Discussing politics with people who don't share your views........

[Lesh]

Implying, of course, that any criticism of Obama wasn't met with "You're a racist". The vast majority of leftists are just as bad as the Trump supporter who believes any criticism of Trump makes you a slack-jawed idiot.

Anyone who says "the vast majority of..." is as bad as the people he's complaining about

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Newsflash.
We talk past each other.

There is no discussing anything with Trumpers and really not much chance of a real discussion with Republicans in general.

No matter what evidence is presented to them...the response is always

Hillary!!!....or Obama!!!!...

The only reason I bother is to counter their bullshit for any open minded people out there

Implying, of course, that any criticism of Obama wasn't met with "You're a racist". The vast majority of leftists are just as bad as the Trump supporter who believes any criticism of Trump makes you a slack-jawed idiot.

Well looky there....Pumpkin is now 16 and taking leftists to school

 

[dblack]

... It is only necessary that we agree that we should all be free.

Unfortunately there's no longer consensus on that.

I think the biggest issue is that freedom just isn't understood.

Maybe. But the socialists say the same thing.

 

[Natural Citizen]

I asked for your solutions and that is your response?

Oh well. I wasn't expecting much

Alright.

Solution to what? Pick an issue. Anything. I don't care what.

 

[Lesh]

Solution to what? Pick an issue. Anything. I don't care what.

Immigration

You claim you don't like either side here.

Let's see your solution

 

[bodecea]

Well Mac, you can see it here on these boards everyday. I think that the anonymous nature of message boards makes people less likely to compromise.

The problem with compromising with you is that every compromise that I give you limits my freedom while every compromise you give me expands yours

Good thing our Founders didn't think like you do.

 

[candycorn]

Well Mac, you can see it here on these boards everyday. I think that the anonymous nature of message boards makes people less likely to compromise.

What concerns me is that I'm seeing more and more of this manic behavior in real life. More and more people I talk to and see are walking around, one inch away from completely losing their shit on someone. Screaming, not listening, ever.
.

And you don't even notice the high correlation with them being leftists, do you?

No, not at all. Sometimes when talking with a new client about taxes, they go off on the same shallow, naive talking points I hear on talk radio and see here daily.

Lefties see more volatile and angry, Righties seem more trained and obedient.

Just my observation, of course.
.

Righties here routinely prescribe civil war as a remedy to all our ills. Your observation is inaccurate

Who's the masked marauders showing up at events using violence and which side are they on? Hint it's starts with an A and ends with an A

Amanda?

Who's the guys running around with tiki torches and mowing down others in their car? Trump supporters. Same types of folks who blew up churches in the South, drug black folks behind their trucks in Texas, threaten violence (aka "second amendment solutions"), etc...

 

[candycorn]

Newsflash.
We talk past each other.

There is no discussing anything with Trumpers and really not much chance of a real discussion with Republicans in general.

No matter what evidence is presented to them...the response is always

Hillary!!!....or Obama!!!!...

The only reason I bother is to counter their bullshit for any open minded people out there

Implying, of course, that any criticism of Obama wasn't met with "You're a racist". The vast majority of leftists are just as bad as the Trump supporter who believes any criticism of Trump makes you a slack-jawed idiot.

Any criticism of Turmp makes you correct.

 

[bodecea]

Well looky there....Pumpkin is now 16 and taking leftists to school

If making stupid wing nut comments is your idea of "taking someone to school" you need to go back to school

And ya know...the personal attacks really should stop or they'll be reported

I wasn't talking to you...sit down until you're called upon

I've known Pumpkin since she was a pup. Read her and learn something

You're doing exactly what leftists are known for, deflect, attack and never address the issue.

^ this is the kind of thing that we expect from the right wing on the anonymous internet....attempts at authoritarianism while safely hiding behind a keyboard.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

What concerns me is that I'm seeing more and more of this manic behavior in real life. More and more people I talk to and see are walking around, one inch away from completely losing their shit on someone. Screaming, not listening, ever.
.

And you don't even notice the high correlation with them being leftists, do you?

No, not at all. Sometimes when talking with a new client about taxes, they go off on the same shallow, naive talking points I hear on talk radio and see here daily.

Lefties see more volatile and angry, Righties seem more trained and obedient.

Just my observation, of course.
.

Righties here routinely prescribe civil war as a remedy to all our ills. Your observation is inaccurate

Who's the masked marauders showing up at events using violence and which side are they on? Hint it's starts with an A and ends with an A

Amanda?

Who's the guys running around with tiki torches and mowing down others in their car? Trump supporters. Same types of folks who blew up churches in the South, drug black folks behind their trucks in Texas, threaten violence (aka "second amendment solutions"), etc...

Skipped really right past your fascists I see. I don't blame you

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

Only a couple of years ago a republican Tea Party member could enter a left wing establishment and even engage in political banter without a problem. Today the same encounter might lead to assault or worse. What happened?

