romeotuma wrote:Some, herein, romeo, are seeking rapproachment, while others, it would seem, are content to perpetuating name calling labels to further stuff us into boxes of their own making.

 JrzyTmata wrote: 
The Repugs I refer to are the members of the Republican Party, not the public in general.

I'm going to do things irl now, so peace and harmony can now return to the valley.

 Lazy8 wrote:Hmmm... I, personally, have never seen you as being a conservative, let alone, Republican. But then, I am not of either persuasion, left nor right, either, so maybe that doesn't rigidify my perceptions of you. So, let this be a hand extended to assist you in removing yourself from that box. Whether the dog house or the cat box, they are pretty nasty places to be forced into.

 islander wrote: 
My postmistress is scary - the dog won't even bark at her.

 JustineFromWyoming wrote: 
Well, "those people" are just strange - who has a steering wheel on the right side of the car?

 romeotuma wrote: 
Good deal - he's done a lot around here.

 islander wrote: 
And, if all that doesn't work, write a postcard and walk down to the post office...

I wrote this about a year ago in the run up to election season:

Islander wrote: 

It was good advice then, it's good advice now. Especially the bolded parts. Read, do. Try interacting with people who are 'different' than you and you'll find out that they are not so different after all.

 Lazy8 wrote: 
*checks watch*

As amusing as it might be to watch Hippiechick try and justify her hatred for Republicans, in fairness I have to say that there is another, deeper problem evidenced here. And it's not just her.

We have a problem in the US with one-dimensional political thinking. There is the good guys and the Other Guys. Our media tends to reinforce this, looking at all issues as if there were only two sides and mapping every type of thought onto a left-right axis. The left end is good and wholesome and peace and love, the right end is seething with ethnic and religious intolerance, ignorant savages one AM radio sermon away from lynchings and witch burnings.

I'm on the receiving end of that snide condescension maybe once a day here, and I'm not even a Republican. But I'm not in the left corner of the political universe, and the only label available is "Republican" so I'm automatically a fundamentalist christian, a conservative, and stupid because those are the scary things in the bottom of the box I've been tossed in.

I'd like out, please. But even more I'd like everybody to abandon the idea that there are good and bad guys. Get out more, meet some people who aren't like you. The world will look like a different place!

But it won't be. It'll be the same place it was all along. You'll just see more of it for what it is instead of what you're afraid it is.

 arsenault wrote: 
Well, that's stereotyping but, it is a necessary precursor to prejudice and bigotry.

And, Randy, yup.

This all started with a video of a man, claiming to represent as the Voice of God (ordained minister) praying that the President would die and go to hell.  This is fact - no opinion necessary.  Beaker immediately started defending and diverting the topic, which is common for him, and this is what ensues - this is what always ensues when he gets involved - he does this on purpose, and people get sucked in and he is entertained by it - it's been like this since he's been here, no matter what name he's used.

I make it a point to stop by and remind him that, once again, he's acting like some throwback from the Brown Shirt era, and that I'm disgusted by it, and that's that.

It's not that big of a deal, really.

 hippiechick wrote: 
you stated it. I asked if you meant all republicans and you said yes. all republicans. repugs you call them. You've typed repugs so many times, finding that quote is a needle in a haystack. but I remember it distinctly. It left me speechless.

I'm not excusing anyone. my beef is with intolerance and hate on both sides. you don't seem to recognize when it's coming from the left or yourself. seriously. step out of yourself and look at what you're saying. It's hardly peace and love.
Comparing Hitler to anyone looks wrong to me. it was wrong when it was done to Bush as well.

 hippiechick wrote: 
So we have one group that's "largely white" (how largely?), and another that's "largely" female including "many" white evangelical Christians. From this and watching the Republican convention, you extrapolate a Republican party that's mostly white Christians with fundamentalist leanings? I don't see how that's justified.

Of course, there's also that "Clearly, there is more than one kind of conservative." 

 winter wrote: 
The demographics might have changed some, but it still gives a fair portrayal of who is drawn to each party. It's just that the Republican Party might be less optimistic now that they are no longer the party in charge.

The three GOP groups are highly diverse, and this is reflected in their values. The staunchly conservative Enterprisers have perhaps the most consistent ideological profile of any group in the typology. They are highly patriotic and strongly pro-business, oppose social welfare and overwhelmingly support an assertive foreign policy. This group is largely white, well-educated, affluent and male ­ more than three-quarters are men.

Social Conservatives agree with Enterprisers on most issues, but they tend to be critical of business and supportive of government regulation to protect the public good and the environment. They also express deep concerns about the growing number of immigrants in America. This largely female group includes many white evangelical Christians, and nearly half of Social Conservatives live in the South.

This group also is highly concentrated in the South, and, of the three core Republican groups, had the lowest turnout in the 2004 election.

Clearly, there is more than one kind of conservative. The Republican groups find common ground on cultural values, but opinions on the role of government, a defining feature of conservative philosophy for decades, are now among the most divisive for the GOP.

 hippiechick wrote: 
The article is over four years old. In politics, that's fairly old news.

I would also point out the passage that starts with, "The three GOP groups are highly diverse, and this is reflected in their values." Not exactly the monolith you've been painting.

 arsenault wrote: 
show me where I said "all"

 hippiechick wrote: 
really? read your words...

prejudice, bigotry:....'all republicans are...'
                               'all black people are....'

 winter wrote: 
Here is an article from Pew Research that talks about the differences between Democrat and Republican:

http://people-press.org/report/242/beyond-red-vs-blue

All this spewing says much more about the spewer than the spewee.

 arsenault wrote: 
How was it bigotry?