Blind Date with a FREEPER. Has it come to this?

I can't believe it. My poor friend who thought this was a good idea! I haven't seen her for a while. She had no idea about my politics. She wanted to set-up her boss. She picked me.

It was a "group thing" - we'll all go out for drinks. After we'd been there for a while he makes some remark and she says, "Oh, <Dumbo's> a Republican."

And I said something, and he said something, and the next thing you know he is spewing Rush Limbaughisms in that way they have where there is not a CHANCE you are going to get to say anything at all, and he is saying "well I like to KEEP MY money, and I don't like to give it to people who sit on their asses and don't work, I have to support my kids and my ex-wife, and why should I support someone else who doesn't want to WORK? And at least Bush got IRAQ under control, and at least there are no more RAPE ROOMS, do you like RAPE ROOMS? And at least now Saddam can't tie two guys together and shoot one while the other one is sitting there waiting to be killed, and maybe you like what CLINTON does with INTERNS, and ..."

And that's when I stood up. And I didn't even bother to respond to him or make an excuse to her, I just said "I have to go" and I said goodbye to everyone and I left.

Is this what we've come to? Are we two nations? I can't believe I live on the same planet with this person.

And NO, he was not cute either.

but at least my politics aren't ugly! :P

Really. I'm old enough that cute does not matter one bit. I want to feel attraction, but cute has very little to do with it.

he would have been a whole lot more attractive if he hadn't been such an ass. It is amazing how attractive (or repulsive) a person becomes the more you see the person inside. Shallow Hal was onto something.

dinner out in front of my dad's brother, who was working for the Justice Department in civil rights in the sixties. You did the right thing, honey. He would have had you arrested for more.

HUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess you're close to correct. I felt like anything I said would have caused a scene, in which case I MIGHT have been arrested.

Could someone delete this puppy before my sterling reputation is ruined forever?

--bkl

Just tell us where you're from.

Any unattached man within 200 miles of where you live will probably send you a polite introductory message.

I'm from Philadelphia, and I'm unattached. But I'm also unhinged, so you might want to work the numbers.

:)

--bkl
A free and tender mushroom, growing wild.

Slaying dragons every day. Bless you all!

that it's not bad enough all the single men in NYC are either gay or on parole, but now you gotta watch out for dittoheads, too.

It ain't easy being single any more.

But everyone I know is gay, for sure.

I just never thought I'd meet a dittohead in Manhattan! And a friend of a friend!

but I am just a lazy, no working, living off the hard-work of other folks...crack baby making librul :) oh, and can't forget osama/saddam loving. Last year (winter 2003), I joined a flag football league out of the blue, didn't know a soul. After the game we go out for drinks. Of course faux news is on one of the tv's, and they are talking about the leading up to the Iraqi war or something. Some dude pipes up "damn whiney libruls", of course I respond, "Why, because we liked the peace and prosperity of Clinton??" Not another word was said :) If you ever make it down south, give a buzz, I am single, I would love to show you this great refrigerator box I am using for a sofa, being I am a lazy librul :) ...Kevin.

A man who makes his own furniture is always intriguing. I will be dressed as a crack-whore - just so you can recognize me at the bus station.

"I can see why she is an ex-wife!"
:bounce:

I don't know where they learn this style of speaking - it's a technique of talking so long and so loud that no one else has a chance. It's scary.

Probably would have slowed him down a bit. Even if not, you'd have made your point. But I understand and support what you did.

They rant in this Limbaughesque fashion and when they finally come up for air there is nothing to do but run for your life. I could not respond. It was so irrational and bizarre. Why is this man talking to me about Rape Rooms? Obviously this interests him.

I wish I could have laughed but it just was too scary to be funny. He was programmed. He was brainwashed. Facts don't matter.

You probably did something like this involuntarily out of sheer disbelief anyway.
There's also always the ever-popular blah-blah-blah and cuckoo hand signals...:)

I just kind of scrammed out of there. We'd had two drinks already. I wasn't at my most subtle. I just jumped out of my chair, announced "I've got to go" and scrammed. LOL. My poor friend hasn't emailed me back yet. Oh well. What can I say?

