What's your thoughts on Trump?

[Alex K]

Say what??! Where?

You don't need to worry about it. It's only Romania.

A close friend of mine grew up in Timisoara, but I suspect they left loong before any of that nonsense came up.

[Zenith]

A close friend of mine grew up in Timisoara, but I suspect they left loong before any of that nonsense came up.

I don't know. The idea that the President is a Nazi and other nonsense came in late 2014, when he ran for President.

Otherwise, what we have here is a grim reminder of the early 90s. Before 1990 it was even worse. So unless your friend was born more than a hundred years ago, I think he'd been exposed to a lot of madness.

[abaris]

Otherwise, what we have here is a grim reminder of the early 90s. Before 1990 it was even worse. So unless your friend was born more than a hundred years ago, I think he'd been exposed to a lot of madness.

My father's family came from the Timisoara region. When it was Austro Hungarian. In WWII my father was drafted into the Romanian army. He deserted and found a save haven with his uncle in Budapest.

Funny that. I don't even know where I belong. I have so many places to choose from. This place of yours faced the butt end of the 20th century. I can relate in a certain way.

[Zenith]

Sometimes the forest has to burn before something new can grown.

On a more pessimistic note, I'm thinking about the new trees that will grow: They may be completely rotten.

It suffices for Trump to become a full-fledged dictator, and USA may become screwed for more than 100 years.
Just look at any country who'se had a dictator or a series of dictators for the long haul: when "democracy" is finally established, they all turn to civil war and run a kind of democracy that shocks any sane man.

And that's because dictatorships twist the culture and the minds of the people. If Trump will become a true dictator and rule USA with an iron fist until he dies of age, you can be sure that all new generations who would live under Trump's administration will be indoctrinated into the new ways of thinking. Keep it for a few dozen years, and then when you establish back "real democracy", more than 50% of the people of those who lived in a dictatorship will have been tuned to vote for whoever politician speaks like Trump, laughs like Trump, smiles like Trump, talks to people like Trump does, and treats people the way Trump does. And they will indoctrinate their own children the same way.

Dictatorships and political regimes have the power to twist and ruin the minds of people for generations to come.

Let's all hope it will all end well.

---

My father's family came from the Timisoara region. When it was Austro Hungarian. In WWII my father was drafted into the Romanian army. He deserted and found a save haven with his uncle in Budapest.

Funny that. I don't even know where I belong. I have so many places to choose from. This place of yours faced the butt end of the 20th century. I can relate in a certain way.

From what I have heard, I have, among others, Hungarian, Serbian, and possibly Gypsy roots. One grandmother was born in Budapest.

Anyway, the saddest thing that affects me is that... I feel powerless. There's virtually nothing I can do to make things better.

And then I look to Hungary, with their Viktor Orban. There's not much news coming from there, but it seems like they're not very different from us (expect, perhaps, doing better). Then I'm thinking about neighboring countries, which I hear, are doing worse as corruption goes, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, perhaps Greece. And if the propaganda with "Nazi" and the madness here didn't reach outside Romania, then I only wonder what could be going in those countries. And Ukraine, they must've experienced even worse problems if their government shot at them, and even more, their own russian ethnics (still, Ukrainian citizens) took up arms and killed their own countrymen.

I once believed that USA and EU and NATO could make this world a better place. But now I think, perhaps it was only an illusion. Perhaps the best thing one can do is to find a "haven", an island of freedom and happiness and live there in his own small bubble, no longer tuned to whatever is going on in this insane world. Perhaps this is the sanest thing to do.

[TaraJo]

Well, what do I think of Trump?

For a long time, the GOP has said some pretty outrageous things, but they never act on those things because they know the voters would instantly turn on them if they did. Trump, on the other hand, doesn't have this fear. He's doing all the crazy things the Republicans have talked about and, yeah, people are getting pissed at him for it. Up until now, everyone seemed to think that when they get nasty, they'll get nasty with everyone else.... but somehow leave themselves, personally, alone. And, yeah, I've seen it taken to an extreme: My sister in law is in a kinda-fake marriage with a man who is an undocumented immigrant, specifically so he can get his green card. She's also a big Trump supporter. I was hoping that she's able to have that kind of cognitive dissonance, but surely he would know better, right? Wrong. Looked at his facebook feed and he was laughing at undocumented Cubans being deported.

Trump doesn't care who he pisses off, and it's going to cost the Republicans. They're going to take hits in 2018 midterms and the 2020 election. The only way they don't is if they engage in extreme voter suppression; while it's possible, I don't know if they'll be able to suppress enough voters to compensate for their extreme stupidity. Not to mention, the Democrats are taking steps to compensate for the voter suppression by helping people get whatever ID they need to vote, if nothing else.

