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
I've noticed that the majority of alt-right insults aren't calling someone evil or stupid, but weak. Like snowflake, or cuck. These are people who don't value things like morality, but "strength", insofar as strength meaning not giving a shit about anything. They make fun of liberals having thin skin and whining a lot when bad things happen. Hypocrites, considering all the shit they whine about, but we've gone over that.
Thing is, as much as liberals can suffer from Good Cannot Comprehend Evil, I think Trumpers suffer from Evil Cannot Comprehend Good. The one thing I keep noticing is how these people seem determined to prove that progressives don't really believe in the causes they they're fighting for. PC culture is just self-conscious white people trying to make themselves feel good about themselves, and they should stop trying to give a shit about being nice to people who are different. If they do give a shit, it's just to impress other progressives, if men defend women's rights they're just White Knighting to have sex with them. The idea that people want to help others because it's the right thing to do is very hard to accept, and they'll go to great lengths to prove that the progressive is really just as hateful as they are. As much as they say the person is selfish or stupid, they rarely ever say the cause is wrong, and I don't think they can. The best they can do is try to humiliate.
For these people, it really isn't about being right, it's just about winning the argument and getting the last word in.
![]()
Anywhere there's profit to be made or power to be gained, there's going to be a significant number of people involved for selfish reasons, and I don't really think the alt-right is necessarily incorrect in that assertion, just hilariously, hopelessly lacking in the self-awareness to notice that it's even worse on their side of the isle to the point where self-serving opportunists (like Trump!) seem to outnumber the genuine ideologue.
edited 9th Jan '17 2:21:27 PM by CaptainCapsase
![]()
![]()
![]()
I've spoken about this before.
It's what I mean when I say that opposition to social justice often is rooted more in a really poisonous cynicism than outright bigotry. It often leads to what I like to call "South Park centrism", where "both sides" are caricatured into easy-to-make-fun of extremes and the only viable alternative is a bizarre sort of self-serving conservatism where "things suck, get over it" is the response to any complaint about social injustice or whatever. It's essentially a lazy way to make yourself seem above-it-all and intellectual while not really doing anything.
I saw that attitude for several years before the alt-right proper formed, it's practically the default attitude for a lot of spaces on the internet, and in retrospect it's clear to me that the alt-right is just the logical extreme of that particular attitude mixed in with xenophobia and white supremacy.
edited 9th Jan '17 2:40:00 PM by Draghinazzo
I've kind of seen it too, or at least seen how people could take South Park's messages that way. Since they've made fun of political correctness a lot in the past, it's easy for some people to just see any sort of political correctness as being stupid and wrong.
Like, if I'm not a Christian, is it really unreasonable to be a little annoyed any time someone says it to me? I know I'm white but come on. I'm not saying happy holidays to force non-religion on someone, I might just not know if you are Christian. If I know you are I got no problem with it, but this sort of thing has been blown up to where any kind of sensitivity makes you sissie.
I'm serious, you can drive a white boy to tears just for calling him white boy, but show a little kindness and he'll call you a cuck. These people respect being an asshole more than being nice, even if you're not in the same group as them, so you might as well just shout "Merry Kwanza, honky."
edited 9th Jan '17 2:53:22 PM by StarOutlaw
Okay, Chuck Schumer just went up a few notches in my estimation.
He tweeted a picture of Mitch McConnell's letter to Harry Reid in 2009 re: thorough vetting of Obama's nominees, only with with words clumsily crossed out and written in to make it about Trump's nominees instead. Basically, he just called McConnell a complete hypocrite right to his face.
"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."![]()
I mean, from what I saw South Park's creators clearly didn't like Trump; the show's reaction to Trump winning "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YOU MANIACS!?" is more or less the same as everyone on the left.
Despite Sanders' tepid performance in New York state, a lot of politicians seem to be tacking in that general direction. If I had to guess it's probably because of upstate and midstate New York liking him.
edited 9th Jan '17 2:54:40 PM by CaptainCapsase
I think it's also that a section of the GOP base doesn't even know what 'identity politics' is. They think it's using politics to separate people into groups based on race or sex to pander to those groups individually, instead of their way, which is (supposedly) to treat everyone equally and ignore any and all cultural differences.
Strictly speaking, that's what identity politics is; the break up monolithic political movements into dozens if not hundreds of micro-movements centered on a particular identity which each advocate for the interests of a particular demographic slice. In theory, this helps keep the interests of minorities from being overridden by majority demographics in their coalition, but I would argue the fragmentation inherent in identity politics has also had a very deleterious effect on the ability of the left to win elections and enact policy, especially now that the majority demographics are also becoming increasingly identity conscious (to put things in shall we say diplomatic terms), which was arguably inevitable given the demographic trends towards whites becoming a plurality rather than a majority.
Finding a way to unify the various conflicting and in some cases mutually exclusive interests which compose the left coalition is I suspect going to be the biggest challenge going forward for the democrats.
edited 9th Jan '17 3:16:51 PM by CaptainCapsase
@The usage of the word cuck
Basically it means, not just being weak but willingly becoming weak or allowing others to take what should be rightfully yours. Either through being too spineless to do something to stop it or by actively supporting it.
Men allowing women to have other options other than marrying a white male to have stability, allowing women to develop their own carer and being regarded as equal to men? Cuck.
Straight Whites allowing minorities and LGBT+ to have representation, rights and being at the same level of straight whites? Cuck.
Pushing for a social agenda that balances out social inequalities like poverty by redistribution of wealth and thus taking the rich ubermensch clearly deserved and hard earned wealth''? Cuck.
Pushing for any social agenda that promotes all of the above? Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
The knights who say cuck treat all of the above as a zero sum game, for them women, minorities and LGBT+ getting more power and rights means that white straight males are losing power and relevance, those who do that willingly are considered cucks.
The cuck is essentially the current to go term for scared white nationalists afraid of being surpassed by other groups.
Inter arma enim silent legesI mean you shouldn't be surprised, but whatever, up is down, left is right.
◊

Er... if anyone here lives in VA senate district 9 or 22, and/or house district 85, remember that tomorrow you have special elections to fill those seats, which are currently vacant. Good Luck.
1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV