Why are repubs so AGAINST helping people?

[Blue_Roses]

Seriously. My brother-in-law is a rabid rwinger and he is the epitome of the rwing talking point. He believes that no one should be helped if they fall on bad times (but his dad bailed him out several times), he humilates me and my spouse with emails to the other family members about our financial dire straits and tells them it's from "irresponsible spending" (he never talks to us so he doesn't know shit) and just out right lies about the reality of the economy. My sister is just as bad. I often wonder how we even have the same genes.

What is it that makes these idiot/bigots think that they are so above everyone? It's like they truly live in a different universe:crazy: There is NO talking to him or anyone like him. His golf club buddies would shit if they knew the real story behind his working class family--what a fake. If you don't have money (his kind of money and power) then you are a "nothing" and need to be ignored:argh:

I just don't understand people like this...

[damonm]

1. Where is the POS?

Seems like he needs to meet my Louisville Slugger...:mad:

:hug: to you and spouse for having to put up with this self-righteous jackass.

[Blue_Roses]

2. if only you knew...

he has slandered and humilated us to the point I seriously worry about my spouse's blood pressure. It's been a nightmare the last two months.

[damonm]

5. An attorney may need to get involved...

if the POS won't stop blathering about stuff that's none of his business.

Curious, tho - what does Dad have to say about it?

[Blue_Roses]

6. he's dead.

both of our fathers are dead. Only my mother is still alive. she's pretty upset

[damonm]

9. Damn. Sorry to hear that.

And I'll bet your mother's upset - mine would be hunting him down with knife in hand. (She's 73, but takes no s**t from anybody, bless her heart).

[firedupdem]

21. LOL!!

Go Mom!

:rofl:

[RandomThoughts]

3. Not sure about your particular case.

But I agree with your last line.

think that they are so above everyone

I can track back my mistakes, either just talking with friends, thinking on things, or even in society, and most of the time they result from that all to common, "thinking one person is better then another"

My best guess on that is it is actually insecurity, fear of feeling worse then someone, a person creates a reason to elevate themselves, then finds a group that does the same thing to reinforce and help build some self esteem by agreeing with it. Putting someone down, has the (all to often invisible to the person doing it) the counter effect of raising oneself up.

But the real bad part is once a person feels superior, they can find reasons to break empathy with others and treat them badly.

Feeling superior to others is a catalyst for alot of the bad things that happen in the world.

I hope you and your brother and sister find a way to work through the frustration of things like this. I know how frustrating it is to hear things like that sometimes, good luck with it.

[Blue_Roses]

4. thanks for the kind words...

the relationship is beyond repair. My spouse--and me--never want to see them again. I agree with you. Alot of it does come from fear and insecurity. The problem is, he has now elevated himself into a position at his job that they see no wrong in what he does. I have to believe that karma does work. Time will tell.

[Danger Mouse]

7. Cut them off. They're not worth it.

[mythyc]

11. or set limits, strict ones. A family can not function without mutual respect

and they're not showing it to you. my grandfather is a Republican but never imposes his ideas on me and respectfully considers mine, which is as it should be both ways. Shows it is possible, though I agree it's few and far between when it comes to rightwing nutjobs (which make up the high majority of repubs)

[Mimi Bernard]

8. In fairness, they want to help some people

Rich people, lol.

[mythyc]

10. great joke---spot on

and welcome to DU! :hi:

[ljm2002]

12. They buy into the "tough love" idea...

...because they can use it to reinforce their naturally parsimonious and punitive inclinations.

They convince themselves that "you can't just give a man food, you have to teach him to fish". Of course, the part where he can't hold the fishing pole because he's starving, or the part where the fish were killed off by the corporate poisoning of the waterways, etc. -- those parts don't figure in.

As my daughter once said to me, "When people talk about tough love, a lot of the time, they forget the love part".

[roseBudd]

20. The teach a man to fish argument is not applicable to a post agrarian socierty.

No one can support themselves with a fishing rod today.

[Blue_Roses]

28. oh, wow...

that's so true:

"When people talk about tough love, a lot of the time, they forget the love part".

