Obama booth at state fair - my DH got into a verbal fight!

[Serial Mom]

We were at our State Fair and found the Obama booth to purchase some bumper stickers, pins, etc. and sign up to volunteer as it gets closer to election.

As we are standing there, an old man comes up to booth and says "all democrats are assholes" to a young worker! Of course, my husband is there and has not been shy this election season to speak up. He asked "why would you say that" and the old guy goes off saying Dems don't respect the sanctity of life, that they spend way too much. My DH then began to talk to the guy and he interrupted at least 3 times calling him an asshole until my husband's voice got louder. All the workers were looking and the old guy says "I'm 84 and served during the Korean war, what have you done" which I could tell, makes my DH madder - I finally pulled him away so as not to have the State Fair Police (yes, they have those too) come get my husband!

As we were leaving, all the workers looked at us and said the old guy was the asshole!

[NightWatcher]

1. he should have slugged the old fart

we would have held a fundraiser to pay his bail/fine

[Serial Mom]

4. I was afraid of that...

But you can't reason with that kind of thinking - and his age! - they think they deserve respect when it should be earned!

[Occulus]

43. I've gotten that from a LOT of older people

There seems to be a (thankfully, dying off naturally) generation of Americans who seem to think that respect is given, and not earned. I believe this is tied into the mindset they grew up with/perpetuating- respect your elders, whether they deserve it or not, etc.

[liberal N proud]

2. The old guy was the asshole

There is no winning with those type of people

[sandyj999]

3. Why do some think being old entitles you to be rude?

I take that back, he has probably always been that way. I would probably gotten into trouble too!

[mcctatas]

5. If I live to be 84...

I plan on saying what I think no matter what and being as big of an asshole as possible :)

[sandyj999]

21. That's cool or should I say that's hot? n/t

[slampoet]

19. Ask around and you'll find this guy has been an asshole for 60+ years.

Age does very little to jerks except disguise it.

[rateyes]

6. I probably wouldn't have asked the question your husband did.

I probably would have replied, "And, all Republicans are the pieces of shit that come out of assholes."

[Serial Mom]

10. He was going to ask about the repukes "sanctity of life"

and who takes care of those born into proverty, and those on death row that may be innocent, but couldn't get the words out.

[rateyes]

13. I hear you. Your husband handled it much better than I would have. nt

[helderheid]

17. Not to mention all who died during this war based on lies.

[spanone]

7. he's so fucking old he doesn't realized his party has been in charge for 8 years

dumbshit

[zippy890]

8. corn dog for the cranky old asshole

right up the you-know-what

what's DH stand for?

:hi:

[Serial Mom]

11. love your corn dog idea -

darling husband...

[DS1]

9. Should have pointed out how we didn't win the Korean war

just to really piss him off. Might have stroked out on the spot.

[Serial Mom]

12. hee, hee

plus if he was 84, why didn't he serve in WWII?

[billyoc]

14. "Wow, were you the FIRST republican?"

:rofl:

[YOY]

15. Was this him?

[Serial Mom]

16. almost but skinnier...

[YOY]

18. Sunglasses and military cap I bet.

I see 'em all over DC. The come to see the war monuments. Never the museums.

They drive into town and look for parking on weekdays.

[HughBeaumont]

37. "look for parking on weekdays"

:rofl: Holy shit, that's so true, and they totally don't get why that's next to impossible. But God Forbid they ride the Metro in, like every travel guide TELLS you to do.

Every time I visit, there's busloads of them and I NEVER see them in any of the museums or the sculpture gardens or the art gallery. They are always at the WWII memorial, though. And Arlington Cemetery.

This makes me think I have to come down again. I'll probably be down in September and definitely in November.

[YOY]

41. My pop tried it...

One of the few times I called him an idiot for not listening to me. I tried to explain that people actually work in DC.

Then again we went to the museums...so I can cut him some slack...

Come on down...the AHM might be reopened by then.

[HughBeaumont]

44. November 14th . . . and that is my favorite one.

I'll be down Thanksgiving. I also want to see the NewSeum.

[YOY]

46. I've heard mixed reviews of it.

The Nat. History is still a fave from childhood. My daughter loves the Zoo though...only two what can you expect?

[Ganja Ninja]

20. I wouldn't have tried to talk to him.

I would have called him an asshole and told him to fuck off and die. But that's just me.

[Serial Mom]

23. The look on the young man's face who was working there

- he was stunned when this old guy said that! My DH was VERY close to yelling that, but I didn't want people to think he was verbally abusing this old guy because I guess it's OK for the old to verbally abuse the young man, but watch out if you do it back to them!

