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> half this country can't remember what empathy is Not that I disagree with your overall point, but while I might be being overly sensitive here, I think it's

> half this country can't remember what empathy is Not that I disagree with your overall point, but while I might be being overly sensitive here, I think it's implicit that 9 times out of 10, when someone refers to "half the country", what they mean to say is "the half of the country not affiliated with the political party to which I am affiliated." Yes, there are selfish people, but largely, that selfishness is not evenly divisible by party line, and the castigation of "the others" should be minimized, in my opinion, as most Americans, left, right, or center, are honestly trying to do what they feel is right. As it sits, Republicans are statistically quite charitable[1][2], to the point that 9 of the 10 most charitable states are red states. Yes, perhaps they see a different role for government than you do, and yes, I think that the parent to your comment was indeed acting selfishly, but that doesn't necessarily conflate to partisan beliefs, nor should we attempt to correlate individual behavior to partisan causation. [1] - https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/giving-back-_n_3781505.html https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/giving-back-_n_378... [2] - https://www.nationalreview.com/the-home-front/which-political-party-more-charitable-nancy-french/ https://www.nationalreview.com/the-home-front/which-politica...

bwb 8y ago
I don't like either political party, but that doesn't mean they are equal in how terrible they are, too many people try to equivocate. We absolutely should do more to castigate people by party line, especially when their beliefs are based on propaganda. The Republican party is destroying the future of this country. The Republican media and formal political party have convinced the majority of its members that people who need help are lazy welfare queens, and that government can't do anything efficiently. It is a great narrative, and it is not factually true. Charity is ineffective, have you looked at how they spend their money and how much goes to fund-raising and operations? Very few charities actually do anything meaningful. Government is what does the hard work that keeps states and the country running. Not to mention the number of funds given to charities with dubious missions, such as convincing women not to have abortions, or megachurches trying to buy a jet so that Christ comes back and the world ends... Charities are badly run band-aids that are trying to hold the country together. It isn't a good thing, it is another sign of how far we have sunk in taking care of our people. That is money that should have been collected via taxes and actually deployed to help educate people, help them afford health care, etc etc. I would urge everyone to start castigating people by party line before it is too late.
- bmelton 8y ago
  There are Republicans who agree with you on healthcare. Let's not forget that Obama's ACA was a rehash of Romneycare. There are Republicans in favor of gay marriage. The attorneys in US v Windsor, which overturned the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law by Bill Clinton, were Republicans. There are Republicans who support charity, a strong social safety net, and taking care of their friends and neighbors.
  - bwb 8y ago
    Ya and there is prob a racoon that fucked a bear out there too :). Good for that racoon! Yay for finding insignificant details that pale in comparison to the big picture. Do you want to stand on the deck of the titanic pointing out all the little boats that are still floating or talk about the HUGE boat that is sinking under your feet?
    - Stratoscope 8y ago
      You're not going to win friends with this kind of belligerent talk. Why don't you stick with the approach you took in your other top-level comment, which I thought was pretty great: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17317062 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17317062
      - s2g 8y ago
        > You're not going to win friends with this kind of belligerent talk. 8 years of a president talking reasonably got us the rise of the alt-right. I'm all for belligerence and not letting people weasel their way out of support for disgusting beliefs.
        krageon 8y ago
        It's not alt-right. They're white supremacists. Fascists. Let's not mince words when it comes to the beliefs that absolutely destroyed the world once already. Americans came to a bunch of places (eventually) to help fix that, and now they're letting it happen in their own country. Frankly, it is a disgrace.
s2g 8y ago
Republicans actively try to destroy any sort of reasonable social safety net. I really don't care how partisan you think I'm being, the republican viewpoint on this is cruel and wrong and I think extremely low of anyone who supports it. Extremely low.

bwb 8y ago

I don't like either political party, but that doesn't mean they are equal in how terrible they are, too many people try to equivocate. We absolutely should do more to castigate people by party line, especially when their beliefs are based on propaganda. The Republican party is destroying the future of this country. The Republican media and formal political party have convinced the majority of its members that people who need help are lazy welfare queens, and that government can't do anything efficiently. It is a great narrative, and it is not factually true. Charity is ineffective, have you looked at how they spend their money and how much goes to fund-raising and operations? Very few charities actually do anything meaningful. Government is what does the hard work that keeps states and the country running. Not to mention the number of funds given to charities with dubious missions, such as convincing women not to have abortions, or megachurches trying to buy a jet so that Christ comes back and the world ends... Charities are badly run band-aids that are trying to hold the country together. It isn't a good thing, it is another sign of how far we have sunk in taking care of our people. That is money that should have been collected via taxes and actually deployed to help educate people, help them afford health care, etc etc. I would urge everyone to start castigating people by party line before it is too late.

bmelton 8y ago
There are Republicans who agree with you on healthcare. Let's not forget that Obama's ACA was a rehash of Romneycare. There are Republicans in favor of gay marriage. The attorneys in US v Windsor, which overturned the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law by Bill Clinton, were Republicans. There are Republicans who support charity, a strong social safety net, and taking care of their friends and neighbors.
- bwb 8y ago
  Ya and there is prob a racoon that fucked a bear out there too :). Good for that racoon! Yay for finding insignificant details that pale in comparison to the big picture. Do you want to stand on the deck of the titanic pointing out all the little boats that are still floating or talk about the HUGE boat that is sinking under your feet?
  - Stratoscope 8y ago
    You're not going to win friends with this kind of belligerent talk. Why don't you stick with the approach you took in your other top-level comment, which I thought was pretty great: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17317062 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17317062
    - s2g 8y ago
      > You're not going to win friends with this kind of belligerent talk. 8 years of a president talking reasonably got us the rise of the alt-right. I'm all for belligerence and not letting people weasel their way out of support for disgusting beliefs.
      - krageon 8y ago
        It's not alt-right. They're white supremacists. Fascists. Let's not mince words when it comes to the beliefs that absolutely destroyed the world once already. Americans came to a bunch of places (eventually) to help fix that, and now they're letting it happen in their own country. Frankly, it is a disgrace.

s2g 8y ago

Republicans actively try to destroy any sort of reasonable social safety net. I really don't care how partisan you think I'm being, the republican viewpoint on this is cruel and wrong and I think extremely low of anyone who supports it. Extremely low.