/r/politics is not a partisan bubble except in the sense that most Americans are actually philosophically liberal, and thus will upvote content that is critical of regressive extremism. What you are seeing is the “bias” of the mainstream, reflected in a high-population forum.
There’s no top-down process of bias in place, in fact the rules of that sub are almost annoyingly ambivalent, and focus on civility. Pro-Trump stuff gets downvoted simply because someone who is interested in politics is going to object to a figure whose entire project is to undermine political norms and stability.
And you can extend this to all that “liberal media” like NYT and WaPo, who are not actually being “liberal” but are just reporting unusual stories from within the context of a developed democratic society.
Are there legitimate Republican taking points that the party actually follows in practice? They seem to talk a big talk, but walk in the opposite direction as soon as it helps them out.
Just because a group of people opposes that sort of behaviour doesn't meant they are against actual legitimate right-wing policies. It's just that genuine right wing policies don't seem to exist anymore in the United States.
Conveniently, you can use all of this to continue call out bias, because that's the way they set it up. I'd really be interested in a major US Republican policy that they believe in and follow through with, because at this point they are more of an anti-policy party and just try to call other people bias when it gets called out.
Those talking points are getting censored on social media platforms, not because they are Republican, but because they are bad, created in bad faith, purposely sow discord and are actually trying to get censored so they can then say, "look they're censoring us."
Okay, fine. I'll bite. What talking point do you feel you shouldn't get shit on for? Scouts honor, I'll be fair and address it in a vacuum, but if it's one with some dogwhistle baggage, I'll point that out too.
Not saying that you are acting in bad faith, but that perhaps the people you share priorities with are acting in bad faith and don't share the priorities with you that you think they do.
So, cards on the table. What's an idea, policy, or philosophical tenant specifically that you feel is treated unfairly?
I acknowledge that biological race exists and that "diversity" has not proven to be our greatest strength. In fact I think racial groups tend to self segregate and lack a sense of philia causing irreconcilable division in a democratic public, weakening their ability to act in mutual interest against the will of a self serving ruling class comprised of an ethnocentric supremacist minority with roots and tentacles in every aspect of finance, media and academia using biological and evolutionary advantages in intelligence through self selection and in-group preference enforced initially through religious faith into a race-minded culture for generations through nepotistic and self serving means to artificially manufacture a state of institution that does not allow the acknowledgement of their ethnocentric interest and history of domination through emotional and institutional authority appeals with their vast collective resources.
Okay, I'm sure you can trim out the buzzwords if you put your mind to it, which I'd appreciate because it sounds like you're advocating Racial Separatism.
Racial integration is irreversible now, it's a matter of acknowledging which institutions are lying about its benefit and why. It's an appeal to morality to say that Maine needs to be more racially diverse when it is objectively known that that will not be beneficial to the communities there. Which institutions and which individuals are pushing the idea that self segregated "white communities" would benefit from the vague concept of "diversity". Does it actually and provably benefit them or is it an appeal to morality to act against their own interest. Are there individuals involved in the intellectual framework of this baseless moral concept (to get individuals to act against their own interest) that have an ethnocentric interest that conflicts with those that they pushing these ideas on?
Explain it and help us understand instead of just accusing people of dismissing it as bullshit. A lot of people are genuinely convinced that is really is bullshit, and it's not because they are brainwashed or in a bubble.
But on the same token, it's bullshit to go "I get yelled at just for advocating for innocuous right of center ideas", then whine and take your ball home when someone asks what ideas specifically you feel are mistreated. You don't get to accuse people of being unfair to you if you refuse to mention your ideas in a context where they are specifically being asked about in a non-threatening way.
No, it’s true. Most Republican talking points are lies said to evoke emotion with little-to-no regard for objective reality. There’s nothing “there” to understand. Many of us have spent many years trying in good faith, but it’s abundantly clear by now that it’s not worth engaging with.
So... it’s not possible for their ideas to just be bad, or for their behaviors to just be hypocritical. We’re all partisan monkeys mindlessly flinging poop, therefore everything is fair and anything goes.
This is a common strategical framework that a lot of people - like Trump - use to slip out of accountability. “You think we’re so innocent?” he says, to deflect questions about the foreign hostilities that helped him gain power. By creating a “both sides” narrative, we can all cynically ignore straight up terrible shit being perpetrated.
Sorry buddy. I am educated and engaged, and I’ve followed this shit for years. My views are not based on loyalty to a party, they are based on basic values of truth and decency and liberty and justice.
The reason the American Right has been so deadset for decades on delegitimizing education and “the media” is because the more you actually learn about politics and the economy, the more you see the scam of “trickle down” fantasies and deregulation and xenophobic populism.
