So... Is Superdave on a self-imposed sabbatical from P&CE, or is it stupidface-imposed? Just curious.
Lot of people kind of tuned out after the election. I'm still paying attention but more in the casual sense. I know what's coming with Trump.
How is this hard to understand? Trump does not care about any of this stuff, other than it occasionally being useful culture wars nonsense that plays with his base. But the idea that he has very ironclad policy positions other than whatever can benefit him and his family the most financially is absurd.
Who even believes most of these people care deeply about this stuff? Hence fairly recent Mace clips (IIRC from 2023) where she sounds very different about the trans/bathroom issue herself. This is all just stuff they will use to their advantage when it suits them. But they don't truly care about any of this stuff. Which is why it is wild to see some TERFs allying themselves with these folks. That will certainly turn out great for them.
Silliness. Also, wrong thread. Go here: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/t...-machine-fossil-fuel-boogaloo.2133203/page-40
I remember him maybe in the Doom thread on Election Day saying he thought people were being ridiculous with the negativity. So I imagine it all might’ve hit him harder when the doom did doom.
I think he bailed shortly after Brummie called the election for Trump around 10:30 and hasn’t been back since.
That's about when I bailed as well. Since I did think Harris was going to win and the vibes here were pretty upbeat, even as I was working the polls, I had to absent myself a bit.
I was listening to a podcast this morning and the main presenter said he has always been disturbed by white liberals stating publicly that "some of their friends voted for Trump". As he said, and I agree with him, It is puzzling to hear white liberals very matter of factly acknowledging that they have maga friends. He added however one can call someone a friend, when they have totally opposite core values and support hate, racism and misogyny? Question for my white allies / mates here, do you have trump voters among your friends (not just acquaintances but friends)? Would you consider breaking up the friendship over their vote?
It's probably a combination of disappointment that Harris lost and embarrassment that he's ignored that the left operates for good. There was an emosnark quality to his posts, like he actually believed what he was typing. When you have enough conviction/privilege/arrogance to start a thread like this, ain't no way you're gonna come back and admit that every single thought you ever had about race, politics and cruelty was wrong.
They have MAGA family. They simply exist in a world far below ours morally, and can imagine (and plan) things I can't even dream of. This is where you get the Ed Geins from. That there isn't a Nat Turner on the subway every morning somewhere in every state is a tribute to the kindness and good nature of Black people.
Dave actually PMed me about a Lions-Bills article last night. Both the Bills and Lions have a lot of connections. Ralph Wilson for instance, was a born and bred Detroiter. Anyway, go Lions.
I can’t imagine being friends with somebody with such a fundamentally different worldview. But then I’m very choosy about friends anyway, my inner circle is quite small. I do have old friends I keep in touch with through social media who likely or definitely voted for Trump but nobody I actually spend time with. I have ditched a few who were particularly obnoxious about it.
I know of no Trump voter amongst my friends or family. If they did vote for him, then that friendship would be over. For the record, I learned that from all my evangelical Christian friends who immediately stopped talking to me upon learning I was gay (even the ones I was a best man or groomsman for). I now treat them the way they treat others.
I actually ended a friendship several years ago over politics. It was during 2016, he had broken up with his long time girlfriend over political differences and he was quite venomous about it. He was practically making a scene and unfounded claims about seeing things at our gym. It would also not surprise me if he was in DC during January 6th (He wasn't). I also had a close friend of the family that was an ardent Trumper, but I didn't really speak to this person for years due to comments they made about Muslims back in 2012, especially so at a time when I was dating one at the time. This particular person was also a point of contention between my mother and I, to the point that we had several arguments about it. I will say I didn't attend their funeral. Part of it was I had made plans to travel for that time period, other part was I found this person just repulsive
This portion has had me ending a lot of social connections. A lot of the right leaning people I know, doesn't matter if we're talking sports, hiking, eventually make it about politics. It'd get exhausting, especially whenever my job had me dealing with it. The family friend I mentioned in my previous post, I would be telling this person about my new job or about a date I went on and somehow they'd make it about politics within 5 minutes. It was getting bad pre-Trump, but now? I don't even bother. I'm also selective who I discuss politics with, for a lot of reasons. Mainly because the extremes are exhausting about it and get their views from memes. Meanwhile, I've covered city government, worked with state and federal candidates in media, and am well read. A lot of people aren't. I tell people if they ask me that I grew up around old hippies and let them figure it out from there. Or I just say I do a lot of political work for my job and that I don't feel like discussing it (That part is true).
