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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Yep. The old definition of the word meme, too. This isn't something people are spreading around because they think it's fun, it's something that's being spread around because it's infected them.
Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.Specifically, forcing politicians to accede to these kinds of demands gives legitimacy to the conspiracy theories that give birth to them. Much like the birther controversy, it's a tactic designed to tie people up in knots disproving wild accusations instead of governing or discussing policy.
"Prove you didn't murder your wife." "She died of cancer." "See? You won't give us proof, therefore you must be guilty."
And even when politicians do acquiesce to the ridiculous demands, it doesn't actually make the conspiracy theory go away. There are still people claiming Obama's ineligible for Presidency because he was born in Kenya.
And don't forget the part that's just f*cking hated Hillary since Bill's time in office because, rather than being a "proper First Lady" and just providing a pretty smile to back up her husband, she took a serious interest in politics and built a political career that overshadowed even his. There are many in the GOP who've never forgiven her for overstepping her position as Bill's Wife.
And, like, they don't even try to hide the misogyny in it when they attack her with criticisms such as "Hillary couldn't even satisfy her husband! How could she satisfy America?"
edited 9th Sep '16 1:41:31 PM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Between most folks I know personally falling into the conservative viewpoint of LIBERAL BAD! and most of what I read here, I've come to view my political decisions via Trump and Clinton in very simple terms:
For all the smearing and scandal mongering, Clinton seems at worst, to be an Uber-example of Politics as Usual. However, as I've tended to say in one form or another, no amount of skeletons in her closet, real or imagined, changes the fact that she possesses the one thing I find vitally important that Trump has consistently shown himself to lack:
Competence.
From the moment I started following this election, Clinton was the single most qualified seeming person among all the candidates on both sides. Trump has through his words and deeds consistently shown he doesn't have the respect or temperament needed for the position of our highest elected official and no amount of being Presidential now is liable to sway me.
That's my opinion, and I'll acknowledge it's based more on subjective feeling than objective fact, but that's how I feel on the matter.
edited 9th Sep '16 1:54:46 PM by sgamer82
No, it's standard misogyny. They're blaming her for her husband's unfaithfulness. People have been doing that to women since long before "cuck" was ever a thing.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
I thought it was always the men being blamed for being unable to control their women, that is to say, called cuckolds and publicly derided, and that, when the reverse happened, it wasn't anybody's fault?
edited 9th Sep '16 1:57:18 PM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.Men being blamed for being unable to control their women is a relatively recent thing, at least in this context. Other contexts date back further. Like, if your woman is making a fuss about wanting to vote, you're clearly not keeping her in check like you're supposed to be.
And you're not wrong about the use of I'm a Man; I Can't Help It, but that's where the fault comes from. See, the way the logic goes, he's a man and he has needs, and if he's looking elsewhere to get those needs filled, it's because she's not fulfilling her marital responsibility to keep him properly satisfied.
That's part of the toxic gender role as it relates to sexuality. Women are expected to carry the burden of men's sexuality. If he drifts, the assumption is that she's not doing her job, while he skirts any responsibility for wandering because boys will be boys.
edited 9th Sep '16 2:05:34 PM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Relatively recent? I thought it was Older Than Dirt. It's certainly at least as old as The Decameron, the Canterbury Tales, and Don Juan.
edited 9th Sep '16 2:05:53 PM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.I don't really have a preference over any candidate, frankly if I was in either party I'd be hoping for the other one to win so I could simply blame them for everything bad that happens during their term.
But I think Trump's going to win this, I know the polls are at a stalemate and can change at anytime or whatever, but through my experiences during this election and discussions with random people in random places across my state (Pennsylvania) most people I've spoken with either support Trump or think he'll win in November. I've met my fair share of Clinton voters too, but I doubt the majority of them are going to vote anyway because, while I see Clinton is trying to make this a "Go out and vote or else we'll have WW3!" kinda deal, I don't think many people care anymore.
Now speaking of PA, my home state, the polls are showing a tight race and while I seriously doubt it'd vote GOP ever again, if it does, they'll be one hell of a Wednesday in school.
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His proposed solutions weren't really viable, which is honestly what initially soured me on him. His budget proposal relied on magical single-payer efficiencies the same way Republican budgets tend to rely on magical free market trickle-down effects — ie, they didn't work unless you make unreasonably optimistic assumptions.
Given how he says war should be a last resort and NATO should be more multilateral and with the other countries pulling their own weight, I'd say he was a damned sight more promising in that department than your average Beltway jingoist trigger-happy cowboy. Also he's a specialist at striking bipartisan deals, and has made a great reputation for himself as a guy who does what he says he'll do. He also hasn't had a hate machine covering him with garbage for decades, so the non-democrat electorate who are pro-welfare, and there's a lot, don't hate him. So I don't see him doing worse than Hillary at getting things passed. Pity he'll never get to be President, and that things will remain business as usual at best, but, as he says, "That's the world that we live in."
*sigh* Good point. But that's not the same as relying "on ideals alone". That's just over-promising, and being overoptimistic.
edited 9th Sep '16 4:12:11 PM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.I live in Pennsylvania, and over the past several months, do you know how many people I've seen or heard locally supporting Trump?
Six.
This includes: people with Trump signs on their front lawn; people with Trump banners in their place of business, and people who talk supportively about Trump in public (bars, restaurants, etc.)
Most folks don't discuss politics outside their comfort zone, but I've only encountered six who aren't ashamed to admit in public that they fully intend to vote for Trump. Make of that what you will...
This Space Intentionally Left Blank.

All right, thanks. I'd like to think I'm reasonably up-to-date on current events but this election is such a nightmare. I've heard of all those things before, and didn't think much of them, so I assumed that there had to be some other things that Clinton is suspected of, because "Hillary is a crook" is something I hear ad nauseaum from all kinds of people and sources of wildly different political beliefs, so I was wondering what the deal was. To me it just seems like Clinton is no more corrupt or crooked than your average national-level politician, and "Crooked Hillary" seems like more of a meme at this point than anything to me personally.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison