I didn't like his policies but can we TRY to put our best foot forward

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

while posting this week?

I am not a liberal so I can be as hateful as the right. I would suggest we treat Reagan's death like we treat the rules concerning civility and respect.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. So long as the Right Wingers DO NOT Politicize this.

If they do then the gloves should be off for all 45,000+ DUers!

[salin]

9. The best way to deal with that

is CALL them on the politicization ... And on their OWN statements of "disgust" related to Wellstone's memorial. make them eat their own words. But keep to the high road.

[MallRat]

16. ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

See my thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1725888

-MR

[bhunt70]

2. agreed,

[rumguy]

3. I'll second that

We should talk about stem cell research. For the time being.

[Mikimouse]

4. You mean ignore them for the most part?

Kidding, just kidding, Ow, ow, ow, ow! :spank:

[Raven]

5. I agree and

I don't care what the Repugs do...we should be better than they are and we should respect the Regan family's right to mourn. His disease was a horrible one and many families can sympathize no matter what their politics.

[Trajan]

6. What is a liberal today ? ...

I know I feel like I am a liberal .... but the lines are SO hazy ...

That said: ... we are HUMANS first and above all ...

Reagan did many bad things, and I reject the rational behind is actions ...

But, he is a human being, and I will give him and his their due ...

I met Reagan at the Downey/Rockwell plant in 1983 ... the mans face was SO packed with makeup he looked like a shriveled up porcelin doll ... He is quite likeable, even as his policies were so damned mean ...

Being a liberal, I believe, MEANS being a human with a caring heart ...

So: liberal heart as I am: May he find some rest, and may his family find some solace in his passing ....

[Cannikin]

8. "Being a liberal, I believe, MEANS being a human with a caring heart ..."

I agree fully. I've been on this board for many months and I've seen lots of hostility, but I'm really shocked at the lack of respect and compassion I've seen today.

[supercrash]

7. Fuck that

This guy is a hack

We will be paying his debts for decades to come

I find comfort that he died alone, even though he was surrounded by loved ones ...yet didn't know it

Fuck him and his supporters, I am glad he is dead

Next up....Bush sr. When is that crook going to croak ?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

11. I think the hallmark of liberalism is compassion even for our adversaries

So as far as your assessment...fuck that...give his family some respect this week...there are years to come to assess his negative impact...it won't kill you to be bigger.

[supercrash]

14. Fuck that

Remember when Babs said .."Don't critize my husband or your dead"

That fucking bitch is speaking to us

may I suggest you show her some respect when Sr. kicks ?

Thats right....fuck em

How dare that bitch threaten me

[Trajan]

19. SO you have decided to stoop as low as those you despise ?

The bar drops, and you climb UNDER it ? ...

Chuckles ...

The perfect definition of stupidity: SEE bad ... and try to be worse ... all the while complaining bad is bad ....

Yeah .... great ...

[Media_Lies_Daily]

26. You better get it through your head that we're running out of cheeks...

...to be kicked. The gloves are OFF and it's time to fight nose-to-nose, bare-knuckle style.

You're welcome to your opinion, but quite a few of us have had enough of decades of rightwing Republican bullshit, and we have certainly had more than enough of the current dictatorship.

The current definition of "stupidity" is continuing to bend over and take whatever the goose-steppers are handing out without even the slightest whimper.

You better get with the program and quit posting crap like your last one.

[Trajan]

28. Bullshit ....

Dancin on the grave of the recently dead does NOT further the agenda that we embrace ....

You have resentment and hatred ? ... focus it on the PARTY IN POWER NOW: not on the demons of the past ...

Furthermore: I will deem it proper to correct my fellow DUers when they make horses arses of themselves whenever I see fit ...

Got that ? .... good ...

Anything you would like to add ? ...

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

37. by emulating their behavior, all you do is guarantee its persistence

[Unperson 309]

41. Excuse Me, but this is the ROOT of America's Problems....

right NOW!

It is damned HARD to wear the white hat, to be the good guy, to play by the rules while others cheat and succeed... but even the steady APPEARANCE of doing so was the basis for the world's admiration (what there was of it) for the United States! We played mostly by the rules and we were not contemptuous of our allies.

It is not hard to attack and slime and cheat and weasel... such tactics WORK... but what you give UP when you resort to them is incalculably MORE valuable than any temporary success you gain!

We are seeing this today! Your approach is the same as the Bush administration's and the conservatives. "Fuck fair play! Let's kick 'em in the BALLS!"...

And this is WHY the Bush administration is FALLING APART! Because when you create an atmosphere of every man for himself and kick the one on the bottom, you REMOVE the civility, the little ledge that you may one day want to cling to!

If you cannot be civil, be silent! Speak to the actions, but give the man his due. He was our President and he was our leader. He had moments where he shone. We can wait for a while before dragging the linen out to air.

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[rumguy]

17. dude that is shameful

are you for real?

[Pepperbelly]

10. I agree, Teena ... but keep this in mind ...

He was an evil old man who caused pain, misery, grief, death and destruction with his misguided ideas. I do not think we should dogpile onto his corpse but OTOH, we should resist the right's attempts to cannoize the old bastard, carve his mug onto Rushmore or insert him into the Pledge.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. I didn't propose that...just manners and decent behavior

I reject any responsibility for anything anyone reads into that request (not that I think you were)

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

21. This is a democracy...

>He was an evil old man who caused pain, misery, grief, death and
>destruction with his misguided ideas.

And he won two elections. So if you want to blame anyone, blame the morons who voted for him. They KNEW what they were doing.

