|
Now that we have a new thread, in order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a complete and thorough read before posting! NOTE: When providing a source, please provide a very brief summary on what it's about and what purpose it adds to the discussion. The supporting statement should clearly explain why the subject is relevant and needs to be discussed. Please follow this rule especially for tweets.
Your supporting statement should always come BEFORE you provide the source.If you have any questions, comments, concern, or feedback regarding the USPMT, then please use this thread: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/website-feedback/510156-us-politics-thread |
On October 16 2025 04:52 Phyanketto wrote:Show nested quote +On October 16 2025 04:15 Jankisa wrote:On October 16 2025 01:06 LightSpectra wrote: Waiting patiently to see if the Republican response to their Neo-Nazi groupchat is going to be whataboutism or "K-pop idols also say Heil Hitler" I have a feeling that no one will really react to this, because, as our pals oBlade and Introvert will explain to you, "Racism is made up". I had a call with a colleague, US one, somehow Bad Bunny NFL halftime show came up, imidiately he launched into: 1. Do you know how many Americans were doing the halftime NFL show in the last 10 years? 2. Do you know that half NFL teams have "end Racism" on their helmets? 3. Why, do they even know who their audience is? 4. Anyway, that is all so stupid, there is no racism in the USA... I, as the woke antifa was twitching in my seat, my fiancee who was sitting next to me and heard it from my laptop was looking at me with a look that can only be described as "don't flip out" as I politely asked, without addressing most of this shit "Have you logged on to the app formerly known as Twitter lately? I think Racism is alive and well." He replied with "ah, that's just the internet man" and I quickly changed the subject, but oh boy, was that revealing. Not a bad guy, but a die hard Trump supporter who canceled his trip to Europe because "they hate us over there" and since 2024 he really started hating Canadians. Brainwashing is real and pretty fucked up over there. and if you said anything in response you would have been the one that would have been called in to HR for "getting political" Meanwhile the "Not a bad guy, but a die hard Trump supporter" (lmao) is also in his own version of the same sort of group chat with the the boss, and the boss's nephew whose aunt is in charge of HR. I can't count how many times I've had/heard variations of this experience.
|
Oh, no, not at all, the boss is a great guy, despite being, you know, the boss and the owner of the company, on the event we did together (the one the Trump supporter did not wanna fly out to) he and one of the partners had a very long and fiery exchange about the shutdown, healthcare for immigrants, red states.
I can honestly say it was very hard for me to not get too involved, but it was made way easier by the boss being the one who's stances basically align with mine, and, well, you know, reality.
I was the most proud of when the partner person said how people from her state (one of the deep red ones) were fucked over by Obama who abandoned the coal industry and that's why they voted for Trump, so I just asked "and what did Trump do to help them, exactly?".
No answer there.
Then they went on to say how Obama should have helped them, I asked how, should we just keep burning coal despite having alternatives just so these people can keep their jobs, when the answer was kind of yes I asked if they believe in Climate change and, predictably, the answer to that was that they know some very smart people who don't...
Oh well, in the end, I was happy, the boss said, on quite a few occasions whenever politics came up that the real conflict is not democrats vs republicans or red vs blue states, it's the rich vs the poor and it's a class struggle, so I'm happy who I work for and for the rest, well, I think I can safely troll them without getting in to trouble, since the head honcho is an all right guy.
|
On October 16 2025 01:06 LightSpectra wrote: Waiting patiently to see if the Republican response to their Neo-Nazi groupchat is going to be whataboutism or "K-pop idols also say Heil Hitler" JD Vance said that it was just a few kids making jokes: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/15/jd-vance-racist-messages-young-republicans-chat-leak
Of course, these are not kids though. These are adults. Vance is lying and he knows it, but it also speaks to a second point: Vance is fine with children being racist (presumably because they eventually vote for people like him once they turn 18).
|
I think the law considering 18 year olds as adults is becoming more and more problematic honestly. I'd keep the child status up until 25... or have like an in between thing between 18-21 and 21-25.
|
On October 16 2025 18:40 Uldridge wrote: I think the law considering 18 year olds as adults is becoming more and more problematic honestly. I'd keep the child status up until 25... or have like an in between thing between 18-21 and 21-25.
