329 points

Why are these assholes so against helping people? These fuckers are nothing but greedy sociopaths.

permalink
report
reply
197 points

conservatives view social hierarchy as a necessity which must be enforced. if you’re at the bottom, you deserve to be there, and if you’re there, you suffer because you deserve it, and because you’re at the bottom, you deserve to suffer. cruelty is the point, and without it, there can’t be the joy of their success.

anything else, to them, is profane and must be fought/destroyed. anyone who tries to climb above their position must be punished.

relevant videos:

The Alt-Right Playbook: Always a Bigger Fish

Endnote 3: The Origins of Conservatism

permalink
report
parent
reply
102 points
*

A Conservative is someone who can’t enjoy their dinner without knowing someone else is hungry

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

I’m stealing that.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-3 points

heh

permalink
report
parent
reply
38 points

The only thing baffling about any of this is that somehow, millions of ordinary, working/middle-class Americans believe that this system benefits them more than the alternative.

permalink
report
parent
reply
21 points

it’s not baffling at all. the American dream is literally everyone is a millionaire or will be one day. conservatives are the only ones buying into that dream still so they’re trying to live like a millionaire now so that when the money finally shows up they’ve done their part to help their new millionaire friends along the way.

The problem is they don’t understand that the likelihood of them becoming even moderately wealthy is pretty slim and they’re too blind to see that voting to hurt the poor is voting to hurt themselves in their current situation.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points
*

Nah, they’re just pissed and want to believe they’ve been wronged by some “other”. Ironically, they’re 100% correct, but have identified the wrong “other”. Baffling, indeed.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

But voting another way will result in my children being accosted by drag queens who will turn them gay / trans and my freedoms will be co-opted by shitty beer companies who don’t believe in Christ. Then my enemies will take my guns and my elderly parents will be shipped off to a commie gulag and murdered to make room for more whatever whatever whatever… I ran out of tropes. Hopefully, you don’t need me to punctuate that this is sarcasm.

These are the things that they think about obsessively. They aren’t thinking about how to make the world a better place. They’re thinking about the things they hate and fear.

permalink
report
parent
reply
20 points

Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/agzNANfNlTs

https://piped.video/E4CI2vk3ugk

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

I’ve always regarded that episode of the playbook as especially astute.

permalink
report
parent
reply
15 points

the whole “Playbook” is pretty great, bit this one is excellent for explaining exactly why conservatives see things the way they do

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

Which is quite a high bar, considering the overall quality of the whole series!

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

Thank you for the links. They were very enlightening.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

Christian in name only.

permalink
report
parent
reply
26 points

permalink
report
parent
reply
14 points

That’s the No True Scotsman Fallacy.

This is just Christianity.

permalink
report
parent
reply
64 points

“I’m not getting debt relief, so why should they” is their only argument. They’re just greedy.

permalink
report
parent
reply
43 points

And many of them got covid bailouts and never had to pay a penny back and do not think even for a moment that their actions are hypocritical

permalink
report
parent
reply
27 points

And we literally have congress critters that lived on welfare debt relief programs and want to tell others to pull themselves up by the bootstraps.

permalink
report
parent
reply
17 points

I don’t need student debt relief, it won’t affect me. But I am extremely for it - it’s called wanting a better life for your fellow human being.

Compassion - it’s not a difficult concept if you’re not a narcissistic a$$hole.

And as an added bonus, the money currently going to banks would actually get better distributed to businesses (both big and small) and act as a net gain to our economy. But screw that - we don’t want some bank stocks to dip and affect some wealthy pension plans! /s

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

My family is financially secure and has no student debt. I, too, am for student debt relief, in part because it benefits me directly. When my neighbor has an extra $100 in his pocket to spend at the local shop, that benefits me, too. “Conservatives” (just what in the fuck do they conserve?) are too stupid to see this.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

I hadn’t ever considered it, but my desire for student debt relief also won’t affect me. I’ve been harping on this thing that I want for the last couple of years. I never stopped for a second to consider that I’m not in that group. I just want a better life for my fellow humans. Thanks for bringing that to my front of mind.

