That Blank Stare

[Debs]

I read a post by someone who said that he usually responded to war supporters by keeping to two points. Iraq did not attack us and there were no WMDs in Iraq. He went on to say he the points are usually met with blank stares. It reminded me that the eerie quality of that blank stare phenomenon is really quite disturbing. I meet that blank stare quite often when fending off rightwing talking points with facts and logic and its a really weird expression.

I first met with it during my opposition to our Central American policies in the 80's. A friend of mine, a conservative I know to be both intelligent and possessing of a good heart, was giving me the canard about Nicaragua having MIGs. The story the Raygun administration used to keep the Sandinista's huge electoral victory OFF the front pages of the Newspapers and out of the news cycle. I told him Nicaragua didn't have MIGs, that such a poor country wouldn't spend millions of dollars for weapons they could not use since our planes would just shoot them down in ten minutes. Then I said, lets suppose they DID have MIGs. You DO know that we are violating their airspace every day to resupply the contras that are trying to overthrow their government right? Are you saying THEY have no right to defend themselves against us? Then came that strange look. As if I had become aphasic. He knew I was saying something, he recognized the English language but could not begin to comprehend what I was saying. As if I had begun speaking ancient Mayan or Cantonese. The concept of defending themselves against the US was not a concept that could begin to penetrate his consciousness. There was no answer and this look was just chilling. Zero comprehension, he couldn't HEAR that. I am seeing that look more and more lately and its just eerie in the extreme. I don't know what can be done to progress once that vacant stare enters the picture, for certain communication is OVER. Perhaps one day people will get past the point where their ideology becomes so rigid that they cant even begin to comprehend a concept that challenges them but I wont hold my breath.

[FloridaPat]

1. All those people who think we should attack other countries that

turn off the oil to us. I guess this is why war is so popular.

[calimary]

2. I'd suggest you KEEP AT IT. Don't give up.

YES you'll keep getting blank stares. You may also get a few puked-back talking points they heard from somebody on Pox "news."

BUT: Keep it up. Rome wasn't built in a day, and the pyramids weren't built in a week. It took a LONG time to take Hitler down, and to bring down the Berlin Wall. Dinosaurs once called all the shots around here, too, and they were pretty fearsome.

KEEP IT UP. DO IT ANYWAY. Because... if you do it often enough, ONE of the people whose souls you're trying to save will finally have heard enough to reach his/her own tipping point. Then you may get a question: "where did you hear that?" Or "how do you know that?" You'll undoubtedly have a cogent answer or referral for them if they wish to look into this for themselves. And then you'll have actually saved someone. At that point, they'll do the heavy lifting for you, because they'll be like the reformed smoker who's suddenly on an aggressive crusade to wipe out all cigarettes from every other smoker's lips.

DON'T GIVE UP. You may be one or two sentences away from saving someone's soul.

I had that experience once, before heading off to an anti-war rally. I met a woman friend in the local coffee place - who was having coffee with another friend of mine. Obviously the subject of where I was going and why came up. Friend A started spouting all the crap that was spewed about Saddam and 9/11 and al Qaeda and how we have to go wipe 'em out and all the rest and I had rebuttals for all of it. Soon enough, Friend B spoke up. As Friend A was expressing her doubts in what I was saying, Friend B stepped in and verified everything I'd said. Even down to the chickenhawk argument - Friend A was absolutely adamant that there "WERE war veterans in the White House. I mean, look at cheney. cheney fought." I stopped her, saying cheney NEVER fought anything in his life and was a draft-dodger who said he had "other priorities." Friend A insisted this was true because she'd heard it from her brother-in-law. Friend B then spoke up and said - "no, she's right. cheney NEVER fought. That's true. He's never worn his country's uniform. He DID dodge the draft - just like calimary said." Friend A was then completely nonplussed. Every "fact" she'd fought me with had turned out to be a lie. And, yes, I got that blank stare for a few moments. Then she dropped her gaze, shook her head repeatedly, got very flustered-looking, and her eyes darted from side to side and all over the room. And then she started babbling "well, I'm getting wrong information. I'm getting wrong information." She looked pretty upset. I gently added my agreement, and reassured her that I would ALWAYS tell her the truth about these things if EVER she had a question.

In all fairness, I'm not sure I turned her. She and her whole family are staunch, longtime republi-CONS. But I know I made her think. And I know I rattled her cage a little, and up-ended her nice, tidy, secure-yet-deluded little world. I KNOW I made her think. And I also know that the next time her brother-in-law spews, she's not automatically just accept what he says. I know there's going to be a question in her mind about it now.

REASONABLE DOUBT. Just sew the seeds. Plant the doubts. Poison the well. Hey, it worked for OJ.

[glitch]

3. Agree with calimary - yesterday on the radio I heard a State Dept

woman who had listened to and filed the info coming from Laura Flanders and Medea Benjamin from the 80-90s finally clicking NOW.
Iraq brought it all together for her and she tipped.

[belle]

4. "But...but...we're the GOOD GUYS."

QED.

Have you tried doing the ol' wave the hand in front of the face and "Helloooo?? Anybody HOME?!" when they get like that?

Seriously, though, sometimes it's best to wait it out when people get like that. Give them space, but keep contact with them. They might not want to hear what you're saying, but don't let them disconnect from you, if you can.

[omega minimo]

5. That's why it helps to have a pre-zombified public

:evilfrown: