Your thoughts on the protests

[vorlon13]

Hi there people, I'm Bobbie Brown

[Catholic_Lady]

But that's the thing. I said "They very reluctantly voted for Trump." "They did not like Trump." "They were forced to choose between what they felt was the lesser evil of 2 very bad choices." 

...And the comments he made, etc, were the reason why these good people I know did not like him and hated the fact that he was the candidate. 

I guess feel free to judge them if you want, feel free to say my father and my friends are racist bigots. You don't know them. I do. I choose not to judge.

There were plenty of choices.  There was the choice not to make a choice.  There was the choice of Evan McMullin.  There was the choice of Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein.  There was the choice of asking Mitt Romney to run again.  There was the choice of rallying against Donald Trump before he got as far as he did.  Let's not pretend there were only two choices.  The choice people chose was to 'reluctantly' support a bully.  A sexist, racist, xenophobic bully.  Doing so reluctantly means you still do so.

I guess they're just horrible people then. Settled.

[Catholic_Lady]

But that's the thing. I said "They very reluctantly voted for Trump." "They did not like Trump."

I don't want to attack your parents. Sadly I have to pick this up, since you present that example for the second time. It doesn't matter how reluctant they were. If they didn't like Trump or Clinton they could have stayed at home. By voting for Trump they were endorsing what he represented thoughout his campaign. They contributed to the victory of a man spewing nothing but hatred and exclusion as the main ticket he was running on.

I could never do that. I despise people doing something like that. Quite a big issue for me, given that my family was persecuted some 80 years ago. Never, never in my whole life, will I muster any kind of understanding for people taking that train. Nor do I want to. They are aiding and abettíng that mindset. They are aiding and abetting hatred, exclusion and resentment against whole demographics. Their reasons for doing so don't matter to me at all, since it was a voluntary decision to go out and vote for that creature.

I'm not saying I agree with their decision. Obviously I don't, since I didn't vote for either of those 2 turds. 

What I'm saying is, I'm not going to raise my arms up and say that these people - my dad, my friends, and everyone else who very reluctantly voted for Trump bc they wanted to stop Hillary who they thought was a worse choice, are bad, bigoted, racist people.  

As I said, be quick to judge and write people off if you will. Personally I'm not in the business of doing that.

[Catholic_Lady]

There are people out there who are legitimately cutting off ties with their friends and/or family members because of who they voted for. And that's just sad.

[Cecelia]

I guess they're just horrible people then. Settled.

You see things in a very black and white way.  Do you really think otherwise good people can't have bigotry in their hearts?

[abaris]

 

What I'm saying is, I'm not going to raise my arms up and say that these people - my dad, my friends, and everyone else who very reluctantly voted for Trump bc they wanted to stop Hillary who they thought was a worse choice, are bad, bigoted, racist people.  

There's a limit to my tolerance. If it comes to people shoving something like that on all of us - it happens in Europe too, after all - my will to show some kind of understanding reaches it's limits. There's a red line I'm not willing to cross, and that's to support that kind of message. If you don't understand what I'm saying here, talk to the descendants of Holocaust survivors and see what they make of Trump's statements. Just now it's just words, but there's no limit to human depravity, given the right circumstances. And history has shown numerous times where hate can take us.

Contempt is the friendliest feeling I can muster for people voting some creature like that into any office. And that's following the biblical line of forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.

As I said, be quick to judge and write people off if you will. Personally I'm not in the business of doing that.

Not a problem. I haven't got any friends or family who would ever vote for something like that.

[Minimalist]

What I'm saying is, I'm not going to raise my arms up and say that these people - my dad, my friends, and everyone else who very reluctantly voted for Trump bc they wanted to stop Hillary who they thought was a worse choice, are bad, bigoted, racist people.

There is always the alternative that they were just stupid.  Does that really help you?

[Aroura]

There are people out there who are legitimately cutting off ties with their friends and/or family members because of who they voted for. And that's just sad.

It isn't politics that did this. Labeling it as just who they voted for is serious oversimplification.

Hypothetical example.
Dear friend, Did you vote for lower taxes on the wealthy? Fine, I'm still your friend. Did you vote for tighter trade regulations, or deregulating corporations, or for loser gun control laws? Cool! You are still my friend, because these are political issues that we can overcome, and we have other more important things in common.
Did you vote for the guy who's vice President wants to put gay kids in electroshock therapy? Hmm, now I'm uncomfortable. Did you vote for the guy who refused to reject the endorsement of the KKK? Who called Mexicans rapists, and I dont care if you're Hispanic he still said it. ?

No CL, you chose not to vote for that guy, so you are still my friend. But please go look at what is happening with the white supremacist movement in the US in the last few days. Just google it and take a glance. Dont put your head in the sand. Go look at what we as a nation just did.
There is a direct causal link that cannot be denied.

Look we fought a civil war over human rights. Brother fought brother. It tore families apart. It isn't that bad now, but if my own brother came out as a white supremacist, I'd have to cut ties, too.

I get it. They are your family, you cannot cut ties over a vote because your family are NOT white supremacists. But Hun, their vote gave those guys a big 2 thumbs up. I hope someday they see it and think about the consequences next time.

You are a loving person, I truly believe that. I'm sure your family is as well, else how could you be.
But they made a grave mistake here. They've endorsed a true monstrosity. Even if reluctantly so. We'll see if it gets better or worse over the next few years.

[Catholic_Lady]

If I was a member of an uber conservative Evangelical forum and the people there were saying Hillary voters are all crappy people who support corruption and "baby murder", I'd tell them the same thing: don't be so quick to judge and write people off, and there are plenty of good people I know personally who voted for Hillary.

This attitude towards those who voted differently is just the opposite side to the same coin, folks.

[abaris]

This attitude towards those who voted differently is just the opposite side to the same coin, folks.

If it makes you feel better, well go for that believe. I'm saying it for the last time. I was brought up hating that mindset for a very valid reason. A reason which made me miss out on 80 percent of my extended family. They weren't around in my childhood because they were otherwise occupied in unmarked graves.

So excuse if I have little to no understanding for your kind of tolerance.