Reply #19: hiding [View All]

Many Obama supporters (and no doubt supporters of other candidates at various times) are hiding behind Obama. "We are the side of truth and righteouness - just look at our candidate - so how dare you counter us in any way?" Any criticisms of their behavior are characterized as attacks on Obama. Then it is assumed that what a campaign is about is engaging in an all out food fight with anyone not onboard, and that gets projected onto others. This makes it almost impossible to talk about anything.

You may not be fully aware of your zealous partisanship, and then think that anyone objecting to that is "goading" you, or merely advancing another candidate and tearing down Obama supporters and therefore Obama by doing that.

What you don't know is that you could drop the battle, lose nothing, and all of a sudden those whom you now think are antagonizing or goading you would become just normal human beings who are actually pretty nice and are more than willing to have constructive conversations with you. You would also find that the criticisms of the Obama campaign and Obama supporters are no threat to Obama's success, or at very least no threat to the success of the ideas and plans that Obama symbolizes for his supporters - the opposite is actually true.

But first you have to "put down the gun" - the all out 24 hour a day sales and marketing effort for your candidate. Until then, anything any of us say that varies from the Obama promotion script will be seen by you as "the other side." I don't want to argue against Obama. I want to argue against people forcing us to be on one side or the other in a destructive and boring food fight, and that is at this time being caused most frequently and aggressively from people who happen to be Obama supporters. So long as you "hear" that as arguing against Obama, we are in the same trap and you will keep getting the same results - people will be pissed off at you. Then you hear that anti-Obama and step up your efforts, and piss people off more, and then blame them for the "divisiveness" which makes them more stubborn and resistant to you.