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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
#333151: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:26:01 AM

just voicing my opinion. Sure lesser of evils and all that.

You keep calling Biden an evil (sure a lesser one) without backing it up, what about Biden today do you believe makes him an evil?

“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
#333152: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:27:37 AM

Someone a few pages back said the drugs are making Trump very incoherent. Ya sure he was coherent before the drugs? Cofveve and the United Shtahtes feel left out.

It's just that he's getting even worse by the moment, you see.

TitanJump Since: Sep, 2013 Relationship Status: Singularity
#333153: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:30:18 AM

It can all be shortened to this, in regards to the choice.

"What does the american people want the most?"

Four more years with the incarnation of all humanity's evils gathered into a single vile human being who is hellbent on destroying america, its people, democracy, the environment, and the entire planet for future generations to come, solely for shortsighted personal profit that it stuffs into its own pockets and to save its own worthless hide for a few more years at best?

Or Biden?

Edited by TitanJump on Oct 10th 2020 at 5:30:34 PM

RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333154: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:32:04 AM

Could be worse basically.

But it could be better.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
MichaelKatsuro Since: Apr, 2011
#333156: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:35:41 AM

the incarnation of all humanity's evils gathered into a single vile human being

This is hyperbole, even when it comes to Donald. Some other countries have rulers that are clearly worse.

Yes, he's a very bad person, but there's no reason to say that he in particular is the incarnation of all humanity's evils.

EDIT: For instance, he's not as bad as Pol Pot, Idi Amin or Adolf Hitler. (On a related note, the way people keep calling Trump a dictator, as they go to vote him away, makes me wonder if they know what the word "dictator" means.)

Yes, banning transgender people from the military is bad. It's not as evil as Hitler putting them in Auschwitz.

Edited by MichaelKatsuro on Oct 10th 2020 at 5:39:11 PM

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#333157: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:35:49 AM

the incarnation of all humanity's evils gathered into a single vile human being

Trump isn’t a supervillain. This kind of rhetoric isn’t terribly helpful, it obfuscates the reality of what’s going on with this admin.

We can acknowledge evil without having to make it into the most evilest thing ever. That’s a tendency the left seems to have fallen into recently.

Edited by archonspeaks on Oct 10th 2020 at 8:36:55 AM

They should have sent a poet.
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
#333158: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:44:23 AM

When assessing Trump’s evil it’s worth separating his capability due to the system he is in, and his desires. When it comes to desires Trump may well be one of the more evil world leaders, however due to the system he is within he is not able to carry out the evil he wishes to do, he is much more limited in his capability for evil than a number of world leaders.

Likewisem while Trump is not a dictator, that is not due to a lack of trying on his part of a lack of desire on his part, it is purely down to the fact that he is in a country where it’s not easy to become dictator and the fact that he has faced pushback on his attempts to become a dictator.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333159: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:46:32 AM

How many times has Trump tried to grab absolute power in the White House?

Significant instances only please. Like actual attempts to defy the constitution.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
MichaelKatsuro Since: Apr, 2011
#333160: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:46:40 AM

[up] [up] But the problem is that thinking that way very often ends up with people insisting that Trump secretly wants to do something that he's never tried doing or even mentioned doing, but that the speaker somehow knows Trump wants to do.

Edited by MichaelKatsuro on Oct 10th 2020 at 5:46:49 PM

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#333161: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:46:49 AM

@Biden and comedians: They didn't have trouble making jokes about him when he was VP. I think they're just out of practice.

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#333162: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:51:23 AM

Indeed, Trump is not so much evil as incapable of empathy. His evils stem from viewing the world purely in financial, transactional terms, and from being wholly unable to make anything about anything other than himself. His cozying up to dictators, for instance, does not stem from a desire to be a dictator, but rather from a desire for financial gain, and a need for being seen as strong and capable, something those dictators are more than willing to exploit to their own ends. Notice how any praise for Xi evaporated once Xi stopped playing ball with him.

And sure, these things are bad in their own ways, but they do not compare to the greater evils in the world. Trump may toy with war, but he does not desire war. He does not want to directly murder people, though he does not care if they die either. He only wants to rule people insofar as it benefits himself.

