World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[jp1]

I have heard from a friend with cancer who believes this will be the last president she gets to vote for because when Trump and the Republicans inevitably follow through on their plans to cut back Medicaid and Obamacare, she will lose her healthcare and die.
*snip*

Good post JT, and I feel you. I have friends and family members who will suffer under this administration as well.

I wish I had taken the time to gain my composure before posting some of the things I had, but sadly I needed an outlet or I may have lost my cool out here in the real world.

I'm sad to think that some people view the left as unpatriotic or that we don't love our country or it's people as much as anyone else. My anger is mostly an expression of sorrow, because I thought that my generation was different. I thought that while we waited for enough of us to get old enough to make a real difference and I slowly watched the atrocities of hatred mellow out and fade away to near extinction, we had finally made progress. Things were looking so much better than ever before, with acceptance and love becoming the norm and elitist hatred a dying whimper of a bygone era.

Then all of that was crushed. I was actually shocked because I believed people to finally be better than this. Now, I can't come to gain any peace of mind. The ugly truth is that not a damn thing has changed, people were just too scared and timid to be their true selves and let the hatred they felt be known to everyone around them. Probably because it is rooted in fear, so a man shows up and under the protection of the secret service is "brave" enough to give them a voice again. Well, he is right about one thing...“Some things in life you can really love doing.”

I think I am angry most about that. The peace and love that I have worked hard to try and live with, because I am an angry and impulsive person. Because I spent time in anger management, reconciled with people I have hurt in anger, have broken bones that still hurt when it's cold out to remind me of who I used to be. Because, now I have to fight that much harder not to be that person any more.

I'm not a keyboard warrior, the internet has me at a disadvantage because folks like Ack, Prfsnl, Dsh, Blu, JT, etc.. just have me outmatched. In life though I command respect, I don't have to fight for it. People do not shove their disgusting vitriol in my face because they have come to know the consequences of it through my shortcomings. Someone will undoubtedly think this is some point of pride for me, but it isn't. I have never been proud to be a violent, angry, or impulsive person. I fight away my demons every day, and the country that I love clearly embraces them.

So, there is my piece. I am too tired to debate any more, fighting for other people has made me bitter and cynical. I lack the constitution to keep pointing out things that are so obvious to me. Mostly, I've lost faith in my peers. So, I am heartbroken and vulnerable and my instinct is to lash out.

If any of you have been offended by my words, and you truly don't have hate in your heart with your choices...you can consider this an apology.

[Ack]

I'm not a keyboard warrior, the internet has me at a disadvantage because folks like Ack, Prfsnl, Dsh, Blu, JT, etc.. just have me outmatched.

Ha, I'm gonna take this as a compliment. You ain't so bad yourself, chief.

[prfsnl_gmr]

While I'm all for acknowledging our past sins and improving in the process, I believe that is an astoundingly negative view of this country.

The US is indeed founded on a number of high-minded ideals, but our rapid growth as a world power was built almost entirely on oppressing others. It was the norm at the time, but we perfected it to a degree even the Brits were jealous of. They had to give up their colonial holdings but we simply settled in and took over.

I disagree with this.

The United States' prosperity springs from the fact that it has one of the world's most inclusive economies and, for most of its history, the world's most inclusive economy. (It is by no means perfectly inclusive. In fact, and as illustrated by our shared history of institutionalized racism, it wasn't even close. It was still way better for most people than places like Imperial Russia, the Kingdom of Kongo, medieval Europe, or the Mayan Empire.) We also developed strong, but nonetheless decentralized, institutions dedicated to the rule of law, which were unique when the country was founded and remain relatively rare today.

Nations built on plunder and exploitation inevitably collapse, and the most exploitive practices in American history pushed our nation the closest to that point. Our nation survived it, however, and emerged from its second revolution much, much stronger, and its economic growth since that time remains unparalleled.

*great post illustrating that he is a cool dude*

You're a cool dude, jp1. I am glad to have you here.

[CRTGAMER]

There is a real possibility that the people who voted this man into power will watch as the poorest people in this nation (a large portion of them white) will have their health care coverage stripped (to the tune of tens of millions of Americans), their food assistance cut. Other entitlements will vanish.

His proposals to implement tariffs could cause trade wars, increasing prices on things we've taken for granted. He won't have the ability to pull back the reigns on a global economy and relocate jobs back to the states.

Those steps should have been better screened and chopped decades ago.

Social Security
Social Security came to be signed by Roosevelt back in 1935. It has been amended so many times increasing recipient freeloaders killing the funds. The initial purpose was a retirement plan to support in old age. Now there are so much abuse claiming disability stripping funds from the program. No Trump will not kill Social Security, I hope that it will be turned around to its initial purpose.

