Not all conservatives are bullies. But many of the more extreme right-wingers are, and reasonable conservatives can get caught in the crossfire.

Literally.

My friend Shauli Rosen-Rager, a local peace activist from Hemet, was involved in a streetcorner protest against the Iraq war earlier this month. While putting away his sign at the end of the demonstration, a pair of young women who support Bush and the war came up to him in the parking lot.

They came to counter-demonstrate, but arrived too late -- the anti-war demonstrators were packing up to leave. Shauli struck up a conversation with them anyway. Despite disagreement on the issues, they had a polite and non-confrontational discussion, which continued until a pair of angry extremists showed up with a carton of eggs.

One guy had been there earlier and argued with the peace activists; he and a buddy stopped by a supermarket before returning. Spotting Shauli and the two Bush supporters, they opened fire, throwing eggs at all three of them and their cars.

The Bush fans desperately waved their pro-Bush signs to convince their assailants to stop, but the pelting continued. After all, these young women were talking reasonably to Shauli -- they couldn't possibly be on the right side.

This incident is a metaphor for the bullying that goes on constantly in American politics, from the international scene down to our own corner of Southwest Riverside County. Those on the right with extremist views launch rhetorical -- and sometimes physical -- attacks against their chosen enemies, and any conservative who can discuss things civilly with their opponents is an enemy as well.

President Bush famously declared after 9-11 that you're either "with us or against us," promoting a black and white view that demands agreement without dissent on policy issues.

The same mind-set can be seen locally in letters to the editor, which denounce Americans who question Bush as traitors and domestic enemies.

One local right-wing pundit recently declared that Democrats support child abuse because they didn't hold the same view as him on Megan's Law implementation details.

Quiet candlelight commemorations of the U.N.'s International Day of Peace and the anniversary of the start of the Iraq war have been picketed by sign-waving right-wingers. One inexplicably outraged reactionary drove past the park in his Hummer and screamed "Go smoke some pot, you hippies!" to the families who were mourning our war dead.

The intimidating bully mind-set not only squelches informed debate, but can be downright dangerous, especially to our kids. Acceptance of this style of public discourse, which lacks all respect for others' viewpoints and only honors the force with which you shout down everyone else, directly leads to incidents such as the racially motivated fights at Temescal Canyon High School this year. Kids take their lead from adults.

Most conservatives don't act this way. The young Bush supporters vehemently disagreed with Shauli, but their disagreement was expressed in constructive discussion, not cowardly bully tactics designed to insult and intimidate.

We need more conservatives like them, and fewer egg-throwing, Hummer-driving bullies.

Kynn Bartlett of Lake Elsinore is a regular columnist for The Californian. E-mail: column@kynn.com.