Of course, the people in these chats were up to 35 years old. Which, if you are one of the ancient people in politics, probably still counts as a child (unless the 35 year old is black, of course). but for most normal people it very much isn't.
|
On October 16 2025 17:09 Jankisa wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Oh, no, not at all, the boss is a great guy, despite being, you know, the boss and the owner of the company, on the event we did together (the one the Trump supporter did not wanna fly out to) he and one of the partners had a very long and fiery exchange about the shutdown, healthcare for immigrants, red states.
I can honestly say it was very hard for me to not get too involved, but it was made way easier by the boss being the one who's stances basically align with mine, and, well, you know, reality.
I was the most proud of when the partner person said how people from her state (one of the deep red ones) were fucked over by Obama who abandoned the coal industry and that's why they voted for Trump, so I just asked "and what did Trump do to help them, exactly?".
No answer there.
Then they went on to say how Obama should have helped them, I asked how, should we just keep burning coal despite having alternatives just so these people can keep their jobs, when the answer was kind of yes I asked if they believe in Climate change and, predictably, the answer to that was that they know some very smart people who don't... Oh well, in the end, I was happy, the boss said, on quite a few occasions whenever politics came up that the real conflict is not democrats vs republicans or red vs blue states, it's the rich vs the poor and it's a class struggle, so I'm happy who I work for and for the rest, well, I think I can safely troll them without getting in to trouble, since the head honcho is an all right guy. Lucky you. I've typically just had to smile and nod (for as long as I wanted to keep the job) when my bosses/coworkers did stuff like insist racism isn't real, Kaepernick shouldn't kneel, or say slavery was probably good (Cliven Bundy really brought that last one out).
I don't know if you've ever seen Insecure, but yeah, the "We Got Y'all" workplace is an example of a relatively good work environment in the US.
The show's main character and creator describes it like this:
“Everyone knows what it’s like to work in a corporate office or whether it’s a nonprofit, or whatever,” Rae observed. “Just working with other people is annoying. . . . But then to be one of the only black people at work; nobody knows what that’s like better than us. You either adapt to the situation or you stand out and you’re mad.”
“And you’re mad anyway because you have to adapt, and these white people don’t even know that you’re adapting, and so they take that for granted,” she continued. “They feel comfortable to ask you stupid questions because they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re one of us anyway. You’re one of the good ones.’ Or you decide, ‘I don’t care what anyone thinks; I’m just going to show out.’. . . And then you’re shunned.”
www.salon.com
|
|
|
On October 16 2025 18:52 Simberto wrote:Show nested quote +On October 16 2025 18:40 Uldridge wrote: I think the law considering 18 year olds as adults is becoming more and more problematic honestly. I'd keep the child status up until 25... or have like an in between thing between 18-21 and 21-25. Of course, the people in these chats were up to 35 years old. Which, if you are one of the ancient people in politics, probably still counts as a child (unless the 35 year old is black, of course). but for most normal people it very much isn't.
Well, 35 yo really isn't defensible any more. I remember not really understanding the significance of a swastika in high school (well I kinda did but wanted to poke the bear) so I drew one on my hand and claimed - when asked what that was - it to be symbol for hinduism. I still kind of scoff at people being offended by symbols and words because I personally don't really care. If people want to show their ignorance and hatred publicly, the easier it is to cast them out or to know how prevalent it actually is. Pushing down with shame and fines and jail only creates an underground culture no one has any indication of knowing its true strength. But obviosuly hugging nazii sympathizers and holocaust deniers is not something we should do.
|
On October 16 2025 19:12 pmh wrote: The democrats should stop focussing on the wrong things as distractions. They are beeing played like crazy.