[boomerbust]

22. CMT928

I am from Wi. and I would not worry about this old fool. From what I can see out here, Wi. will provide a landslide for Obama.

[Serial Mom]

24. I'm hoping and praying for that!

WI has a history of socialist ideas and I would HATE to live here if we turned to a red state!

[ellie]

25. My dad was in the Korean War

too and was a socialist. I miss him.

[gratuitous]

26. Teachable moment

No, not for the antagonist, for us. Put yourself in this situation: Now, what would you do? The first question, "Why would you say that?" is terrific, by the way. You can bet this guy wanted to pull the real-life version of an online flame-and-fade. Say something so unexpected and outrageous that everyone is rendered speechless, walk away, then brag to your buddies about how you shut up a bunch of hippie liberals.

I'd advise not getting angry, and not raising your voice. Let the old coot yammer on and on, that's what he wants to do anyway. But he'll run out of steam, probably sooner rather than later. And that's when you can get your talking points in. Oh, and know your talking points, by the way. Practice them, rehearse them, say them to a mirror if you need to. But be ready for the chance.

In the aftermath of Little Methuselah's rant, probably everyone was pretty clear on who the asshole in the conversation was. There's no sense in sinking to his level.

[Serial Mom]

28. Oh my DH does NOT need to practice

He calls in to NPR and many other radio programs and speaks VERY WELL! It's just when his voice got louder that I wanted him to back off...

[siligut]

27. Ever been around an old veteran?

I mean in more amiable circumstances? I am pretty sure that some of these older vets believe that we peace mongers invalidate their lives. They talk about their service in the war. They have clubs where they can get together and talk about their service in a war.

I don’t believe that is what we do at all, but I believe that is what they are conditioned to believe we do.

[CrazyDude]

51. This is why I was very wary of using the "chickenhawk" attack line in 2004

It essentially implied that if you did not serve in the military, or more specifically if you did not fight in a war, your vote or your opinion didn't matter. Well, now we are in 2008 and the candidate with more military experience is a Republican.

[Serial Mom]

52. IMO, chickenhawk referred to those who WOULDN'T fight the war

BUT would send OTHERS TO DO IT for them

[CrazyDude]

54. I thought it was related to those who didn't fight in Vietnam

Though it would be amusing to have politicians contemplate fighting in Iraq.

I guess my problem is I have to be consistent in my arguments. If I don't think it's fair for a veteran to tell peace supporters they can't oppose a war, I don't think it's fair for people to say that war supporters are wrong PRINCIPALLY becuase they have not fought in a war.

[devilgrrl]

29. The Korean War... what a success!!!

:eyes:

Not dissing Korean War vets but come off of it.

[Samurai_Writer]

40. And my question is...

If the guy is 84, why wasn't he in WWII? My dad was in WWII, and he would be 81 this year.

I bet the guy wasn't even a veteran. Those in-your-face Conservatives tend to lie about their military service.

[book_worm]

30. What an old jackass! we spend too much I would have asked when the last time a GOP pres balanced the

budget.

[snooper2]

31. What does DH mean..

?

Is it that hard to spell out?

[Serial Mom]

32. sorry for acronym...

and yes, when you are typing fast, sometimes it is harder to spell out. It means darling or dear husband.

Does this have anything to do with the post?

[snooper2]

34. nope..

just was trying to figure out DH :hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

33. Buy your hubby a tankard of his favorite beverage and send me the bill

Its about damned time Democrats made it PERFECTLY clear that spewing that crap is no longer tolerable and WILL meet with resistance.

[Bluerthanblue]

35. this nation needs to stop glorifying war-

and not electing Mccain would be a good step.

There is nothing wrong with respecting a persons military service- but attaching a supreme- godlike value to a person based solely on their connection to the military (some who have never seen any action) does no one any service.

My family all the way back to the war for independence has served, been wounded, and several occasions given their life in combat. I'm not ignorant or unconnected- but if we continue to place a sacred value on the military ignoring those who work less conspicuously and often equally dangerous situations to support and defend the lives and futures of our citizens we will never really invest in peace, or allow other nations to live in peace either.

Being the asshole that I am, I might have asked this angry old man about the sanctity of the lives of the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians we have killed in our quest for 'security'- or why the lives of those devastated by Katrina and Rita mattered less than the "money" which seems to be more sacred to "republicans" than the lives of people they choose to ignore, hate or destroy.


