The Presidential Voter Demographic discussion Thread

[horn4life 3783]

I was wondering how the demographics broke down the last few elections.  And was wondering about the evolution of who votes for whom has evolved over time.  Most of the dividing lines are pretty well ingrained, but it was interesting to me to see who turns out, and perhaps more interestingly who does not vote.  Anyhow here are a bunch of graphs and such that I thought were interesting.  In a race as close as this one is going to be it's just interesting to me to look into the minutia of how the vote breaks down in our Presidential Elections.

Anyhow going to be interesting to look back and see if Harris manages to move the needle for young and people of color?  I am going to say yes, as most of the kids are barely aware it's an election year.  So by the time they start to  notice in September the contrast is going to look pretty stark.  I am no so naive to think that anything is guaranteed but I also have to consider what is most likely IMHO.  

If, and it's a big IF, Harris can expand the number of folks voting, she might, just maybe, possibly, conceivably, get to a point where the Presidential ticket will have coattails for the down ballot races.  Anyhow I found the different data points interesting and PEW does a great job of the number crunching.  

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/07/12/demographic-profiles-of-republican-and-democratic-voters/.   The link is like to page 4 of the paper.  Lots of interesting data but there are some of the highlights. 

NOW LOOK AT THE NUMBERS FROM THE 2008 ELECTION FROM PEW https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2009/04/30/dissecting-the-2008-electorate-most-diverse-in-us-history/

   

 

It will be interesting to see if Kamala Harris can bring in the minority and youth vote the way Obama did back in 2008.  I think that it is also important to remember that Joe Biden was viewed as the steady hand of experience alongside the more youthful Obama.  I think that Harris should pick a white older male VP not because of any personal preference, but simply for the same reasons I thought Biden was a good choice for Obama, they were complementary.  I personally think that our own Admiral McRaven would be a brilliant choice, and still allow all the other potential other Dems in positions of power to remain in their positions of power where they can help the most in grass roots

I am going to take a huge leap and say that more younger folks will vote for the younger candidate.  As well as non-whites who vote at the lowest levels of participation historically.  The Dems have been a little more support in the last two elections with greater suburban voters.  And I expect that trend to continue this election.  

 

 

[Brisketexan 105275]

33 minutes ago, horn4life said:

I was wondering how the demographics broke down the last few elections.  And was wondering about the evolution of who votes for whom has evolved over time.  Most of the dividing lines are pretty well ingrained, but it was interesting to me to see who turns out, and perhaps more interestingly who does not vote.  Anyhow here are a bunch of graphs and such that I thought were interesting.  In a race as close as this one is going to be it's just interesting to me to look into the minutia of how the vote breaks down in our Presidential Elections.

Anyhow going to be interesting to look back and see if Harris manages to move the needle for young and people of color?  I am going to say yes, as most of the kids are barely aware it's an election year.  So by the time they start to  notice in September the contrast is going to look pretty stark.  I am no so naive to think that anything is guaranteed but I also have to consider what is most likely IMHO.  

If, and it's a big IF, Harris can expand the number of folks voting, she might, just maybe, possibly, conceivably, get to a point where the Presidential ticket will have coattails for the down ballot races.  Anyhow I found the different data points interesting and PEW does a great job of the number crunching.  

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/07/12/demographic-profiles-of-republican-and-democratic-voters/.   The link is like to page 4 of the paper.  Lots of interesting data but there are some of the highlights. 

NOW LOOK AT THE NUMBERS FROM THE 2008 ELECTION FROM PEW https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2009/04/30/dissecting-the-2008-electorate-most-diverse-in-us-history/

   

 

It will be interesting to see if Kamala Harris can bring in the minority and youth vote the way Obama did back in 2008.  I think that it is also important to remember that Joe Biden was viewed as the steady hand of experience alongside the more youthful Obama.  I think that Harris should pick a white older male VP not because of any personal preference, but simply for the same reasons I thought Biden was a good choice for Obama, they were complementary.  I personally think that our own Admiral McRaven would be a brilliant choice, and still allow all the other potential other Dems in positions of power to remain in their positions of power where they can help the most in grass roots

I am going to take a huge leap and say that more younger folks will vote for the younger candidate.  As well as non-whites who vote at the lowest levels of participation historically.  The Dems have been a little more support in the last two elections with greater suburban voters.  And I expect that trend to continue this election.  

 

 

Old uneducated white people are poison, film at 11:00.

