I always wonder what American conservatives think when they read about conservative asshats in other countries, like Iraq. Do they recognize themselves? Or do they somehow keep those two thoughts segregated. And, if the latter, isn’t that a mild form of brain damage?
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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I think that’s an easy one. They separate themselves from everyone else, period. That includes Liberals and Crazy People in Other Countries, ie those stupid Frenchmen, those wimpy Canadians, and those primitive Brown People in the Middle East.
So no matter what their policies are, especially for the Christian Right Wingers, they are “above” the likes of everyone else. They can hate gays, blacks, the poor and still feel like good, loving Christians.
I don’t understand it, either.
That’s a really interesting question, and, honestly, I don’t know. I’d really like an answer though – not an opinion, no offense to anyone else posting here!
There’s no such thing as an Islamic conservative. If they’re Islamic and want to preserve their culture and heritage, they’re “Islamic extremists” or “Islamic radicals,” precisely because they have absolutely nothing in common with a good, God-fearing Christian. Get your language straight. Don’t even go there. Please.
It’s the textbook example of American exceptionalism.
In the cited case, those conservatives are Muslim. US conservatives are Christian (and definitely not Buddhist). So there you go.
I always wonder what American conservatives think …
that’s an easy one, they don’t.
Heh…I have a story.
Having been home for a few weeks from college, my friend’s mother got laid off from administrative work at our local school board. She just got her PhD, was an amazing teacher, etc.
So I said “Yeah it’s sad, but it’s not much of a surprise; education funding is usually the first cut that happens during a recession. It’s sad, it shouldn’t happen, but it is what it is.”
My mother went to claim that “Handouts should be the first things cut,” so I had to ask her what she meant by “handouts.” She then said she was talking about welfare and food stamps; you know, things people need to survive, things that people need most when unemployment is the highest.
So rather than taking the moral approach to why her claim was so wrong, and made me cringe, I took the economic route: namely, that food stamps and welfare are the best stimulus spending (best bang for your buck). I explained why this is the case, and why cutting this would only exacerbate the recession, etc.
Sure enough, after 20 mins of discussion, she conceded that I was correct.
Why couldn’t she arrive to this conclusion herself? It’s because conservatives take a knee-jerk approach; it comes from their gut; they don’t fucking think about stuff. They take the approach that “feels right” on the surface, without thinking about the ramifications of what they advocate.
I’ve long been convinced the difference between liberals and conservatives is empathy, but it also bears mentioning that the novel concept of “thinking” could very well be the biggest rift between the two aisles–people in power notwithstanding.
It would seem that the word ‘tribal’ and tribalism reaching toward exclusionary would hold a part of the answer. I doubt a US Conservative recognizes any thought much less person as relative outside his own tent.
Uh… They’re brown. Duh.
I’m not so sure that this can be attributable as a conservative way of thinking as much as an authoritarian mindset. And people like Bob Altemeyer and Dave Neiwert have documented quite extensively how the right-wing mind operates. The evidence is overwhelming that, yes, they are quite the experts at consistently keeping separate in their brains the information which conflicts with their world view. Much more so than most non-conservative individuals. They are consistently able to dismiss without equivocation even overwhelming factual evidence which does not comport with their beliefs. And this is not a difficult feat for them. It is almost an involuntary action in their brains. After what we have witnessed over at least the last nine years there can be no doubt that this is probably their single most obvious personal characteristic.
I think you’ve hit it dead on. Those folks are control freaks, and religion is a great way to exert control over other people. Religion has been used that way since human beings thought it up as a way to explain the unknown. American conservative types have the same desperate need for control, and they use religion as well, among other things.
They’re all motivated by the same sickness.
Other countries?
.
“Similar debates are taking place …”
Much better than throwing fire bombs into shops or plain murder of disgraced women for violating Islamic dress code. Three federal regions: the Kurds want to throw the Arabs out, the Shia majority with Iran backing biding time on democratic turn of events, and the Sunni community with Baathists have the support/funding of Saudi Arabia.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."“We are a tribal society”.
Yep. I can definitely see the similarities Booman! Unfortunately, the right wing American conservatives never will.