My highfalutin' redneck family rant:

[Mrs. Overall]

I am absolutely fuming angry this morning. The atmosphere in which I grew up and must continue to deal with regarding my family is now being played out on a national, political stage.

My immediate family members are rapid Republicans who:

barely finished high school
were pregnant as teenagers or were responsible for getting teenage girls pregnant
are very prejudiced against all ethnic groups
are anti-feminist and anti-gay
have had numerous extra marital affairs
have been divorced several times
have children who barely finish high school and get pregnant outside marriage, marry, then divorce
have drug and alcohol issues
have big family blow-ups with guns and restraining orders involved
have no desire to live or travel beyond where they grew up (Northern CA)
are not involved in community activities or political activities
wholeheartedly have supported Bush and Cheney and the Iraq war

I decided as a teenager that I wanted to have a different future, so I have been looked on with pity and considered the "black sheep of the family" and am often made fun of. I am:

a Democrat/Progressive
college educated
still married to the same husband with no affairs or divorces
no drama to speak of
with two teens who are working hard so they can attend college
with two teens who know about birth control
a person who wants to visit new places, meet a variety of people from all backgrounds
have been involved in volunteer work, teaching, and have been politically active in my community

AND I AM THE ONE WHO IS THE OUTCAST, THE BLACK SHEEP, THE ONE THEY FEEL NERVOUS TO INTRODUCE TO THEIR FRIENDS. THEY ARE CHRISTIANS AND "FAMILY VALUES VOTERS" AND HAVE EXPRESSED TO ME THAT THEY WORRY FOR THE STATE OF MY SOUL. THEY BELIEVE THAT EDUCATION "RUINED" ME.

SARAH PALIN, in all of her grand hypocrisy, panders to this group, mocking and deriding Obama and the very principles of social justice. It is really pissing me off. We cannot have this mindset involved in running our country.

Jeez, I was awake at 3am stewing about all of these things this morning.

[madmax]

1. Forget them

[nam78_two]

2. Proud celebration of ignorance and stupidity is apparently the new American way

or old way...

or something.

At any rate celebration of ignorance and stupidity is awesome and anything else is "elitist" apparently .

[Moochy]

17. Anti-intellectualism is a Republican Party Plank these days

Another one of their varied weapons in the Culture Wars(tm)

When your entire worldview is supported by lies, racism and xenophobia, higher education is enemy #1.

[nam78_two]

19. "When your entire worldview is supported by lies, racism & xenophobia, higher education is enemy #1"

Excellent and succinct-in a nutshell that is it.

[azmouse]

3. At some point you have to decide if they are worth your trouble.

I now ignore my RW brother and his wife. Life is much better.

[Mrs. Overall]

5. For the most part I do ignore them. It is just difficult to see the same dynamics

being played out in a national election. And seeing the absurdity of the whole thing.

[azmouse]

12. As Dems, we have to keep forging ahead for the next generation.

Life has to be made better for them. There are only so many we can get through to and so many who want to be helped.
Some people just enjoy wallowing in their ignorance. It's always been that way and always will.

[rurallib]

7. Mrs. Lib and I simply avoid family as much as we can

just wasn't worth the hassle and tension. We are much happier.

[panAmerican]

4. Success is the best revenge, my dear.

Though my our immediate family isn't like that (my side or my husband's side), I saw plenty of this "we're-dumb-and-we're-proud-of-it" attitude in many people I went to school with.

It's an absolute pleasure to have these same people who mocked us for studying hard to make something of ourselves, now wait on us at the department stores, at the shoe store, or at a restaurant.

(Edited for typos)

[Steely_Dan]

6. We Must Be Related

I've faced the same kinda crap in my family...I'm the strange one in my family...Go figure

-P

[Labors of Hercules]

14. no shit...

and I don't know about yours, but my family will NEVER understand just how pathetic their lives really are...
They think their way of life is WONDERFUL!!!

omg it's a disgrace to humanity.

