(First published in 2010, then cut from the original website when the new editors realized I was talking about them here, which is an indicator about the youth-cult in conservatism is faring.)
Underneath the hotel I always stayed in Bulgaria is an (unlicensed) Buddha Bar, where the music blared on until 3-4 AM daily. But some of it was unique and interesting, so much so, I wanted a copy and was willing to pay for it. So, one morning I went around to ask about it. So I walked in, and no one was there except a bartender and a floor boss. I said, “Excuse me, but I was wondering…” when I was interrupted with “Get out of my bar, you steenking f**king Amerikan!), so I turned and walked back out.
At least I knew they were Russian.
But don’t you just hate it when people do that to you? When a total stranger walks up to you, looks you up and down, and then says “I hate you. I hope you die.”? Kinda knocks you down, huh? Only in New York do people have ready replies for such a sudden insult. It’s the worst form of assault, to have a person you’ve never met walk up and call you a Bigot, Racist, or Greedy Pig, whatever, you name it, then damn you for it.
Actually, it’s the second worst, as the worst is peeping over the rim of your foxhole and shooting at that perfect stranger 200 yards away, peeping back at you over the top of his foxhole. And that’s the point.
What this is, is war…without guns…being waged against us. They are no longer inhibited by social conventions. They are emboldened and will do this now without qualm, guilt or shame. And while it is always our desire to live in a live-and-let-live world, they are not. And they don’t believe they should have to, anymore.
They, not you, have announced the stakes of this War.
We often speak of rules of engagement here, but from time to time we need to be reminded what the underlying Terms of Warfare in the this War are:
THEY HATE YOU BECAUSE OF WHO YOU ARE
THEY HATE YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU STAND FOR
Nothing more, nothing less. It’s nothing you said, nothing you did. Just who you are.
Get used to it. So go to your closet and learn to deal with it.
I also know what your first knee-jerk reaction is.
So don’t.
Remember, you are innocent, and I don’t just mean Innocent as a baby is innocent. You are innocent of their accusations. If you believe in God, the leftists hate you. If you believe in Jesus or Abraham the radical Islamists hate you. If you believe in free will or liberty, or the Constitution,they both hate you. And sadly, of late, if you are white, they hate you twice over.
THESE ARE THE RULES FOR INNOCENTS
No.1: Don’t Apologize
That’s what they want you to do, apologize for having done absolutely nothing to them. This gives them power over you. They’re trained to work this angle first, for they can see an apology coming from the hurt in your eyes and your facial expression long before you ever deliver it. The GOP is so craven at this they have pre-printed apology cards all ready to stuff into envelopes as soon as they are accused.
No 2: Don’t Defend or Argue
There is an old legal axiom that when someone accuses you of a crime, it can be used against you in court if you don’t immediately protest your innocence. This is not true when someone accuses you of simply standing there, taking up space. Or of racism, which immediately sends the GOP off for their “Gomen nasai” cards. There is an easy 3-step slice-and-dice that, with practice, will have your attacker wishing he’s never met you.
No 3: First, Don’t Retreat.
Especially with your eyes and facial expression. Controlled rage works best. Teach your eyes to spit fire,. This puts them off balance for it is not what they expected. This is where you need to practice, for you have 1-2 seconds to turn the tables. You’ve been insulted, so let your eyes and a short, clipped retort show it. Act that way. You have a right to be outraged. Just don’t ask for, or expect an apology. You won’t get one. But you will shift the “weight of proof” almost as quickly as if a Judge had brought the gavel down. I have a South Afrikaan friend who has an “I BEG YOUR PARDON!” that has been known to curl Traveller’s mane on the Lee statue on Monument Avenue. I’ve seen it, and it can peel paint, and she can turn on a dime when insulted.
No 4: Don’t get Angry
You’ve heard me say this before, don’t ever get angry at dogs for being dogs. Some of these people you could bump into at Krogers, or the Y and never know anything about them. With them it’s all about turf, sometime a uniform, and often having a posse at their back, an event.
They are all conditioned to see things as they do, feel the way they do and say the things they do. They may as well be Axis Sally reading from a script on the radio. You can’t undo anything they do because you had nothing to do in their creation. You are, as I said, Innocent.
Just remember, at one level or another they are all soldiers, trained by a power that is over them which they never wholly invited, can explain, or can control. They really can’t help it. And they will come and they will go. Let God sort that out. But many will become true believers and stay til the bitter end. So we may see them again. Makes ure they remember you, for if they see you, they will turn and go the other way.
With that in mind, a little parting advice:
I knew a man in Jersey whose nephew I once helped out in Arizona in 1977 while working a case. Actually it was in Vegas. He insisted he owed me, which I never collected (or ever intended to collect). But I did visit his house when I went to Atlantic City (which means I’m on some old FBI tapes somewhere.) And I got to know two great guys, Vinnie and Augie. He was a interesting man, and looked just like Chazz Palminteri, and was filled with insights about his line of work and business in general. He explained getting mad to me this way, “If you’re gonna do business, do business. It’s just not good business to shoot a man out of anger.”
Don’t ever fight in anger. It isn’t seemly. Stay in control.
[…] Vassar Bushmills […]