# 'Conservatism' is mental illness. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 24, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083 "2013-08-24T20:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/21 "2013-08-24T23:29:23Z")
> [@Karrius](#): > > Not only that, but literally every single thread on Chelsea Manning pretty much contains some form of it, too - it started well before that thread, that was just my tipping point of “Fuck all of you stupid fucks forever”. [Moderating] **Karrius** , we have a rule in the Pit about parody threads, that requires that they include a link to the thread being parodied. No warning issued, and I’ll insert a link in your OP for you, but please try to this in mind in the future. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/22 "2013-08-24T23:37:32Z")
> [@Karrius](#): > > I strongly support political freedom, but I can’t help but agree strongly with the basic facts that being conservative means you’re mentally ill. Let’s look at the facts; > > Conservatives tend to believe in non-existent creatures that they think whisper to them that noone else can hear. > > Conservatives believe in giant conspiracies on every level - in the UN, in the US government, in schools, etc, and react violently as cause of these delusions. > > Conservatives don’t believe in cause and effect, and think that other people getting married can ruin their marriage, or cause them to drive drunk. > > Conservatives don’t believe in basic scientific facts, and instead blame facts they don’t like on even more non-existent creatures manipulating people, or vast conspiracies again. > > Conservatives can be told something, and have it explained, but then forget it in later threads, or even just a few posts later - they clearly have severe memory or mental issues. > > Conservatives have such a strong feeling of things having to be a specific way that they’ll attempt to ruin and change the lives of others to suit this, like some hyper-exaggerated form of ADD that instead causes them to control the lives of others. > > Conservatives believe in things that physically don’t exist, and continue to insist that they do, attacking and screaming at anyone who points out they are wrong. > > Conservatives are extremely emotional and irrationally violent, literally cheering and applauding when they hear about hate crimes committed on other people. > > What should we do with these people who are clearly mentally ill? > > (note: my apologies to the _actually_ mentally ill, but I wanted to turn the hatespeech that’s been going on recently back on the speakers) > > Mod edit: [link to parodied thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700295) All true except that you are describing RWs, not conservatives. Not the same thing. Conservatives are cautious. Conservatives are suspicious of rapid change and radical measures. RWs **demand** them. No **conservative** would ever cry “End the Fed!” or “Molon labe!” or “Drown it in a bathtub!” At present the GOP appears split between the two. ---
**Author:** ![Karrius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71c47a/32.png) [@Karrius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karrius)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/23 "2013-08-24T23:37:46Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [Moderating] > **Karrius** , we have a rule in the Pit about parody threads, that requires that they include a link to the thread being parodied. No warning issued, and I’ll insert a link in your OP for you, but please try to this in mind in the future. > [/Moderating] I was not aware of that rule. I apologize. I will also add that it was meant to include stuff from these threads (the first of which is in GD): > **[Bradley Manning verdict is in - 35 years for leaking info; will ask Obama for...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700122)** > > Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for releasing classified info. He plans to request a pardon from Obama. I would be very surprised if Obama intervenes in this case, but the New Yorker argues history will pardon Manning even... > **[Bradley Manning](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700142)** > > Read the news this morning, claiming that the traitor Bradley Manning wants to live as a woman and be called by a girl’s name. Dear Bradley Manning, I do not give two squirts of runny shit what you think or what you want. Fuck you. The end. Like: > [@](#): > > I wonder, if he really, really wanted to be a Poodle, would he request to be held in a pound/kennel? Would the Army have to give him distemper shots and groom him? > [@](#): > > Yeah, I picked the wrong term there. What is the proper term for believing you are something you are not? > [@](#): > > I just wonder if treating gender identity disorder differently is based on political motivations and is actually harming the patients. > [@](#): > > That’s all very fascinating, but I don’t see why it means that allowing someone to live as their preferred gender means society is obliged to act as if their biological sex has changed. > [@](#): > > If he wanted to live as a woman, he should have made that decision before he stole classified information and gave it to Wikileaks. The Army is under no obligation to play along with his fantasies at this time, and they certainly don’t need to be paying for him to have surgery - he can deal with that when he’s 60 and they let him out. ETC, ETC, ETC. These were all from conservative posters, even though the thread I chose to parody wasn’t. But don’t get me wrong - SlackerInc is a giant dumbass, and likely the _majority_ of liberals are, too, in this regards. But the liberals aren’t screaming about persecution on this board, and so weren’t useful for the thread. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/24 "2013-08-24T23:58:08Z")
Have social conservatives been right about anything in the entire history of mankind? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/25 "2013-08-25T00:14:10Z")
“People who disagree with me are insane/monsters/criminal and should be punished for it, if not considered less than Human” Yup, every goddamned time. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/26 "2013-08-25T00:22:24Z")
