Where does all their hate come from? [View all]

[YoungDemCA]

Why are Republicans and right-wingers so damn hateful?

Is it because they fear that they are losing something? Economic, social, and political privileges, perhaps? Is that what drives them?

Or is it more a respect for "traditional" authority and power, or is it right-wing, dogmatic, absolutist religious views, where everything is "black and white", good vs evil, us against them, "real Americans" vs the *insert villain of the week here*?>

Is it racism? Sexism? Classism? Homophobia? Xenophobia? Some combination thereof? Some sort of perverted nationalism, where "Proud to be an American" means hating the "Other"?

One thing is for sure; right-wingers have created a poisonous political atmosphere in the United States. This cannot be healthy in the long-term, for anybody. But it does give the Republicans effective power-driving down turnout (like they did in the 2010 midterms) to make the American electorate more white, male, straight, Christian, and rich than an electorate that is really representative of America. And with the Roberts Court effectively giving corporations more rights than people, in a political atmosphere already overwhelmingly skewed toward the privileged, we are in for some hard times ahead indeed.

Maybe it's all a cynical ploy to divide the country further so that the power elites will avoid being held accountable for their Robber Baron actions. Because even though most Americans hate the elites, if that hate can be directed downward, towards the main victims of oppression in our society, the oppressive elite can continue to run amok, unaccountable.

Hate may be poisonous, but they found a way to make it profitable.