Politics Cable news is driving this country towards war

I saw nothing wrong with what @riverman said.

 

One of the biggest problems is these channels (Fox News, CNN, MSNBC etc.) get to call themselves 'news' when they are so extremely far from that. They are entertainment pure and simple but parade themselves as news sources and most of the American public is too stupid/ignorant to know the difference between news and entertainment. You want the news, go to your local stations/papers, those people (for the most part) are just trying to get the word out and let you know what is happening around you. It makes me sick to see them lumped in with the idiot babbling talking heads like Tucker, Lemon, Maddow etc. that are only out to keep you watching their programs a little bit longer and divide the people of this country a little bit more everyday. Local news is FAR from perfect but so much better than tuning into one of the national stations.

 

Some of the most racist people i've known were democrats. Union dudes working in the shipyards, truck drivers, railroaders, relatives etc.
Racism know's no boundaries is what Ive learned in my almost 70 years.

Im neither party as I refused to be pushed to line up with one way of thinking on issues.

Im for compromise for the good of the people and getting things done. Im glad we have Joe as President as I think he can bridge the gap and has the nards to take on the extremist wacko's regardless.

 

bullshit...I grew up in rural Iowa 3 miles from a town with 75 people...county had 3000.....you'd be very hard pressed to find a liberal....your stereotype that rural folks only get their politics from tv is a stretch...people have lives...join the military...meet coworkers...move...etc.....most of my pre internet life I read the Sunday paper once a week for news...actually most rural people when I grew up kept their politics to themselves but many were racists out of fear of the unknown more than anything....one gains knowledge by reading good material no matter where you find it. The idea that a tv screen is c0ntrolling all adult thought...well...one can always throw out the tv.....I did long long ago....choices...I chose Lane County as my home over places like Roseburg because I think university towns have a more educated population generally than logging towns and I like that diversity that colleges bring to an area. ...nice to actually have several asian markets in Eugene....I've lived places where Top Ramen was the only asian food available at the market.

 

I've met you and your dad...you're no spring chicken dude but go ahead...use the ageism defense......you can go back to the county I grew up in and it hasn't changed a hell of a lot....my family still lives there. People who didn't grow up in rural america shouldn't spout off about liberal or conservative politics there...walk the walk....we're having this discussion during the same era of history are we not? When you start discounting the experiences of the elders....the foundations of culture crumble....I've raised kids....I've probably got kids your age.....even we old folks have eyes and ears for sharing how we got to where we are.....that path didn't just die off 50 years ago because of the modern video game...my youngest son whom you've met is my best friend....we don't have that age gap issue for some reason...don't get me wrong....I have my stereotypes that I fully stand behind...

 

Richard Nixon ...Kent State...eerily similar politics decades ago....if you think Martin Luther King's speech is irrelevant today because it was decades ago....that's your loss

 

What are you basing this on? Where is the data? Is there some poll where they all admit to being racists? Or are we just basing this entirely on perception? That's the danger that I'm talking about and you just proved my point. You're parroting back that most of them are racist, but can you provide any evidence at all to back that up?

It's really easy to dismiss or marginalize or even fear a group of people if you can just label them as evil or bad, and that's the problem right now. These people are being painted as horrible racists, which puts everyone else in a corner because who wants to work with a racist? Who wants to understand a racist? Who wants to find a middle ground with a racist?

To me, from what I have seen, there is a massive misunderstanding of what most of the Trumpers want. The core of what they want. They're nostalgic for the old days. I know most of you grew up during a time where we were told that the USA was the BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. It was hammered in our brains. We were told we were the best at everything. Gas was cheap. A family could live off one income. They want to return to that time. The problem is that we can't return to that time. It's never coming back. I don't think it's necessarily that these people blame POC for this, they just want it to go back. They want things made in America, but they don't understand that an iPhone would be astronomical if slaves didn't make our phones! The genie is out of the bottle. The country needs to evolve. But they have people like Trump telling them that it can go back, and now they have Fox News telling them that the Democrats are out to destroy the country. It's brainwashing.

 

what I don't want to get stuck in the rut of my memories is easy to solve........there....all gone now

 

I live in America as a non-white man.

 

I would agree with you that there are definitely racist Trump supporters. But you're going to extrapolate personal experience out to say that a lot of the 70 million people who voted for Trump are racist? What percentage of the democrats are racist?

