I've had it.

"Racin'Jason001" (racinjason001) 01/30/2017 at 18:30 • Filed to: Cars

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Stop posting random political nonsense, please!! I’m getting tired of it! Oppo has gotten out of control with personal political views. Oppo’s general purpose is for the car enthusiast part of you. We are here for cars, not to tear each other apart because we simply differ in political views. We should be discussing cars (not that we don’t). I want to be your friend, Oppo, but sometimes you make it hard. Let’s all be friendly here. Let’s talk cars. Forget the politics that get in the way of who you are as an enthusiast.

That is all. Thank you for listening. Here is a rad Civic Type R for your time.

:)

jkm7680 > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:32

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I agree.

I love talking about politics, but I don’t come here to argue with other car enthusiasts about politics. If I want to do that, I’ll hop on over to Jezebel or something.

19JRC99 > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:32

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Shit, you think it’s bad here, you best just avoid Jalopnik for a while. Hell, I’ve completely stopped going on Jalopnik these days.

JR1 > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:34

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https://goo.gl/images/7nvbjG

McMike > 19JRC99 01/30/2017 at 18:35

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I’m waiting for Graverobber to spin politics into his NCOCP post.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:37

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Cars for your enjoyment (sorry, I apparently like supercharged V8s):

MM54 > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:37

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Yeah, I’ve pretty much stopped browsing Jalopnik because of it and sadly Oppo is getting pretty close to that point too.

There’s a place for everything. This is not that place.

HammerheadFistpunch > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:38

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No offense, but nuts to that. I unshared the resist post on account of it already being shared today and the oppo policy of not spamming up the place (including theme days...) but politics are fine here so long as they follow the rules. Its up to people to filter out what they do and don’t want to engage in. Don’t like the political posts? Post something you do like, pictures, questions, discussions, whateves. Im as sick about people complaining about the volume of political discussions as I am about the politics itself.

19JRC99 > McMike 01/30/2017 at 18:40

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Nice Crack or Crack Pipe?

McMike > 19JRC99 01/30/2017 at 18:42

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Too late to edit, so sure. :)

Future next gen S2000 owner > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:44

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Playing the trump card, I see.

fintail > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 18:47

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Indeed, if I see something I dislike, I either leave snark, or keep walking. Not sure why that is hard. Nobody has a weapon aimed at me forcing me to click on things.

Racin'Jason001 > 19JRC99 01/30/2017 at 18:47

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I know, that’s why I want here to stay away from there.

Racin'Jason001 > haveacarortwoorthree2 01/30/2017 at 18:49

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Fine with me! :) (Love that Jag!)

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:53

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Thanks — it’s fun to drive. More tail happy than the Mustang.

Racin'Jason001 > Future next gen S2000 owner 01/30/2017 at 18:53

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What? No. If Hillary was president I would absolutely be in the same place I am now. Telling everyone to chill out, and just be happy with cars.

Racin'Jason001 > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 18:58

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I get it, but when I see the giant “RESIST” picture in my face ... I wish I could just erase it, and place a BIG, RED CIVIC in it’s place. Someone left Oppo just last week over political nonsense. Oppo just isn’t the place for that, and nobody should have to leave just because somebody disagrees with his or her views.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 18:59

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Relax, it’s a trump joke. Like how a trump card always win......See, double meaning.......terrible joke. I failed. I’ll go drive an automatic as my penance.

Racin'Jason001 > Future next gen S2000 owner 01/30/2017 at 19:02

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Sorry, just my uneducated self trying to understand something I don’t. :/

HammerheadFistpunch > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:03

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No one made him leave. I thought his leaving was senseless and hurt only himself. Its his choice though. Oppo is FAR more than an off topic car blog, as much as that is its focus, for many people including myself its the only social media platform I choose to invest it. Why should I be restricted in talking about the kinds of things that affect me personally? There are people behind them cars.

Chariotoflove > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 19:08

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People always say “well just don’t read/click on it if you don’t want to see it”. Problem is, when I open up Oppo and see a big read RESIST banner in my face, I don’t get to avoid it. It’s already too late. It’s like the other Kinja pages where they keep throwing the links from their other blogs where you can’t help but see them, because that’s the point of them being there.

