Does your dislike of Republicans sometimes turn to hatred?

[zanana1]

I have to admit that mine does at times. When I calm down, the hatred leaves me, but I have to behonest and admit that it is there sometimes.

Be honest. Do you never hate?

[RKP5637]

1. Yes! n/t

[xultar]

2. Yes. I will admit when I hear someon is a republican i instantly dislike them.

When I see republicans on the neews I get a blind rage.

I hate them. I really do. The racist bastards.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. Aint no time to hate.

Barely time to wait.

[dimbear]

4. Meg Whitman.

Used to sell on ebay. She is using my money to try to enslave me. Hate, that's the word.

[Warren DeMontague]

9. I'm just telling you what works for me, or what I aspire to.

I find "hate" counter-productive. If nothing else, it is something of an impediment to clear-headed action.

But, as always, YMMV.

[zanana1]

28. I'm no robot. nt

[Warren DeMontague]

46. That's a relief.

Or something.

[enough]

5. When that happens, I leave the computer and go outside and stay out. (nt)

[Polly Hennessey]

6. Republicans

No, but total disgust. I can not understand how some can vote on emotion and low information or just falling for the latest Repub sound bite. I wish people would take the time to find out what the facts and the truth are. Most of all, I am having a difficult time understanding how some Republicans care so little for most Americans and only what they can gain dollar wise.

I guess I sound like a PollyAnna. Maybe there was a reason my mom named me Polly - mothers are so smart.

[Quantess]

7. Not really.

I figure most are either ignorant and confused, or (extremely rarely) they are directly benefiting from the republican policies. Most of them aren't wealthy enough to gain from republican policies, though.

[Dappleganger]

8. Only certain ones...

who started wars, lied to Congress and approved the torture of other human beings.

The rest just make me nauseous.

[JuniperLea]

10. I know several Republicans that I love and/or respect...

Some are Goldwater Republicans, and I can live with that easily enough. Some are TeaBaggers (GOTP) but they are family, and I love them unconditionally. One is my boss, and other than the Pubbie weirdness, he's one of the nicest, most intelligent people I know.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. repubs? Yes, I dislike them. But also some Dems, mainly because they should know better

[Cosmocat]

12. befuddlement ...

I am at a complete loss to explain it ...

I do have VERY strong negative feelings toward 99% of the Washington elected Rs, and the profiteers who make a mint spinning their crape ...

But, I know and am friends with more Rs than Ds, and I can say I know countless REALLY good people who are Rs, and it is a complete mystery to me how really smart, really kind and decent people fall into line in that party ...

I just do not get it ...

[MrSlayer]

13. I actively hate all elected Republicans and a lot of elected Democrats too.

There is no "sometimes" about it. I hate those motherfuckers because they hate me. I have no problem with hatred directed toward the right people.

[speedoo]

14. My hatred for republicans occasionally eases to intense dislike.

But then I see one of them talking and I come back to my senses.

[maxsolomon]

15. i used to be disgusted, now i try to be amused...

i hate the following:

1. george w. bush
2. dick cheney
3. GOP propagandists
4. GOP politicians
5. GOP money men

basically, i hate narcissists. i don't hate the republican masses, as some of them are my relatives. i regard them as gullible, deluded pawns with feudal mentalities - they think like serfs.

[The Magistrate]

16. Anyone Who Does Not Hate Republicans, Ma'am, Is Not Paying Attention

Or else harbors a deep hatred for the United States....

[11 Bravo]

58. My 85 year old mother is a Republican, Sir, and while I disagree with her ...

I most assuredly do not hate her. And I can guarantee you that I am paying attention.

[The Magistrate]

72. Quoting Scripture, Sir, Can Be Fun, As Well As Apt....

"For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."

[11 Bravo]

94. Hell, Sir, I didn't know you were a Fundamentalist Christian. As one who respects all beliefs ...

I pray I have not offended you.

[WilliamPitt]

17. Sometimes?

[WilliamPitt]

Sometimes?

