American Politics

[Canada]

I'm glad that you can give them the benefit of the doubt. But, unfortunately, the situation is worse.

Minorities have known for a long time that ugly attitudes have simmered just below the surface of the American lifestyle. But those attitudes were rarely public and when they were, it was always in the context of "skinheads" or some other equally obnoxious group. In private, though, these people told jokes about blacks, Pollacks, gays, etc and thought they were funny.

But trump brought all of that hate to the surface and out into the open. Supporters of the orange buffoon could now, in public, voice their hatred of people of color ("What do you get when you cross a black and a Mexican? A thief that's too lazy to steal. " of LGBTQ folks, of Muslims, of Jews and, frankly, of anybody who was different from them.

Even the MAGA slogan was meant to evoke that kind of reaction. Nobody can argue against Make America Great. But the "Again"? Why was that necessary? It was necessary because America had had 8 years of (gasp) a black President. In trump's mind, and in the minds of his supporters, American being "ruled" (that's what they thought) by a black man was the ultimate indignity. That's why the "Again" was needed in the slogan and that's why trumpets love it.

Just read the unhinged rantings of some posters. You see how deep and pervasive the hatred is. "Basket of deplorables" was accurate but "basket" was far too small of a container because there are 74 million of them.

Yes Trump must be to blame for racism because there was no racism under the Obama presidency. There was no crime in Chicago or the democratic cities under Obama.

In our state black Trump supporters work. They are doctors, lawyers, car salesmen and business owners. Some are friends of mine. None of them succeeded with government handouts. We don't have 50 blacks getting shot every weekend. Innocent black children getting shot by blacks every week in democratic states. That doesn't happen in Republican states. Black children lives do not matter to the democrats. They are hypocrites just like the posters on this forum. Defund the police. Kill more innocent black kids. Defund the police. More mugs in NYC. Defund the police. Crime up over 100% in most democratic cities. Yes the democrats really care don't they.

The democrats hate of democracy and their hate of USA will be the downfall of our country Posters like you are the problem with America today.

[Canada]

As usual, you do a "whatabout" intead of answering questions directly.

So, assuming you can read, I'll ask again: Why was there was no election fraud in Houston? Or Dallas. Or Cleveland. Or Columbus. Or Charlotte. Or St. Louis. Or Seattle. Or Denver or the hundreds of other "failing Democrat run cities". Why isn't the orange buffoon not investigating these cities. Did these cities do things right? It looks like you're trying to hide something!

Hell, Colorado has mail-in voting for the entire state. There was no fraud there?

It was to difficult to cheat in Houston and they knew they couldn't turn Texas blue. They only cheated in places that they needed. You can't expect every democrat to be a cheater can you? Are you implying all democrats are cheating and they missed the boat in Houston?

[EihTooms]

There really is no reaching someone once they have descended into this toilet bowl of belief. Was it the (drunken) poet Charles Bukowski who said something like, "...intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence... "?

The other thing I have noted, besides the panic that pervades their diatribes, are the constant references to Democrats' navet, blindness, ignorance -- that they are mindless "sheeple". There was another quote, maybe from the movie "The Sting", that was something like, "...the best grift works by convincing the mark that they're part of the con... ". I would be interested in finding out how much money Chris P or the other victims have given to "billionaire" Trump for the campaign, his legal fees, or to uncover "election fraud". I know it's very difficult for anyone to admit having been defrauded. To protect their fragile sense of self, they have to construct these elaborate and always more fantastic arguments because they are subconsciously aware that they have been cheated.

Yes. And, along with Xpartan's point about their having invested so much (not just money) into someone who turned out to be the worst of the worst and conned them every step of the way, they now have to frantically defend their earlier, spectacularly bad judgement...

Generally but never conclusively attributed to Mark Twain:
"It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled."

[PVMonger]

Excellent article.

How grownups can be so blind is beyond me.

Perhaps, there is more than meets the eye about this cult of personality. People have heavily invested in the Red Menace, mentally and emotionally. Admitting now that they were wrong would be a shock and painful bruise to their ego.