But you know what? It wouldn’t be that bad if the political posts were civilized discourse. I don’t come to Oppo for that, but it’s still healthy to have these conversations in a community. What’s bad is that garbage like this Concourse post is screaming in my face what I should think and what I should do. I am becoming deluged some days with #oompaloompa, #tinyhandsdictator, etc. I didn’t want people telling me Clinton was the antichrist, and I don’t want people telling me how Trump is Hitler. I want to be able to go to my own chosen news outlets, learn the information, and decide what to think without all the screaming.

I am asking you to just please keep the screaming out of Oppo.

XJDano > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:09

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See card game: Spades

http://www.bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/spades/

Racin'Jason001 > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 19:12

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Aren’t there better places for that? I think everyone has the right to express their opinion, sure. Sometimes it’s a bit much, like we were saying. Perhaps it was for the better that he left, so I’ll just forget that.

Racin'Jason001 > XJDano 01/30/2017 at 19:16

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Ok. Thanks for the reference. :)

BigBlock440 > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 19:22

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Same thing could be (and has been) said about the NSFW posts, don’t like them, don’t click on them...

Kat Callahan > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:24

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No. Nazis have taken over the country of my birth. People are being banned based on national origin and religion. Rumblings of a new executive order directly impacting LGBT people is next. My other job is as a JHS/HS civics teacher.

I am scared for America. I am scared for my family. I am scared for my friends. I’m scared for my values and ideals.

Fuck no I won’t stop talking about politics.

fhrblig > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:25

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With all due respect, I disagree:

1) this has always been an off topic site. It’s car-heavy, but it’s off topic. It used to be called “Off Topic”, after all.

2) people not talking to each other about things because it makes them uncomfortable is a huge part of our problem today.

3) none of it is random. There are a lot of us who are who are anxious about the direction this country is headed in, to put it mildly. I’ve been here for years and it’s one of the few places I’ve been able to talk to people from both sides of the spectrum without the discussion turning ugly. I do not want that to go away.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:26

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Oppo is an off-topic sub blog of an auto blog. Politics are fair game so long as you follow the golden rule of not being an asshole

HammerheadFistpunch > Chariotoflove 01/30/2017 at 19:31

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You’re right I can’t prevent you from seeing a post but I didn’t tell you to click on any of them or engage in any if the comments...that’s on you. We can and do moderate political posts (seriously how long was that reshare up...3 minutes) and it’s a PITA but it’s worth doing it because being able to voice your concerns and talk them out means a lot these days.

Politics are welcome here, that’s not going anywhere.

Racin'Jason001 > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 19:31

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Isn’t Deadspin or something a better place for it? I respect your concern, but not everyone is as concerned. If things go too far, the people will impeach him. Your views do not go unheard, but some people here do not want to see the things they try to avoid. (Also, Nazi is not a good term to relate anyone with, even him)

Racin'Jason001 > fhrblig 01/30/2017 at 19:33

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I’m fine with this, I just wish others had the same perspective. :/

Stephenson Valve Gear > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:35

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I appreciate your sentiment. Ironically, to fully express how much I concur with your post, I feel it necessary to post a political video... harumph!

Racin'Jason001 > Stephenson Valve Gear 01/30/2017 at 19:38

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Are you trying to troll me, lol! 

Kat Callahan > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:39

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You’d better get concerned. We’re somewhere between Step 2 and Step 4 on the “how fascism took control of governments” historical guide. Step 6 or 7 is, you know, mass murder and genocide. Trump has been POTUS for ten days. TEN DAYS, and we’ve already got: state press/propaganda, demonisation of the independent press, banning by national origin and religion (which is unlawful due to its unconstitutionality), directing members of the executive branch staff (Customs and Border Protection) to ignore court orders from the judiciary (a violation of well established checks and balances due to Judicial Review, Marbury v. Madison). TEN DAYS.

Steve Bannon is a literal white nationalist. You know, white supremacist. So is Miller, the other person who drafted the Muslim Ban. Then you have people like Richard Spencer and Milo Yiannpolous.

No, sir, these are Nazis, and I will call them fucking Nazis.

