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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
The development of the world led us to this point, sadly.
Do I think we in general can pull off a good future? The human race is very adaptable, and even the worst of Global Warming (It's sixty degrees in late January in the lowlands of West Virginia. Global Warming is real, you fucking idiot in office.) won't really kill the human race. So, sure, the human race will pull out of this eventually. I am not going to hope for it within my lifetime, or within the next several generations. I will fight for it to happen some day, but I ain't going to expect to see it with these eyes. Maybe my next ones when I reincarnate.
Oh, fun fact: Trump was born only a few years after Hitler probably died (the proof of his death wasn't accurate, it was a woman's skull.) so if you believe in reincarnation, there's a very good chance President Trump is the literal reincarnation of Adolph Hitler. I guess ours might become the second Great Generation if we can resist hard enough. Otherwise, most people are going to double down on hoping reincarnation isn't real.
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Well, he said he wouldn't reinstate it
at least. Who knows if he won't at least try to do it sometime down the line, though.
edited 25th Jan '17 8:57:21 AM by DingoWalley1
I'm fighting this one by staying informed and talking to people. Tonight I meet up with someone I know is actively political. He's been a shop Union steward in a Postal plant in the past and he's still an active member. And he's a single-issue voter for the Second Amendment. This should be fun, I think. He'll listen, and I can probably do a trade of watching out and helping if Trump ever decides to do away with the Second Amendment. Trump's a Fascist. He doesn't really want us to have guns. It'll come as soon as his handlers think they can pull it off.
Representative Jake Sherman (R-KA) announced he won't run for reelection.
"Sorry...I was just wondering if there could be anyone who still believes in the best for the world no matter what may happen, we survived many times around in the worst moments of history, then we could survive again in those, I don't like cynicism taking the mindset of some people in cases like this without taking into account the development of the world..."
I'm not trying to discourage you, but I think that progressives everywhere need to drop the assumption that things can and will get better because doggone it, we've done it before and we'll do it again. The line that separates a functional democracy and a fascist hellscape is thinner than anyone realized. Being prepared for the worst will steel us for when it happens. We're going to see many instances of Trump's atrocious behavior and policies being rubber-stamped by a malevolent Republican Congress, decried by a feckless Democratic minority, and ignored by the drooling masses. The indomitable power of the human spirit — whatever that means — isn't enough when pitted against the infinite capacity for human atrocity.
edited 25th Jan '17 9:08:17 AM by CrimsonZephyr
"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."At that point we'll see if the NRA has the balls to put up like they claimed they'd do against Hilary, or if they'll just shut up and cave like the majority of those in charge. I'm really not thinking these people in charge are spineless. I honestly think they wanted this. Put up with a crazy cultist dirbag for a four to eight years or less and have a free and clear reign over the country as long as they can keep the new military on their side. You know, the technologically advanced one that mainlines machines and only uses humans for sweeping up what's left of the mess.
No matter which side of the government's been in power, that was ALWAYS the plan for the military.
I don't know if this is cultural or not, but we as humans have a natural tendency to try and seek moderation. We have a natural assumption where we see two "extremes" and want to find a conciliation. We tend to assume that one side being completely morally in the right is "unrealistic" because Gray-and-Gray Morality.
Unfortunately I've been gradually learning that sometimes Reality Is Unrealistic and that while no "side" can be flawless some are so awful that they are intellectually and morally indefensible and which leaves you with little in the way of other choices.
The Republicans over time have gradually become that, because as time has gone on their positions have gone from conservative to reactionary.
In order for America to move forward the Republican party will have to change so dramatically that it will barely resemble its current self. In order for it to become respectable it would need to become a proper conservative party, which means accepting that things change eventually and just wanting them to change in a controlled and meticulous manner.
Sales of Nineteen Eighty-Four spike after Kelly Ann Conway uses the newspeak term "alternative facts".
Good. Maybe this will make those in denial, the "he's not so bad" voters, realize what we're up against here.
edited 25th Jan '17 9:21:47 AM by speedyboris
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That's the Problem though: They won't change because all the Baby Boomer Generations keep voting for them, and they'll only change for the worse if there are enough Alt-Righters, 'Race Realists' and Neo-Nazi's that get them elected.
The only way the Republican Party will change for the better at this point is if the Baby Boomers all died out and we learn that the Modern Racists of America make up only 5-10% of the Country.
edited 25th Jan '17 9:21:52 AM by DingoWalley1
"We've always been at war with Eastasia!"
