Some thoughts on needless cruelty.

[PatrickforB]

I just read the article on here about Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota who boasted about killing a good dog and then throwing its body into a pit.

A couple of years ago, I remember reading about a conversation Trump had with someone - he was just making conversation, and he said he was at an event and someone collapsed right in front of him. There was blood. What did he do? Turned away and left quickly.

Then he was having affairs with women while Melania was recovering from childbirth.

Let's not forget the Mittster, who tied his dog Seamus to the roof of his car and then drove cross country like that. Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher wrote “your dead kids don't trump my constitutional rights. Jim Jordan turned a blind eye to kids talking about how they had been sexually abused at Ohio State. I could sit and make a huge list of these kinds of things. But here's my question:

How did a substantial portion of our population lose their moral compass? Why are so many of us so needlessly, thoughtlessly cruel? Who made so many of us this way? Why?

And what about all these old white guys who are fine with women dying in hospital parking lots because they cannot get an abortion even if it is the only thing that will save their life? I'd like to ask them what if she was your daughter or granddaughter? You want to let her die because of ideology?

I was thinking about my dad today. He was buffeted by life, and died a bitter man. I watched as he became bitter and it was very sad. He was a lifelong Republican, but he served in the Second World War. You know, the one where we lost 600,000 of our people to get rid of Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo and the rest of the fascist monsters. Dad fought in the Battle of New Guinea in 1944-45. He had a couple of medals but he didn't care much about them. He wouldn't talk to me about it either. I can remember once I asked him if he thought the war in Vietnam would still be going on when I got old enough. He looked somberly at me and said, "I hope not."

Dad would not recognize today's Republicans who have been so perverted by the Koch brothers, the Mercers and the rest of these freakish billionaires who are driving wedges between us so we won't notice them picking our pockets. AM talk radio...well, he would eventually have fallen prey to it. Fox 'news.' Same. But if he came back today, he'd shake his head.

We need to take back both patriotism and morality, because the Republicans have clearly become evil. And Russian, Chinese, and other enemy 'trolls' are on our social media working feverishly to keep this chaos going.

We can all help change our course, each in our own way. When I see it happening, I will speak out.

That's all...

[Blue Owl]

1. Kristi Noem: Puppy Slaughterer

[Faux pas]

2. MHO

is they are all sociopaths on speed. Not a good combo.

[Sky Jewels]

3. It's truly mind-boggling.

Of course the underlying problem is wealthy corporate/oligarch interests poisoning the minds of Americans over 40+ years through propaganda and brain washing (coast-to-coast hate radio, Fox News, etc.) in order to get them to vote against their own interests, dismantle the safety net and social programs, push through tax cuts for billionaires, and other nefarious objectives. But it used to be that most people were semi-reasonable and there was a far-right loony "fringe" (John Birchers and such) that was mainly chuckled at by most people. Trump's election revealed that the loony "fringe" is now the majority of Republicans and the right. They are kept in a constant state of anger and agitation and there is always some group that they're supposed to be hating --- Muslims, Mexicans, migrants, Black people, gay people, leftists, environmentalists, feminists and women in general, non-Christians, the list goes on. They get a sense of power and control by being cruel and approving of cruelty when others use it to put people who are not like them in their (inferior) place. Some of them get off on animal cruelty, like Trump's demon spawn sons, who slaughter defenseless penned animals in Africa.

My opinion of Americans in general has plummeted in the past eight years.

[misanthrope]

7. Far longer than 40 years

As soon as televisions began to appear in American homes, Madison Avenue and corporate America achieved a means to engineer our cultural values to a degree and depth never before realized in human history. That is where the downslope to our current social morass began in earnest.

[In Too Deep]

4. I remember that Trump story. Someone had fallen off the stage and was bleeding badly...

Instead of helping or trying to help, he turned away and because he hated the sight of blood, even joking after the guy was taken away by some Marines, he didn't care if he was okay - just that they needed to clean up the blood because it was disgusting:

[Think. Again.]

5. Thank you for posting that.

[NanaCat]

6. They didn't lose their moral compass

They either never had one that functioned properly. Or they've never had one at all.

They've always been out there. The difference now is social media enabling them to hook up with each other to amplify their hate, and our own scumbag bothsiderist media elevating these monsters as equals to civilized people.

[Bayard]

8. Moral compass

I think its the same thing we've talked about before, that bad behavior is more publicized and quickly reported these days. There have always been immoral, cruel people.

I also think it was more acceptable in olden days. People beat their kids, beat their animals. Beat their slaves. Sexual abuse was just not talked about. Some of the population has not evolved.