What Is Wrong With People Anymore?

[ChoppinBroccoli]

This evening, I stopped in at a local shopping center, was inside maybe 10 minutes, and came back out to find that someone had left me a little love note tucked under my windshield wiper. It was a tiny corner torn off of a piece of paper, and the writing on it (clearly written by a female) said the following:

"Obama--what a joke! Thanks a lot--How's that "hope" and "change" working for you??" (This is as close to a verbatim representation of the note as I can come, right down to the punctuation)

What could have possibly possessed someone to do this? Was she simply so enraged at seeing my Obama bumper sticker that she felt just HAD to "put me in my place?" Just think about it. She had to see my sticker, go back to her car, retrieve a piece of paper and a pen, tear off a corner, write the note, and place it under my windshield wiper, all within the 10 minutes I was inside. And what did she hope to achieve by all of this? Did she think I would become so embarrassed by her "vicious dressing-down" that I would immediately change my political affiliation? She probably didn't even stick around to see my reaction, and if she did, she was disappointed, because I didn't even NOTICE the note until I was halfway home, and when I noticed it, I actually started laughing at how pathetic it was. I can just picture this woman angrily scrawling this note, looking around furtively to make sure no one was watching as she placed it on my car, and then walking off with a smug look of satisfaction on her face thinking, "Hmmph! Well, I guess I told THAT person!!!"

What is wrong with people anymore? I hated Bush with a white-hot burning passion, and currently hate pretty much all Republicans the same way. But never once did I feel the need to vandalize or steal anyone else's property, or to leave notes on cars with bumper stickers I didn't agree with. In the last few years, I've had my car vandalized, I've had 2 different Obama yard signs stolen out of my yard (one was actually taken from right underneath my living room window on Election Night AS I was sitting there watching the returns, shortly after Ohio had been called for Obama; I got up to celebrate and noticed that the sign that I KNOW had been there no more than an hour earlier was now gone--and that one pissed me off because it was an Obama-Biden sign, as opposed to JUST an Obama sign, I really wanted to keep it for posterity), and now I'm getting love notes left on my car. Since when did this sort of crap become acceptable behavior? The way the right-wing is breeding people full of hatred, who are now starting to act on their hatred, it really is starting to look a lot like the way al Qaeda recruits and trains new members, and then sends them out to victimize the rest of the world for their beliefs.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. What you are experiencing is a polarized society

I'm sorry that it is happening. To me it is scary.

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

2. Willfull Ignorance?

[gateley]

3. I agree with Nad - the hatred is running deep. And it IS scary. I can't imagine

this happening even a few years ago. I have no idea where it's leading.

[RKP5637]

4. It's confrontation at a distance, the number of crazies is increasing as is the

polarization spread. Additionally, there are a lot of clueless people wandering around and the hatred count is up. Around here I've noticed people have stopped putting signs in their yards and I don't see many bumper stickers.

There are just too many people walking around willing to express their hatred looking for a target. They might not even be one who votes, but rather looking to vent their hatred in general.

[Hardrada]

6. They are walking around because they don't have jobs.

& Obama, sad to say, hasn't helped much.

[RKP5637]

7. Quite true! Excellent point! n/t

[blue sky at night]

5. in every aspect of our society we are becoming like cavemen...

i am seeing it everywhere, little kids, middle-schoolers, football players in the NFL, you name it we are regressing as a people. i find myself wrapped in hatred almost everyday and i wish i could let it go, but others that hate me bring it out. i too have found the little love notes on my windshield....i don't litter, but with those i do, toss them on the ground like a hot coal. let's hope the pukes don't win much this fall as we will pitch forward as the bow of the mighty ship of america slips beneath the waves.

[gateley]

46. Wow - I think that's an excellent conclusion - we are regressing. And I know

what you mean about being wrapped in hate - that's just not 'me' but is it who I've become?

Damn it, I want MY country back, or the way I at least thought it was, when we accepted and respected and LIKED peopled regardless of their opinions or beliefs.

:cry:

[flamingdem]

8. People are drinking the Hatorade (Fox News) nt

[Hardrada]

11. That's a good term for Fux News. The creeps.

[Skittles]

9. it's what cowards do

[givemebackmycountry]

10. I've been saying this for years...

If RUSH or BECK or HANNITY told these fools that it was time to "take liberals out" and that we must be stopped because we are "destroying our country" and we must be "eliminated" bullets would be flying in a matter of minutes.

