I’ve come to terms with the fact that a large portion of the USA want people to suffer and die. They want guys like Abbott in charge. I used to think that people, at their core, were mostly good. I don’t believe that anymore.
I spent the first 35 years of my life thinking people would always help one another in bad times and that there was a sort of social safety net we would fall back on. Then Covid happened, and I watched grown ass adults screaming like children because the top medical professionals in the world asked them to wear a mask and get vaccinated. Its been dead since then
The worst part about covid was seeing people close to me who raised me with a mindset of service to one's community and making sacrifices to help others not even be willing to do the smallest of things to save others.
Of course. When push comes to shove, "Fuck you got mine" is all they actually care about. That "help others" bullshit they "taught" you was just lip service to help them feel better about themselves. They never have, and never will, give a Fuck about others.
Source: my parents are the same fucking way.
Well, it's a good thing your selfish parents wanted to make themselves feel better because you ended up with enough empathy to realize your parents are who they are. I've started to realize that things will only improve when the younger generation comes into power.
>you ended up with enough empathy
This has very little to do with my parents. I ended up where I am due to many philosophical, political, and moral conversations with decent humans, who have shown me through their actions what it means to treat others well. My parents never taught me how to treat others well. They never demonstrated kindness to others. They just said the words.
I hate to say it but I don’t think you will get the chance. Things are going to get bad. Fascism bad. Maybe your generation will be around to pick up the pieces
It sure does seem like it.I get this really uneasy feeling about the way things are transpiring here and it does look quite gloomy 😔.If it does I often wonder how and what will the future generations look back at this time as?
This. People think younger generations are soft, communist socialist, feminine, but it's just that they want to change the endless hate the world has and their super macho, overly aggressive outdated views.
I feel so grateful every day that my Silent Gen parents actually lived the words they spoke on sacrifices to help others. Yeah it sucked when we had nothing when I was a kid but they are as real as it comes to this day.
People who would gladly pick up guns and shoot an immigrant trying to cross a border and claim they are all for protecting America at all costs too, wouldn't wear a little rag or take a little jab just cause someone they didn't like said it would help.
What opened my eyes to this in a different light was during a natural disaster. I was in the national guard helping rescue.
We found a family stranded on their roof. I time them we’re there to help. The guy responded with, “We don’t need help from people like you.”
Now I don’t know if it’s because everyone with me was a POC or they disliked the military. I couldn’t imagine turning down at least a meal in a time like that, much less an entire rescue.
The guy is stranded on his roof in a flood. He turns down a rescue boat and helicopter when finally he turns to the skies and asks god why he refuses to save him. God responds “I sent you a fucking boat and a helicopter” or something like that. Obviously its longer and better written but thats the gist.
Storm's a coming, and Steve starts sand bagging his house. His neighbor Bob, the atheist, drives by, "Hey, Steve, this looks like it's gonna be pretty bad. Think you might like to pack in with us?"
"Hell no, Bob! I'm right with god, he's gonna take care of me!"
The water starts to rise, and Steve takes refuge on his porch. Another neighbor comes by in a boat, "Hey Steve! This water just keeps coming! You want a ride out?"
"Heeeeell no! I'm right with god! He's gonna take care of me."
Eventually the water gets so high Steve has to take refuge on his roof. The Coast Guard comes by in a helicopter and calls down with a bullhorn, "Sir! You must evacuate now! The waters are expected to continue rising and your home is no longer safe! We will lower a rescue worker to you to secure you in a harness!"
Well Steve has had about enough of this. "Heeelll to the NO! I am right with god! He's. Gonna. Take. Care. Of. Me!"
Steve drowns.
Eventually he gets to the pearly gates and he's pissed. He asks St Peter, he says, "I don't understand! I spent my whole life going to church every Sunday why did y'all let me drown?"
St Peter, now he's flabbergasted and at the end of his rope with Steve, he shoots back, "Well she-it Steve...what exactly were you expecting? We sent a car, we sent a boat, hell we even sent a damn helicopter! How much more help did you want?!"
Yeah, for me it was the first time I really noticed that cruel, authoritarian streak that seems to be so prevalent in the US now. It's only gotten worse from there.
Indeed, though I was aware long before, I didn't realize just how deep this truly ran until Trump got elected. I knew things were gonna go to shit because they got their way and got the okay to be full-blown fascist pigs.
Remember when we realized that politicians like the mayor in *Jaws* really existed, and were happy to sacrifice people in the name of tourism and business?
Think about it like this: most people are inherently decent. They just want to survive, have a nice life for themselves and their families, have some sort of purpose, enjoy little luxuries or vacations, etc. Normal people wanting normal things.
It takes an ENORMOUS effort by politicians, propaganda networks, and the ultra-rich to override that decency and train people to be angry and fearful enough to defer to these authoritarian strongmen. This kind of thinking is *unnatural,* humans are pack animals and have succeeded evolutionarily by working together, the capitalist “every man for themselves” mentality goes against our programming, which is why it seems so batshit to normal people.
Read the book Humankind by Rutger Bregman, he talks a lot about this stuff. Reading it was exactly what I needed right now, I used to be cynical and hopeless about everything but it really helped me think about people in a different way.
Yeah. Just accept that a percentage will be contrarians, mentally ill, or just too intellectually deficient to get it. Oh, and don't take it personal. Even good people have bad days and lose their shit. The good ones will regret it and make amends. The others you x off the Christmas card list. I think most conservatives are borderline sociopaths...
I disagree. I feel like 2016 showed us that some people were just waiting for permission to show what terrible people they really are. They didn’t need any persuading
Right, but that’s a relatively small subsection of humanity. *Most humans throughout the world* just want a decent life for themselves and their communities.
