Community Thread LXI: The President We Deserve

[Slava]

Its not that he is going to drive the country off a cliff, the senate and congress in general have enough failsafes in place to prevent that. The issue is when a person can revel in his misogyny, racism and ignorance publicly and get elected for the highest office in the nation, the issues of discrimination based on sexual orientation, sex, race, religion etc will become acceptable norm.

We've made far too many strides to achieve secularism, racial equality and have been working towards abolishing gender pay gap, achieving marriage rights for same sex couples, parental leave, environmental regulations etc which will all suffer a giant set back with this result.

From the look of things, its not like there are going to be many benefits of electing an outsider either, his first selection for chairman of treasury seems like an ex-Goldman Sachs guy and the EPA pick is a climate change skeptic. So much for getting rid of Wall Street influence in Washington or leading the world on climate preservation.

I mean they are going to spend the first six months reveling in taking apart the healthcare law which provided a chance for people with some severe pre-existing conditions to get covered.

[Wavy Q]

One encouraging thing is that Trump seems to want to fully resolve all issues with Russia peacefully, Hillary seemed content with blaming everything that happens on Russia.

[Slava]

I'm also not entirely surprised by this either. People are extremely resistant to change even if change is inevitable. There are people who are scared by the changing demographics, rapid advancements in technology rendering most existing skills useless and pushing people to work harder just to stay on the ladder, which they were not accustomed to. They want "things to go back to what they used to be" but "what they used to be" is just misplaced nostalgia.

My dad thought there was going to be a progressive way forward when he was young and the civil rights act was passed too but what followed were years of Reaganomics in America and Maggie Thatcher in Britain. Nations almost always take a sudden skid to the alt right before they progress forward consistently.

[tugs]

There's this eerie similarities with what's going on with US politics and the Philippines. We're both in a, "**** this, let's see what happens in a couple of months before reacting." mode, though in our case, it's not all looking sunny. For one, one of the most hated figure in Philippine history will be buried in the "Heroes' Cemetery".

I wish both countries all the best.

PS. Phano you SOB. I didn't know you were a biochem guy. I'm **** struggling with my organic chemistry subject and finishing my MS degree soon is just becoming a distant dream.

[Danny Darko]

#calexit

[Kilroy]

#calexit + #legalizit = #maybetomorrow

[TyCobb]

#dontletthedoorhitya

[hermes]

Its not that he is going to drive the country off a cliff, the senate and congress in general have enough failsafes in place to prevent that. The issue is when a person can revel in his misogyny, racism and ignorance publicly and get elected for the highest office in the nation, the issues of discrimination based on sexual orientation, sex, race, religion etc will become acceptable norm.

We've made far too many strides to achieve secularism, racial equality and have been working towards abolishing gender pay gap, achieving marriage rights for same sex couples, parental leave, environmental regulations etc which will all suffer a giant set back with this result.

From the look of things, its not like there are going to be many benefits of electing an outsider either, his first selection for chairman of treasury seems like an ex-Goldman Sachs guy and the EPA pick is a climate change skeptic. So much for getting rid of Wall Street influence in Washington or leading the world on climate preservation.

I mean they are going to spend the first six months reveling in taking apart the healthcare law which provided a chance for people with some severe pre-existing conditions to get covered.

we have made a lot of strides but i think this a good eye-opening experience to show that for all the strides we've made, there is still a ways to go, and maybe we didn't get as far as some people thought

the good news is that now we know

[hermes]

I'm also not entirely surprised by this either. People are extremely resistant to change even if change is inevitable. There are people who are scared by the changing demographics, rapid advancements in technology rendering most existing skills useless and pushing people to work harder just to stay on the ladder, which they were not accustomed to. They want "things to go back to what they used to be" but "what they used to be" is just misplaced nostalgia.

My dad thought there was going to be a progressive way forward when he was young and the civil rights act was passed too but what followed were years of Reaganomics in America and Maggie Thatcher in Britain. Nations almost always take a sudden skid to the alt right before they progress forward consistently.

its cyclical, you can't go one direction forever. its always going to swing back the other way for a while

[Gek]

The decision to move to Denmark seems to be getting better and better with hindsight. Only drawback is having to watch Lakers games on tape delay.

Serious question - I've heard racism in the nordic area is bad as many areas are predominantly nordic (white). how is denmark in this regard?

[Danny Darko]

day 1 of Trump sees a rash of hate crimes

[Gek]

day 1 of Trump sees a rash of hate crimes

while i agree there are very likely some issues, i know plenty of crazy people that'd make posts to social media just for the attention. i'd stick to news stories over twitter moments (outside some of the videos/photos of course).

[Gek]

assuming trump has plans he just hasn't shared (big assumption), if he had stuck to foreign policy as his sticking point and not dragged social issues in america into this campaign, he wouldn't be as hated as he is and could still have performed just as well. "bomb isis, legalize weed, tight border control on illegal immigration" is a solid platform for election in america I think.*


*not necessarily reflective of my own political views.

[Gek]

for the record i voted straight ticket for the first time in my life this year and i didn't vote for trump. i'd like to think the fact that NC governor pat mccrory lost is a good sign for the true beliefs of most of trump voters, but who the **** actually knows.

[Slava]

The decision to move to Denmark seems to be getting better and better with hindsight. Only drawback is having to watch Lakers games on tape delay.

Serious question - I've heard racism in the nordic area is bad as many areas are predominantly nordic (white). how is denmark in this regard?

Personally, I've never had an issue. People in general are far more congenial and explain their view patiently even when they disagree with you over something.

[danfantastk32]

As someone who votes all over the map...I just watch this all with fascination, and a bit of fear. Both the left and the right are a bunch of self-righteous little brats. Trump is brat. A self-important piggy little brat. Hillary is a selfish, self-serving brat. Loses 6 billion dollars of our tax money, and then tells me to mind my own business.

For all the lefties wringing their hands like it's the end of the world......more people voted for your equally crap candidate! You just don't get to muck up the country for the next 4 years. Boo-hoo. You'll get your chance again. The two of you are equally insane. Your equally bigoted, and intolerant of any possible other idea.

I wish you BOTH would leave the country. Getting scolded from the right for not caring what two men do in their own life...only to turn around and get scolded for thinking Santa Clause is fun.....you both can f** off! You both act like this country was made to serve what only YOU want.

I'd be just as scared if a few votes had gone the other way. Send the right to the moon....and the left can go with Cher to Jupiter. You both suck! GASP at that prospect, eh.

[hermes]

who says santa clause isn't fun?

[Sofa King]

who says santa clause isn't fun?

The elves who work under him. #elfslavery

[SlimShady83]

Who is going to be in the next voting and can a Obama and others go for it again?

I'm an Aussie so don't know how it all works.

But I remember Kunye west < spelling was going to run for president? like who's next after this clown of a guy? Just curious

[EArl]