ohnoitstbskyen:

docchloroplast:

shyocean:

roach-works:

qillermeme:

i actually want to expand on this point for a second: conservatives very often don’t perceive their beliefs as hypocritical because they don’t believe in equality. they don’t believe that black people are the same as white people, or that women are the same as men, or that foreigners are the same as their neighbors, or that rich people are the same as poor people, or that THEY are the same as YOU.

‘isn’t it hypocritical to say a woman should cover up her legs when you, a man, are wearing shorts?’ not if you think men and women have fundamentally different bodies and that their exposed skin serves completely different purposes.

‘isn’t it hypocritical to complain about homeless people on welfare but not bat an eye at all the government subsidies your farm rakes in?’ no! hardworking farmers are the backbone of america, no matter how much tax payer money they blow through to toodle their fuckin tractors around the cornfield, and bums are vermin.

‘isn’t it hypocritical to freak out at the idea of trans women invading bathrooms to creep on children when you keep voting for politicians that are repeatedly accused of sexually abusing underage girls?’ not if you refuse to believe that any of the politicians actually did that, OR that any of the trans women never actually did that.

‘isn’t it hypocritical’– look. it’s like this. if a good guy and a bad guy do the exact same thing, it’s good when the good guy does it and bad when the bad guy does it. this is a collection of christian notions gone very wrong–that the devil can do things that look good just to trick people, and that sometimes doing the right thing hurts and has sad consequences–but it feels great to believe, so people are just going to keep doing it.

it’s fine that so many republican politicians have raped so many girls that don’t count and aren’t real. it’s fine that cops use our money to kill the poor people we deny the money to be safe and healthy. it’s fine that women are paid less, that blacks are policed more, that refugees are shot for approaching our borders. it’s fine. it’s right. 

they do not want a world in which everyone is equal. they do not perceive that as fair. they want this world, in which everyone is respected according to how human they are, and the measuring stick starts at their feet. 

American protestants have a religion where it doesn’t matter what you do, it matters what you are.

Christians, by affirming the exact right beliefs, become ontologically separate from and better than all other created things.

Literally nothing they do can take their holiness away, if they are really saved, ie really have believed and publicly stated the exact right beliefs. Also, once they have this belief, the voice in their head will tell them the Truth and they will be right. And if they don’t have a voice in their head, they need to listen to their pastor or a good preacher.

And understanding that is really key to understanding everything about the American right wing.

An addendum: the right will absoLUTELY call out “hypocrisy”, perceived or otherwise. Just look at what is happening with Biden’s documents; nevermind the fact that for the most part, the situations are different, but Republicans will take every opportunity to call Democrats hypocrites for being critical of Trump for also “keeping files”.

They absolutely understand the concept, they just consider themselves immune to it. Just like everything else, really.

To add a little more on to it, it’s also helpful to understand that to conservative thinking, “the rules” (be they social, legal or moral) do not exist to protect the weak or help the poor or make the world a better place, they exist to mark out who is sinful, and who is to be punished. They do not believe a criminal can be reformed, or that crime is a result of material conditions that can be addressed, they believe that criminals are sinful and must be punished by the virtuous, who are marked as virtuous when the punish the sinful.

Their thinking is about hierarchies of power, where the virtuous are naturally ordained to fill positions of power and the sinful are ordained to be below them. Thus they are also deferential to the venal exercise of power, for such behaviour is the mark of a virtuous chosen, whereas they disdain compromise, dialogue and collaboration, because the truly righteous do not suffer compromise with sin. If you are not powerful enough to simply dominate and subjugate your enemy, then you are not virtuous enough.

The rules (and the law) exist not to constrain the will of the virtuous, but to provide a framework for punishing the sinful. The rules aren’t meant to apply to them, they’re meant to punish and harm whoever they hate, that’s what rules are FOR. They are a means to exercise power over the hated Other.

That’s why all the “tough on crime” bullshit, it’s a way for politicians to mark themselves out as virtuous and thus above the law and above the rules. That’s why all the “god emperor Trump” bullshit, too, and why the culture war over COVID and masks. Refusing to wear a mask became an exercise of power, it punished the enemy and caused them hurt and anger, and thus it was righteous. That’s where all the “trigger the libs” shit comes from.