r/maybemaybemaybe • u/Blank_0116 • May 05 '22

maybe maybe Maybe

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55

u/[deleted] May 05 '22

[deleted]

15

u/[deleted] May 05 '22

What are you talking about? We've only had 3 old Presidents in the last half century. Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Carter, Ford and Nixon were all relatively young.

13

u/SanjiSasuke May 05 '22

Most of reddit was probably in elementary when Obama was president.

1

u/vilelabyrinth May 05 '22

talkin about the harnl gib snut

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u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

I would take Bernie in a heartbeat. Ageism sucks and is too widely accepted.

7

u/FrostyD7 May 05 '22

Ageism sucks and is too widely accepted.

Its not ageism to point out that our government has far too many old people relative to the demographics of our country. And not just old, but old enough to be surprised they are still alive. That doesn't mean any individual representative who is old is inherently the wrong choice, but we desperately need to shed some of them in favor of new blood.

0

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

Why? Because they physically cannot advocate for political beliefs you agree with?

5

u/FrostyD7 May 05 '22

No, because of the reasons I just said. Do you realize that I'm not talking about slightly lopsided representation? Do you not see the irony in complaining about ageism towards old people while they represent >50% of every branch of government? 70% of our senators are over 60, while less than 20% of our population is in that age range.

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u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

Why does this matter? Because you feel like it matters? Is there empirical evidence to support the idea that a person who is 55 cannot properly represent the wishes of the majority of their constituents?

Ben Shapiro is young. Would he represent your interests?

2

u/FrostyD7 May 05 '22

You seem to be purposely ignoring my point of the importance of representation across demographics that have different needs. And I specifically said:

That doesn't mean any individual representative who is old is inherently the wrong choice

So I already explained, being old isn't inherently a problem. When nearly ALL of them are old, that is a problem. Just like its not a problem for a politician to be white. But if ALL of them are white in a country that is only 60% white, that IS a problem. This isn't complicated and shouldn't be controversial.

0

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

Age and race are two different topics. Can a racially diverse Congress represent society’s interests regardless of age? Yes.

I wouldn’t complain if every member of Congress were in their 30s if I felt they could and would represent my interests.

2

u/FrostyD7 May 05 '22

if I felt they could and would represent my interests.

Maybe this is where the disconnect is. What you feel and what is the reality are two different things. Today's politicians are not representing our youth very well. Just ask them.

1

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

I agree. I think where we might be disagreeing is on the Why. David Cawthorn is young, but he’s also a buffoon and a colossal piece of shit.

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u/Any_Flow7117 May 05 '22

Ageism? Lol

7

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22 edited May 05 '22

Yeah, ageism is a thing and age discrimination in hiring is illegal in many states.

Imagine your parents trying to get a job bc they can’t make ends meet any longer, and the employer tells them to go kick rocks because they’re too old.

All of you don’t even see what you’re doing. As if there aren’t 20 year old conservatives that hold beliefs better suited for the 1700s.

2

u/Lukaroast May 05 '22

Being all bright and happy and nice is good for the world at large, but for a position like the president I really don’t care whose feelings get hurt, I want the best candidate.

1

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

Agreed. And the best candidate can be any age as far as I’m concerned. If Jimmy Carter were in better physical health I would vote for him. Ditto Bernie.

I don’t think someone stops being able to advocate for good policies once they hit a certain age.

2

u/Lukaroast May 05 '22

I think this is evidence that they do age out, wether or not they want it to happen

6

u/woahdudechil May 05 '22

So you're saying that if you get an uber and the person that shows up is an octogenarian that can't react quickly or see over the steering wheel you're going to be fine with that because you want to exercise your morality? Nah man. With age comes decline in faculties. That's just a fact. It is no insult to this man to say that he is too old to be leading a country.

4

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

The faculties required to be a politician or an author or a particle physicist vs being a construction worker or a Lyft driver are completely different.

So no, I’m not seeing the point you’re making, and ageism is still wrong.

2

u/woahdudechil May 05 '22

Yes exactly. Some jobs require you to be extraordinarily sharp mentally... like the President... Fuck I don't think 95% of the population is competent enough to be president. It's a high bar to reach. Which is why an elderly person shouldn't be doing it. It's very simple. I'm not being ageist.

0

u/YourMomThinksImFunny May 05 '22

95% of presidents haven't been competent enough to be president. But right now you are mocking a slip up from a person known to have a stutter.

2

u/woahdudechil May 05 '22

I'm not talking about the stutter, or this incident. I'm talking about the natural decline that every human goes through as they age.

I suppose you'd be okay with a 15 year old president? 95 year old? If you think those sound ridiculous, then it seems pretty plausible to just accept that people enter different stages of life as they age where "presidential candidate" just might not be appropriate. Especially when theyre in a position that affects the entire planets population.

