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Before we begin, please take a moment to see how far south I live.
+ Show Spoiler +
So, when the 2008 election was underway, I was in middle school, and I immediately noticed a strong hatred toward Obama. Exclusively Obama. The most common rumors were that he was a muslim, he wasn't born in the US, and, my favorite, he is the antichrist. When he was elected, I remember the hysteria all around school, and the rumors just got more intensified. Two things stood out:
- I was talking to the band director in the morning because he is a cool (and sane) person, then my classmate comes up and says, "Mr. Peerson, do you wanna come help assassinate the President with me?" Then the band director just fussed the kid saying how it is never okay to say that under any circumstance.
- Some girl had a little circle of people listening to her story. I managed to catch the retelling of it shortly after, and the story goes: "The bible says that a black Muslim man will appear, and everyone will like him. After four years, he will disappear and will return as the antichrist on Armageddon." I asked her where she read this in the bible...her reply, "Oh my friend just told me that." It coincided with the 2012 doomsday, so that is why people actually gave two shits.
But, I didn't care about politics at all at the time, so I didn't pay attention to it until high school.
So hear comes high school, and the typical Obama hate continues (however, it is more politically correct now), but again, I don't care. Then the Obama hate starts peaking my interest in 10th grade when I had Civics class. Luckily, my teacher was really good at keeping discussion on a specific issue, not letting it extend into candidates or anything. The only notable thing I remember was some guy saying how he hates Obama and directly follows it up with "Mrs. Friedlander, you know who I like? Glenn Beck, dat man is smart." My teacher's reaction, an obviously forced smile and a rapid nod, was priceless. "That's your opinion," she quickly said moving onto the next topic immediately.
And now here I am in 11th grade, and I become a little more interested in politics. That really just means I am subscribed to the Republican nominations thread and TPM's Youtube Channel. And for some reason, this blind Obama hate, which is intensified because of the election, is just irking me more and more. And I had Economics last semester and US History this semester. So any random and insignificant thing can instantly transform into a flurry of Obama insults. People don't even talk about the republican candidates. It is literally 100% anti-Obama speech. It isn't even specific things they hate, it is only different iterations of "Obama spends too much," "Obama doesn't do anything," and "Obama sucks." It consists of literally nothing else.
It fucking blows my mind. How can people see in such black and white? I would really like to know where their information comes from too because everyone says this stuff. Wait, what information? They don't even say anything relevant. They do not say, "Well Obama spent $ on so-and-so project, and that is a waste." The only thing that can come out their mouth is the different iterations of those three quotes above.
Last week, a girl who thought Ethiopia was a disease was leading an anti-Obama squawking session in US History. Just today (my motivation for writing this blog), the class's smartest girl was leading an anti-Obama squawking session in French class. In fucking French class.
I don't even have an opinion on politics because I consider myself too uninformed to have a credible opinion...yet these people are so opinionated. I don't want to sound like an elitist ass, but I seriously doubt that they do any research besides shitty TV news channels and their parents. It kind of sort of makes sense for parents to hate Obama because he isn't raping the Gulf of Mexico out of her oil and more drilling directly increases my area's economy tenfold....but why are these high school students so blindly against Obama.
I don't really know what else to say...I just felt like ranting. Anyway, I guess I can end this blog with a question: Do they have a certain political atmosphere in your area/school? Is a love or hate for one candidate overwhelming?
Thank you for your time.
 
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Where do most kids get their hate from?? Their parents lol.. Also fox doesn't help much these days.. Sorry to hear about that kind of stuff, its a little different up in NY ha : )
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Two answers for your main question.
Racism and blind republicanism. (Would say conservatism, but I don't think it's ideological)
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The blind hate is because people can. Just like the blind like for Obama as well. Without getting too much into politics, people are very opinionated even if they don't know shit about the subject. A lot of people also like Obama for no good reason as well, you just seem to be focusing on the negative end of it. The general masses don't know shit about politics, yet their the ones who vote people in. /logic.
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Living in the north and never having been down south I typically have my own stereotypes, but is it basically true that like a ton of people are super religious/anti gay/conservative? Even the young people? I could honestly never imagine that where I live.
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Wow i didn't know such ignorance actually still existed. Clearly i set my bar to high.
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You're the kind of person that needs to represent that area of the United States. All everyone else hears about is what you described, uneducated people hating Obama for irrational reasons. If you are from that area and you can clearly see the stereotype everyone else sees, you should seriously look into political office around Louisiana. It'd probably never work because if you supported Obama, they wouldn't support you, but places like that can harbor hate if it's just part of their culture and they won't change unless someone from that area decides to change it.