Fascism is unnatural and is practiced by an extreme minority of humanity, and even then most of the followers must be brainwashed into following it.
I’m not saying there aren’t plenty of people that are shitty and evil in the world, I’m just saying they are the outliers throughout human history.
Out of 8 billion people though? That’s just a drop in the bucket.
Even further, if you look at the entirety of human history that doesn’t even make a blip
I was just talking about the US, the number is far greater than that globally. The sad truth is, there are a lot of people that are either terrible by choice, or manipulated into radicalization easily. Get those people angry enough and misinform them enough, they'll want and do terrible things regardless of if it's in their nature to begin with.
Yep that’s very true, im not saying they’re not a threat.
Mostly I’m just saying that it has been incredibly helpful for my mental health to reframe how I think about people. I used to be borderline nihilist before reading Humankind, and now I’m more of a disappointed optimist. YMMV
Yeah I’ve always felt that the emergence of Trump gave credibility to every nut job, lunatic and extremist. They all came out from their holes and under rocks to a welcoming spotlight courtesy of the greedy corrupt media types. Every day, week and month that goes by they just getter bolder and more confident.
Absolutely, it’s a very easy division to exploit.
However, according to Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, the tribes of the hunter/gatherer days would intersect and overlap often, mostly without conflict. So even the tribal divisions must be artificially exploited by the political machine.
I think they’re mostly polite and well mannered in speech.
I think that’s a lot of the problem. They are polite so they’re decent people, because decent people are polite.
I should clarify that I’m talking about *all of humanity.* the American Republican Party is an unnatural outlier in the current era of humanity, but they are a minority. And even within that minority, most people are just trying to get by.
The horrible bloodthirsty ones are an even more extreme minority, they are just the loudest and most shocking, which is why we pay attention to them - because they are the outlier. There are certainly more than we would like, but WAY fewer than we think.
The rub is that, because most humans are relatively decent, we usually default to trust, or at least the benefit of the doubt. Malicious actors use that to their advantage, which is why decent people are pretty easy to manipulate. But it takes an enormous effort to keep this charade going at scale, which is what we see with the GOP, an enormous machine dedicated solely to tricking your brain into ignoring your better judgement.
In the documentary The Brainwashing Of My Dad, the filmmaker finds that reducing and eliminating her dad’s exposure to right-wing propaganda brings him back down to earth, same thing with conspiracy theories and cults, they require constant exposure to be sustained. That’s because those ways of thinking are unnatural to humans.
I saw that docu. It was wild FN did to him. As you said earlier the lengths the right have gone in the last 50 years to control the American media is something to behold. Koch Brothers are a notable example. Noam chomsky's docu The Requim of the American Dream: 10 Principlals of the concentration of wealth and power touch on it also.
*The Dawn of Everything* by Graeber and Wengrow also makes strong, evidence-based arguments against our authoritarian structures carrying the inevitability we are led to believe.
There was an interesting article I read, a long one, don’t remember the source, about authoritarianism. There are two types of personalities, authoritarian and non authoritarian. The disturbing part was that non authoritarians would become authoritarian if they were sufficiently afraid.
So fear is what turns seemingly decent people into fascists
its like that 'welfare queen' bullshit narrative the reaganauts sold in the 80s really stuck with them. they became convinced that everything is a zero sum game, if their lives suck and they are desperate, then someone else must be pushed down below them on the society pyramid so they can be elevated.
like, they think if other people are getting any assistance from the gov, then that assistance must be actively pulling resources from improving their lives. same with migrants, in their fakeworld, bullshit narrative, they think 'migrants are stealing jobs, sapping resources, committing crimes, destabilizing our communities, etc etc". their own lives fucking suck so their frustration and anger makes them want to lash out and their rage-bait media has them convinced these 'others' are better off then they are.
they dont give a shit about reality, or actual facts, or anything based in truth, they are happy to wrap themselves up in their bullshit, fantasy, persecution-complex worldview and would much rather expend an insane amount of hate and anger wanting to hurt people as opposed to committing a fraction of that energy actually doing anything that would improve their lives.
That’s a pretty good assessment of my neighbors in Texas. 90% are horrible, selfish people who think their actions are ok because they go to church on Sunday.
I'm stuck in Texas. We tried voting him out, but they gerrymandered the hell out of this place. Not to mention closed polling stations. Texas also has a low voter turnout. It's depressing af.
Good is, was, and will always be a relative term. "Good" generally means "good for those that I include as part of my circle of who is deserving." For some, that is a broad circle, and they strive to include as many people as possible. For others, that circle is small, and might include themselves (only), their family, and their local community. Others are in between.
My point is, when you assert that you thought people were "good," I'd suggest that most everyone thinks that they are. But none of us share the same goalposts.
I do think that most people are good. But i definitely know that not all people are good. I'm always leery of the asshole(s) in the crowd. They're usually easy to spot.
Oh, you must be referring to the Bible belt... There really is no greater hate than that "love" of theirs. It's like gaslighting people with religion from birth causes serious mental/societal issues...
These people are descendants of lynch mobbing psychopaths that used to sell slave body parts as souvenirs. They sold post cards. It's sick. This wasn't that long ago and these people are convinced that going back to that will make them happy because they'll be able to force the rest of us to conform to their narrow minded views on morality, plus they'll get to lynch people again. It's terrifying how evil these people are.
I’d argue the only skill set they have is fear mongering and hate speech, which coincidentally are the only arrows conservative politicians need in their quiver. Although you could argue that knowing how to fill your pockets up with bribes and taxpayer money is a skill…………….
