more specifically being compassionate, open minded and understanding, is one of the best Liberal traits. However I have to agree that sometimes when you are faced with something that is just downright wrong or when faced with someone who just isn't going to play by the rules you have to just say "you know what, fuck you".

I guess a third would be that sometimes Liberals are too easily offended, and almost seem to seek out offence.

[leftstreet]

1. What ones don't you like? n/t

[Locut0s]

10. I updated my OP. thanks.

[DollarBillHines]

2. The "nice" trait

I'm tired of across-the-board empathy.

Sometimes, you just gotta hit 'em with a stick.

[Pryderi]

5. Agreed. Unfortunately people will be offended by this thread and it will be locked. n/t

[Locut0s]

11. That would be a shame :( nt

[hifiguy]

61. When the Repigs tell you they are going to destroy

you, you do not turn the other cheek, you hammer them. There's an old saying about bringing a knife to a gun fight.

[Volaris]

93. I would tend to agree with this...

Ive often thought, (to use Jungian Archetypes as reference points) that we Liberals have quite a bit of Sorcer(er/ess) and Lover energies in our psyches and outlooks, and sometimes not enough of the Ruler or Warrior. I understand its in our nature to prefer political peace to conflict, but sometimes, our adversaries just REQUIRE a judiciously-administered Skull-Cracking. If we are afraid to do it becasue it "makes us like them", that ends up working in their favor. Peace is a valuable Prize, but acquiring it is sometimes not for the Timid.

(On Edit) The thing that will make us different form "them" is that Judicious part...they do it as a first and only response, we seem to perfer a more sophistocated approach to our attacks...they box, we like Judo. When we miscalculate, they score a hit and then laugh at us, but when THEY miss and fall on their ass, the whole country see it and we win Elections. Our way is better, but it takes more thought, patience, and practice to get right.

And yeah, I think some of us are too easily offended. It's part and parcel to having a good pool of perosnalities, minds, and outlooks (in other words, a nicley-Nuanced political Tent that we all share), and I know it can't be totally avoided, but I know that it's easier in most cases to let slide the little things that bother me about my fellow Democrats here for the sake of Greater Goals, than it is to raise hell over something that probably only (I'M) bothered by.

[Odin2005]

106. One can empathize AND hit them with a stick.

[lumberjack_jeff]

145. Yes. I know this hurts. It's supposed to. n/t

[scheming daemons]

3. Anthropomorphizing of animals

... so we won't want to eat them.

[slackmaster]

4. I hate it when someone claiming to be a liberal says things like "We can all agree..."

Because we can't. I don't hate anyone for their political beliefs.

[warrprayer]

6. trick question, eh? n/t

[Vincardog]

7. I don't like the way progressives allow themselves to be divided and marginalized.

[GeorgeGist]

97. Liberals and Progressives are not the same.

[Vincardog]

129. Right Progressives are Liberals who are to scared of the Corporate Owned Press to call themselves

Liberals. Ever since the RW decided that Liberal was a bad word.

[Selatius]

130. The two terms used to mean the opposite things, actually. Progressive is the original term.

Prior to FDR, a liberal was someone who favored less government regulation and intervention, especially in the markets. They were classic liberals in the economic sense.

Progressives, such as those found in the Populist or Labor Movements did favor intervention and regulation, especially against unfair competition and monopolies, labor rights, workplace safety regulations, etc.

In order to take the sting out of possibly being branded as the opposite of liberal or someone who could more easily be portrayed as authoritarian, he co-opted the term from Republicans and used "liberal" prominently in all the campaigns he ran in from 1932 until the day he died.

This is why in other industrialized countries in Europe or in countries like Australia or New Zealand, the Liberal Party is usually considered the right-wing party. It's parties that call themselves the Labor Party that have historically been friendlier to working class interests.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

153. +1

interesting factoid.

[reformist2]

8. Some of them want to take my light bulbs away...

[cliffordu]

9. Sometimes, the most easily offended rule the roost.

Lenny Bruce would DIE here.

[hifiguy]

62. George Carlin wouldn't last ten posts here

given the serial alerters datamining DU for something to pitch a snit about.

[Lightbulb_on]

63. Good fucking point...

+1

[get the red out]

12. Sometimes a less than robust sense of humor

Or maybe my funny posts just aren't.

[NightWatcher]

14. I was just about to say Stick-up-the-butt-no-sense-of-humor....

Sometimes things that are offensive can be funny without really being offensive

[Johonny]

17. +1

[Incitatus]

30. Some jokes don't fly on DU that I suspect many here might secretly find funny. nt

[Floyd_Gondolli]

13. The will to play dirty

Im of the belief that the other side is currently so dangerous that they must defeated at all costs. I'm also of the belief that our enemies, which are also the enemy of the people, must not only be defeated but destroyed.

There is very little that Axelrod, Plouffe and Co. Could do to win this election that would make me uncomfortable.

I don't expect that is popular with many here but the stakes are high enough to warrant it.

[2pooped2pop]

28. yep

I don't care how we win, who we offend. Get rid of pukes at all cost. Win this election at all costs. Fix our election at all cost.

Fuck the repukes. Let them eat cake. (or rat poison, either way)

[Paladin]

114. Well Said. (nt)

[kysrsoze]

15. Voting Nader/3P or sitting home b/ "both candidates are the same."

That fever is spreading like a wildfire over at oped news, due to articles written by former Reaganite, Paul Craig Roberts, among other crybabies. If you want to hand this election to R$ on yet another silver platter, I can't think of a better way, as its the same result as voter suppression efforts seek. I TORE into them a couple days ago.