[11 Bravo]

60. Dude, I know you were gone for a while, but trust me, your post count is still high.

(Fuck me with a pitchfork, but I can't pass up a shot at cheap snark, even at the expense of one of my favotite DUers.)

[WilliamPitt]

77. Argh!

Just got home from work and checked "My DU"...and damn if my one-word snark reply didn't breed.

...and earn me a zing in the process.

;)

:toast:

[WilliamPitt]

18. Sometimes?

[independent_voter]

19. the more you hate republicans, the easier is is for your own party to play you and sell you out

From Animal Farm, by George Orwell, written in 1945

below is a perfect example of what i'm talking about

(Jones was the farmer ousted by the animals, who now run the farm, for 'themselves' (pigs?))

The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. It was mixed
every day into the pigs' mash. The early apples were now ripening, and the
grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls. The animals had assumed
as a matter of course that these would be shared out equally; one day,
however, the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected
and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs. At this some of
the other animals murmured, but it was no use. All the pigs were in full
agreement on this point, even Snowball and Napoleon. Squealer was sent to
make the necessary explanations to the others.

"Comrades!" he cried. "You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing
this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike
milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these
things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by
Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the
well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and
organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over
your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those
apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones
would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades," cried
Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his
tail, "surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?"

Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it
was that they did not want Jones back. When it was put to them in this
light, they had no more to say. The importance of keeping the pigs in good
health was all too obvious. So it was agreed without further argument that
the milk and the windfall apples (and also the main crop of apples when
they ripened) should be reserved for the pigs alone.

[independent_voter]

26. I was out in radio wasteland years ago, and heard Christian talk radio

and the discussion was about whether christians were being played by the Republican party

the view was that republicans talked a good game on social issues and abortion etc, but on the issues that affected their daily lives, they were being sold out to corporations, that you cant have a stay at home mom, or any 'family life' when both parents are working 60 hours a week - that in reality the republicans arent family friendly at all (on the flip side, what good is gay marriage if both of you lose your jobs to free trade and cant afford a wedding? - it's the same thing - or if you have to work so many hours you're to tired to do anything? no slaves are free)

if fundamentalist christians are smart enough to realized they're being played and sold out, why cant 'sophisticated' democrats see the same thing?

BOTH parties have sold out their base on free trade, outsourcing, guest workers (h-1b visa) etc, and keep people who actually AGREE on a lot of things divided by superstitions about an imaginary donkey and elephant

[Towlie]

20. The Good (us), the Bad (Republican leaders), and the Stupid (Fox News fans).

There are rich, shrewd, greedy, and unscrupulous Republicans who lead the party and who deserve to be hated, and then there are the Republicans who listen to Beck and Limbaugh, and believe everything they hear. It's certainly okay to hate someone for being evil, but it's really not right to hate someone for being stupid. People are born that way and it's not their fault.

I'm proud that I hate the Republican leaders and their propaganda ministers, but I'm not so proud that I hate the naive and gullible people who follow them.

[spin]

21. Hatred accomplishes nothing ...

and it's a poison.

Dislike is an easier and far less damaging emotion to live with.

[zanana1]

27. Well, I wish I could just "dislike" them...

But I don't dislike them. I hate them. They're constantly trying to destroy other people. I don't think there's a place for mere "dislike" here and I think that alot of people aren't truthful about the way they really feel.

[spin]

62. I learned a long time ago not to hate ...

it clouds your vision just as anger hinders your ability to win a fight.

Some quick quotes on hate...

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less. ~Eldridge Cleaver, Soul on Ice, 1968

You lose a lot of time, hating people. ~Marian Anderson

[COLGATE4]

22. Yes. Often. nt

[slackmaster]

23. I don't dislike anyone based solely on their party affiliation

I judge people on how they treat others, and how they treat animals.

[kjackson227]

24. I have to try REALLY, REALLY HARD not to hate these people...

so I try to counter-act these feelings by becoming pro-active.

[zanana1]

32. I'm pro-active.

It makes me hate them more.

[IndianaJoe]

25. All the time. I usually have a smoldering rage

going 24/7. Really. How can you not hate them?

