Reply #47: K&R. Interesting that the RW has been using outrageous remarks [View All]

for years and it's still working for them, but if Dems fight back with outrage it's somehow "bad" and an apology is demanded and usually given. One has only to reduce this to a personal level to see how well that strategy doesn't work. Anyone who has ever dealt with aggressive people, verbal or physical, doesn't change the dynamic by pretending they didn't mean it or apologizing to them. Avoiding them isn't a possibility here, so the only viable option left is standing up to them and calling them on it. Think about it. Everyone's probably seen "Christmas Story." Remember the bully who followed the kid home every day? How'd the kid get him to stop? He not only stood up to him, but he beat the crap out of him. Unfortunately not a viable option for adults, but we need to do the verbal equivalent. On a personal note, there was a verbal bully at my job when I was much younger, and after a month or two of trying to ignore her nastiness, I was finally able to quash her bullying by laughing at her. Yup, newsflash -- bullies don't like to be laughed at.

So in a nutshell here's my take on it: we either need to go toe to toe with the bullies, or laugh them into obscurity.