Donald Trump

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Bars wrote:

All right, time for a more serious post. Disclaimer: I'm Eastern European, have never set foot in the US and that's just an outsider's perspective based on limited information.

The reasons for Trump's victory go back to the 1990s. It's there that an alarming trend appeared in the US economy: a concentration of capital and widening of the gap between the elite and the middle class. This process has been going for a quarter of a century now and the small incremental changes have caused a qualitative difference: the American dream is no longer there. The country is run by an oligarchy, the middle class is dwindling and there are more and more social realities perceived as injustice by many people. Medical care and education are turning into luxury commodities. Most people have to incur massive debt to even get a shot at the career they want.

This means a whole lot of people are disillusioned and unhappy with the status quo. Hilary was a corrupt member of the oligarchy and based her campaign on beautiful-sounding and empty slogans which failed to resonate with the disenchanted masses. Trump managed to portray himself as a rebel, a true patriot who would really change things. He played on the nostalgia for the good ol' days when the American dream was alive and kicking (make America great again), the disappointment with the present and an optimistic picture of the future.

What do I expect to happen? A slick politician with an excellent PR team won the campaign playing on people's emotions. Now the dust will settle, the actual presidency will begin, the emotional outbursts will settle down and a large portion of the Democrat and Republican supporters will realize in consternation something which should've been obvious from the start: Trump isn't a rebel against the establishment. He's part of it. He's a fucking billionaire, for God's sake! He has also proven his willingness to give contradictory promises left and right and I expect him not to fulfill them at all. Hillary supporters will be pleasantly surprised. Trump supporters are in for a rough awakening: it's going to be more or less business as usual.

In the short term, this means Trump was probably the lesser evil than the militaristic Hilary. I suppose less third-world countries will get a taste of 'freedom' and 'democracy'. That's not bad at all. It might, however, cause a long-term problem: the social and economic conditions which allowed for Trump's election won't go away. The oligarchy will continue to get richer and most others will get poorer. Even the most short-sighted will eventually realize Trump is a wolf in a dollar-green suit hiding behind the mask of a patriotic, down-to-earth good ol' boy. The resentment and disillusionment will grow and fester and this might create the correct political climate for a future politician who will actually be radical and extreme, will make outrageous promises and might actually believe in them and work to fulfill them.

We'll see how it goes but let's see I won't be exactly surprised if the US of A gets a taste of what a real radical politician looks like in the not-so-distant future.

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DalaiLama wrote:

Stop the shift towards Globalism. If monopolies aren't good, what makes people think a world government monopoly would be any different?

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/crisis-help-lines-election_us_582344fde4b0d9ce6fc03fef

Crisis Help Lines Have Been Inundated Following The Election
If you need help, it’s out there.

Many people felt a deep need to reach out for mental health help following Tuesday night’s election results.

Crisis Text Line, a mental health service that allows people to chat with a counselor via messaging, experienced twice the average volume in the last 24 hours, according to the organization.

In an analysis of the messages Crisis Text Line received, data researchers at the organization found the words “election” and “scared” were the top two phrases being mentioned by texters. The most common association with the word “scared” in texts was the phrase “LGBTQ.”

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a 24-hour hotline for people who are at risk for self harm, also saw a rise following the results. The number of calls between the hours of 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Eastern Time increased by 140 percent, according to John Draper, the project director for the Lifeline.

While we may not know if this particular election that caused psychological distress (it’s possible call volumes increase after any election), it’s also no secret that this divisive and negative race has taken a toll on citizens’ mental health. A survey conducted by the American Psychological Association last month found that the majority of Americans felt significant stress over the election.

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If you’re in crisis, you can text HELLO to 741-741 for free, 24-hour support from the Crisis Text Line.

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Bars wrote:

@MrSmiley21 - you know what they say: the more suicides, the less suicidal people out there.

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vio wrote:

lol

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Xavderion wrote:

Spoiler

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vio wrote:

lol

Fake tweet of course.

Spoiler

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Xavderion wrote:

"

vio wrote:

lol

Spoiler

Fake tweet of course.

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Antnee wrote:

"The media" was "rigged" by Clinton against Trump, right? News networks in her pocket, right? Tons and tons of ads pumped out, better ground game, all polling pointing to her (I don't think the polling was at all rigged, just massively flawed, but bear with me).

Literally if you owned a TV or an internet connection, you were fucking convinced Hillary would win. But Trump won.