The General US Politics Thread

Fear. Isn't Trump's America great?!

had to be said....

That's probably the safest thing to do honestly, though bigots tend to not be very smart and just go after anyone foreign looking. We had people trying to round up Pakistanis after Brexit (note Pakistan is not an EU country).

I wonder if it's possible to defer the Paris Accords for four years, or to make some pushes for alternative energy sources through concentrated activism in the private sector. Elon Musk, wealthy progressives funding alternative energy enterprises, and so on.

I feel like shit right now, I'd never guess it would take an American election to finally bring me down to my nerves.

With the US election I was really hoping for stability, you know something predictable. With Hillary I knew the world would be set for what Obama has been doing for the last 8 years with some improvements here and there. An economy that was predictable enough for not only me but the world prepare accordingly, because whether I like it or not, the economic recovery of my country also hinges on the US doing well economically.

I also hoped that good sense would prevail, that I should not fear the men who speak in hyperboles and little of facts, that people would have the sense to deny sensationalism and populist promises for something tangible and achievable. So those men wouldn't have a chance to rule.

My expectations were wrong and are gone and I don't really know what to do. I don't know anymore what to expect from the days to come but the little I can see isn't a future where I'd like to be in. I had hopes for tomorrow, that things would be better, now I just want it to end and be done with it.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:38:56 PM by AngelusNox

Just as long as he doesn't use 1984 as an instruction manual, then at least some of us should be fine.

Science is mankind's only hope now. And the wealthiest nation in the world is now in the hands of religious who don't believe in that stuff.

The rest of the world better step up to the plate.

"A close friend called me saying she gave away all of her hijab and won't ever identify as Muslim and now will wear a Christian cross..."

I don't know your friend, but right now is the time to wear the hijab, in defiance of Trump's America. I hope she stays safe, though, and it's disgusting that she feels like she's being driven to hide.

The reasons do matter and voting for Trump is not equal to voting for bigotry, the only active discrimination in his campaign was against illegal immigrants (not exactly racist per se), which is why I assume most people voted for him.

On another note, I guess there really were a lot of "shy" Trump supporters, who feared being branded with those broad generalizations if they assumed their position and that's probably why all the polls were wrong and there was quite the big lead.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:40:33 PM by Grafite

Screw it. I didn't vote for Trump, but I'm going to support his presidency. This thread, over the course of a single day, has convinced me he's the lesser asshole.

The worry around the climate accords and environmental regulation is that the damage he can do to it in just 4 years would take more than one administration following his to repair.

@ Cooper in NC, I haven't turned much attention to our local elections but that's a surprise. However, Mc Crory isn't taking it lying down and we won't have a definitive result until maybe 2 weeks from now at the latest.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:43:02 PM by carbon-mantis

That seems to be the constant refrain these days. "I refused to forecast a doomsday. I was wrong".

Like, four tropers have said that. Anyone feel like compiling a list? For Science!!

Honestly that says more about you and your politics than this thread.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:42:08 PM by blkwhtrbbt

Case in point right here

edited 9th Nov '16 1:41:51 PM by LeGarcon

A lesser asshole than Hillary? I don't know how you can say that after the groping women video.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:42:11 PM by Grafite

Well there's also the vast swathes of Islamophobia he encouraged during the campaign.

Also another thing about this election is it again points out how ridiculous it is to have the campaign last an entire year as opposed to the weeks or months it is in European nations.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:43:07 PM by AlleyOop

I think people are conflating a couple of things here.

The main point being made here is that we cannot simply ignore racism when we see it, both on an interpersonal and broader ideological level. There is a very important need to have an honest conversation about race issues (several conversations, actually) and simply pretending we don't see racism or microaggressions is not helpful.

This does not necessarily mean coming down Old Testament on everyone since not all transgressions are equally bad, but it does mean holding people accountable when they commit a mistake. We cannot give people the idea that certain things are ok to do and say.

This also means acknowledging that yes, there was a significant element of white anxiety and white nationalism to Donald Trump's campaign and eventual victory. It does not mean that every individual Trump voter is personally bigoted, but as has been said dozens of times they were complicit in validating the bigotry of both Trump and the actual bigoted people who voted for him. I can still acknowledge them as human beings who made a mistake while not pretending they didn't commit a horrible mistake.

I'm all for sweetening the rhetoric and putting things in terms people will be more likely to accept and I'm normally the first person to do so, but that's an entirely different thing from intellectual dishonesty.

I also understand the discomfort some people may have in conversations with people they once respected but now that I've seen Trump be elected I feel a lot braver. I'd rather fight that discomfort than continuing to be silent about the oppression my minority friends and heroes go through.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:46:58 PM by Draghinazzo

Get rid of that "we are all going to die" thing, Satoshi.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:43:26 PM by Bat178

To support a Trump presidency is to support homophobia. To support the destruction of public health. To support the marginalization and objectification of women.

If that sounds like you, you go right ahead. We'll be campaigning against you and your deplorable friends.

Why? I just have it there for fun.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:44:31 PM by SatoshiBakura

Yeah, it says peace is good, treating people you don't agree with like they're still people is good, and basic human dignity are good. Trump and his followers isn't exactly an exemplar of any of those qualities, but when it comes to a tie, I'll go with the lesser asshole.

It's 3edgy5me. Really. grimdark isn't necessary.

Hollow words. Especially from his mouth.

edited 9th Nov '16 1:46:34 PM by blkwhtrbbt

I mean his presidency should be supported on principle because he's been elected legitimately, but part of that support means being a loyal opposition and forcing the government to be held to account.

Oh by the way I think I figured out how the RNC has managed to keep Trump under control, they have his tax returns.

God I hope the Dems in the Senate have the guts to give the GOP a taste of their own medicine.

A Hillary Presidency would only have delayed this to 2020 when far more is at stake.

While it may be true that Hillary has had a way of being well received while in an office, but much hated while campaigning, the exact same thing was true of Bush Sr. Sure he got in, but Democrats gridlocked him the whole way.

There were two ways this election could've gone [despite the candidates personalities echoing Humphrey vs Nixon/Wallace], 1988 [which seemed to be the case after the debates] and 1976 [which is what the primaries, polls after Pnuemonia, and state polls after Comeyghazi]. It appears the final result is '76.

Not a coincidence that the majority of states Trump won were also the majority that Carter won, also not a coincidence that Hillary's states were Ford states [besides a few Northeast states, Hawaii, and Minnesota].