General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What I've learned about conservatives in the last few months [View all]Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)as are some of the followers. The naked selfishness, greed, racism, sexism, jingoism, militarism, and in-your-face offensiveness just shine through everything they do and say.
But a lot of the rank and file are simply propagandized. My right-wing brother is really kind and generous, but we don't talk politics, because the conservative tape loop starts playing. It all started when he began working selling ads for a talk radio station and intensified when he got a job that required him to drive around all day. There's a disconnect between what he says and how he acts in real life.
I'll never forget the time (2002) my stepfather had an old friend visiting from out of town. (I was also visiting.) A propos of nothing at all, the man said, "I think Bush has proved himself since 9/11. He's really grown in stature." I didn't want to gag or otherwise be rude, but I simply asked,"What do you mean?" (Because I had heard exactly the same phrase in the MSM many times.)
He got good old deer in the headlights look and couldn't answer.
One of very Leftist friends says that whenever he meets a conservative who is spouting right-wing nonsense, he just calmly asks questions, "What's your source for that? What are your reasons for thinking that? Does that gibe with your own experiences? How have the (insert name of object of rage here) ever hurt you? Explain what you mean by 'Obama's a Marxist.' Have you read anything by Marx?" He says that either the person's head explodes and they are reduced to a stammering puddle of incoherence or they get fed up and walk away.