A rant about President Obama I heard from a neighbor today.

[murray hill farm]

I never take the bait and I never really respond to such rants, but it seems to me they all have this in common...that there is actually no specifics or reality based context to the rant. I have a small farm and had just worked out a very good barter agreement of a goat from me in return for new hay from the neighbor. A barter that was a good one for us both. And, I like and admire this neighbor. As I was leaving, she began to really get into her feelings about how we are basically all in for serious trouble if "that guy gets another term as president". She went on as to why she felt as she did...that he cannot be trusted, that he is the worst president ever, that he made promises that he never kept and that he doesn't seem to even care...that he is not honest, that all of his policies have hurt the country, etc. You get the picture! She seemed to terribly concerned that we were basically screwed and that the countries only hope was to not allow "that guy"be elected to another term. But, it seemed to me that whenever I hear such anti-obama rants, it is always the same. I have to bite my tongue not to ask, "but what do you base that on, why do you think he cannot be trusted or doesn't keep his promises, etc.? I have learned that such conversations really are like debating with your dining room table and just make such folks mad and I also believe if you ask, it just sharpens their stand and their belief, but always it is the same generalizations that amount to no substance behind the rant. It seemed to me that her emotion was mainly that of fear, but for no specific reason or reality. Do the rest of you experience that hate/fear from folks that seems to be just that..hate/fear without substance?

[RKP5637]

1. Some people just seem to play tapes out of their head. Whoever recorded them

there did a good job and disabled the erase button! I'm really beginning to think that is just how some peoples brains function. There have been some studies done on this. I can find them later if you want me to.

[arcane1]

2. That's what the RW media does: create generalized fear without information

Asking "but what do you base that on" usually doesn't accomplish much, since it's based entirely on what they say on tv and radio.

[southernyankeebelle]

3. Yes I think many of us experience the same thing. Even when you show proof they are wrong.

Facts get in the way. I think your smart to keep your mouth shut if you have a working relationship with this woman. It is a good deal you got going. If it were me I sure wouldn't bring up politics with her. Does she know how you vote? Just wondering. Good luck.

[RKP5637]

12. I have a neighbor like that. I know they are RW religious nuts and

ultra-republican, so I never bring up anything political or religious. It's like it throws a switch in their minds. As long as you stay away from that, everything is OK. I never did this, but a neighbor told me about them, so their experience was good enough for me.

[southernyankeebelle]

13. LOL I been there. I make it a point to feel people out slowly which way they lean. If I see

they lean left then we talk about the good and the bad in our own party. If they lean right. I keep my mouth shut. I also make it a point when they start talking religion and politics I find a way to leave pretty fast by changing the subject.

[murray hill farm]

17. We have never talked politics before...just farming and goats.

She has a large farm and I have a very small one and I have learned a lot from her..especially when I first got started at it. She is a strong and self reliant woman and I really like her style. So, I was suprised when she started talking politics..and in what she had to say. Other than farm stuff, I really don't know her well and we wave when we pass on the road and I have sold or bartered or given her goats in the past. We talk goats for the most part...maybe see her long enough to talk maybe 4 or 5 times in a year. She brought this up as we were walking across her fields to the gate where I had my car parked as I was leaving and just started talking about it out of the blue.

[Aerows]

4. Ignore it

It's right wing crap. They are stirred up 24/7 to think Obama is awful, and right wingers buy it. Forget changing their opinions.

[gratuitous]

5. I would probably respond

"Yeah, the president seems to have completely wasted two whole years trying for bipartisan compromise with the Republicans. A lot of promises went by the wayside because of their intransigence. Enjoy the goat."

[Xolodno]

6. FDR: The only thinge we have to fear is fear itself.....

...sadly, many make decisions in response to fear...which is often to their detriment. They want to be told things that agree with their narrow viewpoint. I remember someone from my church complaining about the healthcare law and how it would lower standards. I pointed out that other nations with even more socialist programs didn't have this problem en massee...she then went on about a person from Canada who went to the US to get health care because of the sub standards there (it was Fox news propoganda piece). I was speechless...how does one person negate many more who go to not just Canada, but Mexico as well for healthcare.

....and then....I also know someone who goes to Tijuana for his dental work because its cheaper....but in the same instance is against Obama and universal health care.

Murray Hill Farm.......I travel a lot via the 58....any connection to the Murray Farms just before Bakersfield?

[murray hill farm]

18. No!

I live in SW Arkansas. My father's farm was called Murray Hill Farm in the 1950s (It is our last name). When I bought this property 4 yrs ago, I just continued the name.

[Jane Eyre]

7. Facebook rants

I have a Republican facebook friend who is gay. Every now and then, he bursts on to a conversation with a right-wing rant.

So I posted a picture of Mitt with the statement "Says that marriage has been between one man and one woman for the past 3000 years. Great-great-grandfather had 12 wives."

Me: That averages out to about 1000 years per generation.

Him: so now, something that Romney's great-great-grandfather did is an issue? I realize Obama can't run on his record, but I'm surprised that even the left would stoop to this. They really have no shame.

Me: No, it is what Mitt Romney said about how marriage has been between a man and a woman for 3000 years. That isn't true, as his own family history proves. You don't even have to go back that many generations since Mitt's great-grandfather had five wives. Mitt's own father was born in Mexico, where the family had fled to escape US laws prohibiting polygamy. Either Mitt is absolutlely clueless about his own family history or he just blatantly lied for political expediency.

Him: Once more, what does Romney's great-grandfather have to do with the 2012 election?

Him: and before anyone gets up on their soapbox about same-sex marriage, I voted against the amendment as well. I just fail to see how something that Romney's ancestors did affects his qualifications as a candidate. This is a classic tactic of distraction from the left because they know their candidiate can't run on his record.

Me: Once more, the issue is that Mitt Romney lied when he said that marriage has always been defined as being between one man and one woman for the last 3000 years.

[orwell]

8. I don't let people get away with it...

...and I live in a rural area. I go into people's homes for my business. If they have Fox on I ask them to turn it off because it distracts me from my work.

I have a very good command of facts, having worked in the financial services industry in the past, and will not allow blatant falsehoods or misconceptions to go unchallenged.

People find it very difficult to argue when you know what you are talking about. I emphasize that it is incumbent upon all of us as citizens in a democratic society to work from a set of facts, not emotions. It is our duty as citizens to see through the marketing by media, politicians, or corporations and base our opinions on proven cause and effect relationships.

Even if they disagree with me we usually part friends because they can see that I am competent at what I do and I treat them with respect. They can also tell pretty quickly that I only have their best interests at heart and am not interested in them as a profit center.

Not all people can be reasoned with, but that doesn't mean we should allow people to create their own false reality based on demonstrable falsehoods.

Not many "argue" with me a second time.

[RKP5637]

21. Excellent!!! For some of your clients it's surely a learning experience, to have

assertive facts refuting their mindset. As you said, some can not be reasoned with, but I bet with some individuals it might later stir up some thoughts/questions in their own mind about what they are parroting.

[wandy]

9. I have a friend. If you went fishing with him or worked a project with him you would....

be sure he was a democrat. No, you would be sure he is a true progressive. Our world views are amazingly similar.
But noooooo. He is a dyed in the wool republican.!??!.
He can barely speak Romney's name without spitting on the ground and that is a considerable improvement over his feelings about St.santorum, and don't even mention Rick Perry. The DNC should write down that rant down word for word.
Still he will vote for Romney.
Why?
Because Obama is 'bad'. All of the foggy generalizations mentioned in the OP.

What in all hell does FOX do to these people?

[TBF]

10. I agree FOX is a big problem -

in the rural area where I grew up folks are all into " being conservative" like it's a new rock band or something. These folks, young or old, can barely pay their bills because the factory jobs are gone and they are making minimum wage at best, and they get their information from FOX and church. I really don't know how we combat that, other than demand that the FCC take those fuckers off the air. FOX should not be able to call itself news when it is clearly (bad) entertainment, and frankly I'd say the same about the churches.