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

i remember when i first learned of the +80s and +90s democrats get from black voters.  i had no idea there was a such thing as racial polarization.  when you go from assuming everyone is 50-50 to seeing that, it totally blows your mind.

[Brisketexan 105275]

2 hours ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

i remember when i first learned of the +80s and +90s democrats get from black voters.  i had no idea there was a such thing as racial polarization.  when you go from assuming everyone is 50-50 to seeing that, it totally blows your mind.

It really gets super-reinforced when, when a black woman has the temerity to run for president, the other party can't help but launch into attacking her as a "DEI" candidate, when everyone knows that "DEI" is the current dog whistle for "minority, and we all know that minorities aren't qualified for any jobs at all other than bus boy."

Black people don't vote Republican because Republicans can't help but shit on black people every chance they get....hell, Republicans CREATE chances to shit on black people.  It's fucking stupid, I don't understand it...
 

[horn4life 3783]

As we see the early polling close, some of the polls show Harris with a nearly 20 point lead among young people!  Of course the problem with young people is they traditionally simply not shown up to the polls.

And yes I know it's a boring subject matter, but it is interesting to me to see both the polarization, but also the demographics of the polarization and how small shifts within those can change electoral outcomes.

 

[ztejas 43528]

White, male. Born and raised in Texas. College degree in hand. Raised upper middle class and I still (sort of) enjoy that lifestyle.

I'm leaning Trump but come election day will likely wind up voting dem. 

I think voting conservative is the right thing to do but everyone around me disagrees so I will likely vote dem. 

I voted Biden in 2020 and I voted straight ticket dem against Abbot and crew in 2022. 

I am not against hitting Trump on the ballot box. 

YMMV 

[Js1 85527]

[ztejas 43528]

6 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Are y'all down for discussion in CR or what?

[Js1 85527]

Oh don’t drive by with that BS. I just don’t understand how you voted Biden in 2020 and are somehow leaning Trump now. He’s worse than he was 4 years ago 

Also voting for Trump is not voting conservative. He’s not a conservative. He’s a fascist 

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

White, male. Born and raised in Texas. College degree in hand. Raised upper middle class and I still (sort of) enjoy that lifestyle.

I'm leaning Trump but come election day will likely wind up voting dem. 

I think voting conservative is the right thing to do but everyone around me disagrees so I will likely vote dem. 

I voted Biden in 2020 and I voted straight ticket dem against Abbot and crew in 2022. 

I am not against hitting Trump on the ballot box. 

YMMV 

You’ll get jumped but …

 

One big issue for me: how can you get past fake election/fraud votes/tape recorded call to Ga Sec of State telling him to add 12k votes/Jan 6. There is no policy decision anyone could have on either side that could overwhelm the fact that the guy you’re voting for has so little respect for the ideals of democracy.  That is the heart of our country. 

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

This is what makes him the worst president of all time. In my opinion even someone like John Tyler didn’t do what he did for personal reasons. He supported secession because he wanted the country direction to be different.* Trump on the other hand tried to counter the single biggest underlying assumption in our country for personal ambition and gain.

 

* forgive the very forgiving terminology. 

[Gatorubet 30290]

3 hours ago, ztejas said:

.I'm leaning Trump but come election day will likely wind up voting dem. 

I think voting conservative is the right thing to do but everyone around me disagrees so I will likely vote dem. 

The word conservative has an actual historical meaning in politics. The GQP and Trump are not conservatives in any sense of their policies if you throw out abortion as an issue.  He is a fuck you pay me candidate. 

Please go to CR and tell us why you want to vote for Mac Brown for president. 

[YChang 3462]

Give some reasons then ztejas, happy to have a discussion. 

[bolverk 29708]

16 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

The word conservative has an actual historical meaning in politics. The GQP and Trump are not conservatives in any sense of their policies if you throw out abortion as an issue.  He is a fuck you pay me candidate. 

Please go to CR and tell us why you want to vote for Mac Brown for president. 

@ztejas Yeah, conservatism is one of the last labels I'd pin on Trump. Nationalism, protectionism, isolationism, populism, and authoritarianism would all come before conservatism in my definition of Trumpism. Even on the abortion issue, I'd say having Big Government denying a person's individual right and invading their personal privacy isn't a "conservative" policy. It's really more of a theocratic imposition of evangelical beliefs to control women's conduct.

