Josh Marshall - Pukes now in third of 5 stages of grief

[better2know]

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_07_25.php#003207

(July 27, 2004 -- 03:43 AM EDT)

"Keep your eye out and you're bound to see this argument -- now floated by many conservative columnists -- that Kerry may win because voters need a breather -- a time-out, if you will -- from the turbocharged rush of history we've experienced over the last three years under George W. Bush. The president has simply accomplished so much, bent the world so mightily to his will, that Americans are craving a return to normalcy, as that campaign neologism once had it."

-gives example of a peggy noonan column-

"Rather than taking it on its merits, though, I have a different take on this argument. It's a rhetorical or logical reasoning halfway house on the way to a realization of how badly the president has screwed up what one might generously call his ambitious plans. As with Kubler-Ross's grinding five stages of grief, first we have denial. Then anger. And with this argument we have something akin to that tipping-point stage of 'bargaining' -- the sensible pundits' first tip-toe out onto a serious consideration of the impact of the president's term of office."

--

Kubler-Ross's grinding five stages of grief:

http://imc.gsm.com/demos/dddemo/consult/kublross.htm

denial of death because they are unable to admit to themselves that the patient might die and/or they will suffer the loss death represents;

anger by which the pain of loss is projected onto others;

bargaining which represents a last effort at overcoming death by "earning" longer life;

depression when the full impact of imminent death strikes them; and

acceptance when the grieving come to grips with the fact of the patient's "illness"(edited for word choice) and make preparation for it.

-Hoping So! (in a metaphorical sense only!)

[dbt]

1. I want to watch Stage Four in SLOW MOTION.

I want digital video of the Depression stage, so that it won't flutter when I pause it. I want Surround Sound, so I can hear the gnashing of every tooth over a 5,000-watt Yamaha amp and JBL speakers.

I want to smell the sackcloth and ashes!

:evilgrin:
dbt

[Flubadubya]

3. Eeww dbt...

How lusciously macabre! Nothing like a little 'schadenfreude' to get your morning started off right!

[JuniperLea]

4. i'm there!

i'll bring the popcorn:)

[seemslikeadream]

6. I echo your feelings dbt

The Echo

:hi:

[dbt]

10. Sick Puppies of Amerika, UNITE!

You have nothing to lose but your leashes!

(Hey flub, hey slad...hey Grampaw, John-Boy, Daddy. Dammit Mary Ellen, it sounds like there's something in your mouth again!)

:smoke:
dbt

[Flubadubya]

12. Hey dbt...

How d'ya like my "melonhawg" avatar? ...It's Watermelon festival time again in Hope, August 12-15.

[better2know]

9. #3-the bargaining is gonna be fun but...

the bargaining gonna be fun
(how do you bargain from a hole in the ground?) (grovel?)
but you're right...
stage four -neo-con depresssion-
I'm going to be savoring a whole lot of news coverage.

I'm going toss it all up in the air, and let it softly rain down on me...ahhhh.

[yardwork]

2. Interesting! This explains a lot of freeper behavior

as well as the behavior of garden-variety Republicans who will not face the reality of this administration. They're all over the map in their stages of grief.

Denial and anger represents those who are currently lashing out at anyone who says anything different than the BushCo Pravda line. They certainly are projecting a lot of their grief onto us! We've been called traitors, liars, partisans, cowards, everything but the kitchen sink.

Bargaining. I'm seeing that in some people who are attempting to take a pseudo high-road. They attempt to make moral-sounding bargains. "We just won't talk about politics, ok? You like your candidate and I like mine, and we're both equally right, so we'll drop it."

Depression. Well, I know a lot of glum Republicans these days.

Acceptance. We're starting to hear reports of Republicans who have accepted that Bush is hopeless and they say they will vote for Kerry. Those who reached this stage actually watched the DNC with open minds and many of them found out that Kerry and Edwards were reasonable, likeable people instead of the purple-headed monsters they had been led to believe.

[Disturbed]

5. Works for me.

I also believe that many Americans who are not in the Bush Cult are now as afraid of the Neo Fascists as they are of the terrorists.

[yardwork]

8. Well, I'm more afraid of the neo-fascists than I am of the terrorists!

I figure I can't do anything about phantom terrorists, but the neo-fascists are a clear and present danger to me!

[devinsgram]

7. This post has gotten

my day off to a roaring laughing day.

[Ann Arbor Dem]

11. I read Josh's article and then Noonan's...

I love him. :) Watching the collective meltdown of the freepers is a hoot!

The first couple of paragraphs of Noonan's column is about her vacation in London. What an arrogant, condescending, poor excuse for a human being. Her "enlightenment" about flowers is glib....she doesn't deserve to enjoy their beauty.

The rest of her column set my blood to boil.

<snip>

When I was a young woman I found all beauty and fascination in people. I found flowers boring. I ignored them when I saw them, or turned away. I think I felt they got in the way of my understanding Kafka and Sartre. I think I also thought flowers were something old ladies do to make things prettier because they don't understand the tragedy of life. Now I think people who put flowers all over the place are the only geniuses. They know flowers are an unasked-for and essentially unearned bit of beauty given to us perhaps to suggest other, greater beauty to come. They're in Einstein-land, gardeners, and thinking of eternity. And I thought they were just retards with spades. Anyway, flower people are generous. They make everything look prettier, at no charge and for your enjoyment, even though they've never met you. So here's to flower power, and thank you, London from this American traveler.