This past weekend I learned

[Captainant 28387]

40 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

And somehow these are seen as two sides deserving of equal time and consideration.

Bro do you even #bothsides

[bolverk 30231]

45 minutes ago, mdmost said:

People tend to ignore politics being inserted into threads when it's politics you agree with. There's always right wing jabs or slurs thrown out in other forums but you aren't allowed to call them out on it. My teen daughter had a funny observation about all the people decrying that kids or liberals were "snowflakes" when it's really they that are the ones being snowflakes and getting offended at the littlest things. 

I'd tell your teen that she's a fucking patriot for upholding the essential ideal of what it means to be an American:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Anyone acting or speaking against equality betrays the core notion of America.

She clearly thinks what she's doing is right. Feed her this as ammo to make her proud of fighting for this damn country and its ideals. After all, it's her patriotic duty to stand for equality.

[Degenerate Gardner 4132]

55 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I think this is the most succinct and easy way to understand what we have become.  Not how, necessarily, but what.  

Politics used to be somewhat "reasonable".  Like when you see those charts showing how Congress would reach across the aisle all the time and now it happens pretty much never.

Now, it's people still trying to be reasonable vs batshit insanity.  And somehow these are seen as two sides deserving of equal time and consideration.

It’s identity politics in a time when everything is politicized and propaganda is delivered to your phone. PS one side is very bad and supports a would-be despot who undermines democracy. This idea rubs me the wrong way too, but in this case is true, thus the folly of bothsides.

[atomheartbevo 90546]

2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

In my personal experience, they have zero issues holding beliefs that are in direct conflict with each other (for example, COVID is nothing to worry about, so I'm not going to wear a mask, but also being terrified that vaccinated people are going to shed COVID all over them).  It's not an issue because they don't think that deeply.

Some of it is some serious mental illness.  My Qanon in-law (who comes from a family of medical professionals, both her mom, dad, and step-mom have all tried to correct her) believed vaccinated people were shedding COVID proteins that would make her sick and so she stopped using washing machines used by other people, which meant she occasionally washed her clothes in a bucket outside of her SUV/tent, and she didn’t wash her bedding.  She got some severe skin rashes and had mold growing in her bedding (visible on the sheets/blanket).  Her dad and step-mom had to threaten to kick her off their property unless she trashed her bedding and then they gave her new stuff.  Even then, a day later they found her old bedding removed from their trash dumpster and found it hidden in a bag in her tent,

I forgot where I was going with this, but anyways, the mentally ill latch on to stupid bullshit theories so it’s hard to correct them versus shaming the low-information types.

[atomheartbevo 90546]

7 hours ago, pyrohornIII said:

I get it Neon, but how do we combat it?  Or do we simply give up and hit the ledge?

If it’s mental illness, which is what a lot of the Qanon and other batshit conspiracy types have, it’s tough. I think you have to be firm and be prepared for them to keep it up.  I don’t believe you should coddle them and accommodate their dumbfuck beliefs, but I’m not a psychologist.  I think accommodating or ignoring their batshit beliefs normalizes and even encourages it.   

If it’s a low-information type parroting the stupid shit they see online, such as Joe Rogan, Alex Jones, or Tucker Carlson, well it depends on how tightly wound they are and how close you are to them. I vary between somewhat mocking them (shaming them) and straight up dropping the truth on them.

 If they deny the Holocaust, ask them why Germany of all people/nations doesn’t deny it.  In my case, I had friends whose grandparents went through it, and I had grandparents/great uncles who were witness to the aftermath.  If it’s a cousin (which happened), I dare them publicly or on social media to tell the family that my grandfather or his brothers-in-law and friends were lying about what they witnessed, and that led to some of them having PTSD.  I dare them to claim that our relatives and Germany as a country made it all up and didn’t have PTSD.

If they deny the Apollo moon landings (like that dumbfuck Joe Rogan tried and then walked back when people mocked him), I ask them why the Soviets and China didn’t deny we landed on the moon, and why the Soviets gave the Apollo 11 crew a tour of the Soviet Union, announcing them as the first humans to walk on the moon, even though the Soviets and China had the ability to monitor the landings for themselves (and did) and even though it hurt the Soviets to admit we were first.

The list goes on.  9/11 was an inside job - make them say out loud that they think George W Bush ordered it.  Even if they believe it, they know saying it out loud makes them sound like fucking idiots.  Same with PizzaGate and Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks trafficking in adenochrome to stay young-looking (it’s not working).  Get them to say the stupid shit out loud and own it.

[Captainant 28387]

13 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

The list goes on.  9/11 was an inside job - make them say out loud that they think George W Bush ordered it.  Even if they believe it, they know saying it out loud makes them sound like fucking idiots.  Same with PizzaGate and Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks trafficking in adenochrome to stay young-looking (it’s not working).  Get them to say the stupid shit out loud and own it.

Then they'll complain about how you're making everything political

[Brisketexan 106618]

Then they'll complain about how you're making everything political

This.

[Biff Tannen 46061]

16 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

If they deny the Apollo moon landings (like that dumbfuck Joe Rogan tried and then walked back when people mocked him), I ask them why the Soviets and China didn’t deny we landed on the moon, and why the Soviets gave the Apollo 11 crew a tour of the Soviet Union, announcing them as the first humans to walk on the moon, even though the Soviets and China had the ability to monitor the landings for themselves (and did) and even though it hurt the Soviets to admit we were first.

BIL tried this over Christmas and I used this line of reasoning.  Shut him up right quick. 

[DDD Dad 14571]

2 hours ago, Captainant said:

Bro do you even #bothsides

Just don’t say his name 3 times or he’ll show up here. 
 

[Biff Tannen 46061]

Just now, DDD Dad said:

Just don’t say his name 3 times or he’ll show up here. 
 

And if you have him on ignore like you should, he stays in that miniature model of Surly forever. 

[troph 25089]

What are the big offender threads in DT? I’m on the weather threads, I lurk the Ukraine thread monthly, some others that are just benign. Right wing nut cases are run off the Ukraine thread. 
 

I did genuinely think folks were being drive by stupid on the NYT NIL thread but I was slow I didn’t immediately pick up on right wing bias against the NYT.

its sad self reflection and analytical thought and revision isn’t practiced on the right, honestly message boards used to be great for testing your own beliefs. I know reading what many of you have espoused has changed me. Hell @BrickHorn posts from way back nearly turned me into an atheist. I’m more agnostic and lazy about it now than anything. But hey that’s a long way from home. 
 

you can read this thread and see folks are open minded I don’t get that from folks on the right. 

Edited January 5 by troph

[pyrohornIII 4844]

49 minutes ago, troph said:

What are the big offender threads in DT? I’m on the weather threads, I lurk the Ukraine thread monthly, some others that are just benign. Right wing nut cases are run off the Ukraine thread. 
 

I did genuinely think folks were being drive by stupid on the NYT NIL thread but I was slow I didn’t immediately pick up on right wing bias against the NYT.

its sad self reflection and analytical thought and revision isn’t practiced on the right, honestly message boards used to be great for testing your own beliefs. I know reading what many of you have espoused has changed me. Hell @BrickHorn posts from way back nearly turned me into an atheist. I’m more agnostic and lazy about it now than anything. But hey that’s a long way from home. 
 

you can read this thread and see folks are open minded I don’t get that from folks on the right. 

That last sentence says a lot.  I feel those who are open minded are more concerned for humanity and others, whereas the close minded ones tend to retreat to their shells, more concerned about themselves and there legacy more than others.  

I think some of that is nature and some is nurture.  

And I think when times get extreme, people are pushed somehow further away from center.  Or maybe the perception of center changes.  

[Willfully Horn 8204]

I regret that the Surly football board, which I assume is the most public and lurked board, has such a shitty level of discourse.

