Steve Gilliard posts a psychological profile of the 101st Fighting Keyboarders:
Then I thought back to high school and realized that all of the proto-Republicans were guys, nerds, who were physically slight, not fat, and had even less hope of getting laid than I and my friends did.As long as we're trading in stereotypes in the first place, it would be absurd to call one 'right' or another 'wrong'. That said, my own conception of proto-Republicans is entirely different: jocks, bullies, kids too stupid to have any real notion about how the world works other than through physical force. The unpopular, nerdish, loner kids were mostly too smart to be Republicans.
They weren't popular or funny or even pleasant to be around. They were, for lack of a better word, schmucks.
Gilliard is absolutely correct in identifying cowardice as an essential component in the personality makeup of the Republican cheerleaders. I think he is wrong in associating that with physical weakness and social ineptitude (both of which, I have to say, I considered positive virtues when I was in high school).
Proto-Republicans are well-integrated into the high school social apparatus; they have to be, because they are like dogs, creatures that gravitate instinctively toward hierarchical social structures (most as followers, some as sadistic leaders), and they lack the courage to exist alone. Proto-Republicans are often bullies, believers in the efficacy of violence who are too cowardly to practice it in any situation where they themselves might be hurt. Proto-Republicans are often jocks, true believers in the inherently Fascist cult of physical achievement and the insano-American ideal of competition.
The kids you see off by themselves, shunned by everyone else? Odds are pretty good they're thinking for themselves...which pretty much disqualifies them as Republicans. Be kind to them; someday they may have a liberal blog.
[That's all, folks]
|