All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[hyped78]

The guy who has used the Israeli military to kill 32,000 civilians so far.

A correction. Those numbers (32k), which are provided by Hamas, include Hamas fighters - Hamas doesn't make a distinction between their fighters and civilians when reporting those numbers, so we don't know the breakdown (and the numbers might not be reliable at all, of course, as Biden has mentioned)

[zinderel]

I think what gas prices look like in October will have more of an effect on how people vote than what is currently happening in Gaza. (That's not to say what is happening in Gaza doesn't matter. What's happening there is wrong, and I am unhappy with how Biden has handled the situation.)

Agreed. For some people, the price of gas a week before Election Day will decide who they vote for. Not decades of evidence about the men they’re picking between.

I mean, I KNOW it’s a racist dog whistle to suggest that people should have to pass a basic civics test in order to vote? But I am quite confident that more cishet white people - who have the luxury of willful ignorance, and distractions like complacency and narcissism - would be excluded from voting than minorities (who do NOT have the same luxuries or privilege), if we actually implemented such a thing…

[hyped78]

But I am quite confident that more cishet white people - who have the luxury of willful ignorance, and distractions like complacency and narcissism

That sounds quite racist, frankly

[zinderel]

That sounds quite racist, frankly

*Eyeroll*

I’m a cis white male. The world ABSOLUTELY was designed to cater to people who look like me. People who look like me have significant access to privileges and luxuries that allow them to distract themselves from the realities of the world for people who don’t look like them. That isn’t racist to acknowledge. That’s reality. And the reality is that the white people who most often call for poll taxes and tests intended to further prevent minorities from voting would likely fail those tests, as evidenced by the number of people who allow the price of gas a week before Election Day to influence their vote more than decades of factual evidence.

Welcome to the obvious point I was making, which you ‘missed’, and conveniently edit out of the quote.

Good for you.

[aja_christopher]

This is what is racist.

[Tuck]

I mean, I KNOW it’s a racist dog whistle to suggest that people should have to pass a basic civics test in order to vote? But I am quite confident that more cishet white people - who have the luxury of willful ignorance, and distractions like complacency and narcissism - would be excluded from voting than minorities (who do NOT have the same luxuries or privilege), if we actually implemented such a thing…

I don't think we'd disproportionately lose any identity group (although the percentage of naturalized citizens who passed would be 100%).

We would disproportionately lose extremists I think. More likely to be loud, cocksure, and ignorant.

[hyped78]

This is what is racist.

Oh, totally agree. Republicans try to suppress the votes of those who are most likely to not vote for them. That's racist and undemocratic. Everyone is/should be allowed to vote - without friction - that is democracy.

I've read some interesting articles about the effects of voter suppression (not even incl. gerrymandering) over the years on US Elections. History could've been quite different.

E.g. with links inside it to various reference articles: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-wo...slatures%26li=

[hyped78]

*Eyeroll*

I’m a cis white male. The world ABSOLUTELY was designed to cater to people who look like me. People who look like me have significant access to privileges and luxuries that allow them to distract themselves from the realities of the world for people who don’t look like them. That isn’t racist to acknowledge. That’s reality. And the reality is that the white people who most often call for poll taxes and tests intended to further prevent minorities from voting would likely fail those tests, as evidenced by the number of people who allow the price of gas a week before Election Day to influence their vote more than decades of factual evidence.

Welcome to the obvious point I was making, which you ‘missed’, and conveniently edit out of the quote.

Good for you.

I don't care what you are/what you identify as, eyeroll included or not. Your comment came across as insulting and misguided. Everyone should be allowed to freely vote.

[JackDaw]

*Eyeroll*

I’m a cis white male. The world ABSOLUTELY was designed to cater to people who look like me. People who look like me have significant access to privileges and luxuries that allow them to distract themselves from the realities of the world for people who don’t look like them. That isn’t racist to acknowledge. That’s reality. And the reality is that the white people who most often call for poll taxes and tests intended to further prevent minorities from voting would likely fail those tests, as evidenced by the number of people who allow the price of gas a week before Election Day to influence their vote more than decades of factual evidence.

Welcome to the obvious point I was making, which you ‘missed’, and conveniently edit out of the quote.

Good for you.

It does vary from country to country.