[Hookah Horns 3089]

13 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

The country is increasingly divided, and it reverberates onto this message board. It manifests politically, but the root issue is decency and truth. 

While Donald Trump was the catalyst for this environment, it truly is an issue with information technology, social media, and regulation. Donald Trump broke the foundations of truth. He lies with every breath, and by electing him to Team B, anything he says, including every lie, is supported and promulgated as truth by Team B, and not just be online weirdos anymore during birtherism. Legacy media, particularly Fox New, but also CNN and other legitimatized his lies.

The same can be said for the entire Republican Party. When you listen to an audio recording of Donald Trump asking a foreign leader to investigate his own political rival, and there are no consequences. It hurts democracy. II hurts truth. When you listen to an audio recording of Donald Trump asking a Secretary of State to find votes for him, and there are no consequences. It hurts democracy. It hurts truth.

There is no longer a shared reality. Nothing anyone says is true anymore. No one believes anyone anymore about anything. Add in the same destruction of truth with people like Joe Rogan and the Pandemic, and it adds fuel to the fire. If a racist comedian is given the same deference to information as a medical doctor that spent their life studying disease. There is no shared reality. The loudest voice wins. 

We used to laugh at conspiracy theorists and anti-vax weirdos. Now they are prominent. Legitimized. 

For example, it would be like a person on this board stating sovereign citizen insane shit in the football forum. And if anyone said they were crazy, someone saying "take it to the CR" or believing the world is flat is normal and can't be ridiculed outside politics. That is what Trump/Rogan/Republicans have done to America. They have legitimized insanity. They have legitimized Nazism, fascism, racism. It's a legitimate pollical believe that only white males should have the right to vote, that vaccines cause autism, that immigrants have dirty blood, or that Epstein was a Mossad operative. 

It's only going to get worse. 

 

 

 

I knew things were fully fucked a couple years ago when some Trumper clowns I was arguing with on another board dismissed Snopes.com and every other serious fact-checker site as being lib propaganda arms. These people are a lost cause and are never coming back. I blame Rupert Murdoch the most and can't wait to take a fat shit on his grave. 

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13619]

4 hours ago, Willfully Horn said:

I regret that the Surly football board, which I assume is the most public and lurked board, has such a shitty level of discourse.

Bringing up CR on the football board despite nothing political being posted so that posters can bitch about CR on the football board is unintentionally sad and hilarious.

[BrickHorn 18424]

6 hours ago, troph said:

Hell @BrickHorn posts from way back nearly turned me into an atheist. I’m more agnostic and lazy about it now than anything.

[Neonmoon 38130]

The 24/7 news cycle began in the 90s. Fox News became #1 in 2002

People are being ruled out 247 for dopamine hits 

[Pam Cummings 9823]

I think it's a bit of a detriment that people with reasonable political opinions basically get censored because anytime they say something factual that goes against R beliefs it's "take it to the CR".

 

I scroll right past dipshitted posts all the time because i dont really have the energy to respond and just figure that reasonable people will simply ignore the unhinged post. But the very second you say one tiny thing that goes against unfounded whackadoodle R beliefs-- "take it to CR". One side gets censored because the other side cant have their beliefs challenged without having a complete meltdown.

Edited January 5 by Pam Cummings

[G650 14421]

12 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

It is beyond me why we want to squander it and actively try to jettison our advantages

This. It's the one thing I can't wrap my head around.

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

I forget who it was, but a poster made a comment about Ted Cruz attending the Sugar Bowl and several others took offense. When I read the initial post, my immediate thought was the Ted jinx/t-shirt fan which had become a bit of a running gag with him but I hate the political knee jerk reactions that happen these days. It is not uncommon (female) to have people talk over me, mansplain, etc but it is beyond irritating when someone asks a question or makes a remark and I am assumed to be an idiot because I don't respond right away. Maybe, just maybe, I am giving the topic a measured thoughtful perusal before I open my mouth. I get it, we reward the snappy comeback and on message boards those quips can be downright hilarious. But not everything (in person) is a sit-com and the conversation shouldn't have to move at a breakneck speed when the situation isn't at DEFCON 1. I've learned a lot from many posters on this message board, even the ones with whom I vehemently disagree.

[SydneyCarton 49325]

37 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

I forget who it was, but a poster made a comment about Ted Cruz attending the Sugar Bowl and several others took offense. When I read the initial post, my immediate thought was the Ted jinx/t-shirt fan which had become a bit of a running gag with him but I hate the political knee jerk reactions that happen these days. It is not uncommon (female) to have people talk over me, mansplain, etc but it is beyond irritating when someone asks a question or makes a remark and I am assumed to be an idiot because I don't respond right away. Maybe, just maybe, I am giving the topic a measured thoughtful perusal before I open my mouth. I get it, we reward the snappy comeback and on message boards those quips can be downright hilarious. But not everything (in person) is a sit-com and the conversation shouldn't have to move at a breakneck speed when the situation isn't at DEFCON 1. I've learned a lot from many posters on this message board, even the ones with whom I vehemently disagree.

This world would be better if it were a matriarchy for a few generations. 

1 hour ago, Neonmoon said:

The 24/7 news cycle began in the 90s. Fox News became #1 in 2002

People are being ruled out 247 for dopamine hits 

Source on this? Before I repost it elsewhere and someone asks. 

[Biff Tannen 46061]

38 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

But not everything (in person) is a sit-com

[Js1 86939]

43 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

I forget who it was, but a poster made a comment about Ted Cruz attending the Sugar Bowl and several others took offense. When I read the initial post, my immediate thought was the Ted jinx/t-shirt fan which had become a bit of a running gag with him but I hate the political knee jerk reactions that happen these days.

Dunking on Ted for the sports curse should be bipartisan.

[Pam Cummings 9823]

14 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

This world would be better if it were a matriarchy for a few generations. 

I've heard that there were native american cultures where only the men could be leaders, but only the women got to decide which men could lead. Interesting concept.

[bolverk 30231]

1 hour ago, Pam Cummings said:

I think it's a bit of a detriment that people with reasonable political opinions basically get censored because anytime they say something factual that goes against R beliefs it's "take it to the CR".

 

I scroll right past dipshitted posts all the time because i dont really have the energy to respond and just figure that reasonable people will simply ignore the unhinged post. But the very second you say one tiny thing that goes against unfounded whackadoodle R beliefs-- "take it to CR". One side gets censored because the other side cant have their beliefs challenged without having a complete meltdown.

 

This is the kind of shit you have to skim over on the football board lest you be accused of being some wild leftist ideologue from the CR.

In the discussion about the future of college football in 20 years:

Quote

Still... in 20 years, probably be seeing required minimum participation numbers based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious preference... and no orifice penetration, intentional or otherwise.

 

[wildcat09 29556]

…wait… were they bitching about rules against raping teammates?

[Pam Cummings 9823]

15 minutes ago, bolverk said:

 

This is the kind of shit you have to skim over on the football board lest you be accused of being some wild leftist ideologue from the CR.

In the discussion about the future of college football in 20 years:

 

Exactly. If you call out a post like that for being deranged, suddenly thats CR now and not calling a spade a spade.

[bolverk 30231]

5 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

…wait… were they bitching about rules against raping teammates?

I don't know where that part of the comment came from. It came out of the blue.

