Why the fuck do we have Democrats trying to get us to sympathize with deplorables?

[bravenak]

Did you forget that they voted to BAN MUSLIMS?
That they voted to deport millions of people?
That they voted for a racist, sexist, antisemite isamaphobe?
How the fuck do you think we feel watching our so called allies run around trying to drum up sympathy for the people who voted for a guy who wants to nationalize STOP AND FRISK?

This is bullshit, man. We always fucking vote with you and always have your back against deplorables. All we fucking ask is that you have our damn backs when shit gets bad.

[still_one]

1. Exactly Bravenak. Those who voted for trump knew he was a racist,

sexist, xenophobe, and the fact that they voted for him means that didn't bother them.

[bravenak]

2. Thank you. I appreciate your post, seriously

[DesertFlower]

18. i agree. nt

[Amaryllis]

70. Some of them were bothered by that but still thought him preferable to Hillary becasue, you know,

her emails...

[liberalhistorian]

158. I have a very liberal friend whom I'm extremely

frustrated with right now. She voted for Stein because, like Susan Sarandon, she thought HRC was worse and she did "plenty of research" on the "Clinton Foundation" and "saw that it was like a Mafioso" and "just knew she'd be a corrupt tyrant". She said that the Cheeto Mussolini was "not a typical politician" and that that was so much better. She refuses to see the damage he's done so far and she absolutely refuses to believe in any kind of Russian connection, despite all the solid, credible evidence. Just like Drumpf supporters and Sarandon/Stein sycophants, she's impervious to any kind of reason or facts.

The kicker is that she has a biracial daughter who's understandably hurt and furious with her and who has hardly spoken to her since November. And she just can't figure out why? The delusion and lunacy aren't limited to Drumpf cult supporters, believe me.

[Amaryllis]

186. People like her are the ones taken in by fake news (the real fake news, not what T calls fake news).

We desperately need media literacy in this country.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

233. Yes. ++++

I also have a friend who voted Stein. She's been a staunch green voter for years. At least we're in NY state...

How the hell do you google Clinton Foundation and conclude they're Mafiosi? tsk

[BannonsLiver]

236. Your friend sounds more obtuse than liberal

[gwheezie]

3. I have no sympathy for them.

It's not the economy, it's racism. The handful of people I know that voted for Trump have well paying jobs, didn't lose their homes & aren't hungry. The GOP caused the economic collapse & Obama saved the country. They are frothing mad babies.

[bravenak]

8. Thank you. I too refuse to sympathize with my oppressirs

[guillaumeb]

4. Poor racist, sexist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic rape enablers.

Give them all a hug. Right around the neck.

[bravenak]

6. Stresses me out

[MFM008]

51. With a rope

No sympathy from me.

[GaYellowDawg]

5. Because they're weak.

Because they always think that the key to winning the next election is to knuckle under to the last demographic that beat them. Might as well rename themselves the Demographic Party.

[bravenak]

7. It's such bullshit

[GaYellowDawg]

10. Yes, it is.

Wringing their hands and running desperately to the next demographic they think can stand up to the bully, and somehow, the thought of shoring up the people who support them just... never... occurs.

[bravenak]

13. I know. Just ignore us who already are on the same side as them in order to please our oppressors

[leftstreet]

21. LOL

Might as well rename themselves the Demographic Party.

That's brilliant! Did you think that up?

[GaYellowDawg]

65. Yes.

Completely by accident. I was erasing a sentence and the two words came close together. Light bulb. Wouldn't surprise me if someone else thought of it first, though. Lots of smart people out there. But I've never seen it.

[bravenak]

69. I love it

[GaYellowDawg]

99. Thank you.

Sometimes I get lucky. Usually the light bulb just sits there.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. i dunno, but i sure as shit am having compassion fatigue

with every person who insists i have to have sympathy for other people who voted a racist into office.

like, fuck off already.

[bravenak]

11. Seriously

I guess they would also tell slaves to 'love your masters' and women to 'be kind to your rapist'

[notdarkyet]

177. And have your rapists baby.

[bravenak]

181. And share custody with him

[Tiggeroshii]

39. I feel similarly

And then I think:

So the hundreds of thousands who were gassed in Auschwitz but voted for Hitler, deserve it?

No.

[thucythucy]

105. I doubt there were hundreds of thousands of Hitler voters gassed at Auschwitz.

Most of the Germans gassed there were German Jews, I doubt very many of them voted for Hitler. The vast majority of those millions gassed at Auschwitz were Polish, Czech, French, Danes, Hungarians, Italians, that is, non-Germans--and many if not most of those were also Jews--so they wouldn't have been eligible to vote in the German elections of 1932 (the last democratic elections held) no matter who they supported.

BTW, the majority of German non-Jews also didn't vote for Hitler. Nazi support in the general elections was going down when conservative and other right-wingers in Germany decided to appoint Hitler Chancellor, figuring they could "control" him better that way. Besides, they figured anything was better than another Social Democrat as head of government.

Kind of like how the GOP is going along with Trump, because, you know, anybody but Hillary.

Most of the Germans who voted for Hitler (or the Nazis) who died as a result died on the Russian front or when their homes were bombed 1939-1945. Many were killed with ethnic Germans were chased out of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Baltic states etc. in the summer and fall of 1945.

But gassing at Auschwitz was a fate reserved mostly for European Jews, as well as other "undesirables" like folks who were LGBT, people with disabilities, Romana (Gypsies) etc. Not too many German Hitler supporters among them.

[teslar]

168. hitler

so true many people forget the statement about. "First they came for the etc. then they came for me. same thing is going on now.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

225. Well, socialists, anarchists, and communists ...

... and other "enemies of the state" were sent to the extermination camps, too, but I get your point. They most certainly didn't vote for Hitler. Hell, the NSDAP didn't even have a majority of seats.

[The Sand Reckoner]

136. If they had been told over and over

Don't vote for Hitler, because he has promised that if he comes to power, he will round up Jews and exterminate them?

Trump has done nothing that he didn't promise or threaten to do, nothing that a lot of us didn't warn everyone about.

[uponit7771]

43. +1

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. Precisely...

I look forward to the day when they are defeated and we have our own Truth And Reconciliation committees where redeemable Deplorables can atone for their transgressions and ask us for forgiveness.

[bravenak]

14. Me too. They should sympathize with us and grow the fuck up already

[DemocratSinceBirth]

15. Like in South Africa there will be a day of reckoning.

Let's hope we have our own Mandela to ensure it's non-violent.

[bravenak]

19. I cannot wait!

[MicaelS]

239. You are living in a dream world.

If you ever think there will be anything like that.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

240. It's either Truth And Reconciliation committees or Nuremberg like trials.

If they are wise they will choose the former.

[MicaelS]

242. The only place those will ever happen is in

Your fantasies.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

243. I would tell you what i think of your personal attacks but I don't want my post hidden.

The only place those will ever happen is in
Your fantasies.

