Narcissistic Liberals

If you ever get the urge to save the world, do yourself a favor and stifle the urge.

Narcissistic liberals are the unsung heroes of our age, saving the world for you and me - even though we don't even know about all the selfless stuff they have done for us, and how much we have benefited from their heroic actions!  They've saved the planet, one Prius at a time.

Or maybe not.

You run into this sort of shit a lot these days - people who protest or are community organizers and claim to be "saving the world" and doing it all as a favor to us and oh by the way, we should kiss their ass and worship the ground they walk on, for all the good they have done us.

Sorry, no sale.  Narcissistic liberals can go fuck themselves, as far as I am concerned. 

What do I mean by narcissistic liberals?

Like I said, there is nothing wrong with being liberal, but some people take it too far and become wacky liberals and just annoy the shit out of everyone else.   For example, wacky liberals really believe - against all common sense - that we should just give a huge pile of money to poor people and then they would never be poor and what's more, this would not affect the economy in any way.

Wacky liberals want us all to take public transit, while they drive their Volvos and Subarus.   They'd take public transit too, but since they are "so busy" saving the world for the rest of us (they are important people!) that they need to drive.

You start to see where the narcissistic thing comes in.

I'll give you an example of four narcissistic annoying liberals and the trouble they cause.

Example #1 - They saved the island!

I was talking with a fellow the other day, and he started going off on how the management of Retirement Island is no damn good, and if it wasn't for the "Coalition to Save Retirement Island" (read: four narcissistic liberals in someone's living room) the whole place would have gone to hell in a hand-basket!

"We saved the island from greedy developers!"  He said - and actually believed it.   The reality is something different.   The island  is being redeveloped and everything the Island Authority has proposed has basically gone through, unchanged.   An earlier developer did abandon their plans in 2008 when they went bankrupt.   No one "saved" the island from this developer other than the recession of 2008.   The development that has taken place anyway is not much different that what the earlier developer had proposed.  No one "saved" anything.

In other words, the narcissistic liberals accomplished nothing except to sell a few t-shirts and bumper stickers and make themselves feel important.   We should all kiss their ass because they care about the island (and the rest of us don't, of course!) and without them all sorts of bad things would have happened.

Again, fuck off, narcissistic liberals.   We don't need or want you, and you didn't save anything and no, you are not that important.  In fact, you are utterly irrelevant. 

You are old and have one foot in the grave.  Do us all a favor and put the other foot in.  Sheesh!

Example #2 - they saved our town!

In the small town we lived in "up north" a lady who made a lot of money in business, decided to help save the failing small woman's college there, as it was her Alma Mater.  She pumped tens of millions of dollars (perhaps more) into the small town, fixing up college properties and local landmarks and of course increasing the endowment of the college.

Her reward?   They hung her in effigy.

Once again, a "Coalition to Save Our Town!" was formed (again, four people in someone's living room, and yes, pot is involved) and they did dramatic things like set up a website and make floats for the annual town parade.   The also parked junked cars in front of the college inn - during people's weddings - so as to intentionally ruin the wedding.  They would put signs on the junked cars saying "I hope you enjoyed your wedding, now that you've ruined our town!" as if some innocent bride was responsible for anything, merely by booking her wedding at the hotel.

The lady with the money left town.  The "coalition" members started to turn on each other.   Five years later, the madness has died down.   Some members of the "coalition" are having second thoughts about the whole thing and are sorry for what they did.   All the remodeling and changes that the lady-with-the-money wanted to make, she made.  They didn't change a fucking thing with their "coalition" other than to generate a lot of negative vibes and some petty lawsuits - and make themselves look stupid.

Oh, and by the way, four people in a living room isn't a "coalition."  For chrissakes, get a dictionary.

Example #3 - She Saved the Deer!

Deer on our island are overpopulating.   With no natural predators, they are getting increasingly aggressive and also getting sickly and smaller.   They have no fear of humans anymore and seeing even a dozen on your lawn, no more than four or five feet away, is a routine thing.