HammerheadFistpunch > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:39

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It’s like this; I’m working with pre diabetics right now in a large marketing campaign because diabetes is on the rise and you can do something about it if you get to at risk people in time...The thrust of the campaign is - “ignoring it won’t make it go away”. Sure it’s easier to pretend it’s not a big deal but that doesnt do anyone any favors. It’s important to a lot of people who may also think that boterhomes and the history of lug patterns are interesting. We can’t wish it away, but we can control how and when we chose to interact with it.

HammerheadFistpunch > BigBlock440 01/30/2017 at 19:41

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false equivalency.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:41

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This is not clear-cut.

Lots of people post personal non-car content, including seeking advice for any given stage of life.

If Oppo is kept to strictly car-related content, then a lot of that has to go as well.

Chariotoflove > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 19:44

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I didn’t participate in it. Just what was on the main page was more than enough shouting.

I reiterate: calm political discussion is good for a community. Just keep out the shouting. If you don’t, the calm people will start to fade away, leaving only the shouty, combative ones. Not saying that’s what Oppo has become. It hasn’t, and is a long way from being that way. Just saying don’t let it get that way. These protests from members are the early warning signs.

Thank you for taking down that re shared post. It would be nice to ban all such future posts from sharing to Oppo in the first place. My two cents. FWIW, I think the mods here do a good job.

Racin'Jason001 > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 19:45

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Please, I did not come here to have someone command me to think my country is being destroyed, and full of Nazis. That is hardly my kind of conversation. I’m sorry you feel that way, but leave it on Deadspin, or I will go to the superiors.

Racin'Jason001 > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 19:47

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That’s fine. I want it to be that way. I feel like I just started something that should not be controversial, but it is. I’ll crawl into my rock, now.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:47

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I am OK with oppo members trying to have a civil discussion on the matter. What is getting on my nerves is the crap being shared (and then re-shared) from the front pages. Oppo is off topic, we don’t want the front page stuff here. Oppo had been doing a ok job of keeping the political commentary down to shitposting memes and now the front pages are trying to invade our space.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 19:49

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Do you know if that stuff was shared by an oppo or someone from the main pages?

Racin'Jason001 > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 01/30/2017 at 19:50

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Not saying everything should be cars. Beer posts are fine, life posts are fine. Extreme political posts, I’ll pass. Even I talked about my Junior year of high school last summer, so I know.

Racin'Jason001 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 01/30/2017 at 19:53

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I think I will adopt these words!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:53

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Although sticking your head in the sand to tune out the politics isn’t what I would consider a good option, you can nuke them from orbit by using Chrome and installing kinja blocker. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/kinja-blocker/lhdhdondofgpimddkmjmpgeiopddddkd?hl=en-US

This will let you block the posts of any author you are tired of seeing.

Racin'Jason001 > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/30/2017 at 19:57

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I don’t totally tune it out, but it is hard to get involved in. I really hoped it wouldn’t come this far to me posting my anger towards the senselessness. I won’t block anyone, but I won’t always look at their posts.  

Kat Callahan > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 19:58

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Jason, listen to me. Please.

I know, we’ve been taught all our lives that it couldn’t happen in the United States. That we have freedom and liberty and the Constitution (I have a copy on my classroom wall about seven feet to my left RIGHT NOW), but freedom and liberty have always been incomplete in America. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are promissory notes written out in full to some future generation. The rest of us just get to have various dividends to increase the value of the note over time. But people of color, LGBT people, the working poor, the homeless, the mentally ill, recent immigrants, Native Americans... They know that the promise has never, ever fully applied to them, and in some times, didn’t apply at all. There have always been fissures in the fabric of our ideals.

But we have largely gone forward, made progress, slow as it has been. But we’re not anymore. I’m telling you, we have Nazis in the executive branch. And they are trying to cancel that promissory note. They are trying to outright default on the loan our founders made the future Americans. It can’t just happen here, it’s happening right now. If you’ve ever wondered why the Germans allowed the Nazis to come to power, this is your front row seat to history.

A reminder, most of the moderating/admin team on OppositeLock has always expressed progressive views. I have seen them value open discourse. I’m not sure if you refer to them with your superiors comments, but I don’t think they will be open to the idea that Opponauts cannot express their political opinions, especially given how badly we need to speak out right now.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 01/30/2017 at 20:01

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I don’t.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:02

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Kat is an author for the main page. Your complaint won’t get very far.

