TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

The General US Politics Thread

Go To

Nov 2023 Mod notice:


There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.

If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines before posting here.

Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.

If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules when posting here.


In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.

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

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286576: Aug 5th 2019 at 3:16:23 AM

Granted, a lot of angry white people aren't poor or even lower-middle class. Remember that a lot of Trump voters are white suburbanites who make more than the median salary in the USA.

Disgusted, but not surprised
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#286577: Aug 5th 2019 at 3:18:29 AM

Yes and if you looked at who compromise the Democrats in Kentucky, you'll note the vast majority of poor working class whites are actually among them. A lot of Democrats actually buy into Donald's bullshit about being "the man of the people." They see them picking a redneck looking man or woman and put them on camera but he's not.

He's the paragon of the rich and well-off who want to protect America's white supremacy and rich not help the poor.

Which undercuts my point, though, but my opinion of rich and well-off white supremacists is No Sympathy while poorer ones I can at least muster enough to say, "you should drop this shit." Then No Sympathy if they don't change immediately afterward.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Aug 5th 2019 at 3:20:39 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286578: Aug 5th 2019 at 3:19:12 AM

A lot of Republicans buy into that rhetoric too.

Edited by M84 on Aug 5th 2019 at 6:20:35 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#286579: Aug 5th 2019 at 3:24:32 AM

in regards to Mitch McConnell falling over..

Finally, Mc Connell brings a motion to the floor.

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286580: Aug 5th 2019 at 3:26:33 AM

[up]I admit it, that made me laugh. Maybe that makes me a bad person but whatever.

Disgusted, but not surprised
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#286581: Aug 5th 2019 at 6:22:23 AM

Oh, and Trump made the situation even worse.

The Media has a big responsibility to life and safety in our Country. Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years. News coverage has got to start being fair, balanced and unbiased, or these terrible problems will only get worse! - 4:32 AM - 5 Aug 2019

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#286582: Aug 5th 2019 at 6:23:54 AM

Read that as Fox news for a moment before my brain corrected itself

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#286583: Aug 5th 2019 at 6:27:06 AM

"4:32 AM"

Go the fuck to sleep!

"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."
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#286584: Aug 5th 2019 at 6:29:50 AM

He must get like 2 hours of sleep tops

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#286585: Aug 5th 2019 at 6:29:53 AM

[up]x4 Trump also said he would support Gun Control Legislation if it was tied to Border Security, again trying to make all Illegal Immigrants equivalent to these 2 mass murderers.

I do find it funny though that we have a Republican President who actively wants to do more things that would piss off the NRA (he's already banned bump stocks), but Republicans won't call him out on his more Anti-Gun policies.

[up] I believe he has said something about him only sleeping a few hours every night. Of course, Trump being Trump, it could be a lie, but his tweeting habits suggest otherwise...

Edited by DingoWalley1 on Aug 5th 2019 at 9:30:32 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#286586: Aug 5th 2019 at 6:32:55 AM

I'm inclined to think Trump doesn't care about the legality of immigration. One of the things that's pissed me off but really shouldn't (because it's nightmarish either way) is that anyone who applies legally for refugee status is treated like a criminal too.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#286587: Aug 5th 2019 at 6:41:38 AM

...well, if you take his words at face value, hes not wrong. He's just wrong about where the fake news is coming from.

[up]of course he doesn't. No Republican ever has. All he cares about is getting these brown people out of "his" country.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Aug 5th 2019 at 9:42:56 AM

i'm tired, my friend
Codafett Knows-Many-Things Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Waiting for you *wink*
Knows-Many-Things
#286588: Aug 5th 2019 at 7:48:31 AM

KYM posters are reacting badly to the 8chan ban. What is it with meme websites and being full of alt-right sympathizers?

Just Having Fun
Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#286589: Aug 5th 2019 at 7:51:08 AM

[up] Well there is some grain of truth to the phrase "The Left can't meme."

That is, the Left CAN meme, but they are usually restrained/decent enough not to make distateful, line-crossing garbage like the Right. But distateful, line-crossing garbage tends to get the most views, so naturally, the Right is dominating Meme sites.

Edited by Forenperser on Aug 5th 2019 at 4:51:36 PM

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#286590: Aug 5th 2019 at 7:52:18 AM

Pretending that you're joking is an effective way to mask ill intent. What's more, sincerity of conscience is completely anathema to the alt-right mindset, which dovetails well with meme culture.

Why right-wingers are so closely associated with memes when their memes are generally garbage at not just a moral level, but an aesthetic one, can be baffling, though. The Right genuinely can't meme effectively, but they meme more, so meme sites are flooded with their garbage.

Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Aug 5th 2019 at 10:53:49 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."
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#286591: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:03:56 AM

It's easier to politick by meme than reasoned arguments. Especially when you're likely arguments are garbage.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286592: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:05:41 AM

And my hatred of meme culture continues to be further vindicated.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#286593: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:10:45 AM

I like Memes that are actually funny, non-political.

The Video Game Industry has/had some great ones.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286594: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:12:21 AM

Most memes are just tasteless unfunny unoriginal garbage — even the stuff that isn't political.

Disgusted, but not surprised
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#286595: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:14:56 AM

People are more receptive to a snappy "owning" of a talking point than to a five-minute prepared dissertation. Especially if that "owning" is witty and memorable enough to repeat to one's friends.

That's part of the reason for why AOC got as big as she is. Of all the women who make up "The Squad", AOC's the one whose name you've consistently seen in the papers. She's the bogeyman of FOX News.

It's because she's witty and can "own" the competition with exactly the kind of snappy remarks that easily find an audience among internet culture. She's not just in the right; she's right in a way that speaks to the lay-person, a way that is usually reserved for Republicans in the wrong.

Democrats have good ideas but are boring and no one wants to listen to them. Republicans have terrible ideas but are punchy and funny and relatable. But AOC has good ideas and is punchy and funny and relatable, so a terrified GOP is determined to destroy her at all costs.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Aug 5th 2019 at 9:16:01 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#286596: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:17:07 AM

I miss the days of "IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZOR" so much.

i'm tired, my friend
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#286597: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:22:29 AM

Some people have suggested it's the internet arm of Antifa that actually scares people.

Most memes are just tasteless unfunny unoriginal garbage — even the stuff that isn't political.

Memes are visual jokes. It's like hating Knock Knock.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Aug 5th 2019 at 8:23:12 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
NoName999 Since: May, 2011
#286598: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:23:51 AM

So Trump's response to the shootings was as asinine as you can expect:

Blaming video games

Trying to go 1984 on social media

Stigmatizing mental illnesses

Implied that teens who are quiet or odd are future shooters

Got the wrong city in Ohio (he said Toledo)

Didn't even mentioned El Paso by name. Just Texas

Downplaying white supremacy

He just didn't give a fuck.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286599: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:24:02 AM

[up][up]It's more like hating bad puns. And when is the last time you actually LAUGHED at a Knock Knock joke anyway?

Edited by M84 on Aug 5th 2019 at 11:24:20 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#286600: Aug 5th 2019 at 8:24:43 AM

[up][up]No, it's like hating knock knock jokes that aren't funny.

[up]at least bad puns have charm.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Aug 5th 2019 at 11:26:48 AM

i'm tired, my friend

Total posts: 417,856
Top