The Politics Megathread

[sanctuary]

I'm bored so why not give this a bump.

What do you guys think of the current Hong Kong - Mainland situation?

 

[ununseti]

Another bump.

I don't know too much about the Hong Kong - Mainland conflict ^^;;

But here's a US political ad that's been making the rounds lately. Some M. Night Shyamalan shit right here. Like, wow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZuayQFD51w

 

[ununseti]

Well, it looks like Kavanaugh has enough votes to be confirmed now. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45766729

Susan Collins (R) and Joe Manchin (D) stated that they would vote yes; Lisa Murkowski (R) stated that she would vote no. Today's cloture vote passed 51-49, so it looks like the appointment process is moving into its final stages; final vote will be this Saturday.

 

[boag]

@sanctuary
Is it about Hong Kong wanting Independance from the Mainland?

@ununseti
I still cant believe how that turned into such a horrible circus. Heres an accusation from 3+ decades ago, with no corroborating witnesses or evidence. GUILTY!

 

[Thoraxe41]

@ununseti

Good to see that poopshow almost over. Should be interesting to see though how both parties performce will affect the upcoming elections.

 

[Zephyrus]

I had a very faint hope that Collins and Murkowski would defect, but it was most likely never going to happen. I'm hoping that this galvanizes Democrats to the polls in a month.

 

[jasty]

Honestly the Democrats probably blew it. Porn lawyer Avenatti calling Kavanaugh a gang rapist, paid activists screaming at senators in elevators, left-wing mobs banging on the doors of the Supreme Court. Just who is going to reward that behavior? If Democrats lose even more seats in November it will be easy to see why.

 

[boag]

@jasty
Worst yet, with the Democrats now actually calling for harrasing people and not decrying violence, and then the News saying the mob isnt really a mob.

 

[crazybars]

Zero effort opinion posts with no evidence deserve zero effort responses in politics, have fun being made fun of.

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@jasty
You just posted your opinion, you didn't post proof or evidence, all you posted was your point of view.

{Honestly I think the Republicans blew it. Calling Ford a hysterical delusional hysterical women and ignoring multiple eyewitness accounts from Kavanaugh's college friends , paid activists screaming at senators in elevators, right-wing mobs, banging on the doors of Congressmen and Senators. Just who is going to reward this behavior? If Republicans lose more seats in November, it will be easy to see why.}
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@boag
Same for you silly, you didn't post any proof or add anything.

{Worst yet, with the Republicans now actually calling for harassing people and not decrying rape, and then the News saying the mob isnt really a mob.}

 

[FireFish5000]

Zero effort opinion post with no evidence that deserve zero effort responses in politics, will have fun being made fun of!

I honestly believe it doesn't matter if your right or left, republican or democrat, ATM.
No matter which you choose, you believe the same thing. That about half the country is actively trying to destroy itself.
Believe in gun regulation? Then all of us trying to protect the second amendment are actively trying to kill you.
Believe in the second amendment? Then all of us trying to regulate guns are supporting the thugs and criminals who won't abide the laws anyways.

For Trump? Your going to start a nuclear war with North Korea and destroy us all! Were you for Hillary? Did you not read that email dump! How the hell was she allowed in office?
You want a wall? YOU RACIST! You want us to legalize all immigrants? I HOPE THEY RAPE YOUR WIFE AND CHILDREN (<-- Scene from goblin slayer popping up in my mind)!

There are many things our country needs. But I believe that, above all other things, we need to be united. This is the one thing I can't see happening at present. Everything is black or white. There is no in-between, no shades of gray. Just pure hell.

But, at least for now, its mostly just political hell. Some wanderers have slane a few, but our situation could be much worse. The goblin rapist aren't as active as one side fears, and the oh so feared midnight has yet to come for the bombs of yore.

For the time being, I would just like to appreciate being alive, and I hope to do so without the left or right strangling me from there fears that I am from the other side.

 

[DjAlexDubCheck]

@firefish5000
I appreciate your words.
Honestly I think your country needs a purge, the best way could be letting the left and the right strangling each other while you do something better elsewhere

@crazybars
Zero effort trolling, show some stress at least

 

[crazybars]

@DjAlexDubCheck

Oh that's so adorable?. I used make all my cooking mitts look like that picture. I would put eyes on them just like that picture using sharpies and turn them all into whales.

Used to pretend my hands were whales sampling my cooking. Accidentally smushed a few cookie doughs, ruined a few cakes shoving my hands through them, man my parents were pissed. I think one time, I tried role playing the space whale scene on the Asteroid from the Empire Strikes Back. The mess was incredible.

I now use a lobster and Alligator mittens, but it's just not the same as classic whale mittens.

https://www.amazon.com/Cajun-Creations-Alligator-Oven-Mitt/dp/B005UGWDAE
https://www.amazon.com/Lobster-Quilted-Designed-Boston-Warehouse/dp/B000I1V25S/

 

[ununseti]

@crazybars Those mitts remind me of that America's Got Talent audition by Tape Face: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7wbAbc9PFk

But I mean this isn't like a formal debate or anything. It's fine for people to pop in and express their opinion, even without evidence. Just like it's also for people to request "sauce?" when they sense something dubious.

Also, I don't think those are zero-effort posts. Zero-effort in my view is a copypasta of something that isn't really related at all to the discussion at hand, like "Trump won, get over it" or "Bernie where are your tax returns".

_{@firefish5000 said:}

There are many things our country needs. But I believe that, above all other things, we need to be united. This is the one thing I can't see happening at present. Everything is black or white. There is no in-between, no shades of gray. Just pure hell.

So much this. The us vs. them mentality is strong these days. American politics has gotten really polarized lately...
https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/8k3z1i/this_is_not_normal_voting_patterns_of_every/

News and media also comes with its own fair share of biases and polarization. I am reminded of this post comparing articles on the travel ban executive order (2017) from CNN, Fox, and BBC.

It's also a common thing that arguing against someone's viewpoints makes them feel like their core self is being attacked, and so they double down on their views in defense. There are facts, and there are beliefs, and there are things you want so badly to believe that they become as facts to you.

I think this one of the main reasons why discussions on hot-button political topics like climate change, abortion, and guns can get toxic so quickly. Katharine Hayhoe talked about this:

“If I just explain the facts, they’ll get it, right?” And the answer is, no. When it comes to politically polarised topics like climate change, that model completely falls apart. Arguing facts and data with people who disagree is far more likely to backfire, further entrenching their objections.

Why? Because such polarised topics have been internalised. They are not a matter of what people know in their heads, but rather who they believe themselves to be in their hearts. So arguing facts and data is not perceived to be an intellectual exercise, as we scientists perceive it, but rather a direct attack on their identity and their value as a person.

Someone in a YouTube comment said something that I wish more people would take to heart:

I don't remember now who said this, but I think this applies: You are not your opinions. Think of your opinions as things you carry around with you. You can drop opinions and pick up new ones and still be you. When you make your opinions part of your identity, it's easy to become offended when someone disagrees with you, especially if they make good points. I think that's often where the kind of exchange you describe comes from: people making their opinions part of how they envision themselves.

 

[boag]

Ill just leave this here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoycQO08oG4

 

[crazybars]

@ununseti

I like those mitts too. Has a sort of philsbury doughboy look.

: )


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@boag

How does gloating at Democrats help us bro? Did you forget they pay taxes and are Americans too?

If you don't listen to other people, why should they listen to you or compromise? What, you gonna go call Uncle when it's your turn to eat humble pie? Because that's exactly what will eventually happen one way or the other.

Sure make fun of the Democrats when history has shown that parties always LOSE EVENTUALLY, and last time the Democrats won by a massive margin. Yeah sure, go ahead, make fun of the people you will have to eventually shake hands with and work with in the future. Such good foresight.

 

[boag]

@crazybars
I would rather you keep posting bait, at least I already know the quality of it.

 

[crazybars]

@boag

Insulting me will do you no good, that just tells me you couldn't come up with a good logical response to my point.

Respond to the question, how does gloating about Kavanaugh help us?

Or are your tears too salty that I won this gloating game you started?
???????????????

 

[Alraisen]

@ununseti

I don't remember now who said this, but I think this applies: You are not your opinions. Think of your opinions as things you carry around with you. You can drop opinions and pick up new ones and still be you. When you make your opinions part of your identity, it's easy to become offended when someone disagrees with you, especially if they make good points. I think that's often where the kind of exchange you describe comes from: people making their opinions part of how they envision themselves.

Oh, that's a nice reductionism.
Not like I don't agree. It is one of today's problems. Yet this kind of sentence, that makes it like a DIY one-book upset me.
Yes, our hyperactive egos now identify themselves with what we think, consume, etc, (and what we don't think and consume etc., which is partially the reason why we must not only follow these patterns but to actively show them), but not without a basis. One hundred, or two hundred years ago, believing in something was acceptable. There were masters, a "correct" way of life and there was a kind of predictability to life.
And that's just not true anymore. We're in a fucking spiral of continuing vices, life choices, lights, entertainments and world views and the truth is we are not conditioned to them anymore, we can choose any. And once you're conscious of that, it is easy to realize that in the end you must become a judge of what surrounds you, because now believing in something is not enough: you're by yourself, and without limits.
Today, opinions can shape our lives, so saying we won't change ourselves by altering them is a mistake.

 

[boag]

@crazybars (you)

 

[crazybars]

@boag
Oh, I can feel the salt from your tears!
???

Same question you won't answer!
How does gloating about Kavanaugh help us?