'Murica! (193 Viewers)

[Post Ironic]

I hope you're right
Does anybody even remember videos in which Hillary was lying for 13 minutes or so?

According to Andy, Zach, and Zoso Hillary lies every time she opens her mouth.

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

This is actually a really good read.

Cognitive dissonance. These small-town, white Christians, simply believe things that are not true. It's not that they are indifferent about the truth as @Seven says, but like @Maddy says, the truth is the most important thing of all to them, and they are so desperate to have this truth corroborate their beliefs that they are willing to invent fictional versions to make this the case.

I've lived in small towns of this sort my entire life... Most people are employed in farming, the trades, and natural resources. While, the wages aren't in general enough to make one affluent, unemployment is almost always very low, the jobs pay decent wages (almost no minimum wage jobs in the aforementioned fields), and the household incomes are decent... Wages range from $15-$30/hr... or $30,000 - $60,000 per year. Add to that the fact that cost of living is a fraction of what it is in the city, and there is a very big gap between how these people perceive their situation and the reality of it.

This sort of "poverty" in small towns is nowhere near the same thing as that in the slums and ghettos of big cities. But all the same, these white rural types seem to have these bizarre ideas that struggling to pay a mortgage on your home is real impoverishment, and that minorities in cities are living the high life on welfare and government assistance.

The reality is starkly different, and welfare is not easy to get on (you basically have to be at the point of homelessness with no assets or savings at all), nor desirable to stay on (even the top rates are well below the poverty line). But for some reason white rural North America has decided that all their struggles can be blamed on the welfare state and lazy minorities in the city that are scamming it for a free ride.

It's so fucking depressing to hear this shit constantly. From the uneducated it is a tragic failing of the public education system (one that their very own republican party has been trying to dismantle for decades), but when you hear this shit from educated, affluent, older caucasians, it makes your blood boil.

 

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[Ocelot]

Good article in general, but I kinda laughed at them "having to dry their clothes by hanging them outside part"

Is that really so absurd in the US? Here virtually everyone with enough space around their house/apartment - basically everyone not living in a big city - does exactly that. The first time I used a washer dryer I could already vote and drink legally.

 

[Ronn]

Good article in general, but I kinda laughed at them "having to dry their clothes by hanging them outside part"

Is that really so absurd in the US? Here virtually everyone with enough space around their house/apartment - basically everyone not living in a big city - does exactly that. The first time I used a washer dryer I could already vote and drink legally.

You mean only dryer right? I hope you did not have to wait that long to use a washer
Dryer appliance is almost unheard of in Iran.

 

[Dostoevsky]

Two of my Chinese-American friends voted him because "he'd force US companies out of China so local businesses in China would thrive and environment would be affected less". In other words, they felt more Chinese than American in their minds and thought Trump's presidency would help China.

Hispanics I guess don't want more of themselves in the country

They think that would do good? Do you think that too?

I don't see how Chinese business would thrive after such thing cause the only thing I could see happening after such scenario is thousands of Chinese left without a job. I don't think it would help them one bit.

And I don't imply how slavery is a good thing.

There's always a few really strange people though. I mean there are blacks in the KKK, or look at that Milo guy.

And I think I already said it somewhere before: Trump is easily the most absurd thing that has happened in my lifetime. Maybe not necessarily the worst thing, but the most absurd for sure.

Nope. That has to be Coelho since it's a world-wide phenomenon.

 

[Post Ironic]

Good article in general, but I kinda laughed at them "having to dry their clothes by hanging them outside part"

Is that really so absurd in the US? Here virtually everyone with enough space around their house/apartment - basically everyone not living in a big city - does exactly that. The first time I used a washer dryer I could already vote and drink legally.

I still hang my clothes out to dry from May to October. Why waste the power if I do not need to? I handwash all my dishes as well, because dishwashers make no sense at all if you aren't a family of 4+.

 

[GordoDeCentral]

They think that would do good? Do you think that too?

I don't see how Chinese business would thrive after such thing cause the only thing I could see happening after such scenario is thousands of Chinese left without a job. I don't think it would help them one bit.

