Does your family think you are nuts?

[ginnyinWI]

Having the kids home for Christmas, I've received a few negative comments about my checking in on this blog and still holding out hope for some sort of vindication of the election. I was just wondering if others have been accused of being in the tinfoil hat brigade? My daughter thinks I should "get a life"--that's what she meant anyway, but said it more kindly.
My reply was that "nobody else around here wants to talk about politics or the election, so I go where I can read and discuss it".

It's hard to give up and move on, not after so much emotional investment in this election! And especially because it doesn't appear to be really over--yet anyway! It's hard to just walk away and say, oh well, the bad guys won again. Also, now that John Kerry is my hero, I watch and wait for small scraps of info about him!

Thoughts? I'm not nuts, right Kerrycrats? :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat:

[sandnsea]

1. Yes and no

They like when they need to know what some political thing is about and that I usually know. They like that I care. My daughter said yesterday that it's just peculiar to think about people in this world actually starving when we have so much food. That's quite "enlightened" for her, lol. My oldest is as political as I am, so he certainly doesn't think I'm crazy. My youngest doesn't care, as long as I'm happy. My husband was very political during the campaign, I think he's very discouraged right now. They hold out a little hope on the election and ask for updates occasionally. But when I get very upset about something and want them to join me in writing letters and stuff, then they think I'm nuts. Except the oldest.

[TayTay]

4. I get asked stuff all the time too by family

Then asked to go back into my 'closet of knowledge.' When I get interested in someone politically I tend to seek out written material on them. It's just my nature (which I guess means I couldn't not do it LOL!)

This reminds me of a story (true, honest to Gawd.) About a dozen years ago, my sister met John Kerry at a sports reception in Boston. Only, my sister is a 'political non-combatant' and had no idea who he was. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place him. So she went up to him and started talking. (She's bolder than I am as well.) She got into a discussion about politics, a subject she knew next to nothing about. Her talking points consisted of 'all politicians are bad and evil and full of bs.' She then asked the inevitable "Who are you?" question. Sen. Kerry was very gracious about it and my sister had a good laugh. They actually talked for about 45 minutes. (Theater, Boston, sports, general info, etc.) She said he was quite warm and funny and easy to talk to, even for non-combatants.

So the next day, my sister called me at work and related her story, which completely cracked me up. She then asked me the inevitable question that I knew was going to come because I am 'the font of all knowledge' in my family. "So, he's a Senator, right," she asked. "Yeah", pause on my side. "So, ahm, what does he do exactly?" I had to put the phone down because I was shaking with laughter and I didn't want her to think I was making fun of her. I picked the phone up again and replied, "Well, he Senates." I couldn't figure out a quick two sentence way of telling what US Senators do, so I finessed it. She was satisfied. Upshot of the story, my sister started watching C-Span once in a while and could actually now recognize one US Senator. Sigh!

It's not so bad to be a reference point for others. They actually appreciate it. They just don't want to invest the time themselves to acquire actual knowledge. They might miss their favorite TV show.

[angrydemocrat]

6. OMG! LMAO!

Just the thoughts of Kerry standing there listening to her can you imagine him LOL I bet he wanted to laugh because you know he had to think it was funny her saying that to him and not realizing who it was! I laughing so hard you must have a wild sister. I'm not that lucky all I got is brother's and trust me that stinks at times. Has she seen him since then? That could happen to anybody it really could but it being Kerry and being from MA. I would have thought she would have known. Omg that is so funny. I would have love to been standing there and seen his face and heard what he said. LMAO

But Kerry is a wild man in his own way and he's not the type I don't think to ever get upset over anything like that. From what I know about him he probably enjoyed listening to your sister and just let her rattle on until she finished and wanting to laugh because he realizes your sister has no idea who he is LOL! Well I must say I needed a good laugh today and here comes Tay Tay to the rescue again! Thanks.

[TayTay]

8. That story is actually legendary in my family

It came up in reference a lot this year because of the national election. It was truly funny. I learned two things from that long-ago encounter; 1) Kerry must have a pretty good sense of humor cuz he sure suffered that fool well and, 2) my sister really needs to crack a newspaper once in a while. Honestly, some people.

The absolute tale end of that story is that my sister called me up this year during the first debate. (She now lives in Colorado.) She was crowing that she 'knew' the guy who was going to be the next Pres. I was totally pissed that she interrupted me during the debate, especially the joyousness that was the first one. "This is like my SuperBowl, don't call me now. Second, I really doubt he would remember your encounter." Odd what people remember.

Glad you liked the story. I have laughed over it numerous times with my Sis. And she really did begin to take an interest in the larger world, so it was a good thing.

