I don’t think social media itself is the issue; it’s the people using it.
The self-absorption, the hate, the gaffes, the sometime-goodness, the need to be seen or known for anything - that already exists. Social media simply facilitates its communication (and the news mistakes this for actual news, but that’s another story).
That’s not 100% true. Social media, Facebook specifically, uses AI software that creates algorithms to manipulate people’s accounts to focus on certain topics...the ones that are going to most effectively elicit an emotional response and general clicks. It’s disgusting.
I imagine a bunch of other companies do this too. Hell, my email account is still bombarded by ads for a litter box we purchased two months ago!
As to the amplification issue mentioned, I want those with whom I disagree to speak as loudly and freely as those with whom I do concur. That I might be disgusted by another’s words or actions isn’t worth that sacrifice, to me.
That’s the thing, though, you will see less apposing views and more content that aligns with what you are interested in. Trump supporters get tied to more and more Trump content and less pro-Biden content and so on.
If you haven’t seen it yet, Social Dilemma on Netflix explains how the program works better than I can.
I see almost ZERO pro trump posts now after the election. No more links, memes, or posts. It’s crazy because I’m still friends with people but I just don’t get in the algorithms?
I think a lot of Trump related content is being filtered on most popular platforms and pro-Trump groups are being taken down. That, and a lot of the hardcore Trump supporters that were spreading false info and memes simply jumped ship to that “other” platform (that is now pretty much gone). I think many of the hardcore followers are still out there, just propping themselves up on other media options. Also, if you never “liked” any of their posts or just ignored them, then they probably didn’t get labeled as one of your interests.
Yes, they are out there, for sure. I think a lot of them might be "going underground" so to speak. This is just a wild guess, but I wonder how many are a bit paranoid that since so many 1/6 rioter have been imprisoned and/ or taken to court, they are a bit afraid of being targeted as extremest (which many are).
For much of the latter part of 2020 and 2021, here in strongly-leaning El Dorado County, California, I frequently saw many Trump trucks driving around with their huge Trump flags waving from their antennas or poles attached to the bed of their pick up trucks. I'm seeing far fewer of them. They seem to have lowered their flag and instead are flying American flags from their homes. That's ironic because Trump supporters who put on a show of being patriotic are being totally contradictory.
Patriotic supporters like these guys...
So you’re saying displaying the trump flag is the same as piling up a bunch of guys in the back and waving (probably illegal fully automatic) assault rifles around? I think those caravans were obnoxious. I think I only crossed one once or twice, but a flag is not an illegal firearm.
If trump supporters didn’t want to be compared to terrorists, they probably shouldn’t have acted like terrorists these last few years.
Then show a picture of them storming the Capitol or acting like a terrorist, not waving a flag. But seeing how that post was from October, it obviously wasn’t about storming the Capitol. It literally is comparing waving a flag of the opposite party to waving illegal guns. I think those caravans were annoying. But this comparison is just lame.
& trump supporters stormed the Michigan capitol with their guns back in the spring.
Boo hoo, people who act like terrorists are being compared to terrorists.
Again, you’re judging 74 million people based on the actions of very few. Almost no one supported the storming of the Capitol or the plan in Michigan. I don’t recall people calling all Biden/Obama supporters terrorists when 1 guy shot up a congressional baseball game. That was clearly a left-wing terrorist act. But we all recognize he represents just a tiny fraction.
Many here are quick to judge everyone who didn’t support Biden and call them all terrorists and racist based on the actions of a relatively small portion. All 74 million of them. They are diving the country just as much as Trump did by continuing to do so. The purpose of that meme by comparing a trump flag to an illegal assault rifle is comparing all trump voters to radical terrorists. Even the 99.99% who were against the storming and kidnapping.
"Almost no one supported the storming of the Capitol"
Surely you're joking? Can we start with the ex POTUS and go from there?
