a modest proposal

[sisyphusshrugged]

I have an idea. I'm not at all comfortable with calling the people who exit polled that their political priority is "values" Christians, because (not entering into the quicksand of knowing others' hearts, 'cause that's more their thing) what we think we know about those people is what the evangelical protestant right, political arm, has told us about them and I wouldn't believe the evangelical protestant right, political arm, if they told me to wear my raincoat to a monsoon and my own values (torture bad, feeding babies good, need at least one reason that proves out for killing 100k iraqis) don't allow for quite a lot of rather bad stuff they support, I think hereinafter when discussing them I'm simply going to refer to them as "values" voters.

So much for that.

Comments

[mearagrrl.livejournal.com]

Well, and values are important to me (a very non-evangelical not-very-christian). Values of tolerance and kindness and inclusion...

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

Well, see, that's why "values"

I thought about !values, but it's probably too obscure.

[snuh.livejournal.com]

Hey, I was just introduced to *exurbs* and by Karl Rove, no less!

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

exurbs as in farmland where everyone has gone bankrupt and people who can't afford to live where they work leave their kids while they commute four to six hours a day?

[snuh.livejournal.com]

Did you know that tabbies are now coyote's main sustenance?

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

sniff.

pidget's been missing for three days.

[matertiamat.livejournal.com]

Nope. Totally agree with your reasoning in not calling them Christians, but letting them claim the "values" label would be even worse than letting claim the "pro life" label was.

As in, we have values, lots of them. I so resent being told by the media that I (apparently) don't.

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

Well, but, "values" in quotes.

That is what they call themselves. I figure, let's just call them "the people who call themselves that"

[linaerys.livejournal.com]

Speaking of modest proposals, did you see this plan to expell the blue states from the Union: http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=5652. Found in David Neiwert's Orcinus.

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

H. A. Ar.

Let me tell you a story about Staten Island. Staten Island is a little itty bitty island off Manhattan with lots of Republicans and a bigass chip on its shoulder.

They've been trying for years to secede.

They're not trying to secede any more.

Why aren't they trying to secede any more?

Because they were moving on it full speed ahead when they discovered to their dawning horror that if they left New York City, we weren't going to pay for their police, firefighters, transportation, sewage and clean water any more. Also, no more goodies from grateful Republican mayors.

This had, apparently, never occurred to them.

So they did the math, and worked out what the actual subsidy on their pleasant bucolic existences was and what their taxes would be if they had to, like, support the same level of services with their own taxes, and Staten Island has all of a sudden discovered that they really love being New Yorkers. Nary a word have we heard of succession since.

As far as expelling the blue states goes, I have a great idea from two hundred ump years ago for what we'd call the new country. We could call it "America"

After all, in much the same situation, Roger Waters got to keep being Pink Floyd.

[gngrmyrsn.livejournal.com]

We had a similar thing in LA where the affluent San Fernando Valley tried to secede and then found out how much they'd have to pay for water. Heh. You see, our Dept of Water and Power takes good care of us and keeps water well below market price so even the landlords are willing to pay for it. The DWP also didn't deregulate energy when the rest of the state did (they just said no), so we in LA never had blackouts or crazy prices.

[(Anonymous)]

does this mean that i have no values? why yield on this term? how about calling them 'values intruders' or 'values enforcers'?

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

see, that's why "values" in quotes. because the only thing we know for sure about these people is that they call themselves that, although they haven't shown any evidence for it.

[athena8827.livejournal.com]

I still prefer the term "psychos" or "xtian psychos" myself.

I definitely wouldn't call them "Christian". Christ cared an awful lot about the poor and downtrodden, unlike these nutjobs.

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

Given their level of misinformation, although who knows how willed that is, we could just call them Fox viewers, or the CNN target market.

[cheshyre]

Just as writers take pains to differentiate between wholesome everyday Muslims and "Islamicists", I tend to use "Christianists" as opposed to "Christians"

Excellent Point

[fengi.livejournal.com]

Really. I know a whole lotta Christians and they don't adhere to one group. It's sort of like saying all Muslims are represented by Al Queda. I, of course, perfer the term "bushites" which refers to those who voted for Bush specifically becaus they support his values as opposed to those who voted for Bush due to fear of terrorism and never quite examined his record.

Fundis

[gngrmyrsn.livejournal.com]

I'm just calling them fundis because they want a fundamental society: sex, agression and dominance. No frills, like civilization from the last five hundred years.

Yours in the culture war
(at least it's a war I know I can win)