We should be proud of the fact that the teabaggers and freepers hate us.

[MrScorpio]

I consider it a test of our character.

There are people in this world who will always be wrong and are completely unredeemable. The Freepers and the Teabaggers are people who have gone totally out of their way to be wrong on just about every issue. And, in some ways, that is a GOOD THING!

DUers are people who value truth above lives, facts over fantasy, justice over injustice, tolerance over intolerance, compassion over selfish greed and decency over blind hatred. We also have this tendency to think that people would come to their senses IF they opened their minds and saw things from a factual and intelligent perspective. Knowing that we have the capacity to think for ourselves and independently come our own conclusions, it's only natural that that some of us think this as a universal trait.

It's an admirable supposition and yes, that's what we are wont to do. However unfortunately, freepers and teabaggers are incapable of doing this at all, as they are completely governed by fear and hatred and a dependence on authoritarian mind control, i.e., Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh and Fox News.

I'm sorry, but to think that they'd come to their senses when given the benefit of our approach to any given situation is the height of naivety.

They have made a conscious decision to be a bunch of cowardly, hateful, wrong-headed morons. And the fact that these good-for-nothing, low-browed half-wits have taken upon themselves to be so blindly and fervently opposed to mere common sense and decency should be a surefire sign that, (a) we must be doing something right and (b) they're all hopeless causes.

I don't make it a habit of checking in with them to gauge every decision and position, knowing full well that their bitching and moaning is coming from the depths of their own cluelessness. I do find that their bullshit does come in handy from time to time. This is because I prefer to think of them as sociological reverse barometers.

It's as simple as that.

Now, since these are suckers who are continually and faithfully falling for the lies of Hannity, Beck, Limbaugh and Fox News; do we actually think that it's a good idea for these people, who are so willingly stupid, to actually like us?

Of course, not.

Should we waste our precious time trying to get these hopeless brain donors to stop being the hateful fuckwits that they so gladly are?

Definitely, NOT!

Look, these fools are going to have to be taken, kicking and screaming, into a world that being fixed from the fuckupness of their Republican masters. Frankly, I take this as a good sign that they're not happy about this situation at all.

Now, whether we all agree or disagree that things are going right or wrong, at least most of us approach these viewpoints from a more factual perspective, firmly rooted in our core values of peace, justice, equality and basic common sense. How WE mix it up amongst ourselves is not an issue in regards to how the teabaggers and freepers view us.

But, as long as those wrong-headed assholes take it upon themselves to oppose all what we know is right, then we should take it as faith that we're doing at least something right.

Rather than trying to be their unwilling saviors, I'm convinced that DU's role must be that of a vanguard against all the wrongness that they go out of their way to promote.

[old mark]

1. Rec. I'd feel something was wrong if they agreed with us. They will always be as they are -

their light at the end of the tunnel will be an oncoming train. They will have no change of heart or revelation that they were wrong. They will misunderstand issues on purpose so that they can hate even more.
Hate is who they are and what they do best.

mark

[ixion]

2. It's something of a paradox

Yes, there is no logic in the rambling, often nonsensical statements made by the teabaggers. That goes without saying.

But assuming that there is no truth -- no value -- in the message, and to assume that 'we know we are right' is just as dangerous and is actually counter productive.

We're witnessing the new destruction of the Tower of Babel. Language is losing it's meaning because of this rift in reality, and everyone needs to take a deep breath, or this will all end very poorly, if history is any guide.

[MrScorpio]

3. We shouldn't give up the premise of right vs wrong...

And there are some basic philosophical guidelines to distinguish one from the other.

Now, if we're going to remain active participants in this forum, standing up for and adhering to the basic precepts of truth and justice, then we all have responsibility to ensure that we are on the right path.

There's nothing wrong with honest self assessment and self-correction. It's something that requires constant vigilance, otherwise your supposition is more than likely.

But, there shouldn't be any question that they are wrong for mostly all the wrong reasons.

[ixion]

4. Were we wrong when we rallied against Bush?

I don't think so, but my dad does. He still thinks Bush was an honorable guy, which I think is a monumental laugh riot.