It's just that crazy out there.

I live in Florida and travel most weekends to a VERY right wing part of the state.
Rubio signs EVERYWHERE.

[w4rma]

12. There is A LOT of money spent formenting hatred against regular people by greedy billionaires. (nt)

[KT2000]

13. She quoted Palin

that explains a lot.

[dkf]

26. Yup you can't do much about the loonies.

Anyone that quotes Palin in seriousness is beyond hope.

[Eric Condon]

14. The only reason I keep the Obama stickers on my car

is to piss these nutjobs off. I know it causes white-hot racist anger in these pieces of shit, and that gives me total satisfaction to know I'm doing my part to piss these people off.

Full disclosure: I once hocked a loogie on a car that had a bumper sticker that said "Fight Terrorism: Shoot a Democrat."

[FirstLight]

15. I know...

I was thinking that my close proximity to nevada was getting scary...
at the gas station in carson today a truck (old chevy with a gunrack, yikes) pealed out right next to me and yelled "obama?....OBAMA...?"


i was actually scared for a minute, till i looked at the faces of those close to me and they all rolled their eyes and smiled...

but what if i was truly in 'hostile territory' at that moment...?
:scared:

[upi402]

16. TV news propaganda has the plebes whipped into a froth

and there is no party that even whispers of fixing this. In fact, Clinton made it FAR worse with that damned Telecommunications Act.

[Marr]

17. Read Bob Altemeyer's "The Authoritarians".

Altemeyer is a sociology researcher and professor, and the book is an excellent summary of his 30+ years' research into authoritarian behavior.

Basically, right-wing authoritarianism is a personality trait that's associated with a whole lot of negative behavior. They tend to be cowardly people, but they have a little well of anger and viciousness inside that they very anxiously express when they feel they can do it anonymously-- or if they think the powers-that-be will back them up.

[marions ghost]

18. they are getting permission

everyday from rightwing media. It is embolding them.

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. To be clear, there is an inordinate amount of hatred on BOTH sides of the left/right debate.

Consider your own admission: "I hated bush with a white-hot burning passion and currently hate pretty much all republicans the same way."

Over the years I've been here, there has been no shortage of posts from DUers claiming to have disowned lifelong friends as well as family members for no other reason than their voting habits. Every holiday season, we see the same thing; DUers bemoaning the fact that they have to visit their own family members who vote differently than they do.

I'm tired beyond belief of the notion that I've got to be a "good democrat" 24/7, no matter whose company I'm in.

There are days on end where my political affiliation and ideology are not considerations for how I approach each and every situation. I have lifelong friends I know contribute to rethug candidates and causes. They will remain my lifelong friends because there are times I can put away the belief that there is a simple binary answer to the question of which party and which ideology to support.

You obviously crossed paths with someone on the right who cannot do that. I've actually been asked by some of my more left-leaning friends why I don't sport bumper stickers on my truck supporting "the cause". I'd point to your OP as an answer to their question... Having a bumper sticker doesn't make you a good lefty or righty. It simply makes you a target for someone else's hate, and in some small way advertises your hatred for those who believe differently than you do just as much as it signals your support for a particular ideology/belief.

I'm actually glad I live at the very end of a dead-end street and thus have no reason to ever display a yard sign supporting any candidate/ideology/belief.

[marions ghost]

21. Enjoy your dead-end street

Stickers and signs are an excellent way to encourage others to take a stand and vote. The right to do that safely should not be denied.

The problem is -- violence is encouraged and condoned in America and in rightwing media.

How does a "pro-liberal/progressive" bumper sticker advertise any hatred? I don't see too many liberal bumper stickers that go to such an extreme.

If you cannot say who/what you support in a non-violent way (ie. a sign or sticker) --what kind of a repressive country do we live in?

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. I DO enjoy my dead-end street Thank You Very Much.

I don't live my life 24/7 either identifying those who would oppose my ideology nor actively encouraging people to embrace it.

You can say what you want in this country. You know that. That there might be those who disagree with you is a given, and when they do, it shouldn't be an event that changes your life or causes you to question the sanity of the whole fucking country.

Step back, take a deep breath, and embrace the notion that your Constitution guarantees everyone the same right to speak their mind. That someone might speak their piece via a handwritten note placed under a windshield wiper isn't the end of the fucking world, nor is it an indication that the United States has gone crazy. I would add that doesn't fall into the category of physical threat or hate speech, unless you consider every difference with your ideology to be hate speech.