That board is full of aging Chet Donnelly-types looking for someone to try and bully. Just a curmudgeon making up shit about the proclivities of the young'uns to put things in places they don't belong, so he has another excuse to yell at clouds, I'm guessing.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

I forget who it was, but a poster made a comment about Ted Cruz attending the Sugar Bowl and several others took offense. When I read the initial post, my immediate thought was the Ted jinx/t-shirt fan which had become a bit of a running gag with him but I hate the political knee jerk reactions that happen these days. It is not uncommon (female) to have people talk over me, mansplain, etc but it is beyond irritating when someone asks a question or makes a remark and I am assumed to be an idiot because I don't respond right away. Maybe, just maybe, I am giving the topic a measured thoughtful perusal before I open my mouth. I get it, we reward the snappy comeback and on message boards those quips can be downright hilarious. But not everything (in person) is a sit-com and the conversation shouldn't have to move at a breakneck speed when the situation isn't at DEFCON 1. I've learned a lot from many posters on this message board, even the ones with whom I vehemently disagree.

The problem with ted Cruz attending your team's games is that they fucking lose.

/Astros fan.

He should be rebuked for that jinxy shit.

Edited January 5 by slorch

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

That is what you take away from my post?

Like I said, I learn so much from other posters on this message board.

[Captainant 28387]

12 minutes ago, slorch said:

The problem with ted Cruz attending your team's games is that they fucking lose.

/Astros fan.

He should be rebuked for that jinxy shit.

Unfortunately there's no room for that because snowflake righties reflexively defend Cruz and shout "muhCR!!!" to kill the opportunity for dunking and shitting on that jinx 

[Neonmoon 38130]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

Source on this? Before I repost it elsewhere and someone asks. 

I stole it from some account on thread. ugh, can't find it now

[Goredho 17627]

2 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

The 24/7 news cycle began in the 90s. Fox News became #1 in 2002

People are being ruled out 247 for dopamine hits 

 

1 hour ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

I forget who it was, but a poster made a comment about Ted Cruz attending the Sugar Bowl and several others took offense. When I read the initial post, my immediate thought was the Ted jinx/t-shirt fan which had become a bit of a running gag with him but I hate the political knee jerk reactions that happen these days. It is not uncommon (female) to have people talk over me, mansplain, etc but it is beyond irritating when someone asks a question or makes a remark and I am assumed to be an idiot because I don't respond right away. Maybe, just maybe, I am giving the topic a measured thoughtful perusal before I open my mouth. I get it, we reward the snappy comeback and on message boards those quips can be downright hilarious. But not everything (in person) is a sit-com and the conversation shouldn't have to move at a breakneck speed when the situation isn't at DEFCON 1. I've learned a lot from many posters on this message board, even the ones with whom I vehemently disagree.

There are a good number of people who are just fucking tired of the constant politicizing of every. god. dammed. thing.  I am one of them, and it is why my involvement here in the CR has relaxed, even though I have a pretty strong opinion as to who the bad guys are in this timeline.  Here's a hint: the bad guys aren't our children who are struggling to reconcile the gender they were born into.

People are being kept in a constant state of worry if not terror over where things are going in the US, and that is true whether you lean right or left.  It is not mentally healthy to remain in a constant state of agitation and fear.  We are not being groomed to be gay, or straight, or conservative or liberal.  We are being groomed to be anxiety ridden supporters of an ongoing cold civil war against "them", because there is a lot more money to be made from the war than there is from the peace.

[bolverk 30231]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

This world would be better if it were a matriarchy for a few generations. 

Source on this? Before I repost it elsewhere and someone asks. 

 

25 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

I stole it from some account on thread. ugh, can't find it now

 

I did a quick Google image search and found some tweets that credited it to Bruce Mehlman, a political consultant and former Assistant Secretary for Commerce under GWB. It's from a slide deck on trends affecting the political climate; something he apparently puts together annually. 

Seventh slide out of 30. The whole thing is worth perusing: https://mehlmanconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/Trust-Fall-Mehlman2024-Q1.pdf

[956 Worldwide 35516]

33 minutes ago, Goredho said:

 

There are a good number of people who are just fucking tired of the constant politicizing of every. god. dammed. thing.  I am one of them, and it is why my involvement here in the CR has relaxed, even though I have a pretty strong opinion as to who the bad guys are in this timeline.  Here's a hint: the bad guys aren't our children who are struggling to reconcile the gender they were born into.

