General US Politics

[eclipse]

States count as US politics, right?

Any of you guys listening to your local candidate's debates?  I just did, and I'm depressed.  One side is clueless, and the other side has the same style as Trump.

[Lord Raven]

3 hours ago, XRay said:

I am fine with the government taxing addictive substances heavily since those substances are a stress on our health care system. Big warning labels and scary pictures are fine too. But anything more intrusive than that, I am a bit hesitant at supporting.

Yeah, that's actually part of regulation. It's to help prevent exploitation, especially given that tobacco companies have and continue to lie and cover up the link to lung cancer. In many cases, there are things that were known that were intentionally covered up by companies. The government won't regulate usage at all.

What you are suggesting is still miles off from what Pence was suggesting. Pence doesn't believe in exactly that, he believes in much more of a free-for-all on both sides as opposed to just the consumer side. He actually missed the forest for the trees with his "smoking doesn't kill" point* to explain his stance on deregulation, and conflated deregulating the tobacco industry with regulating people's tobacco usage or something to that effect. And the latter is not what is happening at all, because that would be stricken down by SCOTUS almost immediately.

* because, in all honesty, of course smoking doesn't literally kill, but it does vastly increase risk of cancer and mess up your body, and cancer has a good chance of causing death or at best massively destroying a lot of the things you enjoy in life... like come on Pence can you take anything more literally?

Edited July 19, 2018 by Lord Raven

[Johann]

3 hours ago, XRay said:

I know he wants to regulate my asshole, but I am fine with his pro tobacco stance.

He's not pro-tobacco, he's pro-tobacco industry, which more than likely makes things even worse for you if you're a smoker because he's not supporting consumers. It's like when a politician is "pro-coal", they're really pro-coal industry; they don't give a shit about the miners, they care about the executives and stockholders.

24 minutes ago, eclipse said:

States count as US politics, right?

Any of you guys listening to your local candidate's debates?  I just did, and I'm depressed.  One side is clueless, and the other side has the same style as Trump.

They count! Most of our big races here are pretty much set. Charlie Baker, Elizabeth Warren, and for my house rep, Bill Keating-- all 3 of them are extremely popular here.

[Life]

The way you guys talk about Trump makes me want to know where the Coca-Cola Death Squads are. I've been expecting them for 2 years and I'm disappointed.

But don't let anyone, left or right, change your constitution. That shit needs to stay as it is. And I'm saying that after the Nationality Bill just passed here in Israel where non-Jews now definitively have less rights than Jews here and I'm waiting for my turn to go to jail.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

6 hours ago, XRay said:

I cannot wait for them to blame the coming recession on Obama. In my opinion, Trump and his policies are overheating the economy and it is not sustainable. He cut taxes on the wealthy and corporations, significantly weakened regulation on banks (a lot of Democrats are to blame for this as well), and wages remain fucking stagnant. With tariffs being slapped on us left and right, we do not even have the fucking cushion of the global economy to buy our stuff once the recession hits.

I am lucky to be earning $20/hr, but my friends who got their bachelors are still stuck in shit positions with ~$15/hr or less despite having the similar amount of schooling. The ones who did not get their Bachelors earn even less, like maybe a dollar or so above minimum wage.

Unfortunately, the recession is punishment that affects the entire country and not just the fools that keep supporting Trump while corrupt fucks like Paul Ryan see success from all the corruption and he gets to retire at age 48.

My salary is nearly 6 figures at $90,000+. I haven't looked into whether or not I benefit from the tax cuts that were passed earlier nor do I care if they benefit me because I understand that the result of that nonsense is worse for the rest of the country as a whole and it is a precursor for Paul Ryan and similar cronies to push for cuts to programs that other people depend on, Trump supporters included. The income inequality in the US is just plain wrong and I definitely believe an increase in the minimum wage is necessary. People shouldn't have to work 2-3 jobs to just barely get by and then face financial ruin due to an emergency. THIS SHOULD NOT BE NORMAL

39 minutes ago, Life said:

The way you guys talk about Trump makes me want to know where the Coca-Cola Death Squads are. I've been expecting them for 2 years and I'm disappointed.

