Slate: Why I hate George W. Bush

Actually a post to The Fray, Slate's message board. Note that "Fray" starts with the letters F-R... but here comes Geoff to save the day!

http://bbs.slate.msn.com/?id=3936&m=7880950&

I can find very little in the life of George W. Bush to admire or to respect. I can't fault him for having the fortune to be born into a family of wealth, power and privilege. However, all the evidence shows that he never felt any special responsibility came attached to the gifts he received from birth. And I'm not even talking about the responsibility to be some kind of philanthropist or minister to the poor. I'm talking about the responsibility to demonstrate that he was entitled to all that he had by effort as well as by blood. With a special dispensation he was allowed into a top East Coast prep school where he slacked off and took the special efforts exerted on his behalf for granted. Given an unearned shot at an institution allegedly based on merit, he squandered and disdained the opportunity. Then, with mediocre grades he went to Yale on the strength of connections alone, maintaining a C average, far below the standard those who have attained such an opportunity through effort hold themselves to. Somehow, he still managed to fail his way upward into the Harvard MBA program, where again, there is no evidence that he applied himself with any particular diligence. Again and again, through Bush's life, he was handed opportunity that people strive ceaselessly for. Without any effort, he received chances that people work themselves to the bone to never get a shot at. And at each stage, he wasted it, unmindful and seemingly uncaring of the extraordinary exceptions that had been made on his behalf.

Between his stint at Yale and the one at Harvard, Bush "served" in the military. I don't see any particular disgrace in dodging the draft. Many have done it, and many who haven't would have. My own father joined the Marine Corps when his student deferment expired on the sensible theory that it was the branch least likely to send him abroad. Bill Clinton joined the Rhodes Scholar program. Dan Quayle joined the Indiana National Guard. But my father SERVED his term as a Marine. Bill Clinton WENT to Oxford. Dan Quayle PUT IN HIS TIME in the Indiana National Guard. Does it bother me that George W. Bush disappeared from active duty in the Texas Air National Guard? Ceased taking the physical after the institution of a drug-testing policy in 1972? Yes. It really does bother me. And it should bother you too. Because once again, it points straight to the issue of contempt. Contempt for America, for the obligations of citizenship. Our system is set up to grant allowances. But if an allowance is made for you, you should at least feel obligated to HONOR THE TERMS of your dispensation. And George W. Bush demonstrated no such sense of duty. No such sense of honor. Again, granted an opportunity on the basis of connections and fortune, he spurned it… pursued his own selfish ends, his own entertainment, at the expense of his nation....

When I look at George W. Bush, I don't see a patriot. I see a lying, psychopathic narcissist. And it pains me, it grieves me, it WOUNDS me to realize that this puts me not only in the minority… but in the "whacko fringe."

Go Geoff! That's the best rant I've seen since "My name is Joe, and I AM CANADIAN"!!

I love that post - thanks for sharing it.

Just sign me,

Proud Member of the Whacko Fringe Society ;-)

...for the things he did as a young man. There are plenty of rich brats who take their privelege for granted, and I dismiss them with little more than passing contempt.

I hate George W. Bush for what he has done and is doing to this country as president of the United States. Before 9/11 I merely oppopsed his policies, but when he and the neocon brains of his outfit exploited that tragedy to launch imperialist wars in the name of patriotism and with God on their lips, as their propaganda machine suppressed dissent and deceived the majority of my fellow citizens, and as I saw my beloved democracy and Constitution being eroded beyond what I thought possible, I became that which I had never been before -- a person who holds hate in his heart, who rarely gets through the day without feeling rage.

The responsibility for this state of affairs is spread far beyond the rich brat who occupies the White House. He is a product of established wealth, guided by unscrupulous power, and enabled by an apathetic public. But it is hard to focus hatred on so duffuse a set of factors. George W. Bush is the representative and personification of this evil, and therefore the object of my hatred.

Well said!!

:toast:

I'll tell you why. I went to the same colleges as Dubya. Unlike him, I was a merit scholarship kid all the way, and worked my butt off to get high grades.

I didn't resent the rich kids who didn't need to work on campus to pay for their books--hey, that's just life. But I did know a few guys like Dubya--the ones who made Ivy League because Daddy hooked them up. There was one in particular--coincidentally, from Texas--who, I swear, never picked up a book in four years and really had no business being at an academically demanding school like Yale.

I held those guys in contempt, because that's all they deserved. Maybe saying "hate" is too strong, but Bush* as a college man was definitely worthy of contempt.

i hate him more every fucking day that goes by. he has done NOTHING that has inspired, cajoled or diminished what i feel for that rat bastard and what he is doing to MY COUNTRY, to OUR PEOPLE, TO THE WORLD. i hate with burning intensity til he and the rest of the spawn of the Bar succubus are removed from the land.
whew, that felt refreshing.

since I can't stand anything about bush....his arrogance, his pompous attitude, the damage he has done to our ecomony, our allies, the good will our country had after 9-11....the guy makes me want to puke...without question this is the worst administration since nixon.

I agree, I don't hate bush because he was young and stupid, we all were at one time. I hate him or maybe pity him because he is past middle age and still stupid. I hate him because he locks people in small cells in Cuba to awaite their execution without a fair trial. I hate him because he provides welfare to corporations and lets unemployment benifits run out for millions of americans. I hate him because he is against gay marrage, a womans right to choose, and stem cell research. I hate him because he is for Faith based charities, war and Imperialism. I hate him because he is ruining the country. I hate him because he stole the presidency. I hate him because he has shown me my vote doesn't really count.