Also, she’s completely correct and the fact that you either don’t want to see it or ignore the overwhelming evidence makes you complicit in their actions. Hitler was only able to get away with his appalling atrocities because regular people chose to ignore it as long as it didn’t affect them or their families.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > HammerheadFistpunch 01/30/2017 at 20:02

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I have a feeling that it is being shared by one of the front page authors and I am not cool with that. Oppo is for the Oppos.

Racin'Jason001 > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 20:05

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Joe6pack > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:06

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Amen. Now if the FP could just get the message.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 20:07

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In case this gets dismissed.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/kat-is-an-author-for-the-main-page-your-complaint-won-1791802630

Racin'Jason001 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/30/2017 at 20:07

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Every time I try to make good, I get shot down.

I don’t get it. Everyone seems to have an issue with world affairs. I try to calm it, and get smacked in the face.

Joe6pack > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 01/30/2017 at 20:08

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Generally, these posts are not controversial or polarizing - which is why they are ok.

Kat Callahan > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:11

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Jason, no one is smacking you in the face. I’m just telling you, you’re not safe if I’m not safe (I’m LGBT), and I’m not safe if my Muslim neighbors (and yours!) are not safe.

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

I’m a socialist, I’m a trade unionist, and I’m LGBT.

Right now, they come for the Muslims, and we will speak out. We will protest. We will throw a tantrum. Because we’ve been through this before and we will not go through it again.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:11

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Most of us don’t read every post. We tend to talk to the people who post stuff that interests us. No big deal.

Racin'Jason001 > Joe6pack 01/30/2017 at 20:11

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Thank you for understanding. As you could imagine, I got way too much backlash for trying to calm the craziness lately. Apparently I said too much. Arrgh.

Joe6pack > fhrblig 01/30/2017 at 20:12

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Fine, be anxious. But, the election is over and there are those of us who would just like to move on. Frankly, the constant griping, refusal to accept election results and “protest culture” is starting to make me anxious.

Racin'Jason001 > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/30/2017 at 20:13

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I agree, I do that, but the big resist thing got on my nerves.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:13

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Are you white, male, relatively religious, and moderately wealthy? If you can identify with most of that description then you have already won.

Those that do not match that description are being forced off the field and into prison cells, literally.

I say this as a person that checks all those boxes above: this it NOT normal. We cannot let this week go unanswered. History is repeating itself and those who remember the rise of the Nazis are saying very loudly that we MUST NOT let them do it again.

I am sorry you do not want to see this, but if they are allowed to continue you will not have this place to retreat to and discuss cars anymore.

Racin'Jason001 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/30/2017 at 20:16

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I’m a broke teen. Give me a break. If I though things were so bad that the internet was destroyed, I would speak out. I don’t blame your concern, I am just not that concerned right now.

Joe6pack > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 20:18

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This is crap. You have just labeled and de-humanized half the country.

Spasoje > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/30/2017 at 20:22

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Nobody’s sticking their head in the sand, though.

You go to other sources to read about politics just like you go here to read about cars. When the car source becomes saturated with politics, that means everything you read is suddenly about politics – that defeats the purpose of oppo.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:23

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We are supposed to care about other people, even those who aren’t like us, are we not? “Love thy neighbor” and all that jazz, no?

I am truly sorry you feel that way then. Caring for those around you makes the world a much, much better place.

They also wouldn’t destroy the internet. It is immeasurably more useful as a tool for propaganda. They just need to get rid of all their unwanted dissenting first. If we give them another week, they might do that too.

Kat Callahan > Joe6pack 01/30/2017 at 20:28

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I have not, at all. I said nothing at all about Trump voters, who do not make half the country, anyhow. But instead something like 23% of the total electorate. I’m talking about certain Trump advisors writing executive orders and directing administration policies.

Joe6pack > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:30

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In my opinion, you got it right. The problem - and Kat is a good example - is that politics is polarizing. Everyone says they want to have an “honest, open discussion”. Until you take a position that they don’t agree with and you are labeled a “Nazi”. That’s true fascism - label and de-humanize those that you do not agree with. It’s hard to take someone like that seriously.