We’re talking about voters and citizens. My reply had nothing to do with trump himself, congress or the senate. I haven’t seen any support for the riot anywhere. Every single person I know, talk to, read posts of have all said it was the wrong thing to do and agree everyone involved should be punished. Are you saying that a large portion of the 74 million who voted for Trump agree with the riot? I just don’t see any evidence of that. I see lots of evidence of the exact opposite by everyone condemning it.I’m sure if I looked real hard I could dig up a few crazies who supported it, but they would be a very small minority.Again, were back to painting a broad picture and labeling 1/4 of the country (half of the voting population) as terrorists based on the action of very few, and that seems to have become a common theme and I disagree with it. That’s not a way to build unity and move forward by labeling everyone you disagree with as racist or terrorist.
55% of republicans believe the “use of force is appropriate to ‘protect the traditional American way of life.’” Sorry, but a large % of Americans supported the armed (why were they armed?) protest at the Michigan state house and the insurrection and insurrectionists at the capitol. Why haven’t all the perps been turned in by family and friends? Because they support their actions and share their beliefs.
Turned in by friends or family? Really? That’s your argument.
Guess you missed the first part of my post? Yes, if you have family and friends who are terrorists and you don’t turn them in for doing terrorist type things, then you’re supporting terrorism. “You’re either with us or against us.”
Do you disagree with my last sentence? If so, why? I’d love to hear your argument.
I have no interest in being your argument of today. I regretted my post as soon as I hit “post”.
Weak sauce. Guess you can claim that you were "cancelled?"
No. Not cancelled. My choice to not engage with someone like you. No point. I don’t see much a difference with talking to you or one of these far right nuts. You will never call out your side on anything. It’s evident by the news stories that you choose to NOT post or speak about. Same like them. There’s always an excuse. My sincere apologies for even opening this line of communication.
Feel free to post news stories of the other side that makes "both sides the same." Or respond to what I posited. Or not. What are you afraid of? Facts? Truth? Data? Science? And you did engage with me and when challenged, after I pointed out how ridiculous your claim was, you ran away and now complain about "engaging with someone like me." Guess you're in the wrong forums. Fucking weak sauce. Please, use the ignore feature.
Weak sauce? How old are you. I apologized for engaging. Nobody is running away. Nobody runs away from you. More like avoiding your nonsense
This is hilarious. I post a response to Mace’s theory that “practically no one supported the Storming of the Michigan and National capitols” and you reply that my theory, despite a specific % being posted, was based on family and friends not turning in their terrorist family and friends. Then I asked you if you disagreed with something I had posited. Then you cancelled yourself. Too funny. And weak sauce. “Nonsense?” Too funny. Thanks for giving me a huge laugh this afternoon.
I don’t think social media itself is the issue; it’s the people using it.
The self-absorption, the hate, the gaffes, the sometime-goodness, the need to be seen or known for anything - that already exists. Social media simply facilitates its communication (and the news mistakes this for actual news, but that’s another story).
That’s not 100% true. Social media, Facebook specifically, uses AI software that creates algorithms to manipulate people’s accounts to focus on certain topics...the ones that are going to most effectively elicit an emotional response and general clicks. It’s disgusting.
I imagine a bunch of other companies do this too. Hell, my email account is still bombarded by ads for a litter box we purchased two months ago!
As to the amplification issue mentioned, I want those with whom I disagree to speak as loudly and freely as those with whom I do concur. That I might be disgusted by another’s words or actions isn’t worth that sacrifice, to me.
That’s the thing, though, you will see less apposing views and more content that aligns with what you are interested in. Trump supporters get tied to more and more Trump content and less pro-Biden content and so on.
If you haven’t seen it yet, Social Dilemma on Netflix explains how the program works better than I can.
I see almost ZERO pro trump posts now after the election. No more links, memes, or posts. It’s crazy because I’m still friends with people but I just don’t get in the algorithms?
I think a lot of Trump related content is being filtered on most popular platforms and pro-Trump groups are being taken down. That, and a lot of the hardcore Trump supporters that were spreading false info and memes simply jumped ship to that “other” platform (that is now pretty much gone). I think many of the hardcore followers are still out there, just propping themselves up on other media options. Also, if you never “liked” any of their posts or just ignored them, then they probably didn’t get labeled as one of your interests.