Ok, I guess that's enough hating for today.
I love your screen name Martin... are you a big London fan?

Michael

Some of my favorite books from childhood were London's adventurous tales from Alaska. When I was older, my parents gave me Martin Eden to read.

My parents were both progressives; many of the older generation of my family were involved in the labor movement before WWII, and in leftist politics until 1956 (when the reality of communism in the Soviet Union became known). They continued to push for civil rights in the 60's, In my neighborhood, I was one of the few who wept rather than cheered when King was slain in '68.

My real first name is Martin, and I was actually named after the London character from the novel. I thought it an appropriate pseudo for this forum.

Poppy bush was Veep. They were ripping us off back then too. When it was next to impossible to get an SBA loan, the Bush boys were getting guaranteed SBA loans and defaulting on them, after using up all the loan on their salaries. Jeb stuck us with a 5 million dollar default on some property which he bought back at auction for 10 cents on the dollar. Also the bush boys were offering themselves as consultants to companies that wanted to curry favor with their daddy.

Apart from lumping Gray Davis in the same category as Nixon, and his strange love for Poppy Bush, that was an impressive rant.

* is on record expressing his disdain for the east coast wine swillers he knew at school who felt embarrassed by their good fortune, and felt the need to give something back. He's said that he never felt that. I guess he just feels entitled. Just look at his history.

Anyone know this guy and whether he would mind if it was forwarded?

and they strut around as if they have personally accomplished something, rather than being the brats of the world's most dispicable welfare queen.

Jack, I think you're onto something with that "welfare queen" stereotype -- funny that it turns out to be way more true of Dubya and his cronies than actual single mothers on social assistance! Talk about a sense of entitlement! They've had life handed to them on a silver platter and all they want is more! (For example, Poppy and Bar were terribly put out after they lost the 1992 election -- they sulked and brooded about it and were determined to "get back" the American people for the insult. Instead of being grateful that they had a chance to hold the highest office in the land!)

When one thinks of the ideals espoused by most Americans of my acquaintance -- generosity, hard work, creativity, open-mindedness, persistence -- not only are they almost entirely lacking in that man's character, but his most obvious traits are quite opposite. He's selfish, mean-spirited, intolerant, and insincere. As a Canadian, I've had my moments of rebellion against the elephant to the south -- but his assaults on American society, the nation's environment, its Constitution, and its perception around the world far surpass any damage I could do!

As others have said in this same thread -- there's nothing inherently "evil" about being wealthy, or even lazy. It's what he's chosen to do with his advantages that's so appalling. He has squandered them or put them to ill use -- swindling the Texas taxpayers of their money (for that sports stadium), subverting an election and just skipping off as if nothing had gone wrong, and a parade of other fiascos. People have given him their trust -- they let him get up on that podium on Inauguration Day, they let him lead them into war -- and he's betrayed them.

I teach at a small college, and I've met plenty of indulged rich kids who go on to be either happy-go-lucky hedonists or develop a budding social conscience. They are no worse than the majority of people, and sometimes go on to make positive contributions. Bush, on the other hand, seems to have slid backwards from his college days. I know people who overindulge in alcohol and drugs, have DUIs, dodged the draft, are bone-idle, and have made decisions in the past that harmed others (sometimes several of the above!) but they seem to have learned from their experiences. Bush just seems to go on to greater and more spectacular disasters ... not wanting to examine his own life, and these days, he's surrounded by folks who spend every waking hour making sure he doesn't.

but I can fault him for not having and actively discouraging any sense of noblesse oblige.

Looking at the the available evidence objectively, one has to agree with the author's assessment- G.W. Bush is a sociopath (same thing as a "pyschopath" in DSM IV) with narcissistic traits. Unfortunately, the same holds true for all to many CEO's some of whom hold or held cabinet positions in both Bush administrations- as they did in Reagan’s administration.

I received it in an email this morning and just checked DU to see if anyone had mentioned it. I read some of the other comments in that Slate thread. (Slate isn't as easy to read as DU; you have to open each post separately.) The person it was intended for was arguing back that Dubya completed his National Guard obligations early and that is why he got out early.
But how could he have put in so much makeup time if no one who was in at that time remembers his being there. I think he just decided he didn't want to do it anymore and just walked out without penalty. That's the perogative of the entitled, privileged class.

I still can't get over the Carla Faye Tucker thing. She only wanted her sentence COMMUTED. She wasn't asking for her conviction to be expunged. Her argument was that she had 'found Jesus' and turned her life around. She was appealing to him because she thought he would understand. He mocked her and denied her request. She was executed. Isn't that exactly what Dubya wanted from the American voter? We were supposed to ignore everything he did before he 'found Jesus'? That's the hypocracy of the entitled, privileged class!

He is against affirmative action even though that was how he got into Yale. That's the hypocracy of the entitled, privileged class!


I don't understand why his followers haven't seen through him. How does he keep them blinded as to his real character? With a wave of a flag and a motto saying 'Support our troops' he sends their kids off to a foreign land to get maimed or killed then his neo-clones attempt to cut hazardous duty pay. Where is the outrage?

You can't resent people for being rich or having good connections.

You can resent people with money and connections who strut around thinking that they own the world and that it owes them a living because of it.

You can hate people for smug, ignorant, patronising arrogance.

Jesus I hate that man....

P.

....what's not to like?