All other explanations are even worse.

I'm glad that you can give them the benefit of the doubt. But, unfortunately, the situation is worse.

Minorities have known for a long time that ugly attitudes have simmered just below the surface of the American lifestyle. But those attitudes were rarely public and when they were, it was always in the context of "skinheads" or some other equally obnoxious group. In private, though, these people told jokes about blacks, Pollacks, gays, etc and thought they were funny.

But trump brought all of that hate to the surface and out into the open. Supporters of the orange buffoon could now, in public, voice their hatred of people of color ("What do you get when you cross a black and a Mexican? A thief that's too lazy to steal. " of LGBTQ folks, of Muslims, of Jews and, frankly, of anybody who was different from them.

Even the MAGA slogan was meant to evoke that kind of reaction. Nobody can argue against Make America Great. But the "Again"? Why was that necessary? It was necessary because America had had 8 years of (gasp) a black President. In trump's mind, and in the minds of his supporters, American being "ruled" (that's what they thought) by a black man was the ultimate indignity. That's why the "Again" was needed in the slogan and that's why trumpets love it.

Just read the unhinged rantings of some posters. You see how deep and pervasive the hatred is. "Basket of deplorables" was accurate but "basket" was far too small of a container because there are 74 million of them.

[PVMonger]

Cheaters always make up several excuses when they are caught cheating. They start saying it wasn't intentional. They start blaming someone else. They hide things and spread misinformation to create confusion. Bottom line is they cheated and they were caught. When cheaters are caught they claim it wasn't their fault. And now when the republicans are trying to stop them from cheating next election they are fighting it at every level. The cheaters in Texas are running and hiding in DC.

BT (before trump) most people in the US believed in Occam's Razor, the belief that the simplest explanation is preferable to one that is more complex.

So, in the case of the Arizona election sham election fraud nonsense, Occam's Razor would have us believing as true that the investigator misused two reports to come up with the 74 K ballot difference.

Not trumpets, though. Nope. They believe that the ghost of Hugo Chavez was involved with the programming of Jewish space lasers that changed the code in the Dominion voting machines and then changed the code back after the election and that accounts for the ballot difference.

Yep, option #2 seems so much more believable.

[Smoothy]

The realizations turn my stomach and I consider going back to sleep but know that I can't. I replay conversations in my head with people from the day before and I scan my timeline and I think about the family members I no longer speak to and I struggle once more to make any sense of it all.

How do we transform this near paralyzing sense of sadness into something redemptive?

As with all grief, eventually there must be movement. When there is profound loss of any kind, the only real path is forward; to craft something beautiful and meaningful and life-affirming in response to what has been taken away. You learn to walk again, even if it is with a limp. You begin the painful, laborious act of living in direct opposition to your grief.

Thanks for sharing this whiney drivel. I think you have just discovered a good candidate to be the poster child for the word "snowflake". He even admits to not speaking to his own family members due to politics. Pathetic. He probably gets his material from Brian Stelter. Both seemingly nice guys full of sanctimony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUrW1eoj57Y

[Xpartan]

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2021/07/16...nhb9ERNvnjHbkM

The Sadness of Sharing a Country With Trump Supporters.

A similar thing happens to me on many mornings lately.

My eyes open and I suddenly become aware that I'm awake. My mind quickly begins assembling the first few seconds of my day (making plans, organizing my checklist, contemplating dinner already), when a terrible interruption breaks in and reminds me:

People actually still support that unhinged madman. They admire him. They look up to him. They feel affinity with him. They are fighting for him.

Excellent article.

How grownups can be so blind is beyond me.

Perhaps, there is more than meets the eye about this cult of personality. People have heavily invested in the Red Menace, mentally and emotionally. Admitting now that they were wrong would be a shock and painful bruise to their ego.

All other explanations are even worse.

[John Clayton]

... the reality that Arizona was stolen, and thanks to courageous patriots we now know it. Georgia is next (that was the most obvious fraud so will be easiest) followed by PA.

Your cognitive dissonance, and that of millions of others like you brainwashed since elementary school by fake news and leftist teachers unions, will never allow you to accept reality. It would simply be too much for you to handle: the entire basis of your life undermined....