People are like that everywhere though; they hear something and then tell someone else an even worse version of what they heard and the hate spreads like wild fire. My only suggestion is to always keep your eye on the line that you see people cross, and make sure you don't cross the line in the opposite direction.
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so how's the local ku klux klan chapter doing
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Obama's awesome. Dumb people can't see that.
Should be the next campaigns motto.
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They just repeat whatever their parents say, I guarantee 90% of those kids have no idea about anything regarding politics. There were plenty of people at my high school like that (same goes for the other side of the political spectrum). I for one choose to remain ignorant and not give a shit, rather watch starcraft or something nomsayin?
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Where do you live?
I live in Massachusetts, and either everyone loves him or a few people(like me) tend to be more skeptical, but prefer him against Romney or Santorum greatly.
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As someone who leans libertarian I can tell you Obama is not my favorite person in the world (understatement). But if my Poli Sci education has taught me anything, it's making politics personal is stupid. Yes I strongly strongly dislike Obama's domestic agenda, but I still can't stand listening to people rant about it.
You want to do something about Obama? Go volunteer for the Romney campaign, go volunteer for the RNC, for goodness sake go vote; ranting about it accomplishes nothing other than supremely annoying people.
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i hear the same shit against romney (gingrich too, but he is a scumbag so its probably true). welcome to politics and uninformed opinions.
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i don't hate Obama, but i definitely sympathize with your classmates. i wonder, why do you not like Glenn Beck? the tone of your story implied that this guy was a complete moron because he said he likes Glenn Beck and thinks that he is smart, so what facts and figures do you have for your opinion that Glenn Beck isn't smart? any specifics, or just little tidbits like "he's crazy" or "he's stupid! faux news!!" or some variation of those two statements?
and, i don't want to sound mean, but you definitely come off as elitist here. not that it's not normal for a young kid who is probably smart to be a little elitist, Lord knows that I was. but you do come off as "oh man, I am so smart and better because I refuse to have an opinion and my classmates are so stupid because they have an opinion i don't agree with and they don't back it up with facts."
this in particular made me laugh:
It kind of sort of makes sense for parents to hate Obama because he isn't raping the Gulf of Mexico out of her oil and more drilling directly increases my area's economy tenfold....but why are these high school students so blindly against Obama.
sounds like you do have an opinion... a relatively uninformed opinion. maybe even a few opinions. further more, if the economy is bad in your area, and could be better, why is it so strange that these kids would also want that? or are parents the only ones who are allowed to want more jobs?
I don't want to sound like an elitist ass, but I seriously doubt that they do any research besides shitty TV news channels and their parents.
that is an opinion that is unfounded. honestly, what research do you want these people to do? not everyone can be political scientists, and there is nothing wrong with an uneducated opinion. if you think there is, well then i will have to call you elitist, because that's like, the definition of elitism.
How can people see in such black and white?
because they are young, and also because a lot of times, that's the way things are. also, i could easily say:
"It fucking blows my mind, yo! How can you see things as grey when they are so clearly black and white?"
i would say, hey. people think a lot of things. they have a lot of different opinions. sometimes those opinions are not based on facts and figures, and sometimes those opinions are, god forbid, based on something they heard on the television. (oh heavens no! not that!!) does this mean that they are wrong? not really. does it mean that they are stupid? not really. does it mean that sitting on the fence is wrong, stupid, smart, or right? not really. it means that people are people, and try to remember that you aren't as different from the people you described as you think you are.
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Racism and blind republicanism. (Would say conservatism, but I don't think it's ideological)
Racism exists in all political parties. If you don't see that you're blind. A black man can be just as racist as white man, a yellow man or a purple man.
Also, certainly people will have differing viewpoints in politics. Its a bunch of malarky anyway. Pandering to people just to "win" an electron. If you are looking to win an election, you are doing it wrong. Politics should not be a race.
edit: lawl winning an electron. Congratulations on your spin 1/2 particle. Now go do some Fermi statistics.
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Sounds pretty awful. When/if you decide to get a higher education you will meet smarter, more open and generally cooler people! Just hang in there 
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On April 10 2012 09:23 sc2superfan101 wrote:because they are young, and also because a lot of times, that's the way things are. also, i could easily say: "It fucking blows my mind, yo! How can you see things as grey when they are so clearly black and white?" i would say, hey. people think a lot of things. they have a lot of different opinions. sometimes those opinions are not based on facts and figures, and sometimes those opinions are, god forbid, based on something they heard on the television. (oh heavens no! not that!!) does this mean that they are wrong? not really. does it mean that they are stupid? not really. does it mean that sitting on the fence is wrong, stupid, smart, or right? not really. it means that people are people, and try to remember that you aren't as different from the people you described as you think you are.
