4 ms·

What’s your angle here, exactly? I don’t get it.

by otterley 1mo ago

creato 1mo ago
That the issue of slavery has weak explanatory power for what is happening today.
- otterley 1mo ago
  I didn’t ask you. But since you chose to get involved: do you believe there is no lasting impact or consequences resulting from slavery in the USA?
  - WalterBright 1mo ago
    Pretty much everything that has happened in the past has consequences today. It's the butterfly effect. Slavery has existed as far back as history. The idea that people are created equal, and are equal under the law, is very, very new, and that idea has resulted in a great many positive things happening.
- anon84873628 1mo ago
  You should check out this podcast episode with two historians, tracing the influence of the Confederacy ideology all the way to the current Supreme Court: https://youtu.be/1i2VuPACBbU?si=8jv8XrRTLHJ9hHTu https://youtu.be/1i2VuPACBbU?si=8jv8XrRTLHJ9hHTu
0xDEAFBEAD 1mo ago
I'm anti-Trump. If you tell people "Trump is a corrupt asshole", that has a chance at convincing supporters to abandon him. If you tell people "the US needs a cultural revolution due to events from past centuries", that's what got him elected in the first place. A good general wouldn't voluntarily shift the battleground to a region where their troops are weak. Political persuasion is no different. The Democratic Party keeps losing because they cling to unpopular positions on cultural issues. If Trump is as bad as you say, prove it to me by showing willingness to strategically cede ground on a few issues in order to win more voters.
- otterley 1mo ago
  I’m generally aligned with your point, but I also don’t think the official position of the Democratic Party is that we need a cultural revolution, nor do I observe most Democrats feel that way. What I do see is media and politicians on the Right characterizing extreme positions held by a minority of folks on the far Left as though they are adopted by the entire Left, and that weak uncritical minds on the Right believe that nonsense. Rush Limbaugh pioneered this technique to profit himself, and Trump gave him a fucking Presidential Medal of Freedom in his first term.
  - 0xDEAFBEAD 1mo ago
    I think you're somewhat underestimating how effectively the far-left minority has scared others into silence. Anyways, I do what I can to push back against them when they say things which seem wacky to me, as in this instance. Maybe I should work harder to make my actual views clear. I added a few sentences to the end of my original comment in this thread: "I don't think this is a slavery thing. Trump just sucks." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49572347 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49572347
    - otterley 1mo ago
      > I think you're somewhat underestimating how effectively the far-left minority has scared others into silence Besides all the YouTube videos, X posts, the addition of two new right-wing TV networks (OANN and NEWSMAX), “Truth” Social, WSJ, NY Post, etc.? Silence is a myth perpetuated by the right (“people are trying to suppress the truth and your 1A rights!”) to build a following when in fact opposition voices are plentiful.
      - 0xDEAFBEAD 1mo ago
        I don't think people on the right are scared. I think too many center-left Democrats are scared.
        1mo ago

What’s your angle here, exactly? I don’t get it.

creato 1mo ago

That the issue of slavery has weak explanatory power for what is happening today.

otterley 1mo ago
I didn’t ask you. But since you chose to get involved: do you believe there is no lasting impact or consequences resulting from slavery in the USA?
- WalterBright 1mo ago
  Pretty much everything that has happened in the past has consequences today. It's the butterfly effect. Slavery has existed as far back as history. The idea that people are created equal, and are equal under the law, is very, very new, and that idea has resulted in a great many positive things happening.
anon84873628 1mo ago
You should check out this podcast episode with two historians, tracing the influence of the Confederacy ideology all the way to the current Supreme Court: https://youtu.be/1i2VuPACBbU?si=8jv8XrRTLHJ9hHTu https://youtu.be/1i2VuPACBbU?si=8jv8XrRTLHJ9hHTu

0xDEAFBEAD 1mo ago

I'm anti-Trump. If you tell people "Trump is a corrupt asshole", that has a chance at convincing supporters to abandon him. If you tell people "the US needs a cultural revolution due to events from past centuries", that's what got him elected in the first place. A good general wouldn't voluntarily shift the battleground to a region where their troops are weak. Political persuasion is no different. The Democratic Party keeps losing because they cling to unpopular positions on cultural issues. If Trump is as bad as you say, prove it to me by showing willingness to strategically cede ground on a few issues in order to win more voters.

otterley 1mo ago
I’m generally aligned with your point, but I also don’t think the official position of the Democratic Party is that we need a cultural revolution, nor do I observe most Democrats feel that way. What I do see is media and politicians on the Right characterizing extreme positions held by a minority of folks on the far Left as though they are adopted by the entire Left, and that weak uncritical minds on the Right believe that nonsense. Rush Limbaugh pioneered this technique to profit himself, and Trump gave him a fucking Presidential Medal of Freedom in his first term.
- 0xDEAFBEAD 1mo ago
  I think you're somewhat underestimating how effectively the far-left minority has scared others into silence. Anyways, I do what I can to push back against them when they say things which seem wacky to me, as in this instance. Maybe I should work harder to make my actual views clear. I added a few sentences to the end of my original comment in this thread: "I don't think this is a slavery thing. Trump just sucks." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49572347 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49572347
  - otterley 1mo ago
    > I think you're somewhat underestimating how effectively the far-left minority has scared others into silence Besides all the YouTube videos, X posts, the addition of two new right-wing TV networks (OANN and NEWSMAX), “Truth” Social, WSJ, NY Post, etc.? Silence is a myth perpetuated by the right (“people are trying to suppress the truth and your 1A rights!”) to build a following when in fact opposition voices are plentiful.
    - 0xDEAFBEAD 1mo ago
      I don't think people on the right are scared. I think too many center-left Democrats are scared.
      - 1mo ago