I can't be friends with political opponents

Discussion in 'Member Casual Chat' started by Le Chef, Aug 2, 2019.

  1. Renee

    Renee Well-Known Member

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    First of all you are taking things literally. When we say he is not our president it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that he doesn’t represent our values. it’s bad manners for Hollywood to be disrespectful but it’s OK for the President of the United States. Wow talk about hypocrisy.Why do you suppose most of these Hollywood types as you referred to them don’t like Trump? You would think they should because after all most of them are rich and that’s who he helps the most
    I am lucky in that I have no friends who are Trump supporters, just one family member. I do have Republican friends but they are intelligent enough to realize what a dangerous man is sitting in the White House. You feel you can respect other peoples views but I am sorry I cannot respect someone who supports this despicable human being who has hurt more people that he has helped. Our values are so different and why waste time with hem? I also do not talk to bigots.
     
  2. Thought Criminal

    Thought Criminal Well-Known Member Donor

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    Seriously, do some shopping.

    https://www.amazon.com/mirrors/b?node=3736371
     
  3. crank

    crank Well-Known Member

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    Renee .. dearest, it's not 1969.
     
  4. Renee

    Renee Well-Known Member

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  5. crank

    crank Well-Known Member

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    They literally walk right in.

    Astonishing.
     
  6. crank

    crank Well-Known Member

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    This is pretty much the last word on the matter. If you're so deeply indoctrinated that you can no longer see the humanity in those who vote differently, YOU have problems. It does not say a single bad thing about those you reject as 'bigots'. It marks YOU as the awful human being, not them.
     
  7. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    Truly spoken like a person without any moral convictions.

    Extreme torture, the mass murder of tens of thousands of innocent people, coddling the world's worst despots, if you can't take a stand against this and say "Enough is enough! There is a line of inhumanity you cannot cross and still be my friend", you stand for nothing.

    That is spinelessness. Trumpism at its best. I would never be friends with a Nazi sympathizer either.

    This isn't about politics. This is about good and evil. This is about declaring war on the Constitution. And this is about trumpers embracing war against over half the country while cheering for cold-blooded murder.

    We will never forget. And you will never live it down.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
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  8. crank

    crank Well-Known Member

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    Seriously? You literally had to go to the most extreme examples of 'evil' to make your point? You had to use mass murderers and the like to argue it? This just keeps getting funnier!

    PS: I'm not American, loathe Trump, and vote Left. When you fail, you sure do like to be emphatic about it :)
     
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  9. pitbull

    pitbull Banned Donor

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    Don't let the Trumpsters destroy your friendships!
     
  10. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

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    One thing got twisted in this thread: it started out with my inability to be friends with political opponents. In the first place, I mean "these days,"these Trump days, these days of cancel culture, these days of nutcases confronting congressmen in restaurants, these days of safe spaces and political correctness.

    In the second place, I am talking about friendship, not tolerance. Certainly I tolerate and continue to hear opposing views, and some of them I can get converted on.

    In the third place, can we stop with the Nazi references? There are scarce few of them -- probably more people believe in Bigfoot.
     
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  11. Thought Criminal

    Thought Criminal Well-Known Member Donor

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    It won't stop. "Othering" has become the main tactic of the propagandists. From time immemorial, it has been used to shut down righteous dissent. The leftists have grabbed it with both hands and are using it against the whole population.

    In defense of your friends, the constant onslaught of hate-filled propaganda is not easy to avoid being swayed by.
     
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  12. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

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    I hope I never criticized any specific friend; it's just become too much work to get along with politically active people that don't share my values.

    It wasn't like this under any other president or at any past time in my life, and I do think Trump shares in the responsibility for it, as do I, for having basically become exhausted by it all. Maybe I should let it all roll off me, but civil war is not a normal state of affairs.
     
  13. carlberky

    carlberky Active Member

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    "Not proud to say this, but I don't even want to see my liberal friends anymore."

    There are friends and there are acquaintances. A friend is someone who has been there for you time after time. If you can drop all your liberal "friends" then they weren't friends … just some people you knew.

    Friday I had dinner with a friend who wore a "trump in 2020" cap, while I wore my avatar cap. He smiles when he calls me a libertard.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
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  14. Thought Criminal

    Thought Criminal Well-Known Member Donor

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    I wish that I could come up with some way to persuade people to question the validity of what permeates the airwaves.

    I would just like them to pause and not automatically accept the crap that constantly bombards us.
     
  15. carlberky

    carlberky Active Member

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    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
  16. a better world

    a better world Well-Known Member

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    'Mostly' Right? OK, room for debate there, depending on the issue.

    Nonsense. Pinochet, Franco and countless other RW dictators.

    .

    Here we get to the crunch of the Right's purely self-interested ideology, which turns out to have nothing to do with fairness, but with the ability (opportunity??) to compete. Notice you change 'ability' to 'opportunity'....guess what, in a capitalist system no one needs an 'opportunity' to compete, it's what we all must do.