Mr. S , I would tell you what I think of your personal attacks but I don't want my post hidden. Perhaps in your fantasies you can divine what it is.




P.S. This will not end well.

[MicaelS]

244. Oh please send me an IM.

I would just LOVE to read it.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

246. I don't think this is that kind of site, Mr. S.

Oh please send me an IM.

I would just LOVE to read it.

-Micael S.


.

I don't think this is that kind of site.

[MicaelS]

247. Hahahahaha!!!!!!

As we say in Texas..." Well, just bless your heart."

[DemocratSinceBirth]

248. Lonely?

Oh please send me an IM.

I would just LOVE to read it.

-Micael S.

SMH


P.S. No Skype for you either, lol

[DesertFlower]

16. i cannot forgive them. i don't care what he

promised as far as jobs, what kind of person are you if you support a racist?

[bravenak]

23. Exactly

[fun n serious]

37. I agree with you!

We can not normalize the deplorable! NEVER!

[bravenak]

48. Yes! Thank you!

[fun n serious]

72. The deplorables are too far gone mentally to even try to convince.

Fuck them. We need to focus on the people who did not vote or the people who voted against him but not for Hillary.. There was like an additional 4 million votes that went to " other than Trump and not Hillary. That is my focus. Not the piece of shit deplorables

[bravenak]

76. Yes! Fuck them and fuck trying to change minds.

[KittyWampus]

17. Why the fuck is trying to figure out how to manipulate people using progaganda

considered "sympathizing".

You realize that all people can be manipulated. That's why marketing exists as a billion dollar business.

If McDonalds can convince so many people that their meals= happiness and actually tastes good we should be able a way to market our message to those whose brains work differently than ours.

A HUGE chunk of the population has brains wired differently than us. They require messaging in a different format.

Almost the same way autistic & dyslexic kids require learning in different formats.

[DesertFlower]

22. excuse me, but i cannot be manipulated.

[KittyWampus]

25. Yes, you can. It's wired into every single human being.

[DesertFlower]

34. i was going to say that i don't believe that, but then

i think back to being raised catholic. i was manipulated by my family, teachers, priests, etc. fortunately i realized it was all bull shirt and i'm now a proud atheist.

[KittyWampus]

56. And you've absolutely been influenced to choose, buy or reject something based on marketing

There are marketing techniques for people who aren't easy to market to.

Guerilla marketing, stealth marketing, undercover marketing.

It's really interesting. It involves psychology and symbolism.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

24. i cannot be manipulated into voting for a racist

[KittyWampus]

26. I didn't remotely say that. My post was pretty clear too.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

30. i'm saying a lot of them were comfortable with racism to begin with

hence, the manipulation worked.

[KittyWampus]

44. and a certain percentage could have been manipulated in a different direction.

I am "Not Thinking Of An Elephant"

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Think-Elephant-Debate-Progressives/dp/19er31498717

DU'ers like to SAY the name Lakoff but they don't like to consider how to put what he says in practice.

But that's understandable because General Discussion isn't much for thoughtful discussion.

It's a lost cause trying to make a point on this subject. People just want to vent and let off steam.

[JI7]

59. if Hillary has called for a ban on refugees she might have got a few if those votes

[Charles Bukowski]

86. And lost many more.

I'm all for improving our marketing tactics, but not at the expense of abandoning our core values.

[KittyWampus]

93. No one said ANYTHING about abandoning our core values. That is a straw man.

I didn't even remotely imply that Democrats abandon our core values.

[Charles Bukowski]

102. I wasn't replying to your post.

[KittyWampus]

88. Wrong. You totally don't understand that it's about HOW you market a message.

Flies right over so many heads.

It's not about changing the core of ones message to appeal to some in the mushy middle who lean right.

It's about finding an effective marketing strategy so they will respond favorably to what you're trying to do.

This really isn't that difficult but it's kind of funny/sad how many people refuse to understand.

BTW, everything I've posted in this thread is according to Lakoff and Science.

[DesertFlower]

36. no. i couldn't either. as soon as

i saw him in the first repub debate i knew he was a racist, POS.

[bravenak]

38. Oh fuck that

My kid has autism. There is no need to manipulate her OUT of being racist or deplorable. Sh has n clue HOW to be fucked up like that.
They ar what they fucking are. We need to shame them so that nobody wants to join them and be a shameful asshole.
How much bullshit should my black ass have to swallow so that folks can play dumb ass games and sympathize with fuck up assholes who had no probs with muslim bans, deportations and stop and frisking negroes? Should I act like a fucking slave? Ye sir massa! I loves me some massa Trump! I aint gots no problem with folks who want me in prison! I's a good negroe!

[KittyWampus]

75. You are wrong. It's Science. Here's lots of links to SCIENCE for you to either ignore

or look into:

The Surprising Brain Differences Between Democrats and Republicans
Two new studies further support the theory that our political decision making could have a neurological basis.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/brain-difference-democrats-republicans


Neuroscience Reveals the Differences Between Republican and Democrat Brains
http://thescienceexplorer.com/humanity/neuroscience-reveals-differences-between-republican-and-democrat-brains


Are Your Political Beliefs Hardwired?
Brain scans suggest Democrats and Republicans actually are different biologically. Welcome to the world of political neuroscience.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/are-your-political-beliefs-hardwired-108090437/


Unconscious Reactions Separate Liberals and Conservatives
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/calling-truce-political-wars/


Scientists Are Beginning to Figure Out Why Conservatives Are…Conservative
Ten years ago, it was wildly controversial to talk about psychological differences between liberals and conservatives. Today, it's becoming hard not to.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/biology-ideology-john-hibbing-negativity-bias

[bravenak]

87. They are not conservatives, they are racists

[bravenak]

90. I am goddamn tired of folks trying to tell us to fix our oppressors

[JHan]

123. Fear based messaging can be effective but I've never been impressed with those studies ..

of "liberal" and "conservative"* brains thinking differently how they describe it - This is a good overview,with links, which all raise questions about the methodology of the study and conclusions therein.

And on the face of it the idea of it may seem to make sense but doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. "Left" and "Right" change with time, they are not static. Nixon, for all his flaws - and he had many , implemented the EPA and believed in a UBI for all - by today's standards Nixon would not be your typical conservative. And there are other numerous examples of how Left/Right positions shape shift over time.

And though I label myself a liberal, my political positions exist in a continuum i.e. I may have several views on ONE issue alone.

The biggest challenge we face today is that people simply dislike to be wrong because of the shame attached to being wrong. The advent of social media means your "wrongness" is thrown in your face constantly. Ego is tied to not only political views, but any view whether it's on the economy, climate change, or any contentious issue constantly in the headlines. This is *Emotional* and psychological and the phenomenon would exist regardless of one's political affiliations.

This affects policy as well when congressmen and women have hissy fits because they don't get exactly what they want and refuse to compromise - look no further than the Obama years and republican obstructionism . There is little opportunity for folks to be exposed to ideas different to what they believe to be true because the center is fast disappearing, the arena left to ideologues on each side of the political spectrum. There have also been changes in media and the pace of media consumption, ignorance about government and ignorance about the influence of policy making at the local level.

