I am sure it is not healthy, but is it wrong to feel

[saracat]

overwhelming hatred for the freepers? Except for very few I can no longer stomach repuglicans. I can't deal with Bush supporters at all. I have a dinner group I belong to that has mostly repugs in it. I have known these people for 14 years and I am considering dropping out. Many may be voting for Bush. I don't think I can be civil. I used to engage in friendly, debate but I don't think I can any longer. I hate these people. Anyone think this is wrong?

[RummyTheDummy]

1. Ahh that's nothing to be ashamed of

I not only hate freepers, I sometimes have violent thoughts about what I'd like to do to some of them.

I make it a point not to keep Republican friends. As of now, I have none. Before 2000, I had half a dozen.

[saracat]

3. Me, too! (blush!)

[NNadir]

25. I am filled with Rage towards them.

I can't help it, healthy or not.

They have destroyed my country. If I can't hate that, what can I hate?

[murielm99]

2. No.

They set the tone. They declared the war against America with the hate radio, Fox News and religious meddling. They overthrew our government in 2000.

We are fighting back. The are the enemy.

If and when our country is back on track, it might be time to start over and heal. That is, if they apologize for all that they have done!

[Ladyhawk]

4. I hear you on this.

I don't want to hate these people, but I'm getting to the point where I can't STAND to be around them. Unfortunately, almost everyone I know is voting *, including my entire family. I feel misanthropic. I don't even like being around people anymore because my town is heavily right-wing. I feel like I'm stuck in the wrong town, in the wrong family at the wrong point in history.

[spooky3]

14. I feel for you. Any chance you can move? I moved several

years ago for reasons having nothing to do with politics. But having lived almost my whole life in one of two heavily Repug cities, I was very pleasantly surprised at what a difference it makes to live in a city that is not.

[Nay]

19. Same here, Ladyhawk! I'm surrounded, except my immediate

family (husband and son) are total Dems. But everywhere else, like at work, freepers are everywhere. I have only a couple of people I can relate to, the rest are Koolaid drinkers. I have no respect for them, and I think that they, as stupid as they are, have a good chance of ruining this country for good with their robotic love of Bush and whatever idiot church they attend. It's maddening, because I have never before felt like this about people who are politically different. Now, I can't stand them.

[Ladyhawk]

44. For me, it hurts like hell to feel this way.

My erstwhile choral director supports *. Because of this, I just could not bring myself to be in chorus this semester. I thought he was my friend, but he betrayed my trust last October (long story). Now all I see is the brainwashed, Kool-Aide-drinking fundamentalist / Shrub-supporter. I ask myself, how could I ever have trusted this man? Why did I tell him some of my innermost thoughts and feelings? What the hell was I thinking? He used his knowledge of me to try to turn me back to the dark side and now I'm furious.

But the other night when my friend from Canada was in such emotional pain, I had to contact someone to help me get in touch with her, so I called his house. That made me realize just how alone I really am. When the shit hits the fan, I don't have anyone I can rely on and that stupid asswipe, Emperor Bunnypants, must bear part of the blame for uniting us so thoroughly against one another.

Meanwhile, my KKKristian KKKoalition mother is visiting other Kool-Aide drinkers in Springfield, Missouri. She goes every year. Sometimes I wish she would just stay there, maybe take the Republican citizenship of our red county with her so I can live in peace.

God, I'm pissed.

Maybe once the election is over we can stop being so angry at one another. I hope so. I really don't like feeling this way. I'm especially pissed because someone stole my John Kerry bumper sticker last night. Every time I approach my car, I wonder if there will be damage.

Cold Civil War? Brother against brother? You bet. :mad:

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

5. I'm not a good one to ask.

About the only good thing about not being full-time employed is not having to deal with the Bush supporters I used to work with. The nasty fucks who email "jokes" about Democrats, and you just have to shrug them off because the game is all about making you lose it. The ones who turn office parties or drinks with the client into painful endurance tests by turning the talk to politics, knowing the big bosses will agree with their ugly assessments. Even the most understated defense gets you branded that most dangerous of all employees, a "troublemaker," but you just can't sit there and take it. If I hadn't already been laid off I'd have been fired by now for kicking someone in the nuts. It'll be easier to find a job after Kerry is elected, and easier to work at one, too.