[OKNancy]

16. they tend to live up to the old expression

Conservatives love the individual but hate the masses
Liberals love the masses but hate the individual

There is a strain of snobbishness toward the working person. It seems to be getting better lately, but it's still there.
Oh and as someone who has been abused here for the fact that I live in a very red state, there is a real elitist attitude about where one lives.
It's very off-putting and I often wonder if it turns off lurkers who we would like to pull in, but we don't because some of us act like a bunch of stuck up brats.

[bluestate10]

44. Nancy, I am one of those frustrated with red state DU people, even lurkers.

I want to see that you put up a fight, but what I see is politician after politician of the worst nature coming from your states. When can't you join with Blacks, Hispanics and other minorities to form a winning coalition? My God, you have no idea of how much I want to see citizens of your states, most poor, voting for their interests, that result would be best for all of us.

[antigone382]

67. Do you know how hard it is to change a culture?

Do you know how hard many people are working to do just that? People whose families are the kinds of people labeled subhuman here...we don't have that luxury because we depend on each other for our daily needs regardless of political belief.

And that doesn't even get into the fact that you very well can be risking your life for speaking out. The recently deceased Larry Gibson, an incredibly outspoken activist against mountaintop removal, was run off the road, and had his house and his dog shot because of his activities. And he isn't the only one.

There are a whole lot of people doing the best they can to raise awareness and change the culture--to change the minds and hearts of their loved ones as well as their self-described enemies--even at the risk of their lives and health, even when it can sure as hell be tempting to just run away to places where people believe the same things we do and there are social services to help us. Just because you don't hear about it in the mainstream media doesn't mean it isn't happening.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

148. No money for county Democratic organizations.

I talked to a fellow who is a county Democratic chair in Texas. They get no state party money, no national party money. they have to raise their own funds to finance office rent, furniture, phone lines, yard signs and all that. He had gotten 200 Obama/Biden yard signs with his own money and given them all away. He had no money to rent a storefront to have a Democratic presence in the community.

There are 254 counties in Texas. There may be several dozen with no county Democratic party office due to lack of funds. The Obama campaign is not spending any money in Texas b/c they consider it a lost cause, was my understanding.

[antigone382]

155. Yes, Dean's fifty state strategy was working wonders.

It's a pity we abandoned that.

[Hosnon]

152. This is EXACTLY what the poster was talking about.

"My God, you have no idea of how much I want to see citizens of your states, most poor, voting for their interests, that result would be best for all of us."

Pull up the purple map and realize - for once - that it's not a North/South thing, it's an Urban/Rural thing. The South tends to be more rural, that's all. But just like every other state, we have bright blue areas in cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, etc.

Turn your entire state blue and then you can get on your high horse.

[Populist_Prole]

49. +1, Every word

Speaking as an ex-republican utterly disillusioned by the party and conservatives in general move to the right over the past dozen years, I can afford to speak from hindsight.

I think the rise of the "Third-Way" DLC move in the 90's is what really irked me. I didn't know it at the time that there was such an organized movement, but it sure didn't help the Democratic party among the non-urban working class, and pretty much by design too.

In somewhat oversimplified terms, it seemed at the time liberalism was brie, chardonnay & Volvo rather than Joe Lunchbox and "Look for the Union Label".

[HiPointDem]

134. +1. i'm sick of upper-class cheap labor lifestyle libertarians posing as liberals.

[antigone382]

68. I would agree with this. Also the idea that understanding racism, sexism, classism, etc..

...exempts you from analyzing your own internalized prejudice, the belief that you can just conveniently pat yourself on the back for not being as prejudiced as "those people" over there, your cultural inferiors...

[Brother Buzz]

18. Having to many recycling bins

One for this, one for that, one for.....

My perfect world would have just one bin labeled: Recyclables (and everything would properly go in it)

[Recursion]

19. Making the perfect the enemy of the good

Definitely that

[WilliamPitt]

21. ^^^ this ^^^

[Posteritatis]

40. Yep. (nt)

[Politicub]

53. Yep. Agree.

[CreekDog]

74. okay, i'll take this answer for $500 Alex

[WiffenPoof]

20. I Am In Agreement In Most Things ...

However, there are times when Political Correctness is carried so far that it defeats the purpose for which it was intended. PC is typically associated with the Left.

-Paige

[Wait Wut]

22. Probably.

But, I know too many Liberals that have different traits from other Liberals to make a distinction as to which are actual Liberal traits and which are just annoying individual traits.

[NNN0LHI]

23. Anti-union people who claim to be liberals really piss me off

No such thing as an anti-union liberal.

Don

[Logical]

26. I am anti-police unions. 100%

[DLine]

77. Im not much of a fan of prison guard unions either...

For the simple fact that they push for ways to get more people locked up strictly for their members job security.

[lumpy]

31. Hear hear

n

[BigDemVoter]

41. Agree with you 100%!!!!!

[1gobluedem]

58. +1000

Especially when they stick up for the non-union import automakers with US factories who actively union bust and are dragging wages down.

[Zalatix]

84. I call those relatives of the 'third way' group.

[leftstreet]

29. Oh my n/t

[Arugula Latte]

39. ...

Who will speak for the white males? Oh, the tragedy of not having a voice in this country...