:shrug:

Doesn't deserve an explanation.


Cher

There is no point in trying to argue with these people, IMO. I will email my friend. But the fact that she finds this guy tolerable astounds me. I think she is not very well informed, although she is NOT a republican.

Good form. We are proud of you, sweetheart.

:hug:

You know as bad as you think it might turn out to be, in the back of your mind there is a little bit of hope. But I never imagined THIS. You don't often MEET freepers in Manhattan. The guy was from the Bronx, but even so, I was SHOCKED. What are the odds?

He was not attractive. But I was feeling polite and friendly until he spoke. And truth be told, he didn't really speak much at all until these freeper comments came out. There were 7 or 8 people with us and he really didn't have anything to contribute to the conversation. Then most of the others had to go, and there were just 4 of us, and then the other two were talking together and left us alone, and that's when he went off.

But, you know, as far as first impressions, I was definitely NOT attracted. But if he had turned out to be a cool and interesting guy, I would have gotten past that.

So your line is good but would not have worked this time.

:D

I know he actually was interested before this. He didn't have anything to say but he was really watching me and trying to give me little smiles and looks. I could have played it out your way, but I am not that slick. My feelings were apparent the moment my friend said, "oh, he's a republican" as if it were a minor, irrelevant detail.

"I have to go. I prefer to date within my own species."

There really is no common ground, right? What can you say to these people? At least I've learned that it's not worth the effort.

Keep yer chin up little buckaroo!

But it scares me that while walking home all I thought was, well, I'll post this at DU. I'm not usually in the Lounge, but I didn't know who else would understand. I have a few girlfriends who would get it, but I'm almost embarrassed to tell them. It's too pathetic, that I would even BE in this situation.

Are any of your kittens single? I am still looking.

They are all girls

:D

And believe it or not, there's actually (at least some) guys out there who feel similar to you - cute ain't enough and cute ain't required, attraction is something different from cute.

It used to drive me crazy to hear people say "Third World" - you know, the "we all live in one world" thing. These days, like you, I'm thinking that some of us truly do live on very different planets.

Once he started spouting, I had this visceral reaction. I left because otherwise it would have been a SCENE. Have I become intolerant? If so, intolerant of what? Ignorance?

When I get that same visceral reaction, I just become as civil as possible and try to bow out, hopefully with at least a smile. A nice smile. If a nice smiling parting-line is not at hand, civility usually suffices.

But it's never intoleration on your part. That's the line that they're trying to sell you.

I met and "bonded with" an attractive young Reaganite back in the 1980s. (Yes, she was blonde, how did you know?)

We got along fine until she started talking about King Ronald. I politely told her that I didn't have a very high opinion of him. No invective, no insults, just "I don't think he's a very good president."

Immediately, out came the cigarettes, and she asked, "Oh? Why not? Don't you like Liberty?"

"Sure do, but I don't think Reagan believes in liberty for anyone other than businesses and his supporters."

She blew some smoke at me -- "accidentally" -- and I dodged it, with nary a nasty word or look. She then gave me the "I'm a smoker and I'm sick and tired of being discriminated against" routine, followed by a denunciation of libbruls, wine, and cheese. She then picked up her stuff and said, "I have to go now."

I didn't know whether to laugh or to check my drink for the presence of hallucinogens.

The second part: I actually did have a girlfriend a few years later who was a fairly active conservative activist. (Yes, she was blonde, how did you know?) She was polite, kind of dug that her boyfriend was more of a left-winger, and we had a pretty good short-term relationship (3 months). So it only goes to show you, it takes all kinds.

Good luck in your search!

--bkl
The Prius of Love.

Because I will fight you over that!

And I remember very well the denunciation of BRIE and CHARDONNAY. Both of which I still enjoy.