There really is no reaching someone once they have descended into this toilet bowl of belief. Was it the (drunken) poet Charles Bukowski who said something like, "...intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence... "?

The other thing I have noted, besides the panic that pervades their diatribes, are the constant references to Democrats' navet, blindness, ignorance -- that they are mindless "sheeple". There was another quote, maybe from the movie "The Sting", that was something like, "...the best grift works by convincing the mark that they're part of the con... ". I would be interested in finding out how much money Chris P or the other victims have given to "billionaire" Trump for the campaign, his legal fees, or to uncover "election fraud". I know it's very difficult for anyone to admit having been defrauded. To protect their fragile sense of self, they have to construct these elaborate and always more fantastic arguments because they are subconsciously aware that they have been cheated.

[EihTooms]

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2021/07/16...nhb9ERNvnjHbkM

The Sadness of Sharing a Country With Trump Supporters.

A similar thing happens to me on many mornings lately.

My eyes open and I suddenly become aware that I'm awake. My mind quickly begins assembling the first few seconds of my day (making plans, organizing my checklist, contemplating dinner already), when a terrible interruption breaks in and reminds me:

People actually still support that unhinged madman. They admire him. They look up to him. They feel affinity with him. They are fighting for him.

The realizations turn my stomach and I consider going back to sleep but know that I can't. I replay conversations in my head with people from the day before and I scan my timeline and I think about the family members I no longer speak to and I struggle once more to make any sense of it all.

I see people regurgitating fictional Fox News talking points and hear them parroting back conspiratorial nonsense and I watch them pass by with his name affixed to their heads and attached to their bumpers in cultic adorationand it grieves me to know how far gone so many around me seem to be. I no longer recognize the place I've always called home.

And I know that I'm not alone. I know that right now, variations of these thoughts are being played out millions of times inside the heads of people all over this country; empathetic human beings like me who have found the reservoirs of hope dangerously low and who can't seem to shake the profound sense of dread hovering always in the periphery of their daily life.

It's simply demoralizing sharing a country with people who think Donald Trump is someone worth emulating: to be surrounded by that kind of moral inversion every single day, to be continually encountering such cruelty. It's a source of profound and sustained grieving to believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and afforded opportunityand to know how many simply do not share that belief. I don't hate these people but I am deeply saddened by them.

It isn't just the reality of the despicable human being who we've allowed to ascend to the Presidency that beings that sadness, though that would be reason enough for despair. It's the ugliness we've seen in our neighbors as he's made his way there, and perhaps even worse now following his departure: the doubling down despite all we know about his reckless and incompetence. It's the sickness that the America we love has shown itself afflicted with: the weight of every horrible reality about our nation; all our bigotry and discord and hatred set upon our chests, hampering our breath.
...

I agree with his analysis and sentiment, of course, but we must not lose sight of the fact that the destruction of American principles, the cruelty, the demoralization and creating national depression and sadness is very much the Trumpster Repubs' point. And whatever disaster it takes for the country if not the world to facilitate that outcome is merely the price of admission to their fun, fun, fun of "owning the libs." Or so they think. Therefore, expressing the proper and appropriate feelings about what they have wrought as that writer did only fuels their lifelong dream efforts to "own the libs."

Now, by "libs" I mean anyone who doesn't support Trump and the Repubs and believes Tucker Carlson's lies.

Instead, I think a kind of reverse psychology that works on a 5 year old might be in order;

Convince them that we non Trumpster Repub Tucker-believers LIKE major Recessions/Depressions during every presidential term, that we LIKE massive USA Job destruction by the millions, that we LIKE horrific "Once in 100 years!" national security and healthcare disasters, that we LIKE stock and housing market Crashes, that we LIKE historically counterproductive border control moves at the beginning that devolve into shameful international scandal and embarrassment by the end, that we LIKE skyrocketing deficits that produce no noticeable economic improvement whatsoever, etc. You get the idea.

