I used to have the ridiculous idea, up until my adulthood, that all physically challenged

[raccoon]

People are saintly.

I finally realized that they aren’t.

And if I hadn’t already realized it, Greg Abbott and Madison Cawthorn would definitely wake me up about that.

[wryter2000]

1. Weird, huh?

I used to know an obnoxious autistic person.

[hlthe2b]

2. That is probably a widespread impression. People are people and all handle adversity differently

and often unpredictably, but the sheer asshole and sociopathic nature of Madison Cawthorne and Greg Abbott admittedly have taken me by surprise. Yet we have such wonderful role models too. The late Senator Max Cleland or Senator Tammy Duckworth come to mind immediately.

Gee, what is the difference in these four? I can surely think of one factor.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Had the same misconception until recently.

Abbot became paralyzed due to an oak tree branch falling on him. I'm sure he was a jerk before that.

[deurbano]

4. Assholes who becomes disabled will still be assholes unless they decide to forego assholery.

[Evolve Dammit]

5. perfectly said.

[IronLionZion]

6. They are people just like anyone else

a lot of DUers thought conservative women might be better than conservative men, but then we have Boebert and Greene.

There are all types of people in every demographic. Sure many groups were prevented from opportunities back in the day so they didn't have the power to do bad things as often as they can now.

Abbott is also married to a Latina while blaming Latinos for all sorts of Texan problems.

[Warpy]

7. You know how he got that way, right?

Last edited Sun May 29, 2022, 11:50 PM - Edit history (1)

He decided to go jogging during a big windstorm in Houston when he was 26. A branch fell off an oak tree fell and hit him paralyzing him from the waist down.

He's a religious nut, a theocrat who hates women and loves guns, and I have to wonder why he didn't think he god he claims to speak for was trying to tell him something, but I digress.

He sued the owner of the property the tree was on and won a large settlement. He will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

He is running for a third term as governor this year. I have to hope the people of Texas think two terms of his rabidly anti gun control stance are enough.

Whether or not Texas is sensible enough to defeat him, expect him to run for president in 2024, 2028, and thereafter as long as he lives. He wants to make the rest of the country just like Texas.

Edit to add much later: big one for me was realizing surviving the Holocaust with a number tattooed on one's forearm didn't confer sainthood, either. Yeah, helped send him to jail. Burning down buildings for profit while people were still living in them was bad, he needed some time to rethink his life choices. I never felt righteous about it. I hated doing it to someone who had suffered so much. However, so did his tenants.