Its easy to recognize the wrong things. Its what is most upvoted on the reddit politics forum and what is pushed artificially as centre of attention. The epstein case in general , the ice stuff and now this nazi group chat which has at least 3-4 threads with botted upvotes on the reddit politics forum.
Its also easy to recognize the right things for the democrats to focus on. Its what has only 1 thread on reddit politics forum with little upvotes. Or its news which is even completely banned from discussing on the reddit politics forum while still clearly relevant (like all journalists walking out of the pentagon today. Which has zero threads on reddit politics forum).
Nazi group chat really. Is that what will turn public opinion? Trudeau has blackface pictures released nothing happend. Its not what the centre cares about.
The "left" needs to win over the centre. They will never get anywhere without the centre. That is why all journalists walking out of pentagon is banned from discussion on reddit politics forum. Because it apeals to the centre,it is something the centre can get angry about.
That is also why ice and epstein is pushed on reddit poltics forum. Because the centre is not to unhappy in general with what ice claims to be doing,getting criminal illegals out. The centre also is not bussy with epstein which is basicly 3 year old news recycled and something that apeals to conspiracy theorists.
Its a lost case either way but still.
The German left made the same mistake in the 30s as they focused too much on the antisemitism of the Nazis. Especially, jews should have focused their efforts on integrating and gaining respect instead of complaining. Similarly, Lincoln would have avoided the American Civil War if he had just ignored the issue of slavery and appeased the Southern states. /s
It is easy to ignore attacks on the rights of others. However, you can't really say that you support those rights or at least equality after doing so.
|
|
|
On October 16 2025 19:12 pmh wrote: The democrats should stop focussing on the wrong things as distractions. They are beeing played like crazy.
Its easy to recognize the wrong things. Its what is most upvoted on the reddit politics forum and what is pushed artificially as centre of attention. The epstein case in general , the ice stuff and now this nazi group chat which has at least 3-4 threads with botted upvotes on the reddit politics forum.
Its also easy to recognize the right things for the democrats to focus on. Its what has only 1 thread on reddit politics forum with little upvotes. Or its news which is even completely banned from discussing on the reddit politics forum while still clearly relevant (like all journalists walking out of the pentagon today. Which has zero threads on reddit politics forum).
Nazi group chat really. Is that what will turn public opinion? Trudeau has blackface pictures released nothing happend. Its not what the centre cares about.
The "left" needs to win over the centre. They will never get anywhere without the centre. That is why all journalists walking out of pentagon is banned from discussion on reddit politics forum. Because it apeals to the centre,it is something the centre can get angry about.
That is also why ice and epstein is pushed on reddit poltics forum. Because the centre is not to unhappy in general with what ice claims to be doing,getting criminal illegals out. The centre also is not bussy with epstein which is basicly 3 year old news recycled and something that apeals to conspiracy theorists.
Its a lost case either way but still.
I don't think that it's necessarily "wrong" to point out that Trump allegedly raped children, that people are being attacked and abducted by an American gestapo, and that Republicans are racist and fascist... as long as other points are also being made (e.g., that the Republicans have shut down the government because they got caught removing healthcare from Americans). As long as a diverse number of topics are being covered (healthcare, living wages, taxes, education, etc.), then I don't mind also including the three you dismissed.
Assuming your assertion about needing to win over the center is true, why do you think the center doesn't care about those three issues you listed?
|
On October 16 2025 19:34 pmh wrote:Show nested quote +On October 16 2025 19:27 Legan wrote:On October 16 2025 19:12 pmh wrote: The democrats should stop focussing on the wrong things as distractions. They are beeing played like crazy.
Its easy to recognize the wrong things. Its what is most upvoted on the reddit politics forum and what is pushed artificially as centre of attention. The epstein case in general , the ice stuff and now this nazi group chat which has at least 3-4 threads with botted upvotes on the reddit politics forum.