I think if you gave Trump a 30 foot statue in front of the White House, a nice yearly pension, and a life free of taxes, he'd probably be happy to leave the country alone and spend his days golfing. If only all evil could be got rid off that easily.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333163: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:53:32 AM

[up] Nah, he would still need a supply of adulation to go with that.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Oct 10th 2020 at 11:53:40 AM

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
MichaelKatsuro Since: Apr, 2011
#333164: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:56:10 AM

I'm not talking about Titan Jump specifically here, but I why so many Americans view Trump as the Biggest Evil Ever when they know there are dictators out there doing clearly worse things.

Maybe it's because something happening to you is gonna feel worse than when it happens to somebody else. Maybe it's some other reason. I dunno.

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#333165: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:56:21 AM

I mean, "cares only about himself, gives no thought to how getting what he wants affects others, has no empathy for fellow human beings" is pretty much the definition of evil in my book. He may not be sadistic (actively deriving enjoyment from the pain of others), but you don't have to be sadistic to be evil.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#333166: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:58:36 AM

Fine, give him his own TV show. All the adulation he wants where he can do no harm.

That moment in the debate where he told the Proud Boys to stand back and stand by was rather interesting when you look closely. He actually seems to hesitate when asked to denounce white supremacists. He doesn't outright condemn them, but he seems to be unsure about what to say. Only when he hears "Proud Boys", it is like a trigger phase where he almost blurts out that line. It was an odd moment, and I'm not sure what it means.

[up][up] Americans do love their superlatives.

Edited by Redmess on Oct 10th 2020 at 6:01:00 PM

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#333167: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:00:34 AM

I think the reason why some folks consider Trump the Most Evil Thing ever is because most of his competition (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin etc.) isn't American and mostly not contemporary, either.

The problem is that some of his competition (Evil Turtle, mainly) is. Also, it's often not clear what misdeed Trump is personally responsible for and what is done by the underlings that he has appointed but doesn't closely monitor (I am looking at Mark Meadows, here).

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Alphatater Since: May, 2020
#333168: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:02:26 AM

"Biden: better than Trump, or MUCH better than Trump?" is one of the more tedious hair-splitting arguments I've seen.

Let's say for the sake of argument that, worst-case scenario, Biden is a die-hard centrist who wants nothing more than to bring the nation to some mythical 2016 status quo and keep it there.

In that case, the best thing for progressives to do is apply constant pressure so that he knows that failing to move things in a progressive direction would be political suicide.

Now let's say for the sake of argument that Biden is a die-hard progressive who wants to do as much good as possible as fast as possible without alienating so many centrists that he loses his ability to keep doing good.

In that case, the best thing for progressives to do is apply constant pressure so that he knows that moving things in a progressive direction would not be political suicide.

Notice how in both those scenarios, the best thing for progressives to do is virtually identical?

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#333169: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:03:00 AM

Trump is a very banal sort of evil. What's more, he has a load of psychological issues that complicate matters. It is problematic to say the least to argue that being a sociopath is evil.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#333170: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:03:39 AM

I why so many Americans view Trump as the Biggest Evil Ever when they know there are dictators out there doing clearly worse things.

Greater evils do not make a lesser evil not evil. If I kill someone's family and someone else blows up an orphanage with everyone inside, I still killed someone's fucking family.

[up]Yeah, we're not doing this. Trump is who he is because he was born into immense wealth to a white supremacist father. I'll have no talk of all of his bullshit boiling down to him just being a sociopath.

Stop making excuses and start calling spades spades.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Oct 10th 2020 at 12:07:59 PM

i'm tired, my friend
Xopher001 Since: Jul, 2012
#333171: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:15:19 AM

Jesus Christ are we still arguing about this? Feels like we're going in circles at this point. Biden isn't perfect, but his platform is the most progressive we've seen in a while. And anyone is better than Trump. I don't rly think there's that much left to say on the matter

Edited by Xopher001 on Oct 10th 2020 at 7:16:34 PM

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
#333172: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:21:45 AM

Hot take, even Bernie as President would have been a lesser evil.

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#333173: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:22:37 AM

I can't really imagine how Bernie would have been worse than Trump.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
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
#333174: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:25:00 AM

I have no idea how on earth you got that from my statement [lol]


In a hypothetical Bernie vs Trump presidential race, Bernie would still have been a "lesser of the two evils", he just would have been more palatable to certain bits of the Left because of arbritrary standards they set.

Edited by GoldenKaos on Oct 10th 2020 at 5:26:53 PM

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333175: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:25:48 AM

I feel Nixon is still a greater evil than Trump.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"

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