4 ms·

> I hate this administration and group of people like nothing I’ve hated before. I'm in the same boat. Politically / culturally I'm pretty centrist, and histo

> I hate this administration and group of people like nothing I’ve hated before. I'm in the same boat. Politically / culturally I'm pretty centrist, and historically I've found things to like and dislike about both parties' governance. (G.W. Bush was the first administration I ever hated. But I'm mostly willing to write GW Bush off as a moron, and his fellow Republicans as inept.) With Trump 2, for the first time I actually loath the entire Republican party, and the voters who support him. I'm having a very difficult time believing anything praiseworthy behind their motives. It's the first time I truly fear for the immediate future of the country. I'm sure this says as much about me as it does about the Republicans. But if there are many others like me, this can't be a good sign of what's to come.

squigz 1y ago
One is almost forced to wonder if "hating" half of your country is part of the issue.
- CoastalCoder 1y ago
  > One is almost forced to wonder if "hating" half of your country is part of the issue. I agree. It's the first time I've ever had these thoughts and feelings, and it's not obvious how justified my hatred is.
  - squigz 1y ago
    I don't think your feelings are necessarily 'unjustified' - because, well... shit's crazy - but I don't think hatred is going to be lead anywhere productive. And I think the assumption that hatred stems from - that 70 million people or so voted for this because they're racist stupid people - is also problematic. I think people need to start asking in at least some good faith why so many people voted for this. If your answer really is that they're just racist and stupid... then I would encourage you to consider whether your opinion is more informed from social media and news than meeting actual people.
    - CoastalCoder 1y ago
      Thank you, I agree with all of your points.
    - techpineapple 1y ago
      > If your answer really is that they're just racist and stupid... then I would encourage you to consider whether your opinion is more informed from social media and news than meeting actual people. I mean... Yes? But there's a dynamic that's really hard to get past which is -- 1. I do not actually think that half the country is racist and stupid, but most of my political interactions are unfortunately not with real people, they are with the media, a necessity if you want to stay informed, and if I want to hear the actual thoughts of the leaders of our country, it's not going to give me good impressions. 2. Many of the actual people in my life who are conservative have become MAGA-pilled, and do talk the same way folks do online. I'm a humanist, I empathize deep down with the nature of humans, and the death of small town / manufacturing America, etc. but I will say that I think that over time the lines between online and offline are blurring. Recently spent time with people I've known along time in meat space who talked about how smart and informed they were for knowing the "truth" about vaccines, how stupid the other side was for being in a ideological bubble. How terrible it was that 2 year olds were going to school and coming back Trans. And just in general the kind of anti-lib discourse that you would find on Twitter. Sadly I think this idea that the extreme polarization of our country is limited to online discourse is becoming less and less true over time.
    - mcphage 1y ago
      > I would encourage you to consider whether your opinion is more informed from social media and news than meeting actual people I wonder where all of these Trump voters get their opinion informed from. Are Trump voters known for meeting actual people and learning from them?
    - kanbara 1y ago
      unfortunately, there are millions of people for whom the cruelty is the point. the attacks on LGBTQ people, on hispanic people, on women, on anyone non-white just prove that people really do want these hateful cruel regulations, against anyone who is not what they deem as "american" as far as meeting "actual people"-- yes, there are definitely people who are anti-gay anti-trans anti-women pro-war pro-hate pro-"america" and they are pretty gross, authoritarian, and fascist-leaning, and to me that's not what america is about. saying that everyone's fear is made up is just coming from a place where white well-off christian people just don't see problems and that's pretty sad
- i80and 1y ago
  (not the parent) It's not half, but it's clear about 30% of the country is belligerently demanding a dictatorship and the blood of people like me. I don't truly hate anybody, but it would be downright foolish to try and pretend this isn't so.
- esseph 1y ago
  It certainly seems like one party in particular does actively hate the other half and does whatever they can specifically to undermine them.
  - squigz 1y ago
    The fact that I have no idea what party you're referring to illustrates the issue
    - esseph 1y ago
      Damn that's bleak as fuck. I know where many of my neighbors stand on issues, and if they could get away with killing people they disagree with for fun, they would. There has been a multi decade conditioning that a certain part of the country is not just people that think differently, but the enemy within that must be purged.
    - atmavatar 1y ago
      Would you mind providing examples of each party undermining one another? This doesn't strike me as something that's a both sides issue, but I'd rather be informed than right, and perhaps I'll be surprised.
      - parineum 1y ago
        "Kids in cages" was a slogan that grossly distorted holding people in facilities (not unlike jail, admittedly) while processing their asylum claims rather than just letting them free to roam the country, unable to legally work. A situation which led to claiming asylum at absurd rates and taxing the asylum courts that weren't designed to be abused. As a part of that, children were separated from adults until they could verify their custody. "Kids in cages" was really just trying to stop asylum abuse while also keeping an eye out for human trafficking of children. The effect of that slogan, a complete knee jerk reversal by the Biden administration of those policies not unlike what we see here with the EVs, led to the horrible border situation that played a major role in Trump's second victory.
yoyohello13 1y ago
Same. I’ve generally been a little left but I’ve always been able to at least understand the conservative viewpoint even if I didn’t agree. With this admin though, I can’t for the life of me comprehend how anybody can think this is ok. For fucks sake there are basically secret police arresting people on the streets with no due process. The rhetoric that comes out of Trump and his admins mouths genuinely disgust me. I’ve disagreed with other administrations, but have never felt straight up fear for the future like l do now. I hate this admin and I hate the voters that put him in power, people that still want him in power even now with the blatant corruption on display daily. I know it’s not right to feel this way, I hate feeling this way, but here we are.

squigz 1y ago

One is almost forced to wonder if "hating" half of your country is part of the issue.

