The One Weird Trait That Predicts Whether You’re a Trump Supporter

originally posted by: MountainLaurel

originally posted by: TheBandit795

originally posted by: Gryphon66


... and socialism, per se, is not synonymous with either authoritarian or -ism.

Does socialism allow individual freedom? Are you free to do as you wish with your own life and property without hurting others?

Democratic Socialism does, yes. They aren't trying to re-invent the "wheel" America...we want to restore America back to a Republic, not an oligarchy...the "not hurting others" is the compass we need to use when making decisions about the future of this Country. If you believe "It's business, it's not personal" is an acceptable reason for Big business to screw the majority....then Sander's is not your guy.

The fallacy here though is believing that Sanders represents the whited snow or some still yet unmolested virgin territory of socialist/progressive thought and action. What cheep tard and his lemmings go on about such fantasy?

a reply to: Logarock

Well.....I'm going to honor Bernie here by not being provoked with personal attacks and insults. I don't see myself or others supporting Bernie as CHEAP tards or lemmings......lot's of great ideas have needed to be tweeked before they were viable.....History shows us that.....we no longer have lead in paint...

a reply to: MountainLaurel


Don't kid yourself.....there is zero historical anything being applied to the Sanders flow. Just a happy smiley face masked up monster, pride piper of fantasy world. Timothy Leary is dead.

a reply to: TrueBrit

You're a Brit? You are the direct product of authoritarian rule. You just call it socialism.

a reply to: MountainLaurel

The Democratic Socialist countries have plenty of failures.

If a Sanders "system" gains steam, we will get those same failures x100 here.

originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: MountainLaurel

The Democratic Socialist countries have plenty of failures.

If a Sanders "system" gains steam, we will get those same failures x100 here.

Don't they have successes too?

Or, do we just ignore that part?

originally posted by: Annee

Don't they have successes too?

Or, do we just ignore that part?

No more than we do.

But the glaring failures have a bigger impact on the citizens.

Success has to be long term. No, they do not last long. Good idea for small countries but you cannot apply this to the US unless you truly think it is a broken nation and you try to apply it till we recover.

Kids are democratic socialists. It sounds cool. Hey lets help everybody because we should. Down with the man! Down with the man! Then, in your thirties you might go to the dark side and vote GOP because you realize you are paying to much for taxes and other peoples free stuff. By the time you are pushing your fifties if you really care you are some form of independent or you fall into what is considered the fringe for the right or left. Most people are middle of the road. There might be 2 out of 10 people who will talk politics.

Socialism would not help our country. I just want to know who is really behind Bernie. I find it hard to believe, just like with Obama, he is suddenly where he is without a handler.

a reply to: matafuchs

That's a myth. People don't necessarily get more conservative as they get older. In fact there are older liberal members who post in these very forums. I'M 30 and will be 31 in 10 days so I'm in my 30's. I've actually gotten more liberal over the years.

Busting Myth, People Turn More Liberal With Age

Danigelis and collaborators Stephen Cutler of the University of Vermont and Melissa Hardy of Pennsylvania State University analyzed data from the U.S. General Social Surveys of 46,510 Americans between 1972 and 2004. While the surveys did not provide data for the same individuals at different stages, they represented snapshots of the changing attitudes of respondents in different age cohorts over time. The researchers corrected for the fact that the age groups at different survey times are made of up new members with unique baseline opinions.

The surveys assessed attitudes on politics, economics, race, gender, religion and sexuality issues. In some cases, such as racial issues and questions of civil liberties for communists, the researchers measured a greater change toward liberalism in older people than in younger people.

More reading:
Mythbusters: People Get More Conservative As They Age. Right?
Do People Become More Conservative as They Age?

a reply to: matafuchs

Socialism would not help our country.

It already has. Socialism is a part of this country already. Some of us just wish to utilize it in the proper areas.

I just want to know who is really behind Bernie. I find it hard to believe, just like with Obama, he is suddenly where he is without a handler.

This way of thinking goes back to the studies that have circulated on this site that show Right Wingers tend to be more paranoid, have trust issues and are more likely to believe in conspiracy. Therefore it is not unexpected that one would believe a conspiracy that Sanders has a "handler".

The rest of us would just say it's complete nonsense.

originally posted by: introvert
This way of thinking goes back to the studies that have circulated on this site that show Right Wingers tend to be more paranoid, have trust issues and are more likely to believe in conspiracy. Therefore it is not unexpected that one would believe a conspiracy that Sanders has a "handler".

The rest of us would just say it's complete nonsense.

Really? All the ATS members leading up to 2008 who were posting "Bush is going to enact martial law and apply continuance of government to postpone the election and remain POTUS" were right wingers?

AMAZING!



FACT #1: Paranoia and conspiratorial beliefs are entirely independent of partisan positioning. The extremely diverse dynamics of ATS' membership demonstrates that perfectly.

