Do you have a friend that is a right wing nut job? I did (what can I say but there are all walks of life in the military). The first time I talked politics with her was different to say the lest. I decide I would never talk politics with this person again since we would never see eye to eye. In theory this was a great plan of action but, sadly, in action it fell apart. The problem you might ask. She kept coming over and commenting on my FB trying to change my point of view; trying to jam her whack-a-do ideology down my throat.
Occupy started and she became even more fundamental and pushy in her beliefs. This woman is a Tea Bagger agnostic and her husband is a Tea Bagger wiccan. Yes I too never in my wildest dreams would put those words together but people like that are out there and yes I still can not completely wrap my brain around that walking contradiction. As Occupy gained support and became wide spread the more vocal she became. It got to the point every time I would post something on my FB she would tell me to fact check and then would post a long rebuttal. True to the fundamental right form it was only real fact checking if my sources where on some sort of right wring pre-approved list that I didn't know about.
One day I had enough and started to think about all the things this individual had said and have come to the below conclusions:
- When a right winger tells you to fact check by all means fact check. Fact check what information they are reading and what they are quoting it just might shock you. I did this to this woman and the information I found. Well lets just say I couldn't stop laughing. One site that this person loved to use as a source is actually a fake news page to promote big corporations interests. All I had to do to discover this funny peace of information was call. I called the number on the website, hung up, double checked the number, triple checked the number I called, and called back to listen to the message again. After a short list of people the last part of the message said "if you would like information on any of our many properties please press". Now that is some fact checking.
- Most people who are part of the fundamental right and not part of the 1% are hypocrites. For example the same woman before she married her husband was on Medicaid, unemployed, and living with her parents. Once she married and became pregnant with her first child she went on WIC. While on WIC she would complain about women she saw in the WIC office and how they just needed to stop having babies, make scarifies to support the kids they already have, and get jobs. She said this while on WIC herself, unemployed, smoking a cigarette, and drinking a big thing of Starbucks coffee. Now my bleeding heart liberal side still wants to believe they are not hypocrites because of hate. I think they are hypocrites because of fear. They are afraid if they admit Occupy and liberals have valid concerns with the direction this country is taking then they have to deal with their own economic reality. I think many are terrified to deal with their own economic reality so it is easier to judge others and to live in ignorance.
- No one can change the fundamentals minds. Something so profound has to happen in their life in order for them to wake up to reality. In the mean time I will keep on doing what I am doing. I will keep educating myself and my children. I will keep supporting the Occupy movement. I will keep writing and calling my elected representative. I will be voting in the 2012 election.