Stages of Republican Grief

[TaraJo]

I know exactly where their bigotry is going to come from

I don't like it one bit.

I share your concerns but don't worry. Gay-bashing is so last decade.

Gay bashing, maybe, maybe not. If it does go out of style, they simply switch to trans-bashing and I'm still screwed. For example......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qasbSquSW54

[jonb]

Looking at your situation from this side of the pond, I can't help but wonder why you don't organise neighbourhood groups to keep these people out. If I had to live next door to some gun toting fascist christians, I would worry about the safety of my children, and I am sure it would affect the property prices.

[Polaris]

Number 4 is more like this...."OK we finally admit Obama had been siding with us the whole time, but we were greedy to have the Oval Office again. Side with Obama because we had been lying about him being a socialist this whole time and he's just a capitalist just like us."

Except they'll never admit they were lying.

[Minimalist]

Jon,

Put this string into Google: child shot stray bullet

I got 760,000 hits in half a second.

[Cato]

Fuck that. Google 'child abused by religion'. You get 82,800,000 hits, although it took somewhat longer...0.60 seconds.

To be fair, I punched in 'child killed by religion' and got 85,100,000 hits in just 0.17 seconds.

Using these figures, stray bullets are only 1% as effective as religion in terms of kililng the souls of young people.

[The Grand Nudger]

Using these figures, stray bullets are only 1% as effective as religion in terms of kililng the souls of young people.

Which is 100% less lethal than a stray bullet..hehehehehehe

[DeistPaladin]

Gay bashing, maybe, maybe not. If it does go out of style, they simply switch to trans-bashing and I'm still screwed. For example......

OK, I regret you have a point. Gay bashing may be passe among conservative hate-mongers but trans bashing may be distinct enough to be "something new". Still, I'm hopeful that you won't see much of this. I think this whole strategy is falling apart for Republicans and they may not be able to go back to this well regardless of the demonized-group-de-jour they might target.

[Ashendant]

The funny thing about this picture is that everyone is aiming to miss

[Angrboda]

The problem with trans-bashing is the target group is not large enough. For the politics of hate to be effective, it has to target a group that is sufficiently numerous to regularly push the bigots buttons. Hating a small group just doesn't generate enough hate energy.

Those at the top will bash those in the middle, those in the middle will bash those on the bottom, those on the bottom will bash those on the top. As long as there are distinctions of class, there will be edges for hatred to grab hold of. (And no, I'm not Marxist or socialist.)

Last I checked, bashing brown people, still popular. Bashing the poor, still popular. (Nobody considers themselves poor, even if they are poor.)

[TaraJo]

The problem with trans-bashing is the target group is not large enough. For the politics of hate to be effective, it has to target a group that is sufficiently numerous to regularly push the bigots buttons. Hating a small group just doesn't generate enough hate energy.

Not really. All you have to do is create some phantom threat and scare the people into voting for you because of that phantom threat. Look at McCarthyism and how there were very few actual communists in America. Look at our American crusade against sharia law taking over even though Muslims make up only a tiny fraction of our population.