These people are truly assholes.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

They’re just greedy asscunts.

permalink
report
parent
reply
48 points

If people can organize instead of work overtime…

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

Good point.

permalink
report
parent
reply
43 points

Along with the usual “the cruelty is the point” responses, I’d like to remind people that this is a direct strategy championed by Mitch McConnell, who has been championing this strategy long before Biden came along.

First, McConnell believes that the GOP should not have any policy positions on anything at all. If you have a policy position, that position is subject to criticism. Rather than champion policies that he fully admits would be unpopular with the voters, McConnell believes in simply pointing to the Democrat policies, pointing out the flaws in those policies, and just making vague promises that the GOP can do better without actually defining how. Ever seen the meme of the guy tapping his own head while saying something profoundly stupid? That’s exactly what this is. Picture McConnell doing that while saying “Can’t be criticized for your terrible ideas if you just don’t have any ideas at all!”

The other part, also championed by McConnell and others, is that no matter what it is, if it originally was a Democrat idea, then a Republican must be against it at all costs. Not only must they be against it, they must treat every Democrat policy as a threat to American society as we know it. Take a look at Romneycare in Massachusetts. A healthcare bill created by a Republican that was considered widely successful and basically the cornerstone to Obamacare. But the second a Democrat suggesting nationalizing the program, it was suddenly the worst program in the world that would collapse our healthcare system and lead to death panels.

And sad to say, but it’s been a very effective strategy for them. It’s easy for the GOP to get their voters to blame Democrats for problems because deflecting blame is easy, and people are always looking for someone to blame for whatever problems they have in life. People tend not to do their own research or critical thinking and often just prefer to be “told” what the “right” answer is, especially if what they’re told jives with their own personal worldview. If voters want to believe that Democrats are the root of all evil, and their elected leaders are saying that Democrats are the root of all evil, it’s not much of a stretch to get them to believe that anything or any ideas associated with Democrats are also evil and must be eradicated.

It’s all about maintaining political power through obstruction. Doesn’t matter how bad your own policies are just as long as you continue to make sure voters believe that the alternative is even worse.

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

This is extremely well said. Thanks for taking the time.

permalink
report
parent
reply
36 points

When you view life as a zero sum game it turns you into a real selfish cunt.

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

Because either they got theirs and fuck everyone else. Or, they never got theirs and fuck everyone who might get theirs.

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

They’ve become so focused on political “points” and afraid of the other “team” scoring a “point” that they’re willing to do anything, regardless of the optics.

Because they don’t stop and look at the bigger picture - it’s just political capital they can push around or dangle as a carrot in front of voters for future elections.

permalink
report
parent
reply
17 points

Because Ronnie RayGun said it is dangerous for government to help people. Totally cool for government to help those poor billionaires though.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Totally cool for government to help those poor billionaires though.

Well, Elorn bought Twatter and can’t afford to pay rent (or severance, or server fees, or lawyers), so it seems right that he should get a handout. How’s the guy even gonna pay for his next lunch?!

Meanwhile, my grandmother can’t afford insulin. That bitch better figure it out!

permalink
report
parent
reply
15 points

Wilholt’s law, “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

Aka, “you’re not hurting the right people”

permalink
report
parent
reply
14 points

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.”

― John Kenneth Galbraith

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

Sounds like libertarianism TBH.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

*Wilhoit’s. I remember because I used to have a neighbor named Wilhoit.

permalink
report
parent
reply
14 points

Because the corporations that own the private colleges and universities that overcharge on tuition also are the ones that hand out student loans.

They stand to lose billions of dollars in predatory profit if they can’t collect interest on student loans.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

If only there were some loopholes to close and a way to take a little cash from assets that never ever get sold…

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Yeah I see a lot of “cruelty is the point” comments here, which might not be entirely false, but if they sue it mostly means someone is pissed off about losing revenue.

permalink
report
parent
reply
0 points

The cruelty isn’t the only point behind every conservative position, but it’s the only point of enough of them to make me suspect it’s part of the motivation for all of them.

permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

Because it hurts college-educated people. Culture war.

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

Simple answer I think is GOP don’t want anyone in their base to think any form of government assistance is good and will always label it as hand outs. More government assistance/social safety nets means their capitalist overlords gets to maintain and build their control over citizens and money will flow to them instead. Also “liberals bad!”

