Do Conservatives Have Any Empathy At All?

SummerMadness · May 20, 2014

Do Conservatives Have Any Empathy At All?

Over the last few weeks, protests on (and off) social media helped draw international attention to the plight of over 270 girls kidnapped while at school in Nigeria. Using the Twitter hashtag #bringbackourgirls, people across the world rallied to support the ongoing efforts of concerned Nigerian citizens and the girls mourning parents to save their daughters. In a beautiful gesture, many Americans claimed these girls as part of our collective family, not much different from other little girls we already love. We stood in solidarity with their plight and shared in the grief for their loss. We demanded their return and pushed our leaders to demand it, too.

And in response, American conservatives mocked it.

I thought this was an excellent statement:

People often complain that we have a tendency to dehumanize and separate from people who are ideologically divergent from us, restricting ourselves to rigid boundaries that never allow us to change our minds and gain new experiences. We throw around words like evil for ideas that are different from ours.

jazzflower92 · May 20, 2014

Or maybe people shouldn't tie every conservative to Ann Coutler. Or think that's how they all feel. Not to mention Trayvon Martin thing was very much a sensationalized event. It seems she is doing to the same thing that she claims conservatives are doing which is lumping people all together.

"WILL: Power is the ability to achieve intended effects. And this is not intended to have any effect on the real world. It's a little bit like environmentalism has become. But the incandescent light bulb becomes the enemy. It has no effect whatever on the planet, but it makes people feel good about themselves."

And here is what he was trying to say is that even though its good to show awareness he believes that the hastag movement won't in the end do anything to bring back these girls.

NightHawkeye · May 20, 2014

It's curious that the author of the article should attack conservatives about the Nigerian kidnappings when it was Hillary and Obama who refused to classify Boko Haram as a terrorist organization ... despite evidence and urgings from knowledgeable people to do so. If Hillary and Obama had any empathy for the people of Africa just where was it for the years that Boko Haram has been perpetuating violence there?

SummerMadness · May 20, 2014

Why Hillary Clinton Was Right on Boko Haram | The Fiscal Times

NightHawkeye · May 20, 2014

SummerMadness said:
Why Hillary Clinton Was Right on Boko Haram | The Fiscal Times

Glad to hear that Hillary and Obama correctly ascertained that Boko Haram wouldn't engage in things like terrorism, kidnapping, child sex slavery or human trafficking.

Oh wait ... they did.

XB3LI3V3RX · May 20, 2014

SummerMadness said:
Do Conservatives Have Any Empathy At All? I thought this was an excellent statement:

Yeah because all conservatives in America are exactly the same...

SummerMadness · May 20, 2014

jazzflower92 said:
Or maybe people shouldn't tie every conservative to Ann Coutler. Or think that's how they all feel. Not to mention Trayvon Martin thing was very much a sensationalized event. It seems she is doing to the same thing that she claims conservatives are doing which is lumping people all together.

She ties it to Ann Coulter and all the conservative media that applauded her picture. They were happy to tout her reappropriation until the backlash. It is Ann Coulter and her enablers that cheered on a cry for attention. Instead of just supporting or ignoring the movement, they took a me first attitude and used it as a chance to make a political attack. The girls are meaningless, all that matters is they attack their enemies.

jazzflower92 said:
And here is what he was trying to say is that even though its good to show awareness he believes that the hastag movement won't in the end do anything to bring back these girls.

Conservative media chose quite the topic to complain about hashtag protests. That's the point of the article, they divorce themselves from even caring about these girls and attack people that care about these girls. Because they saw a picture of Michelle Obama, they grew livid and decided whatever she supports is wrong. It's all about attacking the enemy. I'm sure I could post an article about a racist attacking someone and conservatives would cry foul because I am perceived as their enemy. Wait... that already happened.

jazzflower92 · May 20, 2014

SummerMadness said:
She ties it to Ann Coulter and all the conservative media that applauded her picture. They were happy to tout her reappropriation until the backlash. It is Ann Coulter and her enablers that cheered on a cry for attention. Instead of just supporting or ignoring the movement, they took a me first attitude and used it as a chance to make a political attack. The girls are meaningless, all that matters is they attack their enemies.

Conservative media chose quite the topic to complain about hashtag protests. That's the point of the article, they divorce themselves from even caring about these girls and attack people that care about these girls. Because they saw a picture of Michelle Obama, they grew livid and decided whatever she supports is wrong. It's all about attacking the enemy. I'm sure I could post an article about a racist attacking someone and conservatives would cry foul because I am perceived as their enemy. Wait... that already happened.

You really should see Norman Chromsky who does some of the stuff that Ann Coulter does but is praised for it.

Sketcher · May 20, 2014

I think this pretty much nails it.

Fed Up Army Ranger’s Stark Response to #BringBackOurGirls Shows the Vanity of ‘Hashtag Activism’

Showing a response like Mrs. Obama's does nothing to bring them back. It amounts to crying about it without actually doing anything about it. I'll bet Boko Haram just loves this.

