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This could have been my blog. I was in 9th grade at the time of elections, and when Obama was elected, it was nothing but "Our country is screwed." Why? They didn't know a thing about him. Oh he supports abortion! Or something! He must be the worst. The assassination thing was present here as well. "Obama will be shot within the next three months anyway, nothing to worry about."
Saying he's a Muslim, not a U.S. citizen, doesn't salute the flag, etc. How he's going to be the worst president ever.
100% it's the kids repeating their parents sentiments. They don't know why they hate Obama, but they do. And when you accuse them of that, tell them to give you a reason why he's so awful, they don't have anything but get angry with you anyway.
Utah here.
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On April 10 2012 09:23 sc2superfan101 wrote:Show nested quote +I don't want to sound like an elitist ass, but I seriously doubt that they do any research besides shitty TV news channels and their parents. that is an opinion that is unfounded. honestly, what research do you want these people to do? not everyone can be political scientists, and there is nothing wrong with an uneducated opinion. if you think there is, well then i will have to call you elitist, because that's like, the definition of elitism.
Call him whatever you want. You seriously believe that statement: "there is nothing wrong with an uneducated opinion"? Really?
You cant see a problem with that?
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I assure you that in any "Blue" part of the country the Bush hate was just as bad. I remember when one DC area high school student actually acquired maps of Camp David and actual assault weaponry with a plan in mind to assassinate Bush (what an idiot -- leaving the country in the hands of Cheney? :p). The local media where I was at attempted to play the whole thing as a "prank." Right.......
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Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally.
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On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote: Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally.
I think one of the differences here that he's pointing out in the blog is that there were quite a few reasons to dislike Bush, while it appears that a lot of his school appears to be hating Obama without really being able to articulate their reasons for doing so. There certainly *are* reasons, of course, but that doesn't seem to be the primary factor in his school's hate.
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On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote: Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test They used to do those. It was used to keep African Americans from voting.
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Russian Federation3631 Posts
I'll just say that your position isn't unique -- you think you know better than the rest of your peer group. This in itself may or may not be true, but you'll hopefully realize in the future that you greatly underestimated your superior discernment.
But its good you realize that you don't have enough information to really understand the issues. All I suggest is to always try to find evidence that is against what you instinctively believe.
People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally. as a conservative, I'd be 100% for this ~
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On April 10 2012 09:51 TheToast wrote:Show nested quote +On April 10 2012 09:45 Whole wrote: However, the "extremist" in my class are more politically correct (because school has taught us to be from very early on), but they still are very conservative, religious, and anti-gay marriage.
That's not an extremist, what you just described is a good chunk of people in the United States. One can be opposed to or in support of gay marriage without being on an extreme end of the political spectrum. I just used anti-gay marriage because that is what itsmedudeman had that in his criteria. I used quotes around extremist to show that they're extremist relative to the rest of my class.
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Unfortunately for more than 50% of the world population, they don't have enough brains to understand anything but the blatant bias that are streaming through their ears. Not saying that only the south, or only conservatives are guilty of this. Many from both parties and from all around the country do not have enough logic to see through the lies and bullshit that the media portrays or that their parents teach them. That is the problem with holding elections that anyone can vote in.
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On April 10 2012 09:02 Blade Fox wrote: Obama's awesome. Dumb people can't see that.
Should be the next campaigns motto.
Yes, awesome if awesome to you means the worst civil liberties president probably of all time, and this is only his first term(yes he will have a 2nd term).
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On April 10 2012 10:04 MstrJinbo wrote:Show nested quote +On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote: Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test They used to do those. It was used to keep African Americans from voting. Those, were biased however. The way my history teacher explained it to me, was like this. Basically, it would ask the people to draw something (for example, a cross). A cross can be interpreted two ways, a normal X or a crucifix (or many other ways). Basically, no matter what a black person drew, they would always be denied for drawing the wrong thing.
In all honesty, if you can't read or write, you shouldn't be voting. I don't want to sound racist or anything, but I just think its true. It's true that it'd probably be difficult for new freedmen to find education AND for their descendants. But this isn't the case anymore. Education is free and for everyone. If you don't want your children to be educated, than they shouldn't have the right to vote.
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And I thought I had it rough on the Obama-hate coming out of a private Catholic school in a relatively wealthy area two hours from Washington... At least all of my classmates have a decent reason for hating him. I feel for you brother...