*edited to say - Are you implying that BLONDES are REPUBLICANS? Because that would be a gross misconception. BLONDES are overall highly intelligent. If you want to make blonde jokes, fire away. We SCOFF.

There's a running joke about Republican telebimbos all being tall, skinny blondes -- Anne Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Laurie Dhue, Rita Cosby, Kellyanne Conway, Linda Vester, ad flaviosum.

Personally, I like blondes, and never met a blonde who lived down to the dumb blonde jokes I've heard. In fact, the last time I checked my hair, I qualify as a "Dirty Blond". If I spent more time in the sun (a practice I disdain), I'd probably look like a surfer. A fat surfer, but a surfer none the less.

"Brie and Chardonnay" ... ? I guess they are putting more details into their stereotyped denunciations of lefties. The Wall Street Journal has been working the Melitta coffee machine angle pretty hard; I've seen similar lifestyle griping on some of the tech boards about iPods. PBS, Volvos, latte, and all things French are also targets of conservatives' perverse hatred. Which you probably already know, because conservatives like everyone to know what they hate. And they'll tell you, loud and often.

--bkl
As blond as I wanna be!

What exactly is wrong with Melitta? I can't keep up with the inanities. I guess there is some basis in truth in that I like Melitta drip just fine, I lust for a Volvo, PBS is great and so is France. When dumb is in then the dumb will be kings.

It's the newest icon of liberalism for the conservatives' hating pleasure. Volvo and PBS have also had their turns.

The anti-France thing never ceases to amaze me. It's so transparently decended from the German nationalism of the days of Hitler and Hindenburg and "Kaiser Bill" that it comes off like part of an extended Mel Brooks parody.

Ah, but the dumb are never really kings. Emperors, maybe, until the unwashed rabble (that's you and me -- and nearly everybody else here) kick them out and tell them to put some clothes on.

Anyway, what the heck is it with NYC? I have yet to meet a woman from there -- other than RBNYC -- who is able to find someone at all. I'm used to that being part of male single life, not female single life! But then, I wouldn't suspect that there would be many Freepish folk in NYC, either.

--bkl

I'm not kidding! Every single one of them! Except Bozo the Freeper.

I've known a few guys from NYC who are/were straight.

Well, I think they're straight.

Y'know, NYC is starting to look better to me ...

:)

--bkl

But sometimes it seems true.

What is it with Melitta? Who says what about Melitta?

:hi:

I really liked her as a person, but we could not talk politics or religion... not much of a future, unfortunately... she was really sweet. :cry:

I dated a guy who was intellectually challenged, for a while. Not for very long. It was sooooooo boring.

i dont think i could spend more than 30 seconds with a woman who was a conservative.

they are devoid of empathy, which alone is tragic for a human, but that they revel in it, there's the mark of the devil.

how am I supposed to understand you?

I DO want a dog! I really, really want a puppy! My hours and my apartment wouldn't be nice for a dog, though. :(

Perhaps you can, too! :hi:

if you know who he is.

Congrats to you! That's great luck!

...yourself who the right person is for you.

I can, however, tell you from personal experience that DU is way better than a godamned dating service or personals column!

I didn't think you actually knew who he is. Nor do you have my number!

But I will take your advice. I really need to be with intelligent, aware and compassionate people.

WHAT is James Carville thinking?

If anyone knows James Carville, give HIM my number, for future reference.

Maybe I shouldn't complain that none of my friends ever introduce me to any (single) men. I'm getting a cold shiver at the thought of a freeper date.

It was chilling. I just felt such revulsion. I have no tolerance. I wasn't very polite.

For a lack of politeness, your actions had nothing on that dittohead jerk-off with whom your co-worker saddled you!

And my poor friend did not deserve that when she was just trying to be nice. And anyway, these types do not let you talk! They spout the dittohead talking points rapid-fire!

The rational, caring nation populated by Progressive folks and Liberals, and then there's....

"SAVAGE NATION!!!!"

Inhabited by Dito-Monkeys and people who think it's a shame Joe "Lori Killer" Scarborough isn't still in congress....