I've mentioned weeks earlier in the thread that I'd want to see Trump executed for treason and I was called out on it because there was "no evidence that he's committed treason yet". They weren't wrong, nothing had really happened at the time to implicate him as a traitor but his behavior whenever Russia was a subject of discussion suggested that he would eventually be found guilty of it either because he was compromised or he's been a willing puppet for a number of years now.

There's a number of people besides Trump that the country could do without (either via death or removed from power), to name a few:

Mitch McConnell

Paul Ryan

Sean Hannity

Wayne LaPierre

The Koch Brothers

Stephen Miller

 

The following should just be removed from power, period:

Nancy Pelosi

Chuck Schumer

 

They may be the leaders on the side that's more willing to govern for the people but holy shit are they weak and lacking in resolve to do that.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Dr. Tarrasque

[Life]

Just now, Dr. Tarrasque said:

I've mentioned weeks earlier in the thread that I'd want to see Trump executed for treason and I was called out on it because there was "no evidence that he's committed treason yet". They weren't wrong, nothing had really happened at the time to implicate him as a traitor but his behavior whenever Russia was a subject of discussion suggested that he would eventually be found guilty of it either because he was compromised or he's been a willing puppet for a number of years now.

There's a number of people besides Trump that the country could do without (either via death or removed from power), to name a few:

Mitch McConnell

Paul Ryan

Sean Hannity

Wayne LaPierre

The Koch Brothers

Stephen Miller

 

They may be the leaders on the side that's more willing to govern for the people but holy shit are they weak and lacking in resolve to do that.

These people should be executed?

Do it yourself. You can declare yourself to be judge, jury and executioner. And if you don't try, you're nothing more than a coward for saying "I want them executed but I don't have the balls to even attempt to assassinate them myself". And before someone tried to turn that around on me for what I've said in the past, remember that I've actually fought in standing wars.

You don't get to wish death on someone else but not be willing to follow through with it yourself. That just makes you weak.

[Life]

Double post but this is important.

New rule: If you have never killed a man before, you don't get to call for someone to be executed. Simple as that.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

41 minutes ago, Life said:

These people should be executed?

Do it yourself. You can declare yourself to be judge, jury and executioner. And if you don't try, you're nothing more than a coward for saying "I want them executed but I don't have the balls to even attempt to assassinate them myself". And before someone tried to turn that around on me for what I've said in the past, remember that I've actually fought in standing wars.

You don't get to wish death on someone else but not be willing to follow through with it yourself. That just makes you weak.

Yes or simply removed from power by being voted out (where applicable), jailed, denied access to government via new legislation, etc.

I would be willing to be the executioner to carry out the death penalty for any of these individuals should that come as a sentence to them by the rule of law. Outside of that, I will not as it would just be terrorism and murder of an "innocent" as defined by the rule of law and if that makes me a coward as you say, so be it. I don't claim any moral high ground or anything here really, I'm just listing people in power that the country could do without regardless of how their power is removed and in Paul Ryan's case I admit it's a bit moot to list him since he's declared that this is his last term but holy fuck is it sickening to know we have this Koch Brothers errand boy getting away scott free and retiring at age 48 when he's played a part in making it even more difficult for people to retire at age 65.

Murdering these assholes would just throw my life away and regardless of my political ideology, the ramifications of their deaths could probably result in more harm than good that I would intend. If it makes me a coward in your eyes to wish that the Koch Brothers would lose their hold on our government, cease their attempts at muddying history to empower supremacy of one race and perpetuate all the corruption and wrong we're seeing in the United States government then so be it: I am a coward for including their death as a possibility of how they lose their power for the country to be better off.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Dr. Tarrasque

[Moblin Major General]

1 hour ago, Life said:

The way you guys talk about Trump makes me want to know where the Coca-Cola Death Squads are. I've been expecting them for 2 years and I'm disappointed.