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points
*
Deleted by creator
permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

They get mad about feeding starving kids too

permalink
report
parent
reply
202 points

Imagine there is a group that does everything in it’s power to block every positive change there could be.

Imagine further that the same group also does everything in it’s power to change every positive thing into a negative.

Now imagine that >48% of people vote for that group.

And finally imagine you in a place like that.

Honestly, unimaginable.

permalink
report
reply
52 points

That’s why it drives me nuts when people get a cynical and say both parties are the same or that your vote doesn’t matter. Pay attention to how the different parties vote!

permalink
report
parent
reply
23 points

“both parties” is just code for right wing asshole trying to skew the vote

permalink
report
parent
reply
21 points

Enlightened centrists are the worst. At least you know what you’re getting with republicans.

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

You know what you’re getting with centrists, too: snobby Republicans.

permalink
report
parent
reply
17 points

Both parties are horrible but one party is much horrible-er. I think you can guess the one

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

It’s absolutely true that they are not identical. Although they are far too similar. Only really differentiating on the subject of social democracy. Where the Democrats at least pay lip service to it. Which is a big plus for the Democrats. Whereas Republicans openly show disdain for it.

Other than that they are both far right wing economic parties. Who have both actively attacked labor. Although in the Democrats defense they are often just eager to go along with what Republicans are doing. And don’t actually take the initiative on their own.

If it wasn’t for the Democrats loose Pro social democracy stands I wouldn’t vote for them there’s very little you can point to and recent history that they have accomplished that’s been truly good. Outside of civil rights same-sex marriage Etc. They seriously need to stop waiting the better part of a century before fighting for things to people need.

permalink
report
parent
reply
28 points

They just want to hurt people. Imagine voting to keep people indebted. That’s them.

permalink
report
parent
reply
23 points

“He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”

A real actual person said that. They walk among us.

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

Just republican shit.

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

Another Big Brain douchesupporter said “I never thought I’d want a dictator in my life, but if we’re going to have one I want it to be Trump!”

If a tried really hard to be charitable I’d guess Faux “News” was telling her the left wants to vote for a dictator so she wants her dictator, but I don’t think that was the context…

permalink
report
parent
reply

It’s so sad, people who were hurt growing up and then rationalize it as that’s the way the world is supposed to be. Too hard for some people to admit their parents made some mistakes.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

Yep. 😂 🤣

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

And finally imagine you in a place like that.

You don’t even have to imagine. That’s the reality of the United States in 2023 and has been for a long time.

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

(I think that was the joke)

permalink
report
parent
reply
-2 points

*its

permalink
report
parent
reply
154 points

These greedy motherfuckers don’t want anyone to be helped unless they profit somehow.

permalink
report
reply
65 points
*

I think it’d be more accurate these authoritarian motherfuckers don’t want anyone to be anything other than their slaves.

Cato Institute was cited in the article, and, being a fervent right-wing think tank hater, they don’t talk about profit. Instead, they’ll argue for some shit like short term limited duration insurance because they’re less regulated than other health insurance plans. This falls in line with their “De-regulate Everything” argumentative scheme. In other words, it’s perfectly a-okay if companies can rip people off without federal oversight.

But for programs that in any way help other people…well…they’re unconstitutional or an abuse of executive power.

It’s interesting (except not at all, because they’re all hypocrites) how they haven’t said anything against DeSantis’s use of executive power in Florida. Somehow, everything he does is constitutional and within the reach of executive power.

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/live/iaDALkajqO0?feature=share&

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.

permalink
report
parent
reply
103 points

Trillion dollar budget for the military industrial complex? Money well spent! A single dime spent to help taxpayers? Socialism!

permalink
report
reply
-58 points
*

The majority of the federal budget goes to welfare and entitlements. I’m on the “no standing army” side of things, but it doesn’t help to propagate incorrect information.