Kudo's to your husband for not letting this guy keep doing what he does while we sit silent-

:hi:

[Serial Mom]

36. I used to get embarassed when he spoke up, but not anymore

we all need to speak against those that feel they can say anything, lies, without responses!

As stated earlier, it seems old people can verbally abuse others, but if you do back to them, people tend to take the "old person's" side and say we should respect the elderly (although we are getting up there in years too!), but I say respect must be earned, not given automatically. I didn't want it to get out of hand and didn't want my husband arrested.

[Liberal In Texas]

38. Bet he's another one who listens to Limpballs in the afternoon followed

by another one of the RW haters then watches Fox to get his news. He probably doesn't read books of any kind and checks out the local paper only to find out how the city council is wasting his tax money or read the RW editorials.

He's probably somewhat racist and uses the N word around his friends and family, and doesn't believe that "those" people should have "that welfare" 'cause they just breed to get more money. He is of course entitled to his SS, Medicare, pension benefits, and the tax exemption on his house because he's a senior. Liberals spend too much money (on things like his tax exemption) but it's just fine to subsidize Exxon/Mobil.

Liberals "don't respect the sanctity of life" but it's OK to kill a million Iraqi's because they had a dictator we didn't like and it's OK to kill our own people with defective products and dirty water and air.

He's one of the typical repubs who live in ignorance, and I don't know that we can do much about it.

[ThoughtCriminal]

39. One thing to keep in mind in these confrontations

this guy probably left even more frustrated than you or your DH were.

He's watching an ideology that he has clung to fail and die and lacks any eloquence to defend it.

[Midlodemocrat]

42. Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Life.

Psychosocial Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair
This phase occurs during old age and is focused on reflecting back on life.

Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has been wasted and will experience many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness and despair.

Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity. Successfully completing this phase means looking back with few regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting death.


This old man is obviously feeling despair instead of integrity to lash out like that. I pity him. His life was completely wasted.

[Serial Mom]

50. You are probably, most certainly right (if that makes sense)

Very interesting on how you worded this. I think that is one of the emotions we forget about especially those older people who may be feeling the regret and the despair. But I will not make excuses for those who refuse to inform themselves of the truth and facts.

[Midlodemocrat]

57. I cannot tell you the number of times I've seen it in older folks.

In fact, if I were pursuing a PhD, which I already have, I think I would base my dissertation on whether or not an Alzheimer's sufferer, or dementia sufferer was 'pleasantly demented' or 'combative' based on where they fell in this stage prior to getting ill.

I think it would make an interesting study.

[nadinbrzezinski]

45. I had a similar confrontation recently

with a sixty something

When he pulled that crap about fighting in the Nam I calmly pulled out the Mickey Mouse Canoe Card... and told him... show it to me.

He couldn't

After I called him a poser (which he was) I confronted him with all the things that are wrong with the Republicans (at least as they currently stand)

I included things like their hate for vets... and used his supposed service against him. Granted, there are plenty who served in the Nam that didn't but you get me point.

I usually also confront them with what are they doing not sending family to the meat grinder these days....

Well done for speaking up though

[Evoman]

47. I think it's interesting that soldiers or ex-soldiers are under the false impression that their

opinions are more important because they've been in a war.

What's with that attitude?

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. Don't generalize

most troops don't push that issue, unless they are pressed on it

You will see the "i've served... what bout you?" moniker from RIGHT WING... mostly rear troops

Combat troops rarely even speak of it.

I know the type... I can smell it a mile away

Oh and active duty troops cannot go there per UCMJ... so it is a nice thing to know at times

By the way it rarely fails, the more in love a former trooper is with war, the less chances they actually saw combat... in a few cases they are lower than scum, aka posers

[Evoman]

49. Right, of course.

Excuse my generalization.

I live in Canada, and I've come across that attitude several times. Oddly enough, some of it comes from people who serve the military, but have never been to war.

You are probably right about posers.

[Renew Deal]

53. One time I ran into someone at a fair...

I was helping my local group. One of my friends came by with her mom and her mom's friend who is a republican. I've encounted her before. Some politics came up and I said "Republicans stand for nothing." She said "I'm a republican." I said "Exactly." She was pissed. It was a little payback for her harrasing me in the past.

[krispos42]

55. "I'm 84 and served during the Korean war, what have you done"

"Then why are you supporting an elitist draft-dodger who's daddy's friends got him in the Campaigne Brigade? Who ridiculed and drove away the only person in his administration that had combat experience?"

[FredScuttle]

56. Was it McCain's younger brother?

n/t