I Have Met the Enemy...

[scarletwoman]

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0528-01.htm

For the first time ever in my life, I had someone threaten to kill me tonight. He was nearly apoplectic with rage, screaming curses, his finger right in my face, his eyes slits of venom. Ex-Navy lifer, I gathered. Probably in his late 50’s. Beer belly. A person so devoid of humanity I was stunned.

<snip>

“Bush will win in a LANDSLIDE. And if he doesn’t, WE know where to find you. WE can take care of you. WE can make sure you don’t EVER fuck with this country again.”

Yes, people say that to one another these days in … where was it that I thought I lived? America? The land of Thomas Jefferson? Of mom and apple pie? Of noble, lofty principles? Of goodness, sweetness and light?

That’s when I thought of Abu Ghraib. In fact, the pictures seemed to flash like a slide show through my brain, one after another. Grinning, leering Americans torturing human beings stripped of every shred of their humanity in the eyes of their torturers.

And I understood. Mr. Ex-Navy would have fit right in.

Read the whole piece, it's... well... chilling.

sw

[countmyvote4real]

1. America and damper waves of brain.

Sorry about the subject line, but the full story in the link is very telling. Most Americans lack good judgment. I include myself. We are bred to be stupid and get away with it.

[scarletwoman]

3. "damper waves of brain" -- not bad!

No need to apologize for your subject line, it's actually quite clever.

I get what you say about "bred to be stupid", although I usually think of it as a problem of not being trained in critical thinking. I also see as a concomitant problem, the excessive glorification of violence in our culture.

I don't know what can be done about such unreasoning, bigoted and brutish members of our society. It seems to me that they are a symptom of something very ugly and twisted in the collective psyche of our nation.

sw

[MikeG]

2. Hope he spent his $300.00 tax cut well.

No way he makes enough to get more than that back.

[wmccarver]

4. Civil Engineering

Positive Engineering:
You well describe the enemy within. Their apoplectic rage gained its street experience when its reign of terror dressed in white robes. A boy of the south (ALA-NC), at 55 I've long bettered my nature by the study of such inveterate wrath. Though you endured the command of raw intimidation, others (passersby perhaps, or child like me) witnessed affectedly. You may have lost nothing more than the expectation of a quieter moment while you may have gained the future. If he made you feel desperate, know that this is all he can ever effectively accomplish.
Negative Engineering:
I once had a friend whose father got drunk on Jack Daniels while watching Jerry Farwell, requiring my friend to endure what you did in the name of God for hours on end. Donnie's father needed hate to justify his rage while Donnie needed a father. Donnie may have pulled the trigger, but I've never thought it was suicide.

[scarletwoman]

5. Welcome to DU!

An excellent first post! :hi:

I must, however, hasten to clarify my post. It's not MY story, it's from the CommonDreams website. I ought to have put quotes around the title in my subject line, sorry for the confusion.

I'm looking forward to your future posts here -- again, welcome!

sw

[salin]

8. *gasp*

what a tragic, tragic story. *sigh* I have seen much damage inflicted upon children by their parents, hate is among the worst.

Welcome to DU.

[newyawker99]

9. Hi wmccarver!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Warpy]

6. It's important to remember

..that no matter how polite you are, how many of the facts you have on your side, or how persuasive your arguments are, there are some people in the world who will insist on being total assholes and threaten your life for not following their brand of orthodoxy.

Mr Navy has simply never been able to admit that the fairy stories were untrue, and that he got lied into a war that should never have been fought. He sees it happening again, and I'm sure the cognitive dissonance is quite painful.

I can never bring myself to hate such people. They're limited in understanding and adaptability, and deeply frightened of a world that has continued to change beyond their ability to change with it.

I feel sorry for them.

[myopic4141]

16. It is more likely

That Mr Navy has no real argument against the writers position. He knows he is in the wrong; but, refuses to admit it; therefore, seeks to intimidate. The signs of being on the losing side are belligerence, rudeness, and lies (order independent) and he demonstrated all of them.

[teryang]

7. I feel sorry for him too

(not) Make my day.

Hannah Arendt once said something like, most men's minds are no more elevated in thought that those of brutes, pulling a plow.

[kalian]

10. This is why....the upcoming elections will be a MAJOR turning point

for this nation.
IF, the left is permitted to win...then the ultra-reich wingers will
definitely be up in arms.
I say IF because its rather blatantly obvious that there will be
a pre-election staged event that will usher in martial law in order
to prevent the elections from ever happening.
Its rather obvious as well that the bushistas cannot relinquish
power...if they do, the entire reich-wing is in dire trouble.

All I can say is: dark times are ahead...how much do you love your
country...?

[ixion]

11. you said it, kalian

if the BFEE empire and it's throngs of brown-shirts do manage to steal another election, as a country we are going to be in a world of hurt. Right now, the world sees this as Bush's screw up. If he is reselected, the world will see it as an endorsement of that screw up, at which point we will get what these idiots wish for: isolation.

And at that point, they will probably finally realize the damage...or maybe not. :-(

[BeHereNow]

14. Good question-

"how much do you love your country...?"

I have thought about it a great deal and concluded the following:
I love the idea of my country- I am repulsed and frightened
by the reality of my country, especially when I read something
like this story, which I am witnessing at an alarming frequency
where I live.
BHN

[glitch]

12. before bush* this man would probably have kept his mental illness

hidden in his home, venting on his family, as wmcarver said above (welcome to DU!). This admin with their openly hate-based agenda gave this guy all the encouragement he needed to verbally abuse two strangers in public.

There really is one very good thing about bush* - all sorts of people are exposing their true agenda all over the place. I appreciate that. Know your friends and your enemies. I am finding way more friendlies than I ever imagined and it's encouraging. (I live in Seattle though).

We've always had mental illness, so do we want this guy back in his hidey hole, torturing his family, or now that he's exposed, how can we get this man the help he so desperately needs?
I don't know how, I am really asking.

edited to add: this woman and her friends have been protesting for two years and this is the first lunatic that showed up?
This may actually be an encouraging article!

[Eloriel]

15. EXCELLENT points -- about this type of mental illness

no longer hidden but getting called out by this administration -- well, honestly, since at least Gingrich if not Reagan.

[Raster]

13. this "gentleman's" attitude and conduct is the right-wing in a nutshell...

...no logic permitted... work from fear and intimidation... stay on the message... they're either with us or against us... stay on the message... they're different from you... stay on the message... muslims are evil... stay on the message... questioning authority helps the terrorists... stay on the message... fear and hate what you don't understand... don't think about it, just hate... stay on the message... they're either with us or against us... stay on the message...