Moreover, I would certainly never tag "conservative" to any of the personal conduct Trump has engaged in throughout his adult life.

11 minutes ago, YChang said:

Give some reasons then ztejas, happy to have a discussion. 

Agreed. Ztejas's prolific posting history proves that he's a genuine guy, and he more than deserves a chance to be heard. I often find myself in disagreement with many of his takes on a variety of issues, but I've never considered him in the same league as the drive-by trolls who come in here occasionally. 

[ztejas 43528]

@bolverk I'd hate to disappoint you.

I think- overall - our country/nation has been going in the wrong direction for quite a few decades, now. I think that we've lost the values that made us so God damn good to begin with. And I guess I just don't like watching that shit escape out the window.

Does that make me a conservative/republican? I don't know. Sometimes, I guess. I'm fiercely pro choice. But how much does my voice even matter when it comes to abortion? It seems like it doesn't matter a whole lot.

At the end of the day I'm always going to be a split-ticket, intellectual, cynical asshole. 

I will happily listen to any pro-dem rhetoric here (btw). If we could at least keep it congenial and entertain the idea that there are folks in this ciountry voting Trump.

My best friend who I've been hanging out with a lot lately is pretty fiercely anti-Trump and I almost want to vote Kamala just because I'm a big fan of his. 

I'm just a dude at the end of the day. My vote counts for 1. 

[Brisketexan 105275]

21 minutes ago, bolverk said:

eah, conservatism is one of the last labels I'd pin on Trump. Nationalism, protectionism, isolationism, populism, and authoritarianism would all come before conservatism in my definition of Trumpism.

These. 

Here's a simple benchmark.  The Economist takes positions that are generally accepted as "center right."  Things like generally supporting global free trade, being anti-Russian aggression, for immigration (managed, but very much allowed, including for workers' programs), applying the rule of law to all (including leadership/members of a country's "ruling party").  The Economist has ALWAYS taken those positions, and for most of my lifetime, American "conservatives" have always agreed that the Economist was center right (and, they largely agreed with its positions).

Today, American "conservatives" are now Trumpists....and they now think that the Economist is a libtard rag.  They disagree with all of those positions.

The only "conservative" party in the US is....the Democratic party.  Seriously.  It's more conservative than the GQP, because the GQP is now the pro-authoritarian, fascist, xenophobic, anti-science, know-nothing, anti-free trade, pro-Russian authoritarianism party.  It's totally fucked in the head, and it is most definitely not "conservative" -- it's fucking retrograde/insane.

[Chult86 335]

Part of my optimism for this election comes down to, oddly enough, things like Instagram and TikTok.

Historically, the youth don't turn out to vote, largely because of lack of education about the political issues, as well as a general apathy to how tax code changes affect them. Now, in this day and age, young people are more informed than at any time in our country's history, maybe even globally. They are continually exposed to clips explaining the differences between the parties. Also, shocker... taking away reproductive rights from young people is a surefire way to get them to care enough to turn out and vote. The wealth and income gap has never been worse, daily life has never been more expensive, and the youth by and large do not see Trump as the one to course-correct it all. I would be very surprised if we don't see record turnout amongst people 18-40.

[gmr548 16607]

7 minutes ago, ztejas said:

@bolverk I'd hate to disappoint you.

I think- overall - our country/nation has been going in the wrong direction for quite a few decades, now. I think that we've lost the values that made us so God damn good to begin with. And I guess I just don't like watching that shit escape out the window.

Does that make me a conservative/republican? I don't know. Sometimes, I guess. I'm fiercely pro choice. But how much does my voice even matter when it comes to abortion? It seems like it doesn't matter a whole lot.

At the end of the day I'm always going to be a split-ticket, intellectual, cynical asshole. 

I will happily listen to any pro-dem rhetoric here (btw). If we could at least keep it congenial and entertain the idea that there are folks in this ciountry voting Trump.

My best friend who I've been hanging out with a lot lately is pretty fiercely anti-Trump and I almost want to vote Kamala just because I'm a big fan of his. 

I'm just a dude at the end of the day. My vote counts for 1. 

There are obviously people in this country considering voting Trump. A lot of them. He is, as it stands, still the favorite in this election. I think we've seen enough out of the GOP and its supporters to say that outright malice or gross misinformation is at the root of it for a good chunk of that group, but I don't doubt some potential Trump voters have good intentions. One might say... Some, I assume, are good people. I think those folks are making a bad choice, but that's a different conversation.

