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Post by LKeet6 on Sept 13, 2019 8:51:57 GMT
Wondered if we needed a thread for general stuff we come across. Could've put this in the mass shooting one, but that was for a specific incident. Anyway, fuck me, this is OUTRAGEOUS. A man in a position of power and responsibility saying shit like this. And not even responding to a suggestion of banning guns, just assault rifles!! America has gone way past the line now; it's probably been true for a long time, but the last few years have confirmed it, they are an extremist country. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/13/my-ar-15-is-ready-for-you-texas-lawmaker-tells-beto-orourke |
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Post by cliffs on Sept 13, 2019 11:46:03 GMT
To address your wondering...I personally, have no problem with a new thread for any story. I have been adding to other threads even if the subject matter could use it's own thread. As long as nobody else minds a lot of threads I say post whatever.
As to the body of your post, that is the mentality of "some" gun owners not just repub gun owners. I have a friend who retired from the State police force as a captain. His hobby - building AR-15s. Real actual working AR-15s. He had to get a license and all sorts of permits. He has a healthy clientele too.
He tells all of his customers he will never make a full auto weapon. My question to him is why build them at all?
FTR...he also had a 6 X 10 foot sign on his front lawn during the 2016 elections, guess whose name was on it.
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Post by gregfordyce on Sept 13, 2019 14:13:27 GMT
Wondered if we needed a thread for general stuff we come across. Could've put this in the mass shooting one, but that was for a specific incident. Anyway, fuck me, this is OUTRAGEOUS. A man in a position of power and responsibility saying shit like this. And not even responding to a suggestion of banning guns, just assault rifles!! America has gone way past the line now; it's probably been true for a long time, but the last few years have confirmed it, they are an extremist country. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/13/my-ar-15-is-ready-for-you-texas-lawmaker-tells-beto-orourkeOutrageous is right. But now pretty much the norm in this fucked-up country that I don't recognize anymore. I was having a meal with my parents (77 and 78) at a restaurant a few weeks ago. Despite our unspoken rule to not discuss politics, they brought up the "horde of illegal immigrants crossing our borders." I remained silent. My mom made the comment that they should all be grateful that we are "only" locking them up. I almost lost it, but managed to hold my tongue. "Even the little babies and the little children?" I asked her. "Yup," she said. "Trump is too good to them." This woman I love more than anything is someone I do not recognize any longer. Ditto many other family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors. I'm 51, but realize that I know absolutely nothing about human beings. I lived in a fairy land before Trump apparently, and am waking up to reality now. Really wish I could go back to my blissful ignorance. |
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Post by LKeet6 on Sept 13, 2019 14:31:43 GMT
Wondered if we needed a thread for general stuff we come across. Could've put this in the mass shooting one, but that was for a specific incident. Anyway, fuck me, this is OUTRAGEOUS. A man in a position of power and responsibility saying shit like this. And not even responding to a suggestion of banning guns, just assault rifles!! America has gone way past the line now; it's probably been true for a long time, but the last few years have confirmed it, they are an extremist country. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/13/my-ar-15-is-ready-for-you-texas-lawmaker-tells-beto-orourkeOutrageous is right. But now pretty much the norm in this fucked-up country that I don't recognize anymore. I was having a meal with my parents (77 and 78) at a restaurant a few weeks ago. Despite our unspoken rule to not discuss politics, they brought up the "horde of illegal immigrants crossing our borders." I remained silent. My mom made the comment that they should all be grateful that we are "only" locking them up. I almost lost it, but managed to hold my tongue. "Even the little babies and the little children?" I asked her. "Yup," she said. "Trump is too good to them." This woman I love more than anything is someone I do not recognize any longer. Ditto many other family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors. I'm 51, but realize that I know absolutely nothing about human beings. I lived in a fairy land before Trump apparently, and am waking up to reality now. Really wish I could go back to my blissful ignorance. Ah mate, that's so sad  I'm sorry for you. |
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Post by cliffs on Sept 13, 2019 15:22:41 GMT