[seito]

2. All I can say is you are in good company

Nuts perhaps,

:tinfoilhat: definitely

But take pride in being among the enlightened 20% of Americans.

It really is up to us to fight for the values that we hold dear. If we give up the fight, then who is left?

If John Kerry is joining in this fight tomorrow, as I believe he is, then we are in good company indeed.

Kerry on Kerrycrats

No Retreat No Surrender

[angrydemocrat]

3. Most of my family thinks I'm nuts.

My mom was a Kerry supporter and still likes Kerry and says that if he was to ever run again she would definitely vote for him again. But she tells me and my daughter all the time that I need to except the fact it is over and there is nothing I can do to change it regardless of what happen. I tell her she is full of it LOL. And then she will start on me about I might as well be except Chimp because he is our president for another four years wether we like it or not and that I'm to addicted to this stuff and my computer and I'm being a bad influence on my daughter who is just like me. I tell her all the time if she wants to except that illiterate dumbass as her president so be it but I don't care what happens I will never acknowledge the bastard as a president. I never have in the past and I'm sure as hell not starting now.

The people of this country didn't elect that dumbass in 2000 or 2004. And it is a cry and dirty shame that this whole country is starting to be looked at as a bunch of illiterate dumbasses for electing one to the rest of the world. I know that they realize there was alot of us that voted for Kerry but they don't look at that with all the problems Chimp has caused and still causing. And I will never except that asshat as president of this country.

So yes I get told all the time I'm nuts, crazy, stupid, ect. by different members of my family and it truly gets old. Even my daughter and I have talked about how it is starting to remind us of some of the asshat backstabbers. My daughter gets mad all the time over it. It is hard to ignore when it is members of your own family doing it.

So don't fell bad. I think we are all getting it from all directions. I'm just glad I have a place to come talk to other Kerrycrats like me. Because if I had to depend on my family it would be a joke other than my daughter.

[Patsy Stone]

5. No

My family all believes that * must go. I went to visit them and my cousin (a scientist, older than I) freaked me out by checking kos and asked what I found here on DU while I was there. It was beautiful. Also, that "I'm talking into my tie now," News conference was on while I was there and my 81 year old Aunt was screaming at the TV and call him an A-hole.

There are friends who believe I am still "suffering" and the fact that I have lost weight (which they used to applaud) has now become "You've got to get over it." Except that I don't speak to them about it, so, that's only their assumption. I have been eating like a pig, so don't worry, I'm not on a hunger strike. :)

They have seen stories in the NYT, but they don't have the imagination to believe that anything could be wrong if they don't see it on the TeeVee. What can ya do?

[bush_is_wacko]

7. Yeah, I've heard a little of the same.

It's OK though. I am willing to admit that I spend too much time making sure I don't miss this or that petition or suit filing. I just nicely reply, I won't have to be so diligent forever, just until I find out where this is going. If I find out this is going no where, I am not going to take it very well though.

I hope this time something is done regarding the election process. I can't believe how many people don't realize we HAVE to do something NOW! I would love to see the end result be Kerry in the WH, but I can live with complete and total election reform.

[TayTay]

9. I truly sense a tipping point

Election reform is coming, I truly think so. We have allowed elections to be under local control for so long and just assumed the best. I really feel that 2000 (however frustrating it was for us Dems) was the tiny stones sliding down the mountain that precede an avalanche. I think that Blackwell's heinous actions will be thrust into a spotlight and that this will be used for genuine reform. (Okay, I'm an optimist.) And Kerry's filing today will add credence to the accusations of fraud. Gawd, this isn't just fraud. This involves the elction of the Pres of the US! It's treason.

[bush_is_wacko]

10. It is treason, but how many Americans

realize that? Have American's really gotten to a point where they are willing to accept treason from the man who holds the most powerful position in the world? If they have, this is no longer my country. Even if my relative was one of the original drafters of the Constitution, I cannot stay in a country that allows two stolen elections jsut because it is too much work to investigate.

[ginnyinWI]

13. I just can't understand how they are allowed to lie so much

Bush lied, Cheney lied, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Hannity lied, heck they all lied lied lied from start to finish! How is that allowed in a campaign? They said black is white, up is down! They turned their own failures on their heads, and turned John Kerry's successes upside down! And the people believed, oh how they believed. It seems the people who scream the loudest, with the most hatred, seem the most credible. They were given a pass on all of their failures. All they had to do was scream that the media was against them (another lie) and all of the facts immediately became suspect.

Sorry for the rant--it is just so frustrating! Besides election fraud, they have the abliity to command the media, get air time for the biggest blowhard liars to do their dirty lying work.

