“I understand capitalism and do not favor socialism, but unmitigated greed is rendering capitalism unworkable. There are just too many uncaring, selfish greedy assholes out there that are draining the financial and spiritual life out of most of the populace.”

This past winter, thee were a series of posts in which one OSer interviewed another. I decided to do the same, interviewing R.W. Nutjub, one of OS’s rare conservatives.

What brought you to OS? Salon and Open Salon don't seem likely to be sites usually visited by somebody in your demographic.

As I recall, I stumbled across the site by accident. Once it became apparent it was a liberal site, I still wanted to stick around and see if I could learn anything about "the enemy". Conservatives tend to write off liberals in the same way liberals write off conservatives. We both feel the other side is a buch of hypocrites and can find the occasional person to validate the theory while ignoring the fact that most folks on either side are people of conviction who are basically pretty similar except for the fact that the left is usually on the wrong side of the argument.

What lead you to pick RW (Right Wing) Nutjob as your screen name? Do you think of yourself as a bit of a crank or gadfly?

“I am tired of all the bullsh*t and do not mind speaking my mind or sharing a belief, no matter how unpopular.”

I suppose I could just as easily post under my real name, but as I am just another face in the crowd, I chose to use a different name. As for the RW Nutjob name, I am a right winger on most issues and people who know me generally think I have a screw loose, perhaps more than one. My own feeling about myself is that I am at an age and point in my life where I am tired of all the bullsh*t and do not mind speaking my mind or sharing a belief, no matter how unpopular. A number of years ago, I had some racist and anti-semite views, which I no longer harbor, but for which I do not feel the need to apologize for either. So, I suppose since some of my views have been way outside the mainstream, I apply the nutjob moniker.

A number of your political/news posts have a (non-Biblical) apocalyptic theme. Do you think of yourself as a pessimist? Is there something about dire threats that appeals to you, intellectually or emotionally?

 I think it's just a question of looking at the handwriting on the wall. Most people ignore facts they do not want to deal with, but it is important to look at the facts. Don Rich has some excellent posts dealing with Russia and the Middle East/Asia theatres. His conclusions are sound but chilling. An unbiased look at the world financial situation speaks for itself.....we're screwed. That's not pessimism, it's just a fact. I do not find dire threats appealing, but when they are ignored then they really do become dire threats, so I think it is important to note them so that they might be dealt with instead of ignored and allowed to fester.

In your most recent post, you seemed aware that your alarmist approach was costing you either buy-in or viewers. Have you started to try to write in a more neutral tone to make your topics more approachable?

I think people are going to consider me the fringe element no matter what my writing style is. I will say that as it applies to OS, I consider myself a guest and now I tend to temper some of my comments or not comment at all on some posts because my reply would just be pointlessly inflammatory. My views on certain topics such as abortion are known so, though I may occasionally comment on a topic that I'm at odds with the left on, for the most part I now refrain

Do you have any favorite apocalyptically-themed books or movies? What about war and espionage books/films?

One movie I enjoyed, when it came out in 1977, was Twilight's Last Gleaming starring Burt Lancaster and Charles Durning (who was a decorated WWII vet BTW). Bookwise, I enjoyed Clive Cussler's book Vixen 03, which dealt with a rather unique terrorist attack on D.C. I generally do not do too much non-political or non-historical reading. My BA was in history and I particularly enjoy WWII history.

Were any books, film or other artworks significantly influential in creating your personal worldview and philosophy? Um, beyond the obvious one, The Bible.

I'm sure there were, but I'm not able to point to any specific works at the moment. As for the Bible, I was a non-Christian longer than I have been a Christian, so I'm having to deal with many negative life influences. I do find that the Bible provides a blueprint, through the observance of laws and commandments, for maintaining an orderly society, irrespective of the religious content. Back to the first part of the question, my world view has largely been shaped by my general life experiences... as I'm sure is the case with most people.

How open do you feel Open Salon has been to you, as a right winger and as a conservative Christian?

I've taken some nasty hits, but the situation would be the same for a liberal posting on a conservative site....though I think there would be fewer vitriolic comments on a conservative site. My conservative Christian views on topics such as abortion and homosexuality have gone over like a lead balloon. I will say that there are some really fine folks on OS even if I do disagree with them on many issues.

You went through a long period of heavy drinking that has affected your memory. Can you tell us more about what lead up to it? Did you lose friends, family, job, etc.?