Yes, they are out there, for sure. I think a lot of them might be "going underground" so to speak. This is just a wild guess, but I wonder how many are a bit paranoid that since so many 1/6 rioter have been imprisoned and/ or taken to court, they are a bit afraid of being targeted as extremest (which many are).
For much of the latter part of 2020 and 2021, here in strongly-leaning El Dorado County, California, I frequently saw many Trump trucks driving around with their huge Trump flags waving from their antennas or poles attached to the bed of their pick up trucks. I'm seeing far fewer of them. They seem to have lowered their flag and instead are flying American flags from their homes. That's ironic because Trump supporters who put on a show of being patriotic are being totally contradictory.
Patriotic supporters like these guys...
So you’re saying displaying the trump flag is the same as piling up a bunch of guys in the back and waving (probably illegal fully automatic) assault rifles around? I think those caravans were obnoxious. I think I only crossed one once or twice, but a flag is not an illegal firearm.
If trump supporters didn’t want to be compared to terrorists, they probably shouldn’t have acted like terrorists these last few years.
Then show a picture of them storming the Capitol or acting like a terrorist, not waving a flag. But seeing how that post was from October, it obviously wasn’t about storming the Capitol. It literally is comparing waving a flag of the opposite party to waving illegal guns. I think those caravans were annoying. But this comparison is just lame.
& trump supporters stormed the Michigan capitol with their guns back in the spring.
Boo hoo, people who act like terrorists are being compared to terrorists.
Again, you’re judging 74 million people based on the actions of very few. Almost no one supported the storming of the Capitol or the plan in Michigan. I don’t recall people calling all Biden/Obama supporters terrorists when 1 guy shot up a congressional baseball game. That was clearly a left-wing terrorist act. But we all recognize he represents just a tiny fraction.
Many here are quick to judge everyone who didn’t support Biden and call them all terrorists and racist based on the actions of a relatively small portion. All 74 million of them. They are diving the country just as much as Trump did by continuing to do so. The purpose of that meme by comparing a trump flag to an illegal assault rifle is comparing all trump voters to radical terrorists. Even the 99.99% who were against the storming and kidnapping.
"Almost no one supported the storming of the Capitol"
Surely you're joking? Can we start with the ex POTUS and go from there?
We’re talking about voters and citizens. My reply had nothing to do with trump himself, congress or the senate. I haven’t seen any support for the riot anywhere. Every single person I know, talk to, read posts of have all said it was the wrong thing to do and agree everyone involved should be punished. Are you saying that a large portion of the 74 million who voted for Trump agree with the riot? I just don’t see any evidence of that. I see lots of evidence of the exact opposite by everyone condemning it.I’m sure if I looked real hard I could dig up a few crazies who supported it, but they would be a very small minority.Again, were back to painting a broad picture and labeling 1/4 of the country (half of the voting population) as terrorists based on the action of very few, and that seems to have become a common theme and I disagree with it. That’s not a way to build unity and move forward by labeling everyone you disagree with as racist or terrorist.
55% of republicans believe the “use of force is appropriate to ‘protect the traditional American way of life.’” Sorry, but a large % of Americans supported the armed (why were they armed?) protest at the Michigan state house and the insurrection and insurrectionists at the capitol. Why haven’t all the perps been turned in by family and friends? Because they support their actions and share their beliefs.
Turned in by friends or family? Really? That’s your argument.
Guess you missed the first part of my post? Yes, if you have family and friends who are terrorists and you don’t turn them in for doing terrorist type things, then you’re supporting terrorism. “You’re either with us or against us.”
Do you disagree with my last sentence? If so, why? I’d love to hear your argument.
I have no interest in being your argument of today. I regretted my post as soon as I hit “post”.
Weak sauce. Guess you can claim that you were "cancelled?"
No. Not cancelled. My choice to not engage with someone like you. No point. I don’t see much a difference with talking to you or one of these far right nuts. You will never call out your side on anything. It’s evident by the news stories that you choose to NOT post or speak about. Same like them. There’s always an excuse. My sincere apologies for even opening this line of communication.