[JohnnyLib2]

8. Excellent contrast.

You've given a one-family view of the choices before the country in November.


Recommended!

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. Gladly the 5th...nt

[Sequoia]

10. Damn it girl, let's go have a brew at the pub!

I wish. I know how you feel about the black sheep thing. I felt the same about myself as regards to being a "liberal Democrat". From the very first when Bush stole the election and I told some family members that Iraq did not have WMDs, etc. Everything I told them has come true and now one sibling has married a person more liberal than me...and a Dem to boot !! Ha. But you...what a mean family. The state of your soul...ha...lord above. You hang in there.

[Ron Green]

11. OMG! You've become an ELITIST!

Lots of people on this board are going to have to put you on ignore now.













Do I have to do this?

[marylanddem]

13. You did well in escaping their values & attitudes

seriously, you're higher on the evolutionary chain than they are.

[Neecy]

15. wow

That describes one entire branch of my family in Northern California. Are we related?

Let me guess --- they live in Guerneville.

[Mrs. Overall]

Sort of close--Redding!

[Neecy]

23. We MUST be distant relatives

I read your list and mentally ticked off everything that related to my NorCal branch...and it included everything.

*my cousin who was knocked up at 15, married at 16, and spent her honeymoon camping in the Sierra Nevadas with her teen-aged husband who was missing half his teeth. They divorced two years later and she's now on her third husband.
*the other cousin who sold drugs from her trailer park in Guerneville - and she had a lot of competition for sales. The last time I went to visit her I was offered a myriad of illegal drugs from half a dozen of her neighbors. The law finally caught up with her so she fled over the state line to Reno.
*the other cousin who abused his children to the point where the oldest immediately joined the Army at age 18 to get away from him, and has now finished his third tour of Iraq. His father brags about his son's 'sacrifice' and loves this war. His other two children moved to San Francisco and haven't spoken to him in years. Oh, and the oldest son in the Army has major PTSD - not a problem to his patriotic daddy.
*My uncle who is a professional thief and con artist who now lives in a little shack outside of Sacramento.

ALL of these people - except the two who escaped and moved to SF - are rabid Republicans who think their 'values' are soooooo superior. It would be hysterically funny if it wasn't so pathetic and ignorant.

[Mrs. Overall]

26. Yep, sounds very familiar! You also just reminded me of another element I omitted:

the abusive element in many of my family members' relationships.

And, you are so right how it would be so laughable if it weren't so pathetic.

Sarah Palin and her agenda would set this country back a century.

[Neecy]

32. oh, and see if your family includes this, too....

The one who abused his children rails against welfare (if it's given to African-Americans) but is on Social Security Disability and has been for years - yet built an entire home in the mountains from scratch, with his own hands, despite the 'bad back' that is just tooooo painful to allow him to work.

Hates handouts for other people - takes them himself, and in a fraudulent manner as well. And the thrice-married cousin is constantly on welfare and food stamps but hates the Democrats who fight for her benefits.

Insanity.

[Mrs. Overall]

33. Yes:

Brother-in-law, very redneck who voted for Arnold (but held his nose because Arnold is too liberal) hurt his back on the logging truck and now can't get compensation because the state Republicans cut the program.

My niece, who doesn't speak kindly of immigrants and especially Mexican workers, complains about "handouts" but had a baby at 18 and relied on WIC to buy food.

[trueblue2007]

16. was awake till 4 pm, upset I could 't sleep. Have to have my blood pressure read

I have a doctor appointment in 2 hours.

I guess if it's sky high, my WOMAN doctor will appreciate why I'm so upset.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

18. I'm on the verge of cutting ties with my brother.

It's very stressful to have loved ones who think so differently than you on such important issues.

[mnhtnbb]

34. I have cut ties with my brother's wife over her persistent e-mailing

of lies and bullshit about Obama. I just couldn't take anymore. I told her I couldn't respect
a person who wasn't concerned about spreading lies.

