This is a simple, obvious, and brilliant observation from
David Atkins at Political Animal. It explains why it is a waste of time
trying to argue against Republicans about the free market or big government or
personal liberty or any other "conservative" principle – because
those are not conservatives' true principles. David writes:
Conservatives can not be upfront and honest about their immoral beliefs because only about 30% of the American population shares them, and it is not okay to say most of these things in polite society. That is why they are so angry, why they feel oppressed, and why they “want their country back.”
As with so much else in modern America, the experience of
Ferguson and Baltimore has turned police brutality into a partisan issue. With
a few rare exceptions, Democrats and progressives tend to fall on the side of
the victims of discriminatory and violent behavior by police, while
conservatives tend to go to bat for the authorities.
The primary reason for this is racism: conservative whites tend to see urban minorities as either subhuman or guilty of cultural sins that are supposed to explain their endemic poverty. In that context, any police violence is excused as the necessary quelling by any means of an aggressively violent population unable to fit into civil society and unworthy of the civil rights afforded to non-minorities. It’s an immoral worldview, but extremely common among base Republicans.
The other reason is discrimination against the poor in general. Conservatives wrongly assume that the wealthy are society’s job creators, and the poor are simply moochers who feed off the generous fruits of the holders of capital. The military defends the righteous and free producers in America against the socialist and Communist freeloaders outside the U.S., while the police vigilantly defend property rights and social order against the ever-dangerous fifth column of parasites from within. That Objectivist viewpoint is just as factually wrong and immoral as the racist one, but it is also far more acceptable within polite society largely because it’s so convenient to the wealthy elite and their enablers.
The problem, of course, is that these views run directly counter to supposed conservative stances on liberty and the 2nd Amendment. Republicans claim to be the defenders of freedom against big government tyranny. More disturbingly, they insist that deadly arsenals be permitted in every American home and even on the streets—primarily as a defense against the potential for infringement on civil rights by a totalitarian state.
But where we see the government most actively and destructively impinging on the rights of its citizens, not only are conservatives mostly silent on the abuses but they stridently stand on the side of the unaccountable state enforcers.
The reason is obvious, of course: the only government tyranny conservatives truly fear is one in which the poor – and particularly the non-white poor – have the ability to constrain their property rights. Examples:
The primary reason for this is racism: conservative whites tend to see urban minorities as either subhuman or guilty of cultural sins that are supposed to explain their endemic poverty. In that context, any police violence is excused as the necessary quelling by any means of an aggressively violent population unable to fit into civil society and unworthy of the civil rights afforded to non-minorities. It’s an immoral worldview, but extremely common among base Republicans.
The other reason is discrimination against the poor in general. Conservatives wrongly assume that the wealthy are society’s job creators, and the poor are simply moochers who feed off the generous fruits of the holders of capital. The military defends the righteous and free producers in America against the socialist and Communist freeloaders outside the U.S., while the police vigilantly defend property rights and social order against the ever-dangerous fifth column of parasites from within. That Objectivist viewpoint is just as factually wrong and immoral as the racist one, but it is also far more acceptable within polite society largely because it’s so convenient to the wealthy elite and their enablers.
The problem, of course, is that these views run directly counter to supposed conservative stances on liberty and the 2nd Amendment. Republicans claim to be the defenders of freedom against big government tyranny. More disturbingly, they insist that deadly arsenals be permitted in every American home and even on the streets—primarily as a defense against the potential for infringement on civil rights by a totalitarian state.
But where we see the government most actively and destructively impinging on the rights of its citizens, not only are conservatives mostly silent on the abuses but they stridently stand on the side of the unaccountable state enforcers.
The reason is obvious, of course: the only government tyranny conservatives truly fear is one in which the poor – and particularly the non-white poor – have the ability to constrain their property rights. Examples:
Welfare for the poor via taxation is seen as a greater evil
than corporate malfeasance (and corporate welfare).
Cliven Bundy becomes a hero for threatening to shoot law
enforcement that holds him accountable for stealing water and land, even as
killer cops are lauded for killing unarmed black men for no legitimate reason.
Honesty about this is necessary. We cannot move forward as a
society without honest conversation, and if conservatives refuse
to be openly honest about what they believe, it falls on us to provide that
honesty for them.
But most of all, it’s time to stop pretending that Republicans care about liberty or government abuse of power. They really care about keeping poor people and minorities from having access to the same quality of life they enjoy, and they will use every lever of tyranny to keep it way – whether through the ballot box or the ammo box.
But most of all, it’s time to stop pretending that Republicans care about liberty or government abuse of power. They really care about keeping poor people and minorities from having access to the same quality of life they enjoy, and they will use every lever of tyranny to keep it way – whether through the ballot box or the ammo box.
