# Ronald Reagan's Birthday **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 6, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948 "2010-02-06T20:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/201 "2010-02-23T09:11:29Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I really don’t think Americans have an idea of how \*much \*Reagan is hated overseas. Well, I know he was hated here in SA (with good reason - the fucker really was a racist, supremacist shithead), and in the UK too (probably his close association with Thatcher had something to do with that) He was also well-loved over here. Like Thatcher, a very polarising figure. > [@](#): > > Rot in Peace, Ronnie, you senile, doddering old fool. I hope your last years were an endless nightmare of pain and confusion. I thought you better than that. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2010, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/202 "2010-02-23T09:18:10Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I thought you better than that. What’s wrong with despising him? Plenty of people have good reason to. I recall a San Francisco gay talk show host got in trouble for singing “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” on air when Reagan died. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/203 "2010-02-23T12:06:35Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I thought you better than that. Nope. I’m a pacifist, but I’m not a saint. I take great joy in the suffering of my enemies, sometimes. I’ll probably regret it next week, but this week, I dunno - I’m feeling uncharitable to all the old White men (and women - let’s not forget Maggie) who’ve fucked us all over for too long. Right now, I’ve got New Model Army’s _[Vengeance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdB-3kB3irE)_ on, and I’m feeling my oats, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/204 "2010-02-23T12:36:32Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > What’s wrong with despising him? Plenty of people have good reason to. You can despise someone without wishing them active ill. And I don’t know anyone apart from **Quartz** (and a few people too young to actually remember him) in the UK who admires Reagan, but then I move in fairly moderate to left-wing circles. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/205 "2010-02-24T02:59:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I think you may want to replace that bolded word with "rigid ideologically-driven ", there’s nothing “idealistic” about the low motives of standard conservative foreign policy. It’s all about the almighty dollar for them. > > That and a pathological hatred of people with more melanin in their skins. Look at St Ron, Long May He Rot. Or Cheney, Satan’s Own Dick. Benjamins and Brown People. That’s the story. > > So stop seeing the world in black and white. \*Especially \*when your own side is definitely _ **not** _ the side of the angels. We’re not saints but we’re better than the communists and the Islamists. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > What’s wrong with despising him? Plenty of people have good reason to. > > I recall a San Francisco gay talk show host got in trouble for singing “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” on air when Reagan died. Why can’t both conservatives and liberals separate politics from personal like or dislike? Plus does this mean you would not mind if I for instance said it was good that Jimmy Carter died? ---
**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:** [February 24, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/206 "2010-02-24T05:22:34Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Why can’t both conservatives and liberals separate politics from personal like or dislike? Because politics heavily involve morality, and quite often the political opposition is corrupt or outright evil. > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Plus does this mean you would not mind if I for instance said it was good that Jimmy Carter died? What did Carter do? If you could give an actual sensible reason, no I wouldn’t care. But where are his victims? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/207 "2010-02-24T05:45:54Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Originally Posted by MrDibble View Post > I think you may want to replace that bolded word with "rigid ideologically-driven ", there’s nothing “idealistic” about the low motives of standard conservative foreign policy. It’s all about the almighty dollar for them. > > That and a pathological hatred of people with more melanin in their skins. Look at St Ron, Long May He Rot. Or Cheney, Satan’s Own Dick. Benjamins and Brown People. That’s the story. > > **So stop seeing the world in black and white.** \ This is really funny. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/45deac/32.png) [@Evil\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_One)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/208 "2010-02-24T14:07:19Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’m feeling uncharitable to all the old White men (and women - let’s not forget Maggie) who’ve fucked us all over for too long. How adorable. And how is it that these “old white men” have accomplished this feat? By getting jobs that increased in responsibility and influence as they got older? Or by running for office and getting elected by a majority of the voters? But you’ve apparently seen through these evil folks Dibble. Did you peek into the window of their mansions they “built on the backs of their victims” to see them lighting cigars with hundred dollar bills? People that want to turn to racism to blame others for the world not being the way they want it to be amuse me. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/209 "2010-02-25T00:50:57Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Because politics heavily involve morality, and quite often the political opposition is corrupt or outright evil. Which is exactly what Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck would say. Both sides’ extreme partisans believe that their political ideas are utterly infallible and wise and it must be imposed on all. Where are the 1950s politics where people on the opposing sides did not hate or scream at each other and just thought “Maybe they are wrong but we can compromise with them.” > [@](#): > > What did Carter do? If you could give an actual sensible reason, no I wouldn’t care. But where are his victims? I was merely using an example. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/210 "2010-02-25T01:04:34Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Which is exactly what Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck would say. Both sides’ extreme partisans believe that their political ideas are utterly infallible and wise and it must be imposed on all. Where are the 1950s politics where people on the opposing sides did not hate or scream at each other and just thought “Maybe they are wrong but we can compromise with them.” :rolleyes: Yeah, the era of McCarthyism and segregation was known for its tolerance of opposing viewpoints. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/211 "2010-02-25T01:45:11Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > :rolleyes: Yeah, the era of McCarthyism and segregation was known for its tolerance of opposing viewpoints. McCarthy ended up being censured by the Senate and both parties (other than the Dixiecrats such as Thurmond and Wallace) supported desegegration. This was the age of pragmatic centrists like Eisenhower, Nixon, Lodge, Rockefeller, Humphrey, and Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/212 "2010-02-25T15:02:29Z")
> [@Evil\_One](#): > > How adorable. > > And how is it that these “old white men” have accomplished this feat? By getting jobs that increased in responsibility and influence as they got older? Or by running for office and getting elected by a majority of the voters? Well, in the case of St Ronnie, Dick Cheney, Maggie Thatcher, and their supporting governments, it was supporting the Apartheid government in South Africa in the 80s, _over the wishes of the majority of their own people_ and even Congress. So yeah, “majority of the voters”, counts for so much:rolleyes: > [@](#): > > People that want to turn to racism to blame others for the world not being the way they want it to be amuse me. It’s perfectly OK to blame people when\* the thing you’re blaming them\* for is their racism, and you have the evidence to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/213 "2010-02-25T15:05:15Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > McCarthy ended up being censured by the Senate and both parties (other than the Dixiecrats such as Thurmond and Wallace) supported desegegration. This was the age of pragmatic centrists like Eisenhower, Nixon, Lodge, Rockefeller, Humphrey, and Johnson. So you don’t think anyone would have been justified in calling McCarthy a dick? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/214 "2010-02-26T02:08:25Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > So you don’t think anyone would have been justified in calling McCarthy a dick? It’s detrimental to political debate. If you think so in private than it’s fine but if it’s said in public debate it’s uncivic. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/215 "2010-02-26T02:38:24Z")
What about calling them communists? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/216 "2010-02-26T02:40:41Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What about calling them communists? That is a political label and not inherently an insult. For instance you could call McCarthy a paranoid, an authoritarian, a fascist, and etc. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/217 "2010-02-26T06:19:04Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > That is a political label and not inherently an insult. For instance you could call McCarthy a paranoid, an authoritarian, a fascist, and etc. So calling Ronnie a racist and an enabler of worse racists is OK, then. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/218 "2010-02-26T14:22:05Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > It’s detrimental to political debate. If you think so in private than it’s fine but if it’s said in public debate it’s uncivic. At the point where McCarthy was essentially implicating people as Communists or communist sympathizers at random, and often thereby destroying their lives and careers, we were already long past “political debate”. McCarthy’s career came crashing down but the careers of plenty of those who supported his “work” did not - Brent Bozell and William Buckley, for example. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/219 "2010-02-26T19:41:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, we’ve already determined that you place little to no value on human life . . . _Non-American_ human life. Apparently Americans will come and save me from my barbaric life as part of their role as the saviours of humanity, bless 'em. American lives are cool, it’s the deaths of us primitives he brushes off as “minor diplomatic incidents.” ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948/220 "2010-02-27T04:17:05Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > So calling Ronnie a racist and an enabler of worse racists is OK, then. Although that will mean you’re really no better than Joe McCarthy yes it’s fine I suppose. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > At the point where McCarthy was essentially implicating people as Communists or communist sympathizers at random, and often thereby destroying their lives and careers, we were already long past “political debate”. > > McCarthy’s career came crashing down but the careers of plenty of those who supported his “work” did not - Brent Bozell and William Buckley, for example. William Buckley was a fairly pragmatic conservative-a light-year away from Sarah Palin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ronald-reagans-birthday/527948.md?page=12)