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> Republicans have tried to halt, sabotage and corrupt reasonable reform until it becomes unrecognizable Republicans are conservatives which comes from > aver

> Republicans have tried to halt, sabotage and corrupt reasonable reform until it becomes unrecognizable Republicans are conservatives which comes from > averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values. They don't want to change the system because they like the system (even if objectively the system is bad for them and they've been told it isn't or that Issue A is all that matters, ignore B through Z while we decimate you). Single Issues are a huge facet of American politics and are used by both sides to divide people who have more in-common with each other than the groups in charge. From an outsider perspective I frequently wonder why it's not more visible, I certainly see it my countries national politics though not to the same extent. And even when people do realise there is a problem they then hang around waiting for the perfect single solution to fix it forever which is an ideal opportunity for politicians who don't want the problem fixing. If I'm been ultra cynical (and I try not to be) as an example, Roe V. Wade been over-turned would be a disaster to the GOP, the promise to try to do so is far more powerful at getting people out to vote than actually doing it - which requires both doing it and then having to promise something else. Divide and conquer all the way down.

chasd00 6y ago
"Single Issues are a huge facet of American politics and are used by both sides to divide people who have more in-common with each other than the groups in charge." that's a very good point. Sometimes i fantasize about what changes could have been made if the Tea Party and the Occupy Wallstreet people realized they were two sides of the same coin back in 2009. Both groups were quickly divided and subverted, set against each other, and destroyed out of fear of them coming to that realization IMO.
- noir_lord 6y ago
  It is like the parable of the "blind men and the elephant" one side has the trunk, the other the foot but both are mad at the same elephant.
asdfman123 6y ago
> Single Issues are a huge facet of American politics and are used by both sides to divide people who have more in-common with each other than the groups in charge. Because the shared values are dressed up in completely different narratives. I find talking to my conservative friend, he shares all of the concerns about problems with the justice system and inequality, but when I roll it together as "racism" he vehemently objects. We're told the other side sees things dramatically differently, though. Or that the want to kill babies.
- DuskStar 6y ago
  > I find talking to my conservative friend, he shares all of the concerns about problems with the justice system and inequality, but when I roll it together as "racism" he vehemently objects. If the issue is racism, that means that a fix for the justice system's problems won't affect him. You're implicitly saying that any mistreatment he's experienced at the hands of the police is the way things should be, and that it shouldn't be fixed. Saying the problem is racism is saying that only a fraction of the US deserves a solution, and it shouldn't be too hard to see why some people will find that disagreeable.
  - watwut 6y ago
    That sounds like quite strongly motivated reasoning. Basically, I can not accept that other people have specific big problem, because then resources would go toward problem I don't have. Therefore if there is both problem with racism and other one, racism can't exist untill all problems touching me are solved first. I mean, I can see how people who have the other problem would find him obstacle to solution to their problems.
    - DuskStar 6y ago
      And "this must have been caused by racism" sounds like motivated reasoning to me! If, instead, police 1. treat people equally when encountered 2. encounter demographics in proportion to the crimes committed by that demographic and 3. african americans commit a significantly higher number of crimes per capita... There wouldn't be a way to make the police less racist - since they already treat people equally - but police reform could be effective at reducing the brutality encountered by everyone. Making things a police racism problem (african americans might commit more crimes due to racism from groups other than the police) then just makes it so that no progress can be made on the "police beating people up and killing them" problem, because the police aren't racist. The above might not be true! But it's believed by a lot of people, and has a fair bit of academic support. (for instance, there are studies showing that police officers were faster to shoot a white man than an african american man when they were taking the same actions - the opposite of what I'd expect if police treatment differences were driven by racism)

chasd00 6y ago

"Single Issues are a huge facet of American politics and are used by both sides to divide people who have more in-common with each other than the groups in charge." that's a very good point. Sometimes i fantasize about what changes could have been made if the Tea Party and the Occupy Wallstreet people realized they were two sides of the same coin back in 2009. Both groups were quickly divided and subverted, set against each other, and destroyed out of fear of them coming to that realization IMO.

noir_lord 6y ago
It is like the parable of the "blind men and the elephant" one side has the trunk, the other the foot but both are mad at the same elephant.

asdfman123 6y ago

> Single Issues are a huge facet of American politics and are used by both sides to divide people who have more in-common with each other than the groups in charge. Because the shared values are dressed up in completely different narratives. I find talking to my conservative friend, he shares all of the concerns about problems with the justice system and inequality, but when I roll it together as "racism" he vehemently objects. We're told the other side sees things dramatically differently, though. Or that the want to kill babies.

DuskStar 6y ago
> I find talking to my conservative friend, he shares all of the concerns about problems with the justice system and inequality, but when I roll it together as "racism" he vehemently objects. If the issue is racism, that means that a fix for the justice system's problems won't affect him. You're implicitly saying that any mistreatment he's experienced at the hands of the police is the way things should be, and that it shouldn't be fixed. Saying the problem is racism is saying that only a fraction of the US deserves a solution, and it shouldn't be too hard to see why some people will find that disagreeable.
- watwut 6y ago
  That sounds like quite strongly motivated reasoning. Basically, I can not accept that other people have specific big problem, because then resources would go toward problem I don't have. Therefore if there is both problem with racism and other one, racism can't exist untill all problems touching me are solved first. I mean, I can see how people who have the other problem would find him obstacle to solution to their problems.
  - DuskStar 6y ago
    And "this must have been caused by racism" sounds like motivated reasoning to me! If, instead, police 1. treat people equally when encountered 2. encounter demographics in proportion to the crimes committed by that demographic and 3. african americans commit a significantly higher number of crimes per capita... There wouldn't be a way to make the police less racist - since they already treat people equally - but police reform could be effective at reducing the brutality encountered by everyone. Making things a police racism problem (african americans might commit more crimes due to racism from groups other than the police) then just makes it so that no progress can be made on the "police beating people up and killing them" problem, because the police aren't racist. The above might not be true! But it's believed by a lot of people, and has a fair bit of academic support. (for instance, there are studies showing that police officers were faster to shoot a white man than an african american man when they were taking the same actions - the opposite of what I'd expect if police treatment differences were driven by racism)