[thunder rising]

29. Not since the 2000 selection of GWB. I've hated them continuously since.

[zanana1]

30. I think that's when the cultural split happened.

Republicans came to a point where they could show us what they really were. In their book, hatred of others is OK, so what goes around comes around.

[csziggy]

99. No, my dislike of Republicans began with Nixon

But fully matured into hatred with Reagan.

[csziggy]

98. Bingo!

[damntexdem]

31. No, not sometimes. I would say that it is almost constant hatred.

To be honest, I never never hate, and I often sometimes hate. ;-)

[backscatter712]

33. You say that like it's a bad thing... n/t

[hwmnbn]

34. Yes... some more than others.

[sfwriter]

35. Yes, if they are wrong, the result is death and depravation...

...if I am wrong, the result is higher prices.

The constant casual disregard for the consequences and reality threaten me.

I have been directly threatened by conservatives for holding different views.

I have had my friends shot at by conservatives and have to have a mental action plan in case of a shooting every Sunday because of these nutbags.

Conservatives argue from ignorance and then cite that as a virtue.

Conservatives are anti-science. Last week I heard one say, "I don't want to pay for any government studies. That just leads to more science!" She got a standing ovation.

Conservatives hate cooperation in any form. Last week one said, "All grants are theft either at the point of a gun through taxes or through the coercion of your PROGRESSIVE tax policies."

Hate is a harsh word, but I struggle to simply endure them. Being actively NASTY generally gets a reflection in kind.

[zanana1]

36. I once asked a therapist to help me deal with the hatred...

She said she couldn't help me because she felt the same way. Now, I don't expect a therapist to act like a priest or a spiritual person who doesn't approve of hatred in any form, but you have to admit that if a therapist can't help you because they also hate Republicans, there has to be something to it.

[independent_voter]

37. I asked a therapist to help me overcome a hatred of one person and it worked

because i ended up hating the therapist even more

(joke)

[deaniac21]

101. I think I'd just have to admit that I had a terrible therapist.

[independent_voter]

38. Democrat hatred of Replicans makes them appear blind to the Democrats own flaws to people who see

serious problems with both parties

[IndianaJoe]

49. Well, I hate Lieberman, Nelson, Lincoln and Landrieu too

So my rage isn't totally one-sided.

[ladjf]

39. I don't hate the Republicans, I just disrespect them. nt

[Mz Pip]

40. Contempt mostly

I think the Republican I've come the closest to hating is Cheney since his lies cost so many lives. I'm sort of beyond comtempt for him.

[bvar22]

41. No.

That would be like hating a dog for being a dog.
I expect Republicans to behave like Republicans.

Now, when Democrats behave like Republicans.....

[HopeHoops]

42. No. It is pretty much stuck on that.

[madrchsod]

43. nah...i gave up really hating people

at my age it takes to much energy to hate people...i just ignore the dumb fucks.

[emilyg]

44. Nope. I know many

decent republicans.

[pipi_k]

51. So do I...

more decent than quite a few Democrats I know, also.

[FiveGoodMen]

45. Hatred is where I get started.

Where it goes from there really can't be described by any combination of words in the English language.

Suffice it to say that if there really was a Devil, a Satan, a Prince of Darkness, a fallen angel bent on nothing but evil...

I'd still rate him as several steps above any current American "conservative".

[JoePhilly]

47. Yes ... which is why I will vote straight Dem any day of the week.

The GOP has gone totally f**king nuts!

Sure, the Dems in Congress are COWARDS, and they roll over and play dead on a regular basis ... but I'd rather have the dog who rolls over and plays dead from time to time, over the rabid dog that would rip out my spleen and eat it in front of my face while I die.

[bahrbearian]

48. Sometimes? Naw, Always

[pipi_k]

50. Someone else said it upthread and I agree...

I don't automatically dislike someone based on his or her party affiliation.


It just doesn't make sense.

Disliking someone because he or she is a Republican is just as silly as liking someone because he or she is a Democrat.

