What a Republican Hears

[RiverStone]

With all due respect to famed cartoonist Gary Larson who did a cartoon entitled, "What Dogs Hear" - I had a long talk this a.m. with a rethug colleague. We debated the irrationality of Shrub's fucked up war, NCLB, illegal wiretapping, abuse of the Constitution etc.

I swear, I think this is what she hears...


bla...bla, bla,....bla...bla,bla,bla....bla...BUSH.bla...bla, bla,....bla...bla,bla,......................bla....bla...BUSH...bla,bla,.......bla,...bla,bla..bla,bla,.......bla,...bla,bla,bla...bla, bla,....BUSH bla...bla,bla,bla....bla...BUSH...bla,bla,.......bla,...bla,bla,..bla...bla, .....bla,....bla...bla,bla,bla....bla...BUSH...bla,bla,.BUSH......bla,...bla,bla,bla...bla, bla,....bla...bla,bla,bla....bla...BUSH...bla,bla,.......bla,...bla,bla..........


She did not or could not or would not hear a damn thing I said. No argument, no matter how sensible or compelling could break though. She drank the kool-aid a long time ago.

I won't have that talk with her ever again.

[tridim]

1. My parents are like that..

No matter what I say, and regardless of the sources I cite, the conversation always ends in, "We'll just have to agree to disagree". It's maddening.

Faux and Rush have taught these people to ignore everything that doesn't come from the RW media machine. I still can't figure out why it works, but it does.

[jackster]

2. I was just reading

a blog and comments recently - can't remember who or what - but it was a former rightie and most of the posters were former righties or at least former Republicans. One of them asked the question....

Do right wingers work to stay so stupid? They must, because anyone with any ounce of sense would have woken up by now....

[unpossibles]

3. that must be it

My only guess is the sphincter muscles must obstruct the ear canal or something.

I've had very similar "conversations" where I try to be nuanced and explain things and use data and links and research.... and they come back with something brilliant. Like calling me a damn liberal commie terrorist.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. It's a classic case of "My mind's made up,

don't confuse me with the facts". It seems that as soon as they swallow the RW spin, they cannot absorb any new information, no matter how factual or compelling the argument is.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

5. It's not just you...

This Modern World: What liberals say / what conservatives hear

[CrispyQ]

6. Harr! Great analogy!

I remember that cartoon. I love Larson!

When speaking to an authoritarian follower, keep in mind that unless they view you as an authoritarian, they disregard everything you say, regardless of facts.

From his online book, The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer:

"...authoritarians’ ideas are poorly integrated with one another.
It’s as if each idea is stored in a file that can be called up and used when the
authoritarian wishes, even though another of his ideas--stored in a different file--
basically contradicts it. We all have some inconsistencies in our thinking, but
authoritarians can stupify you with the inconsistency of their ideas. Thus they may say
they are proud to live in a country that guarantees freedom of speech, but another file
holds, “My country, love it or leave it.” The ideas were copied from trusted sources,
often as sayings, but the authoritarian has never “merged files” to see how well they
all fit together."

You can view or download this book from here. http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

It's interesting reading.