Guilt
We're all familiar with that old chestnut "liberal guilt." That an overwhelming sense of guilt over what we have done to "them" (pick your oppressed) in the past makes a liberal bend over backwards to accommodate "their" demands today.
What I don't hear under discussion is what I would call "conservative guilt." There have been more than a few examples of that in this election. My definition of "conservative guilt" is more commonly called fear. But what is driving that fear? I believe it's an unconscious admission of guilt. The fear comes when racists subconsciously acknowledge that they've harmed someone or some group to such an extent that if that person or group were to ever be put in a position of power, he, she, or they would use that power to attack. How many quotes have you heard from people who are afraid that if Obama wins then "the blacks" will take over - with an agenda that will look to punish whites. An inane and bizarre concept to a rational human becomes an uncontrollable fear in the minds of the conservative racist.
One of the most recent examples is Ashley Todd, the 20-year-old McCain volunteer who claimed she was attacked by a "big black man" who carved the letter "B" for Barack in her face. Not long after Palin called to offer the campaign's sympathies, Todd admitted she made the whole thing up. What kind of fear can drive someone to do something like that? Conservative guilt. (Ok, and probably a long troubled mental-health history in this case).
Ex-weatherman Bill Ayers and pastor Wright have provided Republicans with their best tools of fear, and the party is making the best of both. In Nevada, Republicans have distributed a 4-page mailer that pairs an old picture of Ayres with one of a 1/2 darkened Obama - between the two photos is the quote: "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." Wonderfully vague, allowing the quote to be attributed to either men. A wonderful piece of fear-mongering, of that unknown "other" the one who is not like us - the one who will enact revenge upon us if allowed into power.
Beyond the quotes of "real Americans" from the Palin rally I posted below, Ohio has other victims of conservative fear. Like Sandy Reed, who says she doesn't "trust Obama, I think he has a hidden agenda. I think he's involved with terrorism." Or this from Lori Raynor, a biochemist in Virginia, "I'm scared of Obama - from what I have read and his associations which are questionable, his so-called terrorist associations, and even his church. Some of my friends have even told me they think he is the anti-Christ." From a "nobama" blogger, "I’ll admit it, I’m actually afraid of this man now. I’m actually afraid of who he is, what his intentions are, and what he would do to us, our government, OUR country."
It's a sorry sight to watch as guilt overwhelms rational thought.
What I don't hear under discussion is what I would call "conservative guilt." There have been more than a few examples of that in this election. My definition of "conservative guilt" is more commonly called fear. But what is driving that fear? I believe it's an unconscious admission of guilt. The fear comes when racists subconsciously acknowledge that they've harmed someone or some group to such an extent that if that person or group were to ever be put in a position of power, he, she, or they would use that power to attack. How many quotes have you heard from people who are afraid that if Obama wins then "the blacks" will take over - with an agenda that will look to punish whites. An inane and bizarre concept to a rational human becomes an uncontrollable fear in the minds of the conservative racist.
One of the most recent examples is Ashley Todd, the 20-year-old McCain volunteer who claimed she was attacked by a "big black man" who carved the letter "B" for Barack in her face. Not long after Palin called to offer the campaign's sympathies, Todd admitted she made the whole thing up. What kind of fear can drive someone to do something like that? Conservative guilt. (Ok, and probably a long troubled mental-health history in this case).
Ex-weatherman Bill Ayers and pastor Wright have provided Republicans with their best tools of fear, and the party is making the best of both. In Nevada, Republicans have distributed a 4-page mailer that pairs an old picture of Ayres with one of a 1/2 darkened Obama - between the two photos is the quote: "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." Wonderfully vague, allowing the quote to be attributed to either men. A wonderful piece of fear-mongering, of that unknown "other" the one who is not like us - the one who will enact revenge upon us if allowed into power.
Beyond the quotes of "real Americans" from the Palin rally I posted below, Ohio has other victims of conservative fear. Like Sandy Reed, who says she doesn't "trust Obama, I think he has a hidden agenda. I think he's involved with terrorism." Or this from Lori Raynor, a biochemist in Virginia, "I'm scared of Obama - from what I have read and his associations which are questionable, his so-called terrorist associations, and even his church. Some of my friends have even told me they think he is the anti-Christ." From a "nobama" blogger, "I’ll admit it, I’m actually afraid of this man now. I’m actually afraid of who he is, what his intentions are, and what he would do to us, our government, OUR country."
It's a sorry sight to watch as guilt overwhelms rational thought.
posted by Anonymous at 11:40 AM
1 Comments:
The only thing I can say is that these people might feel a lot better about things if they actually took the trouble to read Dreams from My Father and devoted maybe fifteen or so seconds to counting the number of terrorist-loving, wild-eyed, America-hating radicals have come out of institutions like harvard law school. but that would require some concentrated effort and thought, both of which seem entirely beyond the mcpalin faithful.
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