I went to a local park and had lunch with a friend of mine today. It’s beautiful here, but we can tell that it’s Summer’s last attempt to hold Autumn at bay, and we’ll be suffering through the misery of sixty degree afternoons soon enough. There’s even rumor of an inch of rain before the end of the year, which we both know will turn our freeways deadly. Um, it also seemed like a good excuse to walk away from the computer and enjoy actual human contact for a change. While we ate sandwiches and watched little kids chase each other, we talked about the election. We’re two small blue spots in a sea of red here, and we’d shared hopes and fears over the last several months.
“I guess we’re supposed to be gracious in victory,” I said, “but I’m profoundly offended to hear ‘we need to look forward and not backward’ and ‘we need to stop being so partisan’ from the very same fucking motherfuckers who have been telling us that we hate our country and love terrorists for the last eight years? These are the same people who worked really hard to make sure that I and everyone who didn’t agree with their blind support of Bush and Bush policies didn’t feel welcome in our own fucking country for eight years!”
I looked down at my hands, which had involuntarily clenched into fists. I felt a frightening and unexpected, uncharacteristic fury rise in my chest.
“I want to grab these people by the throat and scream at them ‘HOW DO YOU LIKE IT FUCKER?! YOU LOST! YOU FAIL! YOU GO HOME NOW!’”
I kept my voice low, but was really worked up, shocked and horrified at the level of anger I was feeling.
We looked at each other for a moment. I was embarrassed by my outburst. This really isn’t like me. Fortunately, my friend is incredibly cool and unflappable. She is also incredibly wise. She put her sandwich down and wiped the corners of her mouth with a paper napkin.
She pointed out at the different people in the park and said, “They are home. We share this country, all of us, whether we like it or not.
“We voted against intolerance for people that don’t share ‘the right’ views because we and people we respect and admire have been the victims of intolerance for too long. We voted against hypocrisy and fear and hate. We voted for a chance to change.”
I unclenched my fists and looked at little half-moons in the palms of my hands. “I should feel celebratory. I should feel happy and relieved. Why in the world do I suddenly feel so angry?”
“Seething quietly and privately is understandable and totally warranted. Just, every time you want to grab someone by the throat, try to remember how both Obama and McCain have always reacted to boos from their audiences. One man said ‘we don’t need any more of that’ – and that’s the administration we voted for. Because we don’t need any more of that. We need to chip away at the havens of hate in this country until there is nothing left for the haters to fight with. Because that is going to be the biggest payback of all.
“Someday, the people that ‘don’t feel welcome’ in a tolerant and just place aren’t going to feel welcome anywhere.
“We don’t need to take any shit from anyone, but we can not become the bullies we’ve hated. Or else we didn’t win anything at all.”
While I processed all of this, she smiled and added, “Yes, my horse is very high, and I like it that way. I can see a long way from up here.”
“Damn. You’re wise,” I said. “I’m going to have to write down ‘We don’t need any more of that’ and use it to get over eight years of resentment. It’s going to take awhile to get over being called a traitor and being told to, effectively, ‘shut up and sing,’ but you’re absolutely right. We can not become the bullies we’ve hated.”
We finished our sandwiches, and walked through the park before we both had to get home to our families.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have had a second cup of coffee this morning,” I offered.
“I’m sure you’ll get your cool back once it wears off.”
I hope she’s right.
Afterthought: This doesn’t mean that progressives suddenly drop our agenda to fundamentally change things. This doesn’t mean that we don’t fight for what we believe in over the next four and hopefully eight years. This means that, as human beings and as Americans, we can choose to live in John McCain’s vision of an angry, divided, fearful America, or Barack Obama’s vision of a tolerant, united, hopeful America. It’s not going to be easy for me, especially after the hateful, divisive campaign McCain ran and eight years of being screamed at by George Bush’s True Believers. But as my friend said, “We need to chip away at the havens of hate in this country until there is nothing left for the haters to fight with. Because that is going to be the biggest payback of all … we can not become the bullies we’ve hated. Or else we didn’t win anything at all.”
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and I sure as hell hope some initiative of hope will pass for the rights of gays/lesbians to marry, or at least have the same recognition of rights under the law. Maybe Obama will help to see that come into fruition.
I agree with your friend and caffeinated anger is a bitch.
