I’ve been saying for a while that All Cops Are Bastards. This isn’t something I came to quickly. As a teen, I believed most were good, but there were bad apples. The last decade has brought me around on that to the position that there aren’t one or two bad apples, but rather one or two GOOD apples. Maybe. People should treat cops as exactly what they show themselves to be: thugs, bullies, murderers. Basically, like organized crime. They tell us exactly what they want. More power over us. Less accountability. The ability to steal from people without consequence. The ability to demand people to submit to their whim and will or face a death penalty. Judge, jury and executioner.
A similar thing has occurred to me for another group. Conservatives. The same acronym applies. All Conservatives Are Bastards. For a long time, I held onto the belief that some of them were moderates who just wanted low taxes and to live their lives. Normal enough. I was friendly with them and discussed ideas with them. I understood their point of view, even when I disagreed. I get the issues with gun regulations that make them difficult. I see why they believe abortion is murder. I get how they feel taxes are too high. I even understand the concept behind trickle down theory economics.
But there has always been a hard right wing that said things out loud that make those moderates cringe and act embarrassed. I felt bad for them. I mean, I’m embarrassed by PETA’s antics, so I can somewhat understand.
Again, the past decade has put the idea of a moderate conservative to rest. If they exist, they’re culpable at best, and silent supporters at worst. You simply can’t look the results of the recent Supreme Court decisions and see any other path forward. Gerrymandering for House reps and the built in bias towards unpopulated states in the Senate give the minority power. The hard right has their hands on wheel and everyone that votes Republican is part of the problem. Abortion, Miranda Rights, Church/State, gutting Federal agency power, and curtailing Indian Nation agency… It’s a wish list of things they could never accomplish in law. On top of that you throw in the very obvious attempt to subvert an election, the very clear evidence that they are lining up to do it again, and the outspoken leaders who stand behind those actions.
This would be considered the culmination of decades of work and struggle if they so clearly hadn’t said that this is just the beginning. They intend to go further. They’ve said so. It’s no longer the quiet part being occasionally spoken out loud by the extremes. The moderates are parroting the same lines of bullshit.
So, yes, I feel very comfortable with my position. If you vote republican, you are, ipso facto, a bastard. I don’t want to hear your excuse. I don’t care what single issue hill you’ve decided to die on. It doesn’t matter. You’re actively suppressing minorities, damaging the rights of others and attempting to circumvent the democratic governing of the country.
And I’m done with you. I don’t care. You’re scum. You directly enabled these positions, and are responsible for your actions. No one pulled the wool over your eyes. No one lied to you. You got into the car. You gave them the keys. You knew who they were. You did it. I understand why you did it. But that doesn’t mean I forgive you.