A key to dealing with Righties

One thing I'm finding out is that if you listen to what Righties are saying, if you just hear their story, many of the ideas about what makes them tick that we discuss at DU become evident.

I was talking to someone who I didn't know the other day, a customer, and he started talking about "we oughta turn Iraq into a parking lot, how Islam is a despicable religion, Clinton was the worse thing this country ever experienced and Liberals are America haters," blah, blah. Now this person is an Army vet from the Vietnam Era. I just listened and he started talking about where he gets his "information". His sources are almost all radio and he names Savage, Hannity and Limpy. He doesn't even get the newspaper. I have regular contact with this person and I resolved to bite my tongue and just listen while periodically throwing in a casual statement about how politics is corrupt, etc. It was amazing. After a week of hearing his take it was obvious that he doesn't know a goddamn thing about the issues except what hate radio and the talk shows provide. He watches the TV from early in the morning. He doesn't read anything from what I observed: No newspapers, nada.

Now going from the specific to a generalization is always problematic, but what struck me about this experience was how much influence the fascist radio people have in manipulating people. The scary part was the anti-Islam attitude: calling it a despicable religion. What I was seeing was how people in the US, people often isolated in their daily lives, are subjected to this bombardment of hate from the airwaves.

I just let them "rant". What is so strange is their anger and fear is, based on what they know, justified. In so many cases it is just a matter of informing without inflaming.

Now this person is more interested in my take on things and doesn't disagree with what I say about corrupt politics. Then I told him about Republican (ex-Libertarian) Ron Paul.......

Just some thoughts.

I mean everyday Rush and Hannity talk abuot the Media Conspiracy to keep the truth away from the people. I suppose in one sense it's good business to suggest that only they have the truth.

I do think your approach is probably the best; you can't win arguments by just slamming into people unfortunately.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

I'm not real interested in trying to enlighten someone like this. I was more interested in just seeing how he is being indoctrinated. IMO hate radio is turning some of its regular listeners off when it comes to the torture issue.

You know maybe you could burn some CD's of
a radio show by someone who is more libertarian
and give it to them. You would never get this
person to READ anything because that medium
is foreign to them.

I know you said you are not really interested
in trying to change this person but as far as
any attempt goes I think it would have to
be done in the format that they are used to.

This was in a hotel lobby in New York, where I was staying because I went up to see the Redskins last year. This was a guy who used to be a neighbor before I moved to Virginia. We hadn't seen each other in about three or four years, so we started catching up - you know, bitching about our wives (I was still married then), talking about our kids, etc.

Political talk came up and he said "Look, you think it's the government's business to handle charity, I don't. You believe in a progressive tax, I believe in a flat one. We can sit here blasting each other with stats, reasons, and examples, and then we can shoot each other's material down with arguments we've both heard repeatedly. The other option is to drink and talk sports."

That's as close to reason as a righty gets.

Mobile (AL) Register.
They are very conservative, never publish my letters (other newspapers in the state do), and the op/ed editor never responds to my e-mails.
Screw 'em. I ain't making repugs rich anymore.
I get more and better news from the internet.
Still take my little hometown bi-weekly.
They rock, AND print my letters.

Find some other Southern papers on line and send them your letters.

You can do some good.

Once they've had their rant, and cited every awful source in the world, and you have listened politely to their point of view . . . once that is all out of the way, you can say this:

Gosh, if I believed what you have been told (on the radio) I'd feel exactly the same way you do.

If you drop it there, you won't make him defensive, he might take something away from your conversation, and you have had the pleasure of stating your position (I don't believe the crap on the radio) without being rude or pushing him into a corner.

I found this out quite by accident years ago, when my husband's ex-wife was railing at me about everything that ever went wrong in her life. Nevermind the fact that I met my husband after their divorce and even after she had already remarried and had another child.

When she finally paused for breath, I said - - sincerely - - that if I believed everything she did about me, that I wouldn't like me either.

It really stopped her short, and earned me the undying respect of some people who really mattered to us.

This approach can get you a lot farther than arguing with them point by point - - as tempting as that may be.

VERY good! Might actually get one or two of them thinking.

it might cause some bystanders to start thinking.

One of the nicest consequences of this tactic is when you have an aggressive jerk at a family gathering.

His comments make everyone uncomfortable, even those who might agree with them.

When you answer that if you believed what he's been told, you'd feel the same way; the whole situation is diffused and everyone will appreciate your good sense and kind nature! :)

Oh, and try to have other people around so your comments have greater range.

the person you are dealing with: their intelligence and how thick their skin is.

Righties are notoriously sensitive about their knowledge level and I found that if you listen to them rant for awhile and don't question anything they say directly but generally talk about corruption or whatever they are less resistant to talking about "specifics" later on. You really have to let them have their say, but now I'm getting the sense that alot of them know that their little Christian world ain't working out as planned and they are more amenable to new info.

I have actually talked this guy about the Bush's link to Bin Laden family and he listened.