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Monday, October 8. 2018Cultural RevolutionMao began his Cultural Revolution after the failure of the Great Leap Forward. The Democrats are now enforcing their version of Cultural Revolution now that their economic policies have failed to yield their Utopian Vision. Now, with Kavanaugh, you can keep your job if you commit slander, but try to provide some semblance of balance and you're going to have to go. For now, the Cultural Revolution will seek to take away reputations and livelihoods. I worry that it's on the verge of getting violent and taking lives. As the anger and outrage of the Left continues to grow - and if the much-ballyhooed "Blue Wave" does not appear in November (I, for one, do not think it will) - you can be sure it will get increasingly more violent. Reputations and jobs won't be enough.
Posted by Bulldog
in Politics, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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You might be a bit too alarmist. Having the luxury of self-employment, I can't be certain. However, fear seems to be the enemy. Trump is a good role model.
I would not do well in a corporate setting. Mind you, unlike Kavanaugh, I have never been a drunken gang rapist....thus far anyway. I can't speak about politics at work at all. Other jobs, it was never as much of an issue. In the last 8 years, it's gotten to be impossible.
But people who are Democrats certainly have no issue speaking or putting others down. I'm not even Republican - but anything that is not Democrat in nature is frowned upon. A friend of mine is Republican, during the Kavanaugh hearings we shut the door to my office to speak. Any support makes you a rapist. An uncaring, boorish, misogynist. The most I can say is when, today, a person mentioned they'd gone to DC to protest Kavanaugh. All I said was, "I'm not a protestor. I'm happy to have my views and let others have theirs. If they want to protest, great. But no protest will change my views." They looked at me funny, as if I was opposed to them (I am), but because I was vague, they couldn't say anything. It's useful when the people care about it. From what I've seen, many don't these days.
I have no doubt that there are things I cannot say about Kavanaugh if I would like to keep my job. I certainly could not show or vocalize support for him.
It goes beyond Kavanaugh. If I said the wrong thing out loud about any number of subjects... climate, recycling, and the physical strength of women come immediately to mind... I would be looking for work. This is well beyond the normal social traps of the corporate environment. I'm with you on the election Bulldog. Too many sotto voce comments about the ridiculousness of l'affaire Kavanaugh lead me to believe we won't see the Blue Wave. The comments to Max Boot's recent article in the WaPo, The Dark Side of American Conservatism Has Taken Over, are rather interesting. They show that, though I may disagree with it, there is definitely a market for the WaPo. Here is one of the more highly rated comments:
QUOTE: Where does the Republican base go, if the Republican party is burned to the ground? Or, in other words, how do you excise the racism and extremism from the GOP if its voters continue to vote for racist and extremist politicians? They say the fish rots from the head, but the Republican party is rotten from the base on up. Yes, this is a cultural war.One more comment from the WaPo:
QUOTE: As A moderate Democrat I'm also not happy about the left fringe but at least they are still in check for now. The left fringe is held in check? Perhaps by removal of the screaming harpies from the Senate Gallery.As for the Republicans rebuilding: it reminds me of why God sent Moses wandering for 40 years- generations of people need to be cleansed. In the meantime, the Republicans in control will lay waste to what was an exceptional experiment in democratic government, perhaps with a little help of their Russian collaborators. Russian collaborators? This is from a "moderate Democrat." Gringo: Perhaps by removal of the screaming harpies from the Senate Gallery.
No. Nothing sexist about that. In any case, there is nothing fringe about assembling to protest Congress. It even has its own protection in the Bill of Rights. There are always people who hold extreme views on the political left and on the political right. Once upon a time, the Democratic Party grappled with the radical left, and were tasked with separating the good ideas from the wacky. Today, the problem is most prevalent in the Republican Party, but they have thus far embraced the crazy. Gringo: Yes, this is a cultural war. Actually, the point is well-taken. Republicans with racist and extremist views don't go away because the Republican Party does. They are part of the political landscape. the Democratic Party grappled with the radical left, and were tasked with separating the good ideas from the wacky. Today, the problem is most prevalent in the Republican Party, but they have thus far embraced the crazy.
Does Antifa ring a bell? Shouting Republicans out of restaurants? Democrat member of Congress calling for harassment of Republicans? Shooting of Republican members of Congress- done by a Bernie fan. Doxxing carried out by someone who had worked for several years for Democrat members of Congress? Today, the problem is most prevalent in the Republican Party, but they have thus far embraced the crazy..... Republicans with racist and extremist views.. Before I got out of high school, I concluded that all of us have in-groups and out-groups. None of us is free of prejudice. It would appear to me it is rather common that a Democrat is of the opinion that prejudice is not something to be found inside us, but outside of us. Thus a Democrat will view Republicans as prejudiced , whereas that particular Democrat views himself or herself as being pure as the driven snow- not a hint of prejudice. As you belong to the self-righteous crowd, there is nothign more to be said. Ciao. Gringo: Does Antifa ring a bell?