SummerMadness · May 20, 2014

Sketcher said:
I think this pretty much nails it.

Fed Up Army Rangers Stark Response to #BringBackOurGirls Shows the Vanity of Hashtag Activism

You're right, this does nail it. It's about me, me, me. Changing of "our" to "your" pretty much confirms the point made in the article.

Sketcher · May 20, 2014

SummerMadness said:
You're right, this does nail it. It's about me, me, me. Changing of "our" to "your" pretty much confirms the point made in the article.

Read the rest of the sign, and the rest of my edited post.

iluvatar5150 · May 20, 2014

jazzflower92 said:
Or maybe people shouldn't tie every conservative to Ann Coutler. Or think that's how they all feel. Not to mention Trayvon Martin thing was very much a sensationalized event. It seems she is doing to the same thing that she claims conservatives are doing which is lumping people all together.

"WILL: Power is the ability to achieve intended effects. And this is not intended to have any effect on the real world. It's a little bit like environmentalism has become. But the incandescent light bulb becomes the enemy. It has no effect whatever on the planet, but it makes people feel good about themselves."

And here is what he was trying to say is that even though its good to show awareness he believes that the hastag movement won't in the end do anything to bring back these girls.

At best, George Will is ignorant. He's ignorant about the effects of the energy draw of incandescent bulbs and he's ignorant about the potential effects of "hashtag activism." But others went farther - Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh went farther and lots of their followers agreed, even on this board.

wintermile · May 21, 2014

jazzflower92 said:
You really should see Norman Chromsky who does some of the stuff that Ann Coulter does but is praised for it.

What's with the bankrupt vocabulary? Reading Chomsky's work might help with that. Chomsky does not whine; and he is on record for upholding citizens' rights.

Redac · May 21, 2014

jazzflower92 said:
You really should see Norman Chromsky who does some of the stuff that Ann Coulter does but is praised for it.

Leaving aside that Chomsky isn't really a liberal, what exactly does he do that Coulter does? At least he has insightful analysis on some topics, which is more than I've ever seen Ann Coulter provide.

stamperben · May 21, 2014

em·pa·thy

noun \ˈem-pə-thē\ : the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions : the ability to share someone else's feelings

Full Definition of EMPATHY

1: the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it

2: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the capacity for this

After years of being on this "christian" forum and seeing the responses of conservative "christian" posters I will venture that they do indeed have a certain amount of empathy, but only for their own, whether that be by race or class. It seems for them even a bond such as belief in Jesus won't bring about that understanding and sharing of another's emotions or experiences. If it were to twist their political POV then they stuff that supposed god given emotion of sharing in another person's pain.

XB3LI3V3RX · May 21, 2014

stamperben said:
em·pa·thy noun \'em-p?-th?\ : the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions : the ability to share someone else's feelings Full Definition of EMPATHY 1: the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it 2: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the capacity for this After years of being on this "christian" forum and seeing the responses of conservative "christian" posters I will venture that they do indeed have a certain amount of empathy, but only for their own, whether that be by race or class. It seems for them even a bond such as belief in Jesus won't bring about that understanding and sharing of another's emotions or experiences. If it were to twist their political POV then they stuff that supposed god given emotion of sharing in another person's pain.

Oh boy more generalizations and lies...

Sistrin · May 21, 2014

Sketcher said:
I think this pretty much nails it.

Yep. As a former 1/75th member I agree with that sentiment 100 percent. This hashtag campaign does nothing but allow a few people to feel good about themselves. It will not bring about the release of those girls.

Like the Ranger in the picture said, highly trained operatives will. But we are in a Democratic administration so the military is largely to be used to either deflect from a scandal or improve poll numbers.

stamperben · May 21, 2014

XB3LI3V3RX said:
Oh boy more generalizations and lies...

Prove me wrong then, while noting I didn't say ALL conservatives or ALL christians.

Joykins · May 21, 2014

There does appear to be a certain subset of people who call themselves conservative who seem to take delight in being jerks. On the other hand, I don't think most thoughtful conservatives are really like that. Mobs and demagogues like Coulter, on the other hand...

XB3LI3V3RX · May 21, 2014

stamperben said:
Prove me wrong then, while noting I didn't say ALL conservatives or ALL christians.

You said conservative Christians on CF which is quite a few of us on here.

Do Conservatives Have Any Empathy At All?

Senior Veteran

Junior Member

Work-in-progress

Senior Veteran

Work-in-progress

Animal Lover

Senior Veteran

Junior Member

Born Imperishable

Senior Veteran

Born Imperishable

Well-Known Member

Bioconservative

Regular Member

It's an old family tradition

Animal Lover

We are such stuff as dreams are made on...

It's an old family tradition

free Crazy Liz!

Animal Lover

Similar threads