I’ve not checked recently, but certainly in UK last time I did check the socio economic group that had worst life outcomes on average was working class white boys.

And ultimately do you think it’s positive to make sweeping statements about large blocks of people? I mean those attitudes you attributed to white CIS males…you don’t have those traits yourself do you?

[hyped78]

It does vary from country to country.

I’ve not checked recently, but certainly in UK last time I did check the socio economic group that had worst life outcomes on average was working class white boys.

And ultimately do you think it’s positive to make sweeping statements about large blocks of people? I mean those attitudes you attributed to white CIS males…you don’t have those traits yourself do you?

Like some posters have commented on the forum, extremists from both ends of the spectrum are, at the end of the day, extremists. Republicans blatantly suppress minority votes, our friend here suggests suppressing another cohort...

[shooshoomanjoe]

Plus, Biden is a Catholic. One would have to live in Russia not to know the difference.

I know Biden's a catholic. I'm just going by what that article said. And what matter is the percentage of inflation when the goods we're buying now are still far higher than they were just a few years ago.

[hyped78]

I know Biden's a catholic. I'm just going by what that article said. And what matter is the percentage of inflation when the goods we're buying now are still far higher than they were just a few years ago.

So are the salaries - in fact, depending on the time period of the comparison, under Biden salaries have been growing faster than prices.

And what did you expect, for prices to actually go down? Deflation? That's a big no no in economics. Prices are expected to rise over time - albeit in a controlled, manageable manner.

[zinderel]

I don't care what you are/what you identify as, eyeroll included or not. Your comment was a mix of ignorance and insulting; if you think that was a smart comment, I don't know what to tell you. Everyone should be allowed to freely vote.

Like some posters have commented on the forum, extremists from both ends of the spectrum are, at the end of the day, extremists. Republicans blatantly suppress minority votes, our friend here suggests suppressing another cohort...

So, not only does the reality that society is explicitly modulated to favor cis white men escape you, so does obvious sarcasm about who would most suffer under the sort of things they call for if applied to them...

*Thumbs up*

[Dalak]

It does vary from country to country.

I’ve not checked recently, but certainly in UK last time I did check the socio economic group that had worst life outcomes on average was working class white boys.

And ultimately do you think it’s positive to make sweeping statements about large blocks of people? I mean those attitudes you attributed to white CIS males…you don’t have those traits yourself do you?

I find it amusing that an assumedly Cis Het White male like me (I'm a ginger, and thus a victim of cultural appropriation by every red dyed head /s) is calling it racist to point out how Cis Het White males often distract themselves from how bad some people who don't look like them get it with luxuries & privileges not available to those different people. I'm not sure if it's ironic to be using some of those luxuries & distracting privileges (Internet Access, Access to Expensive Phones/Computers, Free Time not spent working a second job) to do so or not, but it is funny. I know I have moments when I'm too lazy to look up something I know I should learn more about because I'm too focused on my day-to-day life (Complacency, Narcisism, Willful Ignorance) and I'm fairly sure every adult human has them too. However with the examples in my life with family, friends, and what I've seen on the news since I was in High School those traits seem to be encouraged instead of punished in the Cis Het White male community, particularly by conservatives.

As this was clearly meant as a condemnation of the US populace instead of the UK one, can you look at the conservative members of the US House of Representatives, the US Senate, and Donald Trump and tell me that impression is a wrong one? (See Affluenza)Now what those people do in their ignorance, narcissism & hate are subsidized by those who vote for them, which as records show are predominately Cis, Het, Male, & White. The GoP is the source of the most vile and bigoted legislation on our books, and are systematically destroying rights that Women, Blacks, Latinos, and the LGBT have gotten in the last 100 years in the name of making America Great. I believe that is highly racist, bigoted, and I think that trying to gotcha someone with this sort of hot take is not well thought out based on all of it.

[hyped78]

So, not only does the reality that society is explicitly modulated to favor cis white men escape you, so does obvious sarcasm about who would most suffer under the sort of things they call for if applied to them...

*Thumbs up*

Sarcasm? Here’s sarcasm:

By your own logic, and as you self-identify as a white male cis heterosexual, you are more likely to fail a basic civics test than the average citizen

And hey, out of the two of us, I am then more likely to pass that basic civics test, great!