But don't let anyone, left or right, change your constitution. That shit needs to stay as it is. And I'm saying that after the Nationality Bill just passed here in Israel where non-Jews now definitively have less rights than Jews here and I'm waiting for my turn to go to jail.

Who chose to live in an actual ethno-state? It certainly wasn't the rest of us. If you fear for your life, leave and don't go back. Canada might not be to your standards, but at least you would have rights there, if your hyperbole is to be believed. You have options many others don't: remember that before you compare yourself to them.

[Karimlan]

1 hour ago, Life said:

New rule: If you have never killed a man before, you don't get to call for someone to be executed. Simple as that.

So, if we are to take the rule (term used loosely) you propose to its logical extremes, we have no justification to feel vehemence towards people if we have not taken the extreme act of excising them from the face of the earth. LOLWUT. This reminds me of Francis Cornford's Microcosmografia Academica, with the precepts reversed!

[Shoblongoo]

 

7 hours ago, eclipse said:

Any of you guys listening to your local candidate's debates?  I just did, and I'm depressed.  One side is clueless, and the other side has the same style as Trump.

There's a tight race down in New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District I've been keeping a close eye on. 

NJ's 2nd District covers a solid chunk of the Pine Barrens, back country, and podunk small towns between Atlantic City in the east and the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in the west. (i.e. South Jersey's more Urbanized, liberal populations) 

Lots of trailer parks. Lots of biker bars. Lots of farmers and hunters and gun owners. 

Even in a state as liberal as New Jersey, its always been one of our most conservative districts and a tough nut for Democrats to crack. Democrats haven't won a Congressional race in the district since like 1992 or something.

...right now though, in the Trump climate, the district is looking mighty competitive...

 Its one of those districts that will never vote for a truly progressive Democrat, but that's winnable if you put up someone sufficiently moderate on certain issues, like gun rights. (dealbreaker issue in the 2nd district is that it will never vote for a Democrat who supports stricter gun control laws)

There were a few Dems running in the 2nd district primary. The winner and the guy who's going to represent the Democratic ticket in November is Jeff Van Drew--a moderate state senator who was the least leftward-leaning Democrat in the field and was attacked by his rivals for not being sufficiently liberal in his platform and voting record (i.e. has an A-rating from the NRA. Voted against raising the minimum wage. Voted against gay marriage. Against legalizing marijuana. In favor of increasing funds for police and prison.)

...but thats the kind of Democrat you need to win in a district like the 2nd. And there's issues where he's still unmistakably a democrat + better on policy than the Republicans that the district has been sending to Congress to caucus with Paul Ryan and support the Trump Agenda and bolster the national GOP.

-Supports environmental protection; actively works against the agenda of oil lobbyists

-Supports  increased access to and funding for public healthcare

-Supports Planned Parenthood and Comprehensive Sex Education in the public schools 

______

Most importantly--he's not a lapdog for Trump.

Van Drew's Republican opponent, Seth Grossman, issued this statement after #TreasonSummit Trump's appearance with Putin in Helsinki: https://twitter.com/Grossman4NJ

"Our President wrote the Art of the Deal. His mastery of diplomatic negotiation is second to none on the global stage. With North Korean aggression on the decline and a peace deal within reach, America has no reason not to trust his judgement in Helsinki. I stand with Trump!"

...which is all the reason I need atm to support his opponent...

Not the ideal progressive candidate on the Democratic side--but hey, we gotta be realistic here--the ideal progressive candidate isn't going fly with the pineys.

If Van Drew can get the 2nd District to flip for the Democrats, that's huge.   

 

Edited July 19, 2018 by Shoblongoo

[XRay]

Just read a short article about the public's opinion on the summit. Apparently, most Republicans do not think it is a big deal while Democrats think it is. Independents are split, but lean towards the Democrats a little.

