WTF is wrong with this country?

[Ike Bana]

Following up on this from Dave...
http://politicalchat.org/showpost.ph...43&postcount=1

This is one of the opinions from: Politico - What Trump Showed Us About America

From Politico in the depths of the pandemic, opinions from 35 mostly university professors (which will generate immediate sniveling and puking from anybody on the right), on what the fuck is wrong with us.

POLITICO - ‘AMERICANS FEEL RIPPED OFF, AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME.’

BY JOAN C. WILLIAMS

Joan C. Williams is a professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law and author of White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.

I lived in Venezuela growing up. Now, I have lived to see the Venezuelization of my own country. Venezuela had tremendous oil wealth, but at age 8, I was deeply shocked at the level of inequality. I still remember driving into Caracas for the first time and seeing people living in shanty towns, with little boys running around in only shirts. Our house there had high concrete walls topped with broken glass. This brought home to me that the white picket fence we think of here in America signals the social trust and peace possible only in a democracy that offers workers a stable, middle-class life.

Donald Trump represents what happens when the American dream dies. It is dying: Virtually all Americans of my generation did better than their parents, but only about half of those born in 1980 will. Americans feel ripped off, and they’re looking for someone to blame—that’s what Trump showed me. His election made me realize that I and other progressives had failed to clearly communicate to our fellow Americans the reason for the hollowing out of the middle class: a toxic brand of slash-and-burn capitalism where Big Men’s frantic performance of masculinity “requires” them to hoard outlandish wealth so they can win the masculinity contest that defines their lives—gutting workers’ futures in the process.

The left’s failure to explain this enabled Trump to blame immigrants for the disappearance of solid full-time jobs, and to convince many in the fragile and former middle class that they’ve been victimized because they’re white. Immigrants aren’t to blame; slash-and-burn capitalism is. We urgently need to draw that link, clearly and soon, or our democracy’s days may be numbered.

Ike's emphasis above.

And even if this is accurate, which I feel it is...goddamn white christian Americans have had it all over Americans of color and Americans of other religions since the founding...and they have certainly had it all over the citizens of countries that are sending refugees seeking a decent life to the borders of this country...people that they hate for no other reasons than the color of their skin and their religious beliefs.

If you can take the time...every one of these opinions is thoughtful, some of them stunningly pessimistic, but every one has been worth reading, IMHO.

[Rajoo]

Ike, let me add some of my own frustration.

Here is Trump a Seditionist wanna be Dictator who is soon going to be indicted for his January 6th insurrection, or at least Special Counsel jack Smith's office has informed him he is a target.

So what does Trump do? Rant on his social media calling Smith names.
Calls and asks his supporters in Congress to 'fight' for him.

And finally, his co predator Matt Goetz is going to try and get a bill passed to de-fund Jack Smith's operation. How can anyone even think of circumventing laws in a so called land of law and order. Only if you are serving a Fascist leader like Trump.

Matt Gaetz launches bill to defund Jack Smith probe as Trump asks Capitol allies for Jan 6 indictment help

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b2377582.html

[barbara]

I am just so tired of Trump and his Republican cult. I have had enough of the clowns.
Maybe it is just the heat getting to me. The AC went out on Monday and we have been having triple digit weather.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by barbara

I am just so tired of Trump and his Republican cult. I have had enough of the clowns.
Maybe it is just the heat getting to me. The AC went out on Monday and we have been having triple digit weather.

That’s awful. As bad as it is during the day, it’s worse at night. Sleeping thru the heat is impossible for me.

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by barbara

I am just so tired of Trump and his Republican cult. I have had enough of the clowns.
Maybe it is just the heat getting to me. The AC went out on Monday and we have been having triple digit weather.

That is torture, Barbara. I've had some success with a portable swamp cooler. Hope you get the AC fixed soon.

[Mark B]

The old saw that it's the LEFT's fault for not explaining the situation is complete & utter crap. MAGA morons believe what they want to believe, and MAGA morons get their propaganda only from RIGHT wingnut media.

POLITICO - ‘AMERICANS FEEL RIPPED OFF, AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME.’

BY JOAN C. WILLIAMS

Joan C. Williams is a professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law and author of White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.

I lived in Venezuela growing up. Now, I have lived to see the Venezuelization of my own country. Venezuela had tremendous oil wealth, but at age 8, I was deeply shocked at the level of inequality. I still remember driving into Caracas for the first time and seeing people living in shanty towns, with little boys running around in only shirts. Our house there had high concrete walls topped with broken glass. This brought home to me that the white picket fence we think of here in America signals the social trust and peace possible only in a democracy that offers workers a stable, middle-class life.

Donald Trump represents what happens when the American dream dies. It is dying: Virtually all Americans of my generation did better than their parents, but only about half of those born in 1980 will. Americans feel ripped off, and they’re looking for someone to blame—that’s what Trump showed me. His election made me realize that I and other progressives had failed to clearly communicate to our fellow Americans the reason for the hollowing out of the middle class: a toxic brand of slash-and-burn capitalism where Big Men’s frantic performance of masculinity “requires” them to hoard outlandish wealth so they can win the masculinity contest that defines their lives—gutting workers’ futures in the process.

The left’s failure to explain this enabled Trump to blame immigrants for the disappearance of solid full-time jobs, and to convince many in the fragile and former middle class that they’ve been victimized because they’re white. Immigrants aren’t to blame; slash-and-burn capitalism is. We urgently need to draw that link, clearly and soon, or our democracy’s days may be numbered.

[Oerets]

WTF is wrong with this country one asks?

Full of spoiled entitled whiners! With a very loud voice on certain news outlets fueling their rants.


Barbara how you get the AC back and cooling ASAP!

[barbara]

Oerets, I am cool!! Plan to bask in my coolness all day!

[Oerets]

Great news!

My wife's car had AC issues.
Forgot how bad it is with no AC in the summertime.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by Mark B

The old saw that it's the LEFT's fault for not explaining the situation is complete & utter crap. MAGA morons believe what they want to believe, and MAGA morons get their propaganda only from RIGHT wingnut media.

All Joan Williams is saying is that there has been a failure to communicate an understanding of the fact that the American dream has been stolen from middle America by "slash and burn" capitalism...corporate and banking greed. All she's saying is that the left has done a piss poor job of focusing on this issue. The left has done a piss poor job at a lot of things when it comes to landing votes. And the Maga morons only make up 30% of Republican voters, even fewer of all voters.

I don't know what to do about the fact that rampant racism and bigotry in American culture made it easy for bigot Trump to sell "it's the immigrants and minorities fault" to bigoted white christian Americans.

But one thing I do know is that Americans have the government they deserve. The fact that this culture has pretty much totally abandoned any sense of, and commitment to any sort of collectivism is going to kill this democracy. Rugged individualism killed it. I got mine...go fuck yourself, killed it.