I mean we're well on our way there already.
Can you imagine if Trump just decided to completely backpedal on something huge like that in like a day or so after being bribed or whatever?
"CHINA IS OUR ENEMY, WE MUST STAND UP AGAINST THEM AT ALL COSTS!"
"Well, see China is one of our most important business partners, and well, ya see, we've never REALLY been at war with them..."
I don't actually expect him to go back on China specifically but you get what I mean.
@Draghinazzo: By that definition, the Republican party has never been 'conservative' post-Goldwater. The GOP had a very specific version of the world in mind, where black people couldn't vote, women stayed in the kitchen, LGBTQ were not human and deserved to be locked in mental institutions, church and state were one and the same, and anyone who complained was un-patriotic.
They only seemed conservative because US society was that horrible for so many people, and they have retained a strong base of people through the decades who were unquestionably on top of the pecking order in the 50's-60's. The party since '64 was always reactionary, paleo or primeval in makeup-it is just that more and more people moved on and called inequality unacceptable. From a reductionist standpoint, the Republican party has been rather consistent; Trump is not an abberation, he is the logical conclusion of everything they have preached for 53 years.
How to Culture Jam a Populist in Four Easy Steps
. A Venezuelan gives advice on how to wrestle people out of the Trump cult, based on his experiences with Chavism.
I disagree with Point 2 in it's entirety: Show no Contempt? That's all Republicans have done for 8 freakin' years! Contempt clearly worked for them, where Decency failed Hillary Clinton and State Democrats (although it might've helped with Senate and House Dems).
I agree with Points 1, 3 and 4, but Point 2 is clearly not right, at least not for American Politics. Those Points sort of point to Sanders' Aligned Democrats being the answer to our Trump Problems.
tfw the Department of Defense subtweets the President.
Representative Lynn Jenkins (R-KA) is retiring.
Slightly, off topic, but can anyone point me in a direction of some good advice to make a meme picture. I have an idea to tie one into "alternative facts."
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."![]()
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I believe the Basket of Deplorables comment was Hilary showing contempt. At least it was taken that way. Remind me how well that worked for them? Fact is, in the eyes of those who voted directly for Trump, the Democrats in themselves are tainted. People are tired of the lies that all politicians tell, and even though we KNOW Trump lies, he ain't a fucking politician. I don't know that any existing party can pull out of this at all. Fact is, they're all tainted to one group or another. "Democrats just screw us over for the poor!" "Republicans just screw us over for themselves!" "Third party? Pfft, are you making a joke? There are no third parties worth a bucket of piss poured over the heads of medieval peasants."
edited 25th Jan '17 9:38:58 AM by Journeyman
"Show no Contempt? That's all Republicans have done for 8 freakin' years! Contempt clearly worked for them, where Decency failed Hillary Clinton and State Democrats (although it might've helped with Senate and House Dems)."
Hell no, they were a shrnking party who was becoming and more radical, they only win by luck and throwing EVERYTHING, as venezuelan I told you this: by belive they win, you are giving them power
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"

@Luigisan 98: The 'right wing', for whatever that means, has always had the easier job; appeal to the baser impulses, and emotions that govern or substantially influence our actions. Equality, respect for others' perceptions, empathy with anyone outside our immediate social group of 30-40 people-all of these are social constructs that goes against the grain of current human psychology.
Someone has to be taught that bigotry and racism is wrong-the default human behavior is selfish and exclusionary, from the neo-nazis marching in our streets to the kids who get picked last for dodgeball. All a fascist has to do is make an appeal to those same, selfish impulses that make most people feel good, because every conscious human decision has an emotional component. Logic, reason, and rationality play a secondary role for anyone not making a deliberate effort to include them, and so many people do not even bother to try-hence, making political decisions based on how the candidate 'makes them feel'.
For that reason, equality, empathy, logic, reason, and respect for other positions has an uphill struggle that is simply going to fail with a frightening portion of any population; in contrast, a message that is emotional will resonate across most people, and if that message reinforces what makes those people happy-eg, feeling good about your bigoted, ignorant, misinformed or actively malicious views, instead of taking a painful evaluation of your own beliefs and behavior, most will take the path of least resistance. Everyone making a stand against what the literal fascists are selling has a tall order to even level the playing field, because so many people will embrace the worst parts of themselves rather that admit they might be wrong.
edited 25th Jan '17 8:55:39 AM by ViperMagnum357