My downstairs neighbor is a die-hard Republican (though not a citizen, yet, so he had no vote). We’ve had many an argument about McCain and Obama. Since the election, I have not seen or heard from him, and my wife told me that he is actually hiding from me.
Other than his political affiliations, he is actually a decent guy, and I’d like to think I am as well. I am going to have to be the bigger man.
Wil, I’m happy to read this story. I think that your friend did a wonderful job of explaining how I’ve felt. I’ve never bought into the hatred being spewed by either side. I lean more toward Libertarianism than anywhere else, but many of the more liberal people I speak to think I’m decidedly Republican and many of the more conservative people I speak to think I’m decidedly Democratic. I’ve been subjected to the same level of hatred from both sides…either “you’re not with us, so you’re against us” from the Republicans or “you’re with them, so you hate us” from the Democrats. It’s been a long time since there has really been a powerful force talking about unity. Both McCain and Obama talked about it in their speeches on Tuesday evening and I hope that all Americans took notice.
But those people didn’t go away. They’re still here. Some of them even voted for Obama despite that fact. They’re just not in power in as much of the country as they used to. But look at Prop 8. What sort of a victory is it? Those people will continue to try to take away the rights of others and strip others of freedom and comfort… being nice to them is not going to change that. In fact, it’s entirely believable that those people will only become more rabid, determined, or worse, desperate.
Amen.
@Romulus: Agreed. Unfortunately, those who supported Obama, voted 73 percent against = rights for another group. I find it disheartening and I don’t know how to be ‘nice’ when I feel snubbed.
Dude… Amen.
Amen.
That’s the unfortunate thing about politics. People vote for change with the best of intentions… and then use their time in power for ‘revenge’. To treat on the people who trod on them.
Basically, America can’t afford to do that this time. Eight years of a President who tried to keep us scared, eroded our freedoms while granting himself almost dictator-like powers has left America in tatters.
We’re talking about a PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES who said “Dictatorship is fine, as long as I’m the dictator.” He should have been impeached for that alone.
As much as I’d like to rub Obama’s victory in some faces, the truth is we need to rise above it and treat Obama’s term as exactly what it is…A fresh start and a chance for change.
Wow…just wow…wise words indeed! The words of this post are going to ring in my ears the next few days…everyone should take them in, process them, and realize how much wisdom is there…world would be a better place if more thought like that!
“or else we didn’t win anything at all….”
My new catch phrase….
I have a few friends who really need to read this. Those who voted for Obama and McCain alike. I am so tired of all the McCain supporters saying that the country is doomed, when if anyone spoke up against Bush, they were labeled a “traitor.” But, even though I want to scream, just as you did, at these people I know I have to be the bigger person and just tell them that Obama is now our Pres. and we have to give him the respect he deserves.
When I first glanced at this post, I saw ‘HOW DO YOU LIKE IT FUCKER?! YOU LOST! YOU FAIL! YOU GO HOME NOW!’ and thought someone had yelled that at you about Prop 8. Then I read it all and realized that it was what you wanted to shout at the McCaininites. I’m not sure which would make me more sad. Actually, if you did yell that at anyone, it would be extremely out of character for you, and make me really sad. I almost expect it from the Prop 8mongers. It’s been a long and hard road, and your friend is very wise to remind you to reign in your temper. I still have a hard time believing some of the things I see every election season, and this one is worse than any I can remember.
@DaniKnowsWine: I don’t agree that a president automatically deserves respect, and it drove me crazy to be lectured by people that I shouldn’t criticize Bush because it was disrespectful to the president.
Respect must be earned, and Bush never earned it from me. Clinton had it, but he lost it. Obama earned a lot of respect from me during the campaign, and I hope that he’ll retain it when he’s president.
I’m sorry. But while your friend is right in that we should not move to govern in anger, this is NOT equivalent to the way we were treated.
http://www.americablog.com/2008/11/magnanimity-is-nice-but-lets-not-forget.html
“After eight years of having Republicans call me an un-American troop-hating fag-loving socialist, after months of John McCain embracing the hate to a level where his own supporters were calling out for Barack Obama to be assassinated, no one is going to be permitted to tell me with a straight face that “oh you know, both sides do it.”