Xyl0c41n3 > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 20:35

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That “superiors” comment read, to me, more like a threat to inform your employers, which, granted, Patrick George and company are likely to look at a complaint like that and laugh their asses off before tossing it in the email wastebin, but still... threatening you is very not cool. Even if it was just a threat to take it to the mods instead, considering you’re staff.

fhrblig > Joe6pack 01/30/2017 at 20:35

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It’s not so easy to move on when you are losing your health coverage, are kept from entering the country you’re legally allowed to be in, or have to worry that your marriage may soon lose legal standing, or that you’ll soon begin being denied goods or services in the name of “religious freedom”.

Stephenson Valve Gear > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:37

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Hahaha... I’m just giving the governor a Harumph! :D

yamahog > Joe6pack 01/30/2017 at 20:38

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You have just labeled and de-humanized half the country.

Ooof, that lack of self-awareness. First off, she did not.

Second, if she had... welcome to something that many people in this country are being subjected to on the basis of things they don’t control. A friend of mine is a lifelong GOP voter, and also a lesbian adoptive mother. Her voting record did not earn her safety from being labeled and dehumanized when the state of Michigan decided she and her family could be discriminated against, and heaven forbid we see an anti-LGBT EO by the end of the week.

http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/06/11/faith-based-adoption/71074414/

Kat Callahan > Xyl0c41n3 01/30/2017 at 20:38

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Oh, I was assuming that Jason didn’t realise he was speaking to a main page staffer, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t lord my staff position over Oppo. On Oppo I’m just an Opponaut. I assumed he meant the mod/admins for Oppo.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Joe6pack 01/30/2017 at 20:40

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The majority of German citizens were not even in the Nazi party either. But they still helped by ignoring what was going on the entire time.

Xyl0c41n3 > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 20:42

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Yeah, I get that. And Stef is “just” an Opponaut when she posts here about puffalumps and such, too. (Not saying that facetiously). But it’s part of the handbook not to be dicks to you guys, specifically. I mean, in addition to the regular “don’t be a dick” rules.

Anyway, HIYA KAT!!! Good to see you around! =^_^=

duurtlang > Joe6pack 01/30/2017 at 20:44

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That’s not entirely honest. Kat named a few people appointed by Trump Nazis. Like that Bannon character, who is a white supremacist. She didn’t consider Trump voters Nazis and (in a later post) explicitly stated so.

Joe6pack > fhrblig 01/30/2017 at 20:44

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See, now we’re debating politics. Where are the cars?

Joe6pack > duurtlang 01/30/2017 at 20:47

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Pretty sure I know what she meant. Frankly both ends of the political spectrum scare me these days. And either can be coerced into going overboard once the name calling begins.

duurtlang > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:48

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I think there’s a time and place for everything, and politics is included. I can imagine Americans are, well, moved by what happens in the US right now. To put it mildly. Non-Americans like myself are baffled, but that’s besides the point.

I do believe moderation is key here. Politics are fine, but preferably discussed in a somewhat civil way and it doesn’t have to be every other post.

fhrblig > Joe6pack 01/30/2017 at 20:49

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Here’s one, underneath some lame rock band...

Wacko > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:51

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I thought deadspin was sports blog.

Wacko > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 20:51

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I thought deadspin was sports blog.

Dasmitman > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 20:54

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Okay. I’m new to this website, but I am a friend of Jason’s, and had to speak up for him in defense of a friend, and in defense of a system of government. Hookay, here we go.

-1, Don’t even try to compare an adolescent Weimar Republic with the Constitution of the United States. Americans were bred into democratic ideals, Germans were thrust into it with no prior experience, due to the Treaty of Versailles. There were over 30 political parties in Germany when Hitler rose to power. Pretty easy to take over with such a division. The Constitution has dealt with its fair share of knuckleheads for nearly 250 years, if Trump tries anything stupid, he won’t get away with it.

-2, check your sources before you decide to post crap about someone you don’t like. My guess is that you read MSNBC or Huffington Post or Buzzfeed before getting all this BS. No duh they don’t write good things about him, I wouldn’t write good things about someone who (rightfully) called me out on reporting biased news! Get your facts straight before you decide to call someone a Nazi

-3, You’ve got the most LGBT-friendly Republican president to ever step in office, and you’re still complaining.