Granted, this has been building for a long time (I've known her for 40 some years) but I reached
my breaking point. I have no regrets.

My brother seems to understand it--he's complained mightily over the years about his wife's inability
to listen to someone with a different point of view.

So far, it doesn't seem to have affected relationships with her kids--my nephews and niece. One nephew
visited us in August before going to start his graduate studies in MD, and he's coming back to spend Thanksgiving with us in NC (His parents live in SF and will be going to Hawaii for Thanksgiving).

Sometimes it's better to let go.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

38. I have a niece who sent me a link this morning telling me how Obama is related to Cheney...

...I told her it was old news. I also told her that Kerry is related to Bush. I told her if we go back far enough we're all bound to be related to some famous historian. I told her that I'm hoping we're related to Benjamin Franklin, because he was so smart.

[Ichingcarpenter]

20. I'm outraged too....... nice rant n/t

[texanshatingbush]

21. Also a black sheep, I have been excommunicated from my family.....

During my last conversation with my brother in May 2008, during which he heaped venom on me, I nonetheless almost laughed when he came up with this line: "Everything that's wrong with this country today is the fault of you and your hippie generation."

In case you can't guess, he is a wingnut, and my husband and I have decided he definitely belongs to the lunatic fringe.

I stayed awake last night stewing about it, too. My heart breaks at the family bust-up. But this is what I have decided: there is nothing I can say or do to change things, so why should I continue to play the role of peacemaker, since it only hurts me grievously and leaves me feeling desolate?

My advice: be kind to yourself, and stay away from your family as much as possible. Focus on good.

Peace be with you.

[redqueen]

22. We HAVE had this mindset running our country for 8 years.

Worked out great, huh?

[WhiteTara]

24. actually, we're your family

we share the same values and we will encourage you and your family to continue to seek your highest life.

[Mrs. Overall]

25. Thank you! Yes, DU is a place where I feel "at home" and now I live far from my family

and make it a rule to associate with people who have similar, open-minded, Democratic values.

I just want people to realize how Sarah Palin is lifting up the "redneck" element and deriding Obama's politically and socially mature message.

[yellowdogintexas]

27. not a black sheep, more like a grey sheep, but I know what you are talking about

for me it is the in laws.



I am really glad the election will be over, however it turns out when we have Thanksgiving dinner.

My sisters know better than to even discuss it with me, as they know politically I am our mother's child. So we let it be.

[Kaylee]

28. I feel your pain....

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I watched 'Idiocracy' earlier this year. It hit too close to home (meaning America).

[Chloroplast]

29. YOU and your family are the American Ideal before it got distorted.

Working hard and sharing your knowledge and time with your community for the betterment of all, is the America we are losing. Your family should be proud of you and what you and your husband have been able to do not only as a couple but as parents and community members. I am continually surprised at how society is trying to honor those that refuse to better themselves but those like you are what give me hope.

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. We can't choose the families we are born into, but at least you found a new one at DU :^)

[cottonseed]

31. I was on a house boat last week in Orroville. 20 old pals trying to convince me Obama was muslim.

It's tough up there, no doubt. I've got about the same story. Family, friends in Northern California, but I had to get the hell out of there. I'm a San Francisco liberal now . It was funny and sad all at the same time, I mentioned Obama once, and with the beers flowing, ended up arguing with the whole boat in the middle of the night. Couldn't stand arguing the same old conservative crap they sop up for Savage and Limbaugh. Infuriating, but I gave them hell for it.

[sam kane]

35. I was awake at 3am too!

I'm afraid this confirms that the fix is in and these crazy people are going to finish off what they started.

[Mrs. Overall]

36. No Way. This is just the horrible process whereby their hypocrisy is exposed--

if the media will do their job.

I really don't believe the fix is in.

[yardwork]

37. k&r

The Republican Party's platform has ensured that a lot of Americans stay desperate, poor, and uneducated. It's easier to control people that way.