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I down-voted your comment because of the use of the term "tyrannical". I am not a Trump supporter but, in general terms (not attacking you), this language and

I down-voted your comment because of the use of the term "tyrannical". I am not a Trump supporter but, in general terms (not attacking you), this language and attitude isn't productive at all. It is far better to be part of the solution than to constantly bitch about what one doesn't like. Not to deviate from the subject of this thread, look at what Elon is doing. I doubt he is in alignment with Trump yet he, and a whole lot of very smart people, recognize that it is far more constructive to participate in finding solutions and providing guidance than engaging in doing nothing more than bitching. Compare the potential fruits of his willingness to engage with Trump to someone like Madonna talking about burning down the White House. Which of the two has the highest probability of inspiring positive change? Our nation is in serious trouble on many fronts. We need to promote unity, not further divisiveness. Please don't take this as personal criticism. I am merely trying to point out that engaging in a positive manner with people we might dislike has far greater probability of producing positive outcomes than being at war with them. Intelligent folks are quick to realize that, given our problems, the better strategy is to be active participants in solutions. The contributions can be as simple as promoting intelligent discourse, which has to start with offering respect rather than insults.

cooper12 10y ago
Sorry, but I'm so tired of this olive branch covered in thorns being offered under the name of "unity". What you're basically saying is "shut up and fall in line". It's no different from those conservatives who were more concerned about the social order than the civil rights of African Americans. It's extremely hypocritical to preach about unity while the Trump administration fosters hostility towards muslims and deprives green card holders of their rights to travel freely, while they waste taxpayer money on a useless wall against "bad hombres", who says he loves LGBT people while rescinding the rights of transgender people, who is crippling the agencies meant to protect the populace, giving free reign to those who want to pollute our environment, who is working to deprive millions of healthcare without a tangible alternative, attacks the free press at every chance, and finally whose whole platform was built on outrage and divisiveness. If you want to build unity, you have to speak out about injustices and hypocrisy, not shove it all under the rug to appease everyone but those discriminated against.
- rebootthesystem 10y ago
  Your reality is distorted beyond recognition.
  - cooper12 10y ago
    Quite hypocritical of you to criticize unconstructive statements and then going around and doing the same eh? May I dare to venture why you think so?
    - rebootthesystem 10y ago
      I don't know who you are, your age, background, occupation or where you live. Your view of reality is distorted to a significant degree. I am not saying you don't have a point here and there but things are not as dark and sinister as you seem to think they are. Again, without having an understanding of your frame of reference it is hard to know where to go with what you said. Please don't take this as a personal attack. That is and was not the intent. I simply told you that what you are describing does not align with reality to a degree that is not-trivial. Depending on your frame of reference an exploration of these ideas and their potential realignment could be a matter of a short conversation and a few links or hours chatting in person at a nice coffee shop. I can put it this way (these are just examples): Someone suffering from deep depression sees the world through a very different lens than someone who isn't depressed. A person who has success in life sees the world through very different eyes when compared to someone at the opposite end of the scale. Someone who enjoys a great family life views a reality not available to a person who's family life is nonexistent or tragically complicated. I am not saying you fit any of the above scenarios. I am simply using them to demonstrate that one's frame of reference matters, a lot. Your portrayal of reality is very dark and negative. I urge you to consider that this might not be in alignment with how things are in reality. That said, a perfect image does not exist. We are all influenced by our frames of reference to one degree or another. Nobody can claim absolute alignment with reality. However, the extremes are clearly not aligned with reality. Your view of what's around you seems to be very dark.