[MuseRider]

13. Agreed here.

I hate what Reagan did to this country but his death will not change that, it has been done. For now we can hope that his family finds peace. Death of a loved one is a diificult enough thing. The family will be innundated with Repubs wanting to get some gain from this and that will be hard enough for them, they shouldn't have to deal with hatred on top of it.

[unfrigginreal]

15. Lol

Yeah, we should show all the civility and respect for that old fuck that we've shown for each other over the past year. Preach it.

[Bombtrack]

18. Thank you. What is so hard about wanting him to Rest in Peace

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

20. Truth be told, we have no idea what amends he may have made in

his final hours regarding all the policies we deplored.

[Forkboy]

22. truth be told

he may just as equally thought they were still great policies.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

24. true..we can't know

[Media_Lies_Daily]

27. The only things we know for sure are...

...the hundreds of lives that were ruined by Reagan's work on behalf of McCarthy's Un-American Activities, and the tens of thousands of lives lost in Central America as a direct result of his policies.

I would imagine if the dead could speak they would have quite a bit to say today.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

30. I don't disagree with what you are citing...I just don't think me being an

ass of a human rectifies any of that.

[Walt Starr]

32. I know for absolutely certain Reagan never felt bad about his policies

The evil fuck lost his mind years ago. He forgot all about that shit and was sleeping in his drool, shit, and piss.

Karmic justice.

[skjpm]

23. I didn't hate Reagan--I disagreed with him

Just to make the point. I can make the distinction and wish that he rest in peace.

I have an odd memory of Reagan. He visited Baylor when I was a student there. I crossed the street in front of his motorcade without knowing it was him. When I realized what I'd done, I thought I was going to get shot or something, but I guess it wasn't that big a deal.

Yep. That's it. Not much of a story.

[Whitacre D_WI]

25. I'm sorry, but I can't.

I don't post much in the political forums, so I shouldn't cause too much of a flap. ;)

Nonetheless, the man was a mass-murderer. He is personally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions. He knew this (he wasn't half as stupid as a lot of people think).

This is the definition of evil. Ronald Reagan was evil. I am not dancing naked in the streets. But I damned well am not going to mourn, either.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

33. I have a reading assignment for you..Hanna Arendt

A book called Eichmann in Jerusalem, A Report on the Banality of Evil...what people characterize as "evil" is not a horned devil but a benign thoughtlessness...in that regard...when we do these things unthoughtfully, we are being just as contributory to the condition.

[RedEarth]

29. Agree.......I never cared for him, but let's show some respect...

[Armstead]

31. Amen

/nt

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

34. See...we're more together than apart

;-)

[Rowdyboy]

35. Coming from you, this ought to mean a lot

Unfortunately, civility, dignity, and appropriate behavior are things of the past in America 2004. Among the many things Republicans have stolen from us is our ability to behave as mature adults. Instead, we return hate for hate.

[Unperson 309]

42. I Don't. It's Not Easy, But I Don't.

I lived through the damages he did to California as Governor. I was working in hospitals and SAW, FIRSTHAND what his defunding did to medical programs for the poor and elderly and mentally ill.

Would I have gleefully drop-kicked the Gipper into the deepest pit of Hell like a rubbery javelin? YES!

But I don't hate his family, and I try not to hate him. I knew Nancy. She was one ice cold, hard edged, steel-wheeled B*TCH and the devil take any poor bastard who CROSSED her... *but* Nancy showed real guts, real fortitude and real CLASS dealing with Rinnie's illness and his final years were in as much peace and dignity as SHE could muster for him!

She embodied true courage and faithfulness. She did NOT shuffle him off to a "residential care facility" or turn his last years into a media circus! Family friends have told me that she cared for him PERSONALLY in many ways including the.... messier.... stuff! She didn't have to, but she DID and for that, I salute her.

She had help. She had maids, nurses, helpers by the hundreds, if she needed them, but she did NOT shovel him off and forget him!

So for the sake of Nancy Reagan and for the sake of those who loved Ronald and are gireving honestly and openly for his passing, I extend condolences and respect.

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[Darranar]

36. Agreed...

Reagan may have been a war criminal and a mass murderer, but he was not causing any harm immediately before his death.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

38. we need to keep some of these saner threads kicked

for the good of all.

There are some good thoughts here. PLease read 'em.

[Tamiati]

39. Presence

I think that RR while I did'nt agree with his politics, had a presence that could'nt be disregarded, and he certainly was a well spoken individual.

Too bad some find it necessary to stoop to degenerate levels to make their point.

[Unperson 309]

40. "I Agree With This Psot!"

Reagan's actions were horrible, but the man, himself, was motivated by sincerity. In his last years as President, he was fading in and out and was manipulated by others behind the scenes.

Nobody deserves to die as he did and I offer his family sincerest condolences. I never attacked the man while he was ill and will not use his death as any occasion for joy or mirth.

I *will* however make the observation that due to his WEALTH, RWR's final years were FAR more peaceful, comfortable, safe, he was more cared for and more competantly looked after than ANY of the people he and his party dispised! I do not begrudge him this. He could afford it. But I DO (and will ALWAYS) begrudge him the attention paid to his final days versus the attention he and his ilk paid to the final days of THOUSANDS of suffering AIDS patients! And poor people. And those he threw out fo mental institutions!

But those are his ACTIONS, not him personally... He will never have to FACE those he condemned by his inaction. They, and he, have very probably gone to DIFFERENT places in the afterlife. And I'm sorry for that. I'm hoping he made peace with his maker before he became unable to do so. Sincerely. No christian should EVER rejoice over the loss of a soul.... ANY soul!


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