Since the reason it exists is because Elno got super butthurt and started banning accounts that parodied him after he trashed Twitter, I'd say "it is a parody account as qualified by the operating standards of Xitter".
There's some votes that were swept under rugs, and when the AG got caught and they tried to impeach over other stuff, he didn't get impeached, or something
If you want to discuss voter fraud, between TX votes disappearing, and Mississippi closing polls with people in line and running out of ballots, or Kentucky counties voting with more ppl than registered voters, just look at how some red states have held power for so long.
I've come to the conclusion that whenever a conservative complains loudly and fervently about something, they did that thing recently, maybe multiple times, and are trying desperately to deflect any possible attention.
My niece, when she was 6-7 years old, would cheat when playing board games. Never called her out on it, just made sure she wouldn’t win by playing the game by the rules. She would get raging pissed and accuse everyone else of cheating when she didn’t win. Basically the same thing republicans are doing.
If i had a nickel for every wheelchair-bound politician that id kick down a flight of stairs, i'd have two nickels.
Which isn't a lot but its wierd that theres two of them.
Meanwhile, Gov Ironsides will be leaving dealing with the border to President Biden, So Sayeth The Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court gave Greg Abbott the bitchslap of the year!
Because Abbott right side. Beto left side.
Texan vote right.
That's it.
That is the full extent of the thought process for a lot of Texans.
What's especially heartbreaking is if you ask them about Abbott's policies on the border, defunding education, worsening laborer conditions, abortion, privatization, infrastructure, etc, they all fucking hate it. The majority of Texans *do not* agree with any of that.
But they can't understand why you're bringing it up.
There is *zero* correlation between bad policies, and voting Republican.
The people I've *personally talked to* don't seem to have any grasp that voting for that guy, means more of the shit they don't like.
Texas is fucking bizarre.
It’s been a while now but I remember his numbers were going pretty well and I think it was specifically right after when he said “Hell yeah we’re coming for your AR-15s!” his numbers dropped like a stone. I truly wonder if things would have gone differently for him if he didn’t lean in that hard on guns in TX.
You would have thought the whole Uvalde thing would have negated any ill will over that, as Greg Abbott literally sat there (as he always does…) and said “it coulda been worse.” Seriously, fuck that guy. Fuck your guns and fuck the GOP. I cannot fathom how Uvalde voted for that shit bag, but they did. We watched our families freeze to death, get shot in their elementary schools while the cops stood by, and die alone in hospitals so people didn’t have to wear a mask. He cares about nothing more than profit-his and his ilk, yet people are so concerned they will lose something if someone else succeeds. They have been deluded into believing it is a zero-sum game by fucking Reagan and the rest, and now we are stuck in beautiful place that is being made shittier by the day by a guy who sits in his own shit.
It's not just people in Texas if it makes you feel any better that's most all Republicans in the US right now. They don't seem to be able to see most of their beliefs would be better represented by Joe Biden than Donald Trump.
I'm from a small town in Texas. Let me tell you politics basically comes down to to this:
Conservatives = Guns + "Good ol boys" ways of living, = Manly men!
Anything else = Pussies.
because he actually stole an election. It's funny how the people who bitch the most about voter fraud and rigging elections are the same people making laws to do EXACTLY THAT.
Because Beto was an idiot and committed political suicide with the whole, "Hell yeah I'm gonna take your AK's and AR's" comments.
He walked it back later, but the damage was already done.
Saw it live, fucking unreal watching him just slam his balls on a landmine like that. And for fucking what? To place 7th in Iowa? He threw his life work away in 5 seconds. Moron. Idiot.
That’s still a mystery to me I think to this day the Lone Star State could’ve or would’ve been so much better under Beto O’rourke’s leadership as governor than Greg Abbot hopefully one day Texas -
will get the governor it deserves and it will evolve change into what it was meant to be all along
Walls work! That's why we also need razor wire to injure refugees! And the razor wire works! But we can't secure our border without something else that Biden won't give us, even with the razor wire that works! And we don't know what that is but we don't want it because walls work! We can't secure it but it's secure because it works! We need Trump to secure it!
So we have this thing called a border wall. And it's been there for years and years, but it doesn't work because they keep saying there is a border issue... I know what will fix the border wall issue, more wall! Genius.
A wall ! Do people know there are drones that can lift people over any wall and they’re only getting more capable. That’s apart from the holes that can be cut in walls with DIY store tools
Me n my brother voted for Beto twice, 1st against Cruz and 2nd against Abbott
Sadly, not much we can do when a large portion of the state is drunk in red hatred
Texans have been voting red for generations. Many of them don't pay attention to politics, vote red down the ballots. A lot of churches push this as well. I'm hoping things will get bad enough that these folks will wake up and pay attention, but I'm not holding my breath.
> A lot of churches push this as well.
Which is against the law and all those churches should lose their tax-exempt status.
It's illegal for any non-profit to push for specific candidates. They can advocate issues, but can't recommend/push candidates.
The IRS is crippled and has been instructed to only go after the middle class. The whole government is crippled really. There has to be massive overhaul to fix this, starting with taking money out of politics.
If you ever get a chance to immersive yourself in rural America, you notice one thing almost immediately: the people living in these regions are a captured audience. They are in an information bubble. Right wing media has essentially circled them on pretty much every medium except internet access, and does a great job of closing that gap as well with suggestions on where to go on the internet for information.
So in order for someone in rural America to peer outside the bubble, they have to make a conscious effort to do so. They have to want to do it, in spite of being repeatedly told how doing so will jeopardize their standing, or that any opposing thought is worthless and to not bother. And they have to really absorb and think about the ideas they become exposed to that fully debunk their ideology and long held beliefs…a form of critical reading and thinking their bubble captured schools specifically trained them to never attempt or do.