Has nothing to do with youth, it's just as bad or worse as people get older.
The real fact is because people so rarely actually stop to think through what they are believing in, or actually look at what academic evidence tells them. Most people are far more content to believe in what their specific ideology teaches them, take in the evidence that supports their belief and ignore or belittle the evidence that contradicts their ideology.
Ideology can be a scary powerful thing, it's caused world wars, supported genocides, and torn nations apart. There's a real psychological phenomenon that occurs, it's not just people being "stupid". There have actually been some good academic books written about it, Murry Edleman's book The Political Spectacle comes to mind.
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On April 10 2012 08:53 Itsmedudeman wrote:
Living in the north and never having been down south I typically have my own stereotypes, but is it basically true that like a ton of people are super religious/anti gay/conservative? Even the young people? I could honestly never imagine that where I live.
As the Cajun culture is dying (sadly  ) and the internet is becoming more popular, the super religious/anti gay/conservative people are becoming less and less. Although you can still definitely see the remnants in a lot of the older generation, only a few young people (I can name 5 extremist in my class off the top of my head) are still like that. For example, my grandmother still uses the "N word" very liberally. Even though I disagree (not openly) with her on a lot of things, I can't really blame her because that is simply how she grew up all her life. My mom and dad still use it when they want to emphasize on the black aspect of someone. My parents (unsure about my grandmother) don't use it publicly though. However, the "extremist" in my class are more politically correct (because school has taught us to be from very early on), but they still are very conservative, religious, and anti-gay marriage. If you have more specific questions about the "south" lifestyle, I'd be happy to answer because I really like to teach others and learn about other culture.
On April 10 2012 09:02 Kraznaya wrote:
so how's the local ku klux klan chapter doing
Due to the history of Cajuns, I live in a Catholic community, so the KKK doesn't really exist in this specific area. KKK are also anti-Catholic btw.
On April 10 2012 09:08 Praetorial wrote:
Where do you live?
If you look in the picture of the spoiler tag, I live in the highlighted parish (county) of Louisiana...so that is about as far south as possible. Fun Fact: Louisiana still uses the term "Parishes" instead of counties. "A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest." - Wikipedia
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I am impressed that an 11th grader is showing such interest in politics. (I am 28 and in law school now, after spending a couple of years teaching English in Japan, so I do a lot of reading and am interested in politics now - but I was certainly not so interested in 11th grade.)
By writing this post you have demonstrated that you are already beyond the level of your classmates. By which I mean, it's one thing to blindly follow what everyone else is saying without any knowledge to back it up, but it's another thing to do your research. You are asking the right question, "Why all the reflexive hate?" It's fine to be anti-Obama if you genuinely have arrived at that opinion from education. Believing idiotic rumors about how he is a Muslim doesn't count.
Questioning what others tell you and doing research for yourself is the best way to form your own opinions.
Hearing stories like this one reminds me how grateful I should be to live in NYC... People are generally open minded about diversity here.
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On April 10 2012 09:45 Whole wrote:
However, the "extremist" in my class are more politically correct (because school has taught us to be from very early on), but they still are very conservative, religious, and anti-gay marriage.
That's not an extremist, what you just described is a good chunk of people in the United States. One can be opposed to or in support of gay marriage without being on an extreme end of the political spectrum.
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This could have been my blog. I was in 9th grade at the time of elections, and when Obama was elected, it was nothing but "Our country is screwed." Why? They didn't know a thing about him. Oh he supports abortion! Or something! He must be the worst. The assassination thing was present here as well. "Obama will be shot within the next three months anyway, nothing to worry about."
Saying he's a Muslim, not a U.S. citizen, doesn't salute the flag, etc. How he's going to be the worst president ever.
100% it's the kids repeating their parents sentiments. They don't know why they hate Obama, but they do. And when you accuse them of that, tell them to give you a reason why he's so awful, they don't have anything but get angry with you anyway.
Utah here.
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On April 10 2012 09:23 sc2superfan101 wrote:Show nested quote +I don't want to sound like an elitist ass, but I seriously doubt that they do any research besides shitty TV news channels and their parents. that is an opinion that is unfounded. honestly, what research do you want these people to do? not everyone can be political scientists, and there is nothing wrong with an uneducated opinion. if you think there is, well then i will have to call you elitist, because that's like, the definition of elitism.