Your side was abominable. Your side was hateful. Your side race-baited. Your side gay-baited. Your side lied like we’ve never seen in recent presidential campaign history. Your side used a tax-cheat who would do better under Obama’s tax proposal to be your everyman on the issue of taxes. Your side, in a veiled effort at race-baiting, said Obama doesn’t put his country first. Your side had the audacity to call Obama a socialist. Your side suggested he was a Muslim. Your side suggested he was a terrorist. Your side suggested he was Osama bin Laden.
Spare me the crap about how both sides do it. You people are a disgrace, you’ve been a disgrace for eight long years, and all your hate and lying and venom and vitriol finally bit you in your collective fat ass.”
For everything, there is a time. Including a time to be angry, and tell these “people” that they have done a great wrong to this country. The Guilty must be punished.
Wow, you had lunch with Maya Angelou?
Just kidding. Wise words just the same. I’m avoiding contact with my in-laws for the next few days until the urge to yell “IN YOUR FACE!” goes away. They were SO outspoken about Obama being a Muslim, not wearing a flag pin, etc. I just have to remind myself we fought for Obama to win so this kind of crap wouldn’t prevail.
While that horse your friend mentioned is too tall for me to climb up on, and I fear her view is distorted by a bit too much distance, the message is worthwhile.
I will try because I have to—we all have to, but I’m with camias designes and Romulus: the nice is hard to find right now.
I am trying to focus on the fact that I have a better half (regardless of how she is labeled or defined or the legal status we are granted as a couple), friends and family, a nice home, a solid education, a decent job, great pets, and the ability to look at myself in the mirror and know without doubt that my life does no harm to the greater good.
Eventually, there will be a whole group of people who will be forced to look back at their actions and lament their poor choices—perhaps it will happen for some when one of their children looks them in the eyes and says, “I’m gay.”
Today I went to our President Elect’s new website, http://www.change.gov. As a person who cried tears of joy when Obama won, and tears of shame when Prop 8 passed, I was looking for confirmation of the change we need for LGBT people. Searching for gay, LGBT, homosexual, and queer on the website brought back 0 results each. Please help make sure that we’re all a part of the change we need, and ask for LGBT civil rights representation in the new Obama administration
Something to consider about the people “who worked really hard to make sure that I and everyone who didn’t agree with their blind support of Bush and Bush policies didn’t feel welcome…”
It can be excruciatingly difficult to put yourself in this headspace, but my theory about why those people act the way they do is this:
–They don’t feel welcome. They feel like they’re the persecuted minorities.
–They feel afraid. They’re scared of so much in this world, because it’s so different from how they experience the world.
Ever read “Red Family, Blue Family”? It’s a great overview of George Lakoff and James Ault’s work in political cognition and sociology. Here’s an excerpt:
Understanding and accepting that there’s this deeply rooted fear, and that that’s what’s driving a lot of the decisions those people make, might help with the blind resentment and rage. Acceptance doesn’t mean condoning what they’ve done; it doesn’t mean approving of it, either. But it does make it easier to reframe it, and to redirect the impulse to bully them right back into making America a more tolerant, accepting place.
So you are basically saying that all Republicans are intolerant,full of hate,hypocrites,blindly supported Bush and all his policies, and are not interested in change. On the other hand, Democrats hold the moral high ground and have to restrain themselves from looking down on all us hateful Republicans. I think you should be thankful that Obama won and keep your hatred and biased views to yourself.
It’s tough Wil, It’s really tough. I should be elated at Obama’s victory. But it’s tempered by Proposition 8 passing. Part of me wants to cry out with joy at the knowledge that the Bush years will be over soon. Another part of me wants to go to the local Mormon church and spray paint “No Gays Allowed, Bigots Welcome” across their church sign.
I actually had a Christian accuse me of using “Hate Speech” for using the word “Bigot” to describe someone who wants to eliminate equal rights for gay people. Imagine that, I’m fighting for equal rights for everyone and I’m accused of hate speech.
It’s tough to stay gentle in those situations. It’s very tough.
I don’t have an answer for you. But I do share your feelings.
“It’s going to take awhile to get over being called a traitor and being told to, effectively, ‘shut up and sing,’”
Did this ever happen to you directly? I’ve heard people refer to things like this, but it always seems to be a 3rd person story. What I did hear on several occasions over the last 8 years was comments like “Bush isn’t my president” and nonsense about a stolen election.