“He had such a look of disappointment on his face and I really felt terrible to have shamed him…”

Well, I drank very heavily during college and ended up with a near fatal case of alcohol poisoning. I do not process information as fast as I once did and have some memory issues as well. As for the cause of the drinking, I was out of the house and had some freedom and abused myself as a result. The worst thing about my drinking was when my father visited me in the hospital after the alcohol poisoning. He had such a look of disappointment on his face and I really felt terrible to have shamed him, since I had a tremendous amount of respect for him and always looked up to him. He was a physically and spiritually strong and disciplined man, but a kind man. My drinking never directly affected my work, but there were some indirect effects.

You were raised Methodist, but didn't find real faith until later in life. Did your faith come out of the crisis causes by your drinking?

 I had other issues besides drinking, one of which led to me getting a few months free room and board at the graybar hotel courtesy of the federal government--very long story which may end up as a post at some point. I didn't find faith, faith found me through the previously mentioned word of knowledge I experienced. I also began attending a conservative church which has some fine people attending it that help me with my struggles of faith. (As with anything, there are some hypocrites that attend that church as well, but you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.)

How does your experience with alcoholism affect your faith now?

I get that we all sin and having dealt with a serious sin such as a drinking problem and having God allowing me to pull through it has helped strengthen my faith and it has tempered my attitude toward sinners such that I understand and empathize with the weakness involved with sinful behavior, so, I now tend to be much less judgmental toward others, though I recognize their sins.

The omnibus background question—Are you married? Have children? Cats? Lesser pets? What do you do professionally?

I am married, but got a later start than most. I have a truly wonderful almost eight-year-old son that is a true gift from God. (Having said that, children can be a royal pain in the ass and are a tremendous responsibility, so I have no problem with folks who would rather not take the parenting plunge...though it can be rewarding) My wife deserves a better husband than what she ended up with. She is a kindhearted person despite a, what I consider to be, horrific childhood. She is also a scratch cook, which does not help with weight management. Professionally, I have had several careers, some of which I discussed in some of my past posts. The bulk of my work experience has been in various aspects of retail sales and management and a secondary and more recent career was in residential real estate appraisal. I was self-employed, but my phone stopped ringing and I am not willing to do fraudulent appraisal work. I have a part-time job that pays one sixth to one eighth of my past income and the wife works part time so we are in the process of downsizing from a 4200/SF house which we will be losing to probably section 8 housing in the next several months. (also having to do a ch7) It has been quite a painful adjustment, (things got so bad that for several months most of our meat came from Kroger dumpsters) but everything happens for a purpose. I would not be able to get through my current difficulties without faith, but there have been times when I got a wee bit ticked with God for testing me in this manner, although my situation could easily be much worse and many others are suffering more than myself and my family.

In your last post (on the current recession being potentially worse than the Great Depression), you summarize John Kenneth Galbraith's recent book on the same subject. Many of his conclusions on the root of the Great Depression (and how it applies today) implicate too great a divide between the wealthy and the rest of society. That's not a typical right wing position. Do you have thoughts about how that divide could be addressed now? Do you have confidence in the unregulated capitalism that has been a core Republican principle since Regan?

The original author of the post is the guy who read Galbraith's book, not me. I agree with his conclusions about the divide between the rich and poor. As it now stands, the rich have so much greater assets than the non-rich that the delta cannot be cured. I understand capitalism and do not favor socialism, but unmitigated greed is rendering capitalism unworkable. There are just too many uncaring, selfish greedy assholes out there that are draining the financial and spiritual life out of most of the populace. I can't believe I'm about to make this next statement, but the only solution may be to start wholesale executions of the filthy rich, confiscate their assets and put a cap on the amount of individual wealth people can have. The German National Socialists had considered a plan where, say for example, you had a retail chain like Wal-Mart. Instead of private family ownership of the entire chain, each store would be sold to a different individual or small group of investors. You de-concentrate the wealth. This also leads to increased competition and greater choice for the consumer. I prefer capitalism, but again, people have gotten too selfish and greedy to maintain a purely capitalist system. There are abuses in a socialist system as well, but we need to start getting money back into the hands of what was once the middle class.

I assume you’re venting anger, not suggesting a policy.

I want to qualify my statement about executing the filthy rich. That is not a Christian position, but I offer it up as a drastic solution to a potentially serious problem, which would have to be carried out by the state as opposed to an individual. (Also, I think I can speak for many Christian conservative pro-lifers when I say that Dr. Tiller was a sinner and murderer, but performing abortions is legal and Dr. Tiller was acting within the law, therefore, a Christian would not be justified in taking his life no matter how abhorrent we find his behavior. If abortion were illegal and considered murder (especially late term abortion) then the punishment due Tiller would have to come from the state. Most Christians understand that God can render punishment that is far worse than anything one human can do to another.)

Thanks, R.W. for being so forthright and trusting me with this interview.