[KittyWampus]

139. Thanks for the link. What do you think of Lakoff? My point is about marketing, symbolism

and constructing different narratives for different groups of the electorate.

Will read at your link later.

[JHan]

145. I think he makes a good point about how language is received and acted upon..

depending on life experiences. I agree with you there..

. It makes me think of MLK who appealed to people's sense of moral goodness using Christianity - it worked because one wants to be thought of as an evil person.

I'm really conflicted about Trump voters because one part of me wants to scream out that their shit is unacceptable, but I'm also aware of how mind views are shaped over time. Lakoff recognized that certain words and phrases that cause outrage for us ( liberals) are rallying cries for the most rabid trump supporters. So it is deplorable, it is awful, but we have to counter with effective measures that stick because this is a battle for our minds.

As you said earlier, venting is important, but I'd add that it's a response to a kind of bare naked ugliness we haven't seen in politics in a long time. As for Trump, he knows his most rabid supporters love his chaos so he's in his element. Since you can't really compromise with crazy, working with him is next to impossible - but since he's President, he can manipulate the narrative by claiming victimization. Democrats have to enter this arena and make better memes and be far more agile and responsive - which may sound simple but is really tough. I think on that score, Lakoff is 100% right.

[CitizenZero]

140. Interesting

Interesting Science Links. Thanks for posting them. Sometimes Science and Politics do not mix. Oil and Water. Reminds me of an old professor I knew who used Psychology to create marketing campaigns for Tobacco Companies.

[heaven05]

159. right

manipulation is one thing...being in the closet as a deplorable for years then having a boy like the trumpfuhrer comes along and let them out to vent the REAL FEELINGS is another. Then on our side, there is no real fight going on at levels that count...Maxine Waters is the only outspoken fighter I've heard so far along with a couple of other milktoast objections to trumpfuhrer lies and they try to marginalize her because she is too vocal in opposition. Naw all that intellectual crap is worthless to people getting stopped and frisked, shot down, banned, deported and in fear of the Wall.

[KittyWampus]

176. I've seen quite a few Democrats on Hayes, Maddow & O'Donnell's shows standing up and speaking out.

[fun n serious]

41. Ha? Bigotry and hate is now a disability kinda like autism?

WTF?

[bravenak]

49. Right?

[KittyWampus]

82. I just posted LOTS of links to Science backing me up. So you can either read up on facts

or ignore them. Totally up to you.

[bravenak]

83. Nothing to explain why my black self should participate in this bullshit, right?

[KittyWampus]

103. Participate in what? I just posted links to Science backing up the fact

that a large percentage of the population automatically resorts/responds to fear-based messaging.

And that means they need to be marketed to differently than others.

I get you just want to vent.

But this is a free message board and I went further than just venting.

It's not accurate to say that it's about "sympathizing with deplorables".

And your reducing the conversation down to that fallacy is what it is.

There's great value in understanding how the right's brains are wired and how to market effectively to them.

But that is NOT "sympathizing with them" nor is it changing Democratic positions.

[bravenak]

107. In this bullshit fake ass marketing ploy where we try for votes we cannot get and piss my black ass

off for even trying.

[Chemisse]

195. Quite a few votes that were 'ours' during the Obama races

Went to Trump in the 2016 race.

Those are the people we need to get back.

It doesn't help to wall them off and call them 'deplorables'. What does help is understanding why they went Republican and make sure we have a message and candidates that appeal to them in the future elections.

We're never going to get the hardcore racists, nor do we care to try. But there are plenty of Trump voters who could come our way.

As an example, I have a Republican coworker who is clearly racist. He does not rant or froth over it; it is just evident. Early in the election process, he told me he wanted either Trump or Sanders. The common thread seemed to be major change.

This may be different next time around. Voters may instead clamor for sanity and honesty and compassion in a candidate. Whatever it is, we need to be in tune with it and get candidates who can have widespread appeal.

[heaven05]

201. The people who really know why the 'deplorables'

voted for boy-potus puppet are realists about motivations for voting for the boy-potus puppet horror. Why can't you face the facts? They heard and did not ignore his racist, sexist, Islamaphobic dog whistles FOR 15 MONTHS!!!!!!! And according to you their prime motivations for voting for the poy-potus puppet horror is other than agreeing with those dog whistles.

The "common thread" is boy potus puppet tapped into the rather widespread cancerous underbelly of racist ameriKKKan culture that has now, as you make it seem, become normalized that to the point where the apologist(s) for racist trump voters say they "just wanted change". Beautiful. Bullshit!!!!!!!

[Chemisse]

217. Oh, give me a break. The non-stop rage at what happened in November is counterproductive.

Obviously, no matter what they saw in Trump that appealed to them, his voters did not care enough about his flagrant racism to make a choice to vote against it. That sucks, but railing against it is not going to win us the next presidential election.

We need to attract more voters if we are going to get the White House back. That means we really need the swing voters to swing our way. When groups are antagonistic toward each other, they tend to dig in deeper. There is a lot to despise about Trump, as well as the Republican Party. Let the swing voters ease out of defense mode and start to see the error of their ways. Ideally, the more moderate of the Trump voters will be voting Dem next time around. I don't care if they're racist (well,I do, but that's a battle I can't win); their votes still count.

It's time to put our energy into combatting the destruction that Trump and his party are aiming at this country, and disillusioned Trump voters need to be welcome to join us.

[heaven05]

231. attract on

good luck. And your moderating "I don't care if they're racist" is noted also. I don't need a racist pig "swing voter" on my back, that will stab me there first chance he or she has because I happen to displease their idea of skin color aesthetics. You don't have to worry about that, do you? So very easy for I don't care that they hate n*****, muslims, immigrants to slip out and then be moderated. SAD!!!!

That type of thinking I feel is one of the BIG shortcomings of our so called Democratic Party. All inclusive till the voting is over. Give me a break from your 'reality'. I get enough of this garbage/equivocation out in society in general on a daily basis from my liberal and progressive associates.

AmeriKKKa has finally shown it's true racist nature as embodied by boy-potus puppet and his handlers, bannon and miller..the real prezidents of ameriKKKa. That can never be put back in the bottle especially since many who allegedly are progressive took a wrong turn with their vote of anger against the only sane cadidate because a certain other candidate DID NOT make the grade. All inclusive till the vote is over, ALWAYS has been that way.

[heaven05]

161. So people should not respond to

fear as they are being shot down while unarmed, banned and deported but read these science links to figure out how to psyche a deplorable into fearing the banned, shot and deported. Right?

[KittyWampus]

174. your post bears no relation to anything I have written in this thread.

[heaven05]

178. your post bears no

relation to the reality SOME people are living under with the boy-potus puppet and his prezident handlers, bannon and miller...that's what I'm saying to you. All this scientific mumbo-jumbo will NOT stop the boxcars from rolling in these upcoming years. Good luck.