Well, Obama won fair and square, and in January he will be my president. I disagree with him on nearly every issue he stands for, but he’s the man in charge now. I’ll wait until he does something wrong to criticize him, and then it will be the action and not the man that I take exception to. And the thing is, most every Republican that I know behaves this way.
I would appreciate it if those on the left would give the same consideration to us — attack the ideas and not the people.
I’m all for more tolerance, but I’m surprised so many people in the comments are talking about being for obama and against prop 8 in the same breath. Don’t forget, obama and biden are against gay marriage – I’m unconvinced they are such shining beacons of tolerance.
It took me far too long to get past “the misery of 60 degree afternoons.”
I completely understand, again coming from Louisiana.
Although if I am honest with myself…I would sell everything I own plus my body to see Wil Fucking Wheaton grab Sean Hannity by the neck and scream ‘HOW DO YOU LIKE IT FUCKER?! YOU LOST! YOU FAIL! YOU GO HOME NOW!’ right in his face.
@zarvok: I hear you clearly, but Obama is a better chance than McCain would ever have been!
Wil, take it from me (as someone who voted to reelect Bush in 2004), all the anger and resentment that you’d like to take out on conservatives across the country wouldn’t even come close to the absolute humiliation of seeing what Bush has done with his second term. That, coupled with the exhaustively pathetic campaign put on by ‘I’m a Democrat until I get nominated by Republicans’ McCain, should be enough for anyone to consider crawling off into the corner somewhere to die of shame.
No amount of liberal ‘I told you so’ could ever make up for these things.
I should also probably point out my anger at people who are now complaining about 8 years of being told to shut up, you lost…who are often the people who said this very same thing to Hillary Clinton’s supporters several months ago.
It’s not difference of opinion that bothers me, it’s hypocrisy. It doesn’t matter where it comes from, it’s not right. I spent 8 years being told by the right wing to “get over it, you lost,” then another several months being told that by people who are supposed to be on “my” side.
No one came out of this looking very good. I’m just hoping we can ditch all this bullshit and try to actually get something done now.
Yes, THIS.
I have a friend who is VERY conservative, and she’s just waiting for this all to blow up in our faces. She expects Obama’s policies to screw up the country, and wants it to happen so she can say, “I told you so.”
Part of me wants to shake her and tell her to look back on the past 8 years; to say that now it is OUR turn to support the person in office while the other side cringes in horror, ashamed to have THAT president; to say that we’ve had 8 years of shoving the blame off onto other people and saying, “I told you so” and shouldn’t we at least get a shot at it and give the other guys a chance to say “I told you so” in 4 or 8 years from now?
But I don’t. Because that’s not my level. That’s their level. We elected Obama, now let’s practice what he preaches in our honor.
In the meantime, I just want to talk with her about life. But for the past three months, this election has been her life. Campaigning for McCain and interning for that campaign. I’m tired of the vitriol between Republicans and Democrats, and I just want to have a chat with my friend. I’m just afraid that that’s going to turn into a political battle.
Thank you for this, Wil. Thank you to your friend, too. I’ve been wrestling with some of that same anger and I really needed this post today. I’ve printed it out and put it at my desk at work because I need to read it everyday to keep from going nuts. Thanks.
Also, VT, thanks for that link.
Cheers.
My father and I haven’t spoken since I voiced my support for Obama. He considers himself not to have a daughter, and I consider myself to not have the father I used to have. Talk about change, he certainly did.
I’m from a red state, but looking at the breakdown in that state, it’s not so very red anymore. The state next to it is a heartbeat away from going blue. My state has always been the poorer cousin.
And I have the urge to fly back home, get the most obscene pimped out Escalade, and at 2am park in his driveway and blast from the bass heavy sound system: “THE WORLD IS READY FOR CHANGE CUZ OBAMA IS HERE.”
It’s a song that’s dark, and not in keeping with Obama’s message, but it sure inspires the kind of fear in them that they tried to inspire in us.
I know how ya feel.
I just keep repeating “Yes We Can!” over and over.
As a member of the military, I had someone, a fellow soldier, look me in the eye and say that I was one of those liberals that should be taken out in the street and beaten.
How do we tolerate? How do we overcome that feeling that we tolerate these people who can not or will not tolerate us?
We try to overcome. It is hard but “Yes We Can.”
