Friday, March 30, 2007

My New Pal Geoffrey

Geoffrey strikes again. Read through his latest post and you'd probably think he and I had been arguing about the US Attorney firings, or maybe we were discussing conservatism vs liberalism, or the Bush administration's job performance. Nope, none of the above.

In truth, we were talking about the Gathering of Eagles, or as Geoffrey characterized them, Gathering of Pathetic Pseudo-Patriots. As I wrote before, Geoffrey mischaracterized them and their motivations, and I proved it to him. When faced with the facts, he threw a temper tantrum. Sadly, he still does not see his error.

The larger lesson here is that some people are so partisan, so full of hate and venom, that they can't entertain a single rational thought. Once you are pegged as a "con-servative wingnut" or a "socialist liberal", forget it. You get nothing but Geoffrey's. (As in, you just pulled a Geoffrey. That's what I'm calling it from now on.)

I mean, take a look at his rationale for ignoring the topic:

"True believers, be they Islamic terrorists, Christian fundamentalists, or Republicans, are always dangerous."

Are you kidding me?! In Geoffrey's world Republicans and terrorists are equal. The absurdity would be amusing if it wasn't so disappointing. He has singled out a huge portion of this nation's citizens and deemed them somehow less than he is. They are nothing more than murdering terrorists, and should be shunned. This attitude is silly, stupid, and dangerous.

Geoffrey writes,

"You don't like it that I refuse to listen to your complaints about a few anarchists at a protest rally?"


No, no, and no. He continues to completely miss the point, or at least forget what it was he was writing about in the first place. He pulled a Geoffrey on the Gathering of Eagles' counter-protest. I called him on it and he pulled another Geoffrey, and he continues to pull Geoffreys even now.

I don't care what he thinks of conservatism, or President Bush, or the Attorney General. What I do care about is his blatant and angry mischaracterizations of a group of protesters. They are mostly veterans, many still bearing the scars from the angry protests 35 years ago. They organized themselves in order to protect the monuments erected to memorialize the sacrifices they made. They were largely successful in providing that protection and in showing solidarity and support for the current crop of US armed forces and returning veterans.

The fact that this demonstration of support is needed is exemplified by the flag and soldier burning actions which occured that same day on the other side of the country. Though the other 15,000 peace protesters stood by and allowed the few to mar their march, you can be sure that had the Eagels gathered in Portland that day, none of those videos and pictures being circulated by the republicans/terrorists would even exist. For I doubt very much that the cowards would have had the courage to light fires and chant chants with a few thousand veterans standing watch.

You see, Geoffrey, those that oppose you are no more "pathetic pseudo-patriots" than you are. Maybe someday you'll grow to understand that.

7 comments:

Geoffrey Kruse-Safford said...

I am so glad you are willing to read what I wrote, even though you completely missed the point. I ignore what you have to say not because of the Gathering of Pigeons, but because that is just one instance where you give aid and comfort to the enemies of the Constitution who currently reside in the Executive Office of the President. It is part of a larger whole, just as the USA purge is part of a larger whole. One cannot understand one part without taking the whole stinking, rotten mess that is the Bush Administration into account.
Again, you want to be taken seriously, apparently. You want to engage with me. Fine. Accept that there is abundant evidence that Bush Co. is rotten to the core, and maybe we can move one from there. Until that happens, until you recognize that I am unmoved by a bunch of photos of radicals being nasty and adolescent, until you admit that, perhaps, our country is in a state of disarray, I doubt we have much to talk about.

Erudite Redneck said...

Ah, reread the sentence, which admittedly has the verb way too far from the subject:

"True believers ... are always dangerous."

That's a fact

Here. I'll fix the sentence (sorry, it's the editor in me):

"True believers are always dangerous, be they Islamic terrorists, Christian fundamentalists or Republicans."

Fundamentalists suck, no matter what they are fundamental about."

Geoffrey Kruse-Safford said...

ER, I always wanted an editor. Thanks for the correction.

Cameron said...

Geoffrey, you continue to prove my point for me.

You feel it's ok to disparage a group of people, even a group of veterans, because you hate the president.

I maintain that that is a foolhardy and dangerous position to hold, and you are quite right that we probably won't have much to talk about as long as you hold that position.

But I can't promise that I won't continue to mock you for holding it.

Geoffrey Kruse-Safford said...

Mock me? Mocking only works if the one mocked considers the mocker worth listening to. You see, you didn't quote me completely - it's taken me this long to remember that little tidbit - when I lumped Republicans in with terrorists; I said that they were dangerous because they never allow reality to intrude upon their desire to create a paradise from the ashes of the world they have helped destroy.
You see, I do not disparage veterans, like the Bush Administration. I do not belittle the sacrifices of others, like the Bush Administration. I do not drag personal information into substantive disagreements, like the Bush Administration, in the person of Dan Bartlett did today. I'm sure we could sit down and enjoy a nice conversation about family, the weather, baseball, whatever.
This is not personal. This is about the destruction of our public life, including the shredding of our liberties in the name of transient political goals. That you either refuse to see that or do not care matters little, because the result is the same - you cannot mock me because the views you support are beneath contempt. Period.

Cameron said...

You forget that your post titled, "gathering of pathetic psuedo-patriots" is what started this whole conversation.

That post disparaged veterans. It belittled the sacrifices of others.

Your attempts to rationalize the disparagement is what led me to mock you. You are using your hatred of President Bush and Republicans as an excuse to hate everyone that does not agree with you.

That is a stupid and dangerous view to hold.

Geoffrey Kruse-Safford said...

I do not hate anyone. I did not disparage veterans, unlike the Gathering of Eagles who actually posted pictures on their website in which they captioned photos of war protesters, in uniform, as cowards. I have yet to see a single instance where GoE had veterans involved; even if it did, the veterans are disparaged along with non-vets, for being mendacious, ridiculous, and nonsensical. I started nothing - not the war in Iraq, not the killings of Americans and Iraqis by the hundreds and thousands, not the dumping of wounded vets in Walter Reed, not Abu Ghraib, not Guantanamo Bay, but, by God and all that is holy, I am working to make sure they stop, as soon as possible.