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On April 10 2012 09:23 sc2superfan101 wrote: i don't hate Obama, but i definitely sympathize with your classmates. i wonder, why do you not like Glenn Beck? the tone of your story implied that this guy was a complete moron because he said he likes Glenn Beck and thinks that he is smart, so what facts and figures do you have for your opinion that Glenn Beck isn't smart? any specifics, or just little tidbits like "he's crazy" or "he's stupid! faux news!!" or some variation of those two statements?
My problem with Glenn Beck is his over sensationalist tone. My dad used to frequently listen to him, and all I would hear whenever passing by the TV would be yelling or the buzz words, "communists," "socialists," "fascists," ect. Here is just an example off the top of my head, but the channel is named "LiberalViewer," so one might instantly discredit it: + Show Spoiler +
and, i don't want to sound mean, but you definitely come off as elitist here. not that it's not normal for a young kid who is probably smart to be a little elitist, Lord knows that I was. but you do come off as "oh man, I am so smart and better because I refuse to have an opinion and my classmates are so stupid because they have an opinion i don't agree with and they don't back it up with facts."
this in particular made me laugh:
It's not that I don't agree with the opinion, it is just that I hate how polarizing their opinions are. And the facts they present (none) is non proportional to the intensity of their opinion. I don't have a problem if you don't like the idea of high taxes...I get annoyed when you don't like high taxes -> hate Democratic party -> hate Obama or anything like that.
Show nested quote +It kind of sort of makes sense for parents to hate Obama because he isn't raping the Gulf of Mexico out of her oil and more drilling directly increases my area's economy tenfold....but why are these high school students so blindly against Obama. sounds like you do have an opinion... a relatively uninformed opinion. maybe even a few opinions. further more, if the economy is bad in your area, and could be better, why is it so strange that these kids would also want that? or are parents the only ones who are allowed to want more jobs?
Yes, I shouldn't have used raped while trying to sound objective at the same time...although I know I'm not being 100% objective. Also, the economy isn't bad in my area, but it was hurt because of the oil spill, so now people are freaking out because we aren't as good as we once were. However, relative to the rest of the country, our local economy is still great. (I have never seen a homeless person in my area yet.)
Show nested quote +I don't want to sound like an elitist ass, but I seriously doubt that they do any research besides shitty TV news channels and their parents. that is an opinion that is unfounded. honestly, what research do you want these people to do? not everyone can be political scientists, and there is nothing wrong with an uneducated opinion. if you think there is, well then i will have to call you elitist, because that's like, the definition of elitism.
I don't see how you can say there is nothing wrong with an educated opinion. Of course, no one can educate themselves on every issue, but one shouldn't start preaching their opinion if it is uneducated.
because they are young, and also because a lot of times, that's the way things are. also, i could easily say: "It fucking blows my mind, yo! How can you see things as grey when they are so clearly black and white?" i would say, hey. people think a lot of things. they have a lot of different opinions. sometimes those opinions are not based on facts and figures, and sometimes those opinions are, god forbid, based on something they heard on the television. (oh heavens no! not that!!) does this mean that they are wrong? not really. does it mean that they are stupid? not really. does it mean that sitting on the fence is wrong, stupid, smart, or right? not really. it means that people are people, and try to remember that you aren't as different from the people you described as you think you are.
I know people are just people, can't be perfect in every aspect of their life, and can't be expected to have a 100% researched opinion. I'm just ranting about that aspect of people...but my rant was more focused on my area's extreme political view.
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On April 10 2012 10:17 Brutaxilos wrote:Show nested quote +On April 10 2012 10:04 MstrJinbo wrote:On April 10 2012 10:00 Brutaxilos wrote: Nice blog. Basically I can say one thing about people from what I learned in my life (I'm the same age as you).
People are idiots.
Honestly, I live in Southern California which is famous for its Democratic-ness. In the '08 election, I would say probably...mmm 95% of the school thought favorably of Obama. Nowadays, I would say maybe 30%. Why? Because the news ONLY shows anti-Obama propaganda. People don't KNOW why hes bad, they only hear he is. This continues another part of my realization.
People are forgetful idiots.
