One More Thing About The Anger Bear

During his session with Congress, Brett the Anger Bear attempted to explain all the references to "ralphing" (vomiting) in his yearbook as having nothing at all to do with his copious beer drinking (couldn't be that) but instead due to his stomach's insensitivity to spicy food.  I don't know how many people picked up on it, but that statement right there explained everything we need to know about our little Anger Bear.

Some people are born with brains that for some reason reward them with serotonin and other neurotransmitters when they encounter something new and different.  These people, the Anthony Bourdains in our midst, seek out new sensations and new experiences that trigger those pleasurable  neural responses from their brain. It feels good and the mind interprets the neurochemical rewards as "fun."  These people are predisposed, but not predetermined, to be politically liberal.

Other people do not have the same neural response to new sensations.  Some of these people even experience neurochemical rewards based on known and familiar experiences.  These people are predisposed, but not predetermined, to be politically conservative.

Brett the Anger Bear does not like spicy food.  His stomach reacts negatively, he claims, and as a result, he ralphs.  This can't be pleasant and is highly unlikely to trigger a release of that sweet, sweet serotonin.  Further, based on all his testimony, his drinking habits have confined themselves to beer and solely beer, and he didn't testify about experimenting with wine or whiskey, single-malt scotches or martinis, fancy mixed drinks or tequila.  His brain must be hard-wired to reward itself with the known and familiar and to avoid the exotic or the unknown.  

So don't hate him for being a conservative - he can't help it, his neurological wiring predisposes him to that.  It is okay, however, to hate him for being an assaulter of women, for being a privileged, entitled Ivy Leaguer, or for his abysmal judicial decisions and politics.  Those are all fine and justifiable reasons for hating the Anger Bear.  Just don't hate him for his conservative bent - he can no more help it that than he can for having such a punchable face, or for the color of his skin, or for his gender.

Writing all this makes me even sadder about the untimely death of Anthony Bourdain - when we think about it, he probably would have made a great Supreme Court justice.