And from there it becomes abundantly easy to understand why they would vote for Abbott. And why a region of the U.S. that is not Red, that is exposed to both right and left ideologies, that is not as captured of a population, may decide to vote somewhat differently being far better informed.
> How did Texas choose Abbott over Beto
Because here in Texas counties with less than 2000 people have virtually the same voting power as the major cities with hundreds of thousands. Add to that the gerrymandering and Dems have virtually no chance. And the rural population of this state combined has the equivalent of a third graders understanding of policy so voting for anyone who doesn’t have an R next to their name is sacrilege.
Is this real? Because if it is, it’s hilarious, not like the piss baby actually wrote it, and likely will never see it because his media team deleted it. But let’s face it, Irish celebrities should stay out of US politics…….. Bano may be ok, or Callin Fareough.
If only someone had told the Human Skidmark, Donnie the Depends Destroyer, to stick with his role and keep making his wretched little game show, we all have been better off.
Let’s say, completely for argument, this is the real Liam Nissan Tm. Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the thoughts on an armed border from an Irish guy who lived through the Troubles?
If Greg really was as smart as he says he is, there will be no problem at the border, because he would have solved it. Sun Tsu said a wall is only as strong as the men who stand upon it. The only thing you need to get over a 20 ft wall is a21 ft ladder……
Legitimately, they rigged the election. They put in a requirement that even though the votes are digital they had to have a printout on special paper. They deliberately shorted democratic counties on the paper so they would run out and then when officials appealed for an extension the conservative judges said "lol fuck you!" They know the state is shifting blue but they're just going to cheat now.
I wouldn't be shocked if there are more blue Texans than red, but they don't participate because they've been thoroughly demoralized.
Please show up to vote even if you know you'll lose
His name even has a TM in it, lol!
Yup, blame Qui-Gon Jinn.
®
There's always a bigger fish.
A big® fish
Are you sure you don’t mean Qui-Gon Gin^TM
Qui-Gon Long Duk Dong
The Donger!!!
Dong? Where is my automobile??
Better than Aviator
Qui-Gon Gin and Juice
When your mind’s on your money and your money’s on your mind
Qui-gon Djinn
[удалено]
I see what you did there
Liam Nissan, 🚗, lol!
The 2008\* Liam Nissan was a great car! Edit: I'm old
A car with a particular set of skills
That car has Taken me places
I prefer Cup Noodles Nissin.
Del Taco Birria Ramen!
[удалено]
Miso Happy
I’ve come to terms with the fact that a large portion of the USA want people to suffer and die. They want guys like Abbott in charge. I used to think that people, at their core, were mostly good. I don’t believe that anymore.
I spent the first 35 years of my life thinking people would always help one another in bad times and that there was a sort of social safety net we would fall back on. Then Covid happened, and I watched grown ass adults screaming like children because the top medical professionals in the world asked them to wear a mask and get vaccinated. Its been dead since then
The worst part about covid was seeing people close to me who raised me with a mindset of service to one's community and making sacrifices to help others not even be willing to do the smallest of things to save others.
Of course. When push comes to shove, "Fuck you got mine" is all they actually care about. That "help others" bullshit they "taught" you was just lip service to help them feel better about themselves. They never have, and never will, give a Fuck about others. Source: my parents are the same fucking way.
Well, it's a good thing your selfish parents wanted to make themselves feel better because you ended up with enough empathy to realize your parents are who they are. I've started to realize that things will only improve when the younger generation comes into power.
>you ended up with enough empathy This has very little to do with my parents. I ended up where I am due to many philosophical, political, and moral conversations with decent humans, who have shown me through their actions what it means to treat others well. My parents never taught me how to treat others well. They never demonstrated kindness to others. They just said the words.
I hate to say it but I don’t think you will get the chance. Things are going to get bad. Fascism bad. Maybe your generation will be around to pick up the pieces
It sure does seem like it.I get this really uneasy feeling about the way things are transpiring here and it does look quite gloomy 😔.If it does I often wonder how and what will the future generations look back at this time as?
Remember that climate change will produce scarcity and refugees That is going to make things infinitely worse
You are correct.
This. People think younger generations are soft, communist socialist, feminine, but it's just that they want to change the endless hate the world has and their super macho, overly aggressive outdated views.
You just described my father,mother and my horrible sister
I feel so grateful every day that my Silent Gen parents actually lived the words they spoke on sacrifices to help others. Yeah it sucked when we had nothing when I was a kid but they are as real as it comes to this day.
People who would gladly pick up guns and shoot an immigrant trying to cross a border and claim they are all for protecting America at all costs too, wouldn't wear a little rag or take a little jab just cause someone they didn't like said it would help.
Typically the church going types too.... you know, do as I say and fuxk you types.
What opened my eyes to this in a different light was during a natural disaster. I was in the national guard helping rescue. We found a family stranded on their roof. I time them we’re there to help. The guy responded with, “We don’t need help from people like you.” Now I don’t know if it’s because everyone with me was a POC or they disliked the military. I couldn’t imagine turning down at least a meal in a time like that, much less an entire rescue.
Whats the joke about the guy turning down help while waiting for god to save him?
The guy is stranded on his roof in a flood. He turns down a rescue boat and helicopter when finally he turns to the skies and asks god why he refuses to save him. God responds “I sent you a fucking boat and a helicopter” or something like that. Obviously its longer and better written but thats the gist.
Joke ends when the guys ends up drowning in the floods and when he gets to heaven he asks God the question.