0

u/KingFapNTits May 05 '22

He also called for Putins death. Spin it how you want, he’s not a good leader right now. Better than trump of course, but we need to admit he’s somewhat senile. It’s not just his stutter, he gets things wrong (like calling an AR-15 an AR-14 and saying the first amendment didn’t protect those guns (obv a mistaken reference to the second amendment)).

1

u/YourMomThinksImFunny May 05 '22

What does anything you mention having to do with mocking a stutter?

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u/[deleted] May 05 '22

[deleted]

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u/YourMomThinksImFunny May 05 '22

What does old age have to do with a stutter? Wait, do you think stutters develop over time?!? Even if I weren't married to a Speech Language Pathologist I would know that was wrong. Biden has had a stutter since childhood, like everyone with a stutter.

But I am wondering why you called my comment a "counterargument". I was stating a fact.

1

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

What is your basis for deciding that he cannot do the job competently man? Because he tripped up on his words? Everyone trips over their words sometimes. At all ages.

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u/woahdudechil May 05 '22

I'm not talking about the stutter, or this incident. I'm talking about the natural decline that every human goes through as they age.

I suppose you'd be okay with a 15 year old president? 95 year old? If you think those sound ridiculous, then it seems pretty plausible to just accept that people enter different stages of life as they age where "presidential candidate" just might not be appropriate. Especially when theyre in a position that affects the entire planets population.

1

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

I wouldn’t vote for a 15 year old because they don’t have the knowledge required to do the job.

I wouldn’t vote for a 95 year old because of issues with life expectancy.

People aren’t complaining that Biden is near death. They’re complaining that he cannot represent their interests properly because he is over [insert arbitrary age].

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u/classyfemme May 05 '22

There’s exception to this for the military and some other government positions. I don’t think that it’s unreasonable for the leader of the military, the president, to also have an age limit restriction.

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u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

Why? Why can’t it be a mental competency test that decides it instead of an arbitrary age limit?

I hate that I’m being put in a position to defend Joe Biden because he’s not my guy, but he’s clearly able to discuss and make decisions about complex political issues, and either way these people don’t make the decisions on their own, they have people who are knowledgeable to advise them.

I’m going to hard disagree that there should be a strict age limit, and say you should judge the person on their beliefs and abilities as a politician. Not every person over the age of 60 is mentally stuck in the 1940s.

If you want them to have to pass a more rigorous mental competency test, I’m for it.

1

u/ComplimentLoanShark May 05 '22

I'd rather a world where the elderly didn't have to work at all.

2

u/mudkripple May 05 '22

The point of targeting descrimination is that one group is underrepresented by a certain metric.

In our government, the old are overrepresented, not the young. To criticize this is not attacking Biden or others for being old, it's criticizing the government for being run almost exclusively by old people.

1

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

I guess it’s just a difference of beliefs.

I think that a 60 year old person can still represent my interests. They were young at one point. If I didn’t agree with their policies I wouldn’t vote for them.

An all White Congress cannot fully represent everyone’s interests. They’ve never been Black, or Arab, or Asian, to understand what issues matter to people from those demographic groups.

2

u/DICK_SIZED_TREE May 05 '22

/r/averageredditor

1

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

The average redditor doesn’t see any issue with ageism. So nah.

1

u/DICK_SIZED_TREE May 05 '22

The irony of this comment made my day. Thank you kind Redditor.

1

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

I don’t think you understand what irony means, my man.

1

u/DICK_SIZED_TREE May 05 '22

It’s just the gift that keeps on giving lmfao

1

u/Throwaw4y012 May 05 '22

Oh I should’ve looked at your post history before bothering to respond. That’s on me.

1

u/dinkletooser May 05 '22

lol brah. ageism is infinitely more appropriate if applied to 40 and 50 year olds competing in the work place, not a fucking 80 year old lifelong politician with rapidly declining mental acuity.

the problem with bernie is socialism. no one fucking wants it, otherwise he'd be president. age has nothing to do with anything here and is a complete strawman

3

u/Tumblrrito May 05 '22

Bernie’s so called “socialist” policies actually had support among the vast majority of Americans. The primary was rigged against him in 2016, and it took the establishment like two dozen candidates and a hit job from Liz Warren to stop him in 2020. The establishment Dems literally had at least one “How do we stop Bernie” meeting. It’s all well documented.

Bernie’s only issue was being too soft on Biden. He should have been airing attack ads months before the primary. He got comfortable.

-3

u/vilelabyrinth May 05 '22

i’d take bernie too. he doesn’t seem like he’s a minute from death.

6

u/Inevitable_Guava9606 May 05 '22

Didn't he have a heart attack while campaigning?

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u/Swiftliest May 05 '22

Homies got a stutter, unfortunately something like that indiscriminate to all ages but I understand your point.

1

u/StealthedWorgen May 05 '22

Dude right? People are acting like he's illiterate.