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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#275151: Mar 22nd 2019 at 6:38:55 AM

Wait you guys weren’t aware that this is how politicians live now? Shit I’m pretty sure we had a report a few years back in the UK on how the constant death threats, harassment and stalking is causing politicians to suffer serious personal and psychological issues. It’s not even just political enemies either, politicians can easily end up with crazed supporters trying to destroy their marriages/relationships.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#275152: Mar 22nd 2019 at 6:40:24 AM

[up]x3 They should rally around her, get some of the heat off the poor woman.

Edited by HailMuffins on Mar 22nd 2019 at 10:40:45 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#275153: Mar 22nd 2019 at 6:42:49 AM

AOC is almost certainly getting it worse but you guys are fooling yourselves if you think that there are members of Congress not suffering this kind of constant harassment, stalking and physical threats.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#275154: Mar 22nd 2019 at 6:43:20 AM

Rashida Tlaib (Palestinian American, Muslim) , Ayanna Presley (Black) and especially Ilhan Omar (Black, Muslim, Somali American) have also been under attack. Note: all are new congresswomen of color, and they’re varying degrees of progressive.

I strongly suspect average white male congressmen aren’t getting anywhere near these type of threats, let alone in this quantity.

Edited by wisewillow on Mar 22nd 2019 at 9:44:12 AM

TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#275155: Mar 22nd 2019 at 6:46:46 AM

Given that those same politicians do precisely shit in most cases and spend most of their lives wasting public money and focusing on non-issues, you'll pardon me if I don't feel any sympathy for them.

They are public servants - dealing with that level of crap is something they should expect when going into politics.

I may be a little bitter about non-performing politicians, yes.

EDIT: Doesn't make it acceptable, but still zero sympathy. The point made by other posters that the harassment level depends on their origin and ethnicity still stands though.

Edited by TechPriest90 on Mar 22nd 2019 at 9:48:15 AM

I hold the secrets of the machine.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#275156: Mar 22nd 2019 at 6:47:21 AM

I already mentioned on the previous page that this sort of thing is something that happens to women all the time. Not even just politicians. A woman can't express an opinion about videogames, sports, or anything without being hounded and harassed by misogynist asshats.

Edited by M84 on Mar 22nd 2019 at 9:47:30 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#275157: Mar 22nd 2019 at 6:49:29 AM

And god help you if you’re a woman of color.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#275158: Mar 22nd 2019 at 6:56:06 AM

[up]X3 And this is why a lot of politicians have an empathy problem, because we the public often express opinions like this, that they deserve to live their daily lives in fear and under constant harassment and physical threat, because they dared to commit the crime of being a politician.

Most people in this thread would agree that convicted criminals shouldn’t have to spend every day fearing for this safety and being subjected to constant harassment and abuse, but politicians? Yeah man, they deserve it for daring to try and serve the public and make the world a better place.

[up]X4 As many and as intense? No, obviously not. But it’s still well beyond an acceptable level, I’m annoyed that I have to say this but one death threat is a death threat to many.

A lot of it isn’t even tied to a politicians political opinions directly, we despise politicians generally, they represent government and government is seen as bad and corrupt. The lib Dem MP a constituent tried to murder with a sword wasn’t well know, the Labour MP assassinated for campaigning against Brexit wasn’t nationally know, but the attacks still happened.

Edited by Silasw on Mar 22nd 2019 at 2:25:17 PM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#275159: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:02:40 AM

Does Devin Nunes deserve to get mocked by a parody account from the point of view of one of his cows? Sure! Does Steve King deserve furious condemnation for being a white supremacist? Hell yeah! If you see Ted Cruz at the restaurant where you’re having dinner, is it okay to go shame him for the awful things he’s done? Sure!

BUT.

Stalking, harassment, death threats, any involvement of minor children, is NOT okay.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#275160: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:10:07 AM

Those are the easy ones, do any of them deserve to have people wait outside their house to tell them that they deserve to die in a fire? Do they deserve to have to go into every public interaction wondering “is this gonna be the one that snaps and tries to kill me?”, do they deserve to have people try and destroy their marrige by faking an affair and sending messages to their partner claiming that an affair is occurring?

And here’s the big one, the things they do deserve, do they deserve them just for running for office? Is it something they inherently deserve for being a politician?

Individual terrible politicians can justify actions against them, but that doesn’t justify actions against politicians as a group, Cruz deserves to be told to go fuck himself because he’s a terrible person, not inherently because he got elected to the US Senate.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#275161: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:11:52 AM

I should note that only ONE poster so far has actually claimed to have No Sympathy for politicians in general.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Soban Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
#275162: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:12:51 AM

Something to remember here is that the standards should apply both ways, if it's ok to interrupt Cruz's dinner, then it's also ok to interrupt AO Cs.