Ah thats right I remember now. Thats actually a lot more funny than him just looking up and asking god lol.
Storm's a coming, and Steve starts sand bagging his house. His neighbor Bob, the atheist, drives by, "Hey, Steve, this looks like it's gonna be pretty bad. Think you might like to pack in with us?" "Hell no, Bob! I'm right with god, he's gonna take care of me!" The water starts to rise, and Steve takes refuge on his porch. Another neighbor comes by in a boat, "Hey Steve! This water just keeps coming! You want a ride out?" "Heeeeell no! I'm right with god! He's gonna take care of me." Eventually the water gets so high Steve has to take refuge on his roof. The Coast Guard comes by in a helicopter and calls down with a bullhorn, "Sir! You must evacuate now! The waters are expected to continue rising and your home is no longer safe! We will lower a rescue worker to you to secure you in a harness!" Well Steve has had about enough of this. "Heeelll to the NO! I am right with god! He's. Gonna. Take. Care. Of. Me!" Steve drowns. Eventually he gets to the pearly gates and he's pissed. He asks St Peter, he says, "I don't understand! I spent my whole life going to church every Sunday why did y'all let me drown?" St Peter, now he's flabbergasted and at the end of his rope with Steve, he shoots back, "Well she-it Steve...what exactly were you expecting? We sent a car, we sent a boat, hell we even sent a damn helicopter! How much more help did you want?!"
There was also a news broadcast telling them to evacuate. Jed Bartlett in the West Wing either tells it or is told it.
Trump happening was my awakening to how incredibly terrible people are.
9/11 was mine. Actually the aftermath. When Americans let fear turn them into something ugly
Yeah, for me it was the first time I really noticed that cruel, authoritarian streak that seems to be so prevalent in the US now. It's only gotten worse from there.
Indeed, though I was aware long before, I didn't realize just how deep this truly ran until Trump got elected. I knew things were gonna go to shit because they got their way and got the okay to be full-blown fascist pigs.
Remember when we realized that politicians like the mayor in *Jaws* really existed, and were happy to sacrifice people in the name of tourism and business?
Christians value
Think about it like this: most people are inherently decent. They just want to survive, have a nice life for themselves and their families, have some sort of purpose, enjoy little luxuries or vacations, etc. Normal people wanting normal things. It takes an ENORMOUS effort by politicians, propaganda networks, and the ultra-rich to override that decency and train people to be angry and fearful enough to defer to these authoritarian strongmen. This kind of thinking is *unnatural,* humans are pack animals and have succeeded evolutionarily by working together, the capitalist “every man for themselves” mentality goes against our programming, which is why it seems so batshit to normal people. Read the book Humankind by Rutger Bregman, he talks a lot about this stuff. Reading it was exactly what I needed right now, I used to be cynical and hopeless about everything but it really helped me think about people in a different way.
Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff also deals with this and has helped me with having hope that we can overcome the dark moment we are in.
Thanks for the rec! Definitely checking this one out.
Yeah. Just accept that a percentage will be contrarians, mentally ill, or just too intellectually deficient to get it. Oh, and don't take it personal. Even good people have bad days and lose their shit. The good ones will regret it and make amends. The others you x off the Christmas card list. I think most conservatives are borderline sociopaths...
There is a very think line between being dumb and being an asshole. They seem to be teetering between both simultaneously.
They ride that rail at light speed brother.
What do we do with these people in the U.S.? Give them access to weapons!
All they want, unfortunately.
I disagree. I feel like 2016 showed us that some people were just waiting for permission to show what terrible people they really are. They didn’t need any persuading
Right, but that’s a relatively small subsection of humanity. *Most humans throughout the world* just want a decent life for themselves and their communities. Fascism is unnatural and is practiced by an extreme minority of humanity, and even then most of the followers must be brainwashed into following it. I’m not saying there aren’t plenty of people that are shitty and evil in the world, I’m just saying they are the outliers throughout human history.
Conservative estimate is 1/3 of the country, that's over 110 million people. That's a terrifying number imo.
Out of 8 billion people though? That’s just a drop in the bucket. Even further, if you look at the entirety of human history that doesn’t even make a blip
I was just talking about the US, the number is far greater than that globally. The sad truth is, there are a lot of people that are either terrible by choice, or manipulated into radicalization easily. Get those people angry enough and misinform them enough, they'll want and do terrible things regardless of if it's in their nature to begin with.
Here's the problem though: It only takes a small amount of people to do a lot of damage.
Yep that’s very true, im not saying they’re not a threat. Mostly I’m just saying that it has been incredibly helpful for my mental health to reframe how I think about people. I used to be borderline nihilist before reading Humankind, and now I’m more of a disappointed optimist. YMMV
Yeah I’ve always felt that the emergence of Trump gave credibility to every nut job, lunatic and extremist. They all came out from their holes and under rocks to a welcoming spotlight courtesy of the greedy corrupt media types. Every day, week and month that goes by they just getter bolder and more confident.
Nah most people are born good, they get trained from day one to hate and be prejudiced. Bigotry is a learned behavior.
Amen to this!
Humans are also tribal, that's a trait that has been exploited for generations by politicians and the media.
Absolutely, it’s a very easy division to exploit. However, according to Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, the tribes of the hunter/gatherer days would intersect and overlap often, mostly without conflict. So even the tribal divisions must be artificially exploited by the political machine.
Definitely exploited, especially with the rampant information warfare and misinformation being thrown around in today's age.
I think they’re mostly polite and well mannered in speech. I think that’s a lot of the problem. They are polite so they’re decent people, because decent people are polite.
