Presidential election, 2016

[Bob Butler 54]

(11-12-2016, 12:38 AM)Classic-Xer Wrote: I don't expect Playdude or Eric to speak up anytime soon.

Here once again, I disagree.  I don’t expect Playwright or Eric to remain quiet any time soon.  

(11-12-2016, 12:38 AM)Classic-Xer Wrote: I suggest that you address/remove all the bigotry that currently on your side before you start trying to address/remove it from the other side. I tend respond to them negatively. I tend to use terms like clueless or idiot or twit to describe their low level of knowledge pertaining to the people that they're putting down. I know a lot of liberals.The smart ones keep their negative opinions to themselves because they know they're not the only ones in the world. I've listened to a lot of liberals on TV.  I've read a lot stuff written by liberals here and else where and the majority of those liberals are bigots or employees of bigots. I would like to know what cream puff worlds that you guys come from and live in? Are you lower order lib's wealthy enough to afford the amount of protection and armed security the uppity liberals can afford? My careless minded liberal neighbor found out that she's touchable? OK. We've been watching a bunch of bigots parading around, beating up people and destroying stuff for a few days. Now, you want to talk about the term "deplorable" and who's group that it more directly applies, watch the news you'll see them and you may begin to understand why your butts were kicked in this election.

Your paragraph above and other similar partisan rants don’t touch me.  I perceive such rants as strikes of the swing and a miss variety.  I don’t hate white folk.  I see racist and sexist behavior as grossly undesirable, and would focus my feelings on those individuals who engage in such behavior.  I don’t see all Republicans as stupid, but to me it is clear that borrow and spend trickle down leads to economic collapse.  I’d like to talk about economic issues rather than insult large groups of people with a broad brush.  In short, I don’t see your vile stereotypes as having any relationship with myself or my predominantly liberal Massachusetts neighbors.

What sort of cream puff world do I live in?  When I was in the seventh grade, slot cars were a big rage.  (Before radio control was affordable, toy cars had to follow fixed tracks.)  There was a slot car arcade in downtown Rockland where one could race on larger tracks than would ever fit in a home, racing against any number of opponents.  I didn’t keep a careful enough eye on my car, and another kid lifted it, slipped it into his pocket.  My GI father was outraged enough with this crime that he insisted on a police investigation.  He was humored.  The investigation, of course, went nowhere.

That was my first, latest and last encounter with crime and the law.  That’s the sort of cream puff world this liberal lives in.  While I know that crime exists, and that I have been more lucky than totally safe, I’m not a fearful besieged potential victim who feels he needs an alarm system, a dog and a gun.

Reading Hillbilly Eulogy, I understand that red culture is very very different.  Things in other parts of the country, I understand, can be quite deplorable.  Entirely different value sets are inevitable in good part because entirely different value sets can be flawed and create their own problems.  I can quite understand your anger in abstract, but not having lived in the red rural culture the understanding is quite abstract and incomplete.

What is difficult to comprehend is how red folk manage to blame blue folk for what the red folk are doing to each other.  Hillbilly Eulogy does a decent job of starting to explore this.  There is an element of blaming everyone but one’s self for one’s problems, and the culture is deep.

Still, not all Republicans are caught up in the Hillbilly culture.  Hillbilly culture is part of the problem, but not the entire problem by any means.

Now, if you are expecting me to change Playwright and Eric, you are vastly over estimating my super powers.  They are way beyond my pay grade.  If you recall, I do try from time to time.  My efforts rolled off them much like water off a duck, much like my efforts with you.  Extreme partisans whose world views are centered on vile stereotypes, who’s arguments feature vile stereotypes, are problematic.  Conversation is nigh on useless.

I do see a plausible spiral of violence.  Minorities are afraid of Trump’s rhetoric during the election.  Bigots are emboldened by Trump’s rhetoric during the election.  While Trump hasn’t been fanning the flames since he was elected, neither is he throwing water on them.  It is too soon to say how far the spiral might go, but I’m nervous enough to keep watch and insert state of the spiral posts here as appropriate.  

I am also looking into various and numerous ‘Why Trump Won” and “Why Clinton Lost” articles that go deeper than repeating vile stereotypes.  Are you interested in talking about them, or are you focused entirely on your own hatred?