Understanding and familiarity are what will eventually make us all the same and tolerated.
We *have* to hope that intolerance will be forgotten. Hope.
Thanks for sharing your friend’s wisdom. I needed it right now, seeing how vicious and horrible the Republican reaction is being in the Blogosphere. People who I considered very dear friends – hell, even one old flame! – have twisted around and started calling me not fit to burn for my support of Obama.
I had been tempted to post very vituperative things in response. Your friend and her very high horse just stopped me. Thank you both.
This blogpost of yours was an amulent of +50 Chill The Fuck Out Dude.
Wil, I hope the folks over at Daily Kos and Democratic Underground and the others who’ve been screaming about Chimpy McBushitler for the past 8 years – yes, those of us on the other side of the aisle have had a bellyful of hate and vitriol spewed at us , too – take your words to heart.
I hope that people who are rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of soaking the rich, even though many of the folks they’ll hurt, like me, are nowhere near that state – quit demonizing CEOs and the people who make our economy run.
I’m doubtful it’ll happen. Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will take this opportunity to ram through their left-wing agenda. FDR prolonged the Great Depression by 7 years. How long will Obama prolong this one?
I’m terrified for this country, because of what I’ve been hearing fromt he Left for 8 years now will finally come to pass.
However, not out of retribution or anger, but out of respect for our laws and overall justice, we need to prosecute to our fullest extent those in the Bush Administration (up to, and including Bush himself) for violations against the Constitution and its subsequent laws. If we do not, the world will still believe that someone like that can come to power in the U.S. and do it all over again.
@Zarvoc: Obama may PERSONALLY believe in marriage being between one man and one woman, but this is A FAR CRY from being against gay marriage and IMPOSING PERSONAL VIEWS on others.
Obama came out AGAINST Prop. 8 because it constitutionally condones, mandates, and forwards discrimination and hatred.
And let’s be honest: there is no way in HELL any candidate could come right out and support gay marriage as long as the majority of Americans continue to make decisions based on skewed religious interpretations that ignore the WHOLE of their sacred texts.
It would also be good to remember that the concept of marriage as anything but a business proposition is a very late twentieth century idea. (And, it remains isolated to a small portion of the world.) If this sounds off, consider the term “dowry” for a moment, and look back to the 1950s and the “rights” of unmarried and/or divorced women.
Maybe we should just all strive to remember the way the government was run in the last 8 years and pledge to keep our energy and enthusiasm at this same level in holding our congress members, senators, and new president to a new, higher standard. And calling bullshit on them when they slip up.
The new administration has one hell of a mess in aisle 4 to clean up, and the honeymoon will be very short. And none of us should give anyone a pass just because they’re the new boss. Watch out for them being same as the old boss, and scream bloody murder if you see them moving too far from your own personal ideal of what they should be doing.
stay engaged.
And as for going “neener neener neener it’s OUR turn NOW!” it’s just not that productive. And we really badly need productive right now.
For what it’s worth my fellow liberal friends and I have never “rubbed our hands in glee at the prospect of soaking the rich”. But I don’t know what to say in regards to stuff like this. Obviously a large majority of the right think this about Democrats. My coworkers who are Republicans say that “Democrats just want to come take my land away!” Um, no, they don’t. They just don’t want YOU to take away the social programs that help people who DON’T own land. I just don’t know what to say to childish and wrong arguments like “the vast left-wing conspiracy” and “the liberal media conspiracy”. It’s like a huge adult version of “Nuh-uh!” “Yeah-huh!”
Oh. Except for Lieberman. He can get the fuck out of the Senate now. If he maintains any leadership position, THAT will be the first set of letters I’ll be writing to Washington.
If this is a nice way of saying that people who don’t agree with your side are angry, hateful bullies… than I hate to see what you’d write if you were really upset.
Believing in Conservative ideals does not make you intolerate, hateful or divisive.
I worry about what an Obama presidency will mean for our country because I think big government liberals have the wrong vision for America. That doesn’t make me hateful or intolerant.
Your impulse, however, isn’t surprising. Being on the “winning” side has a tendency to change people. I’ll be very interested to see where the movement goes from here.
In this, Wil sounds just like the Republicans.
It’s said there was a lot of hate and disrespect on both sides of this election, Wil, and I think you’ve illustrated it beautifully here.
