>>> Dennis Claxton
>CB: Does Butler have Reverse Schadenfreude ?
A friend I sent this to asked a similar question. I asked him, and now I'm asking you, did you miss this part?
>Very few of us are immune to the exhilaration of this time. My
>friends on the left write to me that they feel something akin to
>"redemption" or that "the country has been returned to us" or that
>"we finally have one of us in the White House." Of course, like
>them, I discover myself feeling overwhelmed with disbelief and
>excitement throughout the day, since the thought of having the
>regime of George W. Bush over and gone is an enormous relief. And
>the thought of Obama, a thoughtful and progressive black candidate,
>shifts the historical ground, and we feel that cataclysm as it
>produces a new terrain.
^^^^ CB: No , and I didn't miss the part where she attributes contradictory emotions or attitudes to others :
"I know that Obama is a Muslim and a Terrorist, but I will vote for him anyway; he is probably better for the economy." Such voters got to keep their racism and vote for Obama, sheltering their split beliefs without having to resolve them. "
^^ So, applying her concept of "split beliefs" to her , we might surmise that she is both relieved and anxious about Obama's win. For example , this passage:
"If a consequential and dramatic disappointment is to be averted, he will have to act quickly and well. Perhaps the only way to avert a "crash" – a disappointment of serious proportions that would turn political will against him – will be to take decisive actions within the first two months of his presidency. "
She's so worried. If he doesn't quickly do what she says he should do, he will "crash". Maybe, maybe not, but she's not the one I would look to for predictions, 'cause as far as I know she didn't predict his winning or the enthusiastic response he got in the campaign. She should probably be more in a listening mode, and less in one of making pronouncements.
Of course , it's not just Butler. Reverse Schadenfreude on Obama is rife in certain parts of the left today.
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