Are you suffering from BDS?

Gary, over at The Owner's Manual, links to a post I somehow missed from over the weekend. 

Worse than that, the post missed this weekend revisits a topic first talked about nearly two years ago by Charles Krauthammer, one I missed then too. 

Nevertheless, it seems there may be a medical reason for what is ailing so many of our larboard leaning friends:

The psychology of some of the Bush Haters is pretty cut and dried. They hate Bush because he stands between them and the implementation of their collectivist "utopian" vision. I have no time to waste on them, except to note that their intentions are deliberately and decidedly malevolent toward this country. They want it to fail at anything and everything it does and they openly cheer for the barbarians at the gate.

They are indistinguishable from the barbarians we are actively fighting, with the only difference being that they have different ideas about which group of thugs will be in charge of the "utopia". They prefer themselves--a more secularly-oriented set of thugs--to rule.

But what about the average person on the street who has, or has come to have a visceral hatred of President Bush? Perhaps they simply didn't vote for him in 2000, believing the media propaganda or caricature of his intellect and capabilities; or perhaps they simply didn't like him because he was from the opposition party, or a Texan. or any other number of normal reasons.

It seems to me that the Democrats and the Left have used their continuous propaganda well, but there is a also a strong personal psychological factor involved in being able to convince normally sane people that the source of all evil in the world is George W. Bush.

After 9/11, in many cases, even a mild dislike of "W" rapidly morphed into the ferocious Bush hatred we are now all familiar with. The opposition to a conservative Republican; and reasonable disagreement with his policies became a swooning hysteria; and an unmitigated, deranged hatred with all the accompanying paranoid delusions.

...

The number of things that Bush has been blamed for in this world since 9/11 (even acts of God like Tsunamis, hurricanes and other natural disasters) is the stuff of major comedy. You name the horrible event, and he is identified as the etiologic agent.

He is blamed when he does something (anything) and he is blamed when he does nothing. He is blamed for things that ocurred even before he was President, as well as everything that has happened since. He is blamed for things he says; and for things he doesn't say.

What makes Bush Hatred completely insane however, is the almost delusional degree of unremitting certitude of Bush's evil; while simultaneously believing that the TRUE perpetrators of evil in the world are somehow good and decent human beings with the world's intersts at heart.

This psychological defense mechanism is referred to as "displacement".

One way you can usually tell that an individual is using displacement is that the emotion being displaced (e.g., anger) is all out of proportion to the reality of the situation. The purpose of displacement is to avoid having to cope with the actual reality. Instead, by using displacement, an individual is able to still experience his or her anger, but it is directed at a less threatening target than the real cause. In this way, the individual does not have to be responsible for the consequences of his/her anger and feels more safe--even thought that is not the case.

This explains the remarkable and sometimes lunatic appeasement of Islamofascists by so many governments and around the world, while they trash the US and particularly Bush. It explains why there is more emphasis on protecting the "rights" of terrorists, rather than holding them accountable for their actions (thier actions, by the way are also Bush's fault, according to those in the throes of BDS). Our soldiers in Iraq are being killed because of Bush--not because of terrorist intent and behavior. Terrorist activity itself is blamed on Bush no matter where it occurs.

It isn't even a stretch of the imagination for some to blame 9/11 on Bush. This is the insane "logic" of most psychological defense mechanisms. They temporarily spare you from the painful reality around you and give you the illusion that you are still in control.

This is exactly the illusion/delusion circulating in the minds of many of the Bush Haters. They want desperately to forget that there is a tidal wave of terror reverberating around the world and to pretend that everything is America's and Bush's fault. If that is true, then they will still be in control of events.

So what do they do? They lionize terrorists like Zarqawi ("freedom-fighters"). They explain away the horror and brutality by refering to them as "insurgents" and "militants". They support Palestinian suicide bombings as justified and see the Palestinians--not as independent agents acting of choice, but as victims of America and Israel.

They sincerely believe that Osama is a reasonable person and seek dialog with him; but that Bush is not. They threaten violence toward Bush and hold demonstrations; and placate and enable those who would implement Sharia Law in their country without a qualm. Hundreds of their fellow countrymen are murdered by terrorists, but they demand that troops be pulled out of Iraq (thinking that if they hadn't cooperated with the evil BushHitler, their countrymen would have been spared).

There is much more.  I suggest you read it all.

And to those suffering from BDS, might I suggest Panexa?

Comments

[justaguy]

It’s funny that you should use “displacement” in broad generalizations to anyone who finds fault with the chucklehead who sits in the office of President of the United States. Well, not so much funny as sad and ironic.

Is it not obvious that you too are displacing your anger at the extremists toward the Democratic party and those whose views lean still further left? Is it not obvious that the divisions that are so painfully apparent are what breeds extremism. Ranting about the left, and including the Democratic party simply because they have a different view than yours propagates the same hatred, and can or rather is the same extremism you purport to be opposed to.

Extremism is extremism is extremism. Regardless of your faith or political party, if you promote hatred you are an extremist. Where are your Christian values? I don’t hate the Muslims I fought against in Iraq. They had a different opinion than I did.

Though I’m not sure this will have any sort of effect sadly. You are so far into your world of hate and extremism, anything said in difference to your opinion is immediately rejected as valid. The sheik in Fallujah used to do that too.

If you remember anything remember this quote from the Special Operations Warfare Center at Ft. Bragg N.C. “If the world were of one opinion save one. We would have no more right to silence the one, than the one has to silence the world.”

[Rick]

JustaGuy,

You've expressed an opinion here in opposition to opinions I've expressed.

You did so frankly, passionately, some might even say effectively.

Are you then also "so far into your world of hate and extremism, anything said in difference to your opinions is immediately rejected as valid"?

If you're willing to paint yourself in the same broad strokes you've painted me, then I guess your point of view may have some merit.

Otherwise it's plainly... bovine fecal matter.