At this point, I do not think there is reconciliation in the foreseeable future. What one side sees as treason, the other side just sees it as a trivial matter. From how I see it, as long as the person or group is white, Republicans have no problem embracing them even if they fuck with your country.

[Shoblongoo]

The hardest part of the Trump presidency has been coming to the inescapable realization that ~40% of the country would in fact vote for the orange shitgibbon if he  literally shot someone on 5th Avenue. 

And are fully prepared to accept any falsehood, atrocity, or disassembly of our institutions and values as an advancement of American patriotism and greatness because--well--Dear Leader says so...

Edited July 19, 2018 by Shoblongoo

[Tryhard]

Not just ignore, though. If he shot a baby they would say the baby was a terrorist.

10 hours ago, Life said:

The way you guys talk about Trump makes me want to know where the Coca-Cola Death Squads are. I've been expecting them for 2 years and I'm disappointed.

You had some fairly doomsday predictions after Obama got a second term as well, let's be real. But even besides that, FEMA camps and Obama not relinquishing power and all that, Obama's gonna take all the guns.

Of the two, though, let's just say I think if either one was going to do it, Trump would be more likely.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Edgelord

[Dr. Tarrasque]

47 minutes ago, Shoblongoo said:

The hardest part of the Trump presidency has been coming to the inescapable realization that ~40% of the country would in fact vote for the orange shitgibbon if he  literally shot someone on 5th Avenue. 

And are fully prepared to accept any falsehood, atrocity, or disassembly of our institutions and values as an advancement of American patriotism and greatness because--well--Dear Leader says so...

I disagree. I came to terms with this after reading comments on Fox News videos around the "100 days of Trump" ,specially Hannity's videos.

Personally, I'd say the hardest part of the Trump presidency is seeing how blatantly stupid, bad and corrupt the administration is and the lack of action to have all this incompetency ceased that it's like watching a cop commit a crime in plain sight and he just rubs it in with his shit-eating grin. I'm sure a KFC employee is probably held to a higher ethical and behavioral standard than Trump is.

Never underestimate how petty and delusional people can be. 

2 hours ago, XRay said:

Just read a short article about the public's opinion on the summit. Apparently, most Republicans do not think it is a big deal while Democrats think it is. Independents are split, but lean towards the Democrats a little.

At this point, I do not think there is reconciliation in the foreseeable future. What one side sees as treason, the other side just sees it as a trivial matter. From how I see it, as long as the person or group is white, Republicans have no problem embracing them even if they fuck with your country.

I mean, let's just pretend for a moment that we're back around the first 100 days of his presidency. The man made it clear he had no desire to attend briefings, ignored advisers and actively just sought to govern via his whim. The man also tried starting out with a Muslim ban, racist remarks during the campaign, actively sought to undo whatever Obama did, overused the power of executive orders and on a daily basis you had the goddamn white house say you shouldn't take the president's words literally and act as interpreters.

Republicans would've called for Obama's impeachment with just that and I do not believe I'm exaggerating when I say that it isn't just because it's Obama, it's because it was a black president and a Democrat.

Also, here's one on people regretting Trump.

38 minutes ago, Edgelord said:

Not just ignore, though. If he shot a baby they would say the baby was a terrorist.

Fucking hell, this should be a joke but I can't rule it out of the realm of possibility. Goddamn, fuck Trump.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Dr. Tarrasque

[Lord Raven]

1 hour ago, Shoblongoo said:

The hardest part of the Trump presidency has been coming to the inescapable realization that ~40% of the country would in fact vote for the orange shitgibbon if he  literally shot someone on 5th Avenue. 

And are fully prepared to accept any falsehood, atrocity, or disassembly of our institutions and values as an advancement of American patriotism and greatness because--well--Dear Leader says so...

I would wait for the economy to actually tank or go down before we make the 40% conclusion. Especially since people will get their tax returns and see how much less money they got from their returns, or we could wait on health insurance to spike too. And don't forget tariffs which make consumer goods hella expensive over time.

