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The next leader of the most powerful nation on earth already elected on a campaign that openly advocated torture and war crimes and made all sorts of racially c

by AimHere 10y ago

The next leader of the most powerful nation on earth already elected on a campaign that openly advocated torture and war crimes and made all sorts of racially charged insinuations. The USA seems set to embark on a terrifying policy of mass deportations in a few months. A white supremacist is set to be installed as White House Chief of Staff, and his previous incarnation was as owner of news outlet talking in the public arena, presumably having his message challenged in exactly the manner you describe. I think that your way of doing things has already run its course.

laumars 10y ago
There was more to the Trump campaign than just misinformation on social media. Without wanting to rehash old discussions I think it's fair to say that most of the people who voted for Trump acknowledged his flaws but ultimately found Hillary Clinton less palatable. Personally I don't think there was a single good candidate on the ballot.
- ambicapter 10y ago
  Making Hillary unpalatable was part of the alt-right campaign to elect Trump. #SickHillary and other ways of killing her trustworthiness were campaigns imagined and put into effect by Trump sympathizers.
  - laumars 10y ago
    Yes, smear campaigns happen on both sides. I'm talking beyond that though. E.g. Some saw Clintons "career politics" as her being indoctrinated into the status quo whereas Trump represented a change. I was as unhappy about the result as the next lefty but it doesn't help the situation to assume that all Trump supporters are ignorant, nor any of the worse accusations. Those supporters will have their reasons and if you want any hope of swaying their opinions then you have to listen to their arguments - something we did a poor job of in both the UK's EU referendum and the American election. We got preachy instead, so many on the opposing side kept their opinions quiet and we ended up not only misjudging the support of those campaigns had but ultimately losing the vote as well.
SomeStupidPoint 10y ago
The reason there's a white supremecist in the white house is precisely that people silenced white people on places like Twitter when they complained about institutional social injustices against them. So the white people got together and voted as a minority bloc for a member of their minority that would favor their interests over all others. Your solution of trying harder to supress them will only get more Donald Trumps elected.
- throwaway-hn123 10y ago
  Not really. We are going to wipe out that tendency by educating people better. Educated people, on the whole, tend not to be racist, bigoted fascists.
  - forgottenpass 10y ago
    That's a lot of people to educate. And where? Some sort of infrastructure would be necessary to educate so many. But it probably wouldn't need to be permanent, just temporary until the masses are educated. You know, a sort of camp for education.
concernedmale 10y ago
You mean versus Hillary's "can't we just drone him" statement? What about the people saying assassinate Trump or kill white people... When will their accounts be banned?
matwood 10y ago
> The USA seems set to embark on a terrifying policy of mass deportations in a few months I really wish the MSM would stop burying facts in the story and out of the headlines. Not that I agree with it, but Trump has stated time and again that he wants to deport people in the US illegally who ALSO have a criminal record. There was some stat from the gov. that ~1.9 million illegals also have some criminal record, and that matches the figures he has thrown around. My point is that the hyperbole in these discussions means that no one will ever come together. People need to act more like President Obama now that the election is over, and figure out how to make the best of a situation they may not like. Democracy will go on.
erichocean 10y ago
You might not like this, but Obama has already deported more people than any other US president—2.5 million people to be exact.[0] That's about what Trump is proposing. [0] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-deportation-policy-numbers/story?id=41715661 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-deportation-policy-num...

by AimHere 10y ago

laumars 10y ago

There was more to the Trump campaign than just misinformation on social media. Without wanting to rehash old discussions I think it's fair to say that most of the people who voted for Trump acknowledged his flaws but ultimately found Hillary Clinton less palatable. Personally I don't think there was a single good candidate on the ballot.

ambicapter 10y ago
Making Hillary unpalatable was part of the alt-right campaign to elect Trump. #SickHillary and other ways of killing her trustworthiness were campaigns imagined and put into effect by Trump sympathizers.
- laumars 10y ago
  Yes, smear campaigns happen on both sides. I'm talking beyond that though. E.g. Some saw Clintons "career politics" as her being indoctrinated into the status quo whereas Trump represented a change. I was as unhappy about the result as the next lefty but it doesn't help the situation to assume that all Trump supporters are ignorant, nor any of the worse accusations. Those supporters will have their reasons and if you want any hope of swaying their opinions then you have to listen to their arguments - something we did a poor job of in both the UK's EU referendum and the American election. We got preachy instead, so many on the opposing side kept their opinions quiet and we ended up not only misjudging the support of those campaigns had but ultimately losing the vote as well.

SomeStupidPoint 10y ago

The reason there's a white supremecist in the white house is precisely that people silenced white people on places like Twitter when they complained about institutional social injustices against them. So the white people got together and voted as a minority bloc for a member of their minority that would favor their interests over all others. Your solution of trying harder to supress them will only get more Donald Trumps elected.

throwaway-hn123 10y ago
Not really. We are going to wipe out that tendency by educating people better. Educated people, on the whole, tend not to be racist, bigoted fascists.
- forgottenpass 10y ago
  That's a lot of people to educate. And where? Some sort of infrastructure would be necessary to educate so many. But it probably wouldn't need to be permanent, just temporary until the masses are educated. You know, a sort of camp for education.

concernedmale 10y ago

You mean versus Hillary's "can't we just drone him" statement? What about the people saying assassinate Trump or kill white people... When will their accounts be banned?

matwood 10y ago

> The USA seems set to embark on a terrifying policy of mass deportations in a few months I really wish the MSM would stop burying facts in the story and out of the headlines. Not that I agree with it, but Trump has stated time and again that he wants to deport people in the US illegally who ALSO have a criminal record. There was some stat from the gov. that ~1.9 million illegals also have some criminal record, and that matches the figures he has thrown around. My point is that the hyperbole in these discussions means that no one will ever come together. People need to act more like President Obama now that the election is over, and figure out how to make the best of a situation they may not like. Democracy will go on.

erichocean 10y ago

You might not like this, but Obama has already deported more people than any other US president—2.5 million people to be exact.[0] That's about what Trump is proposing. [0] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-deportation-policy-numbers/story?id=41715661 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-deportation-policy-num...