Demographics and politic views..... what's yours?

[PopoJeff]

I see a lot of the same people posting both sides of the political arguments and if often makes me wonder. What was their upbringing that makes them take the stance they do. What is their age, life experience, work experience, etc....

Like the rioting youngsters attacking cops. What makes you think that hurting other people will change a law? Have you never heard the phrase "shooting the messenger"?

So, without re-hashing everyone political bias....... what made you think the way you do, and why do you refuse to consider other viewpoint ?

Tell us about yourself, your age, education, life experience, work experience, income bracket.

[1714107520]

1714107520

[Cnut237]

rioting youngsters attacking cops. [...] Have you never heard the phrase "shooting the messenger"?

If you think the cops are innocent messengers, I'd recommend watching the George Floyd video.

why do you refuse to consider other viewpoint ?

We each have our own unique upbringing and our own unique experiences. We each have our own perspectives and unconscious biases. Also, if we are citizens in democracies then we have both rights and responsibilities. A common problem is that people think they can have the rights without the responsibilities. It is our responsibility as adults to be aware of our biases, and to try to understand the points of view of others. Regardless of your upbringing, if you refuse to consider any viewpoint other than your own, then you will never act or think in a reasonable manner, and you will always incite conflict. It is important to consider evidence, but also context. It is important to consider both what is shown, and what remains un-shown, and why the distinction exists. Evidence suggests very strongly that the police are representatives of a system with an institutional bias against non-whites. I'm sure there are plenty of fine upstanding cops who are pillars of the community and work tirelessly to uphold justice and safeguard the populace. Equally some will be white supremacists and enjoy using power over black people. But the BLM protests aren't really about individual cops, they are about the bigger picture, and in this context each cop stands as a representative of the whole.

[PopoJeff]

rioting youngsters attacking cops. [...] Have you never heard the phrase "shooting the messenger"?

If you think the cops are innocent messengers, I'd recommend watching the George Floyd video.

why do you refuse to consider other viewpoint ?

We each have our own unique upbringing and our own unique experiences. We each have our own perspectives and unconscious biases. Also, if we are citizens in democracies then we have both rights and responsibilities. A common problem is that people think they can have the rights without the responsibilities. It is our responsibility as adults to be aware of our biases, and to try to understand the points of view of others. Regardless of your upbringing, if you refuse to consider any viewpoint other than your own, then you will never act or think in a reasonable manner, and you will always incite conflict. It is important to consider evidence, but also context. It is important to consider both what is shown, and what remains un-shown, and why the distinction exists. Evidence suggests very strongly that the police are representatives of a system with an institutional bias against non-whites. I'm sure there are plenty of fine upstanding cops who are pillars of the community and work tirelessly to uphold justice and safeguard the populace. Equally some will be white supremacists and enjoy using power over black people. But the BLM protests aren't really about individual cops, they are about the bigger picture, and in this context each cop stands as a representative of the whole.

So, in your mind, because a cop in Minneapolis committed a crime, you can assault a cop in Florida?   Different uniforms, different law book, different employer. But same job title.

Gotcha.   And, where did you learn that?

That reasoning is no different than stereotyping. With your reasoning, we should be attack all white people because of Lee Harvey Oswald. Army vets too.  We can judge all black people by the ones who commit crime. All politicians by the fraudulent ones. We can judge all doctors by the ones who are guilty of malpractice, and all home repairmen based on the actions of the criminal Gypsy's.

Solid theory.


But anyway,,, whats your demographic?  Age group, life experience, work experience, etc..?

[Cnut237]

So, in your mind, because a cop in Minneapolis committed a crime, you can assault a cop in Florida?

No, not at all. I'm saying it's understandable, not that it's justifiable.


---
Edit:

whats your demographic?  Age group, life experience, work experience, etc..?

Irrelevant in the context of what I wrote above. We each have biases and should work to try to overcome them in our judgements and decision-making.

My user name on here is a part of that. Cnut was an 11th C monarch who - apocryphally - was believed to be all powerful, and came up with a good demonstration of why he wasn't. It's a caution against absolutism. Similarly with '237', it's 'not quite all the time', not 24/7. Finally, the two together can easily be dismissed as a deliberately misspelled swear word combined with a random numerical suffix to constitute a throwaway account name with no thought behind it, when in fact the opposite is the case. We should always make an attempt to understand the other side.

[suchmoon]

Tell us about yourself, your age, education, life experience, work experience, income bracket.

You want people to near-dox themselves for what? The great thing about this forum is that we don't need to care about this shit that tends to distort people's opinions IRL. Your ability (or lack thereof) to discuss stuff is all that matters here.

[BADecker]

Tell us about yourself, your age, education, life experience, work experience, income bracket.

You want people to near-dox themselves for what? The great thing about this forum is that we don't need to care about this shit that tends to distort people's opinions IRL. Your ability (or lack thereof) to discuss stuff is all that matters here.

For once I totally agree with you.     