People are being kept in a constant state of worry if not terror over where things are going in the US, and that is true whether you lean right or left.  It is not mentally healthy to remain in a constant state of agitation and fear.  We are not being groomed to be gay, or straight, or conservative or liberal.  We are being groomed to be anxiety ridden supporters of an ongoing cold civil war against "them", because there is a lot more money to be made from the war than there is from the peace.

[Captainant 28387]

55 minutes ago, Goredho said:

 

There are a good number of people who are just fucking tired of the constant politicizing of every. god. dammed. thing.  I am one of them, and it is why my involvement here in the CR has relaxed, even though I have a pretty strong opinion as to who the bad guys are in this timeline.  Here's a hint: the bad guys aren't our children who are struggling to reconcile the gender they were born into.

People are being kept in a constant state of worry if not terror over where things are going in the US, and that is true whether you lean right or left.  It is not mentally healthy to remain in a constant state of agitation and fear.  We are not being groomed to be gay, or straight, or conservative or liberal.  We are being groomed to be anxiety ridden supporters of an ongoing cold civil war against "them", because there is a lot more money to be made from the war than there is from the peace.

Counterpoint: as a millennial, I have only seen shit get progressively worse since 9/11 with little reason to be optimistic. I do agree that there is too much of "us" vs "them" but fucks sake man, "they" are measurably making my state and nation a worse place to live in. 

My representatives don't listen to their constituents unless they come with a 5 figure donation, and literally every company in America is only out to boost next quarters profits and exploit the shit out for their customers. And none of that is going to change any time soon, no matter how much people try and push. The monied powers that be don't want it, so our oligarchy won't change to be less exploitative 

[safe sex 11913]

If conservatives and Republicans could just mind their own fucking business, far fewer things would be politicized. 

Some of us can't afford to tune out. 

[bolverk 30231]

5 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Counterpoint: as a millennial, I have only seen shit get progressively worse since 9/11 with little reason to be optimistic. I do agree that there is too much of "us" vs "them" but fucks sake man, "they" are measurably making my state and nation a worse place to live in. 

My representatives don't listen to their constituents unless they come with a 5 figure donation, and literally every company in America is only out to boost next quarters profits and exploit the shit out for their customers. And none of that is going to change any time soon, no matter how much people try and push. The monied powers that be don't want it, so our oligarchy won't change to be less exploitative 

Your generation isn't different in that regard.

As a Gen Xer whose first presidential election was in 1992, watching the GOP hate engine really start revving after losing that election was something else. Everyone talks about how Obama's presidency broke the GOP's brain. Maybe so, but if you were paying attention, the cracks began to show in the early to mid-90s.

Prior to that election, the GOP had held the presidency for 20 of the previous 24 years (interrupted only by 4 Carter years) and felt that their God-given right to occupy the Oval Office had been stolen. They couldn't stand the thought of not being in power.

What was some of the backlash from Clinton's win?

• Newt Gingrich & the loss of comity in Congress
• Rush Limbaugh & talk radio
• Fox News
• Pat Buchanan & the rise of racist populism/anti-immigrant fervor
• The militia movement & the OKC bombing
• Black helicopters & conspiracy theories galore

But, yes, 9/11 & Obama's election put the hate engine into full throttle.

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19279]

20 minutes ago, safe sex said:

If conservatives and Republicans could just mind their own fucking business, far fewer things would be politicized. 

Some of us can't afford to tune out. 

This.  I’m lucky I live in NYC.  If I still lived in Texas, my right to bodily autonomy would be gone.

On the football thread, a lot of folks were denigrating The NY Times article without reading it, and I called them out on it.  The article was fair.  It’s not my fault that they decided to express idiotic opinions and cannot handle getting called out for it.  There was nothing remotely political about what I posted,  just calling out stupid in general. 