Call him whatever you want. You seriously believe that statement: "there is nothing wrong with an uneducated opinion"? Really?
You cant see a problem with that?
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I assure you that in any "Blue" part of the country the Bush hate was just as bad. I remember when one DC area high school student actually acquired maps of Camp David and actual assault weaponry with a plan in mind to assassinate Bush (what an idiot -- leaving the country in the hands of Cheney? :p). The local media where I was at attempted to play the whole thing as a "prank." Right.......
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Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally.
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On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote:
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally.
I think one of the differences here that he's pointing out in the blog is that there were quite a few reasons to dislike Bush, while it appears that a lot of his school appears to be hating Obama without really being able to articulate their reasons for doing so. There certainly *are* reasons, of course, but that doesn't seem to be the primary factor in his school's hate.
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On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote:
Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test They used to do those. It was used to keep African Americans from voting.
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Russian Federation3631 Posts
I'll just say that your position isn't unique -- you think you know better than the rest of your peer group. This in itself may or may not be true, but you'll hopefully realize in the future that you greatly underestimated your superior discernment.
But its good you realize that you don't have enough information to really understand the issues. All I suggest is to always try to find evidence that is against what you instinctively believe.
People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally.
as a conservative, I'd be 100% for this ~
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On April 10 2012 09:51 TheToast wrote:Show nested quote +On April 10 2012 09:45 Whole wrote:
However, the "extremist" in my class are more politically correct (because school has taught us to be from very early on), but they still are very conservative, religious, and anti-gay marriage.
That's not an extremist, what you just described is a good chunk of people in the United States. One can be opposed to or in support of gay marriage without being on an extreme end of the political spectrum.
I just used anti-gay marriage because that is what itsmedudeman had that in his criteria. I used quotes around extremist to show that they're extremist relative to the rest of my class.
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Unfortunately for more than 50% of the world population, they don't have enough brains to understand anything but the blatant bias that are streaming through their ears. Not saying that only the south, or only conservatives are guilty of this. Many from both parties and from all around the country do not have enough logic to see through the lies and bullshit that the media portrays or that their parents teach them. That is the problem with holding elections that anyone can vote in.
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On April 10 2012 09:02 Blade Fox wrote:
Obama's awesome. Dumb people can't see that.
Should be the next campaigns motto.
Yes, awesome if awesome to you means the worst civil liberties president probably of all time, and this is only his first term(yes he will have a 2nd term).
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On April 10 2012 10:04 MstrJinbo wrote:Show nested quote +On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote:
Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test They used to do those. It was used to keep African Americans from voting.
Those, were biased however. The way my history teacher explained it to me, was like this. Basically, it would ask the people to draw something (for example, a cross). A cross can be interpreted two ways, a normal X or a crucifix (or many other ways). Basically, no matter what a black person drew, they would always be denied for drawing the wrong thing.
In all honesty, if you can't read or write, you shouldn't be voting. I don't want to sound racist or anything, but I just think its true. It's true that it'd probably be difficult for new freedmen to find education AND for their descendants. But this isn't the case anymore. Education is free and for everyone. If you don't want your children to be educated, than they shouldn't have the right to vote.
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And I thought I had it rough on the Obama-hate coming out of a private Catholic school in a relatively wealthy area two hours from Washington... At least all of my classmates have a decent reason for hating him. I feel for you brother...
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On April 10 2012 09:23 sc2superfan101 wrote:
i don't hate Obama, but i definitely sympathize with your classmates. i wonder, why do you not like Glenn Beck? the tone of your story implied that this guy was a complete moron because he said he likes Glenn Beck and thinks that he is smart, so what facts and figures do you have for your opinion that Glenn Beck isn't smart? any specifics, or just little tidbits like "he's crazy" or "he's stupid! faux news!!" or some variation of those two statements?
My problem with Glenn Beck is his over sensationalist tone. My dad used to frequently listen to him, and all I would hear whenever passing by the TV would be yelling or the buzz words, "communists," "socialists," "fascists," ect. Here is just an example off the top of my head, but the channel is named "LiberalViewer," so one might instantly discredit it:
+ Show Spoiler +
and, i don't want to sound mean, but you definitely come off as elitist here. not that it's not normal for a young kid who is probably smart to be a little elitist, Lord knows that I was. but you do come off as "oh man, I am so smart and better because I refuse to have an opinion and my classmates are so stupid because they have an opinion i don't agree with and they don't back it up with facts."
this in particular made me laugh:
It's not that I don't agree with the opinion, it is just that I hate how polarizing their opinions are. And the facts they present (none) is non proportional to the intensity of their opinion. I don't have a problem if you don't like the idea of high taxes...I get annoyed when you don't like high taxes -> hate Democratic party -> hate Obama or anything like that.
Show nested quote +It kind of sort of makes sense for parents to hate Obama because he isn't raping the Gulf of Mexico out of her oil and more drilling directly increases my area's economy tenfold....but why are these high school students so blindly against Obama. sounds like you do have an opinion... a relatively uninformed opinion. maybe even a few opinions. further more, if the economy is bad in your area, and could be better, why is it so strange that these kids would also want that? or are parents the only ones who are allowed to want more jobs?
Yes, I shouldn't have used raped while trying to sound objective at the same time...although I know I'm not being 100% objective. Also, the economy isn't bad in my area, but it was hurt because of the oil spill, so now people are freaking out because we aren't as good as we once were. However, relative to the rest of the country, our local economy is still great. (I have never seen a homeless person in my area yet.)
Show nested quote +I don't want to sound like an elitist ass, but I seriously doubt that they do any research besides shitty TV news channels and their parents. that is an opinion that is unfounded. honestly, what research do you want these people to do? not everyone can be political scientists, and there is nothing wrong with an uneducated opinion. if you think there is, well then i will have to call you elitist, because that's like, the definition of elitism.
I don't see how you can say there is nothing wrong with an educated opinion. Of course, no one can educate themselves on every issue, but one shouldn't start preaching their opinion if it is uneducated.
because they are young, and also because a lot of times, that's the way things are. also, i could easily say: "It fucking blows my mind, yo! How can you see things as grey when they are so clearly black and white?" i would say, hey. people think a lot of things. they have a lot of different opinions. sometimes those opinions are not based on facts and figures, and sometimes those opinions are, god forbid, based on something they heard on the television. (oh heavens no! not that!!) does this mean that they are wrong? not really. does it mean that they are stupid? not really. does it mean that sitting on the fence is wrong, stupid, smart, or right? not really. it means that people are people, and try to remember that you aren't as different from the people you described as you think you are.
I know people are just people, can't be perfect in every aspect of their life, and can't be expected to have a 100% researched opinion. I'm just ranting about that aspect of people...but my rant was more focused on my area's extreme political view.
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On April 10 2012 10:17 Brutaxilos wrote:Show nested quote +On April 10 2012 10:04 MstrJinbo wrote:On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote:
Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test They used to do those. It was used to keep African Americans from voting. Those, were biased however. The way my history teacher explained it to me, was like this. Basically, it would ask the people to draw something (for example, a cross). A cross can be interpreted two ways, a normal X or a crucifix (or many other ways). Basically, no matter what a black person drew, they would always be denied for drawing the wrong thing.
And some where so hard and timed that almost no one could pass it...until the Grandfather Clause basically allowed all whites to vote regardless of the test.
Alabama Literacy Test
Louisiana Literacy Test (stupidly hard; interesting read)
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High school sucks... you just have to suck it up and wait for things to get better.
The only consolation I can give you is that a lot of the smart kids will eventually figure things out on their own. I was against abortion and gay marriage when I was in high school, and so were many of my friends. We were smart kids, but we grew up in a rural and very religious part of Canada, and that was the predominant opinion of the adults around us. We all dramatically revised our childhood opinions as adults.
In the meantime, there are a lot of political bloggers who focus on the liberal-conservative divide in the US. I recommend Ed Brayton's Dispatches from the Culture Wars. While he's not a fan of the Republican party, he doesn't hesitate to criticise Democrats either... he has been very critical of the Obama administration's record on civil liberties and justice issues. On the Republican side, I like David Frum at The Daily Beast. (Although he probably wouldn't admit it, he comes from the Canadian strain of conservatism, which I personally have a lot of sympathy with.)
Edit: Interestingly, the top article on David Frum's site is a review of a book called The Righteous Mind, which is about how people arrive at political opinions. It sounds like it is very applicable to your situation.
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the masses believe what they're told. that's why they're called the masses.
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There's nothing wrong with civic engagement, but as you get deeper into it you'll find that a lot of people, even celebrities and talk show hosts, have no idea what they're talking about. This is only compounded by the fact you're in high school in a pretty conservative area. I live in Baton Rouge right now and it's pretty similar despite the very vocal liberal minority that is oftentimes extremist and confrontational just to get attention.
