Former president Donald Trump ratcheted up his dehumanizing rhetoric against immigrants Saturday by saying that some who are accused of crimes are “not people.”
“I don’t know if you call them people,” he said at a rally near Dayton, Ohio. “In some cases they’re not people, in my opinion. But I’m not allowed to say that because the radical left says that’s a terrible thing to say.”
Apparently I’m part of the radical left, because yes that is a terrible thing to say.
I am considered radical in this country (and probably pretty moderate in a lot of Europe) but even if I was the most milquetoast centrist, I think I’d still find that terrible. It’s amazing that he can still surprise me with what a piece of shit he is.
It’s amazing that he can still surprise me with what a piece of shit he is.
I agree, it’s like a super power in a way.
For me at least, what makes it continue to be surprising is that he says these things and still retains his supporters. And when I hear he said something newly shocking, I know without having to ask that those supporters will still be there. So it’s not just that one person could be such a piece of shit, but that so many could agree with one.
That’s why I have zero tolerance for the idea that we should just be able to disagree politely about politics and still be friends afterward. Sure, if the disagreement is about how much of a city’s budget should go toward parks vs. street maintenance or something, but when “some people aren’t really people because they’re from another country” is the politics, that’s gonna be a hard no for me. Trump supporters contribute nothing positive to politics (and probably not much to the world, considering how they view it) and I’m not interested in some fake ass “dialogue.”
Yes. There are many political cartoons out there that are like
KKK/Nazis/Republicans: "The blacks/Jews/non-whites are not people
Left: “they’re people. All people deserve respect and dignity”
“”“Centrist”“”: "wow I can’t tell you two apart " / “surely we can compromise. maybe kill half?”
Many people were taught “everyone is entitled to their opinion” and only learned that in the most naive way. They take it as “I can believe what I want, no matter what, and you have to accept that”.
Many people are quite stupid. I don’t mean ignorant. I don’t mean they don’t know stuff. I mean stupid. I mean they look at a set of facts and draw bad conclusions. They see more black people being arrested and go “blacks must do more crime” and don’t even consider “is enforcement equal?” or other confounding factors.
But idiots still vote. And carry guns
So I don’t know what the solution is.
Probably remove all conservatives from power, first. Invest more in education. Prevent consolidation of power in the hands of the wealthy.
No, but he went straight to word-jail and got fined $200! Don’t you see how dire the situation is? The world is coming to an end!!! I have to vote for him to save us.
I was a very hardcore conservative as a teenager, and even into college. Hannity, Ingraham, Beck, the whole deal (I still hear Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” and think of driving down the road and listening to talk radio). This was 2001-2009ish, so it was pre-Ben Shapiro, but I would’ve probably vibed pretty well with him.
But something changed over the course of the Obama administration. I don’t know exactly what it was. I mean, part of it was that I softened on my positions a bit as a result of meeting smart, trustworthy people who disagreed with those positions; but more broadly, something about Obama’s win seemed to change Republicans. The window began to shift, and I found myself holding all of the same opinions but being suddenly shocked to discover that I was being called a RINO for them. People who were at my wedding were calling me a “liberal cuck” for posting things on Facebook that I had said four years prior to general assent and head nods. I was startled to say the least, and I wondered if I was imagining it, but I had documentation online; I could go back and check my own words. I knew what I had said.
Then 2015 happened, and I saw everyone I had previously agreed with falling all over themselves to apologize for and justify their Trump vote at best (or even actively campaign for and support him). It started to become clear that I, who actively opposed Donald J., was no longer welcome in the GOP because I wouldn’t toe the line. Then “hold your nose and vote for the nominee” became “fact checking The Leader is a heresy” really quick and I got whiplash. I voted blue for the first time in 2016.
And while I was getting abuse from Republicans, the Liberals (who I had been told in high school were evil baby-killing cretins) were welcoming my questions, validating my concerns, and having lively but respectful conversations and debates with me wherein we were finding a whole lot more common ground than I thought there was.
I eventually discovered facts that indicated that a lot of what I had been told in talk radio and such were heavily exaggerated at best or even entirely fabricated, and my views actually did begin to shift. But it all began with the party trying to gaslight me into believing that I was the one whose views were changing.
Apparently I’m part of the radical left, because yes that is a terrible thing to say.
