[jaxie]

Originally Posted by Maru

Kirk makes a good point. I think you may be too entrenched in your views to see the forest for the trees. Most of your posts have been heavily influenced by emotion and tinged with anger/outrage. Clearly others in this section have the same issue as well, but you are intelligent and do have a point a lot of times. However, It’s just impossible to argue with anyone when it comes to how they feel.

Feelings are specifically personal to you and your experiences as a person. I notice when people argue with your viewpoints, you take it as them deconstructing you as a person than hearing your views. You hold your views and so close to your heart, it makes it very difficult to separate you from them. You’ve shown a thin skin at times when people try to bring up the flaws in your argument and it's a shame. Not just kirk, but I and others have casually or not so casually have tried to have conversations with you, but you often take it very personally. Usually that results in you going the moral/self-righteous route, rather than taking in what others have said to you as something valid and worth listening to and recognizing. Maybe you don’t value their viewpoint, but it can come off as mean-spirited to use up their time with arguments if you don’t actually care to have one from any other POV. What you feel doesn't have to change…

Anyway… back on the point which kirk made, not everything in life is so black and white. If I had a choice to vote for a candidate that didn't engender any of the qualities I find abhorrent in a human being, I would no ****ing question vote them in and spread the word. However, the people we often have a choice of vetting are often not even remotely close to what we envision as being best for America. Maybe their smoke and mirrors campaign makes you feel that way... but again, it's feeling... when they're voted in, the real facts show that to not be the case. They have their own interests and they put those issues first.

So instead, we have to vote for those who are most likely to represent our interests and put them first.

Speaking on Trump's positions, I don't fully understand the phenomenon tbqh. Even I didn't take him seriously for a long time because I thought it was a reality TV villain posing as an actual political candidate... I didn't even think he'd win the primary.

Now here we are, he's a menace, but then this campaign has become gone downhill on so many levels, that not only is Trump's face covered in mud, but the media, Hillary and various other groups... Trump has fully and skillfully trolled the entire US political system. That said, I see some of Hillary's responses and manipulation of the viewpoints that have so many voters engaged (from Trump's demographics), that I get pissed off... every single one of those mother ****ers, Trump, Hillary, media, everyone... is trying to paint with broad brushstrokes and really have no ****ing clear the ire they've tapped into.

I don't think most people know what a status quo even looks like in the US. Every election cycle feels like a cognitive dissonance for me. I know other voters who feel the same. We are just so disenchanted with our govt... this has been going on for so long too. We had a gridlocked Congress when Obama when was voted in, as you recall... Republicans blocked Democrats... Democrats block Republicans.... same song and dance.

Some people are just fed up they are more than willing to vote the nuclear option. I guess because the political dogma here is so banal and low-level that Trump's sexism and overt disdain of certain demographics in this country really pale in comparison... most political stories now are all about scandals, self-victimization, throwing people under the bus, sex scandals with Congressional pages, booty on the side... you name it... we have become so desensitized. I think some people will hold onto even the mildest hope that Donald Trump can shake up this broken country (though I disagree and agree with you, he's just trash)... but that just isn't the way everyone feels here at home. If we could Build-A-Bear a politician straight into office, we would do it in a heartbeat over the likes of Hillary or Trump...

Look at the primary voting %’s at some point if you ever have a chance. I think it was NYT’s that mentioned that only 9% of the total population voted Donald Trump/Clinton onto the ticket. 9%. It’s hilarious to me that people are ranting and raging on the telly about how they can’t believe once again the status quo left them with such a **** ticket when almost no one votes in primaries…

To put it in perspective, in my county, Harris (which is the largest pop in TX) encompasses most of Houston and surrounding areas, Hillary Clinton received 156,729 votes… Trump received 147,721 votes… Harris County’s population is 4.3 million… their combined vote, 304450… That’s 14% of the total pop which is a quite dismal. I vote in primaries and thankfully Cruz won my state.

Perhaps if Trump wins and royally screws everybody over, people will wake up and we will se a surge in primary participate. However, so many minorities and especially minority female voters opt out of getting involved entirely for “personal reasons”. Which is quite sad because these groups are being already under-represented.

So that said, it’s very hard to paint with such broad brushstrokes when considering the polls. We have such a poor showing at primaries and even some generals have this issue. I know some people that only vote every 8 years and will vote straight ticket the rest of the ballot. They stay home with the assumption during the midterms and always assume that the incumbent will be re-elected… I really don’t understand that kind of voter.

You are a very smart, wise, and observant lady Maru. You put most of that in the first couple of paras a lot more kindly and sensitively than I would have! I hope it's received well. I fear not.