Trump General Discussion VII

[mama cass]

I'll vote for you.

cheers - i would be seriously to tempted to vote for the Monster Raving Loony Party the way things are right now haha (it does exist btw!)

I mean, I would vote for a liberal democrat in principle. Recent voting results just seem to suggest that the U.K. is headed towards the same bullshit two party environment we are in in the US. I hope not.

yeah, it's a grim situation at the moment, what with Labour in such disarray... I reckon Labour should split, into New Labour and Old Labour, i.e. Blairites and Corbynistas - sure it would dissipate the left vote, but maybe they would have a clearer vision of things... quite a few of my friends in the (highly educated, professional, high achiever demographic) are Lib Dem supporters and others in the same demographic are Labour supporters and few that i know of admit to supporting the Tories, so maybe Lib Dems might have a chance in the next elections, if they sort out a good approach to Brexit or possibly even the option of rejoining the EU, i don't know... everything is a mess right now...

here in France, there are quite a few parties to choose from in the upcoming elections - extreme left, socialists, centrist, right, extreme right... just hoping commonsense will prevail, but at least we have two rounds and 2 weeks in between to choose carefully between the two final candidates... they say the French vote with their hearts in the first round, and then with their heads in the second round - terrified in case Trump groupie Le Pen gets in... worrying times!

 

[LuckyNumber7]

I'm really curious as to how practically every French can hate Donald Trump so much, yet a sizable amount supports Le Pen.

 

[BEAL]

^

That's unfortunately the hard, cold truth. Sometimes you have to live through a political era until it inevitably crashes and burns. We have seen this elsewhere, in places like California, for example, in Ontario, where a political party destroys itself for an entire voting generation because of the hard lines they elect to take during their rule. The Republicans will own all of this in the end, and truthfully there isn't much anyone can do about it in the meantime apart from organize, register people to vote, put up good candidates, fundraise, etc.

I have always said that the Trump victory is a perversion of sorts because those who do well could do exceptionally well, and those who voted for him will be left behind that much more. If these guys like Oregoropa don't care about their own self interest (beyond the sexism, racism and other views that they are now emboldened to share publicly), then why the hell should we? In 4 years he'll still be living in a dying PA town with no hope of a prosperous future.

While it's easy to blame the ugliest of our society for the shit we're seeing now, imo this needs to be owned by all of us.

We have allowed this country to fall so low that a reality tv star can become president. While it's easy to point out the shit GOP has come up with to bend rules or elections in their favor, none of the other elected officials stopped them.

There is blame all around, and Trump appears to be some form of judgement on us for failing to be educated, for being apathetic, and any other form of ignorance or stupidity.

My fear is nuclear war. I think the USA can survive everything else. Yes it may take decades or more to pull out of whatever hole we'll be in, but we can and will.

But those bombs start dropping and to quote the deceased "game over man, game over "

 

[mama cass]

I'm really curious as to how practically every French can hate Donald Trump so much, yet a sizable amount supports Le Pen.

i fear a lot is lost in translation... i was talking to a French friend the other day, who is an anarchist basically and completely anti-Le Pen, and he reckoned Macron, who is running as an independent former socialist/now more centrist candidate, is the equivalent to Trump, based on the fact that Macron once worked for Rothschild bank - really unsettling as they couldn't be more different, and as far as i can see, based on policy, human outlook, hatefulness and being a plain potential danger, Le Pen is Trump's clone...

i wonder if they might see Trump first and foremost as "big business"/money and equate Macron to that side of things (mostly real lefties/anarchists who can't stand Macron)... although pretty much everyone i talked to here about Trump thinks he is a lunatic...

the similarities between Trump and Le Pen are unreal - she is currently trying to take on the French judiciary, and thinks she is above the law, refusing to cooperate with the Police re. the investigation into her alleged fraudulent use of EU public funds, fake employment accusations etc. and she actually made a comment at the weekend promising a "purge" of the civil service in a few weeks (assuming she will be elected) saying they needed to be more patriotic! even her own mother described her as a dangerous narcissist! one good thing though, is the courts have just ruled for the 3rd time (she has appealed twice i think) that she can lawfully be described as a "fascist" (she was trying to sue Melenchon for libel)

tbh though, i'm not sure how much support she does have, she was expected to win masses of seats in the last regional elections, in the aftermath of the Bataclan, polls were highly in her favour, but she was massively humiliated and didn't win a single seat, not even in key FN areas.... she always does well in the European elections as no-one else bothers to vote, apart from the extreme right and left, same as in the UK with the UKIPers... well that's my theory anyway - might be desperately clutching at straws, but if she wins, it's not the France i know and love - will be a tragedy

plus, another thing that goes against Le Pen, she doesn't have the backing of an established, experienced mainstream political party - the FN have never held power, and no one is willing to form a coalition with them if they did win - she has no financial backing from French banks - they all refused to loan her money for her campaign, so she's nothing like Trump in that respect - he was the mainstream Republican candidate, she's still very much otracised here in French society, apart from loyal FN supporters... and, sorry for rambling, but i would say that the French people you hear of who hate Trump are probably not FN supporters lol

 

[Salome]

I'm really curious as to how practically every French can hate Donald Trump so much, yet a sizable amount supports Le Pen.