I'm going to keep that one!Thanks!:)

[opihimoimoi]

13. Humanity demands empathy.....without it....we are doomed....

[muntrv]

14. Tell him "Workers should not have to suck it up when their repuke donating employers

fuck it up!"

[asdjrocky]

15. Do they read their bible, just like good right wingers?

Tell them to take a look at Matthew 25.

[damonm]

16. But that's the part that was editied out of the RW Bible...

along with all those references to camels and eyes of needles...

[Blue_Roses]

30. they edit a lot of it out for their own

meaning. Like for instance, he's all about, "one flesh". That's how he justifies sticking his nose in our business when it doesn't even affect him, but since he thinks, "marriage" = one flesh, then he has the right. Bullshit. The bible may say that, but the LAW doesn't. I had to remind him of this and the Privacy Act that he so conveniently keeps forgetting by divulging private info.

[Blue_Roses]

29. yes, he's a minister...

:eyes: or so he would like to think...I personally think he is a spawn of the devil.

[Solomon]

17. Because they are assholes.

Even though they are poor, they imagine that one day they will be rich, and when THEY get rich, they don't want the rules changed, see. They want to enjoy their imaginary wealth and you are taking it all away with your caring for your fellow man guilt trip. They want to enjoy their riches, dammit!

Nothing is as stupid as one of their class complaining about a $500,000 cap on failed begging CEOs' salaries. Even though they're poor, they wouldn't work for such a piddly amount (er, that is, after they've reached the mountaintop and become CEOs).

[President Decider]

18. The essance of the question is: Why do Repubs generalize and label those less fortunate?

No compassion or sense of humanitarism whatsoever. They automatically assume a person is a lazy, low-life degenerate, and living off of somebody elses dime. They also assume it's always by choice and act as if it's the persons fault that they fall on hard times and truly need some help from others.

Not everyone has the support system (i.e. family, faith, and friends)as others. Not everyone comes from a family of 2 parents who had the financial means to send their kids to school to get the college level education that others have. Heck, some don't even have 1 parent who is educated enough to place an emphasis on getting an education! Do these people of circumstance still deserve some respect, some dignity in life?

Damn straight they do .... absolutely.

People, while its true that life is a series of choices, it's also getting a break here and there and even having a little luck on your side now and then as well. Anyone that doesn't believe that isn't living in the real world.

[usregimechange]

19. They see it as enabling and sometimes they are right but the problem is that...

they make that judgment without an assessment, critical thought, etc.

[Hekate]

22. Well, since Jesus stood on a hill & told the crowd, "Dudes, it's every man for himself"...

... they must figure that it's their solemn religious duty to behave like that. :eyes:

I don't know, honestly. It's really sad to watch so much of society claim to be Christian (it is still the majority religion in the US) and then behave as though Jesus told them to treat not only their neighbors but their own families like total strangers unworthy of their attention when they fall on hard times. No fatted calf for the prodigal son. No Good Samaritan helping the victim of a mugging. No giving to the Food Bank in memory of how Jesus managed to stretch a meal to include multitudes.

I'm sorry about your sis and her husband. In the long run, it is their loss, spiritually and in every other way. :hug:

Hekate

[Blue_Roses]

31. thanks for the kind words...

my dad always said that they "lived their life in a bubble" and he's right. I have to believe that as long as I keep my head up and take the high road, they will get "theirs" in the long run. It's not for me to decide (although, I would like to be around to see it)}(

[uponit7771]

23. I know some Reich Wingers who hate welfare but have lived off it before. They've bought into greed

...being good or forms of greed being good and its every person for themselves UNTIL they get into trouble.

Turn the situation around on them and ask what would they do if they were in trouble

[Uncle Joe]

24. I don't know about your brother in law, but in general I believe

it's the brainwashing effect behind the "Power of Pride."

Teams or nations that win all or most of the time can get cocky and I believe especially since World War II, this has been our bane, and this has been made most acute with the advent of television.