[RKP5637]

22. I agree, both Fox and churches can be a bad source of information with

their mind numbing banter. So often some religions/pastors, etc. bring out the worst in people.

[Tsiyu]

34. '"Being conservative" like it's a new rock band or something'

OMG that so describes a lot of people I know IRL.

They are barely scraping by, screwed blind by employers and former employers, victims of a state legislature that is more concerned with pretending it's the Southern Baptist Convention than creating jobs, at the mercy of government programs themselves, yet it's all Obama's fault and go America and government is bad and liberals ruined everything.

Oh, for Christ's sake. "What part about conservatives de-regulating everything and that blowing up in your face did you miss?"

You can't ask that, because you get the deer-in-the-headlights look (they smugly act well-informed but they don't know jack.)

So I just say "IF Obama wasn't in office we'd all be in the streets begging for bread and rioting." They usually say, "Hmmmm."

Then I ask, "What specifically has he done or not done that you don't like?" This is such a hard question, they usually politely change the subject."

Just another day in La-la Land.

[wandy]

36. If there were only a way to get them to see......

And it's not like being in a rock band. Trust me on this one.
If you add a full coarse load and a part time job....
Playing in a band ain't as glamors as it might appear.

Who am I kidding. Do it again in a silly minute.

[jp11]

11. When you see or read experiments on behavior

people will more likely 'side' with the group than think for themselves. When an outsider 'looms/supports' one position the rest are more likely to fall to peer pressure but have that person on their own and they are more likely to think for themselves. Not all situations result in a different outcome with the pressure and without it but it is a factor.

I think most on this side are the type of people to want facts, to look things up and have a critical view to question things. People on that side are more likely to go with what they are told accepting it as fact and giving into the often used fear aspect of things being simple, black/white, as their narrator paints it. The conservative media market is perfect for this where you have people spouting off this and that theory or anecdote and everyone agrees or one-ups it with bigoted stereotypes etc. There is little if any room for grey in their black/white world as created by whoever orchestrates the narrative of what is.

I tend to think that hate/fear in general has no substance and of course when it comes to conservatives it often seems there isn't anything backing it up but a source or two that isn't reliable and known to lie/slant things etc.

[RKP5637]

23. Well said!!! n/t

[SmileyRose]

14. I see some of that as well.

but each of the people I get it from is dealing from a different point of view.

My in laws are both terrified of President Obama and were long before he elected, but they both voted Hillary Clinton in primaries. It's all about racism for those two and you could not get them to admit it even if it meant they'd live forever rich and healthy.

A lady at work is terrified of President Obama but I don't think it's only racism. For her I think it's mostly that she's the type that egged on school yard fights and chases the ambulance down the street just to see the sights. She like professional wrestling and Jerry Springer too. So parroting Hannity and Rush and Beck and Malkin is just sort of her brainless little drama queen thing.

[ErikJ]

15. My sister bet me $1000 that he would destroy country if re-elected

because NOW he wont have to worry about re-election. I think I will take her up on it. But if the stock market crashes again from another financial crisis like before or worse like I think it might, she could claim to have won.

[kentuck]

16. What she is really saying...

"Everytime in the past, when Republicans screwed up the economy, the Democrat was able to straighten out the mess. Why isn't Obama fixing the mess that was left? He is screwing our country...He isn't even trying to fix it..."

[murray hill farm]

19. I like that explaination!

Good one!

[gulliver]

20. "Give me an example."

The words Republicans fear most. Obama increased taxes? Give me an example. Obama created regulations that strangled small business? Give me an example.

Reporters can ask that question, and some actually do. So Republicans had to create their own reporters to keep that question from being asked (among others).

Most Republicans aren't thinking at all in case it isn't obvious. They are just singing in unison like cicadas. They have no concern whatsoever with the consequences. They just want to dominate.