Feel free to post news stories of the other side that makes "both sides the same." Or respond to what I posited. Or not. What are you afraid of? Facts? Truth? Data? Science? And you did engage with me and when challenged, after I pointed out how ridiculous your claim was, you ran away and now complain about "engaging with someone like me." Guess you're in the wrong forums. Fucking weak sauce. Please, use the ignore feature.
Weak sauce? How old are you. I apologized for engaging. Nobody is running away. Nobody runs away from you. More like avoiding your nonsense
This is hilarious. I post a response to Mace’s theory that “practically no one supported the Storming of the Michigan and National capitols” and you reply that my theory, despite a specific % being posted, was based on family and friends not turning in their terrorist family and friends. Then I asked you if you disagreed with something I had posited. Then you cancelled yourself. Too funny. And weak sauce. “Nonsense?” Too funny. Thanks for giving me a huge laugh this afternoon.
What don’t you understand? I’m not wasting my time arguing with your “specific number”. No matter what I say it won’t matter. Your mind is made up. You’re not an open person. Even if I wasted time posting “facts” it still wouldn’t change your stance on anything politically. Can’t you just admit that? Who cares. Fuckin lighten up.
Seems the only thing that has been "cancelled" is reality. Its going to get worse, way worse, before it gets better.
The acquittal of former president Donald Trump from charges of inciting insurrection brought hints of hope for the Republican future. There was Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) following the facts to a conviction vote. There was Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) bluntly opposing the president’s actions. The circle of GOP resistance to Trump’s influence has expanded beyond the conscience of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
But the dominant note of the day was still cowardice. The case presented by the House impeachment managers was so compelling and overwhelming that the extent of Republican cravenness was highlighted in neon. Republicans who knew better tried to hide behind thin technicalities. And most Republican senators did not seem to know better. In the end, we witnessed a historic collapse of moral and political leadership. And it was no less tragic for being expected.
There is a natural process by which political parties renew themselves. Newt Gingrich’s combative, uncompromising Republican revolution in the mid-1990s was a foil for the compassionate conservatism that defined the party in the 2000 presidential election. The rise of tea-party, anti-government populism set the stage for a contrasting reform conservatism, which sought to modernize government in pursuit of populist goals.
This dialectic, however, only really operates in the realm of policy. If Trumpism were merely a set of proposals, there could be an antithesis. But the movement fully revealed by the Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol is united by a belief that the White, Christian America of its imagination is on the verge of destruction, and that it must be preserved by any means necessary. This is less a political philosophy than a warped religious belief. There can be no compromise in a culture war. There can be no splitting of differences at Armageddon.
What has emerged within the Republican Party is a debate on the value of democracy itself. In the traditional American view, the democratic process has an essential nobility. It does not always produce the results we seek, yet, in the long run, it protects the rights we value. But the Trumpian view of democracy is purely instrumental. With the stakes of politics so high — with socialists, multiculturalists and child rapists (as the QAnon fabulists would have it) intent on destroying American society — outcomes are the only things that really matter. Not truth. Not civility. Not electoral procedure. Just the gaining and maintenance of power.
A loss of faith in democratic structures does not lead to anarchy. It leads people to invest their hopes in someone who promises to defend their fragile way of life. In a January 2020 survey published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, more than half of Republicans agreed that “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” More than 40 percent agreed that “a time will come when patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands.” This is as close as political theory comes to a mathematical principle: Tribalism plus desperation equals authoritarian thinking.
From one perspective, it is absurd that so many Americans have invested their hopes for the preservation of civilization in a fool. But Trump has been effective in promoting the tribalism of White grievance, as well as desperation about the fate of America. And, unlike any other president, he was happy to step into an authoritarian role, attempting to maintain power through intimidation and violence.
Can the GOP really have a productive debate between people who believe in democracy and those who have lost patience for it? Between those who view politics as a method to secure rough justice in a fallen world, and those who view it as a holy crusade against scheming infidels? Between those who try to serve conservative political ideals and those who engage (in Sasse’s immortal words) in “the weird worship of one dude”?
The greatest need in our politics is a conservatism that opposes authoritarianism. The greatest question: Can such a movement emerge within the framework of the Republican Party?
