Why Do Americans Hate The Left So Much?

[Yavin4]

Especially since the left has not had any real power in this country for almost 30 years. It wasn't the left that exported the mfg. job base. It's not the left that's outsourcing IT jobs. It wasn't the left that went into Vietnam and Iraq. It's not leftist policies that's concentrated the wealth of this nation into fewer and fewer hands. It's not the left that's left millions of Americans without health insurance. It's not the left that's advocating pre-emptive war. It's not the left that's killing a soldier a day in Iraq.

Yet, all I hear is that Americans will not elect a leftist politician to office. Can someone explain that to me?

[philosophie_en_rose]

1. Does America hate the left?

Or it is just the mantra of the RNC?

[Freddie Stubbs]

11. How many candidates

say that they are 'liberal?' Not very many.

[StopTheMorans]

2. the same reason americans believe in the myth of

the "liberal" media. It's the rightwing echo chamber, they just repeat a phrase over and over again until the public accepts it as some sort of "holy truth". Like always using the words "liberal" and "commie" together, or always equating welfare with "crack moms", or equating funding social programs even when balancing the budget to "tax and spend" liberalism. I think that whomever our candidate is this year should turn that one on it's head and peg shrub as a "Borrow and Spend" Conservative:)

[Yavin4]

8. I'm Glad You Mentioned Taxes

I live in NYC. I have a Republican as President. I have a Republican controlled House of Reps. I have a Republican controlled Senate. I have a Republican Governor. The Republicans control one half of the state legislature, and I have a Republican mayor.

YET, I pay almost half my weekly income in payroll taxes, property and sales taxes have gone way up, and I have to pay more for my public transportation. Not one strong leftist amongst my so-called government leadership, and I'm paying a ton in taxes.

[skypilot]

15. Yavin4

You really should post this over at FreeRepublic. I'd love to see their reaction. Conservatives always swear that they are being taxed to death because of "tax and spend", bleeding heart liberals who like to "spend other peoples' money. Even when liberals aren't running things, conservatives look at the chunk taken out of their paychecks and think of us. Everything's about welfare and social programs to them;they can't get the idea out of their heads that that is where all the money goes.

[StopTheMorans]

16. did you see that article awhile back on buzzflash

that compared states run by GOP congress/govs. to states run by Dems? The GOP states were outspending the Dem states by a substantial margin (it compared new spending). And, there was an article in the Globe a few days ago by a conservative that I hate with a passion (Jeff Jacoby) in which he actually lambasted the dim son for increasing spending by an average of 15% yearly (he even excluded military/homeland security spending) while Clinton only increased it by an avg. of 3%. Even some of the conservatives are coming out against shrub's fiscal policies, which leaves a big opening for Dean (just stating a fact)if he can exploit it (since he is the avowed "fiscal conseravative" in the field).

[TXlib]

"I'm glad I'm a Delta."

It's pavlovian conditioning, straight out of Huxley's Brave New World.

I've heard many conservatives here parrot what they heard on Fox, yet when questioned more deeply about it, I am faced with blank, uncomprehending, bovine stares.

[Iverson]

3. Well, when there's only one message ...

... the average person tends to accept it.

[mike6640]

4. I would say that recently

It is because of the media barrage (esp. Hate radio) Which demonizes and slanders the "left" incessantly without being called on it.

Repeat a lie often enough, people begin to believe it.

Prehaps a return to the "fairness doctrine" would help?

[DUreader]

5. USA= Psyops Nation

Propaganda works

[bowens43]

6. Huh?

When did this start? The only people I know who 'hate the left' are rabid right wing hate/war mongers. Most people I know don't hate anyone and are certainly too politically naive to make a major distinction between right and left(apathy rules supreme in modern america).

[soleft]

7. Left=Progress=Change=Death

Hatred is based on fear and the fear underlying all fears is the fear of death.

[blm]

9. Because it's easier to pick on the perceived weak.

And there was a group in place on the right to assure that would continue, including those who governed as centrist Dems who took every opportunity to slam liberals to make themselves more palatable to the right. It was so unnecessary to take the potshots at liberals, but, opportunists did so anyway. Clinton governed moderately, but, never mocked the liberals while doing so.

Backlash will be coming....and soon.

I'm proud to be a "liberal like Marian Wright Edelman."

[slackmaster]

10. The Left kicked my dog

.

[Terwilliger]

29. the fuckers!

;-)

[Galley_Queen]

12. Definition of Left?

I think you first must define what 'left' is. If 'left' = Democrats, that statement is flat out wrong. This country elected a Democrat in 3 of the last 3 presidential races. Al Gore got 550,000 more votes than the Squatter and Big Dog was elected TWICE.

