# Conservatism Is A Mental Disorder! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 28, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493 "2003-07-28T18:54:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/21 "2003-07-28T21:27:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*But I have been remiss. Mockery and derision is not the proper response to these poor souls, they can’t help it, they are trapped in the remorseless coils of mental illness! > \*\* But mocking and deriding you is still OK, right? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/22 "2003-07-28T21:33:33Z")
Maybe, just this once, the conservatives should look before they vilify ? [Here’s the .pdf](http://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/Jost/_private/Political_Conservatism_as_Motivated_Social_Cognition.pdf) of “Political conservatism as motivated social cognition”. (7.0 Mb) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/23 "2003-07-28T21:34:32Z")
Oh, goodness me, **Friedo** and **El Kabong** don’t like me! Another night of crying myself to sleep, with only the comfort of my banky. And such wit! “You’re an asshole”. Wow, move over, Oscar Wilde. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/24 "2003-07-28T21:36:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squink \* > \*\*Maybe, just this once, the conservatives should look before they vilify ? > [Here’s the .pdf](http://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/Jost/_private/Political_Conservatism_as_Motivated_Social_Cognition.pdf) of “Political conservatism as motivated social cognition”. (7.0 Mb) \*\* Nobody has been mocking the damn study, you little shit. We’re mocking another little shit’s reaction to it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/25 "2003-07-28T21:36:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*But mocking and deriding you is still OK, right? \*\* Sure! Give it yer best shot! I ain’t any more delicate than the usual Texan. But just for a hint: you don’t go hunting bear with rabbit ammo. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/26 "2003-07-28T21:47:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh, goodness me, Friedo and El Kabong don’t like me! Another night of crying myself to sleep, with only the comfort of my banky. > > And such wit! “You’re an asshole”. Wow, move over, Oscar Wilde. Dumbass, I’m not trying to tell you I don’t like you. I’m trying to inform you that you are a colossal dickhead. Only because, you know, you seem unable to recognize this particular aspect of your personality. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/27 "2003-07-28T21:49:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Michael Ellis \* > \*\*Nobody has been mocking the damn study, you little shit. We’re mocking another little shit’s reaction to it. :rolleyes: \*\* [Don’t get out much](http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg072403.asp) [do](http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&edition=us&q=%22Political+conservatism+as+motivated+social+cognition%22) [you ?](http://www.drudgereportArchives.com/dsp/search.htm?searchFor=berkeley) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/28 "2003-07-28T21:52:30Z")
I like how they claimed that Stalin was “really” a conservative. The syllogism goes something like this: Everything bad is conservative. Stalin was bad. Therefore, Stalin was conservative. Yeeeeeeeee-Haaaaaaaah! This article has been going around the conservative blogs the last week or so. I thought about pitting this pathetic example of what passes for higher education in this country myself, but now I don’t have to. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/29 "2003-07-28T21:52:58Z")
Let’s see, one of the traits of conservatism is desire to return to an idyllic past? Gosh… that actually sounds like most of Austin’s aged-hippie leftists- you know, the folks who think the American Indians lived in perfect peace and harmony with nature, and that we should return to that blissful state of nature! And another hallmark of conservatism is resistence to change? well, here in Austin, it’s the old-hippie lefties who are up in arms whenever a developer tries to build something new! See, the hippies want to keep everything in Austin the way they remember it being in the late Sixties. Geez- here I thought the old hippes were left-wingers, when it turns out they’re Republicans! Thanks for setting straight, elucidator! ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/30 "2003-07-28T22:01:23Z")
First, I think that our friend **Elucidator** is seriously misreading a third hand report of a somewhat goofie behavioral-psychological study that was probably somewhat goofie to begin with. This study, as reported, does not support a conclusion that conservatism (small “c”) is a _mental disorder_. Common sense, however, amply supports the conclusion that Conservatism (capitol “c”) is a _personality disorder_ that includes as diagnostic sign an absence of an ability to laugh at one’s self and a tendency toward taking one’s self way too seriously. Second, as demonstration, is not persuasive evidence of the diagnostic sign I offer our friend **freido**. Lighten up, Boyo. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/31 "2003-07-28T22:38:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*Sure! Give it yer best shot! I ain’t any more delicate than the usual Texan. But just for a hint: you don’t go hunting bear with rabbit ammo. \*\* I was thinking it was more like cleaning up mildew with Clorox. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/32 "2003-07-28T22:49:55Z")