As it stands, I am skeptical. There are scattered outposts of Republican sanity in Congress, and more in state governments. But in most of the GOP, the rot as reached the roots. Activists feel the anger that Trump has fed rather the contempt for Trump that he has earned. They feel cheated rather than defeated.
At the same time — though I admire the normality and professionalism of President Biden’s administration — it is hard to imagine a future for market-oriented, pro-life conservatives in Democratic Party. A strong ideological current heads in the other direction.
And it is equally difficult to believe that a third-party challenge to the political duopoly would be anything other than quixotic.
This should leave me both homeless and hopeless. But even an exiled conservatism offers this comfort: Nothing human is permanent. And no good cause is finally lost.
Conservatives also had a much different view of cancel culture when NFL players were exercising their 1A rights.
Where were all the free speech advocates back when trump was calling for someone to “get that son of a bitch off the field”? Where was all the conservative hand wringing & pearl clutching about censorship then?
Al Franken was cancelled. The dems stepped up though to prove a point. I do believe that Repubs had a problem with that one too.
I don't know that Franken was canceled, but he did face social and career consequences for his past behavior. Nothing wrong with holding people accountable for socially unacceptable behavior that carries no legal ramifications.
Al Franken was cancelled. The dems stepped up though to prove a point. I do believe that Repubs had a problem with that one too.
I don't know that Franken was canceled, but he did face social and career consequences for his past behavior. Nothing wrong with holding people accountable for socially unacceptable behavior that carries no legal ramifications.
Pretty pathetic that Franken faced more consequence for that incident than Trump did for all of his that actually led to people dying or being killed.
Al Franken was cancelled. The dems stepped up though to prove a point. I do believe that Repubs had a problem with that one too.
Al Franken wasn't "canceled", he was pressured to resign due to his own stupidity / indiscretions and he caved to that pressure.
& since you brought it up, show me where democrats / liberals bemoaned the "cancel culture" that led to Al Franken being pressured to resign.
I don't recall too many groaning about it but it did happen, The View defended him if I remember. There was more bellyaching from the right about it. They mocked the dems for doing it.
To me he was cancelled for doing a joke, he is a comedian after all but it wasn't in vogue anymore. The dems had to have him removed or they would have looked ridiculous when questioning any repubs.
Al Franken was cancelled. The dems stepped up though to prove a point. I do believe that Repubs had a problem with that one too.
Al Franken wasn't "canceled", he was pressured to resign due to his own stupidity / indiscretions and he caved to that pressure.
& since you brought it up, show me where democrats / liberals bemoaned the "cancel culture" that led to Al Franken being pressured to resign.
I don't recall too many groaning about it but it did happen, The View defended him if I remember. There was more bellyaching from the right about it. They mocked the dems for doing it.
To me he was cancelled for doing a joke, he is a comedian after all but it wasn't in vogue anymore. The dems had to have him removed or they would have looked ridiculous when questioning any repubs.
We evolve, I get it.
i think what he means by franken not being cancelled is that it was his decision in the end. he wasn't fired, or forced to resign. there were calls for his resignation, but to be cancelled, I think it has to be against their will.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Al Franken was cancelled. The dems stepped up though to prove a point. I do believe that Repubs had a problem with that one too.
Al Franken wasn't "canceled", he was pressured to resign due to his own stupidity / indiscretions and he caved to that pressure.
& since you brought it up, show me where democrats / liberals bemoaned the "cancel culture" that led to Al Franken being pressured to resign.
I don't recall too many groaning about it but it did happen, The View defended him if I remember. There was more bellyaching from the right about it. They mocked the dems for doing it.
To me he was cancelled for doing a joke, he is a comedian after all but it wasn't in vogue anymore. The dems had to have him removed or they would have looked ridiculous when questioning any repubs.
We evolve, I get it.
i think what he means by franken not being cancelled is that it was his decision in the end. he wasn't fired, or forced to resign. there were calls for his resignation, but to be cancelled, I think it has to be against their will.
Al Franken was cancelled. The dems stepped up though to prove a point. I do believe that Repubs had a problem with that one too.
Al Franken wasn't "canceled", he was pressured to resign due to his own stupidity / indiscretions and he caved to that pressure.
