Weekend reading
Posted by Richard on November 20, 2005
Looking for some good reading? As usual, you can’t go wrong with the posts that got votes from the Watcher’s Council this week (or even the list of nominees).
Interestingly, the two winners — Council and non-Council — complemented each other nicely this week. Council winner Dr. Sanity (who’s actually a shrink) discussed the psychology of the Bush haters in Let’s Discuss Bush Derangement Syndrome Again. Some, she noted, hate Bush simply because he stands in the way of their collectivist agenda, and they’re simply evil. But it’s gone way beyond them to envelop the average, normally sane Democratic rank and file:
After 9/11, in many cases, even a mild dislike of "W" rapidly morphed into the ferocious Bush hatred we are now all familiar with. The opposition to a conservative Republican; and reasonable disagreement with his policies became a swooning hysteria; and an unmitigated, deranged hatred with all the accompanying paranoid delusions.
…
This psychological defense mechanism is referred to as "displacement".… The purpose of displacement is to avoid having to cope with the actual reality. Instead, by using displacement, an individual is able to still experience his or her anger, but it is directed at a less threatening target than the real cause. In this way, the individual does not have to be responsible for the consequences of his/her anger and feels more safe–even thought that is not the case.
…
Rather than blame the terrorists; rather than admiting they have to take action against them; their fear is transformed to anger and displaced onto President Bush. If everything is his fault, then the reality of what happened does not have to be faced (this also explains the intense psychological denial that these same individuals tend to have about 9/11).
Non-Council winner The Anchoress, meanwhile, looked at the Republican side and found serious problems at the top. In Attention GOP Leadership, she gave them a piece of her mind:
If your plan was to make people so disgusted with your cowardice, your disorganization and your political tone-deafness that they either stop contributing to the RNC, or they decide to just sit out the next election (because what’s the point), or they decide to vote out every stinking one of you in the next elections, because you freaking well deserve ouster for literally doing nothing constructive and squandering your majority…well…you have succeeded spectacularly! Beyond your wildest imaginings, I am sure.
I can’t think of a single reason to vote to re-elect a any one of you.
Read the rest; it gets even more blistering. And the useless sacks of excrement in Washington with an R after their names deserve every bit of it. Things have only gotten worse since that post.
When you’re done sampling the Watcher’s offerings, head over to the latest Carnival of Cordite at Resistance is futile! As usual, there are lots of posts covering lots of ground, so unless you’re completely hoplophobic, you’re bound to find something that interests you: the Frisco ban and other political nonsense, gun safety, non-lethal weapons, range reports, the guns of Iraq, pumpkin cannons, and more, presented with lots of nice pictures and Gullyborg’s fine introductions. Check it out.
Leave a Comment