      - 10y ago
dragonwriter 10y ago
> Madonna talking about burning down the White House The only thing Madonna said about burning down the White House was that the impulse was unproductive, as a lead in to discussing productive avenues to address policy concerns. It's been misrepresented by those allied with Trump because that's the way they deal with policy disagreements: lie to characterize those who disagree with them as threats while avoiding the substance of the disagreement.
astrodust 10y ago
Just calling a spade a spade. Downvote if it makes you feel better. Softer language just normalizes the administration's behaviour. > We need to promote unity, not further divisiveness. Yes: Unity for the Constitution and the principles it represents. Unity in recognizing the value of a free press. Unity in support of those being persecuted for no reason. > [This] has to start with offering respect rather than insults. When the President treats people with respect this point will have a leg to stand on. Until then, watch me not care.
- rebootthesystem 10y ago
  > Downvote if it makes you feel better. It has nothing to do with that. I rarely down-vote. Yet, when I do, I prefer to identify myself and state why. I don't like anonymous down-voting. If you are going to click to disagree with someone I think you owe them an explanation. That, BTW, does not mean I am correct. I could be absolutely wrong. At least give me credit for having engaged in dialogue. In other words, in this case, I am practicing what I preach.
  - astrodust 10y ago
    Feedback's fine. If only more people commented on why they down-vote.
    - rebootthesystem 10y ago
      Yup. That's the whole point of dialogue. If all I do is down-vote it might feel good for five seconds as an "attack" (anyone who thinks this way needs help) but nobody learns a thing. Constructive dialogue is key. We all fall into the trap of engaging in less-than-constructive dialogue from time to time. That's OK. Nobody is perfect. Just have to keep trying.
rebootthesystem 10y ago
The various replies are nothing more than predictable. No problem. Fully expected. In "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" one of the habits is "Seek first to understand, Then to be understood". This is very important and it only happens in the context of dialogue. Positive outcomes require it. I used Elon Musk's example because he is on of the members of the advisory council who is out there explaining why it is important to remain engaged and participate. http://gizmodo.com/heres-elon-musk-giving-donald-trump-a-stern-talking-to-1791966416 http://gizmodo.com/heres-elon-musk-giving-donald-trump-a-ste... Uber CEO Travis Kalanick dropped out. Who do you think will have a solid opportunity to affect positive change and policies? It sure as hell won't be Kalanick! Musk is very intelligent and recognizes you have to be in there in order to be hear and be understood. First understand. Then be understood. Then, and only then, do you get to affect positive change in the context of civilized dialogue. While a portion of the population, is lost in a fever of spite, there are those who, like Musk, are engaging in dialogue to produce better outcomes for all. Perhaps slinging insults and creating caricatures of people like Trump is satisfying to some. I guess I can see that. Yet, the reality is that, if you look at it objectively, this behavior produces exactly zero positive outcomes. When was the last time you sought to understand the grievances of someone who devoted a significant amount of time to insulting you and maligning everything you do? Exactly. This is not intelligent constructive behavior.