How can an honest man win? How ever did John Kerry almost win the election, given all that was against him? Because he was that good. The people who voted for him did so despite the media hype, because they could see that he was a good man. Sigh. So I guess I end up with some hope for the future of this country--that the truth will be heard some day, and that enough people will open their eyes and realize that they have been had.

[LittleClarkie]

14. I know, even factcheck.org was getting frustrated

They had to debunk the same lie about 3 or 4 times. But that never stopped the Bush Co. They just repeated the lie again.

With everyone repeating the same lie ad nauseum, and no one repeating the truth. And yes, how did we come so close (and if you believe the fraud, how did we win) I do believe they had to suppress and flip a mighty lot of votes to make Bush come out ahead.

How weird is it ultimately that Bush won the popular vote and yet only won by one state? Does this show us that the electoral college must go? Or is it just one more irregularity amongst a sea of irregularities?

I keep thinking that Bush may be able to miscount and suppress the vote, but that doesn't make the people themselves to away. If we're right, then a majority of people voted for Kerry. Swapping votes won't make those people go away. Average folk I encounter call Bush Hitler and believe the election was stolen (esp. the one with relatives in Ohio). If things get any weirder, it should be interesting to see how many get active. I've already heard a ton of people say this was their first election ever for getting involved.

It still breakes my heart to think what might have been.

Aw, gawdamnit! :cry:

[bunny planet]

11. In a word, yes. My family thinks I'm nuts to be spending so much time

on politics. My husband really liked Kerry and voted for him but he is so busy at work he's not really paid that much attention since election day. He does ask me what's going on sometimes. I work from home so it's easier for me to check in and find out what's happening.

My kids are too young to be very political although my son (12) really is concerned and upset that * might be our president again. I have decided that DU is good for my sanity, and it keeps me from pestering my friends and family to talk about it. I just talk to those who want to talk about it. I email articles and information to friends and family and turn quite a few on to DU. It is difficult sometimes to be viewed as a Reynold's Wrap Head.

Fact is, that I've needed DU to maintain my sanity after this election, and to get me through the coronation of His Fraudulency (if it happens!)

I love John Kerry (and I haven't even watched Going UpRiver yet). When things get too contencious even at DU, I go to the John Kerry group for a shot in the arm. The 'I believe' thread gets a read through at least twice a week.

Sometimes I do feel like an alien

within my group of non-political family and friends. DU keeps me going. I feel that everything I'm educated about here, and every action I take because of what I learn here is ultimately helping my family though, so that also keeps my chin up.

[NamVetsWeeLass]

12. nope you're not Nuts....

:tinfoilhat:

[WildEyedLiberal]

15. No, my family loathes * thank God

I believe I utter the phrase "I hate Bush" at least 20 times a day to my mother. She agrees. She also knows how much I love John Kerry. She loves him too, though maybe not quite as much as me ;)

[vinessa4freedom]

16. Mixed nuts

some of us are liberal. My sister and her husband, niece and her husband, my hubby's parents. Most don't pick sides but just generally hate Bush because...well, the list would be way too long. Then we have our cousins, who are not only right, but extremely supportive of the dominionist agenda, and beyond converting the planet to Christianity they have little aim. Except to pray for me of course, because obviously I'm in league with the devil for my left views. :evilgrin:

They think I'm nuts, but I know they're nuts, and there you have it, er--in a nutshell?

[whometense]

17. Your story is pretty much mine, Ginny.

My family all hate *, all voted for Kerry. My daughter and I volunteered for the campaign, saw Kerry in person several times, and she and my older son went to Philadelphia with ACT on election day to help get out the vote.

But they're all kind of ignoring the whole thing now. No one in my family is watching the news. I don't blame them in a way - afraid to get their hopes up again, I think. That is the most sinister effect * has had, in my opinion, squashing peoples' hopes.

I'm the most devoted Kerry fan in the house, though - I've known him the longest - met him, in fact, when he was running for Lieutenant Governor. I've always thought he's be a great president. No one here disagrees with me, they're just tired from this fight and feel it's hopeless. Around the house I'm seen as obsessed but harmless, and I guess that's pretty accurate from their point of view. I love coming here where people understand.

[MandateThis]

18. I'm up on the issues just as much as b4 the election but now...

my husband who also doesn't like shrub man, doesn't listen anymore when I tell him what they're doing to our country on a daily basis. Low pressure point. Men are sooooo weak sometimes! He says it's too sad and can't hear it anymore.....isn't that what Rove wants? Well, Hubby will know what's up when the repugs come for us. I've been writing stuff on the internet!!! They want us to go away and get over it. I refuse. My two sisters and two brothers are bush followers. I'm the oldest and the smartest. My parents are liberals who sold their computer. So they get news from me. They know the media is corrupt.