If 'left' = a Wellstone or Kuninch, then it remains to be seen if a 'leftist' can win. Hate leftists? I've never seen it.

To me, the termonology has become very skewed. The rightwing nuts are SO far to the right, so out of touch with reality, that anyone to their left is now a 'leftist'.

[Blue_Chill]

13. hmmm

Because the left is associated with the following in the minds of most americans I run into.

- Hatred of religion
- Supporting a society free of morality
- working against the traditional family
- the rise in divorce rate
- abortion abortion abortion
- rabid feminists (not the typical equal rights kind)
- the mysterious 'homosexual agenda'
- anti gun
- socialism
- communism

[SoCalDem]

22. This is a worry of mine too..

Each item you mention is "hung around our necks" and we are asked to "defend" our support of them at every turn..

Our "message" is not coming through loud and clear, because the diversity of our party doe not allow it.. You can bet your bottom dollar that the Reeeeeeeealy religious republicans are willing to "be quiet" dueing the run up to an election, because they know (wink wink nod nod)that when THEIR guy gets in, he will be waaaay better for them than the OTHER guy.. They are willing to sublimate their immediate wants for the longer term gain..

We have never learned that.. All of our groups within the group are SHOUTINIG over each other demanding that THEIR issue is the MOST important..

They might as well paint a bullseye on their foreheads .. What we (as a group) miss, is that we do NOT control the microphone in this country..

We have gradually ceded that over to the rightwingers.. We could not imagine that they were anything more than a bunch of puffed up buffoons...But we were WRONG.. The constant yammering over 30 years, has taken its toll..

People in America listen to radio...always have..always will.. People commute, factories "allow" a radio playing in the background..offices allow radio, tractors have radios.. people sit in traffic listening.. Is it a surprise that they have been brainwashed???



The points you made & my comments

- Hatred of religion .... we are MANY faiths and not fundamentalists

- Supporting a society free of morality... We prefer to let INDIVIDUALS choose their lifestyles

- working against the traditional family... we are living in the real world, not the Leave It to Beaver world

- the rise in divorce rate ...Republicans get as many divorces as Dems, but they "pray about it" and God says it's ok:eyes:

- abortion abortion abortion..They also get as many abortions, but they don't think poor people should have the same right because poor people need government help to pay for it.

- rabid feminists (not the typical equal rights kind)...The leaders see working women as a threat to their manhood..They still see women barefoot & pregnant

- the mysterious 'homosexual agenda'.. Even though they have homesexuals in their own families, they seem obsessed with the idea that homosexuals want to "make them gay".. They are nuts..:eyes:

- anti gun ..As much as most of us would love strict gun lasw, it's a losiing issue..ain't gonna happen

- socialism ...The radio guys have convinced them that any government help is socialism.. They do not consider any help THEY get, as socialism..for them it's just "their fair share" because they work so hard

- communism ..anything that they do not understand is automatically identified with communism..

[jefff]

14. It's Fundamental

The left promotes social justice over unrestricted capatalism.

The left supports rational humanism over fundamentalism.

The left preaches tolerance of other nations and looks for diplomatic solutions.

So the left is fundamentally opposed by most major institutions in the USA.

When the question is why, the answer is usually money.

Any questions?

[MrPrax]

17. Lots of Explanations I suppose

Not just the US--but most consumer-oriented capitalist regimes.
Social Psychology--Leftism tends towards collectivist ideas of communal aid--people tend to be breed to believe that if you need 'help' from the group, your a 'failure' and not keeping up the image of stoic individualism
Of course this is nonsense because humans are social by nature and all of production is 'socialized' by nature--its just the profits that are 'individualized' or 'appropriated'
So I presume, then, the idea becomes that 'I may not own a Porsche, but I have the knowledge that I might or at least I helped make it happen by being a worker-citizen'
The social being factor is served by the vicarious privilege of consumerism--'I can't buy, but I can look' and so the system's entrenched 'moral' value of equality is fulfilled on some mundane, stable way.

:shrug:

The simple answer of course is that
a)
the Left is openly 'censored' by mainstream pedogogy
merely,a 'strawman' argument to prove the 'righteousness' of capitalism; more like the theocratic form argument of the 'Proofs' rather than impartial discussion on God's existence)
b) it is hunted ruthlessly by the militarist-industrial state without and out violence and repression
c) or as the Bible said, "the Poor will always be with us"--which is the same proposition logically as saying "the rich will always be with us" and that an 'ideology' will bind people to a false reality--as individual congnizance of the world becomes more complicated, it makes it easier to institute a false reality and make the connections to power/wealth look horizontally, rather than vertically integrated

Religion and its hierarchy has a lot to do with the conditioning

[Prodemsouth]

18. Because Americans believe the left hates America.

They associate the left with burning flags. Spitting on Vets etc. Also much of the left is very defeatist, woe is me, American like optimism. The left is always very pessimistic. The left loves its dark moods, the rest of the country don't. Dems who have optimistic charcter (FDR, Clinton) win. That is why you want see people like Nader, Kucnich in the White House ever.