**Spav** , of course its goofy! That’s why its fun! As a serious psychological study, it ranks right up there with _Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality_. What, can’t have a little fun busting some chops? Hell, I posted it in the Pit, fer chrissake! Now if some of the Tighty Righties get their panties all in a bunch, well, hell, thats just a bonus! I don’t think conservatives are nuts, I just think they’re wrong. Oh, and **astorian**? We got Willy. You got Tom Dull Lay. Seems right to me. I was born and raised in Waco (quiet little town, you never heard of it, nothing ever happens there…) And let me tell you, if you think being a long hair hippy sumbitch in Texas in 1969 was easy, you got no clue, _companero_. I got good friends who had the living shit kicked out of them by peckerwood baboons, and I’m damned if they didn’t pick themselves up and walk the walk. If you’ve got _cojones_ like that, my hats off to you. As for Austin, it is the home of the most eyeball-searing, heart-breaking, drop dead gorgeous women in the world. Went with some Minnesota friends a while back, it was embarassing to see them step on thier tongues. I’d like to take a stroll down ol’ Gwadaloop myself, but I’ll have to check with my doctor. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/33 "2003-07-28T22:51:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*I was thinking it was more like cleaning up mildew with Clorox. \*\* Wash yer undies more often and you won’t have that problem. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/34 "2003-07-28T22:58:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squink \* > \*\*[Don’t get out much](http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg072403.asp) [do](http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&edition=us&q=%22Political+conservatism+as+motivated+social+cognition%22) [you ?](http://www.drudgereportArchives.com/dsp/search.htm?searchFor=berkeley) \*\* Considering I never read either Drudge Report or National Review, I guess I don’t get out enough. I was talking about this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/35 "2003-07-28T23:11:11Z")
> [@](#): > > …includes as diagnostic sign an absence of an ability to laugh at one’s self and a tendency toward taking one’s self way too seriously. Seriously, now. This is the primary key characteristic of fanatics of both sides. Ever go to a hippy health food/new age shop? Man, those people will give to the Self Righteous Stinkeye faster than you can say “holistic medicine.” I remember getting a hot dog at a stand at the Further Festival in Atlanta some years ago (which was picketed by paying concert-goers. Go figure) and being spit upon by lefty vegan types. Ultra-libbies are some of the most humorless, half-baked (double entendre! Ah!) idiots on the face of the earth. Why? Well, whereas the ultra-conservative is humorless because he thinks he’s doing All-The-Work-Around-Here-And-Just-Who-Do-You-Think-Keeps-A-Roof-Over-Your-Head-Buster-So-Shape-Up, the ultra-liberal is a humorless worrywart who thinks he knows what’s Best For You (and everybody else,) and that by God, there Ought To Be A Law. Both are characterized by their conviction that we’re all going to hell in a handbasket, and both are, by and large, blind fools. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/36 "2003-07-28T23:26:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Spav, of course its goofy! That’s why its fun! As a serious psychological study, it ranks right up there with Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality. What, can’t have a little fun busting some chops? You realize this leaves you without a leg to stand on, yes? I mean, if you totally misread the study, you might idiotically but gleefully use it to try to whack conservatives with. Which frankly is what I thought you were doing, but apparently I give you too much credit. No, you read the study, determine it’s full of shit, and _still_ misrepresent it in order to . . . . Well, it’s not entirely clear _what_ your thoughts were here. I mean, you know the study is crap. You know it doesn’t say what you said that it said. But still, somehow, it justifies some additional pointless, topic-less conservative bashing. Well, heck, if all you need to set you off is a link that has nothing to do with what you actually post, you might try [this one](http://wishbear.net) or [this one](http://www.clevelandstyle.com/phof_001.htm) or [this one](http://www.dartmouth.edu/artsci/engl/engl18/glossary.html). ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/37 "2003-07-28T23:29:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*Wash yer undies more often and you won’t have that problem. \*\* Well, it’s your analogy, not mine, but now that you mention it, I’ve often noticed that the contents of an Elucidator post are remarkably similar to the contents of a particularly ripe pair of shorts. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/38 "2003-07-28T23:31:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\* But just for a hint: you don’t go hunting bear with rabbit ammo. \*\* Funny you should mention bear hunting. About two years ago I was out hunting one of the **big fat stupid ungainly, hateful creatures** I got him in between my sights and pulled the trigger and dropping him like the cantankerous sack of shit he was. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and it was this Kodiak looking fellow, about nine feet tall. The bear said to me: “You really ought not to have done that. Now the law of the forest says that either I have to kill you or… Rape you hard, bear style.” “Well,” I said. “I don’t want to die, so I guess I’ll take the rape.” Boys and girls I am sad to say that that bear had it’s way with me for the next fifteen minutes like only a Kodiak can. When he was done, I pulled my bleeding torn carcass to a hospital where I spent the next sicks weeks in intensive care. When I got out, I had only one thing on my mind. Revenge. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/39 "2003-07-28T23:40:19Z")
Well, it looks like **Ogre** pretty much stole my thunder. Well said, sir. **elucidator** : you’re the **december** of the Left side of the spectrum, as far as these boards are concerned. I hope nobody makes the mistake of taking your views as somehow representative of All Things Liberal. Luckily, your attitude seems to make sure that no one makes that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493/40 "2003-07-28T23:40:23Z")
My, what a grisly experience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-a-mental-disorder/191493.md?page=3)