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Remember the Schoolyard
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
I just read the piece "The Republicans Control Everything" by Cathy. She makes good points. There is, however, a solution.
The Republicans have long since abandoned civil and factual discourse. Their weapon is one of badgering, interruption, invective, misdirection, character assassination. They do not care about facts or people; they care about power. How does one handle something like THAT?
Easy. Hear this well: "Remember the schoolyard."
I have a couple of these political neanderthals in my circle of friends. It occurred to me one day that they can be modeled very effectively: they are bullies. That's what a bully is: a person interested in power above all other considerations.
How does one handle a schoolyard bully? You confront them.
At every turn. You keep talking when they interrupt you. You call out *every single* factual error into the light the second it falls from their lips. You refuse to be intimidated -- what are they going to do? Talk louder? Every time they try to use "liberal" as a pejorative term, you correct them with "Proud Liberal." Every time they use the term "President" you correct them with "Unelected President." Every time they use the word " conservative" you correct them with "Republican Ideologue." Every time they use the term "liberal press", correct their error with "Corporate Controlled Media." A fun one: when they use the infantile term "democrat party" or similar, tell them that is grammatically incorrect to use a noun as an adjective, and that the correct term is "democratic."
Don't worry about interrupting them; they and their kind have been bullying the American public for a decade. As a bully, they do not deserve your respect or the respect of anyone else.
Guess what happens? They shut up, and they never talk politics with you again. They realize that you are informed on the issues, that you don't buy their propaganda, and that you won't back down. They curl up and slink away, and you never have to listen to their misinformed tripe again. Nor does anyone else when you are within earshot of them. They suddenly have respect for you. And, interestingly, they always seem to be on the fringes when you talk politics to others - they actually start listening to you, and maybe even start respecting your ideas. Just like a bully would. Remember, it's about power and respect, and the real power in politics is in ideas. The Republican party hasn't had a new idea in a century.
Imagine a world where every BuzzFlash reader takes the time to confront one political bully a day. Believe me, it works. They can't play their own game; they go silent and stop, just like they did in primary school. They fuss and fume for a while, and then they come back a more civil person, sometimes with hat in hand.
Bullies. Treat 'em as such. From the dinner table to the corner bar to the halls of Congress. It's very effective, and you're doing a service for our country. Refuse to be intimidated! You are a Citizen of the United States of America.
At very least, you don't have to listen to their rehashing of today's junk politics talking point anymore. It's very satisfying.
A BuzzFlash Reader
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
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