That was awesome. I particularly enjoyed the richly deserved Marsh roasting.

Thanks for posting this, Kevin.  It’s a really good read.

Let’s see:
- Taking alias from 50’s whitebread female icon
- Farrakhan reference
- ‘unfounded self righteousness’
- grammar is not his/her friend

What does this sound like to you, my fellow Rumproasters?

What does this sound like to you, my fellow Rumproasters?

Meanwhile, comforting lie in-hand, they were free to finger their grievances—real or imaginary, slight or large—like a rosary.

That is fucking A sublime…

I gotta disagree though with some of the assessment.

I don’t actually see the passion. I see anger by rote - well-practiced and dead-on-the-inside outrage that can’t even rest on its own entitlement.

I see clueless political hackery, loose talk of party salvation, dull-eyed meanderings about long-term wins growing from short-term sufferings.

To tell, the truth, I don’t know how much they believe their own bullshit. Listen to the hemming and hawing, the aimless quality of their argument, the lack of clarity about anything to do with process or principles.

These people don’t believe in anything other than their half-hearted media stardom.

Hey, Katrina, I know you from your comments at another blog and I’ll keep that on the hush-hush so you don’t get involved in another cross-blog flame war, but what you wrote about your friend at driftglass is just plain heart-breaking.  I lost a friend (not a best friend like you) following 9/11 when he just flipped from being a laidback, fun-loving hippy-ish dude into a full-blown, fire-breathing wingnut.  As I’ve noted several times before, I’m seeing several parallels between what I witnessed with “9/11 Republicans” and what I’m seeing today from PUMAs. It’s truly sad and inexplicable.  I just don’t understand how people can throw away everything they believed in their whole lives due to singular events.  And, let’s face it, the 9/11 Republicans had a much better excuse for their irrational and deplorable behavior than the PUMAs do.

Yes means “Yes we fucking can!”

Was visiting my father-in-law this past Sunday in Conn. and saw a Suburu with three bumper stickers.  The first was some save the earth thing. The second said “all war is terrorism” and the third was…wait for it…wait…“NOBAMA”
  Just how the hell does that jive?  Does that include the war that Hillary voted for and supported? These PUMAs are just plain confused, and they make me confused.

Kevin - You’re sweet, but I don’t mind if you mention where else I have posted.  I have posted my story in several places because it’s theraputic for me to get it off my chest, and because most people do not know any pumas personally and therefore might wonder what one of them was like “before”.  You wrote:

“I just don’t understand how people can throw away everything they believed in their whole lives due to singular events.”  I agree, but am also starting to realize that, at least with my friend, I only have her word on what she has always believed because we have only been friends for the past several years.  Maybe she was supressing, to me and herself, how she really felt deep down about things (race or religion for instance) - I just don’t know.  Maybe singular events really do bring out someone’s TRUE nature.

Maybe it’s the flip-side of an old expression, and “A friend is just a stranger you haven’t met yet.”

Kevin - You’re sweet

Finally someone got that out there.  ;)

Yeah, who knows what’s at the core of personality/belief shifts like we’re seeing with the PUMAs. They’re clinging to few thin threads of what made/makes them Democrats (primarily equality for women and the LGBT community). I’d love to see a qualified psychologist research the PUMA movement.  I think it would make for a fascinating study.

Politics has become a wedge separating me and my own brother. He is now a fucking right wing nutball. One smart journalist (can’t remember which ... might have been a Nation article) several months ago critiqued the series of (4) atheism books that came out at about the same time (God Is Not Great, God Delusion ... ) and said people were too harsh in their criticisms of religious believers, that they believe what they believe (it really is in their head) and it’s better (if you’re a non-believer) to look at religion as a social phenomenon, not a case of right or wrong, smart or dumb. That statement helped me a lot in accepting that people I give a shit about can’t perceive the world the same way I do. PUMA (and its implicit racism) is a social phenomenon that is going to run its course. For sure Darragh and Will are nuts, but they’re also hapless victims of a condition inside their own head that closes off reasoning and judgment—and they’re too imperceptive to fix it. Ditto my brother, his wife, and my uncle.

I feel your pain, Poputonian. About 90% of my family are wingnuts of some variety. Some are Christian fundamentalists who are convinced Jesus is gonna leap through an opening in the clouds at any moment to Hoover up the righteous and leave the heathens (including me) to their doom.

Others are hard-core rednecks with horrifying views on minorities, gays, etc. I’m talking Bush dead-enders and worse. If I were unable to look past beliefs that I find absolutely appalling and/or just plain nuts, I would have no relationship with many of them, including my own father.

It may be easier to deal with nutty family members than friends. With friends, the relationship is a choice. You’re pretty much stuck with family; there’s usually a shared history that binds rather than shared interests.

I hear that, Betty. I think there’s a lot to what Katrina is saying, too, that the political events of this decade are causing a realignment of relationships of all kinds: family, friends, and business. I have much less desire to be with certain family members (the bro, for example), have made many new friends based on political thinking, and have taken up anew with old friends of like mind. There is a positive element to all this; it seems easier in some ways to find an affinity group you can believe in!

Yes, poputonian, I am also trying to make more like-mind friends (but since this one *was* like-minded until puma, I am now doubting my ability to judge people somewhat).  I have plans to join a group of local dems. to watch Obama’s speech on nomination night and get really involved in Obama efforts for the GE, so am hoping to make new, positive connections that way.