Antifa has virtually no influence in the Democratic Party. Most Antifa are anarchists. Gringo: Democrat member of Congress calling for harassment of Republicans? Pelosi, the Democratic House leader, called her comments "unacceptable". That defines the outer bound. By contrast, it is the leader of the Republican Party that has vilified the press, suggested violence against protestors, and made ethnically and racially charged statements. Gringo: Thus a Democrat will view Republicans as prejudiced , whereas that particular Democrat views himself or herself as being pure as the driven snow- not a hint of prejudice. There's plenty of prejudice among Democrats. The difference is that the Democratic Party has directly confronted the issue, most recently, misogyny. Much of the political flatulence we've seen in the past four months was lab-tested on those of us in the public sector as long as a quarter century ago. They've refined the technique, particularly with respect to workplace mobbing, and they've rebranded a few things since then. It can get a lot more ugly than what we've recently seen, which may have a lot to do with why most of my [former] colleagues rolled over for it. You do well to be concerned.
Yet I find myself increasingly of a similar mind to Scott Adam's and others who note that, one-to-one, we as a culture are getting along better than we have in generations, if not in the history of our country. I saw this worked out repeatedly, a few days ago, returning from the first vacation I've been able to take in three years. Perhaps the this recent madness has served as a perspective check for a lot of folks, as indeed it did for me a quarter century back. Perhaps it's some other cause entirely. I find myself hopeful, perhaps only cautiously so, but hopeful nonetheless; and for the first time in a very long time, I don't think such hope is unreasonable. I remain cautiously optimistic.
Where Z seems to think the problem is racists amongst the Republicans, and indeed they are a problem though a very minor one, I see the problem as young people who are "activists" or perceive themselves to be such. They don't know what activism is, and we see that playing out in the increasingly violent mob scenes of Antifa and everyday Democrats in places like Portland or at marches in DC. They believe in the "active" part of activism - getting unruly. Z, like the many idiot leftists amongst his mindset, focus on the one thing that WAS a problem, but no longer really is. Democrats love to solve yesterday's issues after they've been addressed (witness the 'fair pay for women' BS - not only is there a law on the books already, but the 'wage gap' is nearly non-existent at the equivalent job level). But parrots like his ilk keep stirring a pot to drive emotions - and they have plenty of young people whose emotions have been played for most of their lives. Rather than promoting intellectual pursuits, we've allowed our schools to massage their feelings. So that is all they really have. No deep thought, just action/reaction feelings. That's why I believe this cultural revolution may turn increasingly violent. Deep down I do believe cooler heads will prevail, the proper focus will be restored, and we'll see people like Z and the leftists in Portland and other areas melt away. But I watch the people in my office, shake my head, and keep it down doing the work that needs to be done. Sooner or later the corporate managers will realize the loose reins they've provided these kids will need a sharp yank. Bulldog: Where Z seems to think the problem is racists amongst the Republicans, and indeed they are a problem though a very minor one
President Trump, the leader of the Republican Party: “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.” “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best — they’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Judge can't be fair because "he's a Mexican". (The judge was from Indiana.) Haitian immigrants "all have AIDS". Nigerian immigrants, once they had seen the United States, they would never “go back to their huts” in Africa. One could cite controversial anecdotal evidence from Hillary, Obama, Biden, Bernie...
Doesn't prove anything. Yet black and Hispanic unemployment are at an all time low. And don't give us that Obama trend shit. Bulldog: Democrats love to solve yesterday's issues after they've been addressed
There's certainly some of that. But consider the recent law concerning health insurance and preexisting conditions. Now, virtually every politicians expresses support for coverage of those with preexisting conditions. Victory? A partial one, perhaps. But most Republicans are clearly just giving lip service, and have supported bills which would weaken such protections. The Damore situation is a classic case of heresy. The church could not prove the heretic wrong, so it became necessary to de-person him. It would not do to simply declare disapproval, the heretic had to be banished to frighten others who might be inclined to listen.
Exactly: the behavior of people who fear nothing so bitterly as others' ideas. It shows their profound doubt about the validity of their own ideas to stand up in an open fight.
The Cultural Revolution started in the schools too - then the crazy indoctrinated students literally ran through other institutions shaming people and beating resisters to death. Millions of normal people got herded out to rural areas to farm or destroy the forests.
It can't play out the same way here because people are armed. James Damore - the Martin Luther of our time. His 95 theses pretty readable too...
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