Some men just want to watch the world burn

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Dave Johnson at crooksandliars.com makes an important point, Misunderestimating Who They Are: They Like To Destroy Things:

There is a miscalculation at the core of Democratic strategies for
ending the shutdown and avoiding default. Democrats keep saying, "They
wouldn’t really do that." But this calculation doesn't "get it" about
who and what the country is dealing with.

Here is the miscalculation: If you listen to right-wing radio, watch
FOX News and read their online media and take it seriously (because they
do) then you would know that many on the right don’t want to live in a
country that has Social Security, Medicare, Obamacare, the minimum wage,
Food Stamps, immigration, public schools, infant nutrition programs and
the rest of the things government does to make our lives better. And they don't want anyone else to live in a country that has those things, either.

They are willing to destroy the village to keep the village from
having those things. If you don't "get that" before entering into
negotiations, you're at risk of making a terrible mistake — like the
sequester.

This reminds me of the anecdote that Alfred tells Bruce Wayne in the Dark Knight movie, and concludes:

Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They
can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just
want to watch the world burn.

Video below the fold.