I'm white and the statement is self-evidently accu

Quote:

---

scared white old folks on this board,

---

Quote:

---

15 Things Republicans Want You To Be Scared Of




By: Kevin Mathews
July 26, 2016

Last week’s Republican National Convention was filled with a lot of doom and gloom. Rather than focusing on the things Americans could accomplish in the next four years, the party listed a lot of things that they think Americans should be afraid of, promising to protect the public from these supposed threats.

Whether the GOP actually fears all of these things or they’re just using fear mongering as a political tactic (I’m leaning toward the latter,) the good news is that most of these things don’t pose an actual threat to the public at large.

Here’s a list of the things Republicans want you to be afraid of, as well as a brief explanation of why there’s no reason to get scared:

1. Immigrants Are Taking Your Jobs!

The idea that Americans are losing jobs to undocumented immigrants is a good rallying cry to get people to oppose immigrations, but that doesn’t make it true. Research shows that immigrants do not take jobs from native-born Americans. Other research suggests that the economy improves on the whole thanks to immigrant laborers.

2. Trans People Want to Harass You in the Bathroom!

Who would have thought there needed to be a months-long discourse on guaranteeing people the right to urinate in a public restroom? Conservatives sited “safety” when deciding that we should police whether people are using the restroom of the gender they were assigned, while simultaneously creating a very unsafe situation for trans and non-gender conforming individuals.

3. Sharia Law

If you hear it from Republicans like Herman Cain, Muslims want to institute Islamic law in the United States and change the American identity altogether.

It’s a fabricated threat designed to make people fear Muslims; After all, how is a religious minority that comprises one percent of the country and lacks any political power going to undo centuries of constitutional law? Come on, now!

4. Black Lives Matter Is Dangerous!

A group calling for an end to violence must obviously be violent themselves! You can’t advocate for black lives without implicitly calling for the deaths of white people, right?

Wrong. A minority group pleading for their right to live shouldn’t be viewed as threatening, yet somehow it’s been twisted into standing for something it doesn’t. This cause is about minimizing racial division, even if conservatives try to turn it into something racially divisive.

5. Allowing Woman in Combat Will Kill Our Soldiers!

Now that the Pentagon has eliminated sex-based restrictions on all military roles, conservatives are in a tizzy that having women in combat will put other soldiers at risk.

It’s important to note, however that the military is not just inserting women into these positions to be PC. Women will undergo the same training programs as the men, and if they prove as strong and capable as their male peers, then they can take these dangerous combat roles. Giving them a chance to prove themselves first is only fair.

6. You’re Unsafe Without Mass Surveillance!

Politicians defended the NSA’s spying programs after the secret was out by explaining that Americans just aren’t safe unless the government monitors its own citizens’ phone calls and emails.

If that’s a relevant excuse, though, shouldn’t the NSA be able to point to a single terrorist attack it thwarted thanks to information obtained by these means?

7. You’re Engaging in Class Warfare if You Talk About Money!

Conservative pundits like to toss around the phrase “class warfare” when anyone points out this country’s rampant wealth inequality, arguing that it’s mean to resent rich people for their success. Talking about inequality is an attack on the rich! Won’t somebody think of those unfortunate rich people’s feelings?!

Of course, it’s only “war” when it’s directed at the rich. Capitalism systematically takes a toll on the lower class, but that’s just how things go, apparently. If class warfare is real, there’s no doubt which side is actually winning.

8. People Are Voting Fraudulently to Rig Elections!

There’s so much voter fraud! We need government-sanctioned IDs at the poll to ensure that dead people and non-citizens aren’t voting! It’s the only way to protect our democracy!

However, study after study has revealed that voter fraud is virtually nonexistent. Meanwhile, there are millions of people in America that lack proper identification to vote at the polls.

Doesn’t it seem more frightening that we would try to find a way to effectively disenfranchise a sizeable portion of the country in order to prevent a statistically insignificant “problem”?

9. Terrorists Will Kill You!

Oh, and speaking of terrorism, Republicans spend a lot of time proposing questionable legislation under the guise of protecting Americans from terrorist attacks.

While no one likes terrorism, sacrificing civil liberties for this “protection” is pretty bunk – since 9/11, Americans are more likely to be crushed by falling furniture than die in a terrorist attack. Living constantly in fear is no way to live.

10. The Government Is Coming for Your Guns!

Anytime there’s a mass shooting, as the Republicans see it anyway, it’s not the literal victims that are under attack, it’s the gun owners. They whip themselves into a frenzy that the Second Amendment is threatened and warn of a government plot to take guns.

Contrary to the narrative, the president has really done nothing to undermine gun rights. If anything, gun laws have become more lax in recent years. Still, it makes for a good story that guns will soon be outlawed – it sure helps sell more guns at the very least!

11. Poor People With Crappy Jobs Want to Get Paid the Same As You!

Whenever there’s a discussion about raising the minimum wage, Republicans turn to a trope meant to trigger people’s sense of superiority. “Your job is important… do you really think people flipping burgers deserve to be paid similarly to you?”

Is it really so bad for working people to receive a living wage? Let’s not overlook the fact that everyone should be able to pay rent and eat, or else they’ll have to go on government assistance… which they’ll also be demonized for.

12. If We Take in Refugees, They’ll Kill Us!

At a time when families in foreign countries like Syria are fleeing for their lives, the GOP in the U.S. has declined to extend a helping hand to these victims. All these people want is a safe place to live, yet we worry more about the minuscule possibility that a terrorist will slip through the cracks rather than the lives that are immediately at stake.

The thing is, the screening process for refugees is over a year – we don’t let people into the country without proper checks. Of the quarter million refugees admitted to America since 9/11, only three have subsequently been found to have any links to extremist groups. Given that statistic, the fear here just seems selfish.

13. Socialism Is Creeping Into the U.S.!

Can you believe that Bernie Sanders identifies as a Democratic socialist, as if socialism isn’t a horrible world? The GOP warns its followers that even the slightest hint of socialism in our government would cause it to crumble altogether.

Alas, these arguments conveniently overlook the socialist aspects already present in our everyday lives: highways, the post office, police and fire departments, public libraries, garbage collection, Social Security, etc. We already enjoy plenty of socialist ideas without even giving them a second thought.

14. Obamacare Leads to Death Panels!

According to conservatives, government-run health care is not a good idea because you wouldn’t want elected officials making health decisions for you.

Perhaps, but that’s a pretty bleak way to describe an attempt at providing affordable health care to all Americans. Obamacare is far from perfect, but it’s giving poor Americans their first shot at decent health insurance, which is obviously less frightening than people who die or go bankrupt because of an unpreventable medical emergency.

15. Gay Marriage Will Ruin the Sanctity of Marriage!

Marriage has always been between one man and one woman, they claim. Anything other than that and it’s a slippery slope to people marrying their dogs, etc.

As we’ve seen since same-sex marriage has become a constitutional right last summer, however, another couple’s marriage does not impact your own. As for people marrying their dogs, there doesn’t seem to be any traction yet, but I suppose the GOP can say, “Told you so!” if that ever should come to pass. (Hint: it won’t.)

---