[GetaKungFuGrip]

27. My situation, exactly!

I got ambushed by my "big" boss the other.
He was pissed about Bush losing.
I can't wait to see how he feels after Nov 2!
I won't even dignify anyone with a response after Nov 2 - I can't wait!

[FizzFuzz]

6. I don't think its wrong

I don't like what its doing to my equilibrium, but its normal to feel huge hatred for this group of people who blindly support power mongers who lie, cheat, steal, kill and get a free pass for it in the media. Its not hatred based on some kind of superficial prejudice, its anger directed against a very dangerous threat, and the freepers who can't see it don't understand what it will do to us all. And of course, if they outnumbered us, handed SmirkCo power and then found all of us standing in the middle of Scorched Earth 4 years from now, you just KNOW they wouldn't even see their part in creating it.

The hate I feel is a combination of protective reaction--I don't want this country and me and my friends and even people I don't know to be ruined; helplessness in the face of a huge propaganda machine; frustration at the massive amounts of ignorance.

My Humble Opinion, respectfully submitted

[depakid]

7. No, it's perfect normal to hate them

I don't associate with ANYONE like that. Period. These types are simply not people I want or need in my life. As much as anything, it's a character issue.

[secular_warrior]

8. No - I feel cleaner.

I actually can't stand the swing voters friends/associates who are voting for Bush more, because it bewilders/angers me how seemingly intelligent and rational people could be sucked into the fear mongering.

As far as Repub friends/associates go - I've distanced myself from most of them. There is an awkwardness there. I still have a few Repub friends, but they are moderate, and we tend not to discuss issues/ideology, just the superficial "horserace" aspects of the election/politics.

It's gotten to the point where I have special dislike for each different group of Bush supporters, e.g. - "security moms", "snotty rich kids", "wallmart trash", "angry white guys", "chickenhawks", "biblethumpers", etc.

I think many Americans are going through this - our country is so polarized. There are two Americas - red and blue. It's sometimes difficult to see the humanity in these people.

What it comes down to is this: it's too difficult for me to watch the neo-fascist takeover of my country while these nitwits give Chimp the power to do so.

[illuminaughty]

9. You are not alone

My anger has been overwhelming recently. I have basically told friends that the gloves are off. I'm not coddling these fucking assholes anymore. Because in my mind, it is now being complicit in murder. I can't stand to think of the suffering going on in the world because these fucking freepers can't read a book. Their ignorance is now criminal. They have the Internet at their fingertips (unlike the situation in Nazi Germany) and just a small amount of research uncovers our criminal behavior. I mean not only should they not be voting for this admin., they should be indicting them for war crimes.

You can no longer say "I was just following orders" or "We didn't know".

I lived in Europe and the Middle East and I miss that mentality immensely. And these dickheads here actually think they are superior to the rest of the world. My cousin's new boyfriend (total idiot freep)said that "America is the only country with the moral integrity to police the world" My jaw dropped at least a foot.

I advise you to not only get angry, get even. Whew! That felt good

[LDS Jock]

15. that almost made me choke

"America is the only country with the moral integrity to police the world"

Scary.. VERY SCARY :scared:

[leftofthedial]

10. sign of the times

it's like INvasion of the Body Snatchers

seemingly decent people have been replaced with fascist-enabling morons.

[Sugarbleus]

11. Add me to this list too...

In my 55 years, I've NEVER seen such division in politics. I lived throught the 60's...that was wild but it was "different". What we have now is much more serious on so many levels.

In the last month or so it finally dawned on me that the fault isn't only with one man named Bush............................it's the PEOPLE who voted for and continue to support him to this very day. The extreme ones who simply cannot see what the problem is and who "justify" any immoral behavior by Bushco..."lying justifies the ends, War is Peace. THEY are AS EQUALLY GUILTY as the Huckster-n-crowd in the White House.

All this time I've been focusing my disgust at Bush, today I see that he couldn't do what he does in a vacuum. Honestly, I really don't like being this outraged, it's not good for the old body...but it IS about our survival and well being as a country and as a society and these RWers/suppporters of Bush Inc. are dragging us down a rat hole.

