I really went off on two Republican door to door canvasers today.

I'm not sure I would have on any other day, but I was tired and my day had started going downhill around 10:30 this morning.

First full week back to school and I'm teaching four ESE classes. One 90 minute Reading and English class, one learning strategies class, and two science classes.

The first class was encouraging. I'd been trying all week to teach the concept of similes and metaphors to the kids. They are very low level readers and very concrete thinkers. The got the similes (I think), but metaphors left them floored.

So, today I had them draw pictures of similes and metaphors (not an easy thing to do). They really enjoyed the activity and told me that it really helped them to understand.

Learning Strategies got off to a bad start when, while I was taking role, one young man complained, "That girl keeps on looking at me!" (:eyes: Are we a high school class or are we a kindergarten class?)

"Which girl?" I asked when he kept complaining.

"That one," he pointed. "The ugly one," loud enough for the whole classe to hear...

Any way, I came home feeling tired and in need of an energy boost. I had just gotten a snack when someone knocked at the door.

By the time I got there, the two young men were out on the street, but they came running back.

I saw they were wearing T shirts that said Quiggle.

Our State Representative, Jim King (Yeah, he was a Republican, too, but one of the old school, a good guy.) died recently of Pancreatic Cancer and there is going to be a special election to replace him.

Almost before the funeral, both of the guys running for the office, Quiggle and Thrasher (I think... maybe it was Trasher :D) started sending the most obnoxious attack ads againt each other to my (and many other) mailbox. "I'm the TRUE Reagan Republican!" "I'm the REAL conservative." The other guy is such a liberal tax and spender!" blah blah blah.

The mailbox is filled with these slick pieces of politics of personal destruction every day. Not one of them had any issues discussed on them. Not one of them said anything about ANYTHING that matter to and affects all of us on the first coast.

And I got mad. And I let them have it.

"I wouldn't vote for either of these guys! 'I'm the Reagan Republican! The other guy spends too much money! I'm the conservative!' I quoted to the poor guys.

"I hate the Republicans these days. They are willing to bankrupt this country with needless and immoral wars, but they won't take care of their own people at home. Every last one of them," I ranted.

"They are appealing to the worst element in our country. They hange politicians in effigy here and in Jacksonville. They are appealing to racists!

"I want health care for everyone. I want school funding." (At this point, my son joined me on the porch. After they left, he said he came out because my husband, who was dressing for work, was afraid I was going to get myself knocked around.)

"I wish there were someone else running, because I won't vote for either of them. If there is no one else, I'll write in Mickey Mouse!

"I used to vote for the candidate, whatever the party. Not anymore, not since 2000. My neighbor used to be a Republican. Not anymore."

I was winding down now. I was so passionate, I was getting breathless.

To the credit of the young men, they listened to me and remaind courteous and polite. They told me they would tell Mr. Quiggle what I had to say.

In retrospect, I wish I had not been so aggressive. But I'm not sorry for what I said. I just wish it would make a difference, but I'm not holding my breath.

(edited to change "election" to "funeral"

That's a miserably bad use of volunteer resources. I can't say I'm sorry they did though.

Props to you! I hope it relieved some stress.

even run a candidate.

Maybe it released some stress. I'm to tired to know. I spent the summer staying up til two or three (and sometimes four) in the morning. It is really hard getting back in the groove where I can only sleep in till 7:00 on late days.

Maybe I'll know tomorrow, after a late morning sleep in.

People just kind of snap after awhile. I did the same thing to my dad the other night. He didn't say anything much more republican than usual.
But all day, my anger had been building - mostly from some of the crappy things being said about our dear Ted Kennedy.
I let him have it with both barrels. Like you, I'm sorry for the way I delivered the message, but not the message itself.

Don't worry too much. It's the weekend - enjoy.:toast:

The only words I would be able to muster in that situation would be:

"Get the fuck off my property!"

And don't you DARE wish you had not been so aggressive. (At least not around me, that is!)

These bastards NEED TO HEAR THIS!!! They're making such a mess and throwing so many tantrums and bringing out - TRYING DELIBERATELY to bring out - the worst in people, turning them into spoiled, tantrum-throwing, sore-loserman brats at the town hall meetings, encouraging the ugliest of discourse on OUR public airwaves, supporting card-carrying ASSHOLES on and off the air and in and outside the party.

They deserved EVERY word of that tirade from you - AND MORE.

I think every last one of us needs to follow your example. Do NOT be cordial. Do NOT be conciliatory. Do NOT be compromising or make ANY effort whatsoever to see their point of view. Not anymore. Besides, we already know full-well what their twisted, cockamamie, selfish, cheapskate, short-sighted, IGMFU point of view is. I think they need a BIG dose of their own medicine. They need to know how it feels and be on the receiving end of a little of it. Probably won't make a damn bit of difference, but the other way doesn't make much difference either.

They'll start doing the Paul Wellstone dump-dance on us all after Ted Kennedy's memorial - you just watch. Won't even allow us to have our grief, I'll bet. And I'll be shocked if they do. But I know who they're dealing with, so I expect the worst and the lowest of all of them.

I'm just sick and tired of these schmucks hurting this country again and again and again and again, and trying to set this country back again and again and again and again. I'm sick of their backward thinking, their 13th-Century minds, their greed, their selfishness, their meanness, their character assassination, and the rest of their shit. We'll need to fix and rehabilitate this country because of them and in spite of them, because we all know they won't help. But I will NOT live in the world they want - with their racism and their sexism and their knuckle-dragging and their intimidation with their stupid guns and their nastiness and negativity and all that bible-thumping when they do NOT know or acknowledge the bottom-line teachings of Our Lord Jesus.

You do not owe ANYONE, especially them, an apology. Actually, you owe them a lot MORE than you already slammed 'em around with. You did a great job, and said what needed to be said. Don't EVER apologize for that.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm frickin' fed up with these people. And now that we've lost Ted Kennedy's voice for the good and noble fight, WE NEED TO RAISE OURS ALL THE LOUDER!!!!!!!!!!

articulate in a rage than I am. :D

There needs to be a price to pay for behaving, and believing, as CONservatives and republi-CONS do - because of the damage it does to our country and all the people in it, especially those less fortunate, when those same CONservatives and republi-CONS are able to act on that behavior and those tragically misguided beliefs.

I hope it happens to them at every single house.

More of us need to get mad much more often.

Often, we liberals are too civil and too polite.

I applaud you. :applause:

:dem:

-Laelth

I thought the Republicans would lose unless they got back to good old-fashioned conservativism! I woulda told them the country's gone to hell in a hand-basket ever since them wimmin started voting. And why isn't anybody talking about how the Canadians are over-running our country? And what happened to my right to have a machine-gun? I woulda told them that President Bush is doing an OK job but I'm afraid next time I'll have to vote for Judge Roy Moore on the Constitution Party ticket. Also Walmart is owned by the Chinese Communists!

Oh, they woulda gotten a piece of my mind!