[wildcat09 29556]

1 hour ago, Goredho said:

 

There are a good number of people who are just fucking tired of the constant politicizing of every. god. dammed. thing.  I am one of them, and it is why my involvement here in the CR has relaxed, even though I have a pretty strong opinion as to who the bad guys are in this timeline.  Here's a hint: the bad guys aren't our children who are struggling to reconcile the gender they were born into.

People are being kept in a constant state of worry if not terror over where things are going in the US, and that is true whether you lean right or left.  It is not mentally healthy to remain in a constant state of agitation and fear.  We are not being groomed to be gay, or straight, or conservative or liberal.  We are being groomed to be anxiety ridden supporters of an ongoing cold civil war against "them", because there is a lot more money to be made from the war than there is from the peace.

Yeah, most of the most I agree with but this bolded part reeks of some both-sides shit. The "groomers" here are the GOP, only, and if anything the people in positions of power and influence in the center-left (no actual leftists have any economic or political power in America) are still underestimating the threat the right poses.

[Goredho 17627]

6 minutes ago, safe sex said:

If conservatives and Republicans could just mind their own fucking business, far fewer things would be politicized. 

Some of us can't afford to tune out. 

Yep, I get that, and I am very sorry it is that way.  The thing is, I know there are assholes trying to impose their will on your existence.  On my kid's existence.  I don't need to have my amygdala plugged in to a firehose of terrifying information to know that, or to know who I'm going to vote for or against.  Being subjected to alarming information continuously drains energy from me, makes me see the people that I and my kids ultimately have to find a way to coexist with as inhuman and makes me part of the problem vs part of the solution.

Nothing positive is gained from that and it changes nothing about how I am going to carry forward.  I am going to vote and work against those that would impose their will on your and my kid's life.  I am going to make sure my kid knows that they are loved and supported unequivocally.  And I'm going to recognize that there are people who are conservative that are not evil monsters no matter what anyone would proclaim on the intardnet.

It is they, and people like them in the middle and the left, that are the hope for a better future.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

That is what you take away from my post?

Like I said, I learn so much from other posters on this message board.

I did not directly address the content of your post, so I probably should not have quoted you.  My apologies.

Just a stab at levity...

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Captainant said:

Unfortunately there's no room for that because snowflake righties reflexively defend Cruz and shout "muhCR!!!" to kill the opportunity for dunking and shitting on that jinx 

He was in a couple of Astros discussions and people were lightly taking shots, in a proper manner, IMHO.

The problem is when the tone changes to a something that usually isn't found in sports discussions. It's fine to poke fun at Cruz and jinxing teams, but talking policy or actual political  behavior doesn't belong in the sports threads. again, IMHO. 

Other times people are asked to stop discussing political angles, yet they INSIST there is no other way to discuss it.  Well, yes, there is.  The CR way and the sports relevant way; and these are hardly limited to or exclusive of Cruz.

We ahve a venue for railing on political decisions and policy positions.  It is Cloakroom.

[Neonmoon 38130]

31 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Your generation isn't different in that regard.

As a Gen Xer whose first presidential election was in 1992, watching the GOP hate engine really start revving after losing that election was something else. Everyone talks about how Obama's presidency broke the GOP's brain. Maybe so, but if you were paying attention, the cracks began to show in the early to mid-90s.

Prior to that election, the GOP had held the presidency for 20 of the previous 24 years (interrupted only by 4 Carter years) and felt that their God-given right to occupy the Oval Office had been stolen. They couldn't stand the thought of not being in power.

What was some of the backlash from Clinton's win?

• Newt Gingrich & the loss of comity in Congress
• Rush Limbaugh & talk radio
• Fox News
• Pat Buchanan & the rise of racist populism/anti-immigrant fervor
• The militia movement & the OKC bombing
• Black helicopters & conspiracy theories galore

But, yes, 9/11 & Obama's election put the hate engine into full throttle.

You know what's really crazy. Before Civil Rights Act and Roe, Democrats were in power for like 36 years sans Eisenhower blip

The poors used to not vote against their interests. 