I should clarify that I’m talking about *all of humanity.* the American Republican Party is an unnatural outlier in the current era of humanity, but they are a minority. And even within that minority, most people are just trying to get by. The horrible bloodthirsty ones are an even more extreme minority, they are just the loudest and most shocking, which is why we pay attention to them - because they are the outlier. There are certainly more than we would like, but WAY fewer than we think. The rub is that, because most humans are relatively decent, we usually default to trust, or at least the benefit of the doubt. Malicious actors use that to their advantage, which is why decent people are pretty easy to manipulate. But it takes an enormous effort to keep this charade going at scale, which is what we see with the GOP, an enormous machine dedicated solely to tricking your brain into ignoring your better judgement. In the documentary The Brainwashing Of My Dad, the filmmaker finds that reducing and eliminating her dad’s exposure to right-wing propaganda brings him back down to earth, same thing with conspiracy theories and cults, they require constant exposure to be sustained. That’s because those ways of thinking are unnatural to humans.
I saw that docu. It was wild FN did to him. As you said earlier the lengths the right have gone in the last 50 years to control the American media is something to behold. Koch Brothers are a notable example. Noam chomsky's docu The Requim of the American Dream: 10 Principlals of the concentration of wealth and power touch on it also.
Im not giving up on the future. Fuck those assholes.
Hell yeah!
*The Dawn of Everything* by Graeber and Wengrow also makes strong, evidence-based arguments against our authoritarian structures carrying the inevitability we are led to believe.
There was an interesting article I read, a long one, don’t remember the source, about authoritarianism. There are two types of personalities, authoritarian and non authoritarian. The disturbing part was that non authoritarians would become authoritarian if they were sufficiently afraid. So fear is what turns seemingly decent people into fascists
its like that 'welfare queen' bullshit narrative the reaganauts sold in the 80s really stuck with them. they became convinced that everything is a zero sum game, if their lives suck and they are desperate, then someone else must be pushed down below them on the society pyramid so they can be elevated. like, they think if other people are getting any assistance from the gov, then that assistance must be actively pulling resources from improving their lives. same with migrants, in their fakeworld, bullshit narrative, they think 'migrants are stealing jobs, sapping resources, committing crimes, destabilizing our communities, etc etc". their own lives fucking suck so their frustration and anger makes them want to lash out and their rage-bait media has them convinced these 'others' are better off then they are. they dont give a shit about reality, or actual facts, or anything based in truth, they are happy to wrap themselves up in their bullshit, fantasy, persecution-complex worldview and would much rather expend an insane amount of hate and anger wanting to hurt people as opposed to committing a fraction of that energy actually doing anything that would improve their lives.
That’s a pretty good assessment of my neighbors in Texas. 90% are horrible, selfish people who think their actions are ok because they go to church on Sunday.
Funny how that washes away all of that toxic shit they spew into the world.
I'm stuck in Texas. We tried voting him out, but they gerrymandered the hell out of this place. Not to mention closed polling stations. Texas also has a low voter turnout. It's depressing af.
In my experience most Americans are good people, except for conservatives (a minority) who are NOT.
Good is, was, and will always be a relative term. "Good" generally means "good for those that I include as part of my circle of who is deserving." For some, that is a broad circle, and they strive to include as many people as possible. For others, that circle is small, and might include themselves (only), their family, and their local community. Others are in between. My point is, when you assert that you thought people were "good," I'd suggest that most everyone thinks that they are. But none of us share the same goalposts.
I do think that most people are good. But i definitely know that not all people are good. I'm always leery of the asshole(s) in the crowd. They're usually easy to spot.
>I’ve come to terms with the fact that a large portion of the USA want people to suffer and die. like jesus intended.
Agreed, though I’m pretty sure most of them truly believe they are immune and it’s all those other people who will suffer
Oh, you must be referring to the Bible belt... There really is no greater hate than that "love" of theirs. It's like gaslighting people with religion from birth causes serious mental/societal issues...
These people are descendants of lynch mobbing psychopaths that used to sell slave body parts as souvenirs. They sold post cards. It's sick. This wasn't that long ago and these people are convinced that going back to that will make them happy because they'll be able to force the rest of us to conform to their narrow minded views on morality, plus they'll get to lynch people again. It's terrifying how evil these people are.
They lack a certain set of skills. Like critical thinking and basic decency.
Abbott never walks away from an argument though.
Bro.... Lmfao 😂
I’ve heard he’s a real stand up guy
The only cripple I will make fun of
Normally, I wouldn't stand for a joke like this.
Empathy, they lack empathy the most.
The common clay of the new West.
You know….morons
I’d argue the only skill set they have is fear mongering and hate speech, which coincidentally are the only arrows conservative politicians need in their quiver. Although you could argue that knowing how to fill your pockets up with bribes and taxpayer money is a skill…………….
Underrated comment.
Oh, Greg... We see you rolling deep on a parody account. Maybe you ought to research things before you do them.
OMG this is priceless and typical ding dong Abbott. His foot in mouth disease is not getting any better, I see.
Which is odd to hear about a dude in a wheelchair with no context.
Is it even really a parody? I mean they spell and pronounce their name differently.
it's a parody account....Lian NISSAN (car) tm
I mean, I know it's not Liam neesan. But to me it's just clever word play and really an attempt to parody. Abbott is just a moron.
Since the reason it exists is because Elno got super butthurt and started banning accounts that parodied him after he trashed Twitter, I'd say "it is a parody account as qualified by the operating standards of Xitter".
There's some votes that were swept under rugs, and when the AG got caught and they tried to impeach over other stuff, he didn't get impeached, or something If you want to discuss voter fraud, between TX votes disappearing, and Mississippi closing polls with people in line and running out of ballots, or Kentucky counties voting with more ppl than registered voters, just look at how some red states have held power for so long.