The French don't mind immigrants coming the the US, they just don't want them in France.
Comme ca.
+
The French hate anyone who can't speak French.

 

[mama cass]

The French don't mind immigrants coming the the US, they just don't want them in France.
Comme ca.
+
The French hate anyone who can't speak French.

really? even a winky face doesn't excuse THAT sweeping generalisation

 

[Salome]

It was in jest, but at the same time it is indicative of the situation in the whole of Europe.
Far right parties are doing well everywhere on a message of discrimination and chauvinistic nonsense and then we point at Trump like it's outlandish someone like him could win an election over here. While we're racing towards our own first Trump over here.

I do stand by the fact that all French people hate anyone who doesn't speak French though.

 

[mama cass]

It was in jest, but at the same time it is indicative of the situation in the whole of Europe.
Far right parties are doing well everywhere on a message of discrimination and chauvinistic nonsense and then we point at Trump like it's outlandish someone like him could win an election over here. While we're racing towards our own first Trump over here.

maybe i'm naive, but i'm hoping that those opinions are just the very loud voice of a small hateful minority, and most people are better than that...

I see you're from The Netherlands - do you think Wilders has a serious chance of getting elected? I have Dutch friends here who are pretty sure he hasn't got a chance and they view him very much as an outsider... really hope they're right...

I do stand by the fact that all French people hate anyone who doesn't speak French though.

i still disagree - my OH really struggles with the language, but all our Frenchie friends adore him because he tries really hard - they are so patient and sweet with him... although i guess we've met a few arseholes here and there, but we never keep those as friends haha

 

[LuckyNumber7]

mama cass, I'll be joining you in France for two months immediately after the election. Je ne parle pas français. I am fearful of this fact mixed in with a nationalist victory [emoji18]

 

[mama cass]

mama cass, I'll be joining you in France for two months immediately after the election. Je ne parle pas français. I am fearful of this fact mixed in with a nationalist victory [emoji18]

yeah i know the feeling well - i moved to France slap bang in the middle of the two voting rounds in 2002 when Le Pen Senior got through the first round of the elections - omg the panic - the house was sold and there was no turning back at that point and it was truly terrifying for a few days - thankfully he took a massive trouncing in the second round and we could breathe (until now) haha

if Le Pen wins it could be hairy here for everyone - people would take to the streets, so would be pretty chaotic i imagine...

if anyone else wins, you will be welcomed with open arms - Macron has already invited US scientists to come to France...

don't worry too much about not speaking the language, if you're friendly and make an effort to try, you will be fine... definitely get a little phrase book to help you along - for sure, the best way to pick up a language is to immerse yourself in it in the country - i'm sure you will pick it up quickly! (my OH is pretty dyslexic, so learning French has been extra difficult for him...) - just don't shout at people loudly in English expecting them to understand, that's what they hate, but if you try to make an effort, then they will really appreciate it and probably talk back to you in English to practice their English - they LOVE that (and it feckin drives me mad when they try to pull that on me when they detect my *cough* very slight *cough* English accent even tho i speak fluent French )

 

[BEAL]

maybe i'm naive, but i'm hoping that those opinions are just the very loud voice of a small hateful minority, and most people are better than that...

I think most Americans thought this too

 

[mama cass]

mama cass, I'll be joining you in France for two months immediately after the election. Je ne parle pas français. I am fearful of this fact mixed in with a nationalist victory [emoji18]

main thing to remember, contrary to popular belief, is that the French are incredibly polite and take offence when people are not polite in return or in their "customs"... always, always, say "Bonjour" to people, even strangers, when you go into a shop, into a doctor's waiting room, to work colleagues when you greet them in the morning - but only say it once a day to a given person - when i was a young student, i made the mistake of saying "bonjour" every time i crossed someone in the corridor (i was learning French and trying to be friendly lol) and they had to explain that it was enough to say it once a day and not every time you see someone throughout the day haha, and "bonsoir" if it's the evening, and always say "please" and "thank you"... the French like to shake hands, say, in a formal work context, the "bises" is for good friends or friends of friends, definitely not work colleagues until you know them well haha... for instance, i picked up my car from the garage today after a repair and the mechanic came out specially just to say "bonjour" and shake hands... sounds silly, but little things like that definitely help haha

 

[mama cass]

I think most Americans thought this too

you guys were screwed over by the voting system - the majority of individual voters didn't vote for him

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Toulouse or not Toulouse...