And I don't imply how slavery is a good thing.



Nope. That has to be Coelho since it's a world-wide phenomenon.

Lol @ Coelho part

 

[Post Ironic]

They think that would do good? Do you think that too?

I don't see how Chinese business would thrive after such thing cause the only thing I could see happening after such scenario is thousands of Chinese left without a job. I don't think it would help them one bit.

And I don't imply how slavery is a good thing.



Nope. That has to be Coelho since it's a world-wide phenomenon.

The writer? Is he really that popular?

Edit. Joke went over my head.

 

[king Ale]

Good article in general, but I kinda laughed at them "having to dry their clothes by hanging them outside part"

Is that really so absurd in the US? Here virtually everyone with enough space around their house/apartment - basically everyone not living in a big city - does exactly that. The first time I used a washer dryer I could already vote and drink legally.

In Iran too, but they have shattered my Iranian identity so much in the past days and years and decades that I thought it was obvious that we were as uncivilised as those poor Oklahomans

 

[Dostoevsky]

Lol @ Coelho part

The writer? Is he really that popular?

Edit. Joke went over my head.

What joke? I'm not even kidding.

I think he's the most popular writers right now in the world. At least his books are being sold the most.

 

[king Ale]

They think that would do good? Do you think that too?

I don't see how Chinese business would thrive after such thing cause the only thing I could see happening after such scenario is thousands of Chinese left without a job. I don't think it would help them one bit.

And I don't imply how slavery is a good thing.



Nope. That has to be Coelho since it's a world-wide phenomenon.

 

[DAiDEViL]

I still hang my clothes out to dry from May to October. Why waste the power if I do not need to? I handwash all my dishes as well, because dishwashers make no sense at all if you aren't a family of 4+.

 

[king Ale]

This is actually a really good read.

Cognitive dissonance. These small-town, white Christians, simply believe things that are not true. It's not that they are indifferent about the truth as @Seven says, but like @Maddy says, the truth is the most important thing of all to them, and they are so desperate to have this truth corroborate their beliefs that they are willing to invent fictional versions to make this the case.

I've lived in small towns of this sort my entire life... Most people are employed in farming, the trades, and natural resources. While, the wages aren't in general enough to make one affluent, unemployment is almost always very low, the jobs pay decent wages (almost no minimum wage jobs in the aforementioned fields), and the household incomes are decent... Wages range from $15-$30/hr... or $30,000 - $60,000 per year. Add to that the fact that cost of living is a fraction of what it is in the city, and there is a very big gap between how these people perceive their situation and the reality of it.

This sort of "poverty" in small towns is nowhere near the same thing as that in the slums and ghettos of big cities. But all the same, these white rural types seem to have these bizarre ideas that struggling to pay a mortgage on your home is real impoverishment, and that minorities in cities are living the high life on welfare and government assistance.

The reality is starkly different, and welfare is not easy to get on (you basically have to be at the point of homelessness with no assets or savings at all), nor desirable to stay on (even the top rates are well below the poverty line). But for some reason white rural North America has decided that all their struggles can be blamed on the welfare state and lazy minorities in the city that are scamming it for a free ride.

It's so fucking depressing to hear this shit constantly. From the uneducated it is a tragic failing of the public education system (one that their very own republican party has been trying to dismantle for decades), but when you hear this shit from educated, affluent, older caucasians, it makes your blood boil.

My impression is (and it could be totally wrong) that they feel more entitled because of their religion and race so their perception is that they are at the bottom of the barrel because they could have done much better.

The reality is starkly different, and welfare is not easy to get on (you basically have to be at the point of homelessness with no assets or savings at all), nor desirable to stay on (even the top rates are well below the poverty line). But for some reason white rural North America has decided that all their struggles can be blamed on the welfare state and lazy minorities in the city that are scamming it for a free ride.

To me it's baffling to assume that minimal governmental aids can kill motivation and drive in the poor while eliminating them would motivate them to work hard (so much harder than reaching the level they would have reached with the help of the government) and break free from poverty.

 

[Post Ironic]

What joke? I'm not even kidding.