CoastalCoder 1y ago
> One is almost forced to wonder if "hating" half of your country is part of the issue. I agree. It's the first time I've ever had these thoughts and feelings, and it's not obvious how justified my hatred is.
- squigz 1y ago
  I don't think your feelings are necessarily 'unjustified' - because, well... shit's crazy - but I don't think hatred is going to be lead anywhere productive. And I think the assumption that hatred stems from - that 70 million people or so voted for this because they're racist stupid people - is also problematic. I think people need to start asking in at least some good faith why so many people voted for this. If your answer really is that they're just racist and stupid... then I would encourage you to consider whether your opinion is more informed from social media and news than meeting actual people.
  - CoastalCoder 1y ago
    Thank you, I agree with all of your points.
  - techpineapple 1y ago
    > If your answer really is that they're just racist and stupid... then I would encourage you to consider whether your opinion is more informed from social media and news than meeting actual people. I mean... Yes? But there's a dynamic that's really hard to get past which is -- 1. I do not actually think that half the country is racist and stupid, but most of my political interactions are unfortunately not with real people, they are with the media, a necessity if you want to stay informed, and if I want to hear the actual thoughts of the leaders of our country, it's not going to give me good impressions. 2. Many of the actual people in my life who are conservative have become MAGA-pilled, and do talk the same way folks do online. I'm a humanist, I empathize deep down with the nature of humans, and the death of small town / manufacturing America, etc. but I will say that I think that over time the lines between online and offline are blurring. Recently spent time with people I've known along time in meat space who talked about how smart and informed they were for knowing the "truth" about vaccines, how stupid the other side was for being in a ideological bubble. How terrible it was that 2 year olds were going to school and coming back Trans. And just in general the kind of anti-lib discourse that you would find on Twitter. Sadly I think this idea that the extreme polarization of our country is limited to online discourse is becoming less and less true over time.
  - mcphage 1y ago
    > I would encourage you to consider whether your opinion is more informed from social media and news than meeting actual people I wonder where all of these Trump voters get their opinion informed from. Are Trump voters known for meeting actual people and learning from them?
  - kanbara 1y ago
    unfortunately, there are millions of people for whom the cruelty is the point. the attacks on LGBTQ people, on hispanic people, on women, on anyone non-white just prove that people really do want these hateful cruel regulations, against anyone who is not what they deem as "american" as far as meeting "actual people"-- yes, there are definitely people who are anti-gay anti-trans anti-women pro-war pro-hate pro-"america" and they are pretty gross, authoritarian, and fascist-leaning, and to me that's not what america is about. saying that everyone's fear is made up is just coming from a place where white well-off christian people just don't see problems and that's pretty sad
i80and 1y ago
(not the parent) It's not half, but it's clear about 30% of the country is belligerently demanding a dictatorship and the blood of people like me. I don't truly hate anybody, but it would be downright foolish to try and pretend this isn't so.
esseph 1y ago
It certainly seems like one party in particular does actively hate the other half and does whatever they can specifically to undermine them.
- squigz 1y ago
  The fact that I have no idea what party you're referring to illustrates the issue
  - esseph 1y ago
    Damn that's bleak as fuck. I know where many of my neighbors stand on issues, and if they could get away with killing people they disagree with for fun, they would. There has been a multi decade conditioning that a certain part of the country is not just people that think differently, but the enemy within that must be purged.
  - atmavatar 1y ago
    Would you mind providing examples of each party undermining one another? This doesn't strike me as something that's a both sides issue, but I'd rather be informed than right, and perhaps I'll be surprised.
    - parineum 1y ago
      "Kids in cages" was a slogan that grossly distorted holding people in facilities (not unlike jail, admittedly) while processing their asylum claims rather than just letting them free to roam the country, unable to legally work. A situation which led to claiming asylum at absurd rates and taxing the asylum courts that weren't designed to be abused. As a part of that, children were separated from adults until they could verify their custody. "Kids in cages" was really just trying to stop asylum abuse while also keeping an eye out for human trafficking of children. The effect of that slogan, a complete knee jerk reversal by the Biden administration of those policies not unlike what we see here with the EVs, led to the horrible border situation that played a major role in Trump's second victory.

yoyohello13 1y ago

Same. I’ve generally been a little left but I’ve always been able to at least understand the conservative viewpoint even if I didn’t agree. With this admin though, I can’t for the life of me comprehend how anybody can think this is ok. For fucks sake there are basically secret police arresting people on the streets with no due process. The rhetoric that comes out of Trump and his admins mouths genuinely disgust me. I’ve disagreed with other administrations, but have never felt straight up fear for the future like l do now. I hate this admin and I hate the voters that put him in power, people that still want him in power even now with the blatant corruption on display daily. I know it’s not right to feel this way, I hate feeling this way, but here we are.