As we all know, someone's being a Democrat doesn't automatically make him or her a moral, compassionate, likable person.

Just like being a Republican doesn't make someone a vile and disgusting piece of shit.

[FiveGoodMen]

57. Being a republican means voting to take away the social safety net,

consumer safety, jobs, health care, etc.

And it means supporting the killing of civilians all over the world just to feel big and important.

How in the world doesn't that make someone a vile and disgusting piece of shit?

(It IS true, these days, that being a Democrat doesn't automatically make one moral, compassionate, or likable)

[pipi_k]

69. I suppose it never occurred to anyone...

that not ALL Republican politicians stand for those things.


Just like not all Democrats stand for Truth, Justice, and The American Way.


Anyone who thinks being a Democrat makes them morally better than anyone else is kidding him/herself.


As much as I vote Democrat myself, I know that Democrats are NOT a bunch of Mother Teresas. And Republicans are not automatically spawns of Satan.



Someone upthread said his/her 85 year old mom is a Republican. You want to go up and tell this person that his/her mom is a vile and disgusting piece of shit?

[Phentex]

93. I feel the same...

I think I know Republicans who are just misguided or plain fearful of being called a Democrat. The ones I can't figure out are the ones who agree with the Dems on most every issue but just can't bring themselves to identify as Dems. It's frustrating!

I have met plenty of Republicans who support certain issues and not others. It's not one size fits all. Although I tend to vote that way, lol.

[pipi_k]

102. I get the frustration...

a male relative has some pretty liberal views on a number of things, yet, like you said, for some reason has trouble identifying himself as a Democrat.

It's like this whole weird contradiction thing that I can't figure out...

[Enthusiast]

79. Vile is a good word...nt

[HughMoran]

52. Not Republicans as much as the Chamber of Commerce, other shadow groups and Faux News

They are the real enemy IMO. Republicans would be nothing without the media and the right-wing corporations and other organizations who support them.

[ibegurpard]

53. absolutely

it's difficult for me to be civil with them

[Spirochete]

54. Always

and I can't envision that changing anytime soon.

[mstinamotorcity]

55. Yes,Yes,Yes,Yes,

sometimes I be hating on those repugs. especially the teabagging kind.

[B Calm]

56. Oh I hate anybody who works for a paycheck and votes republican. I

can't deal with stupid people! Why in hell would working people vote for politicans that want to raise the social security retirement age to 70 and give tax cuts to the filthy rich bastards that sent our manufacturing jobs overseas??????

[Froward69]

59. They hate us... I Hate them right back!

[undeterred]

61. I wish they would all just disappear.

[frogmarch]

63. TURN to hatred?

No. That's the way I always feel about them.

[renate]

64. At first I thought, "yes, sometimes it does"

And actually, maybe that's still my answer, but for not as many people as I reflexively thought "yes" about. Just a few--the ringleaders who know they do evil and don't care.

For 99.9% of them, the people who don't do much worse than watch Fox, look nasty at Tea Party rallies, and vote Republican, it's either contempt (for the ones who are Republican because they're selfish and uncompassionate) or pity (for the ones who don't realize they are being manipulated by their overlords who care only about their vote and not them). Or a mixture of pity and contempt. I do try not to feel hatred for anybody. Sometimes it's hard.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

65. Sometimes??!?!?!...

[sufrommich]

66. I have some friends that are republicans, granted they're not

crazy social conservative republicans, but they're republicans. We don't talk about politics.

[Jade Fox]

67. It's more like a complete lack of respect.....

The hypocrisy, the lies....

Take the Tea Party (please!). All their arguments boil down to not wanting to pay taxes, or feel any community responsibility.

Take RW Christians: Mostly they're scared and have personal problems they aren't handling well. They embrace an authoritarian belief system for the security of having an answer for every question, and a community which secretly (or not so secretly) tells them they are superior to the rest of us.

Take Ditto-heads: Most are not terribly successful white men afraid their only sense of self-esteem is fading away.

You get the idea.

