Has the Trump presidency changed you, politically?

[Crazy_Ivan80]

I thought Western democracy was much more resilient.

It's amazing how much Putin has achieved with a comparatively minute investment. His core muscles must be terribly sore from laughing maniacally for the past week.

The situation is hardly as bad as during the late 20s and 30s of last century, when democracy was also under massive assault. Doesn't mean it won't get worse of course before it gets better. Assuming it will get better, cause it's not a given. Demographics maybe working against us.
But yeah: Putin and co have achieved a lot, and the world will be worse for it, but our own politicians aren't free of blame either.

Xi could easily be worse than Trump in the long run 

already is: Xi's running a state with real concentration camps and is engaged in what is de facto genocide against at least two nations.

[Valmy]

already is: Xi's running a state with real concentration camps and is engaged in what is de facto genocide against at least two nations.

Yes. But that was already kind of par for the course for Mao's regime back in the 1970s when we started trying to be China's buddy. We thought that we would moderate that over time, but clearly that was nonsense as Xi clearly demonstrates.

Untangling ourselves from China should be the West's #1 political and economic objective. I fear our businesses and politicians in the US are too far down the road of cooperation with entangled business interests to even want to start. I have no reason to think it is much better in the Europe and if the US and Europe fail to do so nobody is going to care what the minor western countries like Canada or Australia do.

[Maximus]

Not really, I haven't been surprised by anything he's done since inauguration. I was a little surprised at how many fell in line or treated him as politics as usual.

[crazy canuck]

already is: Xi's running a state with real concentration camps and is engaged in what is de facto genocide against at least two nations.

Yes. But that was already kind of par for the course for Mao's regime back in the 1970s when we started trying to be China's buddy. We thought that we would moderate that over time, but clearly that was nonsense as Xi clearly demonstrates.

Untangling ourselves from China should be the West's #1 political and economic objective. I fear our businesses and politicians in the US are too far down the road of cooperation with entangled business interests to even want to start. I have no reason to think it is much better in the Europe and if the US and Europe fail to do so nobody is going to care what the minor western countries like Canada or Australia do.

I don't think where China is now was inevitable so as to say that early efforts were nonsense.

[Valmy]

I don't think where China is now was inevitable so as to say that early efforts were nonsense.

Yeah sorry. I did not mean to imply that. Just that China in its current condition is not moderate-able. Our plan did not work. Maybe that will change in the future and I don't think that was necessarily true in the past.

[crazy canuck]

I don't think where China is now was inevitable so as to say that early efforts were nonsense.

Yeah sorry. I did not mean to imply that. Just that China in its current condition is not moderate-able. Our plan did not work. Maybe that will change in the future and I don't think that was necessarily true in the past.

I agree with that.

[Valmy]

Not really, I haven't been surprised by anything he's done since inauguration. I was a little surprised at how many fell in line or treated him as politics as usual.

Americans always want to give somebody a chance.

[Jacob]

I don't think where China is now was inevitable so as to say that early efforts were nonsense.

Yeah. A Chinese friend (well off, left the country because he disliked the CCP bullshit, has grown to despise Xi) said: "It's like they drove right up to the gates of heaven and instead of going in, they turned around and drove away."

Both inside and outside China there was a real belief and real hope that China and the rest of the world could've found a good way to co-exist and mutually prosper. I think Xi and his faction fucked that up fairly solidly.

[Maximus]

Americans always want to give somebody a chance.

I don't think I could disagree more. Unless you were being ironic, in which case I apologize.

[Valmy]

Americans always want to give somebody a chance.

I don't think I could disagree more. Unless you were being ironic, in which case I apologize.

Ok I get it. There are many Americans who often want to give somebody a chance.

Our system is pretty draconian, I don't think our people are...generally.

[DGuller]

Our system is pretty draconian, I don't think our people are...generally.

I'm going to forward that to your employer and ask them whether they really want someone who understands Americans so poorly to be employed by them.

[Eddie Teach]

I see a bunch of people projecting.

[Oexmelin]

Our system is pretty draconian, I don't think our people are...generally.

Ask your African-American colleagues, just to confirm. 

[garbon]

Our system is pretty draconian, I don't think our people are...generally.

Ask your African-American colleagues, just to confirm. 

[Sheilbh]

Not really, I haven't been surprised by anything he's done since inauguration. I was a little surprised at how many fell in line or treated him as politics as usual.

Americans always want to give somebody a chance.

I think it's revealed the deep bias we all have for normalcy (this isn't just an American thing) - the desire to organise and understand even the new and disruptive through what we know and have experienced. It's a helpful bias if you are the new and disruptive.