President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

Then people, in particular veterans, won't seek treatment for mental illness.

This is a very bad idea.

 

You didn't see the Al.com comments. I did.

 

The Parkland kids want gun control, right? If other people use them as an example to help bring about gun control, they aren't being exploited. They're being assisted to reach their aims. Right?

Exploitation is when Trump's flunkies use a picture of a victim without permission to raise campaign money. That's fucking exploitation.

 

I suppose I don't know it, but it seems like a safe bet based on the passion they speak with.

But on the reverse, how do you know they are being forced in front of the camera?

 

Jesus Christ, nobody is forcing them to do anything. They're teenagers. They're probably being told to stay home and be quiet and this is how they're rebelling.

 

"Exploit" is quickly becoming a term so overused that it is nearly devoid of meaning at this point, as regards these conversations. It's just a bogeyman used to try to shut down legitimate policy debate. Even if every last one of the Parkland teens were against increased gun regulations, it still doesn't seem politically exploitative to use their experience as an example for why policy needs to change. There is a policy debate ongoing because of experiences like theirs. Otherwise, there would be no reason for debate.

Again, why would anyone desire to ban AR-15s independent of the fact that they are viewed as dangerous? If refrigerators were killing people, we would be discussing banning refrigerators. It's a policy debate. People are conflating it with a political debate. Politics is simply the vehicle by which the policy debate is resolved.

 

See also: Mary, Virgin and Jones, Roy.

 

Great thread on gerrymander, redistricting, and the predictable pushback against any attempt to prevent it.

 

I think I agree with you, but frankly I'm too tired to break this down enough to know for sure.

 

Doesn't he use a cart when he cheats at golf?

 

You can stop reading after these two sentences and get the gist:

The rest is just the Director's Cut.

 

I agree. They haven't appeared to be anything but eager participants in the debate since this tragedy.

I know what it looks like when a teenager is being forced to do something. I still sometimes resemble that in my 30s when a friend has invited me to another goddamn baby shower.