Your friend will probably ream you out tomorrow with crap like "I don't know why you had to leave, I thought he was kinda witty, and besides, that was rude. He expected me to fuck HIM as well as my own date, since you left..."

I don't know if I could have left without letting him know what an idiot he was. It's tough to find a single guy in Iowa too. Too many beer-swilling, right-wing fundies for me. Ugh.

"Well, I don't like RAPE ROOMS, but Bush obviously likes RAPE ROOMS because the United States Army is running a RAPE ROOM at Abu Ghal (or however in hell it's spelled) Prison!

"Saddam can't tie two guys together and shoot one while the other one is sitting there waiting to be killed, but Bush likes to bomb hospitals and blow children's arms off because his oil is under Saddam's dirt.

"And if Iraq is under control, why did over a hundred of our troops get killed there in April?"

He wouldn't let me TALK. So all the good answers in the world would have done me no good.

Not sure if this would work, but I've run into a few of these people myself recently, and I'm thinking that one way to shut them up might be to give them a response they're not expecting: agreement.

Bear with me on this.

From what I keep seeing, they're looking to bully people into one of two likely responses: either (i) silence or (ii) confrontation. If you choose silence, then, in their minds, they've "shut you up" (reinforcing their self-righteous certainty). OTOH, if you choose confrontation, then, in their minds, they'll interpret this as "defending Saddam Hussein" (again reinforcing their own self-righteous certainty). Either way, their delusions are reinforced, and, in thier own minds, they "win".

So, it seems to me that the general trick may be to give them something that they aren't prepared to digest into some form of self-reinforcement (and then smack them upside the head while they're choking on it, of course :evilgrin:)

For example:


Freeper: "<insert rant about how evil Saddam Hussein is>"

Sane Person: "You know, I actually agree with you, and I'm interested in your opinion: Do you think Saddam Hussein has always been this evil, or was this just a recent development?"

Freeper: "Of *course* he's always been this evil! Only some lefty idiot would think otherwise!"

Sane Person: "Ok, let me be a little more specific: Was Saddam Hussein still this evil back when George W. Bush's daddy and Ronald Reagan were sending him arms and money, back during the Iran-Iraq war?"

Freeper: "um ..."

( ... and, in my fantasy takedown :evilgrin: ... )

Sane Person: "And, while you're thinking about that, here's a photo of Donald Rumsfeld taken way back then. Notice that person he's shaking hands with? That's Saddam Hussein. Notice the nice friendly grin? See, we lefties can recognize that there are TWO evil people in this picture. It took you wingnuts until the 90's to see even ONE."

Freeper: "<insert tap-dancing here>"

---


Or something like that, anyway :)


And, all that aside, sorry to hear about this idiot ruining your evening. If it's any consolation, there are definitely a lot of us guys here on DU who are shaking our heads at the great opportunity that this idiot just blew :)


MDN

I think your proposed strategy is excellent.

The one I am really sick of is: "I work hard and I want to keep my money. Why should I have to give it to someone on welfare."

How do you respond to a statement of such blatant greed and selfishness and ignorance? There's no human being there to appeal to, no logic, no common sense.

Not that it was worth responding to THIS guy. He didn't deserve any response at all.

And is on the loose?
Call the authorities!!

Scary isn't it?

talking this way and spouting off like that makes him an obnoxious ****. Your friend could not but have known this, knowing him from work. So, regardless of your ideology, she was subjecting you to a date with an obnoxious ****. And she expected you to endure an evening of this because it's her boss? Sorry.

She thinks he spouts that crap because he's insecure. I wouldn't give him that much credit. She was very sorry, though. However, I don't really feel like seeing her right now. Maybe sometime in the future.

and single. Unfortunately, Steph, he's here in Alaska, and like me will never, ever leave (except feet first, and then only if someone disregards my wishes!)

But Steph, they ARE out there, the nice guys who are not of a different (alien, I think) neocon Repuke planet. My heart goes out to you! And yes, you did absolutely the right thing! :hug:

:)