Civility and respect are not liberal or conservative ideas. It’s part of being human. And as long as you harbor feelings like the ones you expressed here, you won’t see that this is as dangerous as the politics of Karl Rove.
Well, actually, Wil, it’s more dangerous. People are still listening to you.
Step up. Being an American isn’t about picking the right side, and it’s not even about winning. It’s about knowing that people who think and feel differently from you are people of worth.
I voted for McCain, and I feel you’re a person of worth. Can you honestly say the same about me? Until you can, then you’ll be part of a problem that President-Elect Obama hopes to get rid of.
I didn’t vote for him, but I’m onboard. Won’t you join me?
Wil,
You are half way there. Sure, there are things to HATE about the Bush years. There were also things to like about them. There were things to HATE about the Clinton years and things to like about them as well. So now you are on the winning side and your frustration is coming out. Nothing wrong with that. If it is the HATE that you HATE and makes you HATE them, then you are just like they are in that way. During the Clinton years, we were told that it was OK for Democrats to lie in court to avoid justice. I find that offensive and I HATEd the guy who did it. My point it that your side and my side are right some and wrong some. If you ever think otherwise, you are either not looking or not being honest.
angie k, the whole mantra of the Obama campaign has been one of soaking the rich to give tax refunds to people who aren’t pyaing taxes in the first place. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently released a report that said the US takes more in taxes – total taxation – from the top 10% of wage earners in the population than ANY other country. That imbalance is about to get much worse.
jbay, be careful about throwing Lieberman under the bus: the only way the Republicans will have to try to slow down the left-win juggernaut is the filibuster, and the Democrats will need his help to break them…
@Wil
You said: Obama earned a lot of respect from me during the campaign, and I hope that he’ll retain it when he’s president.
Do you have any initial impressions on his selection of Rahm Emanuel, as Chief of Staff, knowing that he (Rahm Emanuel) is an unapologetic partisan and was on record as a supporter of the invasion of Iraw, even after WMD were not found?
In January 2005, when asked by Meet the Press’s Tim Russert whether he would have voted to authorize the war-‘knowing that there are no weapons of mass destruction’-Emanuel answered:
“Yes. I still believe that getting rid of Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do, okay?”
It seems like, from an outside looking in that President-Elect Obama may (already) be backing down from some of the promises that he made, by puting someone in such a powerful position in his administration, who doesn’t appear to share his perspective on these two issues; the issues being: … to be less partisan … Iraq should have never happend
Wil,
How do you reconcile
“I want to grab these people by the throat and scream at them ‘HOW DO YOU LIKE IT FUCKER?! YOU LOST! YOU FAIL! YOU GO HOME NOW!’
with the challenges to Prop 8?
This is the SECOND time the law passed, and as someone already mentioned, a large percentage of the Obama supporters jumped ship to vote for the measure. Now they’re threatening to fight the vote of the people…
So are you speaking to them as well…?
Something that occurred to me earlier today is that we’re moving from an administration that has treated Americans like children, using fear to try and make us behave a certain way, to an administration that talks to us as adults and expects us to act like adults and take responsibility for helping to bring about the changes we want. I think it’s more than fair to feel pissed about the last eight years, and about some of the decisions that were made on Tuesday (living in a red state where more than 20% of voters said race was an important factor in how they voted, I know whereof I type). But I think we do need to rise to the challenge of being responsible. Because you know what? We’re better than that. We’re better than name-calling and shouting matches. And I don’t mean that in an us-vs.-them way. I mean all of us flawed, human Americans. I think those of us who believe in progress and equality have the responsibility to talk to people who voted for Prop 8, or who think all Muslims are terrorists, or whatever the issue happens to be. They have their reasons for believing what they do, but maybe if you tell them your story, it will nudge their worldview a bit. That’s how lasting change happens: little by little, you chip away at intolerance. Forty years ago, we had civil rights activists marching in the streets, having police dogs and fire hoses turned on them, being called ugly names, being denied all kinds of rights and opportunities, and probably sometimes feeling like it would never get better. And yet, just half a lifetime later, we’ve elected an African American president. I think that’s pretty frakking amazing. It’s natural to feel anger, but we need to do like our future president says and focus on hope and hard work, not negativity.
@Morph: I completely agree with you. I read that and I had to go back to read it again and then laugh.