You let yourself be led by the nose via the sound bites, propaganda and anecdotal examples of partisanship, that's why. You, just like some leftists, willfully remain ignorant to alternative views. That's why I'm beyond done with extremists. I simply don't have the time nor patience for your shit any longer. Your scenario might as well be on Mars rather than Earth as far as I'm concerned because it's so over the top to my reality that it seems you made it up. In my very rural neck of the woods nothing has changed. There is no such things as 'left/right wing establishments". No one here really cares about the politics of the proprietor, even though I'd wager the politics in my area lean 85% conservative. You might get stomped out if you're acting like a drunken jackass, or hitting on another person's significant other, but that's about it. The internet is not real life.

Why did the democrat equivalent of a republican Tea Party member take a freaking gun and try to murder conservative republican members of congress last year?

For the same reasoning a white supremacist murdered a protestor in cold blood with an automobile in Charlottesville: extremism.

The liberal media isn't curious. Why did a small town small restaurant owner try to assault the Press secretary in the Trump administration when few people would have even recognized the name of Obama's press secretary two years ago? Maybe democrats go freaking mad cow crazy when they lose an election. TDS is the only thing that would explain it.

Well, ^^ that comment to me sounds like your cheap, basic extremist spin, fear and hyperbole to a regular degree. Same shit, different day. You are fortunate to have the anonymity of the Internet for protection. You likely wouldn't say this to someone's face, because you might be instantly called out for it, laughed at for it, or worse. And that's okay too. I love our constitution. I know people talking like you isn't anywhere near the norm. So, keep on trolling, extremist. MAGA!

 

[sealybobo]

You know, there has been a lot of talk (mostly by comedians) about how people like to live in an echo chamber and only talk with others who think like them. Some have said that discussing politics with someone who doesn't agree with you is a way to mend the divide and learn compromise. Face to face negotiation has been proven to lead to compromise and understanding.

Turns out that ain't the case when it comes to the Internet. Seems that if you are discussing politics with a person different than your group can actually be worse than living in a bubble, because people will dig in even harder in their views. I guess the lack of face to face communication is what causes it to happen.

Caught in a political echo chamber? Listening to the opposition can make partisanship even worse

Dwelling in a political echo chamber — where you only encounter people who agree with you — is hardly conducive to a healthy democracy.


But it turns out that broadening your horizons by perusing opposing points of view on social media may just make the partisan divide worse.


That’s the depressing result of an unusual experiment involving 909 Democrats and 751 Republicans who spend a lot of time on Twitter.


“Attempts to introduce people to a broad range of opposing political views on a social media site such as Twitter might be not only ineffective but counterproductive,” researchers reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.




Political polarization is on the rise in America, and the results aren’t pretty, the study authors explained.


“Americans are deeply divided on controversial issues such as inequality, gun control, and immigration,” they wrote. “Partisan divisions not only impede compromise in the design and implementation of social policies but also have far-reaching consequences for the effective function of democracy more broadly.”


The researchers, led by Duke University sociologist Christopher Bail, set out to do something about this problem by harnessing the power of Twitter.


They already knew people become more inclined to compromise on political issues when they spend time with people who hold opposing views. Face-to-face meetings can override negative stereotypes about our adversaries, paving the way for negotiation.

That’s why I come here. I rarely talk to other liberals unless I disagree with them

 

[initforme]

Anyone who thinks politics is that important in the end is frankly unintelligent and not anyone I would consider being friends with. It really in the end doesn't matter one tiny iota except to those who can't figure stuff out. God and family....that's what counts.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Immigration

You claim you don't like either side here.

Let's see your solution

Okay. Firstly, I don't personally dislike anyone here. There is one person I don't like but he's ultimately unimportant, save for how he sees himself.

So. Immigration. I'm going to assume you're talking about illegal immigration? Because we have a perfectly functional immigration program. All one need do is apply and go through the process.

The problem is that people choose not to go through the program we have in place and choose to cross the border arbitrarily and illegally to have children and collect welfare in their names, starting with food stamps. And, of course, those children end up beneficiaries of government healthcare, a government education, Social Security, etc all at the taxpayer's expense.

The solution? End the welfare magnet that draws the illegal immigrants here. Amend the 14th to abolish birthright citizenship. They'll stop coming here illegally to have their children and to collect welfare in their names.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Amazingly you are spouting right wing talking points.

Fine

uns?

Okay, what's your solution?

 

[Pumpkin Row]

Implying, of course, that any criticism of Obama wasn't met with "You're a racist". The vast majority of leftists are just as bad as the Trump supporter who believes any criticism of Trump makes you a slack-jawed idiot.

Anyone who says "the vast majority of..." is as bad as the people he's complaining about

Sounds like you can't deny that it was their response. Good.

It also sounds like you prefer people say "All" instead of vast majority.

 

[candycorn]

Well Mac, you can see it here on these boards everyday. I think that the anonymous nature of message boards makes people less likely to compromise.

Compromise is a very destructive thing in politics. Especially when both political parties are putting out bad legislation that serves only to erode liberties. And compoubnded by the fact that many in the electorate haven't yet been taught the proper role of government. What happens is we get a good dose of all of the bad legislation when there's compromise. And liberties are therefore destroyed in a bipartisan effort.