[JTFrog]

196. + infinity. nt

[KittyWampus]

78. I just posted lots of links to scientific studies for you to scoff at. See above for SCIENCE.

That is, if you're actually interested in science or if you're more interested in just confirming your biases.

[ms liberty]

144. You gave it a great try, Kitty...

There is an excellent discussion to be had around this issue, but unfortunately not here, with the respondents on this thread. I've read several of those articles and am fascinated by the research. I appreciate your effort!

[Cha]

20. Dunno.. but just came from a thread where I

saw that in action. No idea why or how just that we should.

Fake fox news has brainwashed them for decades.. and we're suppose to deprogram them?

I think trump will be the one to turn them off if anything does.

Although there's obviously no hope for this type of shit..

"If he became a dictator-We want him in Forever-I'll Never Vote Against Him-I Love His Power"



http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8686340

I Got Your Back and I know you have mine

[bravenak]

42. That's some crazy shit, lol! 'I love his power...' Wtf?

Love you!

[Cha]

109. ********

Love you, brave

[leftstreet]

27. DURec. The Democratic Party does not NEED these voters! n/t

[ismnotwasm]

28. I don't fucking know

I don't sympathize with the racist assholes.

[bravenak]

50. I Know. Some folks are fucking strange

[ismnotwasm]

89. I think some people want to sound intellectual

Or at least--civilized? I don't know --What I do know is that "I don't have to give bigotry a chance" is my rallying cry. I have no sympathy for anyone who voted for a man who thinks grabbing a woman by the p*ssy is ok--or who defends putting a white nationalist in power. There are things that are indefensible.

I was arguing with assholes when Seattle Mayor Murray proposed an outreach program for black youth, when he said "Black Lives Matter" they wanted to say "what about white youth" --I had to explain to these assholes that reverse racism doesn't exist. I hope I pissed them off good. I don't want to understand it more than I already do. I understand enough

I want to fight against it.

[bravenak]

94. They go for civility among their own kind rather than equality for all

That type of folk would sit and drink tea and watch slaves picking cotton and getting a beatdown and when the slave calls the master a son of a bitch, they would implore said slave to be 'reasonable' and try to 'chamge minds'.

[ismnotwasm]

128. +1000

[heaven05]

162. bam!!!!!!!!!!!!

truth....

[bravenak]

163. Love ya!

[Eliot Rosewater]

29. Eleven million will be deported starting now...Bannon hopes for war.

[bravenak]

61. I hope bannon gets his

[Skidmore]

31. When racism etc are supported to become policy and

enshrined in law, those who make such demands must be condemned, not cosseted.

[bravenak]

55. I agree! I refuse to go blindly into the night! We should fight✊🏿

[sheshe2]

114. Fight we will,

I have your back. The deplorables turned their backs on us all. I have no use for any of them.

[bravenak]

122. I have no use for them either

[revmclaren]

135. Or quietly...

Millions of us are ready and willing to fight in one form or another.

The deplorables are blind to this.

This is their doom.

[bravenak]

137. We will win in the end. Period. Those who want to slow us down can just stfu

[Tiggeroshii]

32. You dont have to advocate evil policies to sympathize

And you are not going to earn their vote by demonizing them and calling them names.


But rather by advocating good policies that are in the interests of everybody.

If we win back congress it will be because they will realze they were wrong. But demonizing them would help them gravitate towards staying wrong. Not help them find the light.

[bravenak]

45. I'm black. Why the fuck should I sympathize with folks who voted for a guy who think I'm lazy?

[GaYellowDawg]

77. Hell, I'm white, and I don't.

So I wouldn't think that you would.

[bravenak]

85. Good. Thanks

[Bettie]

47. We've done that

advocating good policies in the interest of everyone for years and years.

All it has done is made them hate us even more.

We're not going to win their votes. Ever.

We need to reach out to the non-voters, we need to reach out to the tiny percentage of them who are capable of rational thought.

But there is a core group who are simply always going to vote for the white guy with the most draconian authoritarian vision, because they long for a dictator.

[JI7]

54. evil policy to them is equal rights for non whites and gays

[Tiggeroshii]

81. Many of those people are non whites and gays themselves

Demonizing them is not a solution. Better policy is.

[JI7]

92. no. many of them are not. and if they are it's people like ben carson. milo etc

And they aren't interested in these things.

[Tiggeroshii]

146. "Not many" or "Several hundred thousand"

Tomato tomahto

[bravenak]

184. Those several hundred thousand can fuck off too along with Uncle Ben Carson and the firehair Hitler

[heaven05]

169. yeah and those "non whites and gay " supporters

WILL be on the boxcars reserved for the nice, the meek and the civil supporters of massa trumpfuhrer.

[fun n serious]

170. They are 99% straight and white.

Sorry you're wrong. Their people of color/gay/Muslim population is near nothing

[MineralMan]

142. Nah. Screw 'em!

[fun n serious]

165. I disagree.

I do not even think we should attempt to 'earn' their votes. They're too far gone to reason with at any level. It can not be done. They're wasted trash.

[heaven05]

167. they have been wrong

for generations and hiding under a false civility until their fuhrer came along and told them you can be racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic in the open now. You're free, go forth and create chaos and madness in your hate and you have my blessings. How in the hell will I change that with some being nice to them and "showing them how FOR GENERATIONS they have been wrong? You be be nice to them...and if you don't end up in their camp, then you'll be on one of the boxcars with many others not willing to be mean and fight the hate and racism driving these fucking monsters THAT WANT ME DEAD!!! What don't you understand about that? If I shined the light of truth into their dead eyes they will NEVER see it.

[JTFrog]

197. You know who was demonized? Hillary Clinton. By our so-called own.

So sick of this fucking argument. Quite a few of those proposing we cater to those fuckers spent their time spewing false equivalencies and hatred toward our own candidate just fueling the deplorables on. Now they want to tell us it was OUR messaging that was off. The purists who spouted RT is the only real news and drowned both sides in a Putin river of disinformation and manipulation? That played along with the email and speeches witch hunts while a maniac made fun of disabled people and called women fat pigs and bilked people of their money to fund his philosophy of hate?

Fuck that.

Just no.

[mcar]

206. HRC and the Democratic Party did just that

Advocated good policies that were in the best interests of all of us.

They chose to vote for someone who will raise their taxes, take away their health insurance, destroy SS and Medicare and ruin the planet.

Most of them will refuse to admit they were wrong, because that's what they do. They will double down and push every crazy CT about Obama and the Dems.

[mopinko]

33. it's who we are.

we are the people who rescue scab covered kittens, and spotted owls. who feed homeless people, who fight for everyone.
it's who we are.
it's our biggest weakness as well as our greatest strength.

those people just dont have access to their higher brain functions. their monkey brains rule them. they might as well be still covered in this black hair. they might as well have tails.
they are totally blind to their fellow humans, like a color blind person cant see red.

we can have a certain amount of compassion for the poor stunted creatures.

doesnt mean we have to let them run jack shit, tho. doesnt mean we have to let them get in our face. doesnt mean we have to feel sorry for them. doesnt mean we have to be nice to them. decent even.
and it sure doesnt mean we shouldnt stand up to their ignorant asses, and try to set them straight.

doesnt mean we have to let them in our party when they figure out what a mess they have made, either.

fuck them. let them sit in their own stink.