I can't help but feel the need to fight back...for survival, for what's correct. I try to avoid these people...so far so good. I'm actually wary of my doctor's politics or optometrist's, auto mechanic's, lawyer's etc. It's that bad. I shouldn't have to hide my politics, my thoughts just so I can get adequate service. It's just outrageous and I'm damned primed for a fight, if it should present itself.

[donkeyotay]

22. Yes, it's easy to blame bush while forgetting his supporters

I think I've exhausted the hate stage. I'm trying to understand what's happened to the American people. I always thought that, although we might disagree, we were all decent, all wanted what was best for the country. Now, I don't know what to think. I feel more bewildered than angry. The part that makes me angry is that we are all along for this ride, whether we want it or not.

[Sugarbleus]

56. I understand your assessment...

The part that makes me angry is that we are all along for this ride, whether we want it or not.<---So true. It's sort of a helpless feeling. I don't like it either.

I believe you're right about the rest of it too..in that none of us were as divided as we are today. We had our differences..we could actually laugh at each other over them. NOT today and that is alarming.

I do hope the divisions go away soon. The anger that has welled up from these divisions and bitterness is wearing me out. Hopefully it's wearing out most of the other side too.

On the one hand, I'm wound so tight with anger that I just want to bop someone over the head; yet, my deepest dearest longing is to see JUSTICE IN THE LAND and to

HAVE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS RESTORED, in all of their manifest incarnations and to

KNOW RESTFUL PEACE in my day to day existence~~~~~~~

[Booster]

54. Funny you should mention this. I stopped going to my

Republican dentist because the entire time I had my mouth full of his hands, equipment, etc., he was spouting republican shit like I was in the other room - loud. Have you ever tried to yell at someone when both their hands are in your mouth? I don't associate with ANY repugs anymore, and if Bush steals this election, I do think we will see marches like never before and more violence than we can handle.

[Sugarbleus]

55. I'm sooo glad you shared that story. I've mentioned things like

this in DU recently. It didn't get as much attention; of course we are all busy rooting for our candidate--but this stuff freaks me out!

My spouse has a doctor who is quite frankly, NUTS. The guy is so conservative (runs for local offices etc), that he "forgets" his medical practice and people like my spouse suffer. We are looking for another doc now... If this particular Doc knew my spouse was a liberal, he has the power(and the "will) to literally NOT refer him to any needed specialists! It's abominable. That's not to say all practicing professionals conduct business that way, thank goodness, but IT DOES HAPPEN and it's just not acceptable.

I applaud your decision to NOT do business with a professional that makes you uncomfortable. :thumbsup:

[OnionPatch]

12. No Way!

Life is too short to waste precious time on RW morons!

[Kat 333]

13. It is a character issue ...

When the day comes that I feel comfortable in the company of those who see absolutely nothing wrong with watching these thugs try to gut Medicare, stop the elderly and indigent from obtaining life saving drugs from Canada when, in some cases, they simply aren't available by another means, trash the environment, ATTACK an innocent nation because they have something this, so called, cowboy wants, have no remorse for the thousands upon thousands of dead men, women and children because god told him to do it ... Should that day ever come I hope someone shoots me. In the meantime I hope someone shoots them.

[LDS Jock]

16. I think we all feel this to some degree

I've just had it. I stay civil, but refuse to be silent if politics are brought up. There are people out there who "get it" and I try to associate with them. Militant right wingers I avoid just as much as if they were preaching racism.

[Dogmudgeon]

17. How To Handle Hate

Accept it, acknowledge it, and let it go. Don't be ashamed of it, but don't buy into it, either. It's a temporary imbalance of brain chemicals caused by stress. We all experience it.

Within a few years, we're going to need to show all the high-road forgiveness we can muster -- the Republicans are going to be in a state of mass humiliation from being used and then betrayed by their leaders.

By the way, I don't include Freepers and mad dogs in this -- I mean the Republican regulars like the guy who may have a Bush/Cheney bumper sticker, but no taste for hating his Democratic neighbors.

"Let it pass over you, Grasshopper."

--bkl
Zen: It's What's For Dinner

[booksenkatz]

18. I wonder how the Germans healed after Hitler?

Is there a book out there on the subject, perhaps a blueprint we can follow once President Kerry is in office?

My husband goes to Germany frequently on business, he is there right now, but he never talks politics with his co-workers. Pity. I'd love to hear what they have to say about the past and the present, but I'm told that it's a topic that no one cares to discuss.

