Stop Me Before I Vote Again

Great stuff Al. Muy bueno.

Two comments I shared with a friend yesterday... they relate to his essay found here: http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/03/05/pentagon-shooting-crashing-plane-into-the-irs-whats-going-on/

My comments:

1) I like the reference to Frankl. In my town I see this phenomenon as road rage, as impatience when there's any type of line at a store or quick-food joint, as red-light-running, as horn-blowing. I snark it off by blaming it on yuppie transplants but it's too widespread for that to be the real culprit. I think you're right to reference existential despair. I would say for working people that are upside-down financially, there's some real live frustration and a real need to get at the cause and do that cause some damage.

I've observed in my life that people who enjoy throttle sports (moto, ATV, snowmobile, jetski) as weekend warriors (as opposed to serious racers) tend to be people who work what they consider shitty jobs, ones in which they feel fairly powerless.

The rush of controlling horsepower is a nice antidote to that sort of powerlessness. ... See More

The same mindset drives the person who gets into his car in a hurry and stomps on the gas, driving with slashing, erratic movements -- fueled by frustration, impatience, powerlessness.

2) The post-Vietnam path has been walked slowly and subtly. The Republicans serve a crucial role now -- the excessive ridiculous clowns compared to whom the Democrats look "sane" -- and that's why the Democrats will bring us the new McCarthyism.

That's why Palin was chosen. There's all sorts of psychological tugs she's pulling... being the socio-economic/class/merit opposite of Hillary Clinton and Condi Rice is a big one.

Thanks, Ox. I like your comments to your friend's post.

I'm a little cautious when it comes to this kind of thinking and writing. I tend to forget that the patriarchal effect is the product of any kind of hyper-privileging system. One can attack the patriarchal manifestations forever without really touching the underlying cause, i.e. a system of exploitive control consisting almost entirely of shitty jobs, without any chance to do something non-alienating.

An exemplar for all aspiring Dorks of Death.

I'm stunned that it was an Israeli soldier bragging about going to commit mayhem and murder. Those Israelis never do such things. No wonder this big surprise Strictly Defensive Maneuver needed to remain a secret! No wonder he was court-martialed! If I was a Kommandant of a Kaliphate of Killers, I'd need complete secrecy too!

...The more cruelly stunted waste their days on witless, technocratic exegesis and apologetics for their bosses' idiot hegemony schemes...

It's funny you should mention that. I've pretty much curtailed my visits to a couple of local haunts because of this very dynamic. The ostensible purpose of the boards in question is community support, but almost nobody gets to request support without some (or several) wannabe' enforcers showing up to announce that A) Nobody cares that you need help and B) The Boss Is Always Right and besides you deserve it so shut up

Good little students of Hope and Change, the lot of them. They get to consider themselves "liberal" or whatever because they club-hop and eat Thai food, though.

Fuck. The Black Plague or the "9" 'quake can't come fast enough. I'll look forward to death if I know these self-important little shits are doomed as well.

My brother was telling me about a conversation he was having with a friend's son, who was thinking about joining the Marines. My brother was having little success in trying to dissuade him, so finally he suggested that if the kid does join the Marines, he should go into a non-combat job. The kid told him, "Fuck that, I want to kill people."

Later on several of the kid's friends came over, and there were a few gung-ho Iraq veterans in the group, and they were openly boasting about their kills, including women and children. When my brother challenged this, asking them how they would feel if a bunch of foreign soldiers came into their community and started killing their mothers and sisters, they gave the whole "they did it to us on 9-11, and this is payback" speech. One of the guys told him, "We're Marines, not pussies."

Of course, the matriarchy also has its version of this mindset. Do a Google on "feminist, kick-ass and Hillary" and see what you get. It's sad the number of feminist sites that have adopted the loud-mouthed, adolescent macho posturing of my brother's Iraq war acquaintances--all this, "look, I'm a bitch, fuck you, I'm giving you the finger" stuff, which is comical in 15-year-old boys, pathetic in adult women.

There's no end of people fist pumping the air over Hillary's latest display or another of "kick-ass"--throwing some rent-a-tool in Pakistan up against the wall or threatening to obliterate Iran. She proves that feminists can play as tough as the boys. Isn't that cool?

Their version of power isn't carrying a rifle in Baghdad, but wearing a pants suit and giving the marching orders for the boys to do so.

thanx ox

i found a new friend by weaving thru the chain
provided by your link portal

http://newsjunkiepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/LeighAnnCaldwell-73COLOREDT.jpg

i will follow her twitter where ever it leads

sean
your anecdote
about marine glory
made me put on a pants suit

" I'll look forward to death if I know these self-important little shits are doomed as well"

Delilah plays samson

yemen:
"a growing extremist hot "

i think my oldest dachshund fritz has
one of those on his ass

he's chewing the fuck out of it

The infantilization reaches further than just pwogs and their dnc masters, I'm afraid. It's part of the language now. "You need to do" such-and-so. "Guess what?" And on and on and on.

BTW, where did you get that picture of Yearly Kos? Isn't that Digby in the upper right hand corner?

leigh anne is not to be cond=fuse with
plain leigh caldwell vole like econ con
scruff-fidget

http://www.facebook.com/profile/pic.php?oid=AAAAAQAQmtTTl9vHbIVhCpW3jc0t6AAAAAn2ZsBmfAe2NdnFiMCPIGbq

and mah angel as bert reynolds might call her
if he were me :

http://www.leighanncaldwell.com/home/Welcome.html

lame quip reload

yemen:
"a growing extremist hot spot"

extremist hot spot ??

i think my oldest dachshund fritz has
one of those on his ass

he's chewing the fuck out of it

Isn't that Digby in the upper right hand corner?

Scruff-fidget??

Thanks op...great to have my vole like attributes recognised for once. Can I quote you in my testimonials page? If I ever make a testimonials page.