[bravenak]

46. To me it's like a slave sympathizing with their master. Fuck that. They can burn

[mopinko]

71. i dont sympathize w them.

i do pity them, tho. broken brains are a sad thing.

[bravenak]

73. I wish I could feel pity

[mopinko]

80. i hope i still can in 4 years.

or however long this nightmare lasts. trouble is- i see no way to end this. w/o hurting anyone, i mean.

[Orsino]

211. We don't have to "let" them into the party.

They're free to register as they wish.

Their volunteer efforts might be helpful, but what we absolutely need is some of their votes. Peel off a few. Just a few.

[Bettie]

35. No sympathy

They chose this.

Eyes wide open, they chose hate. Hate for so many groups, it is simpler to list who they don't hate: rich, white, hetero, Christian males and guns. They will tolerate the non-rich version of the white, Christian males as well.

It isn't as if anything he's doing will be a surprise. He said that he would do all the evil things he's doing and they cheered him all the way.

So, when some trump-voting douchebag is upset that he's losing his health care, well, this is what he voted for, so why is he surprised?

They made their choice.

[bravenak]

60. They sure did

My cousing voted for him and now I refuse to help him out anymore. He was proud as fuck, now he's scared shitless.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

40. Who (other than Manchin) would this possibly be?

[Maru Kitteh]

52. I suspect most people online trying to get us to love the deplorables

are racists. JPR types. They can seriously go fuck themselves.

Thanks for the thread Brave.

[bravenak]

58. I think so too

[JI7]

64. yes. remember jpr trump supporters were on here for years

Attacking Obama and other dems claiming to be progressives.

[brer cat]

104. And some of them

would like to change the subject from those who voted 3rd party or didn't vote at all having some responsibility for trump's "win."

[NewJeffCT]

53. Because that's what the media says Democrats have to do

We need to convince them that the secret to success is increasing Democratic turnout and to fight voter suppression laws where and when they happen.

[bravenak]

57. Damn straight! We can pull enough voters who did not vote and regret their choice

[BeckyDem]

62. If they change that is up to them. Coddling a message for them is a repulsive idea.

The shame of it is when thinking of voters, the GOP would be dead and buried if not for racism, christian fundamentalism.
Unless you're a corporate pig who receives a monetary gain from voting for Republicans, they would have nothing. It is a terrible idea to pander to them in any fashion. They deserve no political representation that would necessitate giving any credence to their hatefulness.

[bravenak]

66. Yep

[NCTraveler]

63. K&R.

There are more decent people out there who didn't vote for one reason or another. Why sympathize and work to understand these fucks when it isn't necessary, in any way.

[onecaliberal]

67. Fuck these people, every last one of them.

[bravenak]

68. In the ass with no lube

[Quayblue]

74. Amen sis

Straight up bullshit.

[NurseJackie]

79. I think your first mistake is assuming that actual Democrats do such a thing...

... if you get my drift.

[bravenak]

95. Damn sure do!

[Metsie Casey]

84. Patriots day is a great movie

[bravenak]

97. I never saw it. I just watched The Patriot tho

[Metsie Casey]

111. It's about the weirdo terrorists that bombed the Boston Marathon

They should have killed both of them. Wasted money on medical, food, shelter, and trial for the younger brother.

[bravenak]

121. What they did was fucked up

I favor the DP for shit like that and child rapists and murderers. People might judge me but fuck it. Cant fix that.

[etherealtruth]

91. I sure as eff do not sympathize with racists, sexists, anti-Semites, xenophobes and ...

... all around hate filled bigots.

45 ran an entire campaign on hate ... b hate filled bigotry was the only thing he had even formulated a plan for.

The only job plan he had was that people of color, "foreigners", non-Christians and women should not have the "good jobs." I will admit he swore to bring dead industries like coal mining and black smithing back ... wtf?

[Metsie Casey]

96. Dead industry

Please explain. Everyone isn't a software engineer.

[etherealtruth]

108. Coal mining is a dead industry

... so is black smithing. There will be a few jobs, but the industry is dead. The easily (read cost effective coal) has been mined, natural gas is cheaper and more cost effective to retrieve. No energy plants are going to turn back to coal.

These workers need a viable long term plan ... not platitudes and lies.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/08/us-coal-industry-decline-natural-gas

[Metsie Casey]

120. In the meantime..

Coal mining still exists and there are people that rely on the job to make a living. They have to eat, pay bills, mortgage, etc, etc.

[bravenak]

131. Coal mining is going away. They better figure something else out stat.

Millions of blacks migrated out of those places a generation and more ago. Why? No jobs for us, those jobs went to whites. Now those jobs are going away too and they are going to have to pull themselves up by their bootstraps like millions of African Americans had to do during Jim Crow.

[Metsie Casey]

164. Ok

I post a response about people who still rely on coal mining to make a living. Training for something else ? Of course. Silly me. They should just go to law school and become the next generation of F Lee Baileys. One other thing, what in the world does this have to do with blacks and civil rights besides nothing ?

[bravenak]

166. What do you think we did when white folks would not hire us to work the mines?

We got in our cars, packed up our kids, and drove to another state to find jobs. Read about the great migration and then tell me how much harder it is for coal miners now than for blacks during segregation who were unemployed.
Everything has shit to do with blacks and civil rights, ok? We helped build this nation, for free, and got shit in return. When shit is bad for us nobody cares, but when shit is half as bad for whute coal miners in KY, well then we all need to come together like butt cheeks.

[Metsie Casey]

171. Bravenak

You're a black that was refused a job mining coal ? Seriously ?

[bravenak]

173. Me? Of course not. I'm too young and not stupid enough to move to KY to be a coal miner

Just telling you that historically, when job leave the people follow. If they don't, they starve. Coal miners are no more special than anyone else, why should we keep mines open just to give them jobs when we are phasing out coal?

[Metsie Casey]

179. Phasing out

I saw 10 techs be replaced with software years ago. I guess that was OK (sarcasm). It was disgusting.

[bravenak]

180. Cant do shit about it

[forjusticethunders]

203. it's honestly time to accept that the concept of "work" is going away.

We need a UBI so that having a basic existence is no longer tied to the amount of jobs that are available.

[Metsie Casey]

219. Sounds good

When does it start ?

[forjusticethunders]

220. When we vote for it instead of thinking we can build a wall to keep the future out.

[Metsie Casey]

237. No other candidates

Would have went for it. Not Clinton, Sanders, O'Malley. Forget Stein. Didn't have a chance.