[Mponti]

55. Spoken with the level of disdain that makes my point. Thanks

[Arugula Latte]

64. Talk about speaking with disdain: "Even the convention seemed like an EEOC gathering."

Gee, too bad there were too many women and minorities for your taste there.

The party of racists and misogynists is the Republican party. Maybe that party is a better fit for you.

[HangOnKids]

83. Who Will SpeaK For The White Males

We know they are just hurting so much, and it breaks my fucking heart.

[HiPointDem]

135. actually, a lot of them are.

[lumberjack_jeff]

146. Republicans claim to.

votes are votes. You don't go to Washington without 'em.

[MicaelS]

150. And next time you wonder why..

Working class white don't vote Democratic, you can find the answer in your mirror.

[Mponti]

88. Rolling out the typical bromides? Please proceed

[Paladin]

104. Your Comments Re EEOC And Multiculturism......

.....pretty much identify the unpleasant agenda you're trying to peddle, here. Enjoy your stay......

[ProfessorGAC]

102. A Gross Distortion Of The Point Of That Post

The poster wasn't feeling sorry for anyone. The poster was OBVIOUSLY making a point of political tactics.

Your snarkiness just reveals that your attitude trumps your attention to detail.

[Arugula Latte]

117. No, the poster was complaining about multiculturalism and EEOC meetings.

Apparently too many women and minorities show up for the Democrats for his liking. We can't have that, can we?! The poor white males! They're not used to not being the overwhelming dominant force in a group! Heavens!

His agenda is pretty clear.

[Mponti]

120. That wasnt my agenda....it was your agenda to totally miss..

The point of my post. No sense trying to make sense out of nonsense

[ProfessorGAC]

127. You've Missed The Mark By A Light Year

Nothing in that post was said. It was only inferred by you. And, you would be wrong. The point was valid, and the poster made profered no such disparagement.

[LanternWaste]

123. Because minorities are getting a fairer shake these days

"Even the convention seemed like an EEOC gathering. I can see why 'aggrieved' white males may feel the party isn't talking to them..."

Because minorities are getting a fairer shake these days, and the white male demographic is being relegated to its appropriate ratio?

[RomneyLies]

25. Demanding ideological purity

That crap has to go. You push as hard as you can to the left, but if we cannot compromise with those politicians who are mostly on our side, we lose.

[JI7]

27. i don't really consider these to be liberal but idiots who bash homeless people

but think they are liberal because they do yoga , eat organic or some other such shit.

i guess the above would probably be considered more yuppies.

[LAGC]

32. Authoritarian "liberals" kind of get under my skin at times.

You know, the ones constantly wanting to ban inanimate objects like guns or super-sized soft drinks "for our own good" like Mayor Bloomberg.

Liberalism as a whole is much more libertarian than conservatism, but in the urban areas especially, too many self-described "liberals" seem to think more laws are the answer to everything, not just on common-sense stuff like economic matters, but regulating personal freedoms as well.

[PD Turk]

78. I agree

I don't care much for authoritarians whether they are on the left or right. I have no problem with adequeate regulation of businesses and organizations, but the less interference in the individual's personal life the better IMO.

[eqfan592]

137. Couldn't agree more.

Authoritarian "liberals" drive me crazy.

[1StrongBlackMan]

33. My list of "Things I don't like about liberals" ...

includes the incessant worry that we tend to express out loud to anyone and everyone willing to sit long enough, or walk away slowly enough, to hear our latest worry.

I'd also include, our need to be fair-minded about everything, including the need to invent something just to say "See, I'm fair-minded."

I'd also include, our seemingly complete inability to see the long game; rather than, short-term tactics.

And, oh yeah, How about our propensity for throwing the "baby out with the bath water." Okay, we didn't get EVERYTHING we wanted, in the color, that we asked for; but damn it ...

[nolabear]

34. Intolerance.

Liberals can be as mean and stereotyping as anyone else. Not all are, but listen to Norman Goldman sometime. If you're a Southerner (which I am) or religious (which I'm not) or don't express yourself well, you can be bullied pretty badly.

[FrodosPet]

60. Some really have a problem with blue collar people and tastes

To SOME people, if you aren't eating high dollar exotic organic foods, if you've ever shopped at Walmart or worked at McDonalds, or you ever found yourself having a good time at a Monster Truck Rally, you are a lowlife.

[HiPointDem]

136. +1.

[LTR]

35. Political correctness

I don't think it even really exists, but I have no guilt in saying whatever I want to you fucking snapperheads!

[redgreenandblue]

140. Liberals indeed sometimes go overboard with political correctness.

Yes, I get that bigotry exists and that it is a huge problem.

But seriously, complaining about Jar-Jar Binks being a racist stereotype?

[alp227]

141. Saying whatever you want?

So it should be OK on this board to call black people the N-word? What?

[LTR]

154. See what I mean?

I thought right-wingers were the ones that were thin-skinned.

[bluestate10]

36. I am frustrated by some liberal traits and positions, I don't hate them.

If given a choice between marrying a liberal woman or a conservative woman, I will chose the liberal woman. Liberals have the right idea, if they could have their way without resistance, society would be better. My lone complaint with liberals, and it is a enormous complaint, is that liberals can't accept the concept that one must measure progress of every initiative and make corrective changes when when it is clear that the intended objective is not being accomplished.

