I don't hate conservatives. But I don't like them.

 

This extended post is in reply to a young woman named Amala Ekpunobi, who is associated with Prager University, a very conservative organization.  In my efforts to stay informed in how ideological opponents think, I get email messages from a couple of different conservative orgs.  Some of them drive me absolutely nuts;  I've got some stored up posts that I wanted to reply to, but haven't had the chance.  Some are bit outdated now.

But this one caught my eye a few nights ago, and I composed some very rapid replies to her points.  So here's the whole thing.

First, the video.

Now, my points.

On Abortion: she refers to an unborn embryo/fetus as a "baby", innocent and vulnerable. Says conservatives have "compassion" for the mother. OK, what about a fetus that has no chance of survival? Is it still innocent and vulnerable?  It's going to die, and if born, potentially in pain.  Where does compassion extend -- does it cover the physical burden and mental suffering of forcing a woman to carry a fetus that will not ever be a newborn child, or perhaps delivering a baby that cannot survive, and having to emotionally suffer watching and waiting for the baby to die?

Next: Conservatives are unconvinced about systemic racism. There are "disparities". Good schools would go further. But funding has been based on property taxes, so more wealthy communities will have more money for their school systems. That's systemic. There are more wealthy white communities than wealthy black communities.  That's also systemic. 

Climate change. (Hoo boy.)

Conservatives have "little faith in computer models that have been innacurately predicting disaster". Yet right now, as we discuss this, droughts are severe, extreme rainfall events are increasing, ocean warming and ocean acidification are measurable and happening, extreme heat waves are occurring with increasing frequency, glaciers and Arctic ice caps are melting ... not so inaccurate.  What is disaster, Amala?  

Conservatives have faith in human ingenuity to "overcome climate" (poorly phrased) What is air conditioning? (Really.) A human adaptation to the environment. Which requires energy.

So ... "Nuclear power holds so much promise as a safe and renewable energy source." Wow, we agree!! So where are the conservatives who are actively and vocally pushing for more nuclear power? Nope, they want to pump more oil and gripe about the cancellation of a pipeline carrying oil from the Athabascan tar sands, the most polluting petroleum resource known, and one whose extraction is also profoundly damaging to the environment. Skeptical about environmentalists opposing it, enviros don't want to save the planet, she says they want the government to have more power to control people's lives. [I don't agree. Most environmentalists want environmental legislation to protect the environment and protect against the degradation of natural resources due to exploitation and pollution without regard for either nature or humans. So it comes down to regulations vs. the free unfettered market putting business interests and profits above the well-being of both humans and nature.]

On Guns: "Firearms are regulated in every state." Likely an untrue statement for states with very lenient gun laws, such as the proliferation of concealed carry and unlicensed gun ownership. So conservatives want guns "to protect themselves against the bad guys". This ignores that guns in the home contribute to more gun deaths via domestic violence and suicide, as well as accidents, WHICH INCLUDES disturbed individuals and disturbed youth getting guns and using them for mass killings. So does gun ownership for protection outweigh all of the misuse that isn't about that?  Sorry, I don't think so.

I skipped tolerance. I guess I was feeling a bit intolerant.

On Authoritarianism - she repeats conservative talking points. Want to cut taxes (turns out to be just for the wealthy), reduce regulation (such as environmental protection regulations), make government smaller (which amounts to less regulation, because bureaucracy = agencies = executive branch actions), bolster constitutional freedoms like speech and religion. The latter is a joke because abortion is basically a religious issue, and the Supreme Court appointees in the conservative group (five Catholics and a woman from an ultraconservative Christian sect) clearly prefer a monoreligious society when it comes to the law, the Constitution be (ahem) damned.  Conservativism is dominated by White Protestants, and "prayer in school" is about Christians praying in public schools, not recognizing separation of church and state.  If you don't think so, try putting forth the idea to conservatives that the worshipers of Baal, Allah, and Kali should be able to pray in school, too. 

Finally, her discussion of authoritarianism does not discuss the excesses of the Trump era, including the widespread conservative/GOP denial of the 2020 election results (which can lead to reversal of election results in favor of the party in power), and the implementation of laws which reduce voting eligibility and practice, and the newer laws that can allow legislatures to determine or change election results, disregarding the actual vote totals.

So I have a lot of bones to pick with conservatives.  I don't hate them - they're people - but I think some of them are very misguided, and when that misguidedness carried over into questioning the need for and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, the enemyzation of Dr. Fauci and the NIH, and the still ongoing dispute about whether lockdowns and school closures were necessary (perhaps there are families that didn't want their kids coming home with a sniffle that would kill Grandma), I had some heated arguments with a few.  Not to mention my ongoing battles with misguided and mistaken climate change deniers.   

It's not hate to have a strong dislike for someone's (or a group's) philosophy and positions.  But I can definitely think that on a lot of issues, they are clearly wrong, and their wrongness affects my life, my community, and the future of my children.  And I'm not going to be happy about that.