Did the handwritten note violate your notion of saying what you support in a "non-violent" way? Was the OP denied any right whatsoever?

Do you ever get tired of the hyperbole that surrounds current political discussion, and do you ever feel that you might play some small part in fostering it?

I HATE THEM BECAUSE THEY HATE ME isn't the way I see the current political situation in this country, and I feel sometimes that I'm WAY out of the mainstream for feeling that way.

Where was the "violence" directed at the OP by the person who left the note under her windshield?

[marions ghost]

25. You overdramatize bumper stickers

They should not draw enemy fire in a civilized country.

Read post 20 in this thread, which I wrote. Is that violent enough for you?

Not to fight back in some way against the hijacking of this country by extremists is cowardly.

[cherokeeprogressive]

28. "this car came screaming up behind them--she says at 90 MILES AN HOUR--and then jammed on the brakes

a foot from their car.

Do you not see the hyberbole in that statement?

I could go into the physics of trying to stop (or even slow down) a car going 90mph by hitting the brakes "a foot from their car" (which I'm assuming was going the speed limit) but I won't. What would be the point? Your sister believes in her heart that a car going probably 40mph faster than hers could be slowed down to the point of avoiding impact after hitting the brakes TWELVE INCHES before impact. If she says that, I guess I believe her. I'd HAVE to believe her if I supported your notion that the divide between left and right is such that violence is the only way to resolve the differences we have with those who disagree with us, and that they believe the same thing.

The hyperbole is what I guess I'm tired of...

[marions ghost]

30. Nice sidestep

let's argue about semantics with all the other ostriches....

Yes the car slammed on the brakes so hard it spun and almost wrecked itself. This was blind rage and likely intoxicated rage. I told you the story as my sister told me--she is a scientist and cannot tell a lie (to the point that I get sometimes annoyed with her insistence on "just the facts)." My sis and my niece are still affected by what happened to them. Domestic terrorism. Isn't it what you fear will happen if you put a sticker on your car? :shrug:

[Gaedel]

32. I had my bumper stickers defaced in 1956

Defacing bumper stickers and stealing yard signs isn't a recent thing.

[marions ghost]

38. No

but that's not the point. The point is that 2 people (women are always seen as easier victims for this crap) might have been killed as a result of someone's rage. We all know this rage has been stoked prior to the election by rightwing nuts who use mass media for their own sick ends. Twisted rhetoric has never been stronger or more widely accessible. It's now a social bonding tool for a large part of our society.

People don't usually risk their own lives for a prank. Clearly the perp here was running a personal risk, since he skidded across the bridge both times that he got close to the victims' car. (The third time he didn't catch up because she was off the bridge and suddenly pulled off).

People DO risk their lives for ideology. It gives them a reason to act, and a feeling of belonging. They believe that others like them would approve. They have a fantasy of the importance of their criminal acts. It seems heroic. (Look at history for millions of examples)

This goes far beyond defacing stickers and stealing signs. This is seeing someone representing what you have come to hate and victimizing them. This is a serious criminal act.

[Eric Condon]

22. False equivalency

It'd be nice to live in world that was all sunshine and rainbows and people could just get along like you describe, and people could respect each others' views, and our discourse could be civil.

But we can't. Not with these people around. These people are not even worthy of being called animals. They are RACIST, hatemongering trash and to think we can possibly peacefully coexist with them, or to think that our righteous anger towards them is in any way comparable to their irrational hatred toward us, is simply naive. I long ago gave up on the pretense that people are just "misguided." They are not merely "ignorant" or "don't know better." They DO know better, but they are WILLFULLY ignorant, which is another way of saying, they are STUPID. They do not deserve our respect. We do NOT have to "respect their opinions" in the name of giving "equal time." When you spread hate and bigotry, you don't get "equal time." You get relegated to the fringe of political ideology in this country along with the David Dukes of the world. Or at least you DID, until this year, when suddenly these mouth-breathing hate-mongering Birchers suddenly all became mainstream political candidates.

I have HAD IT. I am SICK of pretending these people deserve our "respect" or that we should hear "both sides." They don't get a side. Not when we've seen how low they'll sink, or what they and their mindless zombie followers are capable of.

[cherokeeprogressive]

24. I don't know anyone who is "not even worthy of being called animals".

That's pretty much all I have to say about your post.

Have a Wonderful Evening Eric, if you can.

There are "zombies" on ALL sides. Sorry you can't see that. I'd go into the whole "catch more bees with honey than with vinegar" thing, but I'm afraid it would be lost on you.

Lastly, if you think that there are people in this country that YOU can't peacefully coexist with, then you don't understand the notion behind the founding of this country in the first place.

You go on with your bad self though, and believe that anyone who doesn't agree with you isn't worth "being called animals". Tell me how that works out for you.

[Eric Condon]

49. My main point was in my subject line

The point (which has been voiced around here re: the Stewart sanity march) is that it is a false equivalency to compare frothing RW rage with righteous liberal indignation. I deal with people I disagree with all the time (including much of DU) and I coexist with them just fine. My point is about the people who cannot be civil. The people who send emails of Obama as a witch doctor. The people who seethe with hatred knowing they'll soon be a "minority in their own country." These are not simply "disagreements." These peoples' ideology is a destructive cancer on society, and we cannot pretend like it's harmless. This not an "it takes all kinds" scenario. These are the same people who 50 years ago would've been turning fire hoses on the marchers. They do not want what is best for America. To use a quote from Tim Wise, they do not believe in democracy, they believe only in power, white power.

It is the eternal paradox (some say curse) of being a liberal that we, being more compassionate than they are, refuse to sink to their level. This makes us feel good about ourselves but it gets us nowhere. Obviously I don't mean violence. But we HAVE to stand up to these people. The #1 way Obama has failed thus far in his presidency is in his naive thinking that you can reach out to and cooperate with these people. To whatever degree our side is out in the media and in the public sphere proving these people wrong, it needs to be a thousand times that. They don't have the numbers, but they have ALL the money and ALL the media attention. We can't let them have that power.

[Dreamer Tatum]

44. Sounds like you have some killing to do. nt

[ieoeja]

43. Disowning friends for their voting habits is pretty rare.

What you mostly see are DUers disowning friends because of their treatment by those friends. When your friends continually call you by the names "stupid", "naive", "traitor", "evil", "pervert", and the list goes on and on, I eventually stop viewing such people as friends. Friends would not treat me in that fashion. I certainly do not treat my friends that way. Including the few Republican ones.

But, like a lot of DUers, I used to have a lot of Republican friends. I have lost them for the reason stated above. Not because I hate Republicans. But because my former friends treated me as if they hated me (for being a Democrat).

[gateley]

47. Well said. I think I'd probably like hanging with Megan McCain - she wouldn't be

calling me stupid or naive.

[marions ghost]

20. this is what happened to my sister a few days ago

she was driving across a long bridge sometime before midnight with her college-aged daughter in the passenger seat. The bridge was deserted. There were two prominent Obama stickers on the car (she worked for him).

All of a sudden as they started on the bridge this car came screaming up behind them--she says at 90 miles an hour--and then jammed on the brakes a foot from their car. They were terrified. My sister kept driving as the car behind recovered from sliding and then proceeded to do it again. By this time my niece was in a panic. There was no time to call 911. Clearly they (he) were trying to cause my sister to wreck. While they revved up for a third time, my sister says she stepped on the gas as hard as she could, got off the bridge and pulled into a service station while the car sped past. All they could tell was that it was a sedan, nothing more. My niece was a basket case. She has not seen crazy hate firsthand before. She is still having difficulty processing it.

This is what the polarization of this country has done. So much for Freedom of Speech. :grr:

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

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

[marions ghost]

37. My sister is far from stupid but I guess

you think that judging by your reply.

1. They believe the person saw them at an earlier point on the road when close behind the car.

2. Not politically motivated? I've had a brick thrown through my (stickered) car window before an election where emotions were charged up. Hey this is Murka--people just throw stuff and act like baboons when they don't agree with you. However this was a criminal act. They would have just driven away after causing a serious crash.

3. It's my sister who's free speech is violated (DUH). Her daughter wouldn't drive the car unless the sticker was gone. So they got what they wanted. I am not going to take my bumper sticker off however.
Nobody said "limit freedom of speech."

Facepalm is for you--see no evil (hear no evil...) Face it--hate crimes happen every day.

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

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

[McCamy Taylor]

27. Only cowards leave notes. If she was really confident and proud she would have said it aloud.

"Anonymous" deserves no attention.

[cherokeeprogressive]

29. "Anonymous" deserves no attention.

I'll buy that as long as you'll agree that "anonymous" claims from EITHER side deserve no attention.

[LatteLibertine]

31. Most of these folks

are being victimized by the very politicians they adore. It is indeed sad.