[quinnox]

37. the tendency to get word policey and the want to control speech and what words other people can use

As someone who admires what Orwell wrote, I have to say I cringe when I see fellow liberals try and be the thought police and control the language by erasing offensive terms from the vocabulary in a noble but misguided attempt to not offend people.

Sometimes people will offend people, it is the price of free speech. Deal with it. You will never wipe that out from human behavior and speech unless you do a serious 1984 style scrubbing of the language. I don't want to live in a society like that, where everyone must speak "newspeak".

[NCTraveler]

112. What words are being controlled....

that you want to use?

[alp227]

142. Just because speech is free doesn't necessarily make the speech morally right.

Wow, to think I have to explain that on a PROGRESSIVE board? Shows how much right wing radio poison has penetrated the nation.

[sarisataka]

38. Intolerance

The attitude that unless you are in 100% agreement with us (i.e. me) you are actually a fascist bully boy/girl

[TheKentuckian]

42. I hate Mika Brzezinski limousine style "liberals"

I have no love for those that are always talking shit about "reaching across the aisle" and "finding common ground" but are the first to holler that the TeaPubliKlans must be defeated and cannot identify what it is the opposition is correct about because it seems nonsensical.

I have little use for the "pragmatic progressive" and "sensible centrist" bologna.

I reject those that don't give a damn about the homeless.

I spit on those who don't give a shit about the poor.

I can't stand the nanny staters (see Mika Mouse).

I have no respect for those who don't have the conviction to say the opposition is wrong.

Who I really can't stand are the half ass Republicans who claim to be socially liberal but economically conservative.
If you are an economic conservative then you are a wealth funneling, economic royalist right winger on the same side as the Koch Brothers.

[LeftishBrit]

133. The 'socially liberal but economically conservative' claim annoys me too

I don't think you can really separate the social from the economic in that way. If you are economically conservative, then you are only socially liberal for those above a certain income. The threat of severe poverty and destitution is just as coercive as the threat of legal punishment or social ostracism.

Similarly, those who are 'economically liberal/left but socially conservative' are only economically left-wing for their favoured groups.

[sagat]

43. I can think of a few.

1. Chronic disappointment.

2. Anti-firearm.

3. Alternative "medicine" devotion.

4. Conspiracy theory indulgence.

[Seeking Serenity]

45. Nanny-statism

I am glad that liberals want to and think we should help people who really need help (universal health care, government aid to the poor, etc.). But I don't like that part of liberalism when we decide we have to help people who liberals have determined are too (stupid, brainwashed by advertising, overworked, what have you) to know what's good for them (sarcasm). The idea that somehow we know best how to save people from themselves.

Want to own a firearm? No, we don't think you should be able to do that. Want a 32-oz. drink? No, we've decided you should not be able to have that. I think you get the point, so I won't belabor it.

[OnionPatch]

81. That's about how I feel, too.

Sometimes liberals go a little too far trying to protect everybody from everything. And being from the rural midwest, I know they lose a lot of votes over the gun issue.

[Upton]

103. Yep..good post..

I think liberals pushing the nanny state has significantly hurt the Democratic party, particularly in rural areas. It's time both parties started treating people like adults..

[eqfan592]

138. You hit the nail on the head.

And I honestly think this one factor has cost us a TON of moderate independents.

[Nye Bevan]

46. Disdain for Southerners (nt)

[Jennicut]

118. I live all the way up in CT and agree with that.

Liberal southerners need all the encouragement they can get. I say that as a liberal Yankee in a blue state.

[TroglodyteScholar]

47. When I saw your thread's title, I had a couple ideas....

But I read the points you made in your update to the OP and I've got little to add.

We have a habit of trying to sway people by making them feel dumb or cruel, and people in general react pretty negatively to that approach to persuasion.

On edit: I think this post presents an opportunity for some truly constructive reflection. Should have more recs IMO.

[Berserker]

48. What bothers me most

is the anti-gun Liberals. We are supposed to be the thinkers of the 2 parties but the push to ban all guns is ignorant. Guns are not the problem criminals are the problem think about it. Wanting to overturn and amendment of the constitution rubs many Liberals the wrong way and sends a message to the hate groups that all Liberals want to ban guns. This subject alone is political suicide to our party.

[fishwax]

50. I don't think #1 and #3 are really liberal traits

I've been condescended to by many an easily-offended republican in my lifetime. The things that they are offended by tend to be different, but I don't think liberals are more easily-offended than conservatives.

As to #2, I've read and heard plenty of complaints from right-wingers about how they need to stop playing nice when the "libruls" are supposedly playing dirty. (They're full of it, of course )

[Zax2me]

51. Intolerance.

TOLERANCE is a traditional benchmark of progressives in a good way, intolerance benchmark of r wingers.
But over the last few years it appears that liberals have taken on intolerance and embraced it.
Don't know where this came from. Maybe the bush years.
In any case I think it loses votes.

[Puzzledtraveller]

57. Heartily agree, intolerance is why I switched sides.

I lament I have seen so much from this side too.

[bluestate10]

65. You are relatively new here. It can be frustrating, but you will witness a huge diversity of

opinion here on DU. But I do admit there is some ire toward the right, we focus on the obnoxious people on the right and don't realize that we can have meaningful conversation with the people on the right that are willing to debate public policy respectfully.

[Politicub]

52. Douchbagery exists in every group. There are good and bad people of

every political persuasion.

[mykpart]

54. I often feel bullied by fellow liberals

because I believe in God and because I was born and live in Texas.