cooper12 10y ago

Sorry, but I'm so tired of this olive branch covered in thorns being offered under the name of "unity". What you're basically saying is "shut up and fall in line". It's no different from those conservatives who were more concerned about the social order than the civil rights of African Americans. It's extremely hypocritical to preach about unity while the Trump administration fosters hostility towards muslims and deprives green card holders of their rights to travel freely, while they waste taxpayer money on a useless wall against "bad hombres", who says he loves LGBT people while rescinding the rights of transgender people, who is crippling the agencies meant to protect the populace, giving free reign to those who want to pollute our environment, who is working to deprive millions of healthcare without a tangible alternative, attacks the free press at every chance, and finally whose whole platform was built on outrage and divisiveness. If you want to build unity, you have to speak out about injustices and hypocrisy, not shove it all under the rug to appease everyone but those discriminated against.

rebootthesystem 10y ago
Your reality is distorted beyond recognition.
- cooper12 10y ago
  Quite hypocritical of you to criticize unconstructive statements and then going around and doing the same eh? May I dare to venture why you think so?
  - rebootthesystem 10y ago
    I don't know who you are, your age, background, occupation or where you live. Your view of reality is distorted to a significant degree. I am not saying you don't have a point here and there but things are not as dark and sinister as you seem to think they are. Again, without having an understanding of your frame of reference it is hard to know where to go with what you said. Please don't take this as a personal attack. That is and was not the intent. I simply told you that what you are describing does not align with reality to a degree that is not-trivial. Depending on your frame of reference an exploration of these ideas and their potential realignment could be a matter of a short conversation and a few links or hours chatting in person at a nice coffee shop. I can put it this way (these are just examples): Someone suffering from deep depression sees the world through a very different lens than someone who isn't depressed. A person who has success in life sees the world through very different eyes when compared to someone at the opposite end of the scale. Someone who enjoys a great family life views a reality not available to a person who's family life is nonexistent or tragically complicated. I am not saying you fit any of the above scenarios. I am simply using them to demonstrate that one's frame of reference matters, a lot. Your portrayal of reality is very dark and negative. I urge you to consider that this might not be in alignment with how things are in reality. That said, a perfect image does not exist. We are all influenced by our frames of reference to one degree or another. Nobody can claim absolute alignment with reality. However, the extremes are clearly not aligned with reality. Your view of what's around you seems to be very dark.
    - 10y ago

dragonwriter 10y ago

> Madonna talking about burning down the White House The only thing Madonna said about burning down the White House was that the impulse was unproductive, as a lead in to discussing productive avenues to address policy concerns. It's been misrepresented by those allied with Trump because that's the way they deal with policy disagreements: lie to characterize those who disagree with them as threats while avoiding the substance of the disagreement.

astrodust 10y ago

Just calling a spade a spade. Downvote if it makes you feel better. Softer language just normalizes the administration's behaviour. > We need to promote unity, not further divisiveness. Yes: Unity for the Constitution and the principles it represents. Unity in recognizing the value of a free press. Unity in support of those being persecuted for no reason. > [This] has to start with offering respect rather than insults. When the President treats people with respect this point will have a leg to stand on. Until then, watch me not care.

rebootthesystem 10y ago
> Downvote if it makes you feel better. It has nothing to do with that. I rarely down-vote. Yet, when I do, I prefer to identify myself and state why. I don't like anonymous down-voting. If you are going to click to disagree with someone I think you owe them an explanation. That, BTW, does not mean I am correct. I could be absolutely wrong. At least give me credit for having engaged in dialogue. In other words, in this case, I am practicing what I preach.
- astrodust 10y ago
  Feedback's fine. If only more people commented on why they down-vote.
  - rebootthesystem 10y ago
    Yup. That's the whole point of dialogue. If all I do is down-vote it might feel good for five seconds as an "attack" (anyone who thinks this way needs help) but nobody learns a thing. Constructive dialogue is key. We all fall into the trap of engaging in less-than-constructive dialogue from time to time. That's OK. Nobody is perfect. Just have to keep trying.

rebootthesystem 10y ago

The various replies are nothing more than predictable. No problem. Fully expected. In "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" one of the habits is "Seek first to understand, Then to be understood". This is very important and it only happens in the context of dialogue. Positive outcomes require it. I used Elon Musk's example because he is on of the members of the advisory council who is out there explaining why it is important to remain engaged and participate. http://gizmodo.com/heres-elon-musk-giving-donald-trump-a-stern-talking-to-1791966416 http://gizmodo.com/heres-elon-musk-giving-donald-trump-a-ste... Uber CEO Travis Kalanick dropped out. Who do you think will have a solid opportunity to affect positive change and policies? It sure as hell won't be Kalanick! Musk is very intelligent and recognizes you have to be in there in order to be hear and be understood. First understand. Then be understood. Then, and only then, do you get to affect positive change in the context of civilized dialogue. While a portion of the population, is lost in a fever of spite, there are those who, like Musk, are engaging in dialogue to produce better outcomes for all. Perhaps slinging insults and creating caricatures of people like Trump is satisfying to some. I guess I can see that. Yet, the reality is that, if you look at it objectively, this behavior produces exactly zero positive outcomes. When was the last time you sought to understand the grievances of someone who devoted a significant amount of time to insulting you and maligning everything you do? Exactly. This is not intelligent constructive behavior.