That being said, maybe we can get some good out of this. I mean, the GOP has been getting more and more extreme over the past 15 or so years; maybe Trump is just what they need to bring them out of crazy town and back into reality. I mean, I disagree with him on some key points, but I'd like to see a libertarian focused Republican party, based around Ron Paul's ideology. He's certainly more reasonable and more consistent than the rest of the Republicans. As for the Democrats, maybe they could get away from the corporate sell-outs, away from divisive, toxic, identity politics and start focusing on populous economic issues again. I'd love to see the same energy that created #OccupyWallStreet put into a political campaign, which is a lot of what happened with Bernie Sanders. Elizabeth Warren could fit that bill, too, since she's had a lot to say on issues of economic inequality. I dunno; Ron Paul Republicans vs Bernie Sanders Democrats.... I'd really like to see that kind of election and that kind of Washington.

[abaris]

I dunno; Ron Paul Republicans vs Bernie Sanders Democrats.... I'd really like to see that kind of election and that kind of Washington.

The Democrats already took the first step that this won't happen. They're not signaling change with their newest choice of leader.

[Zenith]

Nobody wants a dictator. Not everyone that voted for Trump agreed with everything he said and promised. Many people that voted for Trump did so despite his obvious faults not because they adhered to them.

The problem that I see is that, even though most people don't want a dictator, they are capable of allowing a guy to become one.
I believe it starts with "our side" vs "their side" - people fear the idea of a dictator on "their side", but what if he's on "our side"?

I believe it is dangerous if a great many people become crazy with "WE won!" that they forget that the one whom they elected must fight for the rights, freedom, and welfare of those who oppose him also.

Just look at Russia, Syria, North Koreea, and so on: Every dictator has a good portion of the people supporting him. They may not know that they're doing something bad, but they do it.

P.S. A good part of the elders in my country, who have lived under dictatorship now say "those were the good old times." To them, the fact that it was a dictator ruling their country, stealing their freedoms and liberties, and killing whoever spoke against the dictator / communist party, that means nothing. So I know, some people here do actually think that it would be great if the ruling party had 100% control over all the country, cause for them it's "our side", "us", "the people ruling".

[TaraJo]

I dunno; Ron Paul Republicans vs Bernie Sanders Democrats.... I'd really like to see that kind of election and that kind of Washington.

The Democrats already took the first step that this won't happen. They're not signaling change with their newest choice of leader.

Yeah, I know.  That worries me.

Hey, Democrats!  Remember the 50's and 60's and 70's?  Remember those social programs you championed like medicaid, medicare, unemployment, food stamps and social security?  Remember when unions were strong, wages were high and millionaires paid taxes?  Can we go back to that?  Those were popular programs!  I mean, yeah, I'll be the first to admit, for dark skinned people or gay people or women, these times weren't always the best, but with economic issues, we were a whole fuck of a lot better off then vs now.  

I think part of the problem is the very nature of democrats, exemplified by Bernie Sanders himself: when he lost the democratic nomination, he immediately began identifying as an Independent again, making it that much more difficult for him to change the democratic party from the inside.  They say democrats fall in love while republicans fall in line and it's true.  Unfortunately, falling in line seems to win elections.

Still, the Trump presidency should be a short one.  Bush wouldn't have been able to get away with his hard-right on all policies if not for the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Trump has been taking a hard-right turn on all policies without some kind of great event to rally the people.  But at this point, I have to wonder, even if there was some huge, tragic event like that, something to unify the people, would Trump be able to use it to help himself?  I can't help but think, for example, if there was a huge terrorist attack now, Trump and his rhetoric and policies would be to blame, with everyone pissed at him instead of lining up behind him.

[Zenith]

I can't help but think, for example, if there was a huge terrorist attack now, Trump and his rhetoric and policies would be to blame, with everyone pissed at him instead of lining up behind him.

I believe that this is EXACTLY what you need for Trump to shout out loud "I told you so! I was right!" and get an increase of popularity by at least 20%
Things like terrorist attacks tend to to put people in defensive-aggressive mode, and this is where Trump can win big time.

[scoobysnack]

Love what Trump is doing for the US! Finally we have an alpha male in charge after 8 years of Barry Soetero. The national debt is actually going down. The stock market is going up due to the anticipation of lower taxes and good business climate which will result in higher wages and more jobs along with factories being built in the US to employ US workers. Small businesses are optimistic and consumer confidence is going up. Really those on the left who hate Trump have become so extreme and are looking like reckless irresponsible delusional basket cases who are in their own little cult. It's so strange that a major issue of the left and the democrats is focusing on non citizens or illegal aliens. Trump is the leader of the US to represent the best interests of citizens of this nation. Finally!!! MAGA!

Everything is fucking awesome, and it's time for those haters to jump on board and join the party. Take the red pill and enjoy the fun and the freedom as you abandon your dependency mindset and finally start winning! Either that, or get the fuck out of the way!