The privileged idiocy of 'Just let the Republicans win' [View all]

[KamaAina]

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/13/1458098/-The-privileged-idiocy-of-Just-let-the-Republicans-win

Whenever I hear a self-described progressive say that we ought to let the Republicans win the presidency and thus force the Democratic Party to adhere to "our principles," my first reaction is to assume that the person speaking is but another privileged idiot: White, male, young, doesn’t live paycheck to paycheck, doesn’t have to worry about whether he’ll be able to afford his medical bills or whether he’ll have a roof over his head next month. In the interest of full disclosure, I can be considered to fit some of that category, myself.

But privileged idiots apparently don’t remember recent history, and how well such petulance worked out in 2000, when some hoped suffering through a Bush presidency would fix the Democratic Party. And privileged idiots either don't understand or don't care to understand what real suffering is. There are exceptions to almost every rule, but you don't hear much privileged idiocy coming from African-Americans or Latinos or young women whose lives may be endangered if Roe v. Wade were repealed or overturned. You also don't hear much of it from climate scientists.

When I saw this Salon headline by a self-described Bernie Sanders supporter referring to the possibility of a Hillary Clinton nomination, I assumed the writer was just another privileged idiot.
Just let the Republicans win: Maybe things need to get really bad before America wakes up
A GOP victory would bring disaster. Perhaps that’s necessary to destroy their credibility — and wake up Democrats

To most people who are both intelligent and capable of empathy, the word disaster is a red flag. Disasters are to be avoided. Disasters are bad things. People suffer during disasters. One can be unhappy that we are not living in a utopia without deliberately courting disaster—if one is intelligent and capable of empathy.