That is probably the only way to get them to grow bored with their weird brand of fun, fun, fun and stop bothering to vote for Repubs. And that is definitely the only way for the country to stop producing those horrific results.

[Canada]

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2021/07/16...nhb9ERNvnjHbkM

The Sadness of Sharing a Country With Trump Supporters.

A similar thing happens to me on many mornings lately.

My eyes open and I suddenly become aware that I'm awake. My mind quickly begins assembling the first few seconds of my day (making plans, organizing my checklist, contemplating dinner already), when a terrible interruption breaks in and reminds me:

People actually still support that unhinged madman. They admire him. They look up to him. They feel affinity with him. They are fighting for him.

The realizations turn my stomach and I consider going back to sleep but know that I can't. I replay conversations in my head with people from the day before and I scan my timeline and I think about the family members I no longer speak to and I struggle once more to make any sense of it all...

Yes I believe it must be real difficult for a socialist living in a country with Trump supporters. It must be difficult to live with the hard working Trump Americans who love the USA, honor the flag and stand for the National Anthem. It must be difficult for you to put up with the Trump Americans that pay taxes and hire people that fund your welfare and subsistence checks. It must be difficult for you to see black Trump supporters succeeding and contributing to society. It is just so unfair that hard working Americans white, black, brown or any race support Trump and succeed by working hard.

It must be difficult for you socialists to see Trump supporters honoring ever religion.

It must be difficult for you socialists to see Trump supporters support law and order and police and our military.

It must be difficult for you to be an American when you hate everything the flag and our country stands for.

But it must be easy for you to be pathetic and a drain on society.

[PVMonger]

That is a good question. Why did the democrats only cheat in 5 or 6 states. I think the answer is that they thought they could get Biden elected by cheating in these states. They didn't need the other states. Another theory could be that only 50% of democrats are cheaters and that there actually are some honest democrats. Probably not but maybe.

As usual, you do a "whatabout" intead of answering questions directly.

So, assuming you can read, I'll ask again: Why was there was no election fraud in Houston? Or Dallas. Or Cleveland. Or Columbus. Or Charlotte. Or St. Louis. Or Seattle. Or Denver or the hundreds of other "failing Democrat run cities". Why isn't the orange buffoon not investigating these cities. Did these cities do things right? It looks like you're trying to hide something!

Hell, Colorado has mail-in voting for the entire state. There was no fraud there?

[Chris P]

Trump won....

He did indeed, sir. He did indeed.

[Chris P]

Yep, thank providence for DeSantis..

You finally put together five words which are true! That's a first. BTW in case you didn't know, his democrat gubernatorial opponent, Andrew Gillum, was found in 2020 in a drug-addled state of unconsciousness in a hotel room with a homosexual rent boy and quantities of crystal meth. Gillum is married with children. (As an aside, in January 2019 the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that Gillum violated state ethics laws). Expect to see him running for democrat presidential candidate in 2024.

I see you've gone on another unhinged fake news copy-paste posting rampage. None of it changes the reality that Arizona was stolen, and thanks to courageous patriots we now know it. Georgia is next (that was the most obvious fraud so will be easiest) followed by PA.

Your cognitive dissonance, and that of millions of others like you brainwashed since elementary school by fake news and leftist teachers unions, will never allow you to accept reality. It would simply be too much for you to handle: the entire basis of your life undermined.

That's ok. You can have your society, with socialism, unlimited illegal immigrants on welfare, affirmative action, blue-haired trannies, child strippers, thoughtcrime laws, no Second Amendment, bedwetting over the covid and climate hoaxes, etc. Just don't demand that sane heritage Americans be part of it. Let's agree to separate. We'll keep our demographics, guns, free speech and capitalism, go our separate ways, and see who ends up better.

Something similar happened 70 years ago, and very soon people from the socialist countries were begging to get into the free countries. Unfortunately, they then undermined the free countries, leading to the situation we have now. So I'm afraid you'll be stuck with your Guatemalan goblins, MS-13 gangbangers, BLM riots, and Kamala cackling as they burn down your house.

[PVMonger]

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2021/07/16...nhb9ERNvnjHbkM

The Sadness of Sharing a Country With Trump Supporters.