[etherealtruth]

138. In the mean time the industry barely exists ... if the jobs were there the miners would not be

... worried and would be working. It is a dead industry ... 45 cannot bring the industry back. There will be some photo ops with some mining jobs, that will be temporary. Who do you suppose is going to buy coal that is mined ... where is the demand?

What the miners needed was help learning new trades or careers, because of 45, they will be further behind and have likely condemned themselves to lives of poverty.

Your thinking is in the extremely short term for an extremely limited number ... these people have bought magic beans when they could have been investing in spades, hoes, fertilizer and soy bean seeds (I am not speaking literally).

Its difficult to have sympathy for those that enabled (and embraced) racism, hate and bigotry for empty promises.

[LanternWaste]

214. As did horse carriage makers prior to WW1.

"They have to eat, pay bills, mortgage, etc..."

As did horse carriage makers prior to WW1.

[bravenak]

98. Yes. This is what i mean

[NastyRiffraff]

100. Exactly. Great post.

I refuse to even engage with these idiots, let alone empathize with them. Sorry, I can't empathize with racists, misogynists, homophobes, or xenophobes. People who inflicted a monster on the country by voting for him are at least one of the above; some are blatant (racists and homophobes in particular); some are more subtle, but NONE of them get my sympathy.

[spanone]

101. K&R...

[WinkyDink]

106. I'll vote for programs to help Americans, but that doesn't mean they get my sympathy, too.

[Brogrizzly]

110. Here, Here!

I couldn't agree with you more, anyone who voted for that shitgibbon, is done in my book. No compromise, no tolerance, I will not sit here and give Trump voters any slack, no justification, no empathy. I will also not tolerate a "Democrat" who does, shit is way too real for sympathy. The second Trump came out with birtherism, that ugly racist lie, and people still voted for him, well pardon my French, but fuck em.

[samnsara]

112. HELL FRIGGEN NO!!!!!!!!

they made their very bad choices and I am not here to help them feel better.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

113. Know the Enemy, even when they are not the enemy because they are American Citizens. . . nt

[Kimchijeon]

115. No sympathy for fascists

Sorry, fuck that.

[senaca]

116. From my perspective I think an important question is how did Nelson Mendela, Ghandi,

Martin Luther King, the Dahli Llama, Elie Wiesel, Rep. John Lewis to name a few, find it in them to day in day out reach out to everyone with their message irregardless of how they were treated. I wish I had a tenth of the wisdom, patience and forgiveness. It's something I'm struggling with trying to understand.

I don't intend to spend any time worrying about sympathizing with bigots, but I am heartened by the rallies in Red States and activism. I think it's easier to protest in a blue state and it takes courage to stand up in Red rural areas.
It feels like there is a divide and conquer strategy on 45's side and the protests are showing that resistance is in every state. I'm trying to look at this all from a glass half full while realizing a torrent of egregious daily acts.

I think about history also. WWI's Treaty of Versailles came from a place of retribution perhaps a place of fear whereas the Marshall Plan helped rebuild nations even though they were not long ago enemies. I feel like we are in a time where we have an administration who focuses on fear and retribution. I would hope that when the Democratic Party wins the majority that we think more on the lines of Marshall Plan. Perhaps I'm simplifying a complex matter, but that is also where having the wisdom of the above to move mountains to improve humanity. It

Another question is how to do that while angry over injustice. For me I don't have that answer.

With that said we all need to have each others backs now more than ever.

[bravenak]

124. Remember that Nelson was a freedom fighter in a majority black country

MLK was murdered. John Lewis got beat half to death. Elie Wiesel was abused like nobodies business.
I'm a fuck forgiveness type of person when the assholes hurting me are not even trying to stop but actually trying to hurt me worse.

They had to suffer pain and paid dearly for a bit of freedom. If I have to suffer like that, it damn sure wont be in silence.
I just want my allies to know where the line is and stop trying to symathize with my oppressors.

[senaca]

187. By trying to oppress many groups what 45 has done is unite all of us.

There is power in that. I'm counting on voices across this country not staying silent. As for me I'd like to learn the wisdom, learn to forgive when it's time but not forget.

[bravenak]

188. I will forgive when we win and never before

[Me.]

117. !00 & 1000 Recces

If only I could.

[Progressive dog]

118. There might be a logical answer to

why some "Democrats" do this, but I don't know what it is.
The only reasons that I can think of are 1) They are just pretending to be Democrats or 2) they are miserable masochists who want us to share their misery.

[bravenak]

119. Both i think

[elmac]

125. the friend of my enemy

is my enemy

[bravenak]

126. Mine too, amen

[Leith]

127. I Refuse to Sympathize with Them

They get their jollies trolling liberals like hormone-addled 14-year-olds. Just look at Discussionist some time (have the Purell ready first). Just how does one sympathize with these people:



They have been brainwashed into hating us and many of them will stop at nothing to irritate and hurt us. Let them wallow in the vulgarity, the lies, the con that SCROTUS is pulling on them, and their own arrogant ignorance. Fuck'em all to hell.

[panader0]

129. K and R---some people are not able to be reached....

The " deplorables" as HRC called them, are those that will never be able to be educated.
I know a few.

[Lotusflower70]

130. Because we are empathetic

We want to understand and collaborate. The thing is not everyone is built that way. Screw that. We have to recognize this and mobilize. We have to have a strategy and a spine because we are in for a long, hard fight.

[bravenak]

133. Yes. We need spines and to stop trying to understand. We cant. We never will. Not like them.

[calimary]

132. A friend of mine tried to insist that on me.

Remember that phrase-that-pays from ol' Nancy Reagan: "just say NO!" And that's exactly what I did.

FUCK 'em. Whose side are they on? I'm tired of being told I have to be so understanding and sympathetic to these assholes - who absolutely ARE deplorables and have earned every letter of that word. Do they ever make like they're going to return the favor and try to understand and sympathize with our side? We all know the answer to that one.

One's allegiance to, or support of trump tells me everything I need to know about these folks. And none of it is good.

[bravenak]

134. Like someone said on this thread, "The friend of my enemy is my enemy."

That's some real shit.

[msanthrope]

141. Damn straight. No quarter for Trumpsters and no quarter for 3rd party voters. nt

[bravenak]

143. Exactly. That mean YOU Stein and Johnson voters!

[heaven05]

175. +1000

[Stellar]

147. hear, hear!

I couldn't have said it better! Thankyou!

[bravenak]

148. Glad to get it off my chest!

[DonCoquixote]

149. because

I warn you this is the real reason and not the one hidden by "eloquence."

When Trump won, the media spread the message that if you pay so white people and do not cater to them they will punish you. This is been the same paradigm ever since Trump voters were known as "Reagan Democrats" a.k.a. people who loved all the benefits that you use in FDR gave them, but still want to keep people of color in their place, which definitely included out of their workplace.


Granted the Internet made things worse, as you have places like 4chan littered to with a bunch of sad young man littered with people who think that everything was good until those mean old girls and people of color showed up just to get their piece of the pie.