[oswaldactedalone]

68. It is pure unadultered hatred

for these ignorant greedy racists. I have absolutely no respect for anyone who identifies as a Rethug. I'll take their money in my place of business then give them the finger on their way out the door.

[Zax2me]

70. I try to avoid them when things get to my 'hate' point

Oh, I'm sure I can hate with the best of them. But I do try to keep hateful feelings at bay. For instance, I refuse to engage any news story, clip or watch a discussion about that Westboro church group.
I know where it will lead and I don't like feeling that way, though I know I have every right to.

[Lucian]

71. Sometimes?

[old mark]

73. Yes. They make is so easy, and enjoyable. nt

[complain jane]

74. I have this tiny white pill I take

just before I have to deal with something like conversation with a conservative. Bottle says "Ativan".

[zanana1]

75. For the first time yesterday, I hung up on some Republicans.

I've been doing some phonebanking for an incumbent state senator hoping to keep her seat and the list of phone numbers we get are a mixture of Democrats, Repubs and Independents. Whenever I was unlucky enough to get a Republican, they'd insist on telling me everything they hated about Democrats. I finally lost it and starting cutting them off with "Have a nice day" and hanging up on them. I just can't do this shit anymore. I'll be going to a visibility event this morning, probably standing across the street from a bunch of Republicans. God help me.

[B Calm]

76. You should ask them if they like the republican ideas of raising

social security retirement age to 70 and cutting the taxes for the rich bastards that sent our manufacturing jobs overseas before hanging up!

[zanana1]

78. Id love to ask them alot of questions, like...

"What do you like about having our jobs shipped overseas"? The problem is, they don't let me get a word in edgewise. And what are you doing up at this hour?

[trayfoot]

80. Yes!

And......I "hate" that reTHUGs have caused this to happen with their hateful and stupid perspectives on "we, the people".

[NuttyFluffers]

81. at one point earlier in my life, yes. but since then it's mostly pity.

basically for me, hate takes a lot of energy. and at some point, since i have so little power over so many distant madnesses, it was not worth the emotional cost. better to make things better nearby, where i have more power to change things.

but it is human and normal to have real anger, even righteous fury, when beautiful things you love are threatened. friends, family, community, nation, culture, knowledge, humanity on a universal scale, etc. -- all of these things can inspire love, devotion, and a selfless willingness to endure sacrifice. and all these things can also inspire the inverse when such core love's are threatened, abused, or destroyed. it is not a failing to be human, or to have such an intense level of disapproval to assaults upon those you adore.

the trick is knowing when to hold your raging level of disapproval in check before it is unleashed unjustly -- and when to unleash it before what you love is destroyed unjustly. how you register your disapproval is what matters.

there is a time for love, there is a time for hate, there is a time for peace, there is a time for war... never fault yourself for feeling and being human. it is OK.

[txaslftist]

82. Question is, does your hatred of Republicans ever soften..

into mere strong dislike?

[ecstatic]

83. More like extreme disgust

Hatred takes too much energy (it's why I don't bother with Fox News, etc. anymore). It's just not worth getting riled up over.

[EnviroBat]

84. Yep, more often than not...

These assholes are fucking up society, and they need to go live on the fucking moon.

[Donnachaidh]

85. I have a colleague who is an old style Republican

And he is pretty damned liberal about his views. We discuss the political arena of today and he's furious at his party being driven over the edge. While I'm tempted to ask him who he will be voting for (he DID vote for Obama FYI) - I'm just grateful that there is one person I know who has stuck to his guns and can discuss differences in opinions.

I wish we could clone him - I really do!

[zanana1]

92. Wow. I've never met one of those.

I can remember it being that way when I was a kid, but not as an adult. They've been getting more and more radical. I just wonder if there's an end to it or if it can get even worse. I realize that hatred solves nothing; it's not a rational feeling on my part, but it is the way I feel and just when I think I'm beginning to feel some compassion for them, they do something that throws cold water on that feeling.

[Donnachaidh]

97. as both he and I are closing in on senior ages, I'm beginning to think he's a rarity

And also, this is a person who is not only educated, but also teaches at a college level in a *liberal* college. I'm pretty sure if I met some of his friends at that college they may very well also be old school republicans.