Google translate helps if you're not in immediate conversation. My fear is that I try to think up some French and I start speaking in a much more familiar Spanish.

 

[mama cass]

Toulouse or not Toulouse...

Google translate helps if you're not in immediate conversation. My fear is that I try to think up some French and I start speaking in a much more familiar Spanish.

if you have Spanish already, i'm sure you will find French really easy to pick up - it's so much easier when you've already learned another language...

the accent in Toulouse is weird though

 

[LuckyNumber7]

I'm not much of a linguist, unfortunately. I should be fluent in Spanish, but I'm barely able to get by.

 

[BEAL]

you guys were screwed over by the voting system - the majority of individual voters didn't vote for him

And a majority of those who can vote did not vote at all, which is saying they were OK with him being in charge.

 

[mama cass]

And a majority of those who can vote did not vote at all, which is saying they were OK with him being in charge.

this is a huge huge worry... i haven't seen anything from Susan Sarandon, for example, on the issue, since her interview immediately before the election when she said she couldn't vote for Hilary even though she hated Trump but was sure she would win so didn't need her vote - i wonder how she feels now? i thought it was really irresponsible of her to use her position like that...

my daughter's friends are planning on doing "blank" votes, it's a sort of protest vote here, although it's pretty pointless as they're not even counted - there were plans for blank votes to be counted and taken into account in the voting process in some way but this is not yet the case... she's going to try to persuade them not to because there's no way the extreme right will waste any of their votes, so as many votes as possible are needed to counter theirs... i know a couple of people (socialists) who are planning not to vote, in protest at the current political status quo - i know it's their right, but it makes me so mad to see votes wasted like that, especially in an emergency when you're up against the rise of neofascism... mostly people do vote tactically here though - i'm hoping this will be the case...

 

[mama cass]

I'm not much of a linguist, unfortunately. I should be fluent in Spanish, but I'm barely able to get by.

aw crap, you will just have to nod and smile a lot then

 

[BVS]

Trump said he has a plan to defeat ISIS in 30 days, it's been 40. No feet, no fire... just like everything else.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Trump said he has a plan to defeat ISIS in 30 days, it's been 40. No feet, no fire... just like everything else.

He didn't say *which* 30 days.

That would be telling the enemy!

 

[BVS]

He didn't say *which* 30 days.

That would be telling the enemy!

True, yeah, I'm sure his supporters won't mind if he waits a few years.

 

[Salome]

maybe i'm naive, but i'm hoping that those opinions are just the very loud voice of a small hateful minority, and most people are better than that...

I see you're from The Netherlands - do you think Wilders has a serious chance of getting elected? I have Dutch friends here who are pretty sure he hasn't got a chance and they view him very much as an outsider... really hope they're right...

Wilders has no chance because his party would need a majority vote.
Our political system will prevent it from happening.
Would 1/4 of registered voters go for this disgraceful moron? Sure.
He tells enough people what they think they want to hear.

 

[corianderstem]

Good job not taking a dump on the podium last night, Trump! Look how presidential you are now!

What a low fucking bar.

I'm still really curious if Oreg created that Tumblr page himself (which would be super weird) or if someone here did it (which is also kind of super weird).

 

[anitram]

I still don't really understand Tumblr and reddit kind of looks like back in the day when everyone still posted on newsgroups.

Man I feel old.

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah, I know Reddit is a mix of scum of the earth and actual cool stuff, and I'd like to explore the cool stuff, but I find it really hard to navigate. Not that I've spent much time on it, but when someone links to a page, it just looks like it's more trouble than it's worth.

 

[corianderstem]

[tweet]836699622139645952[/tweet]

 

[BEAL]

Good job not taking a dump on the podium last night, Trump! Look how presidential you are now!

What a low fucking bar.

I'm still really curious if Oreg created that Tumblr page himself (which would be super weird) or if someone here did it (which is also kind of super weird).

Yep.

And look, Trump was so Presidential with saying that the fallen SEAL is looking down on his wife right now.

Apparently OK with the fact that Trump's administration sent him to his death.

 

[corianderstem]

No no, it wasn't the Trump admin, it was the military! See, they got him killed. Not Trump's fault as commander in chief.

 

[Vincent Vega]

Just for the record: I'll answer to questions via PM again, whether genuine or not.