Where’s the line in the sand?

[HCountyGuy]

If the OP is talking about Trump in particular, it’s pretty simple in my mind: If you outwardly promote your alliance with and support of this individual, who himself promotes chaos, agitation and aggression, then don’t be surprised by being met with same by those who viscerally oppose what he represents.

I’m not a huge Trump fan to be honest, I’ll acknowledge the good and bad he does.

However the use of violence is not limited to just against Trump supporters. It seems to be spreading to those who identify as Republican. Regardless it’s unacceptable. Even the mildest praise of the current administration is met with hostility.

[blues]

A voice of reason. Thank god it still exists, rather than rabid, partisan propaganda.

Thank you, brother. That means more than you know.

[willie]

I try to avoid idiots and other incompetents. Our line in the sand should reflect political action backed up by giving money to our cause. Confrontation will reinforce the other side's world view. I'm as fed up as the OP with all the bullshit. We must display tolerance and respect when others will not. The other side's lack of respect for any other viewpoint disturbs me tremendously. Is this the beginning of another cultural trend?

[einherjarvalk]

The upside to politics becoming as polarized and hostile as it has is that it makes it very easy to tell when you may be unconsciously having your beliefs dictated to you by partisan agendas, rather than truly holding your own convictions and acting accordingly.

If you ever find yourself in a position in which nobody is pointing the metaphorical knife at you over some viewpoint or another, it's time to check and make sure your bubble isn't completely airtight.

[peterb]

Any time you wear a logo, some folks will read it as “You’re one of us”, and others will read it as “You’re NOT one of us.”

The same is true for any clothing choices — the tactical tuxedo, Birkenstocks, camo, tie-dye — but logos remove a lot of the ambiguity.

[Joe in PNG]

There's two worlds in the USA. The real world, and the world the media (on both sides) portrays.
The real world is pretty much the same as it has ever been- not a utopia, but not a simmering pot of hatred either.

The media world is filled with tons of immediate Danger! and Controversy! and other Bad Things!! Film at 11!! They constantly twist and over-exaggerate and promote PANIC!!! and mis-represent loud extremist as the mainstream other and anything they can to get people to CLICK NOW!!!

Most of the New Civil War stuff is just media bullshit.

[45dotACP]

Just to play devil's advocate here....

There are still places where you'll get your ass kicked for being gay. Doctors who perform abortions are murdered. Abortion clinics, Sikh temples, immigration centers, newspapers, military bases and black churches all get shot up. I have met people who were assaulted because of their race...and they weren't white people. Just a few weeks back a dude got knocked onto the subway tracks for calling a dude the N word. They pulled him out before anything fatal could happen.

Violence across the political spectrum isn't new and it's not specific to one political group. It's always illegal regardless so I guess there's my line. Don't assault people for words. Words aren't violence. Violence is violence.

Perhaps it is on a slight uptick, but then again maybe the sense we're headed to civil war II is nudged by the fact that it is more visible due to increased usage of social media to record low intensity violent altercations (ass whoopins).

Also...media outlets to cater to their audiences and lead them to believe they are the victims of some sort of injustice. Outrage politics sells...Breitbart would write a breathless article about how a gang of Gay Mexican Muslims buttfucked a card carrying NRA member to death if it drove their ratings up and you can bet HuffPo would write a similarly horrified article about a gay transvestite getting misgendered to death by a bunch of threepers in Donald Trump hats with swatstika jackets.

But billboarding your beliefs always carries the risk that you'll attract a violent response from fringe elements...regardless of what it is you wear, whether it's a turban or a MAGA hat.

Just my .02 delivered with my usual sense of decorum

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[OnionsAndDragons]

This is just the shit that happens when you shake up the brew our society has been concocting for the last 15-20 years with a random-assed, reality-TV-star blowhard as president.

Young people are always nurturing the seeds of some sort of rebellion, it's in their nature.

Our young people are less socially humanized because of the depersonalized nature of modern communications. They often lack good, formalized, training in critical thinking. That doesn't mean they are dumb, but it does make a population more susceptible to groupthink and mob behaviours (again nurtured by today's media, both big M as in the organizations and just the tech).

Anybody with half a brain, that can come out of a weed cloud for more that an hour, can see some shit is majorly fucked up. Our political class put up two of the most dogshit candidates in history, cheating and Russian involvement aside. The fundamentals of our economy are garbage, and it's been in the toilet for quite a while now. College education, on average, is worth less and costs more than it ever has (thanks to government meddling in great part). These things lead to a bleak view of the future for many people.

Most people will be the liquid that gets agitated and settles, or foam up a bit before returning to status quo; but some small percentage are going to blow out the top of their bottles when the media or their peer group drops the right Mento into their brain.

The narrative of polarization, the false duality that the media has pushed for decades, is what makes this concoction truly poisonous. The othering mentality generated by this and encouraged by things like social media interactions makes real hatred and violence way too easy.


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[ubervic]

This is just the shit that happens when you shake up the brew our society has been concocting for the last 15-20 years with a random-assed, reality-TV-star blowhard as president.

Young people are always nurturing the seeds of some sort of rebellion, it's in their nature.

Our young people are less socially humanized because of the depersonalized nature of modern communications. They often lack good, formalized, training in critical thinking. That doesn't mean they are dumb, but it does make a population more susceptible to groupthink and mob behaviours (again nurtured by today's media, both big M as in the organizations and just the tech).

Anybody with half a brain, that can come out of a weed cloud for more that an hour, can see some shit is majorly fucked up. Our political class put up two of the most dogshit candidates in history, cheating and Russian involvement aside. The fundamentals of our economy are garbage, and it's been in the toilet for quite a while now. College education, on average, is worth less and costs more than it ever has (thanks to government meddling in great part). These things lead to a bleak view of the future for many people.

Most people will be the liquid that gets agitated and settles, or foam up a bit before returning to status quo; but some small percentage are going to blow out the top of their bottles when the media or their peer group drops the right Mento into their brain.

The narrative of polarization, the false duality that the media has pushed for decades, is what makes this concoction truly poisonous. The othering mentality generated by this and encouraged by things like social media interactions makes real hatred and violence way too easy.


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GOLD

[Joe in PNG]

Here's another thing. This kind of political division in this country is nothing new. Heck, we haven't even hit some of the times the USA has been even more divided and more violent.