America has been mythologized especially with the Republicans, pledging allegiance to a flag? Then imbuing that pledge with religious connotations "under God." We put on our money "In God we trust" (in spite of Jesus' most passionate and only act of violence in throwing the money changers out of the Temple) with the obvious inference being we don't trust in government. It should come as no surprise, that some time afterward, during a major debate for the most powerful job in the land representing the entire American People, that Charlie Gibson would ask candidate Obama "Why he didn't wear a flag lapel pin?"

On a thread of Frenchie Cat's I made a joke using part of Reagen's quote regarding the myth of America, stating that it was "a shining city on a hill somewhere near Valhalla." But the more I thought about it, that myth seems quite apropos to Republican thinking. I believe, America's idyllic image has overtaken it's substance in the Republican consciousness. What America doesn't represent to most of them at a subconscious level is the entire quilt of the various American Peoples as whole, they only see their patch. A patch has one advantage it's stronger than the quilt as a whole, but a patch won't keep you warm in the winter time.

Good luck with your brother in law.

[Blue_Roses]

32. awesome words of wisdom..

thanks! :D

[bdamomma]

25. the repigs live within their own world rules for them and rules for us.

Repigs--for the rich man.

Democrats -- for the working man.

[sakabatou]

26. They hate happiness and love misery

[depakid]

27. THe interesting thing about people like this is that they invariably cry the loudest

when some misfortune befalls them- and they're the first to whine for thei rights (or for bailouts, as the case may be).

[Blue_Roses]

33. exactly!

and he is this very same way!

[depakid]

37. Chalk that up to experience

[damonm]

36. Yep. I believe Shakespeare said something along the lines

of "methinks (they) doth protest too much."

[Still Sensible]

34. They have bought the republican bill of goods

hook, line and sinker. They are basically people who see things in black and white and respond to the sales pitch they have heard from the GOP for decades... Us versus them, good versus evil, right versus wrong. They do not see the grey areas that are there in almost everything. Nuance completely escapes them. Really understanding the issues is something that many in this sound bite world simply don't have the time or the interest in doing.

Unfortunately, there are millions just like them that have somehow bought off on the simplified "principles" the republicans have claimed for years... Patriotism means waving the flag, wearing a flag pin and supporting tough us versus them use of the military (and we have our support the troops decal on our car, but spending money to outfit the troops properly or to provide for them when they come home, why that's un-American)... Responsibility means you don't accept help from the government and don't support it because government is bad (don't you see these lazy poor people are ripping off the taxpayer... except for their hypocrisy about don't screw with MY social security or MY medicare)... The American way means the Christian way. You can't be a moral person if you support abortion rights or marriage equality, and to do so threatens the very fiber of our society (never mind that we ignore the compassion and caring for the weakest among us that their bible preaches)... Liberals want to change our way of life, and take away your guns, and take away your freedom (never mind that Bushco trampled on the freedoms protected by the Constitution, that's one of those subjects that is too complicated for our black and white world view)... and on and on.

That is why so many people manage to vote against their own self interests election after election,

[tabbycat31]

35. it dosen't line the pockets of the rich

n/t

[treestar]

38. They cling to the notion that if things are always taken care of

magically by the free market, then all they have to do is work and they will survive. They want to believe it is the 19th century, and if they fail they can always go out west and hunt or farm. They don't want to believe in the concept of unemployment - they want it to just not be possible. Recognizing that it could happen to anyone means it could happen to them, and they can't face it. So they choose to blame the unemployed/poor because it fits in with the way they need things to be for their psychological comfort.

And they always have to be better than someone. It is easy for them to go on about how they worked hard - of course they had the opportunity to do so and their parents educated them and all that - but they forget that not everyone has those advantages because it is not convenient to their desperate need to believe they are better than somebody, anybody.

[Two Americas]

39. they aren't

They aren't against helping people - not in the least. It is a matter of which people they want to help.

They are also not against any of the liberal causes - health care, abortion, public subsidies, civil rights, green, organic, freedom, choices, education, justice, security, housing. They already have all of the benefits of the liberal causes for themselves, and are enjoying them immensely, thank you very much.

They are against YOU having any of those things.



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