But hey, I'm not originally from the south. I lived about 40 minutes south Obama's Chicago residence during the 2004 senate race. The man was a lock for the seat long before election day, mostly due to his great speech at the Democratic national convention. 4 years later during the presidential election I was in a liberal Michigan city and heard nothing but an endless stream of Bush hate and blind Obama support. Currently my old Michigan home support for Obama is still present, but it's not secure (though it will probably be in the fall). My old Illinois home still thinks Obama can turn water into wine and Chicago has enough liberal voters to outvote Illinois' predominately conservative land mass.
I spent summers in upstate New York and southeast Connecticut working with some conservative industrial engineers. How conservative you ask? Well, for my last day in Connecticut I wanted to go to a buffet and most the engineers refused to attend because the buffet was in a casino on an Indian reserve (they protested on the grounds that their meal wouldn't support GDP - yes, they actually said that!). It took me a while to realize that some of them were stupid and some of them were middle class laborers who support republican candidates the most.
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Wow that Louisiana test, think my brain hurts after reading that.
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Hey! My school is just like that too regarding Obama. All of my classmates have some sort of uninformed/ignorant hatred of Obama and it's pretty damn annoying. I'm not saying that I like Obama but Jesus, I get so tired of everyone bitching about the same thing with no bases around it every time someone brings up politics.
I don't pay any attention to politics. I've started to assume that it's all a bunch of bs. The person who can afford the best campaigning/advertisement wins. The person who can please the most wealthiest people win. It's like there's no morals involved. None of them are trying to do what's best for America as a whole, they're just trying to satisfy their specific party and the wealthy who back it.
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don't worry, it gets better in college where ppl like to walk around with pictures of mass murderers (che, mao) on their shirts and hats :p
from what i understand your problem is not neccesarily with the obama hate but with obama hate backed by really stupid reasoning. this isn't really a thing you can change so im very sorry :[
i know it's pretty frustrating hearing this stuff but im sure there are more open-minded people out there lol
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I've always hated politics and it sounds like your area is notorious for being anti-obama. I always try to steer clear of politics because I'm sick of hearing people's wildly dumb opinions for supporting/going against some person. For me, I dislike Obama because I don't think he's done a good job of being president of our country. I couldn't say anything specific and list statistics, but I think most people could see that we (this country) is still doing pretty bad economically with a high unemployment rate. That being said, I haven't noticed any outstanding republican nominees either. I don't see this economic downturn changing for the better anytime soon (if not in the next 4 years anyways).
We need another "good" president that was almost universally liked (FDR comes to mind). At least from what I learned in US history, FDR pulled us out of some serious stuff.
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99% of the world knows dick about anything. Politics are simply an easy way to demonstrate their ignorance vocally. Don't pay attention to idiots or you'll spend your entire life dwelling on mouth breathers.
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On April 10 2012 09:23 sc2superfan101 wrote:i don't hate Obama, but i definitely sympathize with your classmates. i wonder, why do you not like Glenn Beck? the tone of your story implied that this guy was a complete moron because he said he likes Glenn Beck and thinks that he is smart, so what facts and figures do you have for your opinion that Glenn Beck isn't smart? any specifics, or just little tidbits like "he's crazy" or "he's stupid! faux news!!" or some variation of those two statements? and, i don't want to sound mean, but you definitely come off as elitist here. not that it's not normal for a young kid who is probably smart to be a little elitist, Lord knows that I was. but you do come off as "oh man, I am so smart and better because I refuse to have an opinion and my classmates are so stupid because they have an opinion i don't agree with and they don't back it up with facts." this in particular made me laugh: Show nested quote +It kind of sort of makes sense for parents to hate Obama because he isn't raping the Gulf of Mexico out of her oil and more drilling directly increases my area's economy tenfold....but why are these high school students so blindly against Obama. sounds like you do have an opinion... a relatively uninformed opinion. maybe even a few opinions. further more, if the economy is bad in your area, and could be better, why is it so strange that these kids would also want that? or are parents the only ones who are allowed to want more jobs? Show nested quote +I don't want to sound like an elitist ass, but I seriously doubt that they do any research besides shitty TV news channels and their parents. that is an opinion that is unfounded. honestly, what research do you want these people to do? not everyone can be political scientists, and there is nothing wrong with an uneducated opinion. if you think there is, well then i will have to call you elitist, because that's like, the definition of elitism. because they are young, and also because a lot of times, that's the way things are. also, i could easily say: "It fucking blows my mind, yo! How can you see things as grey when they are so clearly black and white?" i would say, hey. people think a lot of things. they have a lot of different opinions. sometimes those opinions are not based on facts and figures, and sometimes those opinions are, god forbid, based on something they heard on the television. (oh heavens no! not that!!) does this mean that they are wrong? not really. does it mean that they are stupid? not really. does it mean that sitting on the fence is wrong, stupid, smart, or right? not really. it means that people are people, and try to remember that you aren't as different from the people you described as you think you are.
there are numerous examples of Glenn Beck fearmongering, with NO facts to back up his claims. He inciuates that Obama is waging war on religion, the common man, and countless other things, perhaps even apple pie and baseball! Yes, Glenn Beck is just a fucking retard.