But I agree with you about the republicans for the most part -- the ones running the party and the ones who are actively turning their party into a fascist stronghold. I live in a red state, a supposedly *christian* state - and I've seen more hatred, bigotry, class warfare, etc -- here more than in *any* other state I've lived in. It's been tough raising a child to *not* think as they do.

This is probably why I cherish my friendship with the old school republican. He's a dying breed in this country. He really is.

[Zorra]

86. No. Hatred doesn't work when combating the ignorance and the negative

effects of ignorance.

Ignorant people constantly do irrational, illogical shit that negatively affects us all. Since it is pretty much impossible to hold productive debate with irrational, illogical people, the best way for me to make circumstances better as an individual and for the country as a whole is to find some way to neutralize the effects of the actions of the ignorant.

In my personal life, I try to avoid irrational people as much as possible because they waste my time and could cause me harm if I am around them when they do their irrational shit.

Politically, I have to work at neutralizing the effects of their irrationality by doing what I can to prevent irrational people from having power over me and negatively altering my circumstances.

It does irritate me that I have to my spend time dealing with the idiotic crap brought on by the actions of this group of ignorant misanthropic functional lunatics known as republicans, but it simply can't be avoided without the problem compounding, making me have to later suffer even greater consequences from the actions of irrational people. Republicans are kind of like selfish toddler bullies that never grow out of it.

When I think about it, parenting republicans is pretty much what we do as Democrats. We constantly have to keep them from making messes. We're always cleaning up their messes. We have to prevent them from harming themselves and others. We have to keep them out of the cookie jar, or they will take what we have saved up for a rainy day and spend it on goodies for themselves, and cause us to have to scrounge to pay our bills. We have to prevent them from going to the school yard and beating up smaller kids to take their lunch money so they can by goodies for themselves. Their egos are not sufficiently developed as to allow them a reasonable socially acceptable ethics and value system--if they don't get what they want, they'll lie and steal to get it. And so on.

So I try to channel the irritation and anger that republicans cause me into using the political process constructively to keep our republican children from harming themselves and others, and minimize the damage that they inevitably cause.

Parenting is the hardest job I've ever had. I love my kids, and am glad they've grown up to be happy, responsible people.

As for republicans, I don't hate them, but I really wish the little shits would fucking grow up so I could spend more of my free time doing the things I like.
:D

[Zorra]

87. No. Hatred doesn't work when combating the ignorance and the negative

effects of ignorance.

Ignorant people constantly do irrational, illogical shit that negatively affects us all. Since it is pretty much impossible to hold productive debate with irrational, illogical people, the best way for me to make circumstances better as an individual and for the country as a whole is to find some way to neutralize the effects of the actions of the ignorant.

In my personal life, I try to avoid irrational people as much as possible because they waste my time and could cause me harm if I am around them when they do their irrational shit.

Politically, I have to work at neutralizing the effects of their irrationality by doing what I can to prevent irrational people from having power over me and negatively altering my circumstances.

It does irritate me that I have to my spend time dealing with the idiotic crap brought on by the actions of this group of ignorant misanthropic functional lunatics known as republicans, but it simply can't be avoided without the problem compounding, making me have to later suffer even greater consequences from the actions of these ignorant, irrational people. Republicans are kind of like selfish toddler bullies that never grow out of it.

When I think about it, parenting republicans is pretty much what we do as Democrats. We constantly have to keep them from making messes. We're always cleaning up their messes. We have to prevent them from harming themselves and others. We have to keep them out of the cookie jar, or they will take what we have saved up for a rainy day and spend it on goodies for themselves, and cause us to have to scrounge to pay our bills. We have to prevent them from going to the school yard and beating up smaller kids to take their lunch money so they can by goodies for themselves. Their egos are not sufficiently developed as to allow them a reasonable socially acceptable ethics and value system--if they don't get what they want, they'll lie and steal to get it. And so on.