-4, Back to the Nazis. Oh yeah. Go ahead. Call him a Nazi. Funny how any conservative with somewhat radical views magically have Nazi ties. Am I allowed to make historical references too? Can I tell you about the last time lower-class mobs were railing about the 1%, wanting a political revolution? Want me to tell you the setting? Yeah, that was in 1789. The liberals got their revolution. Ya know what else they got? Within the next year, 23,000 people were guillotined. Do the math. So if you’re allowed to say that Trump is a Nazi, I’m allowed to say that Bernie Sanders is a modern day Robespierre, who wants 65 Americans murdered every day for a year?

-5, 1860. A Republican president is elected. The very first. Name? Abraham Lincoln. So divisive half the nation said “NOT MY PRESIDENT” and seceded. Ya know what they got? 2% of the population dead. A civil war that tore apart a nation. Ya know what happened to Lincoln? He goes on to be widely considered as one of the greatest presidents in US History. Funny, if the whole US took a poll of his approval rating, I doubt it would’ve been very high.

So there. I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Calm down. The world is not ending.

Joe6pack > fhrblig 01/30/2017 at 20:55

1

Ok, you win. Uncle.

Racin'Jason001 > Wacko 01/30/2017 at 20:56

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Better than here.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 20:58

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Kat, as a FP and a long time member of oppo, you should know better than anyone to be respectful to fellow members. I used to enjoy your writing and had a good deal of respect for you, but by being a dick to Jason, you’ve lost all of that from me. I hope you feel good that you “won” the argument, but all you did was make yourself a fool.

Kat Callahan > Dasmitman 01/30/2017 at 21:05

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Jason is, by his own admission, a teenager. Which means he is at the most a high school graduate or a university student. I don’t know old you are, but I’m going to guess it’s younger than me. Now, I have a lot of respect for teenagers, and I try to treat them as equals, but there are differences in knowledge, experience, and judgement. That’s just a matter of time.

I’m a social studies teacher. I mostly teach 7th-10th. I have one 11th grade psychology class, and I do some basic social studies for elementary school. However, I am primarily a civics teacher. I teach comparative government, and I just started my first AP Government class. I went to graduate school for political science, 24 of the 32 hours being law, 8 hours being political and judicial history, of the United States and Japan. I also have a number of years working within the Democratic party, doing everything from knocking on doors, to calling donors, to being a delegate, to being a press secretary. I interned for Hillary Clinton in the lead up to 2008. Am I biased, sure, but I’ve also had real world experience in American politics. Before that I was the state and local political reporter for the Daily Texan, where I worked and went to university with current editor-in-chief of Jalopnik, Patrick George.

It’s pretty hilarious that you’re making assumptions about my background when it is literally my day job to teach civics to teenagers . I think I know about this stuff or else I sure as hell wasted a lot of time and money for my political science education.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 21:10

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I thought politics and non-car stuff is why we have The Cigar Lounge. Been a lot of off topic stuff on here lately.

Racin'Jason001 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 01/30/2017 at 21:12

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What’s that? Show me!

Kat Callahan > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford 01/30/2017 at 21:12

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I was respectful. I even made sure he knew that I wasn’t “smacking” him “on the face.” I welcome his discourse here. I welcome him here. He can even continue to ask us to stop talking about politics, and I will continue to tell him I think we shouldn’t. But I also wanted to make sure it was clear that people had good reason to be terrified of the current administration.

Not sure how you saw anything else, but that’s what I wrote.

Dasmitman > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 21:15

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I may have been wrong in doubting your credentials, and I apologize for that. However, as a social studies teacher, you must also see the trends in other political stories, not just Trump. If you believe what you say about Trump is valid, then what I say about Sanders and about angry protesters is also valid. As a social studies teacher, I’m sure you compare Trump’s ideals to Hitler. Do you do the same for Sanders and the protesters? I think the parallels are too big to ignore, for any side of the political spectrum. I am 18 years old, to answer your question about that, and I have taken most of the AP/high school courses you most likely teach, so I am not in the dark about these subjects. But the first thing I was taught in my IB World History class was that a primary mark of a good student was to be unbiased, to see both sides of the story. Did you support Bernie Sanders? Did you go out and protest Trump’s administration? Because I can go right back and say that you’re promoting a revival of the French Revolution bloodbath, or a second Civil War. I’m assuming you’re not calling for those, but that’s simple logic. If you can assume one thing, I can assume another.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Racin'Jason001 01/30/2017 at 21:15