[PopoJeff]

Tell us about yourself, your age, education, life experience, work experience, income bracket.

You want people to near-dox themselves for what? The great thing about this forum is that we don't need to care about this shit that tends to distort people's opinions IRL. Your ability (or lack thereof) to discuss stuff is all that matters here.

No. Thats not what I'm looking for.  Please protect your anonymity at all cost.  I'm looking to se if anyone is able to share what life experience you have.  Are you just "an old thinking boomer", are you "eating hot pocket in your mommies basement", are you an "educated college grad with no real life experience."


So far, EVERY response on this thread has been off topic

[suchmoon]

No. Thats not what I'm looking for.  Please protect your anonymity at all cost.  I'm looking to se if anyone is able to share what life experience you have.  Are you just "an old thinking boomer", are you "eating hot pocket in your mommies basement", are you an "educated college grad with no real life experience."

So far, EVERY response on this thread has been off topic

I'm a "don't give a shit what preconceived notions others might have about my mommy's basement" type of person.

I'm quite sure it's on topic to say that your topic is misguided and doesn't serve the purpose you're aiming for. I was perfectly comfortable thinking that Cnut237 is a cunt until you started this thread. Now I have to google some king.

[PopoJeff]

No. Thats not what I'm looking for.  Please protect your anonymity at all cost.  I'm looking to se if anyone is able to share what life experience you have.  Are you just "an old thinking boomer", are you "eating hot pocket in your mommies basement", are you an "educated college grad with no real life experience."

So far, EVERY response on this thread has been off topic

I'm a "don't give a shit what preconceived notions others might have about my mommy's basement" type of person.

I'm quite sure it's on topic to say that your topic is misguided and doesn't serve the purpose you're aiming for. I was perfectly comfortable thinking that Cnut237 is a cunt until you started this thread. Now I have to google some king.

You dont give a shit about preconceived notions, yet have the preconceived notion that good cops anywhere in the US should be attacked because of a criminal cop in Minneapolis. 

Got it... hot pocket kid.   Thanks for your input.

[Cnut237]

I was perfectly comfortable thinking that Cnut237 is a c*** until you started this thread. Now I have to google some king.

I never said I wasn't a c***! Stop twisting my words! I may be all manner of genitalia, but I will never reveal it (or indeed them) on here

[suchmoon]

You dont give a shit about preconceived notions, yet have the preconceived notion that good cops anywhere in the US should be attacked because of a criminal cop in Minneapolis.

Except I don't. Way to torpedo your own thread by making shit up like that.

Got it... hot pocket kid.   Thanks for your input.

This is what I'm talking about. You're not really looking to understand what motivates people or influences their opinions. That'd be mildly interesting albeit mostly useless on the internet where no one knows that you're a dog. You seem to be looking to confirm your bias or perhaps to find new angles to attack people... for what exactly? For disagreeing about politics?

BTW I'm too scared to leave my basement for a hot pocket so I'm on a Dew & Doritos diet. I hope that doesn't make me a terrorist on your life experience chart.

[madnessteat]

I think few people in this forum will be able to talk about themselves for security reasons.

Almost all age categories of people, from schoolchildren to pensioners respectively, participate in the rallies and the professions of people are absolutely different. I am more concerned that all these protests are very well organized and aimed at destruction. I watch one Russian Youtube blogger, Alex Brezhnev, who works as a trucker in the United States. He was recently at one of the rallies and some people were handing out water and chocolate to the protesters. He ate chocolate and after a while he became aggressive and lost control. I think we all understand that somebody really needs to wreak havoc in the United States.

[PopoJeff]

You dont give a shit about preconceived notions, yet have the preconceived notion that good cops anywhere in the US should be attacked because of a criminal cop in Minneapolis.

Except I don't. Way to torpedo your own thread by making shit up like that.

Got it... hot pocket kid.   Thanks for your input.

This is what I'm talking about. You're not really looking to understand what motivates people or influences their opinions. That'd be mildly interesting albeit mostly useless on the internet where no one knows that you're a dog. You seem to be looking to confirm your bias or perhaps to find new angles to attack people... for what exactly? For disagreeing about politics?

BTW I'm too scared to leave my basement for a hot pocket so I'm on a Dew & Doritos diet. I hope that doesn't make me a terrorist on your life experience chart.

Can you at least come to the window and share?  Dew and Doritos are my shizznit.


Let me rephrase the original question.....  does anyone care to share the WHY behind the way they think?  I'm trying to understand where people get their unwavering opinions, why they're no willing to listen to anything that opposes their narrative, and what has led them to think that way.

Did you learn it in college? From your parents?  From you co-workers?  
Why are we assuming all white people are racist?  Why are we assuming all cops are murderers?  Why are we assuming Orange Man Bad? Why are we rallying behind illogical political narratives?