So I try to channel the irritation and anger that republicans cause me into using the political process constructively to keep our republican children from harming themselves and others, and minimize the damage that they inevitably cause.

Parenting is the hardest job I've ever had. I love my kids, and am glad they've grown up to be happy, responsible people.

As for republicans, I don't hate them, but I really wish the little shits would fucking grow up so I could spend more of my free time doing the things I like.
:D

[TheKentuckian]

88. I see them and their ilk as a threat to be eradicated for the good of the tribe.

Sometimes their is hate but it isn't a prerequisite or needed to fuel my grim and relentless drive to stomp them and their failed philosophies into a discredited form of extinction.

I could give a crap who the zombies are personally. If they are actively supporting TeaPubliKlan policies then they are fanning the flames of great evils and are making the world shit be they friends and relatives or wealth power brokers.

If you love people then it would seem like you'd have to respect them enough to allow them to own their deliberate and willful actions and the natural outcomes of their beliefs.

No question there is no magic redemption in being a Democrat but being an active and supportive Republican makes it a stone cold lock that you are fighting tooth and nail against working and poor people worldwide, a willing accomplice to dismantling our rights, and a determined oppressor of minorities.

Consistent outcomes are what they are. Loving Dad, Aunt Trudie, cousin Malcolm, or Bob from the old neighborhood is not a license to suspend sanity.

Its not okay if my high school buddy chops you into little pieces and it is just as unacceptable (and worse in my view) for yours to willfully scuttle the country or blow up thousands of innocent brown folks to steal their resources for multinationals or to allow the wealthy to run off with everything leaving the masses fighting to the death over crumbs so small a hungry mouse would miss them.

[Akoto]

89. No, I don't hate them.

I live every day with widespread chronic pain, a lot of it caused by muscular tension, which is in turn promoted by stress. The experience has taught me that so many kinds of emotions and thoughts are physically detrimental, a waste of my time and well-being. They exacerbate my already painful situation by making me even more tense.

That aside, what is the point? Why hate? All hatred does is cloud your better judgment, and blind you to the fact that those on the other side are still people. I do not believe Republicans are 100% awful people, from the very first of them to the very last, nor do I think Democrats are 100% good. This Teabagger thing is a splinter, one which I think will self-destruct in due time. Then, we might at least get back to semi-civil discourse.

[treestar]

90. No. It harms me more than they.

But I do get exasperated at their insistence on avoiding information so they can indulge in their fantasy view of the world.

[LWolf]

91. No, it doesn't.

I can't say that I NEVER "hate." I do my best not to, as I see hate as counter-productive, to say the least. I don't look for excuses to feel good about "hating," or for hate support groups to enable hating, or for groups that it's somehow "okay" to hate.

When I do feel "hate," it tends to be more personal. Those things I take personally tend to be things that I consider a betrayal. I'm more likely to "hate" a cheating friend or spouse than I am the asshole down the street; I'm more likely to "hate" a Democrat that betrays Democratic principles or acts like a Republican than I am the Republican, from whom those behaviors and attitudes are expected.

I'd rather not hate at all. I'm trying to evolve in that direction.

[crazyjoe]

95. Anyone who wastes their time hating for a political belief is a loser,

and I feel sorry for them, and the people that have to deal with them on a daily basis. It's truly sad when my brother starts going off about republicans during a family dinner, or at a family gathering. While I agree with his views, it's embarrassing watching the faces of family members (who are all liberals) when he starts, they begin moving to the other side of the room, rolling their eyes. He absolutely hates republicans, conservatives, fox news, etc. and he makes an ass out of himself every time he starts into "hating".
Sorry to vent, but this thread really hits home with me.

[femmocrat]

96. Yes. They actually make me sick in the stomach.

Just one syllable of Palin's screechy voice makes me want to pull all my hair out.

People who have such an effect on me physically must be avoided at all times. How can they even stand each other???

[xchrom]

100. i have hated republicans since richard nixon.

and they have lived consistently up to my very low expectations of them.

[Fire1]

103. They make it very very hard not to hate. Let's say that. n/t