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> The Russians didn't force ~45% of eligible voters to be apathetic They didn't "force" anyone to do anything, but it's a mistake to characterise what they do
by untog 9y ago
> The Russians didn't force ~45% of eligible voters to be apathetic
They didn't "force" anyone to do anything, but it's a mistake to characterise what they do as aggressively pushing for a single candidate. Making people believe that the political system is not worth engaging in is absolutely a valid goal. I'm not saying that 45% of the US didn't vote because of Russia, I'm just saying it's also not 0%.
- ljm 9y agoIt's a fair point. Most intriguing to me is the reaction to even the allegation of external meddling, where there seems to be an element of surprise or disbelief. Many Western governments have meddled and interfered in the name of their own imperialistic foreign policies yet it appears unthinkable to some that it could ever be returned in kind. It's certainly not a mentality unique to the US (with Brexit you can swap Russia for Europe and get a similar result, for example). I choose to see it as a lack of self awareness, where being apathetic is good when everything happens the way you like it, but is everybody else's fault when it takes a turn for the worse.