Wondered if we needed a thread for general stuff we come across. Could've put this in the mass shooting one, but that was for a specific incident. Anyway, fuck me, this is OUTRAGEOUS. A man in a position of power and responsibility saying shit like this. And not even responding to a suggestion of banning guns, just assault rifles!! America has gone way past the line now; it's probably been true for a long time, but the last few years have confirmed it, they are an extremist country. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/13/my-ar-15-is-ready-for-you-texas-lawmaker-tells-beto-orourkeOutrageous is right. But now pretty much the norm in this fucked-up country that I don't recognize anymore. I was having a meal with my parents (77 and 78) at a restaurant a few weeks ago. Despite our unspoken rule to not discuss politics, they brought up the "horde of illegal immigrants crossing our borders." I remained silent. My mom made the comment that they should all be grateful that we are "only" locking them up. I almost lost it, but managed to hold my tongue. "Even the little babies and the little children?" I asked her. "Yup," she said. "Trump is too good to them." This woman I love more than anything is someone I do not recognize any longer. Ditto many other family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors. I'm 51, but realize that I know absolutely nothing about human beings. I lived in a fairy land before Trump apparently, and am waking up to reality now. Really wish I could go back to my blissful ignorance. I feel your anguish. My 2 son in laws are in the same camp as your parents it seems. I can say I tried that blissful ignorance but that only made an ostrich. Well, I am not an ostrich, I am vocal and care about America way more than PAB ever will. |
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Post by karma4u on Sept 13, 2019 19:54:31 GMT
Well, growing up married in the fifties, I'd say your parents came by their biases simply because of the way they had been brought up and the prejudices that were believed and practiced in those days.
Cliffs, son-in-laws however are truly sad and shows that up-bringing and education are most relevant still today.
Hey, neither of you are alone. So sad, but true.
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Post by ErixonStone on Sept 13, 2019 22:39:24 GMT
I had a conversation with a bunch of Trump voters this afternoon. Neighbors. Two of them are elderly women and the other a 30-something police officer.
The cognitive dissonance was just amazing. One of the women was saying how her daughter struggled to pay for her kids' high schooling while her neighbors had new sneakers. I tried to argue, to no avail, that there shouldn't even be a choice, and the fact that there is one is a demonstration that we could do better.
The officer was, at least, working with an ideology, albeit a flawed one. He felt that people should keep whatever they earned. I asked him two questions: why should Amazon pay $0 tax while you and I pay 25%? "Because they hire people." I tried to explain that the amount of money a company has does not influence how many workers they hire. It didn't get through. I also asked what the purpose of so much money was, and he said, "just to gave it."
So that's what we're working with. Have just to have, even if helps literally zero.
Also, they all seem to think Trump is an honest straight-shooter who "tells it like it is."
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Post by gregfordyce on Sept 14, 2019 15:19:57 GMT
I had a conversation with a bunch of Trump voters this afternoon. Neighbors. Two of them are elderly women and the other a 30-something police officer. The cognitive dissonance was just amazing. One of the women was saying how her daughter struggled to pay for her kids' high schooling while her neighbors had new sneakers. I tried to argue, to no avail, that there shouldn't even be a choice, and the fact that there is one is a demonstration that we could do better. The officer was, at least, working with an ideology, albeit a flawed one. He felt that people should keep whatever they earned. I asked him two questions: why should Amazon pay $0 tax while you and I pay 25%? "Because they hire people." I tried to explain that the amount of money a company has does not influence how many workers they hire. It didn't get through. I also asked what the purpose of so much money was, and he said, "just to gave it." So that's what we're working with. Have just to have, even if helps literally zero. Also, they all seem to think Trump is an honest straight-shooter who "tells it like it is." Christ. Sounds very familiar. I admire you for being able to carry on a conversation with multiple Trump-lovers and still keep your lunch down. Now that's intestinal fortitude! Honest. Good greif. And when you point out a demonstrable falsehood he has told - hell, back it up with actual video proving it - they'll just say "fake news," or "he only did that to own the libs." P.T. Barnum was so right. |
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Post by ErixonStone on Sept 14, 2019 18:40:22 GMT
My general feeling is that people have been indoctrinated so badly in the US that "socialism is bad, mkay?" and they see people on TV saying the same thing, so they just agree without questioning.