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http://cigarlounge.kinja.com/

I don’t know who offers authorship there, I’m not an admin.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 21:21

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I’m conservative. Yes, Trump’s done some bad things, yes I don’t agree with some of his policies. Does that mean he’s not our president? No. Does that give you permission to call him a Nazi? No.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 21:27

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http://oppositelock.kinja.com/be-excellent-to-each-other-1791805232?rev=1485829588631

Xyl0c41n3 > Kat Callahan 01/30/2017 at 21:39

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Kat... not worth it to argue with a dude whose knowledge of American history is so convoluted he thinks the Civil War was caused by a #NotMyPresident reaction to Abe Lincoln.

Dasmitman > Xyl0c41n3 01/30/2017 at 21:47

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I’m sorry, please tell me how it wasn’t. It was only after his election that Southern states seceded. They were afraid of his policies and anti-slavery stance (which he didn’t intend to abolish initially, he only believed in stopping its spread). They were angry at their insignificance in politics (not one Southern state voted for Lincoln... not unlike how none of the major US cities voted for Trump)... I’m insulted by your assumption that I know nothing on US history. I happened to get a 5 out of 5 on that APUSH test 

Xyl0c41n3 > Dasmitman 01/30/2017 at 21:54

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Oh! An ENTIRE 5 out of 5? In AP U.S. history?! Damn, that’s impressive!

Dasmitman > Xyl0c41n3 01/30/2017 at 21:57

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Supposed to be mock pride, I understand that thousands of other teenagers do the same. Again, please offer a concrete rebuttal instead of mocking my “lack” of knowledge on the subject.

190octane > Joe6pack 01/30/2017 at 22:00

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Did you? The KKK and neo-Nazis are big fans of Miller and Bannon. Personally I would rather not have their endorsement.

You talk about accepting the results of the election? How about accepting that he lost by 3 million in the popular vote.

I don’t think most trump voters are racist, I do believe however that most racists are trump voters.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Spasoje 01/30/2017 at 22:01

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I think of Oppo like a never-ending dinner party. People bounce from conversation to conversation. Some are discussing cars, some are discussing politics, and the annoying ones are over in the corner boring everyone with pictures of their dogs. :) The big difference is that everyone can hear every conversation and jump in the middle of it whenever they want.

From what I’ve read, Oppo as created to be the off-topic counterpart to Jalopnik. That means anything/everything is fair game, whether everyone likes it or not. Well, not anything and everything. There are some rules we must abide by, but not discussing politics is not one of those rules.

While I too am getting more than a bit tired of the political discussions, I just skip over it and look for the next doggo.

Flavien Vidal > Dasmitman 01/30/2017 at 22:06

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First, Republicans of 1860 were the Democrats of today.... Change mostly occurred in 1964 when a majority of Democrats decided that civil rights were also important... That didn’t please some members of the party that joined the Republicans. Yes, today’s Republicans were created because civil rights didn’t have their place in politics according to them. Don’t compare today’s Republicans to the party of Lincoln. This is not the same thing, at all.

Also, Sanders had his fair share of violent protesters, so does Trump. Considering they’re all like that due to those minorities is just dumb. It’s simply wrong.

And the parallel between Sanders and Hitler, as far as I know Sanders fights against illegal discrimination based on race and religion and he simply doesn’t have white supremacists in his entourage or praising him, screaming “Heil Sanders” at rallies. Sanders isn’t the party of choice of the KKK either. Trump on the other hand...

Dasmitman > Flavien Vidal 01/30/2017 at 22:12

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You must have misunderstood what I was saying, mea culpa. The whole civil rights cause got through because of Republicans, who had long been champions of civil rights. I wasn’t directly comparing the Republican Party today to the one in 1860, I was simply saying that the rejection of a president led to a civil war. And Democrats in 1860 got the immigrant, lower class, city vote, much like they do today, so disagree to that as well. And finally, I wasn’t comparing Sanders to Hitler, I was comparing him to the Jacobins of Revolutionary France in 1789, who were also calling for a political revolution because of the disregard the 1% had for the lower classes