Unregulated crony capitalism doesn't do any United States citizen any good, save the most wealthy.

[Dulcinea]

33. Divide and conquer.

An age-old strategy.

The wealthy elites and corporations with a vested interest in the status quo know very well that if they pit Americans against each other, they will stay in power. Nothing will change. And it works.

Let's face it, who's REALLY running things? Not Dems. Not Repubs. It's the people bankrolling them. Follow the money.

[Bitwit1234]

35. One thing to say.....fox and Rush listener.

[ThomWV]

36. You were lucky. You were confronted by a crazy person, had they be a little more nuts, then what?

This time it was a note, next time it might move up to vandalism, and after that what next, personal attack? And how about those 2nd Amendment solutions that Sharon Angle calls for?

[marions ghost]

39. Right! It's all connected

See post 20 for an example of racheting it up a notch.

I'd prefer the note of course, but all are various levels of intimidation and crossing boundaries.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

42. I Would Welcome A Confrontation

ESPECIALLY from the person who wrote the note. But I guarantee that people who leave notes don't have the sack to say things to a person's face. Had this woman decided to wait around and confront me, I think she would have quickly changed her mind. Not only is she a woman and I'm a man, but I'm a 6'6, 300-lb. former college Offensive Lineman. I think she would have probably let me get in my car and just drive away.

See, that's the thing. I would actually WELCOME some of these face-to-face confrontations I hear about, but I never get them. In addition to my physical stature, I know how to handle myself AND I have a law degree and 13 years of running my own legal practice. If something physical were to happen, I could get the person coming AND going.

The problem is that while some of dumber right-wing leaders tell their lapdogs to confront folks like us, they apparently don't realize that their lobotomized minions don't have the guts necessary to do something like that. They're only capable of doing things secretively, under cover of darkness, or when they're sure no one is watching. When they do muster up the courage to say something to an actual person, they either say it AS they're speeding away, or from inside a running car. NEVER face-to-face. And certainly never to me.

[Bill McBlueState]

40. There are a lot of suburban and rural white people

who absolutely cannot believe that around half of the population would vote for Obama again, given the opportunity. They don't know anyone like that, and they never see anyone like that on TV, so they go around acting like general support for the President is some kind of weird fringe position that needs to be called out in every circumstance.

[marions ghost]

50. EXCELLENT point

they feel completely empowered to crush the "Obama Supporters" they have Otherized via rightwing media, because they allow for no other reality.

My dad was in a rehab facility with an older guy (not considered mentally impaired) who watched Fux News all day long and still believes we did not know that Saddam had no WMD. He found it hard to believe there was any other viewpoint. My dad just said, "We did know"--and left it at that. He knows better than to tangle with minds being warped by that stuff.

[GeorgeGist]

41. Petty outrage ...

like yours.

[hamsterjill]

45. A lot of it is about respecting another's view.

What this person did to you was wrong, and it is ridiculous, as you well point out in your OP.

There's a mentality amongst these people that fails to understand the basic concept of democracy. People have a right to disagree. Just as the writer of the note has a right to her political views, so do you, and I.

The problem is that the WRITER overstepped acceptable boundaries for political disagreement by intruding on your personal property. It is that intrusion that is becoming more commonplace among the crazies. The more commonplace it becomes, the more they (the crazies) begin to believe that such acts are acceptable.

Instead of celebrating your right to openly support the candidate of your choice (i.e., democracy in action!), these crazies are trying to fear monger those that disagree into thinking like they do.

The rest of us have to remain sane so that does not happen!

[Javaman]

48. Meh, I get those notes too.

They mean nothing. It's just the stupidity of the right.

I get one from some nut, from time to time. His is typed and contains the usual mysterious grammar and poor spelling.

I know who does it, but can't place the blame on them since it's type written.

They think they can change our minds through intimidation, hate and fear.

This is all they have. Pretty sad, really.

[AngryAmish]

51. nice story, bro

[AtomicKitten]

53. Just following orders from Frau Palin.

[B Calm]

54. They're all brainless robots following orders. . .

[Greyhound]

55. Another anecdote; I'm walking across a parking lot in North Scottsdale

(deep red land of bat-shit crazy) and I walk past a SUV plastered with a variety of the usual anti-Democratic stickers. Not thinking much about it I just said, out loud, "What the hell is wrong with these people?", and I hear from a couple isles over, "They're stupid!"

Just made my day.