I find it interesting that you've said you feel like voting conservative is the right thing to do, but feel that the country has been on the wrong track in recent decades. The trendline over that period has been to the right, save for a few social issues like legalization of marijuana and same sex marriage.

 

 

[ztejas 43528]

10 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

but feel that the country has been on the wrong track in recent decades. The trendline over that period has been to the right, save for a few social issues like legalization of marijuana and same sex marriage.

This is an absurd statement. The US overall has trended left and progressive for 60+ years now. 

Go tell a black woman she's worse off now than she was in 1992.

[Js1 85527]

3 minutes ago, ztejas said:

This is an absurd statement. The US overall has trended left and progressive for 60+ years now. 

Go tell a black woman she's worse off now than she was in 1992.

And Project 2025 is going to..... fix that? 

[bolverk 29708]

21 minutes ago, ztejas said:

This is an absurd statement. The US overall has trended left and progressive for 60+ years now. 

Go tell a black woman she's worse off now than she was in 1992.

You say the country is going in the wrong direction, and within that context, you say things are trending left/progressive.

Then you imply that Black women are better off than in 1992. Are you saying that's a bad thing?

[StassneyHorn 6628]

6 hours ago, ztejas said:

Are y'all down for discussion in CR or what?

Add some discussion then.

what is this shit below? Do English teachers no longer mark up comments like this when they see it on paper and tell people to expand or explain?

I think voting conservative is the right thing to do but everyone around me disagrees so I will likely vote dem. 

[YChang 3462]

I'm curious what values Trump and his policies reflect or enable the "good old days" of yore for someone like Ztejas. Also, do people like ztejas ever wonder if the old days were good for all Americans? 

Also, there seems to be a conflation between social progress (which took a lot damn hard work) and governmental policy because I don't think America is that left-leaning compared to the rest of the world when it comes, for example, to our social safety net or economic policies.

 

Edited July 26 by YChang

[TexEx15 17568]

3 hours ago, ztejas said:

@bolverk I'd hate to disappoint you.

I think- overall - our country/nation has been going in the wrong direction for quite a few decades, now. I think that we've lost the values that made us so God damn good to begin with. And I guess I just don't like watching that shit escape out the window.

Does that make me a conservative/republican? I don't know. Sometimes, I guess. I'm fiercely pro choice. But how much does my voice even matter when it comes to abortion? It seems like it doesn't matter a whole lot.

At the end of the day I'm always going to be a split-ticket, intellectual, cynical asshole. 

I will happily listen to any pro-dem rhetoric here (btw). If we could at least keep it congenial and entertain the idea that there are folks in this ciountry voting Trump.

My best friend who I've been hanging out with a lot lately is pretty fiercely anti-Trump and I almost want to vote Kamala just because I'm a big fan of his. 

I'm just a dude at the end of the day. My vote counts for 1. 

What values exactly does Trump have? What values has the maga movement brought back? 

If you are truly fiercely pro choice, then the choice, no pun intended, could not be more clear. The GOP is trying to strip women of the autonomy of their own body. I have 3 young daughters and am appalled that old white men think they know better about what they should be allowed to do with their bodies. Look at Texas. If a woman is raped she will be forced to carry that baby to term. Fuck all the people that allowed that to happen, which spoiler alert, starts with Trump and his SCOTUS.

Look, I get you may not like the policies of the dems. No party is batting 1.000 on policy decisions. But the two issues you specifically pointed out, values and a woman’s right to choose, are the bedrock of the current Democratic Party and absolutely absent from the Republicans.

[tx 3 putt 77336]

[sidis 9832]

3 hours ago, ztejas said:

I think- overall - our country/nation has been going in the wrong direction for quite a few decades, now. I think that we've lost the values that made us so God damn good to begin with. And I guess I just don't like watching that shit escape out the window.

what are some examples of the values that made us so god damn good to begin with that have been lost and what do you believe a vote for trump will do to help restore them?

Edited July 26 by sidis

[horn4life 3783]

3 hours ago, ztejas said:

This is an absurd statement. The US overall has trended left and progressive for 60+ years now. 

Go tell a black woman she's worse off now than she was in 1992.

