I have no republican friends...I used to...
I have always been a democrat, I was raised by a Teamster truck driver from Philadelphia. If anyone knows anything about Philly unions in the 60's, well they unbreakable. I remember being scared, my mom crying, when Daddy had to walk the picket lines. In those days, the men were maced, hit with bats, anything you could think of. The teamsters had their own goon squads, men specifically sent to the strike to protect our union men and take the mace in the face. My uncle was a "goon". He was a truckdriver too, but during the strikes he was a protector. Now the strength my father and uncle fought to protect is being systemically dismantled. And quite a number of the people screaming about the "horrors" of the union, were the same children, given a better life, because of the union their father belonged to. There was never a moment , as a child, that I couldn't see a doctor. My parents never had to think twice about taking us to a doctor, they knew their benefits would cover it. And dentists, which so many people aren't covered for, were just another benefit we didn't think about! Now, children die for lack of dental, 40 yrs. later! Really, do we want to go backwards?
My sister's husband works for GM (you know those guys, the one's that are earning a gazillion dollars an hour, that's right, Fox told me about them). I see her worry, constantly, over her 3 children, you see, their benefits come with a specific number of doctors visits. So now, if her child is ill, she has to judge the severity, for fear of wasting a visit. Yup, they are living the American Dream, those fancy-pants union guys!
Then, in 1998, my fiance joins me in a union fight for the dealers in Atlantic City. For me it was a no-brainer, wow, I was so naive! We not only lost an amazing amount of friends, but he was fired and black-balled in Atlantic City, after they stole the election from us (think shades of Wisconsin). I then realized the people I had thought were friends, well, they could care less about the plight of anyone else. Over and over, I was told, we do not need a union!
So now I do not associate with any republicans, I tried, their brains just seemed wired differently, I couldn't comprehend the amazing selfishness and lack of compassion for others. I gave up trying to win them over, I finally realized they just hate me for being a democrat (socialist, commie), not because they even know me, nor what I stand for. Their most horrifying reason, to me, for wanting to crush government and any social program, was not because they didn't believe in it, but because it was their "birthright benefit" for being a self-made man! If you question them on unemployment, social security, etc, they believe that those benefits are THEIR right, just not the same right for us "lazy" democrats and "scary brown people"!
One of the loudest, anti-union people I know (my fiance's sister), has been on every social program New Jersey offers, all the while, still driving her Mercedes and pretending to be one of the Upper-class (read republican). See, this is one of their problems, they not only see democrats as free-loaders, they also think we are of a lower class. They truly believe, even at an advanced age, that being part of the republican party will make them rich! And somehow they equate being Republican with being better than those of us who worry about the people we share this world with. They also seem to have an inbred fear of education, and hate anyone perceived as educated (at the lower levels of the republican party, their handlers are educated, even though they spend their time acting like "Good Ol' Boys). They love bullies, because it takes not one single brain cell to settle disagreements by bullying, exactly how we wound up with Chris Christie!
But, my wonderful guy, with the great big heart, can't just stop talking to some of his "friends". One, in particular, made a fortune in real-estate and building in the Clinton years. So this fake, rich guy is a huge birther (which was my first tip that he wasn't an overly smart guy), and loves to run his crap by my fiance. To my dismay, he bombards us with a never-ending stream of racist, anti-democratic, anti-union, anti anything that has to do with commen sense emails. So, I ask my guy not to forward or talk to me about anything this guy has to say, I find him revolting. But recently, with The Donald (Duck) all over the teevee, he has ramped up the rhetoric, and I have had enough. I had received an email, years ago, about the hypocrisy of the average republican, and this latest affront, had me looking through the internets, for it.
I have no idea who originally wrote this, but I sent it to him, and you would have thought I sent him a email bomb! The reaction, was really unexpected, maybe I hit a nerve... Here it is in all it's majesty... because most republicans truly think they are self-made and need no-one else.....
found on the internets - not written by me:
A Day in Life of Joe Republican
Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance -- now Joe gets it, too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his workday. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or
becomes unemployed, he'll get a workers compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. It's noontime, and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC, because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he were educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self- made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."