What I wouldn’t give to live in California right now. What’s worse, here in Colorado we’re having a very mild fall and we’re luck to get above 60 during the day.
I can personally attest to both harassment and vandalism to my family’s barn, shown here http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/lucasfleischer/gG5chp
Racial slurs and “Nobama” were sprayed across it on multiple occasions. We didn’t respond with vitriol, but rather painted over the offensive parts and installed cameras. Sometimes, it’s not much fun to take the high ground, but it’s worth the extra effort.
Do not confuse what the TV talking heads are saying with what real, actual people are saying.
I, for one, have never been called unamerican by anyone. And while I have heard many sound bites on the TV to that effect, I feel that has more to do with selling TV time than any sort of general opinion amongst the conservative half of the country.
In other words, if you want to get angry at someone, try venting toward the TV news folks. I feel that they stir the pot far more than the conservatives.
I keep telling people that the Republicans are the opposition, not the enemy. If the left can’t get behind that sentiment, then the right never will…
Here’s something I posted on Josh Wolk’s blog today:
I think it’s also important that Obama remember, as Bush clearly did not, that very nearly half the voters picked the other party. He alluded to that in his speech, and I hope he governs by it. Bush barely won both of his elections, but governed from the far right (except when it came to spending, apparently). Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lefty liberal, but for the good of the country, I’m willing to endorse governing from the middle. While there was a big swing over the last four years, I don’t think it gives Obama a mandate to do whatever he wants, again in opposition to Bush and his comrades.
Maybe that’s a difference between progressives and conservatives…we are optimistic about things changing for the better, while conservatives are fearful that things will change for the worse. That allows us to be more patient, expecting things eventually will become more liberal, despite temporary setbacks like Prop 8, while conservatives feel they’re losing the battle and therefore fight dirtier when they can. I’m speaking in generalities, mostly, but how else to explain Clinton being impeached but not Bush, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, et al., and Bush and the Republican Congress governing from the right when at least half of the country didn’t agree with them?
@CJ, @JayMaynard, and all others who are thinking as such:
Wil spoke of having that reaction about people who had rubbed it in his face. He did not say, ALL REPUBLICANS SUCK! He had an angry, bottled-up reaction to the fact that there are some people who were hateful throughout all of this – and who continue to be hateful now that they’re on the losing end of the stick. Stop overreaching and expecting every Obama voter to think the entire other side is the enemy. I have lots of people I love who are on the other side, but I did (yes, personally!) have certain hateful people tell me to shut up, bear it, and just get over myself when Bush won two cycles in a row.
So, to sum up: Railing at hateful. people. Stop it with the persecution complex.
Wil, good on you for being man enough to admit the anger was there, and being man enough to get past it. Facing our own demons and being bigger than them is the hallmark of mature thinking – it’s running of laughing hand in hand with them that we should be fearful of.
I read something quite interesting today that I’d like to share: a quote (edited for length) from a blog I don’t often read.
“What should we do now?
Live.
…I can’t just sit paralyzed with fears that God did not mean for me to carry; I need to hand those fears over to Him along with my entire future, and go get ready for the present… for right now, I simply say this: Work, play, laugh, love, and learn. The presidential election did not take away your home or vanish your to-do list. Prepare for winter and save your money. God will take care of the future.”
This was from a very conservative Christian blog, speaking in the face of Obama’s election, in response to. I don’t normally read her blog because she is one of those people that just anger me on sight; a lot of what she writes is such incredibly harsh rhetoric, I basically want to get in her face all the time about it, so, I remove myself (because there is no arguing rationally with someone who believes you’re a whackjob in the first place).
However, I thought she had a very good point; and, in addition, it was one that I took to heart, and tried to live, the last eight years. She’s right; it doesn’t change our lives this second, and what’s in front of us is what we need to focus on, and we shouldn’t be worrying about what we cannot control.
Kudos to the other side for saying that; I think both sides (whatever you believe politically, or religiously) should take it to heart. Wisdom can be found even in the people you stridently disagree with.
In my crazy imaginary world, I think that a lot of the anonymous people we see from day to day are actually demons who are trying to spread hate, fear and anger. They do it by driving badly. They do it through politics. Whenever I feel myself becoming enraged at something someone else did, I think about this and do my best not to facilitate them by spreading the hate, anger and fear to other people. I’m not always successful, but I try.