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This kind of false equivalence from conservatives is mind boggling.
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On April 10 2012 10:53 Epishade wrote:
I've always hated politics and it sounds like your area is notorious for being anti-obama. I always try to steer clear of politics because I'm sick of hearing people's wildly dumb opinions for supporting/going against some person. For me, I dislike Obama because I don't think he's done a good job of being president of our country. I couldn't say anything specific and list statistics, but I think most people could see that we (this country) is still doing pretty bad economically with a high unemployment rate. That being said, I haven't noticed any outstanding republican nominees either. I don't see this economic downturn changing for the better anytime soon (if not in the next 4 years anyways).
We need another "good" president that was almost universally liked (FDR comes to mind). At least from what I learned in US history, FDR pulled us out of some serious stuff.
In which universe was FDR almost universally liked? In the election of 1944 his popular vote percentage was comparable to Obama in 2008. There were 46 or so % of American voters who did not vote for him. Also lets not forget that this is the same FDR that forced over 100,000 Japanese Americans to detention camps.
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On April 10 2012 10:50 Diglett wrote:
from what i understand your problem is not neccesarily with the obama hate but with obama hate backed by really stupid reasoning.
precisely
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On April 10 2012 10:25 Whole wrote:Show nested quote +On April 10 2012 10:17 Brutaxilos wrote:On April 10 2012 10:04 MstrJinbo wrote:On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote:
Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test They used to do those. It was used to keep African Americans from voting. Those, were biased however. The way my history teacher explained it to me, was like this. Basically, it would ask the people to draw something (for example, a cross). A cross can be interpreted two ways, a normal X or a crucifix (or many other ways). Basically, no matter what a black person drew, they would always be denied for drawing the wrong thing. And some where so hard and timed that almost no one could pass it...until the Grandfather Clause basically allowed all whites to vote regardless of the test. Alabama Literacy TestLouisiana Literacy Test (stupidly hard; interesting read)
That's pretty interesting stuff. But I still have to say, the literacy tests were clearly biased. If no one accuses naturalization tests as bias and there clearly isn't any, why not make natural born Americans take them?
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Up in Seattle, and especially in my school (as liberal as it gets, boyo) whenever a kid talks down on Obama, my teachers laugh, shake their heads, and keep on going. However, when our 8th Grade went on a field trip to Rome, and the same kid was doing it, the atmosphere between the students and the teachers was light enough that one of my teachers verbally kicked the %$@# out of him with logic. God it was funny.
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If Obama were not president, we would have McCain and ... Wait for it... Palin as our vice president. I shudder to think what that situation would be. She would be 2nd in line to be president. The lesser of two evils is what I think especially in politics.
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Well you live in Louisiana so....
When I was in High School in 2008, probably 90% of the students at my high school were pro-obama and anti-mccain.
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I'm from SoCal (OC area) and people seem okay about Obama here. The majority of people here are democrats and they often defend Obama. They say that he can't do anything because the house is split and other stuff.
Anyways, it is rare to see a republican, even though there are some prominent ones. People aren't passionate about Obama but they think that he is the lesser of two evils. People think that many of the republican candidates are a joke.
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I feel for your situation OP, it's actually kind of interesting in a weird way that you're so interested in politics at your age. As others have stated, instead of going along with the popular opinion, you have the intellectual honesty to at least ask the question "why?" Winston Smith would be proud of you!
One of the reasons why Obama won in '08 aside from the Republicans having terrible candidates was that a decent portion of the 20-30 population actively got out there and campaigned for him. Our demographic (I'm 22) usually is the most apolitical, the fact that your school is already so politicized shows that people are taking note of this and try to actively push them towards a particular way of thinking.