Its also easy to recognize the right things for the democrats to focus on. Its what has only 1 thread on reddit politics forum with little upvotes. Or its news which is even completely banned from discussing on the reddit politics forum while still clearly relevant (like all journalists walking out of the pentagon today. Which has zero threads on reddit politics forum).
Nazi group chat really. Is that what will turn public opinion? Trudeau has blackface pictures released nothing happend. Its not what the centre cares about.
The "left" needs to win over the centre. They will never get anywhere without the centre. That is why all journalists walking out of pentagon is banned from discussion on reddit politics forum. Because it apeals to the centre,it is something the centre can get angry about.
That is also why ice and epstein is pushed on reddit poltics forum. Because the centre is not to unhappy in general with what ice claims to be doing,getting criminal illegals out. The centre also is not bussy with epstein which is basicly 3 year old news recycled and something that apeals to conspiracy theorists.
Its a lost case either way but still.
The German left made the same mistake in the 30s as they focused too much on the antisemitism of the Nazis. Especially, jews should have focused their efforts on integrating and gaining respect instead of complaining. Similarly, Lincoln would have avoided the American Civil War if he had just ignored the issue of slavery and appeased the Southern states. /s It is easy to ignore attacks on the rights of others. However, you can't really say that you support those rights or at least equality after doing so. That is not at all what i am saying. Its a bad faith interpretation of my post. Are you comparing what is happening in the usa today to the holocaust , do you see this as similar?
You want people to ignore the attacks on the rights and the open desire for racism and authoritarian policies, while saying that the centre would care about other attacks on rights. If a person is willing to believe that ICE is doing the right thing, then they are also going to believe that the government is trying to prevent leaks by requiring journalists to sign an agreement. Both are blatant attacks on the rights of people. The group chat leak should demonstrate that these attacks on rights are intentional and rooted in firm beliefs. However, people at the centre apparently do not care about the thing that proves that the Republican reasoning is a lie. Thus, it is likely that they will continue to believe the lies even when they are personally being hurt.
What is happening is not a holocaust yet, but the willingness to throw undesirables into a concentration camp is already apparent. Hell, there was already an idea about the mass murder of the homeless presented. There is no reason why these people would not justify killing the people in the concentration camps. Many people believe that others are simply getting what they deserve. Any leak indicating such actions would likely be viewed as akin to left-wing lunacy, much like the group chat leak. Anyway, it would not be considered a genocide until the ICC gives its official final judgment.
|
|
|
On October 16 2025 20:12 Legan wrote:Show nested quote +On October 16 2025 19:34 pmh wrote:On October 16 2025 19:27 Legan wrote:On October 16 2025 19:12 pmh wrote: The democrats should stop focussing on the wrong things as distractions. They are beeing played like crazy.
Its easy to recognize the wrong things. Its what is most upvoted on the reddit politics forum and what is pushed artificially as centre of attention. The epstein case in general , the ice stuff and now this nazi group chat which has at least 3-4 threads with botted upvotes on the reddit politics forum.
Its also easy to recognize the right things for the democrats to focus on. Its what has only 1 thread on reddit politics forum with little upvotes. Or its news which is even completely banned from discussing on the reddit politics forum while still clearly relevant (like all journalists walking out of the pentagon today. Which has zero threads on reddit politics forum).
Nazi group chat really. Is that what will turn public opinion? Trudeau has blackface pictures released nothing happend. Its not what the centre cares about.
The "left" needs to win over the centre. They will never get anywhere without the centre. That is why all journalists walking out of pentagon is banned from discussion on reddit politics forum. Because it apeals to the centre,it is something the centre can get angry about.
That is also why ice and epstein is pushed on reddit poltics forum. Because the centre is not to unhappy in general with what ice claims to be doing,getting criminal illegals out. The centre also is not bussy with epstein which is basicly 3 year old news recycled and something that apeals to conspiracy theorists.
Its a lost case either way but still.
