dagblog - Comments for "Victim-hood fractures the Republican Party"

I guess I am happy my kids

tmccarthy0 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:17:39 +0000

In reply to Victim-hood fractures the Republican Party

I guess I am happy my kids are all Democrats, my husband is a Democrat, my mom is a Democrat and my brother is not a Republican, I can't say he is a Democrat, but he doesn't ever vote for Republicans. My Dad who is the only admitted Republican can't stand Republicans anymore, because they are so full of crap, even he sees it. For the first time in years, he has shut off Fox not News. He did that because we were able to prove to him they repeatedly lie.

When ACA was upheld, he called my mom to gloat about how it was struck down, you know cause that is what Fox notNews reported to him. She laughed and said, Fox is lying, it was upheld, he was stunned, and had no idea what to say. Then she piled on asking him why it would be a victory for America if more people were uninsured? Something hit him right then and he hasn't watched them since. This year when he came to the states he didn't even bother to talk politics at all. We talked about everything else, but no politics. I think he is done with them.

Well, self reliance is akin

Oxy Mora — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 11:45:55 +0000

In reply to I've learned never to

Well, self reliance is akin to survival of the fittest. Leave the non-performers in the snow bank. But society is better than that, so it's a question of solutions. However, if you're consumed by victimhood---even the kind that imagines insults from the poor---you can't see real solutions and thereby compound your victimhood. It's easy for corporations and politicians to take advantage of victimhood.

Just spit-balling. Thanks for playing.

I've learned never to

Aunt Sam — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 02:35:58 +0000

In reply to Thanks, Aunt Sam. Back to the

I've learned never to underestimate 'their' ability to twist and turn any issue to somehow paint themselves as the victims/wronged ones.

OMG, I'm starting to think like them - help Oxy, call exorcism r us quick.

True, it is human nature, our

Oxy Mora — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 02:30:05 +0000

In reply to I don't think the use of the

True, it is human nature, our own benefits are always earned but when someone receives them it isn't fair. One would think that the conclave of special privilege listening to Romney;s harangue, condemning the very fundamental idea of a safety net, would highlight who the thieves might be. It seems that many folks still identify with the $50 K plate high rollers even though their intentions are to take away the security of, for example, a minimum wage or senior healthcare, But the idea of self reliance, not so much the reality, binds together the have's and the have-nots. It's complicated.

Thanks, Aunt Sam. Back to the

Oxy Mora — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 02:15:11 +0000

In reply to A person can't be both a

Thanks, Aunt Sam. Back to the drawing board.

I don't think the use of the

moat — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 01:49:16 +0000

In reply to Victim-hood fractures the Republican Party

I don't think the use of the idea of self reliance in our political discourse can be understood independently from the struggle against conclaves of special privilege.

Most of the modest income whites I have encountered that subscribe to the code of personal responsibility that emphasizes the importance of proving oneself in a difficult environment don't start sounding Republican until they explain their lack of progress upon a group that received what should have gone to them. "Self reliance" has become another way to talk about theft without having to talk about who the thieves are.

While I would be the first to say that much of the Republican strategy played out since the New Deal is about heightening the sense of having been ripped off, I have also met many a Democrat who did that wiping downward face gesture to explain why their kid didn't get a job "someone" else did. What you are touching upon runs very deep throughout our society.

To stay on topic, it doesn't surprise me that your logic puzzle did not register with your family interlocutors.

You left out the thief.

A person can't be both a

Aunt Sam — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 15:23:36 +0000

In reply to Victim-hood fractures the Republican Party

A person can't be both a victim and a self reliant American at the same time.

Sure they can and are........

it's all in how it's framed. Many will argue they are self reliant, but victims of those who leech off the public programs funded by their tax dollars and stretch it to they also are victims because they pay higher taxes due to 'these lazy, irresponsible bums'.

Just ask 'em, they'll have no problem huffing and puffing about how they pay their own way without government assistance and yet have to pay for those who do and thus are victims of this socialist/welfare state society.