[Pam Cummings 9823]

26 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

This.  I’m lucky I live in NYC.  If I still lived in Texas, my right to bodily autonomy would be gone.

On the football thread, a lot of folks were denigrating The NY Times article without reading it, and I called them out on it.  The article was fair.  It’s not my fault that they decided to express idiotic opinions and cannot handle getting called out for it.  There was nothing remotely political about what I posted,  just calling out stupid in general. 

When people were negged in that thread for being idiots that don't read articles, they simply defaulted to "ugh the cloak roomers are just ganging up on me". No self reflection. No going back to read it and admitting that they jumped the gun. Nope. Just "ugh im a victim".

[Chewbacca 7827]

15 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Some of it is some serious mental illness.  My Qanon in-law (who comes from a family of medical professionals, both her mom, dad, and step-mom have all tried to correct her) believed vaccinated people were shedding COVID proteins that would make her sick and so she stopped using washing machines used by other people, which meant she occasionally washed her clothes in a bucket outside of her SUV/tent, and she didn’t wash her bedding.  She got some severe skin rashes and had mold growing in her bedding (visible on the sheets/blanket).  Her dad and step-mom had to threaten to kick her off their property unless she trashed her bedding and then they gave her new stuff.  Even then, a day later they found her old bedding removed from their trash dumpster and found it hidden in a bag in her tent,

I forgot where I was going with this, but anyways, the mentally ill latch on to stupid bullshit theories so it’s hard to correct them versus shaming the low-information types.

My MIL's boyfriend (more like companion these days) is one of these.  He never feared COVID.  Never wore a mask, even when his son got sick and he went to visit him while sick.  MIL got vaccinated because my wife made her in order to accompany us on a trip in 2021.  He literally has not kissed her since because he's afraid she will shed COVID on him and get him sick.  It is fucking crazy the knots he'll tie himself into in order to avoid any critical thinking on the issue and he's not a dumb guy.  Sold his CPA practice about 5 years ago and now spends all day on nutbag websites and watching Fox News.

Edited January 5 by Chewbacca

[bolverk 30231]

2 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

When people were negged in that thread for being idiots that don't read articles, they simply defaulted to "ugh the cloak roomers are just ganging up on me". No self reflection. No going back to read it and admitting that they jumped the gun. Nope. Just "ugh im a victim".

Negs fly easily on the FB board, so I don't know why they'd claim persecution. Hell, at the end of the Sugar Bowl, I got negged for simply congratulating Washington fans and telling them to go beat Michigan.

[MissingInAction 25478]

23 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

My working theory is they are a bunch of bitchass snowflake pussies.  It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that. 

You forgot dumbass dipshit idiots.

We're lucky they're so fucking stupid.

[atomheartbevo 90546]

7 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

My MIL's boyfriend (more like companion these days) is one of these.  He never feared COVID.  Never wore a mask, even when his son got sick and he went to visit him while sick.  MIL got vaccinated because my wife made her in order to accompany us on a trip in 2021.  He literally has not kissed her since because he's afraid she will shed COVID on him and get him sick.  It is fucking crazy the knots he'll tie himself into in order to avoid any critical thinking on the issue and he's not a dumb guy.  Sold his CPA practice about 5 years ago and now spends all day on nutbag websites and watching Fox News.

What’s nuts with the anti-vaccine stuff is that he’s probably old enough to remember people who were affected by polio, among other things we vaccinate for.  But vaccines become evil because dumbfucks on the internet won’t do their own research

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

7 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

What’s nuts with the anti-vaccine stuff is that he’s probably old enough to remember people who were affected by polio, among other things we vaccinate for.  But vaccines become evil because dumbfucks on the internet won’t do their own research

In the early days of the polio vaccines there were some incidents with the manufacturing and administration of the shots and the medical community had to work hard to restore trust. Therein lies the difficulty with so much--education and trust go hand in hand, but when both are lost you're back in the Dark Ages.