(even though it’s emotionally fun and “entertaining”) and start opposing “terrorist” ideologies and tactics instead.
People educated in those ideologies and tactics and armed with support from a “government of the people, but the people and for the people” can reduce the effectiveness of “bullies” considerably.
The most dangerous minority (although perhaps not the largest) in this country or any other country is the “right-wing.” Here (perhaps everywhere?) they comprise around 20% (give or take 10%) of the adult population and have found the ideology of the Republican Party perfectly suitable to their interests: self-obsession, racism, greed, hate, violence, divisiveness, power, control, etc. Try it yourself: take any stand that a minority of ca. 20% has staunchly defended against a broad majority and see if that stance can be characterized (actually or potentially) as “bullying.”
Republicans blew a $5.6T Federal government budget surplus after Clinton in order to make governing more difficult and promote corporate takeovers of public institutions (principally by cutting taxes).
Republicans promote election fraud with:
1. Gerrymandering;
2. Obstruction of particular voters;
3. “Citizens United”
4. Reduction of usefulness of Voting Rights Law
Budgets everywhere are tight because Republicans have cut taxes
1. To prevent social services and keep people enslaved;
2. To corporatize (“profitize” for the wealthy) government activities, including education (to propagandize children and reduce teaching of critical thinking and science;
3. To promote self-obsessions in order to create oppositions to an empathetic governments at all levels (including school boards)
Republicans promote elimination of family planning. There is a parallel in communist Romania before 1990, when contraception was made illegal and “defective” children were removed to “orphanages” run by the party to destroy them. Just as Romania tried to accomplish, unlimited populations mean an unlimited supply of customers, subservient workers and fodder for war.
Republicans promote the formation of a theocracy wherein all government activities are controlled by a single ideological set of doctrines, which makes them “terrorists.”
Republicans promote the development of a permanent state of war in order to profit from it, which make them “terrorists.”
Republicans consider “jingoism” to be “patriotism”, making them “terrorists.”
Republicans favor everyone owning and carrying guns in public as a means of fear-mongering and profiteering and of fomenting constant anarchy and “terror.”
Everywhere and every time the Republicans have instituted tax cuts for the “job creators” to “create jobs”, unemployment has increased and the “job creators” have benefited disproportionately.
Republicans oppose immigration simply because they compulsively have to scapegoat foreigners for not being “true [ideologically reactionary and pure white] Americans”, that is, Democratic voters. Count them through history: Non-whites, Irish, Chinese, Italians, Catholics, Jews, Greeks, Poles, Germans, Japanese, Russians, Scandinavians, Mexicans, South Americans, etc.
Republicans support the promotion of American supremacy, hegemony and imperialism overseas, which reflects self-obsession and their individual desires for power and control, which makes them “terrorists.”
Republicans verbally, specifically, and overtly stated that they would not allow President Obama to accomplish anything, even before President Obama tried to do anything, and they continue to be obstructive unless and until power would be turned over to them, which makes them “terrorists.”
Republicans will use name calling, fear-mongering and scapegoating to put their opposition on the defensive and control mindless voters (e.g. calling Mr. Sanders a “socialist”, whatever that means) when in fact the Republicans are always guilty of worse sins than those they accuse other of (Mr. Sanders could fairly call the Republicans “anarchists”, perhaps even “fascists”), such as terrorism and corporate greed (Instead of reacting defensively, Mrs. Clinton could note that the entire Republican Party is defined as promoting corporate greed).
The stock, bond and commodities markets, originally designed (go back to 12th century France) to facilitate exchange of assets have become forms of gambling (go back to the “Tulip Mania”) for the wealthy to play with and waste resources. Of course, they love casinos and lotteries of all kinds, promoting addiction and impoverishment.
Republicans will condone or support any subtle or overt symbols or actions that promote authoritarianism, including the preservation of white power and reducing the power of minorities, particularly to act together, which makes Republicans “terrorists.”
Republicans favor the views of the most racist and self-obsessed “founding fathers” in total opposition to empathy (recall the slavery provisions of the “original” Constitution).
Republicans promote debt as a means of corporate control over individuals. They have also put the Postal Service in a deficit situation (by requiring them to prefund pensions for 75 years) in the hopes that it can be “privatized” despite language in the “original” Constitution preventing it.
Republicans (and corporations) promote surveillance and data gathering as a means of monitoring and controlling the population in general and individuals in particular, making them “terrorists.”
Republicans oppose any measures (e.g. debt-forgiveness, health care, living wages, education, a “safety net”, unions, etc.) that might reduce subservience on the part of women, the ill and disabled, the poor, the uneducated, the underpaid, people experiencing harmful working conditions, potential opponents, etc.
While often espousing “smaller government” (and subtly working to effect its replacement with corporate hegemony), Republicans espouse the use of government for any authoritarian practices that corporations might not be able to implement, such as criminalizing abortion, homosexuality, and non-“Christian” religions, legalizing the denial of rights to minorities and corporate employees, and expanding corporate rights. I would have included conducting warfare, but it’s not hard to picture the development of private armies (and police units) under the control of corporations (remember “Blackwater”?). Their argument is most noticeable in their desire to eliminate government oversight of corporate rape and corruption.