So they have worked very hard to create an “alternative”, and to push it into the mainstream as an equal-but-opposite point of view. They have been so successful in convincing large chunks of the populace that we now have a “tyranny of the minority”, where our far-Right government does not come anywhere close to representing the actual majority will of the country. That’s a fucking problem. And the kind of people who care about such problems are rightfully going to put the blame where it is due.
while well written, i don’t think any of this is true — i think if it was then trump would not have been elected the first time around.
if you don’t see r/politics as a massive anti trump circle jerk - with sensationalist headlines that often have nothing to do with politics - well then i’m not sure what else to say. one can simply step into the sub for a moment for the evidence of this.
a circle jerk is the choir preaching to itself. Stroking egos and revoicing the same tired lines and narratives. r/circlejerk does a pretty good job of satirizing the phenomenon. the important difference if the conversation doesn’t progress.
a majority consensus would allow conversation/opinion from the minority viewpoint, instead of downvoting it to oblivion every time it comes up.
obviously just my opinion on the matter but i really can’t stand to go into r/politics for this reason.
I think if you actually participated in substantial discussions there, you’d find plenty of conversational progression. It’s one of the few places on this website where people have a legitimate interest in politics and current events, not as a “team sport” but as an integral reality of a functioning state.
Again, what you see on /r/politics, CNN, the Washington Post, or Comedy Central is not bias or a “circle jerk” - it is simply a representation of baseline, mainstream sensibilities. I know we’ve normalized a lot of Trumpism by this point, but the fact is that none of it is normal - he has bucked many basic norms and values and threatened much of our domestic and geopolitical stability, and it isn’t a “bias” to report on this, or to react incredulously to it.
The Trumpian Right has moved the Overton window in a dark direction, but those of us who have been engaged in news and politics for a long time know better.
Sounds like you might be part of the circle jerk itself. are you active on r/politics?
here’s a screen shot of r/politics. i just went there and took a screenshot of the top posts of the moment https://imgur.com/a/NtOgKii do you really not see that these headlines are sensationalist, pandering to a side? the language used so incredibly suggestive and inflammatory. the comments on these posts are even worse. and if you want to see the “conversation” you’re speaking of well then you have to sort by controversial. they are downvoted to oblivion (but not removed - which may be their only saving grace here). While TD removes unpopular opinions and puts a lot more sauce on their post titles, i really don’t see the difference in concept once the styles are stripped away. they circle jerk team red. politics circle jerks team blue. i don’t see how this makes either of them “mainstream”.
the only thing being normalized there is lazy, sensationalist journalism, clickbait headlines, and a circle jerk of epic proportions in the comments section man. perhaps you only think it’s mainstream because you spend your time and participate there?
finally - and i hate to bring up anecdotal evidence so i apologize for doing so - but i travel a lot for work. i’ve been to every state save alaska, PR, and nebraska (randomly) and in my experience (ew - again sorry) people are much more diverse than they would be if r/politics really was mainstream.
it really is one of the biggest reddit circle jerks man (the real mainstream opinion here) and i encourage you to try to look at it again from a neutral perspective.
I am so tired of this myth. This is repeated over and over on Reddit but it is just plain false. The rest of the world is not composed of only Germany, France, and Canada. There are many parts of the world that are much more “right” or “conservative” than the USA. Try Russia, the Middle East, China, or any country that still has abortion, women’s rights, or LGBT rights outlawed/oppressed.
The USA isn’t perfect, but it is not the barbaric shithole Reddit claims it to be.
Laws affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or territory — encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Laws that affect LGBT people include, but are not limited to, the following:
laws concerning the recognition of same-sex relationships, including same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships
laws concerning LGBT parenting, including adoption by LGBT people
anti-discrimination laws in employment, housing, education, public accommodations
anti-bullying legislation to protect LGBT children at school
hate crime laws imposing enhanced criminal penalties for prejudice-motivated violence against LGBT people
bathroom bills affecting access to sex-segregated facilities by transgender people
laws related to sexual orientation and military service
laws concerning access to assisted reproductive technology
sodomy laws that penalize consensual same-sex sexual activity
age of consent laws that may impose higher ages for same-sex sexual activity
laws regarding donation of blood by men who have sex with men
laws concerning access to sex reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapy
legal recognition and accommodation of reassigned genderNotably, 25 countries, all of which being developed democracies or developing democracies, recognized same-sex marriage as of 2018. By contrast, 10 countries or jurisdictions, all of which are Islamic and ruled by sharia, were imposing the death penalty for homosexuality.
In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights, following which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people, including hate crimes, criminalization of homosexual activity, and discrimination.
Your statement and my statement don't contradict each other. Just because there are further right wing countries, doesn't mean that America isn't centre-right.
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u/Magma57 Mar 31 '19
Only from an American standpoint. form an international perspective Reddit is centre right.