racist Dixiecrats who became Republicans when Democrats stopped folding on civil rights. Like others of their ilk, they justified this switch as opposition to big "government" (specifically, federal), even though these same defectors (or their parents and grandparents) had LOVED FDR, the ultimate big government president.
But forgetting their bogus justifications and hypocrisy, in the beginning they only seemed to hate Democratic leaders, like Kennedy, LBJ and Carter. It wasn't until Limbaugh and Gingrich came along and started making everyday Democrats the face of the "enemy" in the cultural wars (while referring to our party as the "Democrat" Party), that their hatred for all Democrats/all liberals seemed to go off the rails. (My parents were the more hard core types to start with, so it probably took others a bit more time and more help from Fox and other "news" sources, as they blanketed the airwaves with their toxic product.)
I started noticing my mother dividing everyone up by party, even when recounting non-partisan activities, like going on a cruise. She was so excited to meet Republicans, especially if they were from the South, even though she left MS at 25 and has lived in CA for the last 63 years. And this huge grammar Nazi--who would complain both in-person and by mail, if (for example) a sign in a store incorrectly identified writing paper as "stationary"-- began using the now ubiquitous "Democrat" Party to refer to those who had seemingly become her mortal enemies... and she always felt compelled to tell people that she loved my family in spite of the fact that we are Democrats and from San Francisco.
My dad died in 2003 and I only have one sibling, a younger sister, who is in some ways worse than my mother. The first time I met her husband he was wearing a t-shirt with an arrow in one direction pointing to "Prosperity" and an arrow in the opposite direction pointing to "Clinton" (Bill), and he was just as much of an ignorant jackass as his shirt implied. They were in their twenties at the time, and actually got tickets to see Limbaugh's (brief!) TV show. I couldn't believe anyone that young would fall for his shtick. My sister and BIL loved that vile thing occupying the White House from the beginning, probably because they are also amoral, racist grifters with tacky taste who aspire to be rich (by any means necessary). Their lavish lifestyle has been subsidized by both sets of parents, even though my mother can't afford it. Basically, my mother has to "pay to play" by funding their vacations, restaurant meals (they eat out most nights) and even a beach home, in order to spend time with a family she says treats her like crap and is always screaming at each other (two of my teen nieces got in a physical fight w/ each other at Disneyland!), with grandchildren who swear at her (etc.!)... but their FB pix w/Nana are adorbs! It's all illusion, but she prefers their company to ours--even though we have never asked for money and my children treat her with respect--because she'd rather hang out with people with whom she feels comfortable expressing vile beliefs. (And even though she initially loathed our current *president, and said she'd never vote for him, she ended up attending his inauguration with my sister and BIL...and I'm sure she paid for all of them for that pleasure.)
When my sister started trashing the students at Cal (the university my daughter and I attended) over their response to the pedophile-promoting Milo, calling Cal students "snowflakes" and saying she'd never want her daughters to go that horrible school (as if they could get in!)... and after other vile stuff she said... I dropped them from my life. It wasn't just that... but that I had overlooked so much before that, just so my kids could have a relationship with cousins who had become increasingly like their obnoxious parents, and so we could all be a family. But my husband and I were the ones who put in ALL the effort and money, while my sister was treated by both my parents like some kind of princess who shouldn't have to pay or work for anything. Still, I put up with all of them, and was in fact the family mediator who tried to get everyone to get along, after the millions of times my mother vowed to never speak to them after they insulted her yet again. My sister, on the other hand, has seemed eager to have me disappear because, as far as I can tell, she only sees my mom as a source of funding, and without me, she can squeeze more out of my mom now, and inherit it all later. In fact, I spent years tying to get my mom to refrain from "investing" in their vacation home (she lives 3000 miles away from them)... but as soon as I was out of the picture for a few months (after the election), they pressured her into funding it. I have minimal contact with my mom now, but check in now and then... and still send flowers and presents for birthdays, Christmas and other occasions... but while grifters gotta grift and haters gotta hate, I don't have to personally witness it anymore.
= new reply since forum marked as read
