Riffing off the previous, I know we lefties are being constantly warned against denigrating these people or questioning their intelligence because elitism, but honestly, I've never been able to understand how you do this while remaining faithful to your political principles, or even to simple reality. I mean, I've known many Anglo-Americans like the people at that Romney rally, and I'll readily admit, they're not all stupid people. They hail from all levels along the socioeconomic spectrum, and a fair number of them are degreed professionals who attended high regarded public universities and who, on many subjects apart from politics, are perfectly sane and rational beings. But when the topic turns to politics and/or religion, they just become a gang of gibbering lunatics. It's kinda like what the President said four years ago---it's like they take pride in being ignorant, perhaps because they get some kind of tribal affirmation out of it. Whatever the motive/reward, I can behave politely and respectfully around them easily enough (I've done it thousands of times), but somehow "respecting" their political views makes about as much sense as treating the hallucinations of a schizophrenic as simply another valid perspective on our physical world.
But that is probably being unfair. Schizophrenics can't control their psychotic outbreaks absent medication. These Real Americans can control theirs at any time of their own choosing by simply switching the AM dial away from Rush or watching a news program that isn't hosted on Fox. If these people insist from walling themselves off from reality, well, their concerns as a rule should be ignored, not dignified with courteous "you have a point, but" acknowledgements whenever they start jabbering about the Lightbulb Fascism of Kenyan Socialist welfare sponges. As an alternative, whenever they start brain-farting in your general direction, try delicately to change the subject towards something inoffensive. If that doesn't work, just walk away.
---Baron V
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