This scared me. This really, really scared me.

[MiniMandaRuth]

Well, this happened a few days ago. At the lunch table. Between me and one of my friends.

Him: Well, Louisiana went for Bush so it's only natural that they should suffer because of the hurricane.

Me: New Orleans went for Kerry.

Him: Okay. So the people in New Orleans should be saved. Not the other ones.

Me: Okay. W.T.F? That sounds a heck of a lot like the Rapture. Only a few people get saved from something big. You know who preaches about the Rapture? People with nothing better to do! Alright?

Him: But it's true! They got what's coming for them!

Me: Okay, so you're just going with the old Rethug mantra "I got mine, screw you!"

Him: Whatever! They deserved it!

Me: You know how there's pouser goths and punks and skaters. Well, you're a pouser Democrat. Stop, look back, and reevaluate your facts. I'm like Howard Dean: I support the Democratic Wing of the Democratic party.

Him: Hmph. *Wanders off*

Did I say the right things? Or was that... rude?

Do you think that I handled that okay? He's pretty mad at me. Was it right to tell off another liberal? :evilfrown:

[Arkana]

1. I don't know how to react to that.

Your friend's not a liberal if he truly believes that, though.

[MiniMandaRuth]

10. I was so P.Od I don't know if I said the right thing.

[aquart]

2. He's NOT a liberal.

He has no generosity of heart.

[babylonsister]

3. No one 'deserved' to be impacted by these hurricanes, and

that goes for Dems and Repugs. It seems he's lacking a bit of humanity, which I consider primarily a Dem trait. You might want to ask him what happened to his.

[Hobarticus]

4. Anyon who says anyone deserves that kind of suffering is one evil bastard

You handled it quite well.

Are you sure this person's a liberal? Sounds like some goofy fundie to me.

[MiniMandaRuth]

5. I dunno. I'm just upset.

:evilfrown:

He's a good guy.

[Chan790]

6. Perfect.

Some people may disagree but it's liberals like that who give the rest of us the meme reputation of being elitist and out of touch with America. We may be the big tent party but the big tent has no room for progressives whose progressivism is regressive and cruel.

Better he says it to you and you call bullshit on him than he says it to someone on the fence who will be swayed that we really are elitist or to some conservative who will use it at a hoity-toity cocktail party to demonstrate that we're elitist and out of touch and don't care about people.

Being pissed-off that you told him off for being a bad lib doesn't make him right.

[donco6]

7. How does one "deserve" a natural disaster?

I'm no Christian, but even Jesus rebuked people for this lunacy.

[sepia_steel]

8. That sure smacks of fundie to me

what the hell???

[MiniMandaRuth]

9. That's what I said.

Oh well. I'd just better see the light and tell him to shape up or go join the Whack-job Fundie circus.

[CBGLuthier]

11. A lot of those same sentiments

are festering right here at DU.

From jokes that an earthquake that killed everyone in a red state would be good to just all the red state bashing in general.

The RW does not have a lock on non compassion. Not by a long shot.

Extremist assholes are asshole no matter which way they swing.

[MiniMandaRuth]

13. Amen. Personally, I think that a few of the true bluers

should go through the house and just kick everyone out that is a troll.

But that's just me. We're already being blasted by RW hate radio. We don't need this kind of crap.

[enki23]

12. so what? and what the hell are you "scared" of?

i agree with your friend. my standard is the same set by the u.s. supreme court to determine whether you can execute someone for a capital crime. if a bush voter is fully capable of understanding the consequences of their actions, i will hereafter refuse to feel sorry for them. "elections have consequences." and i think i'll save the great majority of my sympathy for those who didn't vote to "drown government in the bathtub."

drowing it in the bathtub, i might add, after stuffing the corpse with billion dollar bills.

and spare me the "not a liberal" bullshit. i save my empathy for those who feel empathy. i feel empathy for the children of new orleans, her poor, her working people, her dogs and cats and pidgeons, and even, to a lesser extent, her fucking thugs. i don't feel much sympathy, however, for her republicans.

[MiniMandaRuth]

14. Okay. This is the crap I'm talking about.

So, if what you're saying is true, then everyone that voted for Bush just deserves to die. Great.

So, the guy that maybe is still trying to figure out which way to go in his life should be killed just becuase he voted for Bush?

Yeah, there are nutjobs out there that can't be swayed, but there are those that can. Look at David Brock. He was a right as you could go. but then he saw what he did and came to our side?

If what you're saying is true, then, David Brock should just be killed?

Sort it out, friend, before you just go on with this.

[enki23]

15. where in hell did you get "david brock should just be killed?"

i didn't say anything about who should, or should not be killed. i don't think ANYONE should "be killed." save, perhaps, those guilty of capital crimes. i go back and forth on that one.

i also don't necessarily think bush voters "deserve" what they got. i simply acknowlege the fact that they got exactly what they asked for. only they thought they were asking it for someone else.

[MiniMandaRuth]

16. You just said that you agreed with my friend,

who said that all republicans in Louisana should be killed. Maybe you should word things better.

On edit: Or maybe you should just decide that you don't agree with him at all. And just say that no one should be killed, but that you just don't feel sorry for the rethugs.