As far as discussion boards go, especially where there is no defined mission statement, you're gonna get nothing but disagreement. Voting is likely the scope of political action for most Americans, however.

I contend that the most dangerous faction in the American political faction is the extreme center. Reason being is because if they have their way, we'll get nailed by every bit of bad legislation that comes out of DC from both theoretical parties. Again, though, all they really do is vote, so...

That said, I have friends on both political sides. I learn things from from all of them in some way. In fact, I agree with them a great deal in terms of the problems wit hwhich we're faced in America today.

It's their solutions where I tend to separate from them.

I think you're dead wrong.

I am a liberal. Voted for Obama twice, Hillary once. Etc... I voted for them based on a myriad of things; they support a social safety net as the cornerstone of our society, want to preserve social security, pro-choice, they are pro-union....any number of issues.

That being said,

I'm for nuclear energy. We've had nuke reactors on Navy ships for 40+ years, few issues. We can duplicate that on land.
I'm for voter IDs. We have an opportunity to make the electoral process more sterile. Not taking it is dumb.
I'm for the border wall as a way to keep WMD payloads out of the country. It won't stop illegal immigration; saying it will is stupid.
I'm for closing as many foreign embassies and consulates as possible. We don't need embassies in both Budapest and Vienna for example; 3 hour car trip between the two.

I could point out a host of other conservative initiatives I am behind. Everything from re-empowering vocational education in our schools to supporting the electoral college to getting rid of federal funding for the Corp. for public broadcasting. One of my favorite was Mitt Romney's idea to have congressional action for any EPA ruling that would seriously impact the workforce or economy of an area.

I don't think I'm that unusual frankly. All of us are shades of purple. Some are far more red or blue than directly purple but with most of us, you can always go more left or further right.

I think that the two parties however often are "for" or "against" something because they (on the macro level) assume the opposite position on an issue because they can fund raise on it and get votes as a result. Here is an example. I haven't followed your posts enough to know where you stand on the spectrum so I'm not asking "you" directly but I am asking anyone who cares to comment; do you honestly believe Donald Trump who has likely never fired a gun in his life cares about your rights to have an Uzi or MP10? I imagine he does innately support the concept of self defense but I would think that if the GOP and his supporters were of the opinion that an Uzi or MP10 were "over the top", he would mirror where they are; not be the leader of the movement. So you get bad legislation based on what they think will salve their constituents; not what would be the winning solution. The Castle Doctrine in Florida is a good example. Gun nuts wanted it. Gun nuts got it. And now you flick off your safety before you say good morning to someone at Disney World.

Anyway, the Center is where the best legislation comes from. If everybody is somewhat unhappy, that is good government. Government isn't (or shouldn't be anyway) a solution to all of our problems. It's supposed to open the door for you, not give you a conveyor belt to stand on as you go through it. When something is proposed, the center isn't where it starts. It starts on the wings and becomes less toxic as you have more people consider it.

 

[candycorn]

And you don't even notice the high correlation with them being leftists, do you?

No, not at all. Sometimes when talking with a new client about taxes, they go off on the same shallow, naive talking points I hear on talk radio and see here daily.

Lefties see more volatile and angry, Righties seem more trained and obedient.

Just my observation, of course.
.

Righties here routinely prescribe civil war as a remedy to all our ills. Your observation is inaccurate

Who's the masked marauders showing up at events using violence and which side are they on? Hint it's starts with an A and ends with an A

Amanda?

Who's the guys running around with tiki torches and mowing down others in their car? Trump supporters. Same types of folks who blew up churches in the South, drug black folks behind their trucks in Texas, threaten violence (aka "second amendment solutions"), etc...

Skipped really right past your fascists I see. I don't blame you

Your fascists are much more humorous. And they actually do exist too.

 

[Pumpkin Row]

Immigration

You claim you don't like either side here.

Let's see your solution

Okay. Firstly, I don't personally dislike anyone here. There is one person I don't like but he's ultimately unimportant, save for how he sees himself.

So. Immigration. I'm going to assume you're talking about illegal immigration? Because we have a perfectly functional immigration program. All one need do is apply and go through the process.

The problem is that people choose not to go through the program we have in place and choose to cross the border arbitrarily and illegally to have children and collect welfare in their names.

The solution? End the welfare magnet that draws the illegal immigrants here. Amend the 14th to abolish birthright citizenship. They'll stop coming here illegally to have their children and to collect welfare in their names.

Amazingly you are spouting right wing talking points.

Fine

uns?

They're not "right wing talking points", if you want open boarders, we can't have social programs. If you want social programs, we can't have open boarders.

Of course, Social Programs inherently don't work, but in tangent with open boarders they're even more unsustainable.

That said, which part(s) did you disagree with, and why?

 

[sartre play]

Those that have political views closer to my own tend to be the ones I talk to,
some time I step over the line of polite discourse when hearing something that seems crazy to me.
Don't much like the over the top behavior, personal attacks by both sides.
wish there was more sharing of information from people who work or have education in most any field
Like to learn new stuff.
get tired of petty insults slung back & forth devoid of any information.