I think he's the most popular writers right now in the world. At least his books are being sold the most.

It is true I suppose. Well, Coelho and Dan Brown.

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My impression is (and it could be totally wrong) that they feel more entitled because of their religion and race so their perception is that they are at the bottom of the barrel because they could have done much better.



To me it's baffling to assume that minimal governmental aids can kill motivation and drive in the poor while eliminating them would motivate them to work hard (so much harder than reaching the level they would have reached with the help of the government) and break free from poverty.

Zach is a prime example of claiming that second part all the time with regards to the African American community. He thinks welfare kills their motivation and they are just content to not better themselves and live on welfare forever. He has no actual clue of how awful life on welfare actually is.

What is a problem, is both the dire state of inner city public education, and the lack of vocational training programs for those on welfare. Canada is much better for both these things than America, but still has problems of the same sort.

 

[DAiDEViL]

It is true I suppose. Well, Coelho and Dan Brown.

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

 

[campionesidd]

What joke? I'm not even kidding.

I think he's the most popular writers right now in the world. At least his books are being sold the most.

Stop lying. The Art of the Deal is the best selling book of all time, ever.

 

[Post Ironic]

Listening to Depeche Mode's new single and damn they went all political. Yes, more please. This is the perfect time for protest music to make a comeback. This ostentatious gangsta hip hop pop crap isn't cutting it. Make punk great again!!

http://pitchfork.com/news/71034-dave-eggers-announces-4-year-long-1000-song-anti-trump-playlist/

http://www.30days30songs.com/61



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This was today:

 

[Seven]

It is true I suppose. Well, Coelho and Dan Brown.

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Zach is a prime example of claiming that second part all the time with regards to the African American community. He thinks welfare kills their motivation and they are just content to not better themselves and live on welfare forever. He has no actual clue of how awful life on welfare actually is.

What is a problem, is both the dire state of inner city public education, and the lack of vocational training programs for those on welfare. Canada is much better for both these things than America, but still has problems of the same sort.

My impression is (and it could be totally wrong) that they feel more entitled because of their religion and race so their perception is that they are at the bottom of the barrel because they could have done much better.



To me it's baffling to assume that minimal governmental aids can kill motivation and drive in the poor while eliminating them would motivate them to work hard (so much harder than reaching the level they would have reached with the help of the government) and break free from poverty.

Zach lives in Belgium. I think you both forgot that.

There are several possibilities here. If you've worked for a while but are now unemployed, you'll receive substantial unemployment benefits for quite some time. Or, what many people here do too, you just claim you're sick and you get paid for being an invalid. People with fake burnouts come to mind.

Only if you've never done something or aren't entitled to other benefits, do you get what is called a living wage. This is basically enough to survive, but without much else.

I'm just saying this because welfare in Belgium is not what I'd call minimal. It's not enough for me, but it appears to be plenty for lots of people. In the US it might mean not getting food every day, but in Belgium generally it doesn't.

Added to this is that if you get a job many of these benefits dissappear. People who received 1000 euros in benefits now get 1200 doing a job. Basically they're working for 200 euros.

In that context much of what Zach says about it is not entirely without merit. Unfortunately it is also in no way whatsoever relevant to the US.

 

[Ocelot]

I still hang my clothes out to dry from May to October. Why waste the power if I do not need to? I handwash all my dishes as well, because dishwashers make no sense at all if you aren't a family of 4+.

Well I gotta disagree there Unless you're living alone, dishwashers are the bomb.

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You mean only dryer right? I hope you did not have to wait that long to use a washer
Dryer appliance is almost unheard of in Iran.

Yeah dryer

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What is a problem, is both the dire state of inner city public education, and the lack of vocational training programs for those on welfare. Canada is much better for both these things than America, but still has problems of the same sort.

And the job market is awful.

 

[CrimsonianKing]

What joke? I'm not even kidding.

I think he's the most popular writers right now in the world. At least his books are being sold the most.

Dont know which Brazilian I hate more, Coelho or Britto...

 

[IliveForJuve]

I hope we get a lot of good political punk songs thanks to Trump.