& since you brought it up, show me where democrats / liberals bemoaned the "cancel culture" that led to Al Franken being pressured to resign.
I don't recall too many groaning about it but it did happen, The View defended him if I remember. There was more bellyaching from the right about it. They mocked the dems for doing it.
To me he was cancelled for doing a joke, he is a comedian after all but it wasn't in vogue anymore. The dems had to have him removed or they would have looked ridiculous when questioning any repubs.
We evolve, I get it.
i think what he means by franken not being cancelled is that it was his decision in the end. he wasn't fired, or forced to resign. there were calls for his resignation, but to be cancelled, I think it has to be against their will.
That may be so, but I'd still argued that Franken was cancelled. Popular opinion can push someone to do something "not against their will." The odd part about Franken's story is how he was cancelled...by his own allies who sacrificed to to show how they take the high road. It didn't help.
Of course, the more the term is used, the more watered down it becomes. Now they just toss it out for anyone calling out anything. (Kinda like how "Snowflake" used to mean overly-sensitive liberal and now it just means any liberal).
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brianlux
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Like the way they are supposedly "anti-government", many Republicans are "anti-cancel culture" except when they're not.
Ayup. They are crying big ole crocodile tears they Morgan Wallen was cancelled for obvious racism while simultaneously cancelling a syrup brand for changing it's obviously racist name to something more neutral...I wonder what the common thread could be???
Like the way they are supposedly "anti-government", many Republicans are "anti-cancel culture" except when they're not.
Ayup. They are crying big ole crocodile tears they Morgan Wallen was cancelled for obvious racism while simultaneously cancelling a syrup brand for changing it's obviously racist name to something more neutral...I wonder what the common thread could be???
"GET THAT SON OF A BITCH OFF THE FIELD" = Conservatives go apeshit for the racist president, because fuck your feelings and the 1st Amendment and also, racism.
Gina Carano gets fired because Disney doesn't want to be associated with her anti-Semitic bullshit = "CANCEL CULTURE'S GONE TOO FAR"
The former Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City was imploded Wednesday, marking the end of an era on the city’s boardwalk.
Upon its opening in 1984, it was the largest hotel and casino in Atlantic City. During its heyday, the venue hosted concerts, marquee boxing matches and WrestleMania events.
as an aside: how do YOU spell "cancelled"? one L or two? I've always spelled it with 2, but I often see it with one.
From a quick google search:
Technically, both are correct. In American English, canceled is the more common spelling, and cancelled is more common in British English. The same is true with canceling and cancelling. When using these words, consider your customers.
Comments
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
The acquittal of former president Donald Trump from charges of inciting insurrection brought hints of hope for the Republican future. There was Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) following the facts to a conviction vote. There was Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) bluntly opposing the president’s actions. The circle of GOP resistance to Trump’s influence has expanded beyond the conscience of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
But the dominant note of the day was still cowardice. The case presented by the House impeachment managers was so compelling and overwhelming that the extent of Republican cravenness was highlighted in neon. Republicans who knew better tried to hide behind thin technicalities. And most Republican senators did not seem to know better. In the end, we witnessed a historic collapse of moral and political leadership. And it was no less tragic for being expected.
There is a natural process by which political parties renew themselves. Newt Gingrich’s combative, uncompromising Republican revolution in the mid-1990s was a foil for the compassionate conservatism that defined the party in the 2000 presidential election. The rise of tea-party, anti-government populism set the stage for a contrasting reform conservatism, which sought to modernize government in pursuit of populist goals.
This dialectic, however, only really operates in the realm of policy. If Trumpism were merely a set of proposals, there could be an antithesis. But the movement fully revealed by the Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol is united by a belief that the White, Christian America of its imagination is on the verge of destruction, and that it must be preserved by any means necessary. This is less a political philosophy than a warped religious belief. There can be no compromise in a culture war. There can be no splitting of differences at Armageddon.
What has emerged within the Republican Party is a debate on the value of democracy itself. In the traditional American view, the democratic process has an essential nobility. It does not always produce the results we seek, yet, in the long run, it protects the rights we value. But the Trumpian view of democracy is purely instrumental. With the stakes of politics so high — with socialists, multiculturalists and child rapists (as the QAnon fabulists would have it) intent on destroying American society — outcomes are the only things that really matter. Not truth. Not civility. Not electoral procedure. Just the gaining and maintenance of power.
