The media has recently publicized the tragic suicides of two young boys who killed themselves after being tormented by bullies at school. Jaheem Herrera, an 11-year-old from Georgia, hung himself. His mother described him as especially upset about being called gay. Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover was another 11-year-old boy who saw an extension cord as the only out from daily harassment at his Springfield, Massachusetts, school. He was often accused of being gay. These are not the first or likely the last of America's children to kill themselves as a result of bullying.
These stories got me thinking. Why were the majority of insults about being gay? Who wields homosexuality as though it is a terrible insult? By and large, it is conservatives, who are, by and large, republicans.
If you think about what bullies do, you start to see such strong parallels you cannot help but conclude that most bullies grow up to be republicans.
*Lack of respect for people's differences--Republicans are anti-immigrant and anti-homosexual and have virtually no tolerance for people who are not the same as they are.
*Verbal intimidation--Compare how republican mouthpieces treat their liberal opponents. So often, the conservative side tries to shout over the opposition, refusing to let them get a word in. We also see this in FOX commentators, who are disrespectful of guests with different views. You rarely see this on the liberal side, with the exception of Chris Matthews, who talks over absolutely everyone.
*Physical violence--Bullies like to hurt people. Republicans believe in torture, corporal punishment, and the death penalty. Enough said.
*Demand for conformity--Bullies do not like noncomformists. Despite republicans' claims to love mavericks, in reality they hate anyone who does not comform to the group think. They even eat their own when they stray from the herd.
*Slander and gossip--One of bullies mechanisms of operation is to spread rumors about the targeted individual, trying to cement support for the bully's behavior. We see republicans do this all the time. That is why they claim there are socialists in congress, Michelle Obama is a black supremacist, Obama hobknobbed with terrorists. They even target little kids who dare to speak out on something favorable to democrats, like the girl who told Obama she wanted help for her crumbling school.
*Stupidity--Let's face it, few valedictorians are associated with bullying. Bullies tend to do poorly in school (though not all kids who do poorly are bulies). I think there are plenty of examples of the gross stupidity that saturates the republican party.
*Namecalling--"Socialitsts!" "Communists!" "Osama bin Lyin!" Yes, I know our side does some of the stupid namecalling (Republithug anone?), and I find that just as stupid. But for republicans, it comes from the top down these days.
*Thieves--Bullies steal your lunch money for themselves. Republicans underpay employees so they can take multimillion dollar bonuses and buy yachts. Republicans want to take money from the poorest people and give it to the richest--usually other republicans.
*Lack of respect for education--Bullies sneer about the teacher, denigrate the kids who study hard, and eventually skip class to go smoke in the bathroom. Republicans love people like Sarah Palin, who cannot string a sentence together properly and does not read, and scorn those who are educated and speak fluently.
*Violent toward animals--Bullies often pick on animals. Republicans like to shoot animals from helicopters and kill them for sport.
*Whining--Bullies act tough but they are the first to whine when something does not go their way. Republicans throw teabags and threaten secession.
*Self-love--Bullies always like themselves far more than everyone else does and have an inflated image of their own self-importance. So do some of the prominent mouthpieces of the republican party, like Karl Rover, Rush Limbaugh, and Dick Cheney--who has lower popularity ratings than skunks.
*Intimidation--In addition to their victims, they intimidate others to the point where people are all afraid to confront the bullies lest they become the next target. Rush Limbaugh is a classic example of a bully and the republican fear of him is evidence that his bullying works in his peer group. Indeed, bullies often get others to follow him in persecuting others, and we see this in the republican party.
I am sure there are many other parallels one can fine between bullies and republicans. They would rather pick up a rock and throw it at someone than reach out a hand.
I'm pretty sure bullies really do grow up to be republicans. But if you were a bully and you grew up to be a democrat, let us know, and let us know what changed.
I am not trying to make light of the tragic situation that introduced this topic. I do not mean this post as snark. I really am serious about it. There are studies that show differences between the brains of liberal adults and conservative adults. I think these differences are probably evident much earlier.
Possibly this results from people who are more tolerant make a greater effort to teach their children to be more tolerant. I believe republicans as a group are less tolerant than democrats, and perhaps this is how they train their children.