The Republican Legacy of Dismissal

Republicans are still at it—still pushing their same old ideology of ‘them that has, gets.’ Now, it's regarding healthcare, and it’s going on continually among people—with talk radio starting the ball rolling to give people the language with to start dismissing people—as individuals and in groups—so that they can rightfully be eliminated from the political public discourse.

I recently heard it in regard to fat people. You may hear it pretty often yourself, more so, now that we are discussing healthcare and what should be done. From ‘fat people should be taxed’ to ‘fat people are causing all the healthcare dollars being spent.’ As if when we eliminate fat people from the healthcare equation everything magically falls into place.

This is ruse of the worst kind. It plays on peoples’ already entrenched visual dislike of those with extra body fat, who are easily recognized and can be readily pointed out as ‘not like us.’ It calls to mind what was once done—is still being done—with blacks. And that similarity to a past social error alone rubs me the wrong way, to the point where I refuse to participate in the group dynamic of ‘let’s get fatty.’ Which also plays out as ‘we’re better than fatty,’ and ‘you’re either with us or against us.’ Which technique was used to everyone’s detriment during the Bush years, when anyone who disagreed with a stated policy was met with taunts of being unpatriotic and un-American.

See what a handy dynamic it is? Useful in almost ANY circumstance.

Okay, before I get too psychological here—which I am prone to do—let’s just say I expect better of the human species. Historically, we always get into some strange and ugly territory when we lean into the ‘us versus them’ mentality. It never serves us well, and almost always sets us backward on the evolutionary track. Better we should get used to the idea that we are all in this together. That even those who hold us back during the trek on this planet are valuable assets and may even teach us something.

But you won’t find this in Republican ideological circles. It will always be ‘us against them’ there. That political party thrives on division. It also thrives on delusion. That much, we have already realized.