A similar thing happens to me on many mornings lately.

My eyes open and I suddenly become aware that I'm awake. My mind quickly begins assembling the first few seconds of my day (making plans, organizing my checklist, contemplating dinner already), when a terrible interruption breaks in and reminds me:

People actually still support that unhinged madman. They admire him. They look up to him. They feel affinity with him. They are fighting for him.

The realizations turn my stomach and I consider going back to sleep but know that I can't. I replay conversations in my head with people from the day before and I scan my timeline and I think about the family members I no longer speak to and I struggle once more to make any sense of it all.

I see people regurgitating fictional Fox News talking points and hear them parroting back conspiratorial nonsense and I watch them pass by with his name affixed to their heads and attached to their bumpers in cultic adoration—and it grieves me to know how far gone so many around me seem to be. I no longer recognize the place I've always called home.

And I know that I'm not alone. I know that right now, variations of these thoughts are being played out millions of times inside the heads of people all over this country; empathetic human beings like me who have found the reservoirs of hope dangerously low and who can't seem to shake the profound sense of dread hovering always in the periphery of their daily life.

It's simply demoralizing sharing a country with people who think Donald Trump is someone worth emulating: to be surrounded by that kind of moral inversion every single day, to be continually encountering such cruelty. It's a source of profound and sustained grieving to believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and afforded opportunity—and to know how many simply do not share that belief. I don't hate these people but I am deeply saddened by them.

It isn't just the reality of the despicable human being who we've allowed to ascend to the Presidency that beings that sadness, though that would be reason enough for despair. It's the ugliness we've seen in our neighbors as he's made his way there, and perhaps even worse now following his departure: the doubling down despite all we know about his reckless and incompetence. It's the sickness that the America we love has shown itself afflicted with: the weight of every horrible reality about our nation; all our bigotry and discord and hatred set upon our chests, hampering our breath.

But it's much closer than that, too.

It's the words we've heard from family members, the stuff we learned about our neighbors, the social media posts from church friends, the incendiary sermons from our pastors, the arguments we've had with co-workers. Every square inch of life seems polluted now. Nothing about this place feels untouched by the ugliness.

And the question becomes: How do we transform this near paralyzing sense of sadness into something redemptive?

As with all grief, eventually there must be movement. When there is profound loss of any kind, the only real path is forward; to craft something beautiful and meaningful and life-affirming in response to what has been taken away. You learn to walk again, even if it is with a limp. You begin the painful, laborious act of living in direct opposition to your grief.

It is the same in these days for those of us who feel cheated out of a kinder, more diverse, more decent America than the one we now have. Individually and collectively we will have to be the daily, bold, defiant pushback against all that feels wrong here.

This pushback will come in the small things; in the art we create and the conversations we have and the quiet gestures of compassion that are barely visible.

It will come in the way we fully celebrate daily life; having dinner with friends, driving through the countryside, playing in the yard with our children, laughing at a movie we love.

It will come as we loudly and unapologetically speak truth where truth is not welcome.

It will come as we connect with one another on social media and in faith communities and in our neighborhoods, and as we work together to demand accountability from our elected officials and our neighbors.

It will come as we use the shared resources of our experience and our talents and our numbers to ensure that our children inherit a world worth being here for.

It will come as we transform our grief into goodness.

Yes friend, there is a great deal to grieve over in these days and there will be more to ahead—but there is even more worth fighting for.

So yes grieve, but then move.

Be fueled by your sadness, strengthened by your anger, fortified by your discontent, and do something in this day that moves the needle toward beauty and justice.

And find a way to keep moving forward, even if it is with a limp.

Unfortunately trumpets will not have a clue as to what this means.

[Paulie97]

Maybe, just maybe, you can stop rage-posting long enough to read the following:

He isn't going to read it. He will continue to ignore the rebuttals or dismiss them as "fake news" while repeating the same lies over and over. Trump taught his sheep well.

https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/...-by-Repetition

P.S. The good news is that there are many lurkers around that never post. You type for them, not him.