The Republican Party has lurched very hard to the right and since Trump, my racist friends no longer feel compelled to dial back their racists jokes.  They used to whisper a lot more the same sorts of jokes.  So in that singular way things are NOT as progressive in the fast. I would be very curious to hear a black woman's perspective. I wonder if that black woman might be aware of who those "very good people on both sides" that for the first time since the 1960's had a sitting President bestow such high praise on Nazi and white supremicists.  She probably looks at that as a very sharp turn to the right.

But it's pretty easy to tell any woman, even a black woman that they used to have rights they do not have now.  That women collectively have been put at higher risk because they cannot get the same medical care they could get in 2016. So that is a clear lurch to the right.  If you go back to 1992 the curve would not be too noticeable.  But let's be honest, 1992 is as meaningless as using a reference point of 60+ years. 

The trend line has been recently reversed.  That's a lot of what makes the demographics of past elections, and more recent shifts with minorities or women at the top of the ticket in contrast to the Trump voter demographics.  I think to some of the groups like younger people, women, LBGT folks and blacks, they feel like the progressive trend was reversed in 2016 and even more recently as the Supreme Court's activism is now on steroids erasing what once were some progressive gains.

The demographics and how they shift is what is going to be interesting to me.  Times are also different in that today that many "conservative" repetitively treat speculation and misinformation the same way the do accurate information.  That's another data point of influence on the demographics that mainly influences older white voters for example.

3 hours ago, Chult86 said:

Part of my optimism for this election comes down to, oddly enough, things like Instagram and TikTok.

Historically, the youth don't turn out to vote, largely because of lack of education about the political issues, as well as a general apathy to how tax code changes affect them. Now, in this day and age, young people are more informed than at any time in our country's history, maybe even globally. They are continually exposed to clips explaining the differences between the parties. Also, shocker... taking away reproductive rights from young people is a surefire way to get them to care enough to turn out and vote. The wealth and income gap has never been worse, daily life has never been more expensive, and the youth by and large do not see Trump as the one to course-correct it all. I would be very surprised if we don't see record turnout amongst people 18-40.

I am hopeful that your prediction of younger voter turnout this cycle is accurate.  I would find Trump unappealing by comparison simply because of age alone.  I think he will not want to step on a debate stage and confirm he's really, really old.  So he's gonna try to dodge that showdown unless his internal polling forces him to participate (IMHO) He's got the same baggage as Biden, along with some felony convictions to entice the young folks.

The idea that TikTok gives users anything but factual information, that you NEED to fact check for accuracy.  My Daughter texted me that Biden stepped down like 10 days before he did... TikTok news...

[Chuckie Finster 22725]

1 hour ago, sidis said:

what are some examples of the values that made us so god damn good to begin with that have been lost and what do you believe a vote for trump will do to help restore them?

Yeah, this would be my question.

What are the values that you think the country has lost over the past few decades specifically, and how does Donald Trump help get them back?

[Brisketexan 105275]

7 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:

Yeah, this would be my question.

What are the values that you think the country has lost over the past few decades specifically, and how does Donald Trump help get them back?

Well, I mean, there's making rape great again.

Making staring at naked teenage girls great again.

Making threatening election officials to "find more votes" great again.

Making inciting an insurrection to hang Mike Pence great again.

Making hiding classified information great again.

Making revealing sensitive American intelligence capabilities great again.

Making committing fraud great again.

Making lying anything and everything, repeatedly, great again.

Making wanting to fuck your own daughter great again.

Making being such a shitty person that 40 out of 44 of your former hires say you're a piece of shit.

Making mocking the disabled great again.

Making calling immigrants "poison" great again.

 

I mean, LOTS of things that made us great before.  Man, when we exalted those values, we were the BEST, amirite?

[Helobious 9464]

4 hours ago, ztejas said:

This is an absurd statement. The US overall has trended left and progressive for 60+ years now. 

Well I mean what’s so bad about that though?

Quote

Go tell a black woman she's worse off now than she was in 1992.

Oh shit you’re right. Trump 2024 

[gmr548 16607]

4 hours ago, ztejas said:

This is an absurd statement. The US overall has trended left and progressive for 60+ years now. 

Go tell a black woman she's worse off now than she was in 1992.

I'm sorry, what?

So for one, your contention is that we have to the left over recent decades, to the benefit of black women and presumably other racial minority and/or lower socioeconomic cohorts - which would imply a general advancement of equality in society - and that is the wrong direction? Do you just not understand the implication there?