 

dude there confederate flags and swastikas at EVERY trump rally. this are not random occurrences, they are at EVERY FUCKING EVENT. my neighbor with Trump/Pence signs in his yard a few years ago decided to bring out his 5 foot confed flag to wave around while i was out painting my deck, clearly trying to incite shit.

just one of the more in my face events of racism growing up. the subtle ones are even more annoying, but always underlying.

sorry you can't see the forest among the trees or make obvious connections.

 

"I would agree with you..." is a weird way of putting it. Its fact. Racists in this country are overwhelmingly Trump/republicans, and everyone knows it. And since they don't do anything about it, they are complicit.

 

not all republicans are racist.

but every fucking racist is republican.

 

I have never been to a Trump event so I guess that explains it lol

My point though, is that there's a difference between the zealot Trump supporters who attend events and drive their trucks around with flags, and the average Republican voter. It's a large leap to just label the majority of 70 million people as racist.

That's like saying that all Democrats are ANTIFA. Do you not see the difference?

 

go back and read what i said. "a lot of them...." I never said all. they were just complicit and let it happen.

read the details of the Muslim ban. Or the children in cages. It should make everyone shudder. But no, they voted for 4 more years of it. What is that except for condoning racism? You want to make a distinction between condoning racism and embodiying it, be my guest.

 

I would agree with this. People willing to overlook the evils because they thought they were going to get what they want. I would agree with that completely.

 

the fact that they are OK with it should give you pause. Swastikas. At American political rallies is OK with it apparently.

 

So then what's your issue with CNN talking about it and highlighting it? It should make everyone uncomfortable. We need to normalize it.

 

People generally speaking don't differentiate AP news feeds from editorials.....it's pretty simple when consuming news to see that all news networks use the AP feed...and they all use different leaning editorialists.....one is news...one is opinions....CNN does have liberal editorials and Fox does have conservative editorials....that's not the AP news feed...the AP news feed tells me the weather and any current events that are crossing the airwaves. I'm tired of people talking about editorialists as if they are news anchors...they are not. Bill Maher and Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones are not newsmen....they are not journalists....they are personality jocks

 

I think your take is incomplete at best. And denying the racism that well and truly exists in this country is a serious mistake. Sure the MAGAts want “the good old days” back. Don’t we all? But anyone with half a brain knows they are gone and they aren’t coming back. Trump’s America refuses to acknowledge reality and move forward. It’s far too easy to whine, blame others (minorities) for your own shortcomings and to expect the government (they themselves want to reduce) to solve all their problems. They say they want good jobs but they don’t want just “any” job, even if it pays more and provides better benefits than their old jobs. They want their old jobs back. Period. They don’t want to learn something new (and perhaps grow). And when minorities gladly accept those jobs the disgruntled refuse, then the minorities are accused of “taking their jobs”. Magats (like their fearful leader) are stuck in a cycle of blaming everyone and everything for their own refusal to hold themselves at least partially accountable for where they are in life. When they are called out, they are immediately victims of “the cancel culture” (another term for accountability and responsibility). They are their own worst enemies and always will be. Their “leaders” and “news” outlets are simply telling them what they want to hear. They are NOT the root of the problem. They are the fertilizer.

If one thing has been brutally driven home this past year is that racism is alive and well and Donald Trump and his Clown Posse have made it much more acceptable to wear your racism on your sleeve. I have two (formerly close) friends that I have socialized with for years and never had an inkling about how they felt. Apparently, prior to Trump they felt a responsibility to be respectful of others and to keep their vile opinions to themselves. In 2016 it was like a switch was flipped. The “real them” came out. Suddenly it was okay to be racist. They have made it exceedingly clear that they support Trump because he “stands up for” white people. Interestingly, one of those guys is well off and has been pretty much handed everything, while the other guy has had to work for everything he has. And neither has a clue as to what white privilege actually is....and they have absolutely NO interest in learning. Systemic racism has cost me one of those friendships and the other friendship is on life support (only due to the fact that we are blood). Those people who stormed the capital made it clear in interviews that the economy wasn’t a driving force for their discontent. Hell, they could all afford to descend on Washington and create chaos. Their professed goals were to change the election results and to “defend the Constitution” In other words, they have no fucking clue what it is they want other than attention. Stop giving these malcontents, traitors and fascists cover they don’t need or deserve. They are traitors and should be dealt with as such.