U.S. Politics

If you don't want to watch John Oliver you're dead inside.

Jesus, I typed "whole episode" and my phone made it "white episode".

But agreed. Sometimes I can't face this shit but will still try to watch him that week anyway.

Ru1977 said:

Jesus, I typed "whole episode" and my phone made it "white episode".

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Autocorrect is anti-woke.

I just caught up on the last 35 pages of this thread... and its depressing as hell bit I REALLY appreciate all of you guys

TheSameIdiot said:

I refuse to get my hopes up about his health, but the writing is on the wall. Disappearing for days on end and an unending fascination with death. Go to the light, Donny.

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com%2Fpost%2F3m2zolbedbk2e

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If by "light" you mean "oncoming train", I could support this. At the very least, it's nice knowing the man has no delusions about where he's gonna go after, but if he's already made peace with that, there's no telling what he'll be willing to do. I think we've already seen there's no limit to his depravity.

jonaskane said:

There was a case where an autistic teenager was listed as a missing person for over a week. Family pleading on TV, police involved, etc. Turns out ICE grabbed him and just never told anybody.

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They were just jealous of that TAD- Tylenol Autism Dick.

I jest, of course, if only to make light of a disgusting situation. Obviously it was always a Nazi thing, but I don't know if I quite expected them to start moving on to other groups so soon. Foolish, of course- they were always going to. It amazes me how, even now, so many folks don't know that the OG Nazis also hated and targeted gay folks or people of color or what have you. So many folks think it was just the Jews, just like so many folks think now it's just immigrants. Don't know if it's shock or just willfull ignorance, but the amount of people I still see on my feed- Republican or not- who are trying to convince folks they're safe if they're not an immigrant is honestly so frustrating. I don't know what it'll take to get people to wake up.

Been seeing a few of my fellow LGBT friends start saying they're afraid to hold hands in public again, and I can't lie and say I don't feel at least somewhat similar. I'm less worried, living in a big city, but even here, there's plenty of strange looks even during the best of times. For my friends in smaller cities, it's totally justified, I'd say. One of my friends, who's both a trans man and in a relationship with a man, just moved to Georgia, and has been messaging me almost daily saying how terrified they are, being a double target, essentially. Scary scary times, man.

joshsquash729 said:

One of my friends, who's both a trans man and in a relationship with a man, just moved to Georgia

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I don't want to victim-blame, nor do I know his circumstances, but I'm confounded by people who do this. Even as a straight white man, I would not move to a purple/red state run by a Republican. Republican policies kill people.

I think part of the problem is the stigma around saying so out loud.

TheSameIdiot said:

I don't want to victim-blame, nor do I know his circumstances, but I'm confounded by people who do this. Even as a straight white man, I would not move to a purple/red state run by a Republican. Republican policies kill people.

I think part of the problem is the stigma around saying so out loud.

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Wasn't necessarily a choice of theirs. They were living nice and cozy in California, arguably the best possible place, but moved to Georgia to help take care of a sick family member of his boyfriend's. Long story, but nobody else in the family was willing to and insurance was being, well, insurance, so they stepped up, but it was a major discussion that wasn't taken lightly. How long he ends up staying there depends on how long the family member is with us- could be weeks, could be a year or more. By some miracle, he did find a doctor who's willing and able to continue his HRT, but is still afraid he'll be ratted out somehow.

I totally agree, though. There's truly no hate stronger than a Christian's love. Same goes for Republicans, obviously, considering the overlap. But that's the thing- how do you honestly convince someone that what they view as love and a kindness to others is actually hurting, if not killing, them? Some folks don't even see it when it affects them personally.

TheSameIdiot said:

Republican policies kill people.

I think part of the problem is the stigma around saying so out loud.

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Absolutely this.
We’ve been bamboozled by manufactured tribalism to believe that principled opposition to one presumed “side” means loyalty to a presumed other “side” and vice versa, and then said principled opposition is framed as “rooting for a team”. Trouble is that most people *are* “rooting for a team”, and feel like they have to add some support for an “opposing side”, rather than just saying “yeah, these guys are bad, these policies are harmful, their goals are evil”.
Like almost every time I bring up my strong opposition to MAGA in mixed company, I get the inevitable “oh yeah well what about XYZ things the Democrat Party did?!?” And while my first retort to that would be “I’m not a Democrat”, the Dems don’t need and shouldn’t need to be brought up in order to talk about what’s wrong with the GOP and MAGA. A thing is bad because it is bad, not because it compares non-favorably to another “side”. It’s the same bullshit as folks saying “OH YEAH WELL HOW WOULD YOU FIX IT?!?” in response to me having a critique about a thing: bro, I don’t need to be an expert in fixing the thing to recognize the thing is broken. I can’t fix a car to save my life, but I’m aware when a car breaks down.

Nor am I a plumber, but I know a bunch of shit backing things up when I see it.

Whataboutism is one of the biggest plagues America has nowadays. We're never gonna get anywhere because we just keep deflecting blame onto the opposite side. Sure, everyone wants to feel like they're on the "better" side, but eventually we gotta just admit we're all fucked up, we've all done shitty things that hurt someone else, and move to fix it.

joshsquash729 said:

Wasn't necessarily a choice of theirs. They were living nice and cozy in California, arguably the best possible place, but moved to Georgia to help take care of a sick family member of his boyfriend's. Long story, but nobody else in the family was willing to and insurance was being, well, insurance, so they stepped up, but it was a major discussion that wasn't taken lightly. How long he ends up staying there depends on how long the family member is with us- could be weeks, could be a year or more. By some miracle, he did find a doctor who's willing and able to continue his HRT, but is still afraid he'll be ratted out somehow.

I totally agree, though. There's truly no hate stronger than a Christian's love. Same goes for Republicans, obviously, considering the overlap. But that's the thing- how do you honestly convince someone that what they view as love and a kindness to others is actually hurting, if not killing, them? Some folks don't even see it when it affects them personally.

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That's why you can't make blanket statements about these things (do better, me).

I have several friends/acquaintances who moved/are in the process of moving south. If you have a life/friends/family there, or extenuating circumstances, sure. Without those things, I would not willingly move from a blue state to a red one. We make more money. We have better amenities. Our state government is not actively looking to kill us.

AceofKnaves said:

We’ve been bamboozled by manufactured tribalism to believe that principled opposition to one presumed “side” means loyalty to a presumed other “side” and vice versa, and then said principled opposition is framed as “rooting for a team”. Trouble is that most people *are* “rooting for a team”, and feel like they have to add some support for an “opposing side”, rather than just saying “yeah, these guys are bad, these policies are harmful, their goals are evil”.

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Especially when they have no problem denigrating the cities that make this country great and fuel its economy.

joshsquash729 said:

Sure, everyone wants to feel like they're on the "better" side

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I may be a unicorn here, but I don’t want to be on any “side”. “Loyalty” is a fucking trap. Folks should be in a constant state of critical evaluation, and be willing to bail on any person, organization, cause, “side” that doesn’t act ethically.
Like fortunately I don’t see my wife going MAGA any time soon, but I’d even bail on her if she somehow went “bad”. People have called my bluff on this and have been quite dismayed when they find I’m serious.

“Haw haw, Ace, you’re so funny with your cartoon hatred of Trump. We’re still friends though, right, even though I dig him and you don’t?”

“No, we fucking are not.”

AceofKnaves said:

I may be a unicorn here, but I don’t want to be on any “side”. “Loyalty” is a fucking trap. Folks should be in a constant state of critical evaluation, and be willing to bail on any person, organization, cause, “side” that doesn’t act ethically.
Like fortunately I don’t see my wife going MAGA any time soon, but I’d even bail on her if she somehow went “bad”. People have called my bluff on this and have been quite dismayed when they find I’m serious.

“Haw haw, Ace, you’re so funny with your cartoon hatred of Trump. We’re still friends though, right, even though I dig him and you don’t?”

“No, we fucking are not.”

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Oh, for sure. I don't even necessarily mean a literal "side". We just all want to feel that our point of view, no matter how similar or detached from others, is the right one. Our love is better than other's love, our acceptance is better than other's acceptance, etc. Problem is, lots of folks then double down on those standards when they feel attacked, even if they weren't super into them before. Something about challenging one's views with something different or making them realize they may have been wrong about something is often the straw that breaks the camel's back. Some folks are just so content and comfy in their views and lifestyle that anything, regardless of how innocent or moral or what have you, can seem like a legit threat. Dying alone on the hill, above the roar and confusion of the masses, is better than dying lost in a sea of similar voices to some.

Yeeeeeah, as someone who's heard that "we can get along even if we don't agree" thing all my life, I've never been more tired to hear it. First it was to excuse their hatred and inability to accept my sexuality. Then it was the base politics of Trump the first time. Then it was Israel/Palestine. Then it was Elon Musk. Then it was AI. Then it was ICE. And then and then and then. And honestly, I'm done giving chances to people. I've excused a lot over the years, thinking it somehow made me the bigger or stronger person. Which, I suppose it can to a certain degree, but it still requires at least a little common ground and forgiveness, otherwise you're just two strangers passing on the street. What it comes down to for me and many others is as simple as you can get, really- the matter of existence. If you don't think that I as a gay man should even exist, or that your neighbor who immigrated here to escape a horrible life of poverty or persecution should exist, or people in a neighboring land who have different religious views, et. al, then we have nothing more to talk about. It's a simple matter, as black and white as can be, that we always make political or religious or whatever. I'm not going to give you the benefit of the doubt or continue to excuse your willful ignorance because you refuse to acknowledge that someone has the right to exist on the same soil as you. You're free to go- don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.