If the economy plummets in the next year then I guarantee we will see a 30% or lower approval rating. I don't think it's a dear leader thing when only 25% of the electorate voted him in and probably like 50% of that 25% did it along party lines and because they hate Hillary Clinton while being conservative or being pro-Bernie. I'm definitely not convinced that the 40% approval rating is a floor because the worst Trump has done aside from the tax bill is just talk.

It's pretty much part of the Russian propaganda to keep placing blame on "others" in the country, no matter which "side" you're actually on.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

@Lord Raven I think you're underestimating how much of a cult a large portion of Trump base has been. They do not pay attention to anything other than how people talk about Trump and amusingly, the quickest way to see how bad they can be is to look for anyone on Fox News that isn't tooting Trump's horn. I've already brought up Shep Smith in the past who's getting a ton of hate from the Fox News base because he isn't Hannity but now you've got Neil Cavuto's coverage of the Treason Summit as another example and it's pretty damn sad to see that the people on Fox News that are actually trying to be actual news and come back to reality are so brazenly attacked by their own viewers.

They don't seem to have interest in substance, it's just "Do you respect the president or not?" It doesn't seem wise to think they'll come to their senses while Trump remains, sinking him is more likely.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Dr. Tarrasque

[Captain Karnage]

46 minutes ago, Dr. Tarrasque said:

@Lord Raven I think you're underestimating how much of a cult a large portion of Trump base has been. They do not pay attention to anything other than how people talk about Trump and amusingly, the quickest way to see how bad they can be is to look for anyone on Fox News that isn't tooting Trump's horn. I've already brought up Shep Smith in the past who's getting a ton of hate from the Fox News base because he isn't Hannity but now you've got Neil Cavuto's coverage of the Treason Summit as another example and it's pretty damn sad to see that the people on Fox News that are actually trying to be actual news and come back to reality are so brazenly attacked by their own viewers.

They don't seem to have interest in substance, it's just "Do you respect the president or not?" It doesn't seem wise to think they'll come to their senses while Trump remains, sinking him is more likely.

 

1 hour ago, Lord Raven said:

I would wait for the economy to actually tank or go down before we make the 40% conclusion. Especially since people will get their tax returns and see how much less money they got from their returns, or we could wait on health insurance to spike too. And don't forget tariffs which make consumer goods hella expensive over time.

If the economy plummets in the next year then I guarantee we will see a 30% or lower approval rating. I don't think it's a dear leader thing when only 25% of the electorate voted him in and probably like 50% of that 25% did it along party lines and because they hate Hillary Clinton while being conservative or being pro-Bernie. I'm definitely not convinced that the 40% approval rating is a floor because the worst Trump has done aside from the tax bill is just talk.

It's pretty much part of the Russian propaganda to keep placing blame on "others" in the country, no matter which "side" you're actually on.

Then you two should really check out r/The_Donald. 

[Lord Raven]

1 hour ago, Dr. Tarrasque said:

@Lord Raven I think you're underestimating how much of a cult a large portion of Trump base has been. They do not pay attention to anything other than how people talk about Trump and amusingly, the quickest way to see how bad they can be is to look for anyone on Fox News that isn't tooting Trump's horn. I've already brought up Shep Smith in the past who's getting a ton of hate from the Fox News base because he isn't Hannity but now you've got Neil Cavuto's coverage of the Treason Summit as another example and it's pretty damn sad to see that the people on Fox News that are actually trying to be actual news and come back to reality are so brazenly attacked by their own viewers.

They don't seem to have interest in substance, it's just "Do you respect the president or not?" It doesn't seem wise to think they'll come to their senses while Trump remains, sinking him is more likely.

Who is "they"? Trump supporters? The 40%? Are you saying the 40% are all Trump supporters? What if they're just sheltered conservatives/liberals/moderates who are already decently off? Part of approval ratings also reflect how people are doing in the now.