You can look at his profile and see his most recent activity, but it's a bit stalky. Anyways, he posted recently in other (non-P&CE) forums, so he's still around, but I expect he didn't want to talk politics for a while. He'll come back when he's ready, or maybe he won't, but that's a choice he gets to make.
I know I took a break and even now I am not watching or reading anything political. For someone that actually believed we were a better country than this, it must really sting. I never did, I just really hoped we could get past this phase of American life.
I have two friends. One of 40 years, one of 35. The friend of 35 years? I have been distancing myself from her for the past 9 years since she voiced her approval of Trump. It's painful, but made easier because I haven't seen her in the flesh in 30 years. She's probably doing the same to me. I've called her three or four times over the past two years and she no longer answers. It's only been text since and even then, she'll take days to get around to my texts. The friend of 40 years isn't going anywhere. He's always been problematic in that he's the most dickish of our group so we've always given him more latitude. We long ago stopped talking politics because (1) this guy is always outnumbered, and (2) he'd be happy to take us all on and he won't stop and he'd kill the evening. I've known him since he was 19 and he's always been small-government Republican. And even throughout most of Trump's first administration he was anti-Trump because he knows how stupid he is. But he's since argued that Jan 6 was the equivalent of the looting of a Target. I think he's a full Trumper now, but we are unlikely to discuss it further. One of the things that struck me 10 years ago is that all the friends I've had, from middle school on, have not been conservative. I didn't think of things vis a vis a political bent for the first 30 years of my life, so it was rarely something we ever discussed, but every friend I've made save those two and guy from high school, has been liberal. Even in pre-Trump times, people who rant over the size and waste of government just ain't worth my time. And as has been pointed out many a time, it's the MAGAs who are the angriest, rantiest, folks out there.
Told this one before, but it's something I think about a lot. I became aware of conservatives making anything political during the 2004 election. I grew up in a small town that was on the outskirts of the metro Detroit area. Growing up, it was a mix of rednecks and wealthy country club types. Sometimes a combination of both. While I'm less than an hour away from home, the political differences where I live (Mallory McMorrow is one of my representatives) and where I grew up is stark. In the small town, homecoming was in September. In 2004, I marched in the parade as I was in a fall sport. At the final leg, I remember seeing a bunch of W Bush supporters in a spot where people congregated. All of them holding signs supporting Bush or mocking John Kerry. I just remember at 16 thinking these people were jackasses because they made what was supposed to be a fun event into a political rally. The hard left hippies I grew up around never made these things about politics. They discussed politics, but they also knew a time and a place. I've noticed that anytime someone left leaning does something the right wing doesn't like, they'll scream about how things shouldn't be made political. Some sports figure donating money to help gay teens? Conservatives scream about it. They might say, "Shut up and dribble." Meanwhile, most conservative types I've known will turn a conversation about cats into something political and will do so as soon as possible. And they get offended or shrink when they're told not to be rude. Nick Bosa for instance, crashed a teammate's interview while wearing a MAGA hat. When he got pushed on it, he shrunk. Pre-Trump I could easily steer the conversation to other subjects, but that was slowly dwindling away when Obama was in office. Now? They won't hear otherwise.
Luckily, I live in a liberal hub of SLC, and most everyone is well-practiced at not talking politics, seeing that we are always on guard from talking about religion and politics in a super-conservative and Mormon state. (The lefty Mormons are really on-guard with this stuff!) I have noticed that I am terrible at small talk anymore. The last 5 years have destroyed my casual conversation comfort. My mind just starts spinning when we talk about the weather. I prefer to just sit back and inject a random quip when it strikes me. Much like how I am here online. It’s kind of sad, really.