[Nederland]

28. Well said (nt)

[madrchsod]

19. americans

don`t like the right either. the people who voted in the last election voted for bush and gore because they were percieved as centerists. that`s where the majority of american are, in the center. look at the polls and you`ll see that the issues the "right" expouse are not what the american people really believe or want. i think the vast majority of the americans just want go to work , raise a family, and have enough money to enjoy life.they vote for those who they feel has their best interests at heart...i guess we will see next year who they choose.

[Armstead]

20. It's the image of the left as anyone who's "different"

What the conservatives have done over the last 30 years is to create a stereotype of "the left" (i.e. "Liberals") as anyone who is "different" from the Whitebread American Norm. "The Left" is also characterized as anything that seems to be a threat to White Middle America. And the more people feel threatened by unseen forces, the more they will look for scapegoats.

What is "the left" anyway? According to conservatives, they are some ailen species -- a motley collection of traitors that includes tree-huggers, power-mad bureaucrats, "liberal" reporters, Hollywood elitists, limosine liberals, athiests, queers, pornographers, welfare queens, hippies and protestors, Blacks, Jews and Bolsheviks. Toss in any other minority or stereotype you wish.

But despite the fact that this stereotype of a war between The Real America and The Liberal Threat is utter nonsense, it is powerful and resonates on a subconscious (and not-so-subconscious level) among many people who feel threatened by modern life.

This basic message of demonization is buried behind code words, and deflected by "Of course I believe in...but...."

However, if you scratch the surface of a Limbaugh listener, and you'll often find a reservoir of blind hatred about anyone who is even slightly different, and is therefore considered a threat to white, straight middle America.

I had a longtime dittohead friend who I used to debate politics with, and that happened.One day, the floodgates opened up and he started screaming "This nation was built by White Conservative Christian Males. We are the onely ones who have contributed anything!"

That notion is nonsense, of course. The "left" and "liberals" come in all shapes and sizes. And often -- as the flame-filled DU boards make clear -- people and sectors of the left disagree with each otehr as often as they agree. And often, people may be conservative in some ways, and liberal in others.

The Stereotype also conveniently overlooks the fact that the real threats often come from their own kind -- such as the systematic gutting of labor laws and busines policies that send all of the money of middle Americans into the hands of the elite. Or the fact that your average beer-guzzling SUV Guy does not want his copy of Playboy taken away by relogious zealots. Or the fact that Christian Morality does not adhere to anyone's political label.

But despite its lack of logic, that does appeal to people on a deep level. And the worst times get, the more people retreat into this.

[trof]

21. "You've got to be carefully taught."

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

from "South Pacific"

[Bandit]

25. You have described the Right's agenda to a T

Incredible verse and very germaine to what the right is doing to America.

[Armstead]

23. Related thread of interest in LBN

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=31947&mesg_id=31947&page=

[PATRICK]

24. maybe not "hate"

But what Nixon, Gingrich and Rove exploited is a normal reaction by the "mainstream" when idealists start ranting and exuberating. What an exalted conscience can see sweeps beyond normal values and traditional
institutions. Red flags and misgivings, prejudices and the sensitivities of those who don't share this "vision" at all are ignored, run right over.

When you mention the word libertal even to a unionmember, the first image is not FDR, social security, unions and various rights and freedoms. They see school busing, the flag, sexual mores threatened, atheism, immorality and "different" people, or rather fell something disturbing in their gut. They distrust and resent crusaders who lump all this together. Thanks to the blindness of liberality, the "left" has been slow to take into account the counter productive affect of their faith. The Right on the other hand has learned very well. So well that its own unrestrained beliefs and behavior is is energetically deflected back against the left in general with a brush laden with tar.

In fact people hate the Right even more. It is just that the system and the media is pushing the public ONLY against the left.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DagmarK]

27. I am an American, and I don't hate the left........

but the answer is:

Because they think other people hate the left and they are followers not thinkers. That's also why they wear the latest fashions -- someone else is doing it.

But ultimately, it's the DIET that is in this society. So much crap food intake daily -- just a bunch of junk food with no nutritional value -- and to kill any nutrients they may ingest, they drink 12 diet pepsi's to kill any chance of anything good staying in their bodies. They CAN'T think straight.....so they go "right"

[CWebster]

30. because even the Democrats

jump on the attack the Left bandwagon?