Non-paywalled alternate article
I am considered radical in this country (and probably pretty moderate in a lot of Europe) but even if I was the most milquetoast centrist, I think I’d still find that terrible. It’s amazing that he can still surprise me with what a piece of shit he is.
I agree, it’s like a super power in a way.
For me at least, what makes it continue to be surprising is that he says these things and still retains his supporters. And when I hear he said something newly shocking, I know without having to ask that those supporters will still be there. So it’s not just that one person could be such a piece of shit, but that so many could agree with one.
That’s why I have zero tolerance for the idea that we should just be able to disagree politely about politics and still be friends afterward. Sure, if the disagreement is about how much of a city’s budget should go toward parks vs. street maintenance or something, but when “some people aren’t really people because they’re from another country” is the politics, that’s gonna be a hard no for me. Trump supporters contribute nothing positive to politics (and probably not much to the world, considering how they view it) and I’m not interested in some fake ass “dialogue.”
Yes. There are many political cartoons out there that are like
KKK/Nazis/Republicans: "The blacks/Jews/non-whites are not people
Left: “they’re people. All people deserve respect and dignity”
“”“Centrist”“”: "wow I can’t tell you two apart " / “surely we can compromise. maybe kill half?”
Many people were taught “everyone is entitled to their opinion” and only learned that in the most naive way. They take it as “I can believe what I want, no matter what, and you have to accept that”.
Many people are quite stupid. I don’t mean ignorant. I don’t mean they don’t know stuff. I mean stupid. I mean they look at a set of facts and draw bad conclusions. They see more black people being arrested and go “blacks must do more crime” and don’t even consider “is enforcement equal?” or other confounding factors.
But idiots still vote. And carry guns
So I don’t know what the solution is.
Probably remove all conservatives from power, first. Invest more in education. Prevent consolidation of power in the hands of the wealthy.
If you don’t find this terrible, I can point out exactly where you are in the spectrum.
Crimes like sexual assault, fraud, and stealing classified information?
please focus on the word “some”, this clearly does not apply to me.
But he fucking said it. You can’t say something then claim you can’t say it. Fucking idiots.
No, but he went straight to word-jail and got fined $200! Don’t you see how dire the situation is? The world is coming to an end!!! I have to vote for him to save us.
Asshole.
He would fucking cheat at Monopoly and still lose.
He’d just make vroom noises and push the car around over and over
How did I, a conservative, get lumped in with the “radical left”? What the fuck?
The Overton window has shifted so far right that basic decency or acknowledging facts is leftist.
I was a very hardcore conservative as a teenager, and even into college. Hannity, Ingraham, Beck, the whole deal (I still hear Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” and think of driving down the road and listening to talk radio). This was 2001-2009ish, so it was pre-Ben Shapiro, but I would’ve probably vibed pretty well with him.
But something changed over the course of the Obama administration. I don’t know exactly what it was. I mean, part of it was that I softened on my positions a bit as a result of meeting smart, trustworthy people who disagreed with those positions; but more broadly, something about Obama’s win seemed to change Republicans. The window began to shift, and I found myself holding all of the same opinions but being suddenly shocked to discover that I was being called a RINO for them. People who were at my wedding were calling me a “liberal cuck” for posting things on Facebook that I had said four years prior to general assent and head nods. I was startled to say the least, and I wondered if I was imagining it, but I had documentation online; I could go back and check my own words. I knew what I had said.
Then 2015 happened, and I saw everyone I had previously agreed with falling all over themselves to apologize for and justify their Trump vote at best (or even actively campaign for and support him). It started to become clear that I, who actively opposed Donald J., was no longer welcome in the GOP because I wouldn’t toe the line. Then “hold your nose and vote for the nominee” became “fact checking The Leader is a heresy” really quick and I got whiplash. I voted blue for the first time in 2016.
And while I was getting abuse from Republicans, the Liberals (who I had been told in high school were evil baby-killing cretins) were welcoming my questions, validating my concerns, and having lively but respectful conversations and debates with me wherein we were finding a whole lot more common ground than I thought there was.
I eventually discovered facts that indicated that a lot of what I had been told in talk radio and such were heavily exaggerated at best or even entirely fabricated, and my views actually did begin to shift. But it all began with the party trying to gaslight me into believing that I was the one whose views were changing.
HUMAN BEINGS say that’s a terrible thing to say.
Then we have something in common: he thinks immigrants are “not people” and I think he is not people.