    Sheer ideological claptrap, the consequence of your entirely self-interested view, as explained above.

    Meaning poverty level income increases of (say) 10%, beating CEO incomes (higher than $1 million) increases of (say) 5%.
    Gosh, isn't that great.....(sarcasm).
    Meanwhile the 50% who cannot access savings of 1000k in an emergency have to live with chronic financial insecurity.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
  17. a better world

    a better world Well-Known Member

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    I know you have a serious problem with definitions, to suit your own "looking after kin" agenda, while letting those who can't compete in the capitalist system go to hell...

    But please explain how you "vote Left".....

    Btw, I'm actually sympathetic to Trump's current (admittedly only apparent) anti-war stance in Syria....but the correct solution for Trump's hatred of "endless wars" is an international rules based system.
    His instinct is to retreat into isolationism and upgrade the capacity for nuclear annihilation.
     
  18. Thought Criminal

    Thought Criminal Well-Known Member Donor

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    "Nonsense. Pinochet, Franco and countless other RW dictators."

    Sorry. I was being USA-centric.

    Yes. My assessment may not apply world-wide.

    "Here we get to the crunch of the Right's purely self-interested ideology, which turns out to have nothing to do with fairness, but with the ability (opportunity??) to compete. Notice you change 'ability' to 'opportunity'....guess what, in a capitalist system no one needs an 'opportunity' to compete, it's what we all must do."

    I don't understand your disagreement. To me, it seems obvious that ability varies from person to person. This is entirely different. I distinguish opportunity, from result, for this reason. Result, ideally, only hinges upon ability and desire. Opportunity should be granted equally.

    "Sheer ideological claptrap, the consequence of your entirely self-interested view, as explained above.



    Meaning poverty level income increases of (say) 10%, beating CEO incomes (higher than $1 million) increases of (say) 5%.
    Gosh, isn't that great.....(sarcasm).
    Meanwhile the 50% who cannot access savings of 1000k in an emergency have to live with chronic financial insecurity."


    Some people have more ability than others. Some people just got lucky. Some were unlucky.

    All can better themselves through their own work... if they so choose.

    I'm heading towards the end of my life. Believe me, I made plenty of wrong choices. One thing that I won't do is blame others for my position. I made all of my poor choices.



    It's a shame that many people have been born with the deck stacked against them. Kids die of cancer. Kids are born in Ethiopia. No, I don't think it's "fair". Can we right all of the world's wrongs?

    Now that I'm retired, I spend time tending to my own garden. I plant pretty plants and pull out weeds. Am I wrong to deny life to the weeds?
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
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  19. a better world

    a better world Well-Known Member

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    The words "ideally" and "should", in the last two sentences quoted, point to systemic problems that require attention.

    We can certainly ameliorate them.

    For example, by understanding sustainable development in terms of deployment of available resources, through public sector policy choices, as well as private sector "invisible hand", competitive 'free' market operations. See MMT.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
  20. Thought Criminal

    Thought Criminal Well-Known Member Donor

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    "The words "ideally" and "should", in the last two sentences quoted, point to systemic problems that require attention."

    Absloutely. We don't correct imbalances by creating others, though.

    --------------------------------------------------------------

    Should we put even more of our citizens into sidewalk tents to ameliorate conditions worldwide?

    ---------------------------------------------------------------

    MMT? The big telescope?
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
  21. a better world

    a better world Well-Known Member

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    I suggested you look at MMT. Your response (as shown in the question above) shows your lack of capacity, either to investigate beyond accepted ideologies, or to learn.

    You have my blessings, and I hope you achieve contentment in gardening...
     
  22. Thought Criminal

    Thought Criminal Well-Known Member Donor

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    Giving up a telescope won't save the world.
     
  23. crank

    crank Well-Known Member

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    Hey, leave Bigfoot out of this :p
     
  24. crank

    crank Well-Known Member

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    I walk into the polling booth, make marks on a sheet of paper, fold it up, and stuff it in the ballot box.

    Meantime, yes .. I do love a capitalist democracy - because it allows me to practice my socialism unmolested.
     
  25. Renee

    Renee Well-Known Member

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    there are too many similarities to hitler. Here’s some and I have a lot more
    1- Hitler used the media. At that time nazis gave out radio and there was one station , his. Trump uses Twitter the same way.They relentlessly attack mainstream media. Trump’s assaults on the media echo Hitler’s

    2x hitler and trump both lost the popular vote

    3- Hitler used bombastic rhetoric with lies, and appealed to scapegoating certain groups. He would get his rallies lit up with hateful rhetoric and they would repeat it

    4-they both blamed others and usually along racial/religious lines

    5-Both orchestrated mass rallies to show status.. Hitler , like trump knew to talk down to his base

    6-They both embraced extreme nationalism. Make America great again is basically what Hitler said.

    7- both made closing borders their centerpiece

    8. Both attacked the rule of law

    9 both enriched the elite
     

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