7 ms·

Maybe it's my white straight male privilege talking, but this scares me 100x more than his racism and sexual predation, and I wish it had gotten more coverage i

by Pxtl 10y ago

Maybe it's my white straight male privilege talking, but this scares me 100x more than his racism and sexual predation, and I wish it had gotten more coverage in the debates and election. If this happens, history will remember Trump as the Neville Chamberlain of the climate catastrophe. He won't just be screwing America's plans, this is one of those areas where "leader of the free world" isnt hyperbole - America's decisions will have massive domino-effects on related economies.

jug5 10y ago
You know you're a pussy when you need to apologize for having your own opinion. Worthless.
rev_bird 10y ago
>history will remember Trump as the Neville Chamberlain of the climate catastrophe I'm not sure this is true, but not because the sentiment is wrong: It implies that at some point, climate change will be as universally recognized for its negative effects as Hitler is, and that people will go back to examine how it happened. I don't have a lot of faith in the U.S. to get to either of those points; if I've learned anything from this election, it's that we have an astounding capacity to look at all the facts and just say, "ah, no thanks."
- Pxtl 10y ago
  It will take longer, but we'll get there eventually. Imagine 50 years from now the Global South becoming inhospitable and hundreds of millions of refugees fleeing flooding, heat waves, and drought. They'll look back on us and ask "what did they do when they had the best opportunity to stop this?"
zanny 10y ago
Its not really privilege, you probably just have no immediate people in your life you care a lot about who are fearing for their freedom in the next four years. That isn't a negative personality trait either, we cannot as a people expect anyone to have empathy for a group they have no personal ties to, especially in contrast to real threats against themselves. Both are problems, it is just those who are in danger of suffering from Trump's racism / xenophobia / sexism and their immediate peers see that as the more immediate threat, because he can undo decades of civil rights and equality in the first days of his presidency. He can set in motion programs to destroy the climate more in the first days of his tenure, but it will take years to suffer the consequences of them, even if they are much more permanent than immediate regressions in liberty. For individuals, permanence does not matter - your time is limited, and everything Trump takes away represents days or years you will never get back of oppression.
- ant6n 10y ago
  I agree. But regarding privilege, I'd argue that not having to fear for one's freedom is part of 'privilege'.
saalweachter 10y ago
While a lot of people were never able to move beyond Trump as a laughable buffoon and despicable human being, a lot of the harm is going to come from him advancing the mainstream, everyday Republican agenda. Repealing Obamacare, dismantling the EPA and CFPB, appointing judges to the Federal and Supreme Courts who are friendly to rolling back gay and reproductive rights, privatizing Medicare -- these are all mainstream positions.
- nikomen 10y ago
  While I agree that most of the issues you mentioned are definitely things to be concerned about, would a Supreme Court with Trump nominee's really roll back gay and reproductive rights? Who would have standing to bring a case before the supreme court that could roll back gay rights? Also, the supreme court has been more conservative for a while and nothing has really happened with reproductive rights. I don't see Roe v Wade being overturned anytime in the near future.
  - saalweachter 10y ago
    The fear stems from the replacement after Scalia -- if Ginsberg is replaced and Kennedy is no longer the median vote, the Court will take a sharp turn on a lot of social issues.
    - nikomen 10y ago
      I agree that the Court will take a sharp turn on social issues. The question still that remains will be what cases could be brought before the Court that would actually give them the chance the overturn the previous rulings?
      - saalweachter 10y ago
        Typically the consequences of a Supreme Court ruling is that lower Courts resolve the cases in the direction of the Supreme Court's ruling and if you are foolish enough to appeal up to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court simply declines to hear it. There is nothing preventing the Supreme Court from deciding to hear an appeal (eg, of a Clerk who doesn't want to issue marriage licenses) and then issuing an sweeping decision completely to the opposite of the new status quo. That is the risk of relying on the Supreme Court to recognize unenumerated rights; the recognition will only last as long as the Court remains favorable to the right.

by Pxtl 10y ago

jug5 10y ago

You know you're a pussy when you need to apologize for having your own opinion. Worthless.

rev_bird 10y ago

>history will remember Trump as the Neville Chamberlain of the climate catastrophe I'm not sure this is true, but not because the sentiment is wrong: It implies that at some point, climate change will be as universally recognized for its negative effects as Hitler is, and that people will go back to examine how it happened. I don't have a lot of faith in the U.S. to get to either of those points; if I've learned anything from this election, it's that we have an astounding capacity to look at all the facts and just say, "ah, no thanks."

Pxtl 10y ago
It will take longer, but we'll get there eventually. Imagine 50 years from now the Global South becoming inhospitable and hundreds of millions of refugees fleeing flooding, heat waves, and drought. They'll look back on us and ask "what did they do when they had the best opportunity to stop this?"

zanny 10y ago

Its not really privilege, you probably just have no immediate people in your life you care a lot about who are fearing for their freedom in the next four years. That isn't a negative personality trait either, we cannot as a people expect anyone to have empathy for a group they have no personal ties to, especially in contrast to real threats against themselves. Both are problems, it is just those who are in danger of suffering from Trump's racism / xenophobia / sexism and their immediate peers see that as the more immediate threat, because he can undo decades of civil rights and equality in the first days of his presidency. He can set in motion programs to destroy the climate more in the first days of his tenure, but it will take years to suffer the consequences of them, even if they are much more permanent than immediate regressions in liberty. For individuals, permanence does not matter - your time is limited, and everything Trump takes away represents days or years you will never get back of oppression.

ant6n 10y ago
I agree. But regarding privilege, I'd argue that not having to fear for one's freedom is part of 'privilege'.

saalweachter 10y ago

While a lot of people were never able to move beyond Trump as a laughable buffoon and despicable human being, a lot of the harm is going to come from him advancing the mainstream, everyday Republican agenda. Repealing Obamacare, dismantling the EPA and CFPB, appointing judges to the Federal and Supreme Courts who are friendly to rolling back gay and reproductive rights, privatizing Medicare -- these are all mainstream positions.

nikomen 10y ago
While I agree that most of the issues you mentioned are definitely things to be concerned about, would a Supreme Court with Trump nominee's really roll back gay and reproductive rights? Who would have standing to bring a case before the supreme court that could roll back gay rights? Also, the supreme court has been more conservative for a while and nothing has really happened with reproductive rights. I don't see Roe v Wade being overturned anytime in the near future.
- saalweachter 10y ago
  The fear stems from the replacement after Scalia -- if Ginsberg is replaced and Kennedy is no longer the median vote, the Court will take a sharp turn on a lot of social issues.
  - nikomen 10y ago
    I agree that the Court will take a sharp turn on social issues. The question still that remains will be what cases could be brought before the Court that would actually give them the chance the overturn the previous rulings?
    - saalweachter 10y ago
      Typically the consequences of a Supreme Court ruling is that lower Courts resolve the cases in the direction of the Supreme Court's ruling and if you are foolish enough to appeal up to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court simply declines to hear it. There is nothing preventing the Supreme Court from deciding to hear an appeal (eg, of a Clerk who doesn't want to issue marriage licenses) and then issuing an sweeping decision completely to the opposite of the new status quo. That is the risk of relying on the Supreme Court to recognize unenumerated rights; the recognition will only last as long as the Court remains favorable to the right.