A lot of how people turn out the way they are is through their parents influence yes, but as you can see many people change their views later on in life after getting a chance to actively think things through. It also is highly dependent on where you are, NYC(where I am) is incredibly democratic as are other many places in the US. The opposite is true in many cases including your state obviously, it's just kind of taken as granted unfortunately causing this national divide of red vs blue states. It's probably a lost cause at your high school at this point to change anyone's opinion but at least you'll get a radically different (probably more positive) atmosphere at college if you decide to go.
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who cares government and religion are both jokes
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On April 10 2012 14:48 Glaceau wrote:
who cares government and religion are both jokes
The problem he's highlighting isn't one of government or religion. Rather, it's about how people decide whether or not to like or dislike something, and the fact that for those around him, it's based on rather questionable rationales.
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This is why democracy eventually fails. Democracy depends upon an informed populace. Back in 1776 when the great men established America, almost every single citizen _believed_ in this nation and truly _wanted_ to be part of a free America. Nowadays, most ppl (Obama haters and Obama lovers) do not have a single clue as to a) how the financial crisis occured, b) how the US was actually rescued by WWII, not simply the New Deal, c) just how much deregulation occured under Bill Clinton, and d) how in the hell the President can "cure" the economy. And those are just some of the numerous issues facing America.
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On May 06 2012 13:31 xXFireandIceXx wrote:
This is why democracy eventually fails. Democracy depends upon an informed populace. Back in 1776 when the great men established America, almost every single citizen _believed_ in this nation and truly _wanted_ to be part of a free America. Nowadays, most ppl (Obama haters and Obama lovers) do not have a single clue as to a) how the financial crisis occured, b) how the US was actually rescued by WWII, not simply the New Deal, c) just how much deregulation occured under Bill Clinton, and d) how in the hell the President can "cure" the economy. And those are just some of the numerous issues facing America.
In 1776, still roughly one third of the population we're loyalist to great britain. And people are far more educated now a days. The literacy rate was abysmal in 1776. Anyway, from a fellow louisianan, I know your pain. But at least we have great food!
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On May 06 2012 14:33 MattBarry wrote:Show nested quote +On May 06 2012 13:31 xXFireandIceXx wrote:
This is why democracy eventually fails. Democracy depends upon an informed populace. Back in 1776 when the great men established America, almost every single citizen _believed_ in this nation and truly _wanted_ to be part of a free America. Nowadays, most ppl (Obama haters and Obama lovers) do not have a single clue as to a) how the financial crisis occured, b) how the US was actually rescued by WWII, not simply the New Deal, c) just how much deregulation occured under Bill Clinton, and d) how in the hell the President can "cure" the economy. And those are just some of the numerous issues facing America. In 1776, still roughly one third of the population we're loyalist to great britain. And people are far more educated now a days. The literacy rate was abysmal in 1776. Anyway, from a fellow louisianan, I know your pain. But at least we have great food!
I would highly question "far more educated". Education has different meanings in different times and literacy rate is not the sole indicator of being informed.
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Hey man,
I'm actually from Louisiana as well (New Orleans to be exact). We're kind of an outlier in that New Orleans is pretty pro-Obama ( I believe we were 70=30 in favor of him in 2008 and the rest of the state was flipped), and I'm proud of that. But I've been to other parts of Louisiana, and well, unfortunately, there's a reason that we rate as one of the overall, well, shittiest states in the US. I went to a good high school and everything, so I was largely insulated from the Obama nonsense. There were a handful of republicans, some of whom were good friends of mine, that were very intelligent about their beliefs and positions. Still, there was a birther/Obama hates Jews girl... I try to correct her sometimes, but its not very succesful. I can only imagine what you must have to deal with.
Blind hate of Obama has seemed especially severe compared to other political figures though.
edit: and holy crap that literacy test. its impossible, i don't even know what half the questions are asking...
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Erm, that's how politics works everywhere. Opinions come mostly from rumours and it's probably a very well known weapon in campaigns. Very very few people actually care to stay informed. Here you can see it when you go to the smaller villages and listen to people chatting in the pubs. They don't have time to watch all the news, many barely have a couple of TV channels so rumours are their opinions. Even bible contents rumours. Your friend should read the bible for herself if she wants to know what's written there, or does it have too many pages and too few glossy pictures? Reading the bible is what got me out of religion.
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United Kingdom16710 Posts
Politics is rarely ever about hard facts, common sense, logical reasoning, and rationale these days. It's all rumour, slander, and fearmongering. I guess you're just particularly unlucky with where you reside.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Map_of_Louisiana_highlighting_Lafourche_Parish.svg/666px-Map_of_Louisiana_highlighting_Lafourche_Parish.svg.png)