[bluestate10]

66. I come from deep christian roots, but am now a non-believer, at least in the biblical

version of my existence. I am an accepted outcast in my family, I don't question my deacon and ordained minister siblings and they let me be. You won't get bullied by me because you believe in God. I have issues with Texas, mostly because the good people there have not risen up and taken over from people like Rick Perry, I hope that takeover does happen soon.

[mykpart]

89. I hope so too.

And in Texas' defense, I mention Molly Ivins, Ann Richards, Sam Rayburn, Ladybird Johnson, and if Lyndon Johnson were alive today, he could get all Obama's bills passed.

[Throd]

56. The inability to admit that some cultures are better than others.

[distantearlywarning]

59. Three Things

1) Cultural relativism, especially in favor of certain groups/beliefs and not others (some things ARE wrong, period!)

2) Alternative medicine and other new-age rainbows and crystals woo-woo (this crap is just as bad as the right-wing anti-science religious nonsense and makes us all look just as ignorant)

3) Pollyanna-ism - people are naturally good and kind and if we just TALK to them and try to understand their viewpoints they'll put down their weapons and we can all just sing Kumbayah together. Often goes hand in hand with #1 and #2. Sometimes manifests as anti-gun sentiment (which is another thing I would like to see purged from progressive ideology).

[Douglas Carpenter]

69. there is within elements of liberalism a puritanical busy-body strain that can be a bit like this:

Some liberals have created their own version of the nosy and judgmental church-lady

[quinnox]

70. +1

yup

[Zorra]

71. Um...no. Wait, wait...um...no, no. So sorry.

Liberals rock, and conservatives suck.

[smackd]

72. over-sensitivity

I admit...I will sometimes read things, particularly pearl-clutching responses to sarcasm or jokes or what have you...and my immediate reaction is simply "lighten up, Francis"

[RepublicansRZombies]

73. keeping our freaking powder dry!

we should be on a high horse, but usually we are being dragged behind.

I don't think liberals are condescending, we should be sticking up for ourselves.

We fix all the problems. take all the blame.

Look at that freaking disgusting media they call liberal. It's twisted.

WE need to reclaim our name.

We have been nice for way too long.

[XemaSab]

75. Tolerance for all manner of flakiness coupled with intolerance for certain groups

If some white dude with dreds shows up saying that he went out in the woods and ate a bunch of datura and went on a vision quest and met the gods of the Aztecs who told him that chlorine is making men impotent so now he only drinks rainwater and eats acorns, that's totally ok, but if some dude shows up who is a bornagain from the sticks, he's an asshole.

Also, like people have said upthread, loving the idea of the common people but hating everything about them. For example, saying that they like poor black people but absolutely hating everything about urban music, fashion, language, and so forth. (The same could be said for poor whites, Asians, and so forth.)

[Puzzledtraveller]

109. + 1,000,000,000..........

[lumberjack_jeff]

147. +1

This is kind of cathartic.

[lonestarnot]

76. Nope not a fucking one!

[cherish44]

79. Some of us are prone to be rather cynical and negative

It's hard not to be sometimes, especially when you see all the ignorance that's everywhere. I'm working on being more positive; life's too short to be pissed off all the time.

[cherokeeprogressive]

80. One. I'll just call it the "instant conspiracy". ANY time the Universe, Fate, or Coincidence

come together to harm liberal/progressive wants/needs/wishes in the form of an accident that can somehow be attributed to humans, there will be a liberal/progressive who will claim without question said tragedy is the result of conservative/republican actions.

It's like we're Dorothy, and the Universe, Fate, and Coincidence is Rove.

Every single time it's the same.

[Zalatix]

82. The extremely lax attitude toward male-bashing is one issue that irritates me.

Jokes and cherry-picking "facts" about men are acceptable among liberal circles that would get you PPR'd from here and your house toilet papered if the same was said of women. Women on TV make jokes about men being castrated for no reason, and there is nary a peep. Make a joke about women being mutilated like The Talk's Sharon Osbourne and her flunkies did when it happened to a man, however, and it's totally on. Making jokes about men getting raped in prison just recently became a controversy here.

As for me? Fuck, I admit it, I'm hard headed.

I don't think liberals get any more easily offended than conservatives, though. Liberal prejudices against men don't even shine a candle compared to right-wing prejudices against everything outside of the world of rich white males.

[Union Scribe]

85. The only problems occur when people fail to live up to liberal traits.

Tolerance, empathy, things like that. We set our bar high and often fall short of it, and the ways we most commonly do so are mistakenly seen as negative liberal traits but are actually the failure to live up to them.

[PowerToThePeople]

86. to be honest, pacifism

The right wingers will kill us if we do not conform to their will. We will sit passively in a protest line as they do it. I know fighting back will only escalate the violence, but damn, do we really want to die while they continue to live a breed more wing-nuts?

[Behind the Aegis]

87. Bigotry and ignoring said bigotry.

Some take things to the extremes and try to rope others into it. I don't care for that at all. Many are intolerant of others opinions and rather than expalin their own opinion, simply attack the other opinion. Some destinations have many paths, and not all will be enjoyed by everyone.

ETA: And 'key jingling', and personal attacks. If someone expresses an opinion, some find it to be their "job" to attack the poster and play games, change the subject, and basically act like a petulant asshole.