The Trump-Putin summit is actually receiving relatively more backlash than before. I also don't conflate trump supporters with Hannity.

I mean, I really hate to be the one to ask this, but have you actually lived in a rural town before? I mean, I fucking hated it, but I've seen first-hand and second-hand what kind of shit happens there and it's a result of the world moving far too fast for relatively isolated parts of the US. Calling them deplorable or beyond saving or constantly railing on them like you do in this thread will only entrench people and make them defensive.

And for instance, you have trends like Arizona turning gradually purple to blue... because there are more jobs (especially in tech) to bridge remote areas of the country to the main cities. I can see a lot of areas with cheaper housing following suit. I mean, you're not going to get any sort of intellectual debate from 99% of people regardless of how smart they are, so all some people have to debate from is not experience with other cultures (which, yes, in a rural town does not happen often and people don't feel the need to do it because to them, their town is diverse too, just in a different way -- I'm not saying this ironically, for the record).

I'm not a moral relativist or something, but I do see a lot of racism as a result of fear of a lot of things, and the racism that entails is very shallow in the end. For the most part. I don't think voting for Trump is logical, but I also think rural towns don't think losing their job and their town going to shit is logical either, for a variety of reasons.

29 minutes ago, Captain Karnage said:

 

Then you two should really check out r/The_Donald. 

I don't know what point you're trying to make but that subreddit is definitely not representative of the average person that supports Trump. I'm fairly confident that half of that subreddit is driven by Russians.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

37 minutes ago, Captain Karnage said:

 

Then you two should really check out r/The_Donald. 

Looked through it. Amazing. After reading a bit from there I thought to myself "the only thing I've seen worse than this is that one video illustrating the reaction that people on a certain subreddit had BEFORE and AFTER finding out the shooter was white."

As it turns out you've just linked us to that very same subreddit the video was highlighting. It seems other subreddits keep a close watch on this particular cesspit of Trump nuts and wonder why this particular "toxic subreddit" hasn't been banned yet.

Karnage, what was the point of linking this? My intent isn't to attack you here as I'm curious to how you came across it. Are communities like this what you follow and get your information from when it comes to politics?

[Lord Raven]

43 minutes ago, Dr. Tarrasque said:

Looked through it. Amazing. After reading a bit from there I thought to myself "the only thing I've seen worse than this is that one video illustrating the reaction that people on a certain subreddit had BEFORE and AFTER finding out the shooter was white."

As it turns out you've just linked us to that very same subreddit the video was highlighting. It seems other subreddits keep a close watch on this particular cesspit of Trump nuts and wonder why this particular "toxic subreddit" hasn't been banned yet.

The_Donald is wildly popular. Do you not go on reddit? They used to brigade posts there to make it to the front page, and it basically lived rent-free in a lot of redditers' heads.

It's a really big piece of shit subreddit and the only way you avoid it is if you actively avoid politics on reddit. And it's very very difficult to actively avoid politics on reddit. I actually believe much of it is Russian brigaded/driven.

At any rate, I really think it's not banned because they're trying to figure out how to ban it in the least shitstormy-way possible. Because if The_Donald gets banned, it's gonna make waves just about everywhere.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Lord Raven

[Captain Karnage]

46 minutes ago, Dr. Tarrasque said:

Karnage, what was the point of linking this? My intent isn't to attack you here as I'm curious to how you came across it. Are communities like this what you follow and get your information from when it comes to politics?

I thought it was relevant to your comment

I rarely if ever use the news links there, I mainly go there to get some patriotic memes and read some personal stories

I get a lot of my world news from listening to Karl Benjamin, I do go to NBC, The Guardian, Brietbart, and other places from time to time, I try and keep my guard up when I read thos places

 

[Dr. Tarrasque]

34 minutes ago, Lord Raven said:

The_Donald is wildly popular. Do you not go on reddit? They used to brigade posts there to make it to the front page, and it basically lived rent-free in a lot of redditers' heads.

