"They Thought They Could Control" the Monster

Recently, I described how the out of control Tea Party Fort Sumter conservatives were created and encouraged. Athenae dispatches conservatives like David Frum who are SHOCKED that this could possibly happen:

I feel about this the way I feel about people who keep grizzly bears and gorillas and tigers as pets. They keep animals that outweigh them as pampered houseguests, feeding them raw salmon and steak and putting cute little collars on them and shit, and then are ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED when their "best friends" get bored one day and eat their faces.

I mean, COME ON. Did you really not think you'd be lunch at some point? It's one thing to know it and have a death wish. People jump out of planes. People do all kinds of shit they know is dangerous as hell and it's kinda sexy to live that far on the edge, but only if you know. If you've got yourself a degree in Advanced Self-Deception and you think it is going to be okay to keep a zoo animal in your living room because it owes you something for naming and putting a little hat on it, I don't even know what to do with you. That kind of idiocy exhausts me down to my bones.

It runs deeper than just foolishness: it is a textbook example of a Faustian bargain. Given the choice of exorcising the demons of segregation and Jim Crow from the body politic--and their perfidy does reach back that far--or aligning themselves with the most contemptible elements of society, so they could punch the Dirty Hippies in the face all the while enriching themselves, they chose power and prerogative over country.

They are not to be trusted. Just something to keep in mind as they temporarily align themselves with the Coalition of the Sane.

More like this

Hmm. Requirements to be named trustworthy: Reliability (act consistently over time), Integrity (words and actions agree) and Honesty.

Nope, not Trustworthy.

And they never were.

Self deception? Empathy deficit? Incompetence? How can any mature person fall for the same trick over and over again?

I too am exhausted in my bones by the Stoopid. It burns.

Time to switch to Plan B for retirement: do you want to work the grill or the counter?

By Bayesian Bouff… (not verified) on 05 Aug 2011 #permalink