I'll start:   I was independent, never gave a crap about politics. Believed they were all blowing smoke and only in it for personal gain and power. I refused to vote in any election. I was never into any organized religion, and for years felt R-candidates were too concerned with religion and abortion, and D-candidates were too concerned with giving away tax money.   So I voted for neither.  This went on for a few decades.
   My first felt effect of politics was in the military, when Clinton began closing bases and downsizing. This caused many great leaders into forced retirement. Then his Assault Weapons Ban, which made cosmetic things illegal, although tripling the value of every gun I owned.   And I still refused to vote. Clinton/Gore 1992 even ran confederate flags with their campaign. I felt all politicians were slimey.  I was tired of political BS and fluffy speeches that had no content. No one delivered what they promised. I thought that we needed less politics and more business-type leaders. I wanted a candidate that looked at the bottom line, and rewarded effort.
   Then Obama came along. Listening to his rhetoric full of emptiness and lies, handing out freebies, I feared Obama would be nothing but a race divider. He would flip the script and take a racial balance and turn it into a hatred for whites. So my first vote ever was to vote against him. Dont even recall who the R-candidate was. I found that useless because of the state I reside in. And I was right. He made race relations worse than ever. Racism started flipping the other way to hate white people for being white.  Growing up in the '70s and '80s, we never gave a crap about skin color. Adulthood in the military had the same result. No one cared. We all worked, played, and fought together.
   Then Trump comes along.  What a horrible politician, but being from the business world, he valued results and fairness for effort. Eh, could be worse. Not really interested in voting for him.  But what's the other choice? Hillary? OMG, she's unreal and full of nothing. A proven liar, damn near traitorous if you look at the Uranium and Foundation things.  Nope, dont like Trump that much, but Hillary will be another smoke blower who does nothing but give fluffy speeches. So here I am again, not voting FOR a candidate, but voting only AGAINST the other.

   I've seen the definition of racism change over the years to suit political movement.
  
   I believe in Law and Order, and will continue to vote for the same.  Civilized society.

    And regarding the refusal of people to listen to another point of view. Well, I find that insane. We were taught as kids that discussing religion, politics, and money with others is only a recipe for disaster and argument. You leave me alone and I'll leave you alone.
  The problem I have now is some people refuse to listen to factual data. They refuse to consider what a person experience in the subject has to say. They refuse to consider alternatives to the stereotype.

  I'm here. Ask me anything. I'm usually politically neutral. But I'm 100% in favor of law and order. Look at my username.  Ive been a cop for almost 20 years.  I wear a chest full of awards for saving lives, several dozen to date. I have never caused injury or death to anyone.   But yet I am hated because some dumb cop 2000 miles away did something criminal.  
  

Here's a good synopsis of today's world:

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?
DONALD TRUMP: I've been told by my many sources, good sources - they're very good sources - that the chicken crossed the road. All the Fake News wants to do is write nasty things about the road, but it's a really good road. It's a beautiful road. Everyone knows how beautiful it is.
JOE BIDEN: Why did the chicken do the...thing in the...you know the rest.
SARAH PALIN: The chicken crossed the road because, gosh-darn it, he's a maverick!
BARACK OBAMA: Let me be perfectly clear, if the chickens like their eggs they can keep their eggs. No chicken will be required to cross the road to surrender her eggs. Period.
AOC: Chickens should not be forced to lay eggs! This is because of corporate greed! Eggs should be able to lay themselves.
HILLARY CLINTON: What difference at this point does it make why the chicken crossed the road.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or against us. There is no middle ground here.
DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken.
AL GORE: I invented the chicken.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.
AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white?
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he is acting by not taking on his current problems before adding any new problems.
ANDERSON COOPER: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.
GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough for us.
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

[Spendulus]

I am Spendulus.

NO, Tis I, that is the renowned Spendulus.

It's me! Not Them! I am Spendulus.

Over here! It's me and only me. Only I!

<<<this goes on for days, take your pick, they're all lying cretins that rise from fetid ponds in the full moon, then masquerade as goodly and noble during the bright sun>>>

[PopoJeff]

I am Spendulus.

NO, Tis I, that is the renowned Spendulus.

It's me! Not Them! I am Spendulus.

Over here! It's me and only me. Only I!

<<<this goes on for days, take your pick, they're all lying cretins that rise from fetid ponds in the full moon, then masquerade as goodly and noble during the bright sun>>>

We should probably just remove the whole thread, rather than expect anyone to be sincere or honest in here.

[Spendulus]

I am Spendulus.

NO, Tis I, that is the renowned Spendulus.

It's me! Not Them! I am Spendulus.

Over here! It's me and only me. Only I!

<<<this goes on for days, take your pick, they're all lying cretins that rise from fetid ponds in the full moon, then masquerade as goodly and noble during the bright sun>>>

We should probably just remove the whole thread, rather than expect anyone to be sincere or honest in here.

But so few of them have human origins, and so many are sock puppets that reside online in modern sweatshops of cubicles. Although every so often one of the low animals of the cubicle farm will break down, and confess the errors of hisher ways.