[RKP5637]

24. "They just want to dominate." Republicans, the schoolyard bullies. n/t

[lamp_shade]

25. Ain't that the truth. A recent conversation with my sister > > >

Her: Republicans have strong "family values"
Me: So do Democrats
Her: But they're different
Me: GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE
Her: We believe that marriage s/b between a man and a woman
Me: Okay... there's one. What else?
Her: Ummm... I can't think of any right now
Me: Okay then... Do you believe in separation of church and state?
Her: Absolutely
Me: Okay... when you say "family values" do you mean "christian family values"?
Her: Yes
Me: Do you believe in prayer in public schools?
Her: Of course
Me: Do you believe legislators should be guided by christian values?
Her: Of course
Me: Hmmm... so really... you DON'T believe in separation of church and state
Her: Let's not talk politics.

[ProfessorGAC]

26. Ka Blam!

"Let's not talk politics." Yeah now that you slammed the door on her fingers. Nicely done.
GAC

[JoePhilly]

31. On the school prayer thing ask her "Who gets to write the prayer?"

And then ask ... "Can I write it?"

Then ask ... "Do we rotate the religion from which the prayer comes?"

"Or do only YOU get to write the prayer?"

And then ... assuming she's one of those who thinks teachers make too much money or are too liberal ... "Why would you want some liberal teacher that you barely know leading your child in a prayer you didn't write?"

I've tried to work out entire lines of thought on these topics just to screw with the crazies. Its fun.

[ebayfool]

27. I have an uncle that does the same thing, but he throws in the Muslim-Kenyan-take away our guns ...

for good measure. Every time I see him. I ask him him where he gets this crap, & get it's a known fact. Last time he went off like that he left room, & I started looking through his magazine by his recliner. Opened up his latest edition of the NRA mag & there it was - damned near word for word! I also learned that if I tuned in Limbaugh's little radio show on the way to his house I would arrive fully informed of the coming righteous rant. So very predictable.

[sendero]

28. Well it is true.

... that Obama did not keep his promises. However, I suspect that had he done so your neighbor would be even more pissed off.

[JHB]

29. I've tried to wedge into the wall of obFOXcation by honing in on the "lying"

"He 'made promises he never kept', you say? (confused pause) We are talking about a politician, aren't we?"

[lunatica]

30. I truly believe that the intense emotions of fear and rage are addictive

So much so that they will pursue the thing that gives them that intense high so they can feel it again. In this case it's FOX news. It blasts fear and rage 24/7. Like any other addiction it doesn't matter how much you try to fight the addiction because the nature of addiction is overwhelming. Addicts don't want to feel normal because normal isn't addictive and doesn't feel intense. They crave the intense highs of rage and fear so they will return to FOX to get their fix. And all they have to do is state some vague lying platitude to get the feeling started. That's why if you let them rant they will go on and on getting as worked up as they can.

They're not interested in facts. Facts get in the way of the fix. If loving Obama was as gratifyingly addictive as hating him they would love him. It's not the hate that drives them. It's the emotional roil it gives them that drives them.

[Surya Gayatri]

33. Good analysis, lunatica...there's definitely an adrenalin

high to their rage--flushed face, loud voice, panting breath.

They're addicted to the adrenalin and tune in daily for their fix.

My sister-in-law says she can tell when my brother's just been watching FOX.

He becomes more confrontational and aggressive and goes "looking for a fight", as she says.

[JoePhilly]

32. Fox and the right wing have used a scatter shot approach to generating fear.

For instance ... Obama can't be a Socialist, a Fascist, and a Communist all at the same time. He can't be Mao, Stalin, and Hitler all at once either .... but that doesn't matter. You call him all of those things and you don't care which one "sticks" in the mind of the listener, just so long as ONE of these things sticks.

Obama can't be a Muslim, and a angry Black Liberation Christian at the same time either. Doesn't matter, just so long as one of these things scares the listener.

He can't be both "in over his head", and also a "dictator" at the same time. Doesn't matter. Call him both over and over and hope one of them sticks.

He can't be a dumb guy pushed ahead by affirmative action, and also a Harvard educated Elitist at the same time. Doesn't matter. Call him both and hope one sticks.

So when I encounter one of these folks, I try to listen to see if I can figure out which odd set of "scary things" the particular individual has latched on to.

[Javaman]

35. I find most people who rant like that, get their news expressly from...

fox and chain mail emails.

in essance, no real news source.