Honestly, I don't think people remember how much they hated Bush. I mean, that man brought us into two fucking wars, lied to justify one of them, destroyed the economy, and brought our surplus into a debt. How much worse can you get?
If you asked me, Hamilton was correct. People in general ARE too stupid to vote. There should seriously be some kinda voting eligibility test for all Americans, you know... like the kinda thing immigrants have to take. No one complains about that being biased, but its a fact that immigrants tend to vote more Liberally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test They used to do those. It was used to keep African Americans from voting. Those, were biased however. The way my history teacher explained it to me, was like this. Basically, it would ask the people to draw something (for example, a cross). A cross can be interpreted two ways, a normal X or a crucifix (or many other ways). Basically, no matter what a black person drew, they would always be denied for drawing the wrong thing.
And some where so hard and timed that almost no one could pass it...until the Grandfather Clause basically allowed all whites to vote regardless of the test.
Alabama Literacy Test
Louisiana Literacy Test (stupidly hard; interesting read)
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High school sucks... you just have to suck it up and wait for things to get better.
The only consolation I can give you is that a lot of the smart kids will eventually figure things out on their own. I was against abortion and gay marriage when I was in high school, and so were many of my friends. We were smart kids, but we grew up in a rural and very religious part of Canada, and that was the predominant opinion of the adults around us. We all dramatically revised our childhood opinions as adults.
In the meantime, there are a lot of political bloggers who focus on the liberal-conservative divide in the US. I recommend Ed Brayton's Dispatches from the Culture Wars. While he's not a fan of the Republican party, he doesn't hesitate to criticise Democrats either... he has been very critical of the Obama administration's record on civil liberties and justice issues. On the Republican side, I like David Frum at The Daily Beast. (Although he probably wouldn't admit it, he comes from the Canadian strain of conservatism, which I personally have a lot of sympathy with.)
Edit: Interestingly, the top article on David Frum's site is a review of a book called The Righteous Mind, which is about how people arrive at political opinions. It sounds like it is very applicable to your situation.
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the masses believe what they're told. that's why they're called the masses.
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There's nothing wrong with civic engagement, but as you get deeper into it you'll find that a lot of people, even celebrities and talk show hosts, have no idea what they're talking about. This is only compounded by the fact you're in high school in a pretty conservative area. I live in Baton Rouge right now and it's pretty similar despite the very vocal liberal minority that is oftentimes extremist and confrontational just to get attention.
But hey, I'm not originally from the south. I lived about 40 minutes south Obama's Chicago residence during the 2004 senate race. The man was a lock for the seat long before election day, mostly due to his great speech at the Democratic national convention. 4 years later during the presidential election I was in a liberal Michigan city and heard nothing but an endless stream of Bush hate and blind Obama support. Currently my old Michigan home support for Obama is still present, but it's not secure (though it will probably be in the fall). My old Illinois home still thinks Obama can turn water into wine and Chicago has enough liberal voters to outvote Illinois' predominately conservative land mass.
I spent summers in upstate New York and southeast Connecticut working with some conservative industrial engineers. How conservative you ask? Well, for my last day in Connecticut I wanted to go to a buffet and most the engineers refused to attend because the buffet was in a casino on an Indian reserve (they protested on the grounds that their meal wouldn't support GDP - yes, they actually said that!). It took me a while to realize that some of them were stupid and some of them were middle class laborers who support republican candidates the most.
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Wow that Louisiana test, think my brain hurts after reading that.
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Hey! My school is just like that too regarding Obama. All of my classmates have some sort of uninformed/ignorant hatred of Obama and it's pretty damn annoying. I'm not saying that I like Obama but Jesus, I get so tired of everyone bitching about the same thing with no bases around it every time someone brings up politics.
I don't pay any attention to politics. I've started to assume that it's all a bunch of bs. The person who can afford the best campaigning/advertisement wins. The person who can please the most wealthiest people win. It's like there's no morals involved. None of them are trying to do what's best for America as a whole, they're just trying to satisfy their specific party and the wealthy who back it.
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don't worry, it gets better in college where ppl like to walk around with pictures of mass murderers (che, mao) on their shirts and hats :p
from what i understand your problem is not neccesarily with the obama hate but with obama hate backed by really stupid reasoning. this isn't really a thing you can change so im very sorry :[
i know it's pretty frustrating hearing this stuff but im sure there are more open-minded people out there lol
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