Edit: this is absurd. There’s no opinion here: the comment I replied to is factually wrong. You can’t dislike facts until they’re not true.

permalink
report
parent
reply
22 points

you failed to engage with their actual argument, which was that military spending is absurdly high but always univocally supported by everyone in the establishment and increased with every new budget, but that it’s an uphill fight to get anything new for people who actually need help.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-13 points

To be fair, I engaged with that portion by pointing out I don’t actually believe in standing armies. So defense spending should be close to zero. But, yeah, everyone wants their pork and defense spending is free money to them.

permalink
report
parent
reply
18 points

I think you’re getting down voted for two reasons.

  1. OP’s comment didn’t state anything factual. It was rude to accuse him of attempting to “propagate incorrect information.”

  2. You’re lumping together two very different types of spending and it feels like you’re making a disingenuous argument. The vast majority of spending you’re talking about is Social Security/Medicare which has received near constant increases. Welfare programs on the other hand have been under attack since the 90s. I can say that Social Security, Medicare, and the FAA together make up almost half the budget but it doesn’t make a good argument for cutting the FAA.

All that said, I do think you make a good point that there’s other programs to look at. Maybe we can cut the military budget while also looking at saving money on Medicare.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

I didn’t call it a lie because I don’t think it’s an issue of will or intent, so I didn’t mean it to be insulting. I see where you’re coming from otherwise, but this isn’t a comment made from nowhere. This is a common talking point people try to use and I genuinely think it reinforces the trope.

I don’t think it’s disingenuous at all. Whether it’s for a single mother or a pensioner it’s certainly not being used for useless bases or bombs.

I don’t believe we can solve problems if we don’t understand them and our lack of understanding is disastrous when it comes to voting.

permalink
report
parent
reply
15 points

I think you just misinterpreted the OP’s statement. Conservatives also don’t want welfare and entitlement spending and try to cut those back all the time. OP’s statement is a characterization of conservative opinions on spending. Conservatives don’t support spending on student debt relief, welfare, or entitlements. They do support military spending. That’s not factually incorrect. And, it is irrelevant how much of the budget those categories represent because conservatives didn’t choose those levels and don’t support them.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

I mean it’s entirely possible it’s just me drawing in context for no good reason.

permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/

By far, the biggest category of discretionary spending is spending on the Pentagon and military. In most years, this accounts for more than half of the discretionary budget. In 2020, because some discretionary spending passed through supplemental appropriations went to pandemic programs, the share of the discretionary budget that went to the military was smaller – even though the amount that went to the military was just as high as in previous years.

Most “welfare” falls under discretionary. Medicare, medicaid, and social security (also “welfare”) fall under mandatory spending. Social security and medicare make up the largest categories. This organization explains how “welfare” spending increased in recent years due to pandemic spending on things like stimulus checks and increased unemployment.

The bottom line thoughis that people pay into it for years so that it’s available when it’s their turn to need it. If they never do, then great. It can help someone else, god forbid.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-14 points

I didn’t realize that if you promised to spend money it didn’t count. I’ll be sure to keep my rent out of my financial planning.

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

Welfare to soldiers and their families. What’s your point?

permalink
report
parent
reply
-13 points

Look at the budget. Most of our federal spending goes back to citizens. Welfare, medicaid, medicare, social security. My point is what they said is a lie and it’s an easy lie to fact check.

How should we expect to win arguments against military spending when the first line out of our mouths is a lie?

permalink
report
parent
reply
-1 points

the majority doesn’t go anywhere near welfare wtf are you on about: https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

National defense is the fifth on that chart by percent. Everything above it is entitlement spending. Looks like income security is where welfare falls - it’s a little over half. The other half is other forms of payouts to peeps.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-11 points
*
Removed by mod
permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Bootlickers need their own bat-signal. I propose we post something about equal treatment.

permalink
report
parent
reply
88 points
*

Sounds good, I’ll keep voting for the party that hates US citizens

-Fucking dipshits who think they’re doing anything other than volunteer work for billionaires

permalink
report
reply
13 points

It’s not volunteer work if they’re getting paid by said billionaires taps head

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

Like any of them do it for money (those that vote straight R)

permalink
report
parent
reply

politics

!politics@lemmy.world

Create post

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to “Mom! He’s bugging me!” and “I’m not touching you!” Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That’s all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

Community stats

  • 11K

    Monthly active users

  • 18K

    Posts

  • 501K

    Comments