River Stark Triggered

[MrFanti]

As Steven first said, the root problem is that no one wants to listen and instead are thinking how to "crush" their opponent without actually hearing what he/she has to say.

So one can give an explanation for a "thumbs down" but will the recipient really "hear" it - or are they thinking of their response while glancing at the explanation?

[RiverStark]

The problem with both of those responses is that Infowars sows the last 20 minutes of a 1 1.2 hour discussion. I spent a hour trying to have a reasoned discussion with the jackasses involved, whom had zero intention on listening to logical fact based though. What infowar decided to show was the point I started shouting them down.

[dakota87]

Probably heavily edited but she wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise. Still it was interesting.

Its ts not necessary to point out this is an old post. I know that.

[dc_guy_75]

This last US election has made me realize our country is irrevocably fractured.

I'm in amazement that so many of my fellow citizens could vote for such an authoritarian buffoon. Not only do I hate Donald Trump, I hate the ignorant imbeciles who voted for him. When our country inevitably breaks apart (its miraculous it hasn't happened already), the Donald Trump supporters (and their decedents) have no one to blame but themselves and their own willful ignorance.

[alpha2117]

From the outside it's actually easier to see the whys for the current situation in America especially with it's politics.

If you look at the 4 main world power players going back 100 years you can see how each has evolved and in what direction they have headed.

EU: 100 years ago it was heavily divided in the midst of what was called the War to end all wars, after that the divides remained up until WWII when some semblance of unity occurred with the fall of Fascism. Since then it's become relatively unified and the threat of internal war between the major areas has receded to almost nothing. Whatever government is in whatever area tends to have an eye on internal prosperity and it's peoples wellbeing rather than expansion.

Russia: In WW1 and then a Communist revolution. Up until ww2 heavily into Communist restructuring. Post ww2 their was the Cold War which began to fade after the Cuban Missile crisis made everyone realise that any war was a war that everyone was going to lose. Then in the 80's the changes started and we got the new Russian version of democracy which again is more concerned with internal prosperity and wellbeing than expansion.

China: Slower to hit the reforms than the others - it's not till post ww2 that the major shift occurs. They were always fairly insular an that continued under Communism. Then in the 90's they began to loosen up both internally and externally. Whilst their govt is run by something that calls itself the communist party they have embraced capitalism and again seem more concerned with prosperity and general wellbeing than expansion.

Which brings us to the US - they were insular until the end of WW1, then had a depression which brought some reforms but didn't really change much till Pearl Harbour. Then they flexed their muscles and became a major world player. The 50's saw a boom and a cold war up until the Cuban Missile crisis and JFK then rerouted that cold war energy into something constructive with the space race which ended with Man landing on the Moon. Both sides of politics largely acted as friends with disagreements rather than bitter enemies.

Which is the point everything goes to hell. Nixon became President - he was already bitter about how JFK beat him at the beginning of the 60's, the Dems were bitter about the assassinations of two Kennedy's an civil rights activist MLK. Nixon was stuck in Vietnam a war that had started to stop the expansion of communism which had already largely stopped with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nixon was stuck with a war nobody really wanted or understood - it wasn't like ww2 where it was clear who was in the right. His paranoia led to increasing bad decisions and the Dems were more than willing to go low and dirty as well to get rid of him. By the end America had lost a Prez & Vice Prez in disgrace, lost a war that effected it's self image for decades and the Republicans blamed the Dems and visa versa. Ever since that administration the US has stopped evolving and moving forward politically - instead it's become heavily partisan with the two sides more interested in scoring points on each other than wellbeing and prosperity. When Obama was in power the Republicans were more interested in blocking most anything rather than actually trying to fix things that had gone astray with things like the GFC and that's typical of both sides for about 40 years now.

The US started in front of the other major players 100 years back and for a long while were still in front of the curve in terms of how they did things but right at the moment they are in a period of stagnation.

Ironically Trump might fix that. A lot of Republicans don't like him and neither do Democrats. There is a chance that the more he annoys the centre right the more they may start to work better with the centre left Democrats. Long term the moderate Republicans and the Dems may actually end up being better able to work together once they realise they have a lot more in common than the moderate Republicans have with the extreme right of their own party. There's a chance that the Trump presidency is the nadir of that more bitter partisan politics. It's the old "The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend" situation.

[dc_guy_75]

For me, my visceral animosity for Trump (and his supporters) is something I've never felt in my lifetime. On a scale of disgust, I consider Trump supporters to be on the level of child molesters, rapists, members of the Klan etc.

While it might be wrong to fault Trump voters for their ignorance, I suppose its similar to the way many Northerners felt about slave-holders during the American Civil War or seeing neighbors support Mussolini in Italy (or any other dictator).

When the US eventually breaks apart (as it inevitably will), we'll look back at this era as being the Fort Sumter, and the day can't come fast enough where I'm not fellow citizens with (the majority) of Trump voters. Fuck them, their families and their ignorance. I'd rather the United States not exist, than giving my tax dollars to Red States.

I want to see Trump voters suffer, and it seems I'll get my wish. They can't die soon enough.

[Murmdrum]

For me, my visceral animosity for Trump (and his supporters) is something I've never felt in my lifetime. On a scale of disgust, I consider Trump supporters to be on the level of child molesters, rapists, members of the Klan etc.

While it might be wrong to fault Trump voters for their ignorance, I suppose its similar to the way many Northerners felt about slave-holders during the American Civil War or seeing neighbors support Mussolini in Italy (or any other dictator).

When the US eventually breaks apart (as it inevitably will), we'll look back at this era as being the Fort Sumter, and the day can't come fast enough where I'm not fellow citizens with (the majority) of Trump voters. Fuck them, their families and their ignorance. I'd rather the United States not exist, than giving my tax dollars to Red States.

I want to see Trump voters suffer, and it seems I'll get my wish. They can't die soon enough.

you sound like a typical left wing liberal cry baby snowflake melting down......wishing voters to suffer..real class act

[joesocalif]

Deleted

[Ben in LA]

you sound like a typical left wing liberal cry baby snowflake melting down......wishing voters to suffer..real class act

Off-topic, but it sure seems as if the right wing are the ones who are "wishing voters to suffer", especially with all of the cuts and guts to policies and other items that help the little guy.

And please cut it with the snowflake remark...trump is the biggest snowflake of them all.

Back to the topic at hand...

[Murmdrum]

Off-topic, but it sure seems as if the right wing are the ones who are "wishing voters to suffer", especially with all of the cuts and guts to policies and other items that help the little guy.

And please cut it with the snowflake remark...trump is the biggest snowflake of them all.

Back to the topic at hand...

you cut it with trying to surpress my first amendment rights...thanks