[Dogmudgeon]

20. The German cure

The generation of Germans who elected Hitler died. And that is how Germany "got over" Naziism.

Post-war life was traumatic beyond belief. My brother once dated a girl (actually lived with her) whose mother stayed alive by selling her ass to Allied GIs in 1946, at the age of 15. There was a significant amount of informal retaliation against German citizens. A million Germans died between the end of the war and about 1947, mainly from hunger and illness.

Those who actively supported Hitler may have deserved that fate, but most of the Germans didn't. Most American conservatives aren't Freepers, either. But the entire population suffered, and badly.

Still, I don't see Bush as the American Hitler. I think our best shot to get a Hitler of our very own will come in about 15-25 years, when the "post-Peak Oil" energy crunch starts to dissolve the world economy and a lot of folks right here in the USA start to go hungry. Hitler took over Germany in a similar situation, after the disastrous post-WWI hyperinflation of 1923.

Nobody deserves to get caught in such dire circumstances; but we keep creating the causes that lead to them.

--bkl

[booksenkatz]

30. Thanks for that; hope I didn't sound hyperbolic

in my mentioning Hitler, as I agree with you completely. I was just thinking that if Germany can heal after Hitler in just 50 years or so, then surely we can heal our country after Bush. I'm just wondering how and where to start.

[Dogmudgeon]

37. How To Start

Build the world you wish to live in.

It's a big task, but we get people like Bush -- and worse, Hitler -- by neglecting the task.

Yes, it sounds pretty fluffy and polyannish, but when you're actually doing it, it's every bit as concrete as, say, being consumed with anger or fear of a world beyond your control.

Now, if only I could do that ...

--bkl

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

47. BKL has a valid, but chilling, point. The annihilation of a good chunk

of the German population as a consequence of the war that THEY STARTED (makes ya think, eh?), had a significant "cleansing" effect there...

I don't think it's beyond conceiving that the world might at some point rise up united against this country if we continue down this path.
:scared:

[Longhorn]

24. Wise words, bkl!

Hate is an intense emotion that can cloud one's judgment. When I am feeling it the most, I just let it pass and then decide what I'm going to do to change things. Action is also effective on frustration and despair.

You're right that time is on our side. I have to believe that -- I've been believing it for the past four years!

[ksoze]

21. They will be eating crow from your plate in a few weeks!

[Shadow30]

23. Have to admit I feel that to....

....its seeing what Bush and his zombie army of supporters have done to this country.I am going threw this in my own family,my oldest sister is a mindless Bush supporter that screams at anyone that disagrees with her ignorant stance.Granted I have never really gotten along with her but we could put things aside and be civil if the situation called for it in the past but not anymore.I think intelligent,progressive minded people are simply horrified to see this country being ripped to pieces in just a few short years by the current president and that horror is turning to anger.Its not a bad thing,anger can be a driving force for change.

[blondeatlast]

26. Believe this; things will probably calm down a lot once Kerry

is elected. Once there is a degree of stability here and overseas, they'll either embrace Kerry or learn to keep their pieholes shut.

Right now, they are on the defensive. They thought Kerry would be a pushover for them, and they are in "shock and awe" that he isn't.

They are also trying desperately to justify their votes in 2000, and are coming up empty.

I have some reasonable Republican friends (they are voting Kerry on economic issues, mostly :evilgrin:) and we can still argue politics, but keep it civil.

[atommom]

28. There's just so much anger coming from that group of people right now...

They're getting whipped into a frenzy by the religious right, and have (IMO) lost sight of what religion was supposed to be about in the first place. I've been seeing more and more nasty bumperstickers, homemade yardsigns, etc., and hearing a lot of irrational rage. It makes me very uneasy.

I hope this will die down after the election, and that Kerry wins. But I'm afraid that making people angry was too valuable a recruiting tool for the Rs, and I think they will continue to demonize everyone who doesn't agree with them.... whether they have the WH or not. I'd like to think that the public will wake up and realize it's been had, but I'm not optimistic on that count. :eyes:

[Fluffdaddy]

29. So many of the freepers are just Blind to the truth. They are funny.......

Sometimes. Like the first debate they was 1000% sure Kerry had cheat Notes in his pocket. When Foxnews had proof it was only a Pin. It almost killed some of them. They was so sure that had a Hot issue.

