Remember "V", the mid-80s TV series about alien humanoid lizards that invaded earth?

[Atticus]

They looked like us, talked like us and were accepted by us as ordinary humans. But, every now and then, they'd feel compelled to slip into an alley and hide behind a dumpster whie they gobbled down a live rat.

"They walked among us" and those who discovered their true nature were repulsed and frightened by them. And, that's pretty much how I feel about the people who STILL support the monsters---Trump, DeSantis, Hawley, Kemp, Cruz, Taylor-Greene---on and on------.

I have no illusions about "working with" these creatures.

I don't want to associate with them.

I resent being told I should try to "understand their point of view".

I am at war with these beings who are so alien to everything and everyone I hold dear and surrender is not an option.

[Amishman]

1. I remember the 2009 TV show pretty well

but mainly because I had a thing for Morena Baccarin

[targetpractice]

5. Loved it...

... Loved her, and Jane Badler... The finale was quite conclusive, right?

[TreasonousBastard]

38. Who didn't?

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. Excellent analogy....

I have often thought that as well. They are everywhere.

[Swede]

3. I've come to the conclusion that conservatives have no business in government.

None.

[Hortensis]

14. My conclusion is that strong cons are unsuited and incapable.

I wouldn't even hire one to manage a fast food franchise, assuming unacceptable and counterproductive decisions would be inevitable.

Door open for moderate cons, though. Look at President Eisenhower, definitely conservative but nevertheless a man of judgement and integrity, positive on civil rights, and even a firm believer in the value of progressive use of government.

[raging moderate]

16. The GQP is NOT Conservative. It is Reactionary.

Eisenhower, as you say, was a man of judgement, positive on civil rights, and even a firm believer in the value of progressive use of government. He was also anti-fascist as well as anti-communist. Eisenhower was not perfect, but he towered above these people. This is not my mother's Republican party, founded partly by people who had been members of the 17th-18th century liberal Whig party.

[Mickju]

20. Eisenhower was the last (only?) decent Republican president.

I was 16 when he left office so I remember him well.

[rsdsharp]

44. Only? Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt were Republicans.

[GB_RN]

25. Reactionary &

Regressive!

[Hortensis]

27. Tragic. Traditional conservative values, such as they were, were purged

from the GOP, deliberately, by very bad people, leaving the negative and reactionary conservative personality traits to be inflamed and harnessed for bad purposes.

But half the nation IS conservative by nature. Can't get around that. Our survival as a democracy depends on better conservative leaders regaining control and and reestablishing conservative principles to hold onto.

From what I've read, unlike liberals with our rich and long-established heritage of liberal philosophy and ideals, conservatism's never been much more than negative reactions to differences and changes. Conservative intellectuals were trying to establish an ideological base to guide conservative thinking when they were purged and their philosophy aborted.

[fescuerescue]

4. We just need to find their spaceship

and reverse engineer their technology.

It's entirely possible that Mar-A-Lago is just a front to store their technology.

[JHB]

26. We already know where it is. It's the reverse-engineering that poses the issues

The "where" is the overlapping network of media outlets whose whole reason for being is to punch hot buttons, blame liberals and Democrats, smear, and push ideology. This is something they've been investing in and building up since the 70s. They've nurtured a generation to push their message and tear down anything in its way.

And we haven't made any similar investments. Nothing on the scale needed to provide a counter-message to what comes through peoples' radios and cable and TV all day every day in every last nook and cranny of the country.

[localroger]

6. V was inspired by It Can't Happen Here

The horrific aliens were intended as a metaphor for our potential embrace of fascism.

[PatSeg]

7. They don't really have a "point of view"

This isn't about ideology or principles where people might disagree. These people will do or say anything to further their ambitions. How can you try and understand people who are blatantly dishonest pretty much all the time?

There is no real "point of view" when people stand for nothing at all. They change their agenda as it suits their needs and will even engage in illegal activities if necessary. That's not some political philosophy, that is the behavior of a criminal. So are we suppose to "understand the point of view" of criminals?