The German left made the same mistake in the 30s as they focused too much on the antisemitism of the Nazis. Especially, jews should have focused their efforts on integrating and gaining respect instead of complaining. Similarly, Lincoln would have avoided the American Civil War if he had just ignored the issue of slavery and appeased the Southern states. /s It is easy to ignore attacks on the rights of others. However, you can't really say that you support those rights or at least equality after doing so. That is not at all what i am saying. Its a bad faith interpretation of my post. Are you comparing what is happening in the usa today to the holocaust , do you see this as similar? You want people to ignore the attacks on the rights and the open desire for racism and authoritarian policies, while saying that the centre would care about other attacks on rights. If a person is willing to believe that ICE is doing the right thing, then they are also going to believe that the government is trying to prevent leaks by requiring journalists to sign an agreement. Both are blatant attacks on the rights of people. The group chat leak should demonstrate that these attacks on rights are intentional and rooted in firm beliefs. However, people at the centre apparently do not care about the thing that proves that the Republican reasoning is a lie. Thus, it is likely that they will continue to believe the lies even when they are personally being hurt. What is happening is not a holocaust yet, but the willingness to throw undesirables into a concentration camp is already apparent. Hell, there was already an idea about the mass murder of the homeless presented. There is no reason why these people would not justify killing the people in the concentration camps. Many people believe that others are simply getting what they deserve. Any leak indicating such actions would likely be viewed as akin to left-wing lunacy, much like the group chat leak. Anyway, it would not be considered a genocide until the ICC gives its official final judgment. The ICC that the US doesn't recognise and that Bush famously threatened to invade the Netherlands for if they ever dared to consider prosecuting an American? That ICC? Don't think they would care about their judgement either.
|
On October 16 2025 20:32 Gorsameth wrote:Show nested quote +On October 16 2025 20:12 Legan wrote:On October 16 2025 19:34 pmh wrote:On October 16 2025 19:27 Legan wrote:On October 16 2025 19:12 pmh wrote: The democrats should stop focussing on the wrong things as distractions. They are beeing played like crazy.
Its easy to recognize the wrong things. Its what is most upvoted on the reddit politics forum and what is pushed artificially as centre of attention. The epstein case in general , the ice stuff and now this nazi group chat which has at least 3-4 threads with botted upvotes on the reddit politics forum.
Its also easy to recognize the right things for the democrats to focus on. Its what has only 1 thread on reddit politics forum with little upvotes. Or its news which is even completely banned from discussing on the reddit politics forum while still clearly relevant (like all journalists walking out of the pentagon today. Which has zero threads on reddit politics forum).
Nazi group chat really. Is that what will turn public opinion? Trudeau has blackface pictures released nothing happend. Its not what the centre cares about.
The "left" needs to win over the centre. They will never get anywhere without the centre. That is why all journalists walking out of pentagon is banned from discussion on reddit politics forum. Because it apeals to the centre,it is something the centre can get angry about.
That is also why ice and epstein is pushed on reddit poltics forum. Because the centre is not to unhappy in general with what ice claims to be doing,getting criminal illegals out. The centre also is not bussy with epstein which is basicly 3 year old news recycled and something that apeals to conspiracy theorists.
Its a lost case either way but still.