Is my dad nuts? No. Misinformed, I believe, perhaps willfully. Yet still he and I can have conversations about topics that we can agree on, and this allows us to maintain a civil decorum.

It's the same principal with the teabaggers -- and they have this problem in spades, to be sure.

But as long as we're unwilling to even begin to talk to one another, the situation will only continue to deteriorate. That is inevitable, no matter who's right, and who's wrong.

This is one of the things I've come to admire about Jimmy Cater, and why he still ranks as my favorite President in my lifetime. Carter always works to find the common ground, because that's where you can start to build.

You don't have to abandon what you believe to be right from wrong simply to have a discussion with someone you don't agree with.

[MrScorpio]

5. You're so very right; communication is the key.

But, all of their tactics are designed to shut down the free exchange of communication.

It became very clear early on that they weren't even interested in it.

At that point, it should have been as clear as a bell that the next action should have been to classify them as hopeless causes.

Barney Frank did the right thing when he pointed out that is was as futile to talk to them as it would be for one to talk to a coffee table.

At some point, we should stop banging our heads against a wall in an effort to give them the benefit of the doubt.

That's a great way for us to end up victimized. They're not interested in doing the right thing.

They're only interested in winning at any cost.

[ixion]

9. I understand that communication is a two-way street, and right now the teabaggers

are allowing only one-way communication. The fight dirty, like street fighters do. That is their nature. They tend to use their reptilian brain more than their mammalian one. I do not dispute this. But if we're going to dismiss them as they dismiss us, thus breaking off any and all communication, then the overall breakdown of society as we know it is inevitable. Maybe it already is. History would say it is. History would say we're screwed.

My hope beyond hope is that we're able to prove History wrong, albeit that's something of a Hail Mary Pass at hope, I admit.

[MrScorpio]

11. You and I aren't coming to an agreement with this

And that's fine, I don't expect everyone to disagree with me. If everyone did, I wouldn't be a happy camper, because this exercise would cease being an opportunity for personal growth.

You and I, while we are disagreement, we are both honest brokers who are engaging frank discussion.

In regards to dealing with teabaggers, it's they are the ones who refuse to have that free exchange, in that they refuse to apply comity where we normally would.

Because of the values to which we adhere, by default, our door is open.

I will say that if they are willing to be honest brokers and open to discussion, whether or not we agree with other, that right there would heads above their current position of shout downs, fear mongering, racist characterizations and overt bullying.

Until they come to their senses, I firmly believe that some tough love is the best way approach them.

[ixion]

13. fair enough

I enjoyed our discussion. :)

[MrScorpio]

14. Me too

By the way, I meant to say that I don't expect everyone to AGREE with me.

But I think that you got my point.

[era veteran]

6. They are useful tools & fools, that the right will use until they resume power

when they will be cast aside like the SA. Nice, 'sociological reverse barometers'.

[stray cat]

7. Should they also be proud we hate them?

[MrScorpio]

8. I see that as a sign that they're hopelessly unrepentant

If they're going to take solace in the fact that we oppose them, and use that opposition to justify the hatred and ugliness that they espouse, then there shouldn't be any doubt about their intransigence.

These are people to be stood up to, in the same way that one should stand up to any bully.

[ElMuertoMonkey]

10. Tea-Baggers are a sham

Tea-Baggers are a sham !! This movement is disturbing, and as radical and unhinged as the 9/11 truthers. I would emphasize as always, no political ideology is safe from this paranoid fringe, and this is a great example of how ideology is the universal threat to rational thinking.

I also can't help but think this teabagging movement represents a more mainstream identity of growing right-wing hate in this country.
Our movement lies in being an unapologetic champion for progressive ideas, something the rightwing hates.

[MrScorpio]

12. First thing: Welcome to DU

Second, I'm not convinced by their crocodile tears.

It's should be as plain as day that they're full of BS.

But I do differ with your assessment in one respect, in that I feel that the teabagging dynamic is much more complicated than just overt white hatred of a black president.

What I see it is a grand tossed salad of frustration in dealing with their political powerlessness, economic uncertainty, sociological regression and, at some level, repentant support for classic America white privilege.

Please stick around, your opinion is valued.