Funny ass-holds they are

[gauguin57]

31. Hate them only if you can hate Patty Hearst.

They are brainwashed, victims of Stockholm Syndrome. Poor little Freepers. A few months into the Kerry administration -- when the brainwashing isn't intense and daily, and after Rush's butt is in the slammer -- they'll be feeling muuuuuch better.

But then, they may feel so adrift WITHOUT brainwashing that they may join the "Church" of Scientology. Or revive the Symbionnese Liberation Army!

[Crunchy Frog]

49. I would not compare them with Patty Hearst.

It's not like someone kidnapped them, raped them repeatedly, kept them locked in a closet for months, and brainwashed them. Sorry, bad as Rush Limbaugh is, I can't compare having your car radio tuned to him (by your own choice) with what I described above.

They have taken the positions they have of their own free will. Unlike the Repukes, I do believe in personal responsibility. These are simply people who like to hate and have been given a green light to in our current political climate.

They are not going to come around when Kerry gets elected. If anything, they will be more angry and hatefilled then ever. They will do everything they can to undermine President Kerry and may even become physically dangerous. I expect them to be whipped into an absolute frenzy of rage and hate by the RW hatemongers whom they choose to listen to.

[cap]

32. let it go, my friend....

let it go...

I just heard a short speech by Desmond Tutu. He reminded us that Saddam Hussein is God's child; George Bush is God's child, too.

It's a really hard thing to remember at times likes these. But, it Tutu who saw all the terrible things done in South Africa can remember this, maybe lesser beings like ourselves can do so too.

Hatred only demoralizes; it does not empower. It will get in the way of you doing God's work.

[Philostopher]

33. You can put me on the 'No More Goops' list, too.

My immediate family is full of people who don't vote if they don't vote for Democrats. I have a wonderful, progressive, thoughtful husband who only disagrees with me in degree on most political topics.

Unfortunately, I married his because he's a Republican, I don't care if he eats babies, I'll vote for him family, too. I told him, "if Kerry's not on his way to the White House on Thanksgiving, I'm not going to go and listen to your cousins high-five each other and say 'flip flop' all through dinner, I'm telling you this now. I've already had to sit through tirades about how the n***ers have destroyed federal contracting and Bill Clinton should rot in hell, and frankly, I've heard about all of it I care to."

He said, "you know, for the first time in my life, I understand and I'm not sure I can do it, either."

I cannot understand, in a year like this, how a two-party marriage could possibly make it through. Personally, I never dated anybody more than once or twice whose politics differed greatly from mine -- my choice, and it's something that's important enough to me, and reflects an overall values decision on their part that's important to me -- and I used to ensure my late father, "Don't worry -- I'll never lie down in bed next to a Rebpulican!" It was a joke, but I also meant it.

Even Mr. Nownow's mother is one of those people who'd vote for a Republican if he'd been seen sodomizing a pig on television, as long as he pandered to his perceived base. I can deal with her, because she won't bring up political or cultural stuff if it's just her. She knows we'll just get up and leave.

If Kerry wins, they can say anything they want, of course -- it'll be too late for them to keep him from having a go at the mess Bush* has made of our country. I still won't like their attitude about politics, but it'll matter less to me that they're uninformed and ideological about it, because they won't have hurt my future with it.

It's difficult, especially when the electorate is polarized like this. I avoid hate by avoiding the people who touch that off inside me -- hate is too expensive for me, when it inhabits me. It costs a lot more than cutting my losses, avoiding them for now and maintaining the same level of ambivalence that's always been required to deal with 'those people' in everyday life.

[Crunchy Frog]

50. In a two party marriage,

it's probably only the make up sex that holds things together.:evilfrown:

[AntiCoup2K4]

34. I pity them more than hate them

...because my mind can't fathom the depths of STUPIDITY required to still support Junior after all he has done to fuck up this country. Nobody, not Herbert Hoover, not Poppy, not Nixon, has done so much damage to the USA in such a short amount of time. Most presidents, whether you liked them or not, you can point to at least one thing they were good at. Hell, I despised Ronald Reagan's policies and thought he did a bit of damage to the country himself, but the man did earn the name "Great Communicator" because his speeches (whomever wrote them) actually sold his product to people who otherwise wouldn't have bought it. Junior can't even handle that much.

There's no excuse for anyone to still believe a word that comes out of that unelected criminal fascist bastard's mouth, yet they do :shrug:

I suppose the "hatred" will kick in when they start whining about the results of the election.

[ljm2002]

35. Probably not healthy,

...but understandable. Actually, it *is* healthy to recognize your feelings (as you are doing); then the question is, what you will do about them. If you did not recognize them, then they would come out at the wrong place and be directed at the wrong person and that would be much worse than recognizing the root cause of your feelings.

I'd say, for now, taking a pause in your contact with the group might be a good thing. Maybe you could do it without burning bridges, and return after the election. After all, why miss an opportunity to gloat when the time comes? }(

[many a good man]

36. Freeper hatred should not be tolerated

In my personal life I refuse to be surrounded by people who hate out of selfishness, greed, and racism. It dirties my soul to be around them. I feel a compunction to put them in their place, whether or not it does any good.

Its a different story in the workplace. You are forced to work with and get along with these zealots. You have to be careful because they are likely to sabotage your work and career. I find that striking a thoughtful middle of the road pose amplifies their extremist views and makes them look unstable to others. If you repeat back them their own positions they may realize how nutty they sound. Thoughts and feelings that may be appropriate while listening to right wing hate radio is totally out of place in polite company.

I'd rather starve than sit down and eat with these pigs.

[sugargoose]

38. It's very hard to stay patient with them

I have a co-worker who has always been a good friend, but politics has been a strain for us. She refused to even comment on the first debate and has become more shrill each time we meet.

Many times, I tell her I will consider anything she has to say, but my only request is that she comment only on things she has actually watched or researched.


Our two most recent exchanges. On the rumor that the first debates were scripted (Cafferty said this on CNN based upon the "rules" and I thought he was being literal) we both agreed such nonsense was fascist. I was shocked she agreed and asked for clarification. She confirmed and stated she truly did CARE that fascism was on it's way. "But will it change your vote?" I aksed. She said no because it doesn't matter who is in charge there will be fascism. She then stated that John Kerry proposed just as many rules for the debate as *. I asked for some examples and of course she had none. She confessed she made this comment based upon a gut feeling rather than any research at all. In moments I looked it up online. BBC reported a number of Bush requests and that Kerry got it agreed that there would be no hail to the chief music or presidential seal. She both disagreed that these things should be banned and of the list of Bush's demands declared that the BBC must want Kerry to win.

On my purchase of F911: She criticized the movie and said all he did was edit small clips to say something negative. I was shocked she had seen the movie. But of course she hadn't. She was basing this statement on "reviews" she had heard. I told her that the reviews I had seen said it was essential viewing regardless of your political leanings. She announced she refused to discuss it with me anymore and called me horrible names such as Liberal and Democrat.
It reminded me of the White House Spokesman who said it was not necessary to view it to know it was full of falsehoods. Makes me so angry.....Say you refuse to see it because you are not interested or don't want to fund someone you find offensive, but don't pretend you know what you are talking about.

I don't think I can stand to talk to her again. Why do my liberal friends evaluate things fairly. Even though we think we hate *, we watched the debates with the attitude of a clean slate, and said, "convince me." We listened to what he said. We knew when he was mistating, stretching the truth, or saying something that made sense. I will never understand why for the most part, liberals are willing to make informed decisions and those on the right refuse to hear anything that is not said by *, Limbaugh, Hannity, etal.

Sometimes it makes me mad, but mostly I feel sad and hopeless and how can things ever change if they won't even consider another opinion?

[Nordic]

39. well if you're like me, one of those people is your own FATHER

My father is the most rabidly freeperesque person that I know personally.

It's scary.

We can't talk about politics or anything that might touch upon politics.

I think he's a psycho. He probably thinks I'm a psycho.

It's just bizarre as all hell.

[goddess40]

40. Stop calling them republicans they're fascists

there are some republican left but they are either not voting or voting for Kerry because * is to far out even for them.

I would worry if you didn't hate fascists.

[Iris]

41. No. Our country is sharply divided.

It boils down to how you look at the world and all the people in it. I think most republicans I know are pretty insulated and selfish. They're not interested in being part of a community other than one that is made of people who look and think and act just like they do.

So, it really boils down to what kind of people you want to spend time with. Why waste your time beating your head against a wall of stubborn selfishness?

[cheshire]

42. If you drop out please tell them why. Tell them they are hurting so many

people they are not your friends nor most of americas. I think it's time to make a stand. We get mad at Political leaders for not making a stand but do we?

[Lexingtonian]

43. This too shall pass.

Keep telling yourself "This too shall pass."

One day you'll see it for the stupidity it all was, more than malice. They'll admit as much when the delusions break down and they feel you won't punish them for it all.
But no, you can't bargain with it much. It's just too degrading to compromise to halftruths and evasions after a while. Stay away ever more often until the disease diminishes

It's the same story everywhere in American society. The conservative Establishment knows it no longer has voluntary fealty of a majority, and so the fear/hatred/divisiveness has to be upped and upped and the subservient distinguished from the autonomous in a disgusting and brutal way.

Save your serenity, your sanity, your real friends- the ones with passionate hearts and minds of free, thinking, human beings and authenticity. It's sad, but we lose most of the people around us to selfinflicted mental incapacities long before they physically die, and that is the sorrow of our social life.

[lwin]

45. I feel your pain

I live in a very conservative county in Southern California. The Dems have made significant inroads this year towards moving the voter registration numbers, so there is a little more parity. The freepers resent it, big time. We clash with them constantly and the hatred is palpable on both sides. I've had volunteers tell me that whenever they see a Shrub bumper sticker, they have an urge to ram that car...political road rage. Every weekend I have to remind the volunteers to keep their cool when they're out tabling, and to ignore the Bushies. I swear, I will not be the least bit surprised if I get a call over the next few weeks, that someone has come to blows with some freeper.

On a personal level, it is starting to cause rifts in some of my relationships. I can't wait for this election to be over with, so some healing can start.

[Oak2004]

46. I'm not sure hatred is what I feel, but I do think I'm in a war

for my nation against them. And I do think that much of what they are up to needs to be systematically destroyed. I think it is worth asking if some of these persons have committed sedition. I think every freep lawbreaker who has ever attacked, stolen, defrauded, rioted, trampled on civil rights and civil liberties, etc., should be tried and convicted of the full weight of their crimes. I think some of their organizations should be charged under RICO. I think their fundamentally antiamerican plotting, led by leaders who follow the fascist teachings of Leo Strauss on manipulating the masses with nationalism and religion to subvert democracy, needs to be discredited and exposed. I think the word "neocon" needs to be understood as a close relative of the phrase "Benedict Arnold".

These people are not the loyal opposition. I've been involved in politics a long time, most of that time as a Republican, and I know what real conservatives look like. I like real conservatives, and I've worked side by side on the issues many times with real conservatives. These are persons who want to overthrow our democratic system and wage aggressive war on the world, and they need to be dealt with as such.

[Crunchy Frog]

48. It's natural, and just remember

we didn't start it. We didn't go around accusing people of being traitors and anti-American just because they had different beliefs. We don't have spokespersons going around saying that people with different opinions should be shot, blown up, imprisoned or deported.

I'm very fortunate in that there are no Republicans in my own social circles. Just one ex-Republican who became a Democrat because he hated Bush so much.

I say that if they can engage in civil debate, or can agree to disagree and leave politics out of the social interactions, then I would go ahead and continue interacting with them. However, if they take their cues from the RW gurus like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, you have no reason to subject yourself to their company.

Of course, if they're behaving themselves and you still want to hate them just for being Republicans, that's OK too.:evilgrin: It's not easy to tolerate someone who wants fascism, even if they are civil about it.

[Free2BMe]

51. well okay..so if you believe in prayer...please..

pray for us (roomate and I) have dinner with a similar group situation in 2 hours...Hope I am not in jail in the AM...but I am getting really p..... at the people who...1. feel Bush is our best candidate or 2. don't, but-- feel sorry for the way we all have treated him so will vote for him anyway...Barf!!!

[wildeyed]

52. I have a similar problem.

I don't hate the pug friends, exactly, but I am frustrated and disappointed in their behavior. Some background, none of these people actually like Bush. Policy by policy they are actually fairly liberal. But they grew up in pug households and tend to vote conservative even though it does not reflect their current beliefs.