These people are not only dishonest and willfully negligent, their actions and often inactions are killing people. Actually, you know, I do understand their point of view, they lust for power and money and they will do anything to get it. I understand and I reject it.

[Hortensis]

15. :) Leaders or followers? For followers, this is why I won't subscribe to

the OP's point of view, although I no longer want to associate with anyone who voted for Trump a second time. The first unforgettable in those who rejected him the second time, the second forever unforgiveable.

However, I know that most have been influenced to become their worst versions of their political selves.
If by some snap of the fingers they could be gotten to choose a fairly principled conservative leader, all but the very worst would change, and remarkably quickly, to be better people.

And, unfortunately, whatever versions of themselves they are, they'll always be with us.

The leaders you're describing belong in prison. I'd throw away the key for most.

[PatSeg]

22. I am thinking more of the political leaders

The followers are often brainwashed sheep, so in a way I suppose, THAT is not a point of view either. Though I might be a bit more sympathetic and understanding to those who have been misled, I still cannot relate to their mindless, unquestioned devotion to their leaders.

Of course, we cannot put tens of millions of people in the same category. There certainly are some rotten, hateful assholes who felt that a leader like Donald Trump sanctioned and approved their worst instincts. They were horrible people before the Trump presidency, they just became more brazen and public in the past four years. But there are many more who aren't bad people by nature, they just are easily influenced by all the right-wing noise in their worlds. I think there is still hope for many of them.

Meanwhile, the haters will continue to hate and many will be dangerous to society. We saw that clearly on January 6th. These are the people I cannot "work with", or relate to, or "try to understand their point of view".

How are you doing Hortensis!

[Hortensis]

30. Agree entirely. I've always been unable to hold a grudge and

usually able to define and value people by their better "facets." Now I truly would be happy not to see any of them again. But as you say. Many could once again be the people we regretted losing from our lives when they first turned against us, in the early years to our bewilderment.

As for me, got our second shot, going to celebrate by getting my hair "styled" in a couple weeks.



How about your neck of the world?

[PatSeg]

35. Yes, it is easy to talk objectively

about people we don't know, but if they are family or close friends, that's a different story. We can hardly throw away people we've known most, if not all of our lives.

All is pretty good here. I'm scheduled for my vaccine in a week. My son is an Air Traffic Controller and finally he will be able to get his about the same time.

A hair cut? What a treat!

[Hortensis]

36. We're getting older, and I don't hold out a lot of hope for

most of those who rejected us after 15, 20, 25 years of friendship. It was always that way as they went hostile. Other conservative friends didn't, and friendships have held through all this, but they're not the haters.

Congrats on the vaccines, and on having your own air traffic controller. I've ordered us a couple of masks embroidered "vaccinated" on one side. Heard a bunch of clueless yuckers laughing at all the sheeple who were too sheeplish to take their masks off while driving, so I figured we'd give them something else to enjoy.

[PatSeg]

39. Yes, good point

I pretty much had cleaned out most of the haters and narrowed minded people a long time ago. After awhile, it was too much effort to deal with them anymore. I put a lot of time and energy into trying to find redeeming qualities in them, trying to be a better, more forgiving person, but eventually the negative often outweighed the good too much to make it worth the trouble. At this point in my life, time is much too precious to waste on some people. The best I can do is to wish them well and go my own way.

I don't have much patience or tolerance for the "clueless yuckers". In this day and age, there is no excuse for that kind of willful ignorance. Sometimes, I think such people just look for reasons to ridicule others. If it hadn't been masks, it would be something else. That isn't an alternate belief system, that is mean-spirited, uncivilized behavior. Anyone who survived high school is familiar with that kind of cruel and ugly behavior. It would seem that Trump gave them license to do and say things that perhaps they always wanted to.

[Hortensis]

45. Yes. There's one up at the corner who needs looking in on

out of decency, but she's alone now and we're a rare chance to personally slay the enemy with fake smiles and license from Trump. Lol, "owning the libs," I guess. My husband's taken on that job. I used to be the easygoing one who just considered the source, now it's he who smiles and lets it run off his back and I haven't seen her since last summer. It works. I just smiled telling you how awful she is.