[coalition_unwilling]

90. The Beatification of Bill Clinton and all things Clinton-era. 500,000 Iraqi children died

of entirely preventable diseases thanks to sanctions maintained on Iraq during the 90s with Clinton's full connivance. If a Bush had been presiding while this was happening, DU would have been going into full nuclear melt-down mode. N.B. The deaths of thosee Iraqi children was one of the issues cited by Osama bin Laden in his fatwa authorizing military strikes upon the U.S.

[begin_within]

91. The self-righteousness

particularly the DU Sanctimony Squad that patrols these fora, looking for the slightest error of spelling, grammar, logic, references, and so on... always ready to stomp on a "FALSE EQUIVALENCY!" or some other irregularity... they are eager to pick apart your post and thus disqualify it from the flow of discussion... and how much does that really contribute to the overall cause of liberalism? The right-wingers are famously atrocious spellers, yet they don't worry about that as long as the main thrust of the message gets through, while liberals can get so bogged down in the details and arcane rules that they lose the battle...

[cecilfirefox]

92. Hair legged liberal women. Ain't no reason for that, ya know? nt

[Le Taz Hot]

101. You first.

[Utah_liberal]

94. I cant stand liberals on DU that assume someones a troll

Even when there's no clear evidence they are. One guy criticised me because I'm a " low poster" as though his opinion means more because he posts more often. For the most part, I love everybody here though..

[qwyatt]

95. Can't stand apathy

Which is why I made this video -- to re-inspire newly apathetic youths to get behind obama.

https://vimeo.com/52485619

[Overseas]

96. Being too darned nice to the cruel opposition. Not recognizing their pure greed.

Not recognizing that a party determined that bringing the President down is more important than the survival of the country is not one you should compromise with. Even if that was doable in the past.

Those days are gone. And have been gone for a decade or two already.

http://www.ovguide.com/the-hunting-of-the-president-9202a8c04000641f80000000003428b1

[Thegonagle]

98. Both sides are equally good at throwing out strawmen.

See?

[GoCubsGo]

125. Thank you!!!

"Liberal traits", my fat ass. I know people of many political persuasions who fit the alleged "liberal traits" listed in the OP. I know FAR MORE liberals who don't fit them than do. They are nothing but a right-wing stereotype, and it's sad to see so many here jumping on the bandwagon.

[Le Taz Hot]

99. The endless excuse makers

for those who CHOOSE not to help themselves. Unfortunately, the term "personal responsibility" has been hijacked by the right wing but it is still a legitimate point. I'm dealing with someone like that right now and it's frustrating as hell. You hand them the tools, you give them the guidance, the encouragement and . . . nothing. Sometimes some liberals will hand you a long line of excuses why a person is in a particular situation and absolutely IGNORE the very empowering words of SELF SUFFICIENCY. Initiative has to play a roll in there somewhere.

I know this is not going to be a popular viewpoint here but you asked . . .

[Shrek]

110. I emphatically endorse your post

And I don't really care if it's an unpopular viewpoint.

[Fumesucker]

100. Yes, in fact you are indulging in it right at the moment..

Desperately trying to find something about liberals that's negative.

Of course we get too much positive reinforcement from the M$M so we really need to indulge in some self-criticism.

DU is an ideal place for that, no one hates liberals more than pragmatic sensible moderate centrists, I've read all their complaints on this thread already.

[Odin2005]

105. We are too nice and willing to think people are rational.

[Quantess]

107. Liberals and conservatives sometimes share traits.

For example, the knee-jerk response.

[TBF]

108. Y'all are too nice :)

I say that with much love coming from the socialist side of the fence. Asshole owners are never going to give into our pleasant requests. Organize, strike, camp out in CEO's yards - that is what might get their attention. This isn't a battle that started 10 years ago or even with Reagan - it goes back to when money was invented and folks started hoarding it.

[deutsey]

111. Agree

[Starry Messenger]

121. This.

Hoping capitalism will get better with regulation is the most frustrating. We all support laws that better people's lives, but the system itself is rotten at the base. It's a feature, not a bug.

[LeftishBrit]

113. Factionalism and sectarianism

Many left-wingers seem to hate those of a slightly different left-wing persuasion more than they hate the real Right.

[Prism]

115. I live and work around Berkeley, so, oh yeah, I have a list

Maybe my list isn't "liberals" as much as Berkeleyites, but these people drive me batty.

1. Alternative medicine. It's as anti-science as anything I see out of the Right.

2. Elitism from monied liberals. Por ejemplo, lecturing everyone else about what they're eating. Which is wonderful. But some people can't pay $20 for a carrot. But hey, let's all shop at Andronico's, where everything is marked up 500%.

3. Wacky spiritualism. Yeah, they'll gnaw your ear off about the evils of Christianity, meanwhile they need to attend their shamanistic yoga Gaia workshop and try to recruit you into it *facepalm* Usually goes hand in hand with #1.

4. Environmental hypocrisy. "Save the planet! What? Of course I need three bathrooms in my home and four cars. Why do you ask?" Everyone friggin drives here to everywhere. And it's totally unnecessary.

5. The weird idea that being liberal/Democratic is an automatic intelligence badge. That's more of a larger point, to be honest. There's this idea "Well, I'm liberal, so of course I'm really smart." No, not so much. And I find people who badge-wear like that are least likely to be intellectually curious enough to examine their own ideas and to educate themselves deeply. They think the label is sufficient.