It's just that people do not want to be bothered to think critically; they're willing to just allow their biases determine their thoughts.
I was one of these people until fairly recently. I voted based on a small amount of information, and by "feeling". I voted for McCain in 2008 because I felt that Obama was too inexperienced, and was getting by on charisma. I was also just really getting into my professional career at that time, so I listened a lot to corporate business people.
In 2012, I voted for Obama because I thought he did a good job handling the recession. While bailing out the automakers and banks, he also dumped $600 into every American's pocket. He realized, correctly, that companies could only make money if consumers actually had money to spend. That informed my thinking going forward and actually answered a question that had nagged me for awhile: why, if trickle-down policies worked, did the economy do well under Clinton, but crash under Bush?
Between 2012 and 2016, I registered as a Democrat. In 2016, I voted for Clinton in the primary, but I was still uninformed. I didn't really pay attention: I had been mildly following and Clinton was basically ordained as the nominee. It wasn't until after the general election that I actually started to make myself informed.
Since Trump won the presidency, I've been really engaged. I disagree with almost everything he's done, and I'm not sure whether he's purposely lining his own pockets when it comes to policy (I am convinced he's doing this with some non-policy decisions) or he's just living in his rich-person bubble and thinks that rich people represent all of America.
So, I try not to criticize people for voting on a single issue and being generally uninformed. People's lives are busy. I criticize people for not being open to ideas and for not thinking critically.
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Post by gregfordyce on Sept 17, 2019 19:42:21 GMT
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Post by gregfordyce on Sept 17, 2019 23:38:34 GMT
I really think this sums it up quite well. It's a very valid question: What in the bloody HELL is wrong with all of you people?? Kavanaugh - What Is Wrong With The Right??You defend Trump, one of the most vulgar, imbecilic, moronic, amoral, immoral, vile, disgusting human beings ever. You defend RAY MOORE - an accused (with more than enough evidence to raise that word to "probable") CHILD MOLESTOR. You defend GORKA - a Russian fascist apologist. You defend Laura Ingraham - who did a fucking NAZI SALUTE to Trump for Christ's sake - and her twisted white nationalism. You defend any- and every-one no matter what laws and Constitutional norms they violate that your "Team" vomits up to fill vacant court seats to pack everything even further to the hard-right than they already are - all in the name of your sick, twisted ideology of "us" vs. "the other" and in the process you are more than willing to sacrifice any semblance of moral or ethical decency - just because hey, as long as it advances your fascist beliefs, then it's all worth it. Has it ever occurred to any of you Neanderthals that by forgiving evil and vile wickedness for the furtherance of your goals that you have sacrificed your very souls in the process? Is it worth it? Really? What if this fuck really DID rape these women? What if this fuck really DID commit sexual assault? What if they AREN'T lying? And you TRULY don't have a problem with that? Just so you can put yet another hard-right-wing judge on the Supreme Court? There were an awful lot of Germans in the 1930's who did the same thing, because they hated Jewish people. They sacrificed common decency and goodness and justice all for the sake of their own prejudices, because they thought that it was worth it. Time has proven them horrifically in the wrong. Honesty matters. Facts matter. Kindness - decency - charity - compassion - peace - love - honor - these things MATTER. Sacrificing them all for wickedness and lies and hatred has consequences. You WILL reap a bitter harvest for abandoning these things. The Right has lost its compass, and the Cult of Trump will pay a heavy price for their abandonment of these core principals. History is going to judge you righties harshly. Own it proudly, motherfuckers. |
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I'm sorry for you. 