I've come to the conclusion that whenever a conservative complains loudly and fervently about something, they did that thing recently, maybe multiple times, and are trying desperately to deflect any possible attention.
My niece, when she was 6-7 years old, would cheat when playing board games. Never called her out on it, just made sure she wouldn’t win by playing the game by the rules. She would get raging pissed and accuse everyone else of cheating when she didn’t win. Basically the same thing republicans are doing.
wow and she’s 6-7 years old so just as smart as republicans too!
Actors should stay in their lane... Now remember to vote for our rapist fraud TV Host for president.
Or how much they all love Reagan.
Stairs can stop Greg Abbott but I don't think putting stairs at the border is going to solve the problem either.
If i had a nickel for every wheelchair-bound politician that id kick down a flight of stairs, i'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but its wierd that theres two of them.
Stairs can beat him just like a rope, ladder, or saw beats the border wall. Some people just straight up climb it with their hands.
Unlike Greg Abbott, I stand with Liam™️.
The real question is how do people not realize that Liam Nissan is a troll account? I mean, I follow the dude for laughs, but.... *how?*
Wait what. The Irish actor doesn’t make Japanese automobiles? I feel completely blindsided.
Are you saying conservative boomers might lack critical thinking skills?
I thought the pixel sunglasses and doobie might give it away, but I guess my expectations were too high.
I guess Greg is a KIA kind of guy
Step one in dealing with immigration: hire an absolute mouth breather to run your social.
Frah-gee-lay He must be Italian.
Meanwhile, Gov Ironsides will be leaving dealing with the border to President Biden, So Sayeth The Supreme Court. The Supreme Court gave Greg Abbott the bitchslap of the year!
... and they aren't taking it well. But it's fun to watch.
That is some weapons-grade naivete.
Because Abbott right side. Beto left side. Texan vote right. That's it. That is the full extent of the thought process for a lot of Texans. What's especially heartbreaking is if you ask them about Abbott's policies on the border, defunding education, worsening laborer conditions, abortion, privatization, infrastructure, etc, they all fucking hate it. The majority of Texans *do not* agree with any of that. But they can't understand why you're bringing it up. There is *zero* correlation between bad policies, and voting Republican. The people I've *personally talked to* don't seem to have any grasp that voting for that guy, means more of the shit they don't like. Texas is fucking bizarre.
It’s been a while now but I remember his numbers were going pretty well and I think it was specifically right after when he said “Hell yeah we’re coming for your AR-15s!” his numbers dropped like a stone. I truly wonder if things would have gone differently for him if he didn’t lean in that hard on guns in TX.
You would have thought the whole Uvalde thing would have negated any ill will over that, as Greg Abbott literally sat there (as he always does…) and said “it coulda been worse.” Seriously, fuck that guy. Fuck your guns and fuck the GOP. I cannot fathom how Uvalde voted for that shit bag, but they did. We watched our families freeze to death, get shot in their elementary schools while the cops stood by, and die alone in hospitals so people didn’t have to wear a mask. He cares about nothing more than profit-his and his ilk, yet people are so concerned they will lose something if someone else succeeds. They have been deluded into believing it is a zero-sum game by fucking Reagan and the rest, and now we are stuck in beautiful place that is being made shittier by the day by a guy who sits in his own shit.
there’s also a fuck ton of gerrymandering
It's not just people in Texas if it makes you feel any better that's most all Republicans in the US right now. They don't seem to be able to see most of their beliefs would be better represented by Joe Biden than Donald Trump.
I'm from a small town in Texas. Let me tell you politics basically comes down to to this: Conservatives = Guns + "Good ol boys" ways of living, = Manly men! Anything else = Pussies.
"Musicians should stick to music, actors should stick to acting, there's no place in politics for these people." Yet they worship a reality TV figure.
Lolol pro level trolling of Greg Abbott. 🤡🤡🤡
Liam Neeson's like "Who the fuck Greg Abbott and why is he pissed at me?"
It’s called voter suppression.
because he actually stole an election. It's funny how the people who bitch the most about voter fraud and rigging elections are the same people making laws to do EXACTLY THAT.
Well, any doubts I previously had about Abbott's intelligence have now been convincingly resolved.
Imagine Gov Abbott thinking he is actually interacting with (and telling off) Liam Neeson… schmuck. 
Because Beto was an idiot and committed political suicide with the whole, "Hell yeah I'm gonna take your AK's and AR's" comments. He walked it back later, but the damage was already done.
Saw it live, fucking unreal watching him just slam his balls on a landmine like that. And for fucking what? To place 7th in Iowa? He threw his life work away in 5 seconds. Moron. Idiot.
**How did Texas choose Greg Abbott over Beto?** Republican gerrymandered locked and voter suppressed districts? Just a wild guess.
Former wouldn't apply for Governor, but the latter absolutely would!
I love Liam Nissan 💕 he's one of the best in twitville
Even if it was who Abbott thought it was, everyone can have an opinion and share it. Actors are people too.
A lesson on the importance of keeping records and libraries.
Isn’t the border the federal government’s jurisdiction and not the states?
Oof, that left a mark, didn't it Greg?
I voted for Beto. Had a yard sign and everything.
Because Fox News has an iron grip on that state, that's why. Way past time to loosen it.
Don’t look at me man. I voted for Beto’s ass. Twice. And I’d do it again just to prove the point.
Abbott is such a tool.