Republicans talk a lot about “family values.” What they are referring to is blind obedience to paternalism and religious ideology, keeping women barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen, opposition to critical thinking, toleration of domestic abuse, racial purity, minority servitude, and criminalizing the concept of “progress.”
Republicans opposes any form of “environmentalism” because they prefer to give corporations unlimited “freedom” to rape the earth without regard or liability for any actual or even possible consequences (technology is such fun that it advances far more rapidly that appreciation of consequences). Besides, they really enjoy killing: why preserve any part of nature that can satisfy ones blood-lust if you have photographs of what has been killed.
Republicans oppose science because it could provide a means of identifying the shortcomings of mythological ideologies and the causes of their own possible mental illnesses. Denial of “global warming” as a result of human activities is designed to protect corporate pollution, not any particular religious beliefs. Denial of “climate change” outright prevents attempts to mitigate it at all (but watch what would happen if they could profitize that mitigation).
Republicans have developed extremely effective and intentional means of propagandizing the population by using emotional and psychological tricks many (most?) people are unaware of, including manipulative rhetoric, manipulative body language, lying, rewriting history, glibness, propaganda, callousness, refusal to accept responsibility, misinterpreting the constitution to represent self-obsession rather than empathy, all together making them “terrorists.”
Republicans favor violence (including police violence) and punishment as means of perpetuating power over any potential opposition, which makes them (and the often scapegoated police) “terrorists.”
Republicans define “freedom of speech” as the right to use speech as a weapon to develop and perpetuate power and control over others, which makes them “terrorists.”
Republicans define “freedom” as the right to bully and to express self-obsession by violent means (including using speech as a weapon), which makes them “terrorists.”
Republicans favor “prisons for profit” to enrich the wealthy (investors) and to imprison as many minority and progressive persons as possible, which makes them “terrorists.”
Republicans favor criminalization of as many activities as possible in order to reduce the voting population.
Republicans oppose decriminalization of certain “drugs” and “misdemeanor activities” that can be used to criminalize as large a percentage of the population as possible while promoting other drugs (alcohol, tobacco) that reduce people using them to addicted, self-obsessed, blindly obedient servants.
Republicans support torture (“punishment” is a mild form) in order to propagate control over others, which makes them “terrorists.”
To sum up, the common thread in Republican politics is opposition to anything constructive or “progressive” that does not directly benefit corporations. The only things the Republican Party supports are self-obsession, divisiveness, narcissism, manipulation, profiteering, callousness, failure to accept responsibility, parasitic lifestyles, slavery, theocracy, wealth, power and control, and opposition to empathy.
In fact, you could say that the Republican Party is “characterized by enduring disinhibited antisocial behavior and diminished empathy and remorse” [Wikipedia: cf. “Psychopathy”]
The only way to oppose the Republican Party, or any self-obsessed politicians, is to oppose political self-obsession, political narcissism, political manipulation, lying, profiteering, ideology, propaganda, slavery (e.g. wage slavery), divisiveness, bullying, discrimination, scapegoating, callousness, wealth, fear-mongering, scapegoating, power and control, defensive reacting, and opposition to critical thinking themselves.
Note: there are no “conspiracies” involved here, simply the coincidental anti-social behaviors of a number of individuals (remember the “20%”) who find personal power more attractive than empathy. Why? Because it can be more emotionally stimulating to dominate someone (even if only by being condescending to them) than to cooperate with them for mutual benefit. In fact, it is quite likely that such individuals cannot stand each other, but they have greater hate (and fear) of regular folks.
The only way to create a constructive, empathetic society is to teach to everyone critical thinking and empathy and the deleterious nature of the traits mentioned above (call them examples of “bullying”) and the odiousness of the tactics used by “bullies”, especially in schools, and to constantly demonstrate and rail against any social structures that promote ideologies and self-obsession in positions of power.
Some of the following could be used to teach people about the problems cited here and grade them on their knowledge: openly evaluating political rhetoric; evaluating legislation for dangerous realities or potentialities; teaching ways to handle bullies (and showing bullies that they will be “handled”); teaching the “List of [Logical] Fallacies” (e.g. at Wikipedia), providing suggestions for empathetic alternative behaviors to bullying, teaching constructive cooperation rather than divisive competition, teaching social responsibility rather than “Social Darwinism.”
A society cannot survive when it is controlled by any minority. For this reason people and minorities (that includes all of us) must be willing to work together to solve problems cooperatively, constructively and empathetically, including restructuring dysfunctional societies to avoid creating position of power that can be dominated by self-obsessed persons (including “trolls”).
When you vote, vote against political and economic self-obsession. Any alternatives with the potential of mitigating political and economic self-obsession should be considered before taking any chances.
Yeats had a saying about “human nature”:
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
How would that work if it were reversed?