Yesterday, I replied to this Tweet: “American Conservatism: Whatever you do, do not bring us your poor and huddled masses. Amen” with this simple opinion: “Wrong. All are welcome; come thru front door”. I never received any reply, and frankly forgot all about it..until this morning, when I received three consecutive Tweets from the person to whom I replied:
1) “It’s not the method in which immigrants enter that bothers you; it’s the race and income of those who do”.
2) “You revealed your underlying bigotry by assuming the Tweet you replied to was referring to illegal immigrants. It was not”.
3) “Did you welcome those from Mexico who Bush43 invited in his Guest Worker Program through the back door?”
None of this surprises me after viewing the profile of the “lady” (and I use that word loosely based on the language in her timeline) and read her bio: “Loyal #p2 #p21 & connoisseur of psychological disorders. Needless to say, the Republican Disorder fascinates me. Blocked by @AnnCoulter; I can’t imagine why.”
That a person who describes herself as a “connoisseur of psychological disorders…fascinated by the Republican Disorder” cannot see the irony in what she said to me is, well, ironic. In psychological terms, I believe it’s called projection, defined as a psychological defense mechanism in which a person subconsciously denies his or her own thoughts and emotions, which are then ascribed to other people. Based on an eight word reply to a post that lumps all Conservatives into one hate-filled basket, she declared me to be a racist bigot. But then, projection reduces anxiety by allowing the expression of unconscious impulses or desires without letting the conscious mind recognize them.
I know this because, contrary to the popular stereotype that Progressives hold of Conservative women, I am not a stupid southern woman who spent her time in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. I have a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling. I am the former owner of a small business. I raised three boys while working, pursuing my degree only after closing our business in 2007. I am a Domestic Violence survivor, divorcing after 26 years of a hellish marriage. I am now a single mother, a home owner, and a Professional Counselor. I am most assuredly NOT Julia…
For the benefit of any Progressive who wanders upon this post (if he or she reads this far before jumping to conclusions about me), I would like to describe what I do Monday through Friday. I will preface this by saying that I do not do it for the money. I made more money as the Assistant Manager of a retail store, so let’s go ahead and put the ‘greedy Capitalist’ notion to rest. There are many more lucrative things I could do if money were my god, but it is not.
I am an Addictions Counselor at a Community Mental Health facility. The clients that I work with are overwhelmingly very poor, and I serve all races and ethnicities. My specific caseload involves working with women who have lost their children due to drug addiction and/or legal violations; many times due to both. Many of them gave birth to babies who were addicted; most are involved in relationships with men who abuse them. They come to us with very little hope for the future. In the counseling room, I do not judge them for the situations that they are in. I support them, I educate them, I pour my heart into their hearts. By Friday, I am mentally and emotionally drained, but I see this work as God’s call on my life (I hear Progressive heads exploding at that thought…) and by His grace I am able to love my ladies as He does. My clients are condemned and judged by almost everyone else in their lives. I, and my co-workers, offer them a hand. Not a handout.
In addition to working with them to overcome their drug addiction and deal with all the trauma that they have faced in their lives, I do Case Management work with my clients. I go to their homes, I help them get whatever they need. I go to court with them, I advocate for them with Child Protective Services. I link them with resources in the community to help them get back on their feet and get their children back. We offer help with educational and/or job opportunities. Our ultimate goal is to get them off of drugs, off of government assistance, and to give them the tools to stay clean and to live healthy, self-actualizing lives. In short, our goal is to give them back their self-esteem and to break the cycle of poverty and addiction from which most of them have come.
To the Progressives out there, and particularly to ‘Casey’, @pari_passu on Twitter, what I shared above could be described as getting into the trenches and getting your hands dirty trying to help people who need help, as opposed to screaming for more taxation so the almighty government will do it for you. It could also be called ‘walking your talk’, and I do it every day. Perhaps if Progressives could see beyond their own bigotry and stereotypical labels, a lot of the name-calling and hate out there would disappear. But then, that would upset their agenda of cradle-to-grave government entitlements, so I won’t hold my breath.
It is ironic when some members of the tolerant, all-inclusive Progressive movement cannot see how bigoted they are when they dare to lump all Conservatives into one category and dismiss us as hateful, racist bigots. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones…
TN Smart Girl 
It is ironic that the tolerant, all-inclusive Conservative movement cannot see how bigoted they are when they dare to lump all Progressives into one category and dismiss us as ignorant, name-calling bigots.
Point taken, and I apologize if you were offended. Fact is, though, that I get attacked all the time from the Left and accused of being a racist bigot by people who have absolutely no idea who I am or what I believe.
Seems strange however, joesix, that you did not address any of my other points…
There’s no other point that can be addressed outside of my original snarky comment implying that hyper-partisanship and stereotyping is a flaw we’re all guilty of, regardless of specific political sympathies. There’s plenty of conservatives out there who support the same kind of open border system that allowed the first American patriots to colonize this country to begin with. There’s plenty of liberals out there who steadfastly believe that legal and illegal immigrants alike are stealing our hard-earned jobs at Burger King.
Joesix, I agree with everything you said. What prompted me to write the post, as I described, was being attacked by a Progressive on Twitter who decided that I was a bigot without any knowledge of who I am. It happens all the time, and often the language is hate-filled and vile. I tire of it. I do not inject myself into the conversations of others or go looking for a fight by insulting people with differing views. It’s immature and silly. Peace.
I was disappointed to see that after a couple of comments that we swapped this morning on twitter, that you’d blocked me as a follower (@jpinel). I posted a reply (albeit with a sarcastic #headdesk hash to convey my mood), and for that I was called a troll. I’m interested in debating the issues that divide us. I’m not a hardcore progressive, but am liberal-leaning in most things. I believe strongly in free markets, the Constitution and American exceptionalism that is a reflection of our actions, not some inherent characteristic that sets us apart from the rest of humanity. After reading your post today, I greatly respect what you do and the faith that drives you to give of yourself in that way.
I really get upset at stereotyping and the hatred of the ‘other’ that fills the internet. So many people seem to have decided that politics is nothing but a big sports event, and they put on their jerseys (conservative or progressive; reblublic or democrat) and cheer for their team. And you both called it out and were guilty of it when you criticized the “popular stereotype that Progressives hold of Conservative women”. And while railing at the “all-inclusive Progressive movement” for daring to “lump all Conservatives into one category”, you lumped all Progressives into the “all-inclusive Progressive moment”.
I’m doing what I can to broaden my horizons. To listen to viewpoints that I disagree with. To watch fox news, to follow conservatives, to read Romney’s policy proposals. And I occasionally comment. When you compared the selection of only 2 gymnasts into the final event to the evils of socialism, I felt that the comparison was ridiculous and commented. Firstly, to create rules for fairness is not socialism. Secondly, “socialism” is used too often as a boogeyman term to encompass so many things that are part of a well ordered capitalist society.
But as I said at the beginning, what makes me scratch my head the most is that as soon as I responded to you calling me a troll, it seems that you blocked me from following you on twitter. All I can conclude from this is that you choose to listen only to viewpoints that you agree with, thus reinforcing your perspective. If true, that’s unfortunate, and makes it that much harder to find common ground to move forward on.
I’ll keep reading your blog. I don’t agree with everything you write. But I respect your position, and hope you’ll respect mine and others.
Your points are well thought out and I apologize. I did block because I have been attacked SO many times and I suppose I’m “gun-shy” as we say down south. I will ‘unblock’ and look forward to a respectful exchange of ideas. Peace.
awesome post!!!