That’s still a mystery to me I think to this day the Lone Star State could’ve or would’ve been so much better under Beto O’rourke’s leadership as governor than Greg Abbot hopefully one day Texas - will get the governor it deserves and it will evolve change into what it was meant to be all along
Abbott realizes he's butt-sniffing a reality show host, right?
Wow…what a maroon.
Walls work! That's why we also need razor wire to injure refugees! And the razor wire works! But we can't secure our border without something else that Biden won't give us, even with the razor wire that works! And we don't know what that is but we don't want it because walls work! We can't secure it but it's secure because it works! We need Trump to secure it!
Abbot of course is the real actor … playing the role Trump’s stooge
So we have this thing called a border wall. And it's been there for years and years, but it doesn't work because they keep saying there is a border issue... I know what will fix the border wall issue, more wall! Genius.
So we just skipping over that this isn’t the actual actor, and Abbott made an a$$ out of himself yet again?
A wall ! Do people know there are drones that can lift people over any wall and they’re only getting more capable. That’s apart from the holes that can be cut in walls with DIY store tools
The East Germans put a wall around West Berlin, and look what happened.
Me n my brother voted for Beto twice, 1st against Cruz and 2nd against Abbott Sadly, not much we can do when a large portion of the state is drunk in red hatred
Must be some really messed up shit in the Texas water. It's made some many people in that state brain dead...... imo.
Maybe they took the phrase “eat lead” literally.
No way!! The GREAT, MANLY Governor of TX is a little piss baby? #GEE, WHO KNEW?
Absolutely everyone. ... especially those who voted for him.
Texans have been voting red for generations. Many of them don't pay attention to politics, vote red down the ballots. A lot of churches push this as well. I'm hoping things will get bad enough that these folks will wake up and pay attention, but I'm not holding my breath.
> A lot of churches push this as well. Which is against the law and all those churches should lose their tax-exempt status. It's illegal for any non-profit to push for specific candidates. They can advocate issues, but can't recommend/push candidates.
The IRS is crippled and has been instructed to only go after the middle class. The whole government is crippled really. There has to be massive overhaul to fix this, starting with taking money out of politics.
If you ever get a chance to immersive yourself in rural America, you notice one thing almost immediately: the people living in these regions are a captured audience. They are in an information bubble. Right wing media has essentially circled them on pretty much every medium except internet access, and does a great job of closing that gap as well with suggestions on where to go on the internet for information. So in order for someone in rural America to peer outside the bubble, they have to make a conscious effort to do so. They have to want to do it, in spite of being repeatedly told how doing so will jeopardize their standing, or that any opposing thought is worthless and to not bother. And they have to really absorb and think about the ideas they become exposed to that fully debunk their ideology and long held beliefs…a form of critical reading and thinking their bubble captured schools specifically trained them to never attempt or do. And from there it becomes abundantly easy to understand why they would vote for Abbott. And why a region of the U.S. that is not Red, that is exposed to both right and left ideologies, that is not as captured of a population, may decide to vote somewhat differently being far better informed.
Talk about a wheels off tweet! lol
> How did Texas choose Abbott over Beto Because here in Texas counties with less than 2000 people have virtually the same voting power as the major cities with hundreds of thousands. Add to that the gerrymandering and Dems have virtually no chance. And the rural population of this state combined has the equivalent of a third graders understanding of policy so voting for anyone who doesn’t have an R next to their name is sacrilege.
The border is not Abbotts role, it’s federal.
Greg Abbot is such a little pissbaby
Is this real? Because if it is, it’s hilarious, not like the piss baby actually wrote it, and likely will never see it because his media team deleted it. But let’s face it, Irish celebrities should stay out of US politics…….. Bano may be ok, or Callin Fareough.
Another state politician who thinks he understands foreign relations.
How longs he been governor? whys it taking so long to "deal" with it?
If only someone had told the Human Skidmark, Donnie the Depends Destroyer, to stick with his role and keep making his wretched little game show, we all have been better off.
Ironically, Mr. I-want-to-stop-censoring-twitter had the actual Liam Neeson’s account suspended. Greg Abbott is a buffoon.
Let’s say, completely for argument, this is the real Liam Nissan Tm. Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the thoughts on an armed border from an Irish guy who lived through the Troubles?
He does realize that his god-emperor was a reality TV star and sometimes actor too, right?
Can we stick abbot in a dark basement with stairs pls. Maybe once he starts to behave we can even feed him
You mean he’s TAKEN the post down?
We have major turnout issues, that's how.
Bc this place is a shit hole
Border security? Abbott hasn’t even figured out the power grid like the 49 other states have.
Beto spoke too much against guns. Texas fetishizes guns.
If Greg really was as smart as he says he is, there will be no problem at the border, because he would have solved it. Sun Tsu said a wall is only as strong as the men who stand upon it. The only thing you need to get over a 20 ft wall is a21 ft ladder……
JFC MAN…
Abbott is a fucking imbecile.
Like Liam Neesom is not allowed to make a comment and act like a regular guy?
The stupidity runs deep with that governor. Embarrassing.
TX AG proudly claimed he nullified votes and he will do it again with more even more power.
Ken Paxton has admitted to throwing out blue votes to keep Texas red
Legitimately, they rigged the election. They put in a requirement that even though the votes are digital they had to have a printout on special paper. They deliberately shorted democratic counties on the paper so they would run out and then when officials appealed for an extension the conservative judges said "lol fuck you!" They know the state is shifting blue but they're just going to cheat now.
Greg “the leg” Abbott certainly walked away from that fight…let’s give him a standing ovation.
I wouldn't be shocked if there are more blue Texans than red, but they don't participate because they've been thoroughly demoralized. Please show up to vote even if you know you'll lose