In past elections, I have let my views be know and let it drop. Not this time. Too much at stake. And I truly believe that Iraq war is immoral, people are dying and I can't just sit by and let them mindlessly put this president back into office. So I argue. But they persist. I don't know that I can be friends with people who would mindlessly put a murderer in office rather than vote for a democrat and challenge their belief system.

I hope that if a democratic president sucked as bad as Bush does, I would have the sense not to vote for him.

[diabhal]

53. I'm not even American and I feel exactly that way!

The more I watch and read the more I hate Republicans. The thing without doubt galls me the most is the 1984 society they have managed to create. The bare faced lies, Fox News, the talk show hosts, O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, the doublethink, the promotion of the that "certainty", aka ignorance, is strength.... I could go on and on.

They make me so angry. Hopefully when Kerry gets in the Republicans will pull back from their extremism. Then the polarisation of American society might be stopped.

[Pax Argent]

57. Hatred doesn't solve anything

We fear their resolution to follow a flawed ideology and the damage it wreaks. We tire of their smug sanctimoniousness and simultaneosly pity and fear for them for the eventual fall that their pampered lunacy will bring. As an ironic observation, the more compassionate ones feel the same way about us. The less compassionate see us as another enemy to overcome (again, just like us).

Their routine abuse of those things we hold dear (social justice, truth, the duty of the strong to protect and not exploit the weak, etc.) in the name of assuaging their fears coupled with the real fear of what they are turning our world into makes it is hard to feel kinship to them, but the thing to remember is it is their fears that have pushed them to this as surely as ours have pushed us to feeling the need to rise in opposition.

Conservatives take pride in being Conservatives. The title is like a security blanket. It makes them feel better about the things they fear in the world and in themselves. They used to make me angry before I understood them. Now I mostly pity them.

My feeling is that the fear that I hear here is not so much based on actual hurts (other than feelings). The fear I sense here is that we have lost these people that we love and who have loved us. I try to hold in my heart that they will come back to us or we will come to them. No war lasts forever.

[Borgnine]

58. Sadly, yes.

And I hate myself for hating them. Whenever I see a Bush/Cheney '04 bumpersticker, a white oval W '04, a Bush yard sign, and so on... I get so angry. I don't understand these people anymore, and I live in a strongly conservative town. I'm ready to make the move to a blue state and a blue city once I'm done with college.

I fear we're just becoming too polarized. Soon we'll all be taking sides and moving elsewhere, and that's when Civil War 2: Electric Bugaloo goes down.

[DemExpat]

59. I have real trouble with this as well....

sorry to admit, because on one level it feels right and justified, but on another it feels very wrong, disillusioned and bigotted to hate others for their p.o.v......

I hate the feeling of hate! :grr:

I have no answer for this uncomfortable dilemma...

:-( :-( :-(

DemEx

[nonconformist]

60. I reached a boiling point a couple of months ago and had to take a hiatus

I had to take a break from the news, only marginally keeping up for awhile, because my rage over everything had completely encompassed my life. I couldn't go to the store anymore without looking at people and wondering if they were Bush supporters. My best friend, who was always a liberal democrat had turned into a Bush supporter thanks to her ignorant husband and FOX News - they're the "America is best, let's just kick everyone's ass" variety and they're completely uninformed which is the one of the worst types. I honestly don't know how they even feel now, because I cut off contact with them and have been avoiding them for months. I was feeling increasingly isolated and in a constant state of anger.

I have to say though, my hiatus didn't really help that much. I'm lucky in that my entire family hates Bush and is voting for Kerry (lifelong democrats), so I do have that. But I also live in a red state and I'm surrounded by fundies and the just plain ignorant types explained above.

I know it's not healthy, but there's nothing I can do to stop the rage I feel for the people that enable Bush. I used to be able to debate cordially and in a friendly manner. I used to be able to not let political views get in the way of my personal relationships with people. I used to prescribe to the politics/religion rule. I can't do this anymore - we're so polarized and the anger, frustration and pain is too much.

The Freepers are the worst, and I for one am gleefully looking forward to watching their meltdown when Kerry is declared the winner.