It's not that I can't simplifies for people who got blasted when various factors like outsourcing destroy jobs. It's not that I will deny that areas, especially that "blue wall" of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio needed to be helped. But let me offer one spin here, in places like Detroit, there were many black people, blue-collar union folks, who got screwed over by GM every bit as much as the people represented by Michael Moore on the left, and Kid Rock on the right. Where were all the tears for them? That is where a lot of trump voters and apolgists for trump voters will not have an answer, or rather one they will admit to.

Now, If you want talk sending a message to them about how Trump will screw them over, now we are the actual party of the FDR and unions that will help the lifestyle they are which they had, then you might have something. On the other hand, the Democratic Party has been trying to chase the Archie Bunker Democrats, and smiling even as they stab people like Obama in the back. People are angry at Mitch McConnell, were these people when his opponent Allison blunders and crimes land ads attacking Obama that might as well been written by Steve Bannon?if you want to go ahead and try to convince the Archie Bunker voters that we're the ones who will deliver what they want, because where the party that delivered it the first time, great! But I'm sick and tired of well Democratic constituencies getting paid over and told to sit in the back of the bus because "those white people might get mad at us."

If Barack Obama did have a legit criticism, it was that he bend over backwards try to accommodate people who would either outright spit in his face, like Mitch McConnell, or people who outright would stab him in the back, which sadly didn't include many Democrats. Whoever wins in 2018 and 2020 needs to realize this: we tried reconciling, we tried asking but the only thing the GOP respects is taking, and it is time to start taking. The GOP wants to go ahead and fight the Civil War yet again?, we need to remind them why they lost.

It's times like this I sincerely wish that we hung Jefferson Davis and shot Robert E. Lee.

[bravenak]

151. You are absolurely right and that's why I feel bitter right now.

[heaven05]

150. Every war has them

they are called appeasers, sympathizers, Neville Chamberlain type idiots, we the people out here in the streets are fighting a two front war...hopefully some will wake up before the boy-potus, prezidents bannon and miller plunges that knife into their faces...yeah, they'll be seeking to mollify and shit and BAM!!! Knife in the face. Lot's of times both sides could give a fuck less about our vote, only when it's time to vote, afterwards they always turn their backs. That's how our Party is in this condition at this time...no power in the Senate, HOR or WH. Basically I feel, the decent americans are now on our own out here.

Neighborhood groups, summer coming, barbecues ect to build the feeling of camaraderie for the coming 'purges' by the white nationalist/white supremacists. Anything, all we have is our wits and will to defeat this evil out in the open now that ameriKKKa has always tried to hide from the world.

[bravenak]

153. Appeasers. Yes. Them

Anything to have a communion of whitefolks being all 'reasonable' with each other. Makes me sick inside, and if I'm going to suffer abuse, then I'm going to call them anything I please on my way out.

[DonCoquixote]

155. the term is "quisling"

but those who don't know the term, Quisling was a right-wing leader of Norway who sympathized with Hitler and pretty much gave the country to him. After the war he was executed, because many of those supervisors in Norway realized that he helped screw up the country. Sadly, folks like Steve Bannon will probably not get that fate, although you can make parallels between Norway and Germany, and Bannon woth Russia, especially as the current Russia resembles your classic fascist state more than the USSR that some people pined for.

[mcar]

152. Yes!

I do not get this at all, brave.

We should ignore our values to try to get the votes of a minority of people - idiots, sexists and racists who would rather starve to death than admit their idiocy? I don't think so.

[mythology]

154. Perhaps for the same reason people continue to read your posts after you called DUers racist

for not liking Kanye West's music. Because some of us are actually capable of understanding that our own world view (particularly in the case of a rather myopic world view) isn't necessarily the same as other people's and that it's very rare that throwing around insults actually changes anybody's mind.

For example, when was the last time you actually convinced somebody who doesn't share your limited world view of something? Or when was the last time you actually listened and learned from somebody else?

The fact is all you have are insults and sure it rallies those who think like you, but it doesn't mean you're actually making a valid or cogent argument.

[Afromania]

172. what exactly should we be saying to these people?

They are a part of a cult now. A cult mind you that has completely given up on hearing anything that doesn't reinforce their world view. We've tried the olive branch approach and the sickness has spread like a disease. Things have reached critical mass and white nationalist are in control. That puts people like myself squarely on the front lines. We are your bulwark.Without us having the ability to vote without impasse the modern Democratic party is DOA. There is no time for thoughtful discussion about this. Every moment we spend trying to convert them is a moment we aren't sureing up our own party. We need everybody to pick up their shields of liberty and join us on the line. If we sit around biting at each other then the formation fails and democracy as we knew it will be over while we're hashing this out.

[bravenak]

185. Oh please

Real shit. Oh fucking please. Weak

[meadowlander]

191. +100

[zentrum]

156. Well done. nt

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

157. The truth is

There are a lot of conformists in the left. A lot of pacifists, people that blink at any sort of confrontation. No more playing nice. It's time to call out right wingers for the racists, woman hating religious wackjobs they are. time to play dirty and fight back!

[bravenak]

160. That shit is weak!!! They need to get some steel in themselves

[OnionPatch]

182. Which ones are asking us to do that?

And what exactly did they suggest? I would never sacrifice a single one of my progressive values to gain the votes of a bigot but isn't it possible that a small but significant percentage of Trump voters were independents who were just misinformed or not paying enough attention this time around? Even Hillary didn't think they were ALL depolorables, although there is a pretty big basket of them, that's for certain.

Should we not campaign in rural areas anymore? Should the Democratic Party not work at creating jobs where they are needed? I keep seeing these kinds of posts but I'm not sure I understand the details of this argument. Maybe I just don't get on here often enough but I also haven't seen what our strategy for winning is next time if we just write off the most important swing states.

[bravenak]

183. Take a look around

The sympathy with the devil shit is all around. They saw what he did and how racist he is and they voted for him regardless of how harmful it is to us.

[jmbar2]

202. For the world to survive, we need to be better at winning hearts and minds

You don't have to like the opposition or feel sympathy. But ultimately, we do need to be able to persuade them to relearn and affirm the principles of democracy as preferable to oligarchy, feudalism, and tyranny. We cannot win by force. We must win hearts and minds. It is a daunting challenge, but our lives and the future of the world depend on it.

[Cha]

189. Stephen Miller flashes a "white power" sign from the White House!

Link to tweet

Yeah.. this is what they want.

[bravenak]

190. What a piece of shit

[dalton99a]

198. Exactly.

[sheshe2]

228. JHC!

I hadn't seen this, Cha. Makes me sick.

[Cha]

192. More of what the brainwashed deplorables voted for.. Enemies of America

Link to tweet

[Jamaal510]

193. Instead of

making nice with them, D's would be wiser to focus on the ~30% of Americans who didn't vote last election, as well as those who couldn't due to voter ID laws. The Trumpanzees are out of reach. If they support someone like Toupe Fiasco for president, hope for them is at a premium. It's one thing to vote for a Republican, but I can't respect anyone who votes for a guy who bragged about sexual misconduct, talked about wanting to date his daughter, praised an adversary of the U.S. (Putin), questioned the legitimacy of the first Black president, and has been endorsed by the KKK and InfoWars. I've had a few of them add me as a friend on FB (for whatever reason), but I want nothing to do with them.