The German left made the same mistake in the 30s as they focused too much on the antisemitism of the Nazis. Especially, jews should have focused their efforts on integrating and gaining respect instead of complaining. Similarly, Lincoln would have avoided the American Civil War if he had just ignored the issue of slavery and appeased the Southern states. /s It is easy to ignore attacks on the rights of others. However, you can't really say that you support those rights or at least equality after doing so. That is not at all what i am saying. Its a bad faith interpretation of my post. Are you comparing what is happening in the usa today to the holocaust , do you see this as similar? You want people to ignore the attacks on the rights and the open desire for racism and authoritarian policies, while saying that the centre would care about other attacks on rights. If a person is willing to believe that ICE is doing the right thing, then they are also going to believe that the government is trying to prevent leaks by requiring journalists to sign an agreement. Both are blatant attacks on the rights of people. The group chat leak should demonstrate that these attacks on rights are intentional and rooted in firm beliefs. However, people at the centre apparently do not care about the thing that proves that the Republican reasoning is a lie. Thus, it is likely that they will continue to believe the lies even when they are personally being hurt. What is happening is not a holocaust yet, but the willingness to throw undesirables into a concentration camp is already apparent. Hell, there was already an idea about the mass murder of the homeless presented. There is no reason why these people would not justify killing the people in the concentration camps. Many people believe that others are simply getting what they deserve. Any leak indicating such actions would likely be viewed as akin to left-wing lunacy, much like the group chat leak. Anyway, it would not be considered a genocide until the ICC gives its official final judgment. The ICC that the US doesn't recognise and that Bush famously threatened to invade the Netherlands for if they ever dared to consider prosecuting an American? That ICC? Don't think they would care about their judgement either.
The ICC bit is a joke about what is required for something to be considered genocide or a similarly horrific thing. Such judgment would be made long after things have gone horribly wrong.
|
|
|
On October 16 2025 20:43 Legan wrote:Show nested quote +On October 16 2025 20:32 Gorsameth wrote:On October 16 2025 20:12 Legan wrote:On October 16 2025 19:34 pmh wrote:On October 16 2025 19:27 Legan wrote:On October 16 2025 19:12 pmh wrote: The democrats should stop focussing on the wrong things as distractions. They are beeing played like crazy.
Its easy to recognize the wrong things. Its what is most upvoted on the reddit politics forum and what is pushed artificially as centre of attention. The epstein case in general , the ice stuff and now this nazi group chat which has at least 3-4 threads with botted upvotes on the reddit politics forum.
Its also easy to recognize the right things for the democrats to focus on. Its what has only 1 thread on reddit politics forum with little upvotes. Or its news which is even completely banned from discussing on the reddit politics forum while still clearly relevant (like all journalists walking out of the pentagon today. Which has zero threads on reddit politics forum).
Nazi group chat really. Is that what will turn public opinion? Trudeau has blackface pictures released nothing happend. Its not what the centre cares about.
The "left" needs to win over the centre. They will never get anywhere without the centre. That is why all journalists walking out of pentagon is banned from discussion on reddit politics forum. Because it apeals to the centre,it is something the centre can get angry about.
That is also why ice and epstein is pushed on reddit poltics forum. Because the centre is not to unhappy in general with what ice claims to be doing,getting criminal illegals out. The centre also is not bussy with epstein which is basicly 3 year old news recycled and something that apeals to conspiracy theorists.
Its a lost case either way but still.
The German left made the same mistake in the 30s as they focused too much on the antisemitism of the Nazis. Especially, jews should have focused their efforts on integrating and gaining respect instead of complaining. Similarly, Lincoln would have avoided the American Civil War if he had just ignored the issue of slavery and appeased the Southern states. /s It is easy to ignore attacks on the rights of others. However, you can't really say that you support those rights or at least equality after doing so. That is not at all what i am saying. Its a bad faith interpretation of my post. Are you comparing what is happening in the usa today to the holocaust , do you see this as similar? You want people to ignore the attacks on the rights and the open desire for racism and authoritarian policies, while saying that the centre would care about other attacks on rights. If a person is willing to believe that ICE is doing the right thing, then they are also going to believe that the government is trying to prevent leaks by requiring journalists to sign an agreement. Both are blatant attacks on the rights of people. The group chat leak should demonstrate that these attacks on rights are intentional and rooted in firm beliefs. However, people at the centre apparently do not care about the thing that proves that the Republican reasoning is a lie. Thus, it is likely that they will continue to believe the lies even when they are personally being hurt. What is happening is not a holocaust yet, but the willingness to throw undesirables into a concentration camp is already apparent. Hell, there was already an idea about the mass murder of the homeless presented. There is no reason why these people would not justify killing the people in the concentration camps. Many people believe that others are simply getting what they deserve. Any leak indicating such actions would likely be viewed as akin to left-wing lunacy, much like the group chat leak. Anyway, it would not be considered a genocide until the ICC gives its official final judgment. The ICC that the US doesn't recognise and that Bush famously threatened to invade the Netherlands for if they ever dared to consider prosecuting an American? That ICC? Don't think they would care about their judgement either. The ICC bit is a joke about what is required for something to be considered genocide or a similarly horrific thing. Such judgment would be made long after things have gone horribly wrong.