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#275163: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:13:39 AM

[up]x8: That is an odious opinion and it's because of this sort of nonsense that our democracy is in the shitter. "Want to get into public service, better get used to death threats and when you get them, you can go fuck yourself" is a frankly terrible sentiment. There are politicians all over the world being killed by degenerate constituents for trying to do what's right and your response to that is "hurr-durr, sink or fucking swim pal, my dissatisfaction with public policy is more important than your life."

Shame on you.

[up]The people that interrupt Cruz generally aren't looking to murder him.

Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Mar 22nd 2019 at 10:23:36 AM

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#275164: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:14:02 AM

[up][up]Distinction: “how dare you say it’s okay to put babies in cages” deserves shaming at dinner.

“You’re an EVIL SOCIALIST BITCH” does not.

Edited by wisewillow on Mar 22nd 2019 at 10:14:21 AM

GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#275165: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:15:05 AM

[up][up]Agreed.

Edited by GoldenKaos on Mar 22nd 2019 at 2:15:37 PM

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#275166: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:16:04 AM

[up][up][up][up]Do you not see the difference between the kind of stuff Ted Cruz gets and outright rape and death threats?

Disgusted, but not surprised
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#275167: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:17:26 AM

Unfortunately, our culture says they do deserve it for becoming politicians. Because our culture says that politicians, all politicians everywhere, both left and right, are wicked villainous greedy scumbags who exist only to steal your civil liberties away and put money in the pockets of their corporate BFFs.

Americans hate politicians. Alongside lawyers, it's one of those Acceptable Targets career paths. We like to make funny jokes about how they're lower than scum.

There's an old quote, I want to say it was Stephen Hawking but I can't for the life of me find it, that goes like this. "We should send politicians into space instead of astronauts. With politicians, we don't have to bring them back."

That is the attitude Americans have towards politicians. We're entirely unsympathetic to them and kinda want them to all die in a fire. We feel this way because they're politicians, and we've been told over and over since childhood that politicians are worse than murderers.

It's f*cked up.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Mar 22nd 2019 at 8:18:05 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#275168: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:19:05 AM

[up]It certainly put me off a career in politics early in life. And a career in law, now that I think about it.

Edited by M84 on Mar 22nd 2019 at 10:19:32 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#275169: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:19:56 AM

[up]X7 The standard should be based on what they’ve done, if AOC votes to put babies in cages then I’m totally okay with people interrupting her dinner to yell at her.

Neither AOC or Cruz inherently deserve the dinner interruptions just for being politicians, as politicians they may have done specific things that means they do deserve it (I’d say Cruz has and that AOC hasn’t), but it’s about personal responsibility for their actions rather than them being part of the politician class.

[up] Tell me about it, I don’t want to be that hated. I suspect that a lot of good people dodge politics because we make it so unattractive, so we end up with either martyrs or crooks.

Edited by Silasw on Mar 22nd 2019 at 2:23:06 PM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
SteamKnight Since: Jun, 2018
#275170: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:20:26 AM

@Soban: Uhh... those two aren't even at the same level. Do you really consider those two examples to be equal?

I'm not as witty as I think I am. It's a scientifically-proven fact.
Steven (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#275171: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:22:52 AM

We can't say "I expect better of our politicians" and "They should get used to the crap thrown their way" in the same sentence. It doesn't work that way.

Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#275172: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:25:19 AM

I think it is okay to protest politicians over a specific issue. It is NOT okay to harass them just for being who they are. It's a fine but important distinction. So if someone wants to interrupt AOC's dinner to tell her "don't vote on this bill" or "There is issue X and we want you to do something about it" or "you did X and that lead to this shitty thing we want to point out", I am fine for it. If someone wants to do it just to say "I HATE YOU SOCIALIST CUNT!!!!", then it is not okay.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#275173: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:26:05 AM

"Politicians are all useless, corrupt leeches who deserve the awful treatment we give them."

"Why don't we have good politicians, guys?"

The lack of critical thinking and the cognitive dissonance required to hold both of these thoughts at the same time is kind of disturbing. It's also indicative of how we got into a situation where voters are willingly sending incompetent and corrupt people into leadership positions while complaining about incompetence and corruption.

There's also tribalism involved: "The people I voted for are all wonderful and unfairly tarnished by the other side, but the other side's people are evil incarnate and I am totally justified in sending them death threats."

Edited by Fighteer on Mar 22nd 2019 at 10:29:10 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#275174: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:26:35 AM

Yup. I’m interested in eventually doing local political work, and that aspect terrifies me.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#275175: Mar 22nd 2019 at 7:30:30 AM

~Soban

Something to remember here is that the standards should apply both ways, if it's ok to interrupt Cruz's dinner, then it's also ok to interrupt AOCs.
Serious question: Since posters above me have already covered Cruz, what's AOC actually done to warrant that kind of action?

Because without something to justify it, this ties into your oft-called out tendencies towards both side-ism/false equivalency.

Edited by sgamer82 on Mar 22nd 2019 at 8:35:11 AM


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