6. Willful blindness to faults. This thread is a good example. It's like the bad job interview. "My main flaw is that I just care so damn much." Where the "fault" is actually something good. But also blindness to bigotry and hatred. That's my big one. The hate. We have little campaigns like "No H8," when what a lot of people mean "You can't hate my particular cause. I can hate you and your cause with absolute freedom." And then you get a whole load of nastiness. That drives me nuts. Hate is hate. The reason to oppose hate is not only because of what it does to others, but because of how it poisons ourselves. A little self-awareness is never out of order.

Whew. Yes, Berkeley is driving me crazy. I think it's because I'm Midwestern. Or maybe nonpartisan. I have a good buddy/co-worker. Incredibly partisan. He gets so worked up about politics, spittle starts flicking from his lips when he talks to me. To me, who is a Democrat and agrees with him 90% of the time. One errant word and "Rawwwwwwwwwwwwwwr!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right-winger talking point!!!!!!! Rawwwwwwr." Fucking chill, bro.

[Starry Messenger]

119. I laugh because it is true.

I think it's a Berkeley thing. My Berkeley story involves my birthday, which happens to be October 12. I got told that being born on that day meant that I supported the genocide of the indigenous people because we all create our reality and being born on Columbus Day meant that I was full of hate.

I lived in North Oakland for several years and can cosign your post, lol.

[Marinedem]

116. Hmmm.

I guess I'd have to say that it's a tie between anti-southern sentiments and the irrational hatred/portrayal of firearms and firearms owners.

The anti-southern sentiments are the worst though. We tend to abuse the south whenever it suits our agenda, then turn around and praise places like West Virginia for its historically left/union leaning tendencies. "Yep, them WV boys sure are toeing the party line for us!" ""Fuck all those idiot racists south of Ohio! Who needs their retarded asses?!" Seems like I see both hypocritical positions here regularly.

I'm also getting a little tired of people implying that my guns make me a "Future criminal" of some kind, or that they were designed "only to kill". Defend your second amendment rights and someone will be right along to tell you and everyone else that you're just "Parroting right wing talking points."

[MicaelS]

122. Agree 100%, good post.

Plenty of South Bashing and Texas Bashing that juries regularly let stand.

And as far as the RKBA goes, having a Social Conscience does not mean having to sacrifice everything for the group. While I am quite willing to sacrifice a number of things to the group, in exchange for living in the US, one of the things I am not willing to sacrifice is the RKBA. And I’m not alone in this.

“People not getting hurt” is the not the only thing that matters in this country. Freedom is sometimes more important than safety.

There is absolutely no reason that those that live in small towns, villages, or on farms or ranches, where the only law enforcement is the county sheriff, with a response time of 30 minutes to one hour, should have the sacrifice the ability to defend themselves and their family, on the grounds that it MIGHT prevent someone in a large urban area from getting hurt.

[Zorra]

124. What is your primary concern here? What exactly motivated you to post this?

I use Applied Behavior Analysis in my work. And I am very interested in motivations for behavior. Many behavioral therapists are of the opinion that all human behavior is motivated by desire for some type of reward.

So I am extremely curious about your motivations for posting this ~ what is the reward?

I'm an extremely hard core old school 60's liberal, and know I'm far from perfect, and don't know any liberals who have ever claimed to be perfect.

[Safetykitten]

126. Jesus, where do I start?

Well for starters:

The complete inability to fight in the trenches in elections. The lack of the ability to call a liar a liar. The inability to make a narrative that is effective against lies. The fear of making waves. The terror of taking on a republican and getting nasty and down in the dirt.

A sense of intellectual superiority that translates to not understanding people that are struggling day to day. A Democentric view of the world that ends at the border of the District of Columbia.

The selling out of the time honored positions of making change that helps the least influential of the population. A complete abandonment of all the issues that help the poorest, most vulnerable of the nation.

How's that?

Oh, and tearing down anyone that disagrees with them on their side as not following the narrative.

[Zorra]

128. "The selling out of the time honored positions of making change

that helps the least influential of the population. A complete abandonment of all the issues that help the poorest, most vulnerable of the nation."

It appears to me that it is the moderates/centrists who are doing that kind of stuff.

I think I must have a different concept of who the liberals are than many posters here. When I think of liberal Democratic legislators, I think of FDR, Dennis Kucinich, Raul Grijalva, Alan Grayson, etc. Those who understand the issues you speak of.

Liberals to me are the people who got out in the streets with Occupy, and to protest Vietnam and the WTO, and all those who actually walk the walk in daily life.

If me and my liberal friends had our way, we would have a Democratic/Socialist government that focused entirely on providing for the well-being and the needs of human beings and the planet, and regulated capitalism into total submission to the people.

To me, liberals walk the walk of living conscious lives of respect and compassion for people and the planet. They live their beliefs.



Centrists, on the other hand, IMO, support laissez faire capitalism and all the evils, waste, and destruction that go with it.

[Spider Jerusalem]

131. In the context of American politics?

Most of them are the mirror image of conservative traits I also dislike.

Smug elitism and a sense of superiority. "If those people were only informed/only knew what was good for them they'd vote in what's clearly their best interests!" with the frequently implied but just as frequently overt idea that "those people" are ignorant/stupid/inbred. Some of these are the same people who, when someone asks "can anyone help me fix this problem I have with my PC?" will snidely respond "get a Mac", apparently not realising that in relative financial terms it's the equivalent of telling someone who says "hello, I have this problem with my Ford, any ideas?" that they should go get a BMW.

