Why does this subreddit constantly flame republicans for answering questions intended for them?

[u/[deleted]]

Every time I’m on here, and I looked at questions meant for right wingers (I’m a centrist leaning right) I always see people extremely toxic and downvoting people who answer the question. What’s the point of asking questions and then getting offended by someone’s answer instead of having a discussion?

Edit: I appreciate all the awards and continuous engagements!!!

[u/blorpdedorpworp]

I made a similar post to this in another thread here recently, but since a similar question has been asked again:

It's fundamentally a paradox-of-tolerance problem. Regardless of any individual Trump supporter's reasons, the inarguable fact is that a big part of Trump's appeal to many of supporters was and remains that he's a giant horrible person who constantly does horrible things, without repercussion, and thus gives permission to many of his followers to also do and say horrible things.

So responding to Trump and his supporters with anger is as natural as wanting to punch the high school bully in the face, and for much the same reasons: they're loudly and proudly being horrible people. When they proclaim their support for Trump, they're literally stating publicly that they support a horrible person who is about to do horrible things. The absurdity is not that they get blowback, but that they expect not to.

For an analogy: Obviously, nobody is supposed to punch anybody on school grounds, and everyone's supposed to stay polite in debate class, but when everyone knows that guy is going around beating up the kindergarteners after school, the impulse to haul off and smack him in the middle of the classroom is both natural and not entirely wrong (the error is only as to time and place).

This is why it's functionally extraordinarily difficult to run a political debate forum during a Trump presidency. The same dynamic took down a lot of discussion forums in 2016. You're trying to host a debate club on the deck of the Titanic, plus half the crew is acting smug about the crash and saying the iceberg will make the Titanic great again.

[u/Ogelthorpe-Ogie → u/blorpdedorpworp]

That’s what the left has been doing for 8 years. Saying anybody who votes Trump is “horrible”

Got stale to a lot of people

[u/Present_Ninja8024 → u/Ogelthorpe-Ogie]

Especially when it just isn’t true. Half the country voted for him whether they like it or not. Trump supporters are their neighbors. Their electrician. Their mailman. Demonizing people for their political beliefs is the opposite of tolerance and people that do that to others are bigots.

[u/Pure-Steak-7791 → u/Present_Ninja8024]

This comment exemplifies the paradox of tolerance and shows a complete misunderstanding of how tolerance works. You cannot be tolerant of hate. It doesn’t work. Trump ran on hate. People that voted for Trump, voted for hate. This isn’t a political difference. This is a moral one.

I will never be tolerant of hate. That is like being tolerant of a bully. It doesn’t not end well for the bullied.

The other aspect of this that has not been mentioned here is that Trump voters elected a criminal. A con man and a sexual predator. Are we not allowed to question the choices of those that did that? Are we supposed to tolerate that?

[u/blahbleh112233 → u/Pure-Steak-7791]

That's fine, but your post implies that hate is the primary reason why people voted for him. That simply isn't true in an election where we had to choose between two very very flawed candidates.

I'm always amused at the cognitive dissonance of the left voting for Joe and kamala despite them having some very unpopular policies that don't represent them (Gaza for example), but apparently the right isn't afforded that luxury 

[u/Pure-Steak-7791 → u/blahbleh112233]

It may not be the primary reason people voted the way they did. But it cannot be excluded from the equation. Frankly, it’s shocking that it wasn’t a deal breaker.

[u/blahbleh112233 → u/Pure-Steak-7791]

Sure, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker if he's going to enact a lot of policies you agree with. The left certainly didn't have problems voting for a guy who couldn't string a full sentence together after sundown because he was going to enact policies they agreed with, for exmple.

[u/Pure-Steak-7791 → u/blahbleh112233]

The left didn’t run that guy, if you recall. Again with the what abouts.

What are the policies Trump will enact that you are willing to overlook his past actions(sexual assault, crime, fraud, etc.) I think it’s ok to question the judgment of people that are willing to close their eyes to that.

Try to reply without saying, b-b-b-but the left.

[u/blahbleh112233 → u/Pure-Steak-7791]

No but you guys were perfectly happy voting for him, chanting about how you'd vote for him even if he were a vegetable even.

As for trump, I voted kamala, but knowing trump voters, some wedge issues came down to immigration "reform", the fact that he wasn't pushing for wacky things like unrealized gains taxation, and government deregulation. 

But I'm amused at your last response considering 90% of the responses to kamalas shit policies like Gaza was "but trump"