I also understood it as a joke.
pmh, maybe substitute the "You want" opening to "What I understood from your post is...", it doesn't read like Legan is arguing in bad faith here, at least from where I'm standing.
|
On October 16 2025 21:22 pmh wrote: One final remark to point out what some people are defending.
People think a leaked group chat with some f tier tepublicans. Is a more worrying signal that deserves far more attention.
Then all press including rightwing leaving the pentagon. To protest the administration taking full control of the information flow.
How would you reason to a centrist that the administration taking full control of the information flow is a bad thing? Especially, what is the counter for these media being labelled as mainstream fake news that are willing to endanger national security by publishing leaks? Would not the centrist think that the administration is arguing in good faith when it wants to control the flow of information? Why would the centrist care about transparency in this case, but be fine with how the Epstein case is being handled and articles revealing connections to Trump? Wouldn't this agreement prevent the creation of similar articles that reveal wrongdoing in the military? Why would the centrist care about such articles when they don't care about articles detailing the president's connections to a famous pedophile?
|
On October 16 2025 19:02 GreenHorizons wrote:Show nested quote +On October 16 2025 17:09 Jankisa wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Oh, no, not at all, the boss is a great guy, despite being, you know, the boss and the owner of the company, on the event we did together (the one the Trump supporter did not wanna fly out to) he and one of the partners had a very long and fiery exchange about the shutdown, healthcare for immigrants, red states.
I can honestly say it was very hard for me to not get too involved, but it was made way easier by the boss being the one who's stances basically align with mine, and, well, you know, reality.
I was the most proud of when the partner person said how people from her state (one of the deep red ones) were fucked over by Obama who abandoned the coal industry and that's why they voted for Trump, so I just asked "and what did Trump do to help them, exactly?".
No answer there.
Then they went on to say how Obama should have helped them, I asked how, should we just keep burning coal despite having alternatives just so these people can keep their jobs, when the answer was kind of yes I asked if they believe in Climate change and, predictably, the answer to that was that they know some very smart people who don't... Oh well, in the end, I was happy, the boss said, on quite a few occasions whenever politics came up that the real conflict is not democrats vs republicans or red vs blue states, it's the rich vs the poor and it's a class struggle, so I'm happy who I work for and for the rest, well, I think I can safely troll them without getting in to trouble, since the head honcho is an all right guy. Lucky you. I've typically just had to smile and nod (for as long as I wanted to keep the job) when my bosses/coworkers did stuff like insist racism isn't real, Kaepernick shouldn't kneel, or say slavery was probably good (Cliven Bundy really brought that last one out). I don't know if you've ever seen Insecure, but yeah, the "We Got Y'all" workplace is an example of a relatively good work environment in the US. The show's main character and creator describes it like this: Show nested quote +“Everyone knows what it’s like to work in a corporate office or whether it’s a nonprofit, or whatever,” Rae observed. “Just working with other people is annoying. . . . But then to be one of the only black people at work; nobody knows what that’s like better than us. You either adapt to the situation or you stand out and you’re mad.”
“And you’re mad anyway because you have to adapt, and these white people don’t even know that you’re adapting, and so they take that for granted,” she continued. “They feel comfortable to ask you stupid questions because they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re one of us anyway. You’re one of the good ones.’ Or you decide, ‘I don’t care what anyone thinks; I’m just going to show out.’. . . And then you’re shunned.” www.salon.com
Well, yeah, indeed, lucky me, I like working for American companies but I would never, ever go over there and work for them in the USA.
