Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-27905100-20170123054947/@comment-28266772-20170123104950

I believe ISIS and white supremacy represent the same threat to Western society. In fact, ISIS less so because they're a bunch of fucking idiots stuck in the middle of a desert, but Trump and his cretinous supporters are in charge of a country with nukes. I'm not scared of ISIS, no matter how desperately the rest of the world wants me to be. I'm scared of morons with their fingers on the button.

Putin is a corrupt homophobe who's political power is built on threats and violence. He has explicitly made it his job to weaken the EU and Western Europe in order to build up the power of Russia. At a time when the rest of the world should be boycotting Russia for its ass-backwards view of homosexuality and its crippling lack of press-freedom Trump wants to cosey up to him; I think I can guess why. It's probably because they're equally fucking despicable.

And I'm sure women around the world are ecstatic to know what you do and don't think about their rights. For the most part though, I think most of them would tell you to mind your own fucking business and let them decide. Regardless of your specific opinion; abortions are protected by the constituion, and republicans rely on increasingly shitty ways to deny women that right.

And I hear this a lot; that the black people shot deserve it. The media are lying! That's a cute defence. It lets you live in a world where you can endorse a system that murders people without ever having to question it. Even though most of the evidence overwhelmingly shows otherwise. But for the people whose children and fathers are at risk of dying everytime they leave the house, for the people who have to wake up and face the reality that they could be murdered and the people responsible would never be held accountable, for the people who have to live in a world where the same institution that should protect them is the same one that could murder, abuse and exploit them and no one else will help, well, they don't have that choice. They have to get on with it while people tell them it was their kids fault for being black. How many dead kids deserve it, by the way? If half the dead kids deserve it is it okay to murder the other half? At what point is it not okay to murder children just because they're black? How many 'mistakes' do there have to be?

For the parents of Tamir Rice I'd bet they'd be inclined to say "just one mistake", just as I'm sure you would if it was your kid shot dead.

Also he wasn't only accused after he became a candidate? Trump's got a list of claims against him going back to the 90's. As noted in this article where the earliest claim is in 1993 by his own fucking wife of all people.

Also, you shouldn't grab anyone without permission. When you do and that person doesn't immediately scream and swat you away that's not out of consent, it's fucking fear. When you do that and you're their employer, or your the millionaire who owns the pageant they're running in, it's intimidation. That's why it was a big deal; it reveals the man for what he was. A man who is, in your own words, a fucking sleazebag.

And the wall is a symbol of a man who wants to divide and a culture that's open to it. He wants to build a wall to keep brown people out, that's it. Ignoring the overwhelming fucking stupidity of it (you couldn't build a wall like that anyway, it'll inevitably have to have gaps to allow soil and silt to pass through or else it'll just turn into a giant sand dune) it's an action that is symbolically about division and exclusion. "Brown people, stay out". That's what it says.

Diex - you haven't debunked anything. But before this continues let me address the simple problem; Trump isn't Nixon. He isn't Reagan. He isn't Bush. He isn't McCain. Hell, he isn't even Santorum of Romney. There's no middle ground. There's no agreement. There's no compromise. To people like me, people who see the future as one where nationalism is dead and where race isn't used to justify discrimination and abuse, people who believe humanity's inevitable future is as a united race where divisions are set aside, people who believe that homophobia and misogyny have no place in civilised discourse and who are well aware of history and its trends, Trump represents the worst possible scenario. There'll be no movement from me. He's not a legitimate position on the political spectrum. He's populism, ignorance, fear and hate personified. And you won't find me sitting back and telling people who voted for him that it's a difference of opinion. You won't find me shrugging my shoulders and saying it doesn't matter. You won't 'debunk' my views anymore than rationalism and common decency could 'debunk' Trump himself. You'll just require me to go around and find citations, in response to which I'm sure you'll respond with your own citations.

I will say I've enjoyed this debate; heated or otherwise I'm completely sincere about my interest in debating with people I respect. And I have respect for your belief that these things actually matter (as opposed to the original post I bitched out). But I legitimately need to get back to work so further replies will be limited. But to answer your question I think people voted for Trump for three reasons.

One; they're stupid, and Trump appeals to stupid people.

Two; they're racist, and Trump appeals to racist people.

Three; they're uninformed, and Trump appeals to uninformed people.

I think between stupid, racist and ignorant people, you can rally up about half of any country to your side.