What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[derspiess]

Spicey is about to find out about unintended consequences.

Go on.

[crazy canuck]

Yeah, I'm trying to raise my kids to know who politicians are, why I vote one way and not another, but without demonizing those I disagree with.

Same, and the conversations got more and more interesting as they grew older.  I considered it a milestone of success in parenthood when my boys started forming political views different from mine.  I have since moved more toward their views than the other way around.

[derspiess]

Yeah, I'm trying to raise my kids to know who politicians are, why I vote one way and not another, but without demonizing those I disagree with.

This is what I do. Had to bite my tongue during the Obama years.

[Berkut]

Yeah, I'm trying to raise my kids to know who politicians are, why I vote one way and not another, but without demonizing those I disagree with.

This is what I do. Had to bite my tongue during the Obama years.

Shocking. It must have been difficult to not fly into a rage over such a radical political figure.

[Admiral Yi]

Is there any evidence the claim was actually false?

We have the son's version as recounted by his mother.

[Monoriu]

I think the way you ensure that kids are apolitical is to occupy all their time.  Most people in my school didn't talk much about politics.  Everybody was focused on studying for exams.  Any extra time is spent on learning to play musical instruments. 

[dps]

In my high school, we talked about politics some, but most people occupied their time with trying to get laid. 

[Monoriu]

In my high school, we talked about politics some, but most people occupied their time with trying to get laid.

Official school policy strongly discouraged dating.  There were two or three pairs who defied the teachers, but most people chose to postpone romance until after the exam. 

[Admiral Yi]

In my high school we talked about things that brushed on our lives, like 55 mph speed limit and selective service registration, but not very ardently.

[Oexmelin]

Is there any evidence the claim was actually false?

We have the son's version as recounted by his mother.

Very much. I am sure it's true. I am also sure the mother's self analysis is geared towards self-exoneration, and hitting the tropes of cheesy American fiction/human interest journalism (institutions are bad, let's respect the confidence of our kids, every problem can be solved with more listening, etc.). I mean: what would have happened if the son had met charismatic fascists and unhinged leftists, rather than alt-right losers and courageous protester? I guess it's not that important. The important is the journey.

[Admiral Yi]

So, she sucks?

[Oexmelin]

So, she sucks?

No, she's a parent who went through something awful: the alienation of a beloved one. But she remains a parent, trying to paint her son, and her parenting, in favorable light, as well as to write an "inspiring" true story. And for that, it's easier to lay the bulk of the blame at the feet of institutions and their administrators, as well as internet political predators. Her own faults conforms to beloved tropes of "true story" narratives: she didn't listen to her son's needs enough. She refused to see him grow. And when she finally did, he came back to her. It's basically written to appeal to the "concerned parent" sensibilities of our time. I can see why Tamas could think it's made up.

But I think there may be some reason to question the role that the "concerned parent" sensibilities of our time may play in our political moment.

[Monoriu]

So, she sucks?

She needs to have this conversation with her son on a quarterly basis starting from the age of 6. 

I will not be able to support you forever.  You must aim to be financially independent when you grow up.  You and you alone is responsible for this.  No one will help you. 

How do you plan to make enough money to buy the food, shelter and all the other stuff that you need?  Remember, many jobs will be replaced by machines, and you will need to compete with the entire world.  Do you really want to end up as beggars?  The homeless? A janitor who makes minimum wage?  Getting ridiculed and looked down upon because you ask for handouts?  Is it really fun to be broke, cold and hungry? 

If not, study hard and become an office worker.  This is difficult but doable.  Only you can help yourself.  There is nobody else to depend on.  Study and work.  Everything else is a distraction. 

Office worker, or janitor.  Now make up your mind. 

[dps]

In the US, some janitors make more money than office workers. And the office worker is more likely to get replaced by a machine.  And the idea that you have to study hard to be an office worker is laughable.  Maybe not in HK, but in the US, and I would assume elsewhere in the West.

[Eddie Teach]

Goldman Sachs or nothing.