For me, having to worry about my medical needs hitting some arbitrary number where they won't be covered, fuck no, that's an instant deal breaker.
Having to worry I might run into a crazy cop who might decide that I'm a threat to them and shoot me? Nope, not going to happen.
Sacrificing my 20 days of PTO (still pretty low for my seniority level in Croatia) and unlimited Sick leave (everyone gets it here) is another big one that I'd never go along with.
I guess I'm quite privileged for having the ability to work for high wage, be appreciated as a good asset for the company (something that companies in my country are very bad at) and still enjoy the benefits of a better work/life balance and relative safety of my country.
If that privilege comes at the price of having to endure a silly man's bullshit every now and then, while being able to subtly make fun of him in a way he won't be able to figure out, that's a very small price to pay.
For you guys over there, I'm honestly shocked there is not more of a brain drain coming the other way, yeah, our standards of living are a bit lower, but lordy, with all the shit that's going down over there I'd be fucking off right around the time that shit started hitting the fan and it was obvious they are serious about the fascist takeover this time.
|
On October 16 2025 19:12 pmh wrote: The democrats should stop focussing on the wrong things as distractions. They are beeing played like crazy.
Its easy to recognize the wrong things. Its what is most upvoted on the reddit politics forum and what is pushed artificially as centre of attention. The epstein case in general , the ice stuff and now this nazi group chat which has at least 3-4 threads with botted upvotes on the reddit politics forum.
Its also easy to recognize the right things for the democrats to focus on. Its what has only 1 thread on reddit politics forum with little upvotes. Or its news which is even completely banned from discussing on the reddit politics forum while still clearly relevant (like all journalists walking out of the pentagon today. Which has zero threads on reddit politics forum).
Nazi group chat really. Is that what will turn public opinion? Trudeau has blackface pictures released nothing happend. Its not what the centre cares about.
The "left" needs to win over the centre. They will never get anywhere without the centre. That is why all journalists walking out of pentagon is banned from discussion on reddit politics forum. Because it apeals to the centre,it is something the centre can get angry about.
That is also why ice and epstein is pushed on reddit poltics forum. Because the centre is not to unhappy in general with what ice claims to be doing,getting criminal illegals out. The centre also is not bussy with epstein which is basicly 3 year old news recycled and something that apeals to conspiracy theorists.
Its a lost case either way but still.
There's been quite a bit of discussion over this on this forum, and from the polls ran here it's pretty obvious that this thread leans (with the exception of a few regular right-wingers like Introvert, Ryzada and oBlade) mostly progressive left, but I don't think anyone's really ever proven that the Democrats appealing to the "center" has ever worked as a strategy.
If you are "centrist" in the USA, from my (observational) experience you fall in to one of the 3 categories:
1. Actually a republican but due to social circles / living in blue states don't want to say it out loud because it outs you as a person who hates most of the people around you 2. An "independent" voter who doesn't really pay attention to politics at all and votes based on vibes, they definitely don't pay attention to Pentagon press core stories 3. A rich person who doesn't like Trump or Republicans or hates LGBTQ and immigrants but likes low taxes and believes in the "law and order" because they are the ones that US police is designed to protect above all
Out of these, you can't really get to group number 1.
You can go after 2. and 3. but given that 2. doesn't pay attention your best bet is to try to get to them with a charismatic leader who will breach their bubble (this is where Trump excels vs whatever the fuck Democrats have been trying to serve up).
Then you have 3., and these are the people Democratic leadership is obsessed with and the people who they try to go after, despite there not being enough of them to swing things and despite the fact that this group of people will inevitably vote for whoever they think will make them the most money.
They tried to go after them with Kamala, on paper, she's the perfect candidate for them, an ex prosecutor, tough on crime, doesn't really shout too loud about taxing the rich, and they failed spectacularly.
Now, your recipe is to try to go after them, again. I don't think that's the winning strategy.
|
|
|
|
|
|