Conspiracy theorism and anti-science woo. "GHW Bush was the gunman on the grassy knoll and LBJ had JFK knocked off so he could make millions off of his Bell Helicopter shares by ramping up the Vietnam War!" "Big Pharma is evil!" "Vaccines cause autism! RFK Jr said so!"

A willingness to excuse undemocratic and authoritarian acts committed by foreign leaders who are broadly "leftist". (See: Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro. NB that conservatives are just as bad, with Pinochet, the Shah, etc.)

A lack of pragmatism and appreciation of politics as the art of the possible. "Congress should have impeached Bush!" (never mind that the votes were never there.) "Obama should have gotten single-payer healthcare through Congress!" (never mind that the votes were never there.) etc.

Environmental hypocrisy. "We need to do something about global warming BUT GASOLINE COSTS TOO MUCH!" (spot the cognitive dissonance.)

Sweeping generalisations. "Red states." (no such thing. Purple, but not red. Even in the deep South 15-40% of voters vote Democratic.) Bashing of entire regions based on the admittedly shameful history of segregation and the Confederacy (which does as much to perpetuate Southern resentment over the whole Civil War thing as the Sons of Confederate Veterans or any number of Confederate flags, thanks).

Excessive pacifism. It's all well and good to seek the resolution of disputes between states by peaceful, diplomatic means, and military action should never be employed save as a last resort, and out of necessity. But there are cases where it is a necessity, where diplomacy is ineffective; there are questions of the obligations of the global community as embodied in the UN to take action when a UN member is acting against its own people; see Syria (and I have to say I don't find the argument that the Syrians, or Libyans for that matter, might choose a government for themselves that we don't approve of as a persuasive reason for not intervening). I think that military action should be reserved for extreme cases, and should only be undertaken as part of an international effort with allies under the auspices of an international organisation like the UN or NATO, if possible, but I don't think that it should ever be off the table.

[distantearlywarning]

132. Agreed.

And I forgot about this one myself: "A willingness to excuse undemocratic and authoritarian acts committed by foreign leaders who are broadly "leftist". (See: Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro. NB that conservatives are just as bad, with Pinochet, the Shah, etc.)"

To me, that irritating behavior just smacks of someone who put on the label a while back and has now completely forgotten what it stands for. Just because the guy wears the same color shirt you do, doesn't mean it's any more ok for him to do bad things than it is for the guy who wears the other color shirt. Don't make yourself an idiot and a hypocrite by excusing certain people and not others just because they seem to you to be on the "correct" side of the fence.

[OKNancy]

143. great post. I'm surprised this post is still getting responses

I said sort of the same thing up-thread, just not as clearly and eloquently.

[VOX]

139. Insistence on taking the high road, even if it means losing the battle...

This catch-all includes such things as voting for Nader in 2000; complaining that a Democratic candidate isn't "liberal enough" to support; and worst, showing up to a gunfight with brass knuckles. Politics is an exceedingly dirty business (and becoming more so all the time), and the idea that getting into the muck and mire of battle is somehow beneath a liberal's dignity is terribly naive. Think of Al Gore's team not calling for a statewide recount in Florida; or John Kerry's ignoring the Swiftboat assholes for too long, at his own peril; and more recently, Obama's "acting presidential" during the first debate, instead of calling out Mittens on the spot for his series of bald-faced fabrications.

When the very future of this country is gravely at stake, the time for playing nice and fair and polite is long over; assuming the other side will do the same is a recipe for disaster.

[lumberjack_jeff]

144. Many. Where to start?

1) deference to academic authority, or
2) academic elitism
3) squeamishness about politics "we don't want to be like them"
4) blindness to our own forms of predjudice. "Those Duke lacrosse boys should be locked up forever!!!"
5) getting with the program. Once you've identified something as wrong, there's no longer a need to equivocate. Fundamentalist muslims attack women for seeking education? That's bullshit, cultural context be damned.
6) seeking offense for it's own sake. "Someone said the B word! Can you believe it? The B word!!! If I never hear the B word again, it'll be too soon! Misogynist sexist douchebags! No one should say the B word! I'm so outraged, I'm beside myself! The B word should be stricken from the english language!
Me? Well it's okay if I say it, because that's an entirely different context. I use it as a jawbone to beat only bad straw-men."
7) anthropomorphism. "Someone debarked a dog??? OMG! Hang the perpetrator!" I don't think it's too big a stretch to expect some of these people to picket abortion veterinary clinics... while eating a hamburger and wearing leather shoes, of course.

Edited to add

8) the fact that views like this are so viscerally distressing and offensive that they must be hidden.

[Dash87]

149. What I dislike about *some* liberals' views

Liberals believe many different things!

1- I don't agree with the "legalize all drugs!" Attitude some people have (to be fair, though, these are mostly libertarians). I'm fine with pot (I wouldn't smoke it ever, though), but crack and hard drugs like that should never be legal. It's the government's job to stop totally unsafe consumable products from being sold to the populace.

2- Also, I think Keith Olbermann is an egotist and man-child who deserved his firings. I never liked him or his corny, pretentious dialogs. I always thought of him as another mainstream hack. I pretty much always agreed with him, but he always got on my nerves.

3- Defeatism, and moaning about how doomed we are for the littlest things.

[Ter]

151. Banning soda, plastic bags, and happy meals

I hate nanny liberals.

[LeftInTX]

156. There aren't enough of us

And not being aggressive enough - collectively as a group
We're too nice and get our plans derided too easily