# '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:** 3
**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, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/41 "2013-08-25T12:32:57Z")
Conservatives are ornery 'cause of their “Medula Oblongata”! ---
**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, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/42 "2013-08-25T13:03:29Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Conservatives are ornery 'cause of their “Medula Oblongata”! Did you just make a Water Boy reference? I think something’s wrong with YOUR medulla oblongata’! ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/43 "2013-08-25T13:17:11Z")
I agree with the OP, particularly if you apply the comments just to the 50% of what is left of the GOP to whom those remarks are most closely applicable. But. The other 50% panders to those treasonous, insane foolish people and are thus subject to the same criticism. KaPeesh? Far right wingers are surely suffering from a genetic condition identified by neurologists that makes them act like complete idiots and selfish little children. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/44 "2013-08-25T14:56:27Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > 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: Ha. ---
**Author:** ![Reverend\_Meade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Reverend\_Meade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverend_Meade)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/45 "2013-08-25T15:05:11Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Have social conservatives been right about anything in the entire history of mankind? They were against Eugenics. History seems to have backed them on that. ---
**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, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/46 "2013-08-25T15:37:10Z")
> [@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. Occam’s Razor suggests that the simplest explanation is the most preferred. I’m not sure that I see parents teaching political values that persist over development as a simpler explanation than shared genetic factors result in similar neurobiological functioning. In reality, the more likely explanation is that both heritability and environmental factors contribute to an outcome as complex as this. Here’s some of the research and discussion: > **[PLOS One](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/)** [http://lcap.psych.ucla.edu/pdfs/amodio\_natureneuroscience07.pdf](http://lcap.psych.ucla.edu/pdfs/amodio_natureneuroscience07.pdf) [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/09/07/your-brain-on-politics-the-cognitive-neuroscience-of-liberals-and-conservatives/#.UhoVOD\_tm8A](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/09/07/your-brain-on-politics-the-cognitive-neuroscience-of-liberals-and-conservatives/#.UhoVOD_tm8A) ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/47 "2013-08-25T15:41:43Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > OK. I’ll take it lightly. You are mentally ill. Hey fuck off! I’m mentally ill & liberal and I don’t wanna lumped in with the OP! Can’t we call political glossers something else that doesn’t deride the reality challenged? ---
**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, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/48 "2013-08-25T15:46:39Z")
> [@Reverend\_Meade](#): > > They were against Eugenics. History seems to have backed them on that. Hmmm. That seems like an extraordinarily dubious proposition. Is that a joke? ---
**Author:** ![Reverend\_Meade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Reverend\_Meade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverend_Meade)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/49 "2013-08-25T16:18:05Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Hmmm. That seems like an extraordinarily dubious proposition. Is that a joke? No. Eugenics was considered a Progressive innovation. We were going to improve humanity through Science! This is now generally seen to have issues. ---
**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, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/50 "2013-08-25T16:23:32Z")
> [@Reverend\_Meade](#): > > No. Eugenics was considered a Progressive innovation. We were going to improve humanity through Science! > > This is now generally seen to have issues. I’ll try to be clearer. Cite evidence for your assertion. ---
**Author:** ![Reverend\_Meade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Reverend\_Meade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverend_Meade)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/51 "2013-08-25T16:35:53Z")
Prominent Progressives Pro-Eugenics; Margaret Sanger Marie Stopes H. G. Wells Norman Haire Havelock Ellis Theodore Roosevelt George Bernard Shaw Sidney Webb ---
**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, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/52 "2013-08-25T16:36:31Z")
> [@Reverend\_Meade](#): > > No. Eugenics was considered a Progressive innovation. We were going to improve humanity through Science! > > This is now generally seen to have issues. I agree. But what conservative position was the alternative to eugenics? The sad reality is that pretty much everyone back then was racist. Progressives tried to justify their racism with science while conservatives just relied on tradition. Eugenics was bad. But so was the idea that black people were inferior because their ancestor saw Noah naked. ---
**Author:** ![Reverend\_Meade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Reverend\_Meade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverend_Meade)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/53 "2013-08-25T16:46:38Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I agree. But what conservative position was the alternative to eugenics? Well, the Catholic position was “Public magistrates have no direct power over the bodies of their subjects; therefore, where no crime has taken place and there is no cause present for grave punishment, they can never directly harm, or tamper with the integrity of the body, either for the reasons of eugenics or for any other reason.” make of that what you will. Generally my impression is that Conservatives didn’t like the idea of someone else having control of whether or not any given person could have kids. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The sad reality is that pretty much everyone back then was racist. Progressives tried to justify their racism with science while conservatives just relied on tradition. > > Eugenics was bad. But so was the idea that black people were inferior because their ancestor saw Noah naked. True enough. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/54 "2013-08-25T16:59:21Z")
> [@Reverend\_Meade](#): > > Prominent Progressives N.B.: “Progressive” in the modern, left-liberal or social-democratic sense is a very different thing from [Progressive Era](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_era) progressivism. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/55 "2013-08-25T17:06:51Z")
No true Scotsman supported eugenics. Regards, Shodan ---
**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, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/56 "2013-08-25T17:17:13Z")
Three things: First, here’s your original claim: > [@Reverend Meade](#): > > They were against Eugenics. Note that “they” refers to conservatives. Here’s your support for the claim: > [@Reverend\_Meade](#): > > Prominent Progressives Pro-Eugenics; > Margaret Sanger > Marie Stopes > H. G. Wells > Norman Haire > Havelock Ellis > Theodore Roosevelt > George Bernard Shaw > Sidney Webb Can you spot the inconsistency in your claim versus your support for your claim? Secondly, my guess is that you took your list from [Wikipedia’s page on eugenics.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics) You appear to have selectively excised certain members of that list. Thirdly, the next paragraph from the Wikipedia page lists prominent opponents of eugenics. These examples are decidedly not conservatives. ---
**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, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/57 "2013-08-25T17:19:09Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No true Scotsman supported eugenics. > > Regards, > Shodan Was there a claim made about who supported eugenics? Are you capable of reading and comprehending basic English? I know that it’s possible that an overactive limbic system can impair executive function, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/58 "2013-08-25T17:45:39Z")
So… if being conservative turns out to be a result of genetics, would it be possible for a person to be a liberal trapped in a conservative’s body? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/59 "2013-08-25T18:07:11Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > So… if being conservative turns out to be a result of genetics, would it be possible for a person to be a liberal trapped in a conservative’s body? And is there a surgical solution? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/60 "2013-08-25T18:09:27Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Accusing dopers of being “mentally ill” in GD is certainly a violation of board rules . . . OTOH, saying “Transgenders are mentally ill” is not, even if some Dopers are openly transgendered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083.md?page=4)