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

Qeise Professional Smartass from sqrt(-inf)/0 Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Waiting for you *wink*
Professional Smartass
#44501: Dec 19th 2012 at 5:36:29 PM

The parents didn't encourage the kid to bring the gun to school He made the claim they did. The gun was actually left at their house by a family member over the weekend.

If this is true the family member shouldn't have a gun, being incapable of keeping it from the wrong hands.

Laws are made to be broken. You're next, thermodynamics.
Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#44502: Dec 19th 2012 at 5:49:20 PM

Kostya

Teaching only works if the kids are willing to learn and agree with you. Someone in the editorial for my paper had a good point. Make owning guns socially unacceptable like smoking or drunk driving. Peer pressure can be a powerful tool when used properly. Granted it won't stop all violence but it could help a lot.

I'm going to add a significant caveat to that. Guns should only be unacceptable in populous social situations (like schools, movie theaters, etc.) where they're nothing but a threat. But you should also teach that there are different cultural settings (like rural places) where guns are both better accepted and better used, and remind the kids to respect those uses. Otherwise, if people from rural or other gun-respecting places come to the city, they're going to be bullied and criticized by those kids just for knowing how to use guns.

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#44503: Dec 19th 2012 at 5:51:43 PM

Triv, I don't think you understand the causes of bullying very well.

Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#44504: Dec 19th 2012 at 5:53:02 PM

It's a loose word choice. My point is that making guns inherently unacceptable in general isn't correct, and it probably won't work either.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#44505: Dec 19th 2012 at 5:56:23 PM

Obama won because on the non-religious vote

He won because of the Irreligious, Jew, Muslim, Youth, Latino, Black, Asian, Female, Gay, Catholic, and Poor vote.

Or to put it another way, he won because of the 'non-Angry White middle-aged Straight Protestant Male who is of the Middle or Upper Class' vote.

Robert Bork has died:

So Bork's dead. Thank the lord, that he never made it on to the Supreme Court.

edited 19th Dec '12 6:56:38 PM by DeviantBraeburn

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#44506: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:00:04 PM

[up]

I'd contest that theyre not angry so much as paranoid of everything that isnt them.

edited 19th Dec '12 6:00:13 PM by Midgetsnowman

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#44507: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:01:05 PM

Wow. The margin for young voters was a lot higher than I expected. The Republicans are in real trouble.

I find it strange that Romney won college grads. I guess the supposed big bad liberal college machine isn't that effective.

edited 19th Dec '12 6:01:56 PM by Kostya

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#44508: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:12:38 PM

Obama Named Time's Person of the Year

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Joesolo Indiana Solo Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
Indiana Solo
#44509: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:15:11 PM

@Deviaent- Err. Catholics aren't protestant tongue

I'm baaaaaaack
OhnoaBear I'm back, baby. from Exiting, pursued by a... Since: Jan, 2011
I'm back, baby.
#44510: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:15:59 PM

[up][up] Was talking about this with my family at diner. The amount of accolade he's gotten is a little hard to swallow at this point, but I honestly couldn't think of an immediate name of a better recipient.

edited 19th Dec '12 6:16:38 PM by OhnoaBear

"The marvel is not that the Bear posts well, but that the Bear posts at all."
DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#44511: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:18:41 PM

@Deviaent- Err. Catholics aren't protestan

I never said they were.

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#44513: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:27:44 PM

[up]On the second one, the former Governor just demonstrated why he is a FORMER Governor. Calling someone a coward or a wuss in public when you are a grown man is puerile in the extreme.

Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#44514: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:28:47 PM

Norquist giving House Republicans a pass on Boehner's 'Plan B'

Huh, looks like Grover Norquist is accepting the automatic tax cut expiration, though some other groups are not.

DevilTakeMe Coin Operator from Wild Wasteland Since: Jan, 2010
Coin Operator
#44515: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:28:58 PM

Not a surprise. Most anti-gun advocacy is drawn from emotional response such as this. Juvenile name-calling just makes it worse.

Glove and Boots is good for Blog!
Joesolo Indiana Solo Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
Indiana Solo
#44516: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:29:42 PM

@devient- Oh, sorry. misunderstood you.

I'm baaaaaaack
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#44517: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:32:32 PM

Tam; So is dodging a pertinent political discussion to be an obstructionist dick.

Who watches the watchmen?
DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#44518: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:38:32 PM

Speaking of former governors...

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is telling Americans in the wake of Newtown to put their faith in God and ignore political and media “elites.”

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#44519: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:40:21 PM

Guns should only be unacceptable in populous social situations (like schools, movie theaters, etc.) where they're nothing but a threat.
What exactly is the problem that you're trying to solve? The fact that guns are things and some people like them? I'm all for responsible gun ownership, but the thing is that the sort of people who've gone to the trouble to get a concealed carry permit and all that entails (it varies from state to state) are not the people you really need to be worrying about. There are two kinds of "problem" people when it comes to guns — people who are actively malevolent and secure a gun with the intention of using it to do bad things, and people who don't mean any harm but do stupid things by accident. You can't really stigmatize the former, and the latter is better served by education and training than by trying to get them to get rid of their guns.

The problem is that to people who like guns, anyone who suggests that we should stigmatize guns is setting themselves up as an enemy. You really can't blame people for crying "THEY'RE TRYING TO TAKE OUR GUNS!!" when you are, actually, trying to get rid of guns (or at least gun culture) in the US.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#44520: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:40:33 PM

[up][up]Wow she clearly doesn't grasp irony in the slightest. At least she didn't say God would have saved the children if we hadn't elected Obama or removed God from school.

edited 19th Dec '12 6:40:49 PM by Kostya

Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#44521: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:48:18 PM

Which elites she's talking about?

I see the potential for this to be spun as worse than it's meant to be though.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
OhnoaBear I'm back, baby. from Exiting, pursued by a... Since: Jan, 2011
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#44524: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:50:12 PM

[up][up]Spoiler: there isn't one.

edited 19th Dec '12 6:50:19 PM by NativeJovian

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#44525: Dec 19th 2012 at 6:57:44 PM

Native Jovian

What exactly is the problem that you're trying to solve? The fact that guns are things and some people like them? I'm all for responsible gun ownership, but the thing is that the sort of people who've gone to the trouble to get a concealed carry permit and all that entails (it varies from state to state) are not the people you really need to be worrying about. There are two kinds of "problem" people when it comes to guns — people who are actively malevolent and secure a gun with the intention of using it to do bad things, and people who don't mean any harm but do stupid things by accident. You can't really stigmatize the former, and the latter is better served by education and training than by trying to get them to get rid of their guns.

The problem is that to people who like guns, anyone who suggests that we should stigmatize guns is setting themselves up as an enemy. You really can't blame people for crying "THEY'RE TRYING TO TAKE OUR GUNS!!" when you are, actually, trying to get rid of guns (or at least gun culture) in the US.

That's why I said that there needs to be a caveat. Also, maybe it shouldn't be so much deriding the gunowners. Just a sense that ordinary person likely wouldn't bring a gun to certain social situations, encourage a gunowner to be more careful.

And limiting gun culture isn't the same as trying to get rid of them. Cigarettes (and marijuana) still exist, and they have their own cliques too.


Total posts: 417,856
Top