Arizona Freaks Up the Ante

It might seem like an easy choice to you — but keep in mind some folks don’t lean strongly one way or the other and some folks have reason to be uncomfortable either way. Sometimes — we don’t notice our own offenders and offenses as much as we notice those of our enemies. Think about how much venom some of us spit at folks when they don’t share some of our opinions. So for some folks — even though they might be more inclined to go with many liberal positions — some liberals are extremely abusive toward people who don’t agree perfectly with them. So — it’s evil vs. evil to them — not good vs. evil.

Do you know that after the prop 8 thing — white glbt rights activists attacked black glbts — verbally and physically — and used a lot of racial slurs! Now — the day before they were reminding black folks all about how they’ve stood up for them — how the gay rights movement is exactly the same as the the black struggle they helped us “win.” We’ve got plenty of hate and disregard on the left — too. We might be more compassionate on the left — might not subscribe to laissez faire — but our economic policies are predominantly rightwing all the same. We treat our blue collar class as people to be pitied and helped rather than people who are every bit as productive and deserving as our white collar class. It’s very much true that many Democrats are elitists — and even supremacists — albeit “compassionate” supremacists. For many of us — the alliance with Democrats is an alliance of convenience — not an alliance in spirit.

There are Democrats I dislike more than I dislike the rabid right. As long as somebody makes sure their hatred doesn’t get physical — I don’t care if they hate me — but I can’t stand being patronized. I’d love to stomp the hell out of white people who leave behind thousands of children in the foster care system — white and black and other — to go talk some African into letting them adopt their kid. When you’ve got millions and you’re talking about adopting a kid from a country with a very low cost of living — your annual shoe budget could give that kid and his family a better life — without the mother/father having to give up their kid for that kid to have that better life. And for what — to take him/her from their parent(s) and hand him off to a nanny. ( An aside — I was surprised by the audience’s anger over baby OJ in “Bruno” — unless he deliberately aimed for an audience that wouldn’t get it or scripted the anger to make a point within a point. I lmao — the way you rofl at something that’s funny to make fun of — but not really funny in reality — anyway…)

Personal finances and issues that pertain to personal comfort aren’t a priority for everybody. As you may recall — I’ve always said foreign policy is my priority issue. That’s why I waver. I support Democrats when I believe they’ll have a positive effect on foreign policy — and absolutely refuse to support those who subscribe to long standing policy. There is no domestic/personal issue I deem worthy of sacrificing foreign policy.

The middle is filled with a vast variety of people with their own personalities and priorities — their own reasons for being where they are. I’m sure they don’t want to be me anymore than I want to be them. So — I’m content to let them be them — and am content to work toward finding common ground where I can — and I accept that we won’t fiind common ground on everything. Accepting the reality that people are different so we won’t all be in the same “place” seems like a better option to me than spending my life fighting a futile battle to try to convince everybody that everything I believe and want is what everybody else in the world is supposed to believe and want — or worse yet — spending my life depressed and miserable because everybody isn’t me. As far as I know — I’m guaranteed one life — and it’s a minute at a time guarantee. We can spend most of our minutes looking for as many positives and as much happiness as we can find — or we can spend it aiming for as many negatives and as much unhappiness as we can find.

And here’s the thing that helps me accept that we aren’t all in the same place — the knowledge that I’m probably not the wisest and most righteous person in the world — the knowledge that no matter how far ahead I might think I am — I can’t say I’m at the top. If stupid and evil is all relative to me — then it would have to be relative to everybody else — meaning that relative to some other folks — I’m stupid and evil. If I know that relative to somebody wiser and purer of heart I might be considered stupid and evil — then it’s no consolation to me to go around finding somebody to consider stupid and evil compared to me because it wouldn’t validate me — I’d still be stupid and evil relative to somebody else. I’m neither stupid nor evil — I’m just an imperfect person — just like everybody else. That’s the great sin of people who harm other people — that they believe other people are stupid and evil compared to them and believe it so strongly — they’re willing to kill them for it. They lack even enough holistic vision to see that stupid and evil is in the eye of the beholder therefore legitimizing violence on the basis of differences is granting permission for violence against themselves because difference is a two way street — when somebody is different from you — you are also different from them.

When we belittle and hate — we validate those things — because we’re saying it’s OK to do those things to people who are different. We can’t be effective advocates for tolerance, acceptance and equality from other people for people they don’t really understand if we’re not living what we preach. We’re not the authorities of whom it’s OK to hate and abuse. If it’s OK for us — it’s OK for them.