Beyond that, Said black woman is looking back at 1992 and seeing significant deterioration in reproductive rights/women's healthcare, erosion of the Voting Rights Act, multiple tax cuts for the ultra wealthy and corporations putting more of the tax burden on the working and middle class, and disinvestment in education - most of which disproportionately impact black people. So what am I missing that makes up for that and so much more to the point that the idea that the political environment has trended to the right is absurd?

Show your work here. Mainstream culture has gotten more liberal, sure. Divided but probably more liberal in aggregate. That's not matched in policy at all. The policy trendline and Overton Window have pretty clearly been moving right since Reagan was elected. Not necessarily a straight line but the overall direction. 

Edited July 26 by gmr548

[Goredho 17413]

You know, there are two ways to interpret these stats.  One, is that “poor white trash” are just morons who vote against their interests.  The other is that “poor white trash” are living increasingly shitty lives and the only thing they perceive as benefiting them is the MAGA movement and a societal reset.

Despots don’t arise amongst a happy and content populace.

[GreenspointTexas 9664]

Today I learned ztejas is dumber than I am

[Js1 85527]

10 minutes ago, Goredho said:

You know, there are two ways to interpret these stats.  One, is that “poor white trash” are just morons who vote against their interests.  The other is that “poor white trash” are living increasingly shitty lives and the only thing they perceive as benefiting them is the MAGA movement and a societal reset.

Despots don’t arise amongst a happy and content populace.

This is not wrong.  Except the only party making their lives worse is the Republican party, so I have to go with option 1.  Destroying the public education apparatus that can pull their kids out of poverty, cutting the social safety net, tax cuts for the wealthy that don't trickle down. 

[Dutchrudder 11150]

On 7/23/2024 at 6:05 PM, Brisketexan said:

It really gets super-reinforced when, when a black woman has the temerity to run for president, the other party can't help but launch into attacking her as a "DEI" candidate, when everyone knows that "DEI" is the current dog whistle for "minority, and we all know that minorities aren't qualified for any jobs at all other than bus boy."

 

I think the main issue is that Biden wanted to make a talking point of being progressive with his picks and announced that he was going to select a black woman for both VP and SCOTUS well before the decision was made. Harris and Jackson were both qualified for those high ranking roles, but intending to only look for those qualities first, narrows the search in a way that is perceived as being racially biased.

The proper way to do it is to simply announce the person and focus on their qualifications as to why they were chosen. If Democrats want to lead on this issue, that's how it should be handled. Keep putting qualified minorties in those positions, but treat it as normal and common and it will eventually be an afterthought. 

[Brisketexan 105275]

21 minutes ago, Goredho said:

You know, there are two ways to interpret these stats.  One, is that “poor white trash” are just morons who vote against their interests.  The other is that “poor white trash” are living increasingly shitty lives and the only thing they perceive as benefiting them is the MAGA movement and a societal reset.

Despots don’t arise amongst a happy and content populace.

It's lizard-brained moral calculus.

Has life gotten better for poor white folks over the last 50+ years?  By and large, yes....just like it has for all other poor folks.

BUT....have they seen that, as they advance (which they've done for the better part of a century), minorities ALSO advance?  In fact, those minorities, who historically advanced much less (because of Jim and Juan Crow, etc.), have advanced at even a greater rate than maybe poor white people (as they had more ground to make up).  So, poor white people had lives that were 50% "better off" than black people.  Those poor people now have lives that are a fair bit better than they were 50 years ago...but now they're only 30% "better off" than black people.  That makes the lizard brain angry.  

If the reward system gave Monkey A 2 grapes when it accomplished a task, but only gave Monkey B 1 grape when it accomplished the same task, but NOW the reward system is to give Monkey A 3 grapes (1 grape better than before), but Monkey B gets 4 grapes (1 better than Monkey A gets), Monkey A gets PISSED.  Even though Monkey A is better off, and has more grapes than before...he's pissed, because that OTHER monkey is getting something more.

So, Monkey A votes for a system that fucking burns down all the grape vines.  Because if Monkey A can't be the vastly superior grape-getter, then fuck all grapes, NOBODY gets em.

[sidis 9832]

On 7/26/2024 at 6:32 AM, ztejas said:

Are y'all down for discussion in CR or what?

On 7/26/2024 at 1:38 PM, sidis said:

what are some examples of the values that made us so god damn good to begin with that have been lost and what do you believe a vote for trump will do to help restore them?

apparently not.

Edited July 29 by sidis