It's a really big piece of shit subreddit and the only way you avoid it is if you actively avoid politics on reddit. And it's very very difficult to actively avoid politics on reddit. I actually believe much of it is Russian brigaded/driven.

At any rate, I really think it's not banned because they're trying to figure out how to ban it in the least shitstormy-way possible. Because if The_Donald gets banned, it's gonna make waves just about everywhere, especially since more and more companies are trying to use reddit to astroturf.

Not really just r/News every other day as a hub for news stories and I rarely read comments on there.

Ban without a shitstorm? Certainly not happening anytime soon.

1 hour ago, Lord Raven said:

Who is "they"? Trump supporters? The 40%? Are you saying the 40% are all Trump supporters? What if they're just sheltered conservatives/liberals/moderates who are already decently off? Part of approval ratings also reflect how people are doing in the now.

The Trump-Putin summit is actually receiving relatively more backlash than before. I also don't conflate trump supporters with Hannity.

I mean, I really hate to be the one to ask this, but have you actually lived in a rural town before? I mean, I fucking hated it, but I've seen first-hand and second-hand what kind of shit happens there and it's a result of the world moving far too fast for relatively isolated parts of the US. Calling them deplorable or beyond saving or constantly railing on them like you do in this thread will only entrench people and make them defensive.

And for instance, you have trends like Arizona turning gradually purple to blue... because there are more jobs (especially in tech) to bridge remote areas of the country to the main cities. I can see a lot of areas with cheaper housing following suit. I mean, you're not going to get any sort of intellectual debate from 99% of people regardless of how smart they are, so all some people have to debate from is not experience with other cultures (which, yes, in a rural town does not happen often and people don't feel the need to do it because to them, their town is diverse too, just in a different way -- I'm not saying this ironically, for the record).

I'm not a moral relativist or something, but I do see a lot of racism as a result of fear of a lot of things, and the racism that entails is very shallow in the end. For the most part. I don't think voting for Trump is logical, but I also think rural towns don't think losing their job and their town going to shit is logical either, for a variety of reasons.

Trump supporters still sticking with him and attacking anyone in news media that criticizes Trump.

As for living in a rural town, not in the US but I did where I'm from when I was a child. I've driven to a few rural areas in Texas to see what it's like... they really don't like the media and dislike how much negative press there is of Trump and no coverage of their struggles. I get that and I do feel sorry for those that were conned into voting for Trump but that doesn't extend to those with petty reasons like "because he gets a rise out of liberals" or take it out on immigrants (legal or illegal).

At the end of the day though, that is Texas and it probably will be always be red.

Fear doesn't justify racism. It shouldn't be a complicated matter, simply think how you'd like the way you're treating someone of a race you don't like if the positions were swapped.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Dr. Tarrasque

[Tryhard]

48 minutes ago, Lord Raven said:

At any rate, I really think it's not banned because they're trying to figure out how to ban it in the least shitstormy-way possible. Because if The_Donald gets banned, it's gonna make waves just about everywhere.

Containment board tbh, go search for historical posts for pizzagate on there and you'll see that people there still think that it's real.

[Moblin Major General]

16 minutes ago, Dr. Tarrasque said:

Fear doesn't justify racism. It shouldn't be a complicated matter, simply think how you'd like the way you're treating someone of a race you don't like if the positions were swapped.

It is, though. A lot of things had to change just for the supermajority of people to see other people as actual human beings. It's only been 150 or so years since black people became not property, but people. And it's been nearly 100 since women weren't property (figuratively). Fear is a very powerful motivator, and is the most primal of emotions, one that drives the existence of life. Without fear, things starve, thirst, or don't confront danger. Something that can unwittingly control you like that creates a lot of room for stupidity. It's less about seeing things in their POV, and more about making it less scary however possible. Fear is the main enemy of progress, otherwise our race would probably be further beyond than it is.