> [@Karrius](#): > > Thread; not to be taken seriously. I guess I wasn’t entirely clear. This thread is to make fun of the fact that it is apparently totally OK in great debates to repeatedly insist that other dopers are mentally ill. While the most obvious thread in question wasn’t started by a conservative it’s being championed by them, and they started the claims of mental illness in other threads before it, earlier this week. Not much glory in making fun of conservatives in a predominantly liberal board like this one. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/27 "2013-08-25T00:36:14Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Have social conservatives been right about anything in the entire history of mankind? Well, I’m sure they’ve shot down some truly awful ideas from time to time. God damn it Jim, we do NOT need another Jell-O sex barn for mid-year audits. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/28 "2013-08-25T00:51:00Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Well, I’m sure they’ve shot down some truly awful ideas from time to time. > > God damn it Jim, we do NOT need another Jell-O sex barn for mid-year audits. Just another time they were wrong, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/29 "2013-08-25T01:25:42Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I think you’re a lying sack of shit. I think you meant and truly believe exactly what you posted in the OP, and when you caught called on it, you’re scrambling to cover your ass. I bet you were fooled by Jon Swift as well. I saw the parody aspect immediately. I think you are clueless at times Oakminster (as are we all) and that you have insufficient self-knowledge with regards to such tendencies (which if correct deserves to be rectified. Right?) ETA: Here is the tell, but frankly I had caught on earlier: > [@Karrius](#): > > (note: my apologies to the _actually_ mentally ill, but I wanted to turn the hatespeech that’s been going on recently back on the speakers) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/30 "2013-08-25T01:54:41Z")
> [@Karrius](#): > > What the fuck did you think that was referring to, and why the fuck would I specifically copy the wording in the first line of the other “Hate speech” thread if I wasn’t trying to make a point? I don’t read every thread on this board. Had no idea what you were on about. Took it at face value, which I still believe is they way you intended it to be taken. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/31 "2013-08-25T02:07:04Z")
sometime ago, so no cite or good recollection of details, i read an article looking at amygdala differences in people and their political spectrum position. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/32 "2013-08-25T04:41:43Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > sometime ago, so no cite or good recollection of details, i read an article looking at amygdala differences in people and their political spectrum position. There’s evidence of a structurally larger and more functionally active amygdala in conservatives. They react differently to cognitive tests of faces, threats and risky decision making. The larger role of the amygdala is in accord with greater fearful responses to stimuli. This is also in accord with a separate line of literature in personality research that shows more anxiety and fear among those with conservative political orientations. Functionally, it is consistent with their typical behaviors and preferences; order, stability and sameness reduce anxiety. Novelty and the strange provoke it. Liberals show higher activity in the anterior cingulate, which is associated with emotional regulation, tolerance for ambiguity, and flexibility in decision making and problem solving. Interestingly in one study on risky decision making, the subjects actual choices did not significantly differ, even though the brain function underneath it varied in terms of amygdala function versus ACC. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/33 "2013-08-25T05:08:26Z")
Ok, I didn’t realize that the OP was a parody post. However, there are certain tenets to right-wing conservatism that I have trouble figuring out how to reconcile with the thought processes of a rational, sane mind: Racism Homophobia Sexism Rabid anger and hatred of anything that could be interpreted as “Liberal” Violence Anti-intellectualism I mean I’m a jerk about a great many things. But I don’t advocate my jerkiness as a viable political philosophy. Certain topics like abortion or gun control or the economy, sure. I can see various sides to those arguments. But when I see right wing conservatives making various crazy hate-filled statements online or turn on Fox News for any length of time, to me they sound like lunatics. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/34 "2013-08-25T05:26:45Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > “People who disagree with me are insane/monsters/criminal and should be punished for it, if not considered less than Human” > > Yup, every goddamned time. :rolleyes: People who try to oppress, harm and exploit others are certainly not very nice - and that’s conservatism. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/35 "2013-08-25T06:01:16Z")
A conservative seeks to maintain the status quo, maintain continuity and emphasize stability. The GOP wants America to be 1950 again, and that is called being reactionary. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/36 "2013-08-25T06:30:32Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > There’s evidence of a structurally larger and more functionally active amygdala in conservatives… I think the Occam’s Razor explanation is kids usually believe what their parents believe. But I’d love to see a cite for inherent brain differences resulting in specific political affiliation. If you have a reputable one. ---
**Author:** ![Werekoala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@Werekoala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werekoala)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/37 "2013-08-25T06:47:46Z")
My God, he’s figured it all out - how could you all have been so soft as to let him post something like this on the Intertubes for all to read and be exposed to the unvarnished Truth of Conservative Thought? You know, of course, that after the Right Wing Hit Squads take him down, you’re all next. Better to take your capsules and crush them between your teeth (after mercifully killing your families) that try to resist punishment for your transgressions. I’m very, VERY disappointed in all of you. No post-Rapture salvation, or cookies. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/38 "2013-08-25T07:33:44Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > But I’d love to see a cite for inherent brain differences resulting in specific political affiliation. It applies to pretty much anything. If you practice certain skills, like music or math, you can change those areas of the brain. Although I suspect he’s thinking certain people’s brain come like that out of the box and not that thinking in a certain way for a long time changes the brain to that state. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/39 "2013-08-25T10:52:44Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I think the Occam’s Razor explanation is kids usually believe what their parents believe. But I’d love to see a cite for inherent brain differences resulting in specific political affiliation. If you have a reputable one. :dubious: There’s been quite a few news stories on various studies claiming there are such differences; **Hentor the Barbarian** wasn’t just making things up. Or even making a particularly obscure claim. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/40 "2013-08-25T12:21:58Z")
Pretty much every other personality characteristic has some genetic components. Why wouldn’t conservatism? It’d actually be _really weird_ if it _DIDN’T_. That’s not to say it’s all genetic. Few personality traits are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083.md?page=3)