Bill O'Riley Moment

[sophiedbarker]

O.K., so there's this guy I work with that's a hard-line old-school conservative. We argue politics all the time. He's great to argue with because he are really nice guy, he's very well informed (even if he does get all his most of his news from Fox and Rush...) He argues fair and when I make a point he's not thought about or I prove him wrong, he

Comments

[plant_and_root]

Jesus fucking Christ.

[sophiedbarker]

I know!

[dragonflier]

Ha ha ha ha ha! That last comment seems to have come out of nowhere! Did he then ask why you hate God?

[dragonflier]

No, he knows I hate God.

I tried not to laugh, but coffee almost came out my nose....

but

[cargrem]

what does that Big Lady in the New York Harbor say....?
has he studied american history at all,,,like around the turn of the century.. ya know, Ellis Island... etc..

people can be very forgetful when it serves their self interest..

Re: but

[sophiedbarker]

I know...I know...but he says this time it's different. They are not here to make a new life and leave their old country behind...it's different, they are not adapting to our culture...all the rehoritic that used every time we get an infulx on immigrants of one race or religion...I try to show him that, but he's pretty convenced by the right wing media and he plenty afraid...a lot of what he says is pretty racist, but I don't think he is, I just think he does not understand the inherent racism in the things that the right is saying about immigrants and muslims...

Re: but

[cargrem]

aggghhhh!
thanks for fighting the good fight!

[herzchen]

let me know when you start that podcast!

i'm going to take it that you meant 'terrorists' and not 'tourists' in the second to last section, although i personally have been put off by tourists plenty of times (if not properly 'scared').

thanks for sharing.
i've had interesting relations w/people w/v. different points of view on politics/life before and some valuable conversations sprung forth from them (i believe that being able to defend one's principles/beliefs is pretty important) BUT if i'd been in your shoes in this case and the conversation had ended w/the 'why do you hate america?' question (or 'if you complain so much about the way things are, why don't you just move to afghanistan?' or similar) i might've screamed or at least wrung my hands and ripped out some of my hairs & flung them at him!!

[sophiedbarker]

Yes, I meant terrorists...

You know, I almost just laughed at him and walked away, but he was in earnest, so I thought he deserved an answer. So I told him that I don't hate America and then I gave him all the reasons why.

I don't know if he believed me, but at least the words got into his brain.