Reading this article,
Why are liberals so rude to the right? (H/T:
Instapundit), made me think of a lot of encounters:
Liberals have no shame. A dinner guest in our home stood up at the
table, clinked his wine glass and said, "It shows how stupid the
American people are, they voted for Bush twice." He turned to me,
smirking, and said, "I know you voted for him." A biochemist who had
been too busy learning liberal doctrine instead of the basic manners of
being a guest.
We also had dinner with a couple who spent the
evening trashing Rudy Giulliani, claiming that the former mayor of New
York had nothing to do with turning the city around, even though he took
office in a crime-ridden city and stepped down when it was safe. It
would have happened anyhow, they said. As we said goodnight in the
driveway, one said with a grin, "We like you even if you are
Republicans."
Upon proudly telling a good friend that I had just certified to teach NRA Basic Pistol, his immediate response was, "Oh, then I guess you'll be teaching the NRA's anti-Democrat agenda, as well." Thanks for the encouragement and way to sway me to your political side.
It
really made me think back to an encounter my mother had during the 2004 election cycle.
She'd spent the morning back-road driving my sister, who no longer can drive and is terrified of highways, from Taunton into Boston for medical issues. She'd dropped Didda off at the entrance to the medical center and went out to find appropriate parking. Of course, my mom's ailing Rav-4 was sporting a Bush/Cheney 2004 bumper sticker.
As she was backing into a spot, she noticed a woman looking at her bumper sticker from the sidewalk. Steeling herself, my mom got out to feed the meter and the woman approached.
"I'm sure you don't mind that I spit on your sticker," she said.
My mom replied something along the lines of, "If that's what makes you happy, Toots."
The woman then proceeded to self-righteously lambast my mother as being some "...corporate wife, who's never had to work a day in her life!"
My mother was in her late 60s at the time, sported enough metal in one knee and shin to practically get her strip-searched by the TSA, raised 3 children (one of whom suffered a traumatic brain injury at age16, as a result of a nearly-blind elderly driver who never should've been on the road), helped put yours truly through college [note: I can never say thanks enough, mom & dad!], pretty much raised my sister's 3 children, continues to raise my sister in various ways, helps my eldest niece with the great-granddaughter, and continues to work as an ER nurse to this very day.
Look in the f#cking mirror, lady. Way to persuade my mom to your side of the argument, Toots.
