You are right on all counts about the Republicans, but too generous to Democrats.
What's wrong with people who allow their president and representatives in Congress to not only agree with the party they voted against, not just in final compromises, but in starting negotiations and appointments to cabinet positions?
When a president's education, health care reform, foreign, trade, and Social Security policies come straight from the right wing Heritage Foundation, and only differs with Republicans on gay rights and slight tax increases for the rich, that's not enough difference between the two parties to be a democracy.
We are the children of TWO alcoholic parents: one an angry drunk who rules through fear and says only he can protect us from the scary brown people, and the quiet drunk who tells us all the nice things he'd like to do for us, but leaves the cupboard nearly as bare as the other drunk.
After a while, you get hungry enough for the small difference not to matter.
While there is no excuse for the violence, the degree of extreme reaction is in part because it is a group with more power insulting one with less.
If someone who is your equal or inferior insults you, you might be annoyed or shrug it off but it doesn't cut you to your soul.
If someone powerful insults you, it cuts more deeply for two reasons: one, you feel helpless to defend yourself if the insults are followed by physical attacks. Two, you subconsciously wonder if ARE inferior in more ways than just power--and you have to protest to convince yourself you aren't.
Here in the US, that is why the "N word" directed at black people has a profound emotional effect while no insult directed at whites has any real emotional resonance except with some conservatives who wish they felt insulted,
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That would be a tough sell.
You are right on all counts about the Republicans, but too generous to Democrats.
What's wrong with people who allow their president and representatives in Congress to not only agree with the party they voted against, not just in final compromises, but in starting negotiations and appointments to cabinet positions?
When a president's education, health care reform, foreign, trade, and Social Security policies come straight from the right wing Heritage Foundation, and only differs with Republicans on gay rights and slight tax increases for the rich, that's not enough difference between the two parties to be a democracy.
We are the children of TWO alcoholic parents: one an angry drunk who rules through fear and says only he can protect us from the scary brown people, and the quiet drunk who tells us all the nice things he'd like to do for us, but leaves the cupboard nearly as bare as the other drunk.
After a while, you get hungry enough for the small difference not to matter.
Abhinav,
While there is no excuse for the violence, the degree of extreme reaction is in part because it is a group with more power insulting one with less.
If someone who is your equal or inferior insults you, you might be annoyed or shrug it off but it doesn't cut you to your soul.
If someone powerful insults you, it cuts more deeply for two reasons: one, you feel helpless to defend yourself if the insults are followed by physical attacks. Two, you subconsciously wonder if ARE inferior in more ways than just power--and you have to protest to convince yourself you aren't.
Here in the US, that is why the "N word" directed at black people has a profound emotional effect while no insult directed at whites has any real emotional resonance except with some conservatives who wish they felt insulted,