Will the Rabid Right ever Love Us: The Five Stages of Grief!
Read Time:2 Minute, 44 Second
The hard core right wing of American politics is so upset and angry, sometimes they make no sense. Clinging to falsehoods and wanting “their” country back is part of a process most people experience when they suffer a loss.
The Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as the five stages of grief, was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying.
It describes, in five discrete stages, a process by which people deal with grief or tragedy when diagnosed with a terminal illness or catastrophic loss. In addition to this, her book brought mainstream awareness to the sensitivity required for better treatment of individuals who are dealing with a fatal disease.
The five stages are: Denial; Anger; Bargaining; Depression and Acceptance.
The Kübler-Ross model could be applied to our far-right brothers and sisters. Let me explain how.
Denial – Back in 2008 Primary season, it became obvious to the right that the Democratic candidate was going to be a black or a woman, not just any woman either, but the wife of the hated Bill. But when Obama won the nomination, panic set in, “Oh no, it couldn’t happen could it, not a black man, not to us, we don’t deserve it.” Well their anxieties were relieved when pretend maverick John McCain got pally with celebrity in-waiting Sarah Palin and they were certain this paring would defeat the unlikely Obama.
Anger – The day after the election anger set in. How could America elect a “Kenyan born communist, where’s his birth certificate.” Months before the inauguration he was responsible for all the ills afflicting the country. In the early months of 2009 deeper anger took hold and the Birthers and the Tea Party were born. This week both Mike and The Lawyer posted on ramped up anger.
Bargaining – Right now, amid all the threats, the Republicans and their bastard children, the Militias and the Tea Baggers, are convincing (or bargaining with) themselves that everything will be on its way back to normal after the November mid-terms. They will “fire Pelosi” and take back the both Houses of Congress, put lots of pressure on the White House, keep things in check until 2012, when the status quo will be restored.
Depression – This is where I get my crystal ball out. If, the White House and Congress can hold the ship of state steady. If, more than a few jobs can be added in the next 6 months. If, the Democratic voters can be bothered to vote, then the mid-terms would not be the shipwreck the Republicans want. The Democrats would keep control of Congress, no firing of Pelosi. The Republicans would find that eventuality extremely depressing.
Acceptance – Republican depression would be complete if Obama won a second term, then they must realize that the majority of voters will have rejected them again and they will have to, as a party, come to the conclusion the that country has changed forever and is moving on without them.
Will the rabid right ever love us? Probably not, but perhaps the Republicans can shrink it down to a size where, as we watch, they drown it in a bathtub.
MadMike and The Lawyer on anger and hate.
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“Sometimes they make no sense”… I am having difficulty making sense of anything across the aisle (of misfit toys), except for “no”. Plus I am not so sure they’ve left the “anger” phase behind. People who are trying to bargain are usually giving a concession to receive one, not dictating their terms or refusing to engage at all.
‘You put your right leg in…your left leg out…’
Look peeps. Right? Left? They’re politicians!!! Like they give a shit about you?
Grow up and sniff the coffee.
What the hell are you talking about?
No crazy dems. Right.
There must be a few Ratso, got to be. Don’t know any myself.
Those five stages of grief always remind me of the movie All That Jazz (an excellent flick, BTW).
They kept showing clips of this standup comedian joking about the five words. “Sounds like a law firm. Good morning, Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance, may I help you?”
Was that the Roy Schieder movie. Saw it some years back.
Hadn’t thought about the nut jobs like that.
There’s a reason why the nuts are nuts Herbie.
Holte, the sociology professor who taught us Death & Dying in ’79 went around the class on first sitting & asked “when was the last time someone close / family died?” to each one of us. I was 7…& he told me, ‘you have a while’… my friend Marg said not that she could remember and he said crisply, ‘you’re due’. Bean counting us~! You know, Marg was never the same after that. [It turned out that she didn’t face that kind of death til ’88. Same day as me.] But! My point is that percentages playing a part in the Kubler Ross presentation isn’t important … the psychology is tremendously accurate & understanding it brings so much healing….
and so like what you have done with it here~! Well done! I’m collecting this … and keeping it around to compare to events.
It helped me understand why the crazies are crazy. They certainly fit the pattern.
Ach, who even cares at this point? I am at the point where I don’t care enough to worry about them. Like my daddy told me, Jessica Marie some people will like you, some won’t, not your issue, you were not put on the earth to win miss popularity.
I don’t care if they ever love me either Jess, can’t imagine they ever will. Interesting to profile their behavior though.
You were blessed with a smart daddy Jess.
As long as Barack Obama is president they will never love us Holte. There are deeper issues here that would challenge the most avid scholars of the DSM IV.
Some of the most vocal wing-nuts don’t like the Republican party very much either, I would like to see the Republican stop embracing them and leave them on the side of the road.
On Acceptance: No, they won’t, hehe. They’ll probably keep right on whining and carrying on like a bunch of drunk barbarians
What must happen is that the Republican party has to accept and marginalize the very far right. Let them be the third party.
Holte,
I really like the phrase “pretend maverick” about John McCain.
Well he did vote with Bush most of the time.