# What are we to do with these insects we refer to as Republicans? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2019, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076 "2019-10-01T04:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [October 1, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/41 "2019-10-01T16:59:20Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Serious question here: If Trump-loving Republicans (which is just about all of them) honestly believe the above – and I think they do – why do they believe it? What do they think is the advantage to liberals for giving free money to immigrants in return for voter fraud? Yeah, if true that would help the liberals get and retain power, but to what end? Why do they think we want their deadend jobs, their nonexistent money, their uneducated children, the religious book they love without ever really understanding its basic message? What do they think the liberal endgame is? > > (You’ll note I didn’t mention wanting their guns. If the only way to minimize the number of idiots who shoot up shopping malls and schools and places of worship is to take away their guns, then I think we should just take them away.) Well, based on the members of my extended family who falls into this category, the answer seems to be “Liberals hate America and want to destroy it”. When pressed for further detail, the underlying assumption is simply that liberals are evil, deluded, stupid or all three. It is not a particularly rational or well-evidenced position, but then this is the demographic who thinks that Jeanine Pirro repeatedly screeching “DEMONRATS!” at the screen is worth watching. The sad thing is that (some of) these family members are intelligent, accomplished individuals, and some of them I respect greatly for things they have done. But get them onto the political narratives they’re being fed by FoxNews day in and day out and suddenly they lose all ability to think critically and go into hate-filled rants about the immigrant invasion instead. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/42 "2019-10-01T17:05:06Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Non-Player Characters? Yes, and frankly, the term’s use as a pejorative offends me - not as a liberal, but as a D&D player. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/43 "2019-10-01T17:07:07Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Serious question here: If Trump-loving Republicans (which is just about all of them) honestly believe the above – and I think they do – why do they believe it? Because they have been told to (repeatedly, over and over again) by media sources. The axiom is that a message repeated often enough eventually sinks in, and if you inject the message with enough emotional content (outrage) then is will sink in faster and deeper. That is all there is to it. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/44 "2019-10-01T17:07:33Z")
> [@Mr.Greenjeans](#): > > Let me try it this way: > All the red hat wearing, Obama hating, Q believers who enjoy the taste of liberal tears and likely never paid much attention to politics before Trump—how do they become good political citizens? They don’t. Time for them to scuttle back under whatever rock they used to hide under. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/45 "2019-10-01T17:10:24Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > This is that extreme intolerance of the right that people were insisting doesn’t exist in the other thread. Gotta tolerate the intolerance? Oh bullshit. Fucking bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/46 "2019-10-01T17:20:20Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > \ A “locust” is an insect; a “[thorny locust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_locust)” is a tree. (Description may not literally apply to the poster of that name.) Admittedly, I doubt it would be useful to refer to all Republicans as being trees, either; though it would more likely lead to confusion than to insult. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/47 "2019-10-01T17:29:36Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > Never mind that by talking about any issue in this way (us good, they evil - start the tribunals) you are destroying the fabric of American society, and making civilized political discourse increasingly impossible. Cue the chorus of:”not us, it’s them! They did it first, worse!” Which may well be true, but ignores the fact that the only behavior you can control is your own. Turn the other cheek! Let them for **years** call you not a “real American”, disloyal, America-hating, etc. but don’t dare say a single bad thing about them or you’ll lose their support! :dubious: Ignore that they’re not merely talking but using those slanderous characterizations of a significant part of the American populace to justify their leaders’ increasing disenfranchisement of anyone not like them. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/48 "2019-10-01T17:32:00Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Turn the other cheek! Let them for **years** call you not a “real American”, disloyal, America-hating, etc. but don’t dare say a single bad thing about them or you’ll lose their support! :dubious: Ignore that they’re not merely talking but using those slanderous characterizations of a significant part of the American populace to justify their leaders’ increasing disenfranchisement of anyone not like them. :rolleyes: Well, fuck them. Assholes. All of them. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/49 "2019-10-01T17:37:05Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > It is amazing. We have a guy in office who should be the most easily defeated candidate in a re-election campaign ever, and some of you have found the one sure-fire way to put that in doubt: helping him with an us-vs-them narrative that will help a lot of people ignore the things that matter. > Never mind that by talking about any issue in this way (us good, they evil - start the tribunals) you are destroying the fabric of American society, and making civilized political discourse increasingly impossible. Cue the chorus of:”not us, it’s them! They did it first, worse!” Which may well be true, but ignores the fact that the only behavior you can control is your own. Polarization, the destruction of the position in the middle, is inherently a bad thing. The notion that compromise, insufficient zeal, and anything but the most extreme position is weak, unworthy or even evil is the space that should be reserved for teenagers and the mentally unhinged. It is no way to (try to) run a country. One of the characteristics of Homo Sapiens is that it modifies its environment to suit its desires, I think that’s at play on the issue you describe. As far as I have seen Trump is a consequence of the behaviour shown on the OP and many of the replies in support of it. that kind of mentality doesn’t spring into existence out of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/50 "2019-10-01T17:53:27Z")
