Conservative Anger.
So I'm left wing/liberal/progressive/socialist/whatever, and I admit that the left wing is not devoid of anger and frustration. But I'm often amazed by the way conservatives brake out into rantings against liberals/left wingers and liberal/left wing politics, even in situations which are completely out of context.
For example, on a Internet discussion of sports uniforms and logos (a most peculiar interest I have and share in the dark allies of the Internet), someone wrote the following concerning the London 2012 Olympics logo:
Unfortunatly what was once Great Britain has become a haven for yougart knitting lillyliverd politicaly correct liberal morons who think you have to bow to the less desirable aspects of society,and underdtand them ,hence the 2012 logo a Graffiti based monstrosity bringing out everything that is wrong and discusting with this city and country.The comment would be pathetic and sad if it wasn't so typical.
Why all this anger? The last 20-30 years have seen neo-liberal and conservative ideology in the ascendancy throughout the western world, yet conservatives are more angry than ever. Yes, the world is not as it should be and liberal values such as tolerance and inclusion have manifested itself into what some negatively label 'policial correctness', but surely that's is not the source of the anger?
P.S. What does 'lillylivered' mean?
posted by Torsten Pedersen @ Friday, June 08, 2007
9 comments
9 Comments:
Greetings,
Lillylivered! Great term! Per this link, the term means the following:
"Lilies are usually white, liver is full of blood and should be dark red/brown. to be "lily-livered" is to be lacking in full-bloodedness, sangfroid or other attribute based upon being bloody, bold and absolute. doubtless The Bard made reference to it.
He's lily livered is a saying used to describe a coward or weakling. The ancient Greeks used to sacrifice an animal before battle. The liver was regarded as a prime omen; if red then all was fine but if pale then this signified bad tidings. By extension the liver of a coward was thought to be pale and lily livered was one of the ways of describing this. Others were 'white livered' and 'pigeon livered'"
Now that I have written all that, you probably already know, so this was a waste! Anyhow, the whole Olympic logo causing epileptic seizures, that was weird.
Hi Charles. Thanks, no I didn't know what 'lilly livered' meant (but I guess i could have done my own research).
I also want to confess that I was hesitant when publishing this blog post as I didn't want to sound as if I thought all conservatives were angry and crazy.
I just experience angry rants so often I get fed up. I know my liberal ideas are not always sound, but I'm tired of constantly being being described as the anti-christ by angry conservatives. If you ever read British newspapers you would know what I'm talking about. They are predominately conservative and extremely nationalistic and very angry at liberals, socialists, the EU, the UN etc. etc.
:-) I know you don't think all of us conservatives are crazies. Some of us are... I wonder who? Mmmwwwaaaaah haaa haaa haaa.....
In all seriousness, it is a bit irritating when radical members of both parties start preaching and ranting. Here in America? Sean Hannity on the conservative side. Al Franken/Al Gore on the left. Oh yeah, and Barbara Streisand. And Michael Moore. They are lefties. Another righty? Anne Coulter and Michael Savage.
It gets dangerous when any political affiliation becomes extreme...
cheers!
Charles, I accept that there are people on the left wing who engage ranting and namecalling, but in this area (as most all others) liberals trail conservatives.
There is a reason Al Frankens radio show isen't nearly as popular as conservative shows like Rush Limbaugh. And while you may dismiss Michael Moore as extreme, he never reaches the lows of Coulter.
Ok, I feel like have have to comment now.... I just can't help it. As someone who listens to Rush almost everyday, I don't think it is fair to categorize him as an angry conservative. I just don't think that people like to listen to angry people for a long amount of time, it gets tiring.
To give a personal testimony of this, I used to listen to Shawn Hannity also. After awhile I got annoyed that he would often speak over people and not let them finish, I found myself shouting at him to be quiet and let the person talk. I also started to notice that his speeches all sounded the same. He seemed to rely more on rants than on logic; so I stopped listening. Most of these things I have never heard from Rush, and if I do, it is very few and far between.
As for Al Franken I didn't ever listen to his radio show. So I don't know. Maybe it is just that talk radio appeals more to conservatives. My guess is though, that his show was more like a liberal Hannity, or Savage. I think that their ratings stay up because they have Rush Limbaugh to help carry them. Franken however, didn't have anyone to help him, by being the person that everyone listens to because Rush isn't on for 21 more hours :-).
P.S. I forgot Ann Coulter I don't listen to her for the same reason that I don't listen to Shawn. When she gets in a debate she doesn't use logic, and when she gets stuck she finds a way to bring up Chappaquiddick. In my book Teddy Kennedy's indiscretions shouldn't be the only reason to listen to republicans.....
Kiersten, I admit to have limited knowledge of Limbaugh and therefore shouldn't have used him as an example.
The first time I heard his show I probably made up my mind about him. It was the day after the 1992 election. I was in the Navy and had a doctors appointment an hours drive away from the base where I was stationed. The Navy Coreman who drove me put on Limbaugh's radio show and it was an eye opening experience. I was a relative naive boy from Denmark who had never heard anyone discuss politics like that before. Actually, there was no discussions of politics, instead the show consisted almost entirely of Hillary bashing.
Limbaugh was probably in a combative mood that day and I haven't heard his show since. I've seen some interviews with him and read second hand accounts of his show. These accounts seemed to confirm the opinion I had of him.
However, if you say that his show is not about angry ranting then I'll believe it. I respect your opinions and remember fondly our discussions at Vejlefjord. You challenged my opinions and made me reconsider many things. I'm sorry if I has too forceful in presenting my point of view...
I never really listened to Rush much until 1997, so I don't know what he was like before that. But I think that someone could probably still think the things that you did, if they only listened to him once. Rush does make fun of almost everybody, even Republicans, that do not stand up for His conservative principles. His motto is illustrating absurdity by being absurd. There is a background story behind every parody and you can't take them at face value (although the media often does).
However, when it comes to how he talks with his callers, even when people call in to rant at him, he is usually very patient and kind. He explains his reasoning instead of just trying to talk over them or cutting them off. Which I respect, I don't like people who can't logically back up what they say and instead start calling names. Which is also why I like talking politics with you, you make me think and I appreciate that :-).
Anyways... I hope that somewhat explains my defense of him. You weren't to harsh and I didn't take it that way. :-)
Ok, so I've been thinking about this conversation all week. I've been wondering if my defense of Rush was fair. I've been very listening to his show carefully and trying to hear from your point of view. I have come to this conclusion, although everything I said was true, I think to any one's ears other than a conservative, he would sound......mmmm... strong. I still think that he isn't angry but.... if I had political leanings the other way he would certainly make me angry :-). (This week in fact Republicans, the ones in office, are ones mad at "talk radio" over illegal immigration, and visa versa, so it isn't just a Democrat thing)
Have a great weekend!!!!!!
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