The Island Authority proposed culling the herd, which is a well-known technique for managing wildlife herds.

But the "deer lady" will have none of that!   She's writing letters to the editor!  Dressing up in a deer costume!   She'll save the day because she cares about the deer and the rest of us are heartless bastards!

You want to hear irony?  She ran over a deer with her car.  As far as I know, she is the only deerslayer on the island.

Perhaps guilt is what drives her!

Example #4 - She Saved the Turtles and the Shrimp!

We have a huge turtle center on our island, staffed by professionals who rescue injured sea turtles.   They also have  staff of people who protect turtle nesting sites and help keep tortoises from being run over on the causeway.  These paid professionals are doing a lot to save the Sea Turtles.

However, there is a lady on another island, and if you read her book, well according to her, we all need to kiss her ass because she saved the sea turtles long before that - and in fact, saved the entire coast of Georgia!  How did she do it?  Well, she lived in a shack on the beach and rode her four-wheeler up and down the beach!  She's a freaking genius and we all need to kiss her ass!   Thank you so much for your hard work!

* * *

What do all these people have in common?  Well, the sweet smell of marijuana smoke for one.  A misunderstanding of what the word "coalition" means (it is a grouping of groups, not a single group).  They also have personal lives that are an utter train wreck.   And like the hoarder, they have wild fantasies about saving the world.   And yes, some were literally mentally ill.

One lady in a "coalition" walked around with no shoes on - even the winter.  She raised mice for laboratory experiments.   The far-left liberal contingent she hung around with decried animal experiments and many were vegan.  But for some reason, it was OK for this lady to raise lab mice - as she also raised marijuana in her basement.   I guess you can't diss your supplier. 

The "I'll save the day" fantasy is the big common denominator, and it is a form of mental illness.  Hoarders have it - they believe they will save some small part or thing and that someday, someone will need that thing - and the hoarder will have it and save the day!

Saving the day sounds like a great thing, but it is probably best left to Superman or at least, Underdog.   It is a common marijuana-fueled fantasy, and it rarely works out well.

You may remember the winshield-wiper guy, who invented the intermittent windshield wiper.  He was offered millions for the invention - probably more than it was worth.  But he said "no" and told the big-3 automakers that he wanted to set up a factory to make windshield wipers and be a "captain of industry" and make everyone buy the windshield wipers from him.

The big-3, realizing he was a crackpot, said no.  He sued, and after decades in court, won smaller amounts that the initial buyout offers.   He died a broken man.   When asked why he took this asinine route, he said he wasn't doing it for himself, but "for the little man!"

He was going to "save the day" and make it so that the next inventor would have an easier time of it!

As it turned out, all he did was reinforce the perception (all too accurate) among big companies that small inventors are just crackpots who are unreliable and untrustworthy and just not worth dealing with, period.

Inventors today have the door slammed in their face, thanks to this asshole "saving the day" for the rest of us.

At best, these narcissistic liberals are just annoying and accomplish nothing as the examples above illustrate.   But in some instances, they make things worse for the rest of us.

Before you decide to become an "activist" and fight the man and "save the day" ask yourself the following:

1.  Does the day need saving, or are things pretty much going OK as they are.   Bear in mind that things not going exactly as you would have done it, if you were in charge is no excuse to stir up trouble.

2.  How do other people feel?  The four people in the "coalition" living room might constitute an echo chamber.   Do other people really think the same way you do?  Are you really doing what is right for the community, or just stroking your own ego (because, frankly, you don't think you're wrong about anything, right?)

3.  Do you have your own shit together?   Have you saved enough for retirement?  Are you about to lose your job?  Is your house clean and tidy, or a hoarder's nightmare (hoarding and "save the day" are related, remember).  Are you smoking pot or abusing other drugs?  Could the energy you put into "Saving the world" be better spent saving yourself?

Just something to think about.   There are a lot of things in this world which won't go your way.   You have to pick your battles wisely.   Are things on our little island run the way I would do it, if I were in charge?  No, of course not.   But then again, the way they are run isn't too far off the mark, and frankly, they thought of some things that I would never have thought to do, but turned out nice.

And yes, I used to buy into this "Save the Day" nonsense, until I had an epiphany in the matter.  The day doesn't need saving, and people don't want to be saved from their own folly - and will fight you tooth and nail on this.   The best you can do is make a rational case for your viewpoint and then move on.  You can't force your views on others.   And just because no one is counter-protesting your protest doesn't mean everyone agrees with you.

I realized that fulfilling my part of the unwritten social contract was far more important than "fighting for" larger issues.   And frankly, by taking care of myself, I have made more of an impact on this planet than I would have, being an "activist" or a "protester".   In the US, at least, elections are won by votes and money.   If you don't have money to contribute to a political campaign, you don't have a voice.   And as President Obama illustrated, the "little guy" can have a voice, if they band together - not in protest - but to contribute money to a campaign.

Protesters, activists, hecklers, and the like, often achieve the opposite of their goals by making their argument look silly or ludicrous.

Political maturity means picking the viable candidate that best represents your political views.   And by that I don't mean an echo chamber or a mirror.   There is bound to be some divergence from your "ideal" candidate and who actually has a shot of being elected.   And sadly, both liberals and conservatives play this game - claiming Obama is "too conservative" for liberals, or Bush was "too liberal" for conservatives.   I mean, give me a break, here.

These sorts are part of the "Save the world" set, and they tend to do stupid things like vote for third party candidates like Ralph Nader or Ross Perot - insuring that the opposing party's candidate won instead.  When you call them out on this, they get petulant and say, "Well, if I can't have Ralph Nader, then the country deserves George Bush!"

There is a disconnect from reality.  A guy writes a book about defective cars, and that qualifies him for President.  How much pot do you have to smoke before that sounds plausible?

The "save the world" people are the same way.   If everything isn't just the way they want it, they throw a hissy fit and start a "coalition".   The problem is, since nothing ever goes 100% your way this shit never ends.  You keep pouring time, money, and effort into changing things you can't change - while ignoring your own personal life.

When the rich lady left our small town (and took her money with her) the "coalition" people started to attack one another - often over trivial things.   "I don't like the hedge you put up, so I'm suing you!" they would say.   Just because you can protest to change things doesn't mean you should protest to change everything.  Pick your battles - wisely.

Focusing on your own life is far more constructive use of your time.   Nothing was accomplished by the Wall Street protesters (or the ones in Ferguson, for that matter).  And no, "raising awareness" doesn't count.  If you want a shot at paying off your student loans, getting a job is probably a better tactic than protesting the fact one was not handed to you.   These protests did little to change hearts and minds - other than to paint the protesters as foolish or even violent and dangerous.  Far from accomplishing their goals, they may have in fact, entrenched the viewpoints of those against them.

Protests come and go.  Elected officials and those in power now realize that protests are nothing to be afraid of - they die off of their own volition, even out of boredom.   You make some fake concessions and pretend to listen to their concerns.   Like any good parade, the tactic is to get out in front of it and make people think you are leading it - much as the GOP has done to the tea party.

The protesters pack up, go home, and will then bore their neighbors about how they "made a difference" and "saved the world."  You know, it is a funny thing, but the Vietnam war ended in 1975 - about five years after most of the protests against the war had ended.  The war ended because it was expensive and unwinnable - and unpopular with the adult voting public.   I am not sure the hippie movement really  made any difference whatsoever, in retrospect.

Narcissistic liberals.

And don't get me started with narcissistic conservatives.   They are not hard to spot.  Just look for the tea party hat!

UPDATE:  Look for the MAGA hat!