[enki23]

19. you didn't say your friend said republicans should be killed

according to your post, your friend said they shouldn't be helped. in the really real world, and welcome back to it, i'm not *advocating* a goddamned thing. not even that. but i'll reserve the right to express my dearth of sympathy for bush voters who fall on hard times.

so kindly refrain from trying to project further atrocities onto me. i've seen atrocities enough already, some large portion of which can be deservedly lain at the feet of the bush administration and its enablers. would that they could all stand trial for their crimes, and face punishment proportional to their own participation.

[LittleClarkie]

27. Not saving them = killing them

Her friend said they shouldn't be saved. Hence, yeah, she did say her friend said Republicans should be killed. What do you think not helping them was going to do?

I've not read the point above yours yet, just noticed your comment, and re-read her post, and concluded what she had or had not said. That is all.

However, I saw an alarming bit of compassionlessness right after Katrina hit, just before we realized how bad it was. Folks were talking about how they didn't feel sympathy for that Red state. Thankfully, most of that went away when we realized the extent of the damage.

Somehow though I don't think Katrina was asking "Democrat or Republican?". I am, btw, a Dem in a very Red County. Do you think that a similar disaster would go around me on its way to getting the Republicans?

[UncleSepp]

17. No wonder you have Hess in your sig line.

[enki23]

18. because i associate hess with bush republicans?

do i win a prize?

wait, you said "no wonder." so i assume, since you aren't wondering, you understand i'm opposed to torture even of inhuman scum. even the selfsame inhuman scum who would gleefully defend torturing others.

[baby_mouse]

20. RECIPROCITY

There is no point throwing love away. There is no point in loving someone who will poison it and throw it back in your face as hate. That is wasted love and I think it's sinful, insofaras there is such a thing as sin.... I'm an atheist, but if were to believe in sin I would count that as one of them.

It's sad, but true.

There is no point in trying to save someone who will use your desire for the good of all against you. Not only will he end up screwing himself, he will screw you as well, which means that whatever energy you have to spend on helping those who WILL reciprocate will be lost. And that isn't fair on THEM.

Never mind feeling sorry for the hate-filled people. Be nice to THEM when they are nice to YOU. There's no other way. Give them a chance...but don't give them chances over your compatriots. Don't throw away good people to catch the bad. This is something experience has taught me: People don't change that much over life, not really.

They see kindness as a weakness. They think it's "emotional".

There are others in the world more deserving of your sympathy. This isn't some sort of game. You won't score "goodness" points by protecting those who enable suffering.

That's what *I* think, anyhow.

[Tsiyu]

25. Good post, and thought-provoking

I've thrown away a lot of energy on people who haven't given that fact one second's worth of thought.

But I am also surrounded by people who love and appreciate me, so I am lucky to have figured out how to find good people.

And I no longer waste my energy on those who refuse to see beyond their own little scope.

[Ladyhawk]

21. Yeah, I think you did OK.

He might just be going through an "angry" stage...maybe he doesn't really mean what he said? I hope not! Right after the election, I felt so hurt I was ready to tell everyone who voted for * to fuck off and die, but I don't think I meant really die, you know?

If I saw someone in trouble, I don't think I would have asked who they voted for before lending a hand. Now that I'm able to think more rationally, I know I'd help them first and probably even dispense with the question. I still feel angry, but even if we're totally screwed, I don't want to be like them. It's not good for me. It's not good for humanity.

[FreedomAngel82]

22. He's the one who is rude

And I don't care abouta person's politics. Nobody deserved it.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

23. I like what you said

It was a good analogy, the poseur Democrat. You put it in language he can relate to.

Sometimes I think when people having something in common, are on the same side, they can descend into a sort of gang or tribe mentality and that's natural but not good.

Not all liberals are great people. Not all conservatives are evil.

[AmandaRuth]

24. Wow.

Not all liberals are great people. Not all conservatives are evil. I am so quoting you.

[Warren DeMontague]

26. You did the right thing. However, to play a bit of the devil's advocate...

how many Bush backers drive huge, outsized SUVs (and bitch like spoiled children about the price at the pump), claim global warming is "junk science", and vote to fuck the environment at every turn?

No one deserves a category 5 hurricane, but our petroleum addiction and willful disregard of scientific reality- aided and abetted by Bush and his supporters- isn't helping matters, at all. Did anyone 'get what they deserved' from the hurricanes? No. But the hurricanes should serve as a serious WAKE UP CALL to people who support this administration.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

28. I love that bumper sticker

To me, it sums it all up.

[cynatnite]

29. A liberal? Didn't even sound human to me n/t

[DemonFighterLives]

30. No one deserved anything wrought by dubco

I think your friend was just angry. If he was a freeper talking about the blacks, then it would be bad. This was the typical rethug opinion and you can tell by bab's comments that they will be better off now- (paraphrased).
A lot of the republicans who voted for dubby were just not educated with the truth and some were just used and the wool pulled over their eyes. As dubco breaks down, we have to be prepared to open our tent to newcomers. Of course the stiff 29% will never change and they can follow dubby to hell.