These people posting in this thread that don’t wholesale condemn dehumanzing those they disagree with as stated in the OP, says a lot more about them than the target of the genocidal ire: Smapti GuanoLad BobLibDem Mr. Greenjeans octopus TriPolar Horatius bobot enipla Gyrate El Kabong cmyk Babale Little Nemo Anny Middon manson1972 Icarus SteveG1 John Bredin Ale > [@I forget, do we have a general HurricaneDitka Pit thread?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-forget-do-we-have-a-general-hurricaneditka-pit-thread/805952/1166): > > So once again, I think your characterization of the board is false. Shitty and bigoted posts are usually called out, even when they’re made on the “liberal” side. Is this where you point out the “usually” part? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/51 "2019-10-01T18:02:08Z")
Perhaps the solution to Republicans being dehumanized would be for them to act more human and stop supporting fascism and bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/52 "2019-10-01T18:07:28Z")
I wholesale condemn dehumanizing those they disagree with as stated in the OP. I also retail condemn it. Happy? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/53 "2019-10-01T18:13:13Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I don’t care if Republicans are the most repugnant humans to ever live, referring to any group as insects or vermin [is](https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/image/when-vermin-are-dead-der-st-rmer-antisemitic-cartoon)[never](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/rwanda-shows-how-hateful-speech-leads-violence/587041/)[cool](https://qz.com/1706106/hong-kong-police-call-protesters-cockroaches/). Can’t disagree with this. Actually, I wouldn’t even use the word “insects” to refer to the people I \*am \*in favor of killing. They’re human beings; no matter how loathsome they may be, they were still made in God’s image, and if you’re conscience can’t deal with their demise, maybe you should reconsider your beliefs. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/54 "2019-10-01T18:19:33Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > These people posting in this thread that don’t wholesale condemn dehumanzing those they disagree with as stated in the OP, says a lot more about them than the target of the genocidal ire: > > Smapti > GuanoLad > BobLibDem > Mr. Greenjeans > octopus > TriPolar > Horatius > bobot > enipla > Gyrate > **El Kabong** > cmyk > Babale > Little Nemo > Anny Middon > manson1972 > Icarus > SteveG1 > John Bredin > Ale > > Is this where you point out the “usually” part? My bolding. **Bone** , what the hell? I’m sorry if I didn’t come off as sufficiently angry for your tastes, but I find it hard to believe anyone could read my post as supportive of the OP. Nevertheless, I am for clarity, not confusion. I therefore “hearby” condemn **asahi** for posting unreasonable, outraged shit in that bastion of decorum the Pit, of all places. I hope that puts me back in your good graces; I’ll pretend I give a rat’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/55 "2019-10-01T18:25:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t think this is true anymore. > > We had a thread a few weeks back asking what conservative political values were. And we got conservatives posting that this was just another liberal attack thread. But the thing I noticed is that none of them could articulate a conservative political value; at least nothing that wasn’t a general political value that everyone shared. That’s because we are in a global political realignment that is triggered, in part, by economic and cultural insecurities. New coalitions are forming. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/56 "2019-10-01T18:28:35Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Serious question here: If Trump-loving Republicans (which is just about all of them) honestly believe the above – and I think they do – why do they believe it? What do they think is the advantage to liberals for giving free money to immigrants in return for voter fraud? Yeah, if true that would help the liberals get and retain power, but to what end? Why do they think we want their deadend jobs, their nonexistent money, their uneducated children, the religious book they love without ever really understanding its basic message? What do they think the liberal endgame is? > > (You’ll note I didn’t mention wanting their guns. If the only way to minimize the number of idiots who shoot up shopping malls and schools and places of worship is to take away their guns, then I think we should just take them away.) Liberal politicians want power. In a democracy you can get power and riches by pandering. Why do you think educated politicians promote policies that they know are counterproductive for society as a whole? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/57 "2019-10-01T18:32:33Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > These people posting in this thread that don’t wholesale condemn dehumanzing those they disagree with as stated in the OP, says a lot more about them than the target of the genocidal ire: > > Smapti > GuanoLad > BobLibDem > Mr. Greenjeans > octopus > TriPolar > Horatius > bobot > enipla > Gyrate > El Kabong > cmyk > Babale > Little Nemo > Anny Middon > manson1972 > Icarus > SteveG1 > John Bredin > Ale > > Is this where you point out the “usually” part? You honestly think I agree with asahi on the subject of Republicans being insects? I disagree that the best way to change asahi’s mind is through vitriol or strong declarative statements. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/58 "2019-10-01T18:32:46Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > My bolding. > > **Bone** , what the hell? Apologies. Should not have included you in that list. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/59 "2019-10-01T18:35:56Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Apologies. Should not have included you in that list. OK, we cool. Asshole (hey, it’s the Pit :p). ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076/60 "2019-10-01T18:37:55Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > You honestly think I agree with asahi on the subject of Republicans being insects? I disagree that the best way to change asahi’s mind is through vitriol or strong declarative statements. Here’s the thing. You’re a fucking moron. In a thread where people are being characterized as vermin, you know, like the Nazis, you think it’s the appropriate time to talk about border walls and taxes. The only response to someone pushing genocide that is reasonable is condemnation. Anything less is contemptible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-we-to-do-with-these-insects-we-refer-to-as-republicans/841076.md?page=4)