[Starry Messenger]

194. I save my sympathy for people who deserve it.

Some people feel the need to keep going back to an abuser to get some kind of twisted love. I say nope.

[Blue_Tires]

199. epic kick

[JTFrog]

200. k&r nt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

204. Well said

Fuck these assholes who want to turn back 70 years of progress.

[Blaukraut]

205. I feel absolutely ZERO sympathy for them, and here is why...

Peter is a 21 year old honor student in Oklahoma. Not the stereotypical middle aged white guy, and yet.....

"We all live out in the wilderness, either in the middle of a forest or on a farm," he wrote. "Some people cannot leave their homes during times of unfortunate weather. Many still dry clothes by hanging them on wires with clothespins outside. These people are nowhere near the top, or even the middle, of any hierarchy. These people are scraping the bottom of the barrel, and they, seemingly, have nothing to benefit from maintaining the system of order that keeps them at the bottom." His county ended up going about 70 percent for Trump.

Okay, I get that. I'd feel ignored and helpless, too, right? But..

According to the 2010 census, the median household income in Peter's county is a little more than $45,000. By comparison, Detroit's is about $27,000 and Chicago's (with a higher cost of living) is just under $49,000. The poverty rate is 17.5 percent in the county and 7.6 percent in Peter's little town, compared with Chicago's 22.7 percent. The unemployment rate has hovered around 4 percent.

Hmmm. What is this? Why does a supposedly educated young person not know facts about his own county?

Oh but here we get a bit closer to where his thinking originates:

Peter thinks he's not a reactionary. Since that sounds like an insult, I'd like to think so, too. But in writing this piece, I did notice a line in his essay that I had glided over during my first two readings, maybe because I liked him too much to want to be scared by him. "One need only look to the Civil War and the lasting legacies of Reconstruction through to today's current racism and race issues to see what happens when the federal government forces its morals on dissenting parts of the country."

Sadly, I am limited by the three paragraph rule. But this article is required reading. It is chilling, really. So no. I'm not able to scrape up any sympathy. On the contrary: I'm more wary than I was before.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/donald-trump-2016-election-oklahoma-working-class

[judesedit]

207. The weak must be voted out!We want good reps who stand up for our rights and the Constitution

[Orsino]

208. Weak-minded voters can be won over.

Not all, but some, and some may be all we need. Given the tens of millions who are just now beginning to feel the sting of disappointment with Trump's fumblings, we have opportunity. If you're not able to sympathize with them, check yourself; many of their real-world problems are identical to your own.

We have Trump voters and non-voters to win over, and though that'll take work, we're not supposed to be the party that fears work.

[radical noodle]

209. They're probably the ones who still believe

the Trump vote was about the economy, and it is total bullshit. Those are really the folks who think whites are discriminated against. They're mad because they don't have quite as much privilege as they once had. They see POC beginning to enjoy the same things they always had and they're angry about it.

[TNLib]

210. Regardless if we sympathize or not

I really think the trick is to get active. Help young people get active in the political process. March, protest, put pressure on our elected officials in town halls, letters, phone calls and emails.

Vote in our local elections help candidates ect..

We need to be the change, keep making headlines.
I don't think we need to get bogged down in a silly argument about reaching out to Trump's supporters. Weather we do or don't it won't make a difference.

The ones we should be focusing on are the millennials and our elected officials.

[fleabiscuit]

215. There is no evidence that magnetic monopoles exist. nt

[KPN]

213. I'm not sure "sympathize with deplorables" is a correct descriptor for those

who hold the opinion that the Democratic Party lost the 2016 election in part because it failed to adequately take care of the working class over the past 35 or so years. Equating the two is like saying 1000 equals 2 -- they aren't even close.

Now, should the party sympathize with "deplorables"? Absolutely not. Should the Party gear its economic policy, priorities and actions more effectively in support of the working class? Absolutely.

[truebluegreen]

216. Because they are fellow Americans?

Please explain how we get rid of Donald Fucking Trump without first prying him loose from his base.

[DefenseLawyer]

218. I would say I empathize with their confusion and fear

Now, as the Captain said "some men, you just can't reach", but I think there are plenty of people on "that side" that we can reach. I certainly don't have sympathy for their malodorous views or misplaced loyalties, but rather than writing them all off I'm willing to have a dialogue.

[DownriverDem]

221. Go back to Reagan

Move forward from there to find out what happened to the Dems. I watched in horror as voters moved right for many elections. We the people pushed them to the right. They moved right for survival.
This was going to be our long ball election. HRC would have moved things leftward. But no, some folks voted for purity due to being naïve and ignorant. We have cut the Dems off at the knees. They have very little power. The repubs run it all and set the agenda. Our system is Dems v repubs. Let's hope in 2018 folks remember the lesson of 2016 and play long ball.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

222. I'm just as perplexed as you are!

If anything, we haven't shamed them enough. We need to shame so severely, that they will make more informed decisions in the future. I'm not talking about "voting my way," but currently, they are proud of their ignorance. We need to make ignorance embarrassing again.

[BlueMTexpat]

223. It IS f*cking BS!

And I for one have no time for them.

[mdbl]

224. We are way passed to "across the isle" crap

Get rid of the old democrats in congress who can't fight.

[lark]

226. They destroyed us, why should we even sympathize a little bit with the ignoramuses?

They burned it down, they get to own the destruction. Since they fucked up my world, why should I care if their world also gets fucked up, when it's their own dumb choice? They are too stupid to know that ACA and Obamacare are the same thing, well they own that and now they will have no affordable healthcare, and that's exactly what they deserve. My heart just bleeds for all the people who voted against him, and that was a MAJORITY of Americans, who are still stuck with orange assface and the destruction he will bring to our way of life, because their neighbors don't like brown people & aren't in touch with reality.

[amuse bouche]

227. It's so simple for me. I hate every last one of them

They can all fuck off and drop dead

[True_Blue]

229. My sympathies are with those that will suffer

And die because of them. The deplorables are perfectly ok with others suffering and dying if they think it will benefit them somehow.

[iluvtennis]

230. Absolutely..well said. nt

[Rex]

232. I hope you don't mean it has been going on here on DU!

Report that shit!

[bravenak]

238. Lol, of course it has!

No need to report them, they really have no idea how bad it sounds.

[Rex]

241. Anyone that defends Trump is telling everyone else they like the guy.

I can see nothing else, he cannot say anything nice and has no policies so it must be they just like him. Sad.

[bravenak]

245. They were more interested in being kind to trump voters and i'm not wit it

[Angry Dragon]

234. Deport repub deplorables

[Lunabell]

235. Yeah

That is the current Democratic party. We need new blood.