A loss of faith in democratic structures does not lead to anarchy. It leads people to invest their hopes in someone who promises to defend their fragile way of life. In a January 2020 survey published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, more than half of Republicans agreed that “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” More than 40 percent agreed that “a time will come when patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands.” This is as close as political theory comes to a mathematical principle: Tribalism plus desperation equals authoritarian thinking.
From one perspective, it is absurd that so many Americans have invested their hopes for the preservation of civilization in a fool. But Trump has been effective in promoting the tribalism of White grievance, as well as desperation about the fate of America. And, unlike any other president, he was happy to step into an authoritarian role, attempting to maintain power through intimidation and violence.
Can the GOP really have a productive debate between people who believe in democracy and those who have lost patience for it? Between those who view politics as a method to secure rough justice in a fallen world, and those who view it as a holy crusade against scheming infidels? Between those who try to serve conservative political ideals and those who engage (in Sasse’s immortal words) in “the weird worship of one dude”?
The greatest need in our politics is a conservatism that opposes authoritarianism. The greatest question: Can such a movement emerge within the framework of the Republican Party?
As it stands, I am skeptical. There are scattered outposts of Republican sanity in Congress, and more in state governments. But in most of the GOP, the rot as reached the roots. Activists feel the anger that Trump has fed rather the contempt for Trump that he has earned. They feel cheated rather than defeated.
At the same time — though I admire the normality and professionalism of President Biden’s administration — it is hard to imagine a future for market-oriented, pro-life conservatives in Democratic Party. A strong ideological current heads in the other direction.
And it is equally difficult to believe that a third-party challenge to the political duopoly would be anything other than quixotic.
This should leave me both homeless and hopeless. But even an exiled conservatism offers this comfort: Nothing human is permanent. And no good cause is finally lost.
Opinion | Trump’s rot has reached the GOP’s roots - The Washington Post
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
69? Jeez, man, is anyone here that old? Good gawd, no!
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-EV 8/14/93
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
I want to take back the American Flag. Ol' Stars n Stripes, red white and blue.
Why should waving a flag represent one side of the aisle? We are all Americans and have the same right to enjoy it, wave it, wear it even nowadays.
I would implore you to go and buy a flag and display it.
Here is a link to properly display Old Glory.
https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/flagdisplay.pdf
I'm serious about this too. The flag shouldn't represent a political party or a way of life. It should be of democracy and the constitution.
Rant over...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
https://twitter.com/sethcotlar/status/1361757458956357634?s=21
Al Franken wasn't "canceled", he was pressured to resign due to his own stupidity / indiscretions and he caved to that pressure.
& since you brought it up, show me where democrats / liberals bemoaned the "cancel culture" that led to Al Franken being pressured to resign.
To me he was cancelled for doing a joke, he is a comedian after all but it wasn't in vogue anymore. The dems had to have him removed or they would have looked ridiculous when questioning any repubs.
We evolve, I get it.
-EV 8/14/93
-EV 8/14/93
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Like the way they are supposedly "anti-government", many Republicans are "anti-cancel culture" except when they're not.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
They are crying big ole crocodile tears they Morgan Wallen was cancelled for obvious racism while simultaneously cancelling a syrup brand for changing it's obviously racist name to something more neutral...I wonder what the common thread could be???
"GET THAT SON OF A BITCH OFF THE FIELD" = Conservatives go apeshit for the racist president, because fuck your feelings and the 1st Amendment and also, racism.
Gina Carano gets fired because Disney doesn't want to be associated with her anti-Semitic bullshit = "CANCEL CULTURE'S GONE TOO FAR"
The former Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City was imploded Wednesday, marking the end of an era on the city’s boardwalk.
Upon its opening in 1984, it was the largest hotel and casino in Atlantic City. During its heyday, the venue hosted concerts, marquee boxing matches and WrestleMania events.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
-EV 8/14/93
-EV 8/14/93