Entitlements - Government Assistance - Low Cost Housing - Free Food - Etc.
Now there is a word that is a bit of an irony; Entitlements - "I have a right to handouts". California passed Measure M which increases Low Income Housing. The ads were hyped as reducing housing costs for all. The reality is a mandate for a percentage of homes being built as lower cost. Guess where the money comes from? Taxpayers and the builders who in turn will have to charge more for other homes built! So one group has to pay more for a home to pay for the other lower income group home. The assumption the government picks up the bill really comes out of everyone's pockets, well except the freeloaders. The same applies for so many government assistance programs including companies using the "Non-Profit" label to avoid paying their share of taxes!

As taxpayers we should have a stronger say on where our money is spent.

Tariffs
About time, I say bring it on! It is not free trade when other countries do not have all the environmental, safety regulations and now minimum wage $15.00 an hour. This is why companies move out, it is so much cheaper to produce in another country and sell back to the U.S. Open free trade should only happen when the regulation field is equal, high tariffs will fix that.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Tariffs
About time, I say bring it on! It is not free trade when other countries do not have all the environmental, safety regulations and now minimum wage $15.00 an hour. This is why companies move out, it is so much cheaper to produce in another country and sell back to the U.S. Open free trade should only happen when the regulation field is equal, high tariffs will fix that.

Free trade is a type of technology, and I am generally an advocate for it. That said, the producers of any technology should not be allowed to externalize their costs, and as I have given the issue more thought, I now think that, if a company produces good in areas with less stringent environmental regulations, it should be subject to some sort of tariff that we can use to fund efforts to curb global warming, reduce pollution, etc.

[Ack]

Tariffs
About time, I say bring it on! It is not free trade when other countries do not have all the environmental, safety regulations and now minimum wage $15.00 an hour. This is why companies move out, it is so much cheaper to produce in another country and sell back to the U.S. Open free trade should only happen when the regulation field is equal, high tariffs will fix that.

Free trade is a type of technology, and I am generally an advocate for it. That said, the producers of any technology should not be allowed to externalize their costs, and as I have given the issue more thought, I now think that, if a company produces good in areas with less stringent environmental regulations, it should be subject to some sort of tariff that we can use to fund efforts to curb global warming, reduce pollution, etc.

Do you feel conversely that nations with stricter environmental or other regulations should levy tariffs against us?

[jp1]

I'm not a keyboard warrior, the internet has me at a disadvantage because folks like Ack, Prfsnl, Dsh, Blu, JT, etc.. just have me outmatched.

Ha, I'm gonna take this as a compliment. You ain't so bad yourself, chief.

I hope you do. It was intended as such, a comment on your intellect being an asset with online debates. None of the "keyboard warrior" nasty undertones about someone who cannot handle themselves in the real world. Context was key I guess, if I was to throw that phrase around.

I respect the ability to conduct yourself with calm assertive and intelligent arguments as opposed to having to fall back on the "I'll kick your ass" mentality that I, at times, have resorted to and do not respect.

I'm a product of the environment I was raised in. Unfortunately that environment didn't include a lot of intellectual debate.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Do you feel conversely that nations with stricter environmental or other regulations should levy tariffs against us?

That's their call!

[Tanooki]

Wow there are some big time left leaning fear mongering posts in here how Trump somehow is the like second coming of Satan. Sheesh. I get personality wise the guy is a straight up piece of crap, no argument there at all.

I guess and I'm sure some here will find it odd, but I'd rather look at it, at least for now, as a positive. We do not know truly what he will do. The guy spouts off a lot of crap you can not get away with, even with full party control that exists come day one in office. Peel that away and look at what is there that really can be or can't be done and go from there. The only way to know if you're fucked, I'm fucked, we're all fucked, is waiting a good few months into office and see how things shake out. It's not that odd for someone to speak like a douche but do something differently, they don't always go line by line.

People conveniently like to play the party whiner line and ignore facts. This guy is not a republican. He's a life long democrat, one that would be called a blue dog democrat as he leans right on the cash, left on the social side of things. Decades of donations, events, and other help given to the DNC and up until this hot mess, besties with the Clintons.

None of us are mind readers and sitting here crying how day one he gets in all your entitlements and measures that had been on the books will be erased so you're going to die, you're going to lose your job, you're going to get deported are straight up fear mongering bullshit. Admit it. For all we know he'll piss off the GOP big time pulling a 180 on a lot of stuff. Rumblings these last 2 days out of the DNC is that this guy has a lot in common with them on various promises he made in effect to infrastructure, govt jobs, govt construction programs and more. They think they can actually work with this guy along with enough non villanously right leaning GOPrs to get stuff done that'll piss them off. Is he really all that bad? Personality wise, hell yeah...a real pos. But as a manager and the guiding hand of the govt come next year -- no clue. He'll either get shut down from one side or both, or they'll work together on enough stuff. I'd say instead of working yourselves up in a tizzy over unfounded fears as this guy has never been in government to give it time.

I didn't vote for him or Hillary, hate them both, but I'm willing to take a wait and see approach.

[Ack]

We do not know truly what he will do.

This is actually what worries me the most about it, that he is such an unknown. I'm not partial to gambling, and he's a roll of the dice. Maybe we'll all be fine, maybe we won't, it's all chance as far as we know. I tend to not like chance, it screws with my anxiety.