[PatSeg]

47. Ha, ha, ha!!!

So you just smiled telling me how awful she is??? Yes, when we can smile instead of losing our temper, we have probably progressed or perhaps lost our minds! Nah, we've progressed.

[Hortensis]

49. :) Definitely progress. My husband's my hero. nt

[Hiawatha Pete]

8. I always thought the R after a congress critter's name stood for "Reptilian"

Lurr (R) - Planet Omicron Persei 8

[Xavier Breath]

42. Always appreciate a Futurama reference. n/t

[Shermann]

9. The original series had the greatest hook of all time

From there it sort of devolved into a science fiction soap opera, but it was still pretty good.

I haven't seen the reboot.

[thucythucy]

10. Makes me wonder if the whole Q-anon BS was a rip off of the show's premise.

Secret reptiles taking over the world and all that...

[dsc]

11. I actually just re watched the entire miniseries

and while it had its ups and downs it is a powerful analogy to what it was like under Trump. And man, Marc Singer, he definitely solidified for me that I was into guys.

[hamsterjill]

29. Hubba! Hubba!!

Marc Singer was my crush!!! Loved him in Beastmaster, and V was icing on the cake!!

Michael Ironside was great in V, too. Great “tough guy” actor.

[dsc]

31. yeah best master was quite something

and there is a version of Taming of the Shrew with Singer that has to be seen to be believed. You can get it on Youtube.

[hamsterjill]

32. I'll check it out.

Thanks.

After V, he did mostly “bad guy” parts and I never thought he pulled that off very well.

[electric_blue68]

43. Hee, hee...

And while a totally different appearence - I also found
Frank Ashmore (Martin) quite nice on the eyes as well as Marc Singer.

[NewJeffCT]

12. Loved that show when it came out

I remember loving Jane Badler & then being stunned when she opened her mouth wide for the rodent. (I knew they weren't on the up & up and were bad, but I thought maybe they looked similar to us at the time)

What still sticks out in my mind was the old Jewish guy helping the kids spray paint a big V over a "Visitors" poster and explaining to the teenagers that it meant "V for Victory"

I also remember the scientists of the world warning to talking about the decreasing level of water in our oceans & seas and the Visitors and their allies using propaganda to discredit them.

[Renew Deal]

13. I watched the remake.

I might have been the only one. I don’t think they even showed the entire season.

[Smackdown2019]

17. Yeah I recall it, had forgotten it until you posted about it

Was there a required 18 year turn over in that series?

[themaguffin]

18. well, it was a WW2 allegory...

[BigOleDummy]

19. Well said.

Very well said! Agree with all you spoke about 100%. We are in a fight for our very lives here with these wanna be dictators and their willing servants.

[Farther]

21. Abso

lizardlutely!

[cab67]

23. They don't want us to "understand" their point of view.

I completely understand it.

They want us to concede to it.

[housecat]

24. and there are more like it by other creative and perceptive sci-fi writers

Every episode of Star Trek is about a social, political, or religious problem in our proverbial back yard

[bluestarone]

28. YES!

Loved that series! That's where we are at today!

[hay rick]

33. My own reaction to and summary judgment of these people scares me.

My gut tells me they are neither American nor human, but enemies of both. I am morally conflicted on acceptable ways to deal with these people.

[Atticus]

34. I understand entirely what you just posted---especially what you left unsaid. nt

[Aristus]

37. The only way the Visitors would get me to submit is if they sent Jane Badler.

[lame54]

40. I might like them a little if...

They took care of the rat problem

[Shermann]

41. It is a good analogy

Analogies to Nazism are appropriate as well, but get brushed off as just another Reductio ad Hitlerum

So this is fresh and new for the moment, until it becomes the Reductio ad Visitorum

[eppur_se_muova]

48. Well, how do we *know* uglicans don't occasionally eat live rats ?

They do almost everything behind closed doors, so clearly they're hiding something.

But it appears to be things much worse than eating an occasional rat.