FACT #2: Whichever party presently holds the White House, members of their opposing party/ethos will complain the loudest and express the most concern over the degradation of the country.

a reply to: introvert

Bernie has never held a real job. He has never really done anything according to his friends, lived off welfare for a bit and his political policies never pass. He is the poor kid from Brooklyn who always hated the man and never made any real money. Never hear about his first wife. His kid with a girlfriend. If this was anyone other than Bernie Sanders you would call him a bum and he would be on Jerry Springer.

I am not talking about a 'conspiracy' either. I want to know who the really wealthy are who thinks he is a good idea. My guess would be big pharma and not fossil fuels.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

Really? All the ATS members leading up to 2008 who were posting "Bush is going to enact martial law and apply continuance of government to postpone the election and remain POTUS" were right wingers?

All? I don't know about that and I was not around back then. So I can not speak to that. Also, you have to read what I said word for word. I said "tend to be" Right Wing. MY comment was not absolute.

FACT #1: Paranoia and conspiratorial beliefs are entirely independent of partisan positioning. The extremely diverse dynamics of ATS' membership demonstrates that perfectly.

I agree. I just said they tend to be more paranoid and conspiratorial. There are studies that show that.

a reply to: matafuchs

Bernie has never held a real job. He has never really done anything according to his friends, lived off welfare for a bit and his political policies never pass. He is the poor kid from Brooklyn who always hated the man and never made any real money. Never hear about his first wife. His kid with a girlfriend. If this was anyone other than Bernie Sanders you would call him a bum and he would be on Jerry Springer.

I was talking about socialism, not Bernie.

I am not talking about a 'conspiracy' either. I want to know who the really wealthy are who thinks he is a good idea. My guess would be big pharma and not fossil fuels.

Yes you are. When you talk about "handlers" you delve in to conspiracy.

Rather then try and debate each comment, some quite mean spirited, I will try and make my points in another way. In my 52 yrs. on this Earth as a middle class white female, I have experienced the "work force" and my place in it , on several levels....as a youth working in my family's business, owning my own business and working my way up from store level to "back stage" management for a large corporation. I have a college degree and would like to think good critical thinking skills......lol....Leary was before my time and not my scene.

My willingness to embrace socialist democracy has nothing to do with childish smiley faces or unrealistic notions for some sort of Utopia where people get all kinds of "free stuff" and don't need to work hard and take responsibility for themselves. It is based on my observations of how corporate greed and political corruption have been destroying the American dream for the past 30 years in high gear. We could debate all day when this started exactly, after JFK's murder, deregulation, NAFTA...it's all part of it......30 yrs. ago a butcher or a school teacher could support their families and have a decent life...not today.

Here's how corporations work, and basically the USA has become a "corporation".......The CEO and the major stock holders make MEGA money, the Presidents, District managers make BIG money, the managers make Decent money and the worker's make as little money as possible to ensure the CEO's and stock holders continue to make MEGA money...."It's not personal, it's business" that's the corporate mantra. That's how they justify the ruthless environment.....screw those whiny American workers who want to make a living wage, we'll move to another Country, Trump included...his clothing line is made in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile they wanna use all this money to buy the American government, avoid paying taxes and demand bailouts for criminal behavior and make sure they get any money left in the hands of the middle class too ! Their greed can not be satisfied and it's time to take a stand.....I see Bernie as the only politician willing to do this, and he has made this his life's work, and walked the talk.......A "bum" seriously ?! I may not agree with all his ideas, but I think he has done more then any other candidate to get the people involved on a large scale to take back our Country !

I have little of substance to add, but this thread has been delicious. Like two dictators arguing over who's citizens are more free. The American left and the American right both wish to impose their will on the people. They'll both strip you of your rights, force you to do things you don't want to do, and make you pay for stuff you don't want nor need.

All while pointing their herd at the other side "No, it's not us.. it's totally those guys"

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
a reply to: introvert

Interesting... No wonder I can't stand Trump! LOL!

au·thor·i·tar·i·an
ADJECTIVE

favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom:

Trump, as a CEO, is highly authoritarian. Of course, he favors strict obedience, as long as HE'S the authority. And that's how he plans to run this country. I hope his supporters enjoy what he brings to this country. Or, rather, what he'll be taking away.

Roads go both ways sir.

I think what this boils down to is which flavor of authoritarianism people prefer.

We can have Liberal Authoritarianism that forces people to purchase healthcare that forces them to give up confidential medical records and to buy corporate products at risk of losing out on tax money that was wrongfully taken from you. Preventing people from defending themselves against criminals with effective means, and idolizing almost to the point of propaganda a mentality of victimhood (it is seemingly becoming more fashionable to allow yourself to be victimized than to defend yourself if you are under attack), forcing one to pay for something that they either do not believe in, or is not necessary to the governing of society (trying to force businesses, big and SMALL to pay for abortion), and driving up fuel prices so the president's green energy slave master can make a killing via tax breaks.

Or we can have Conservative Authoritarianism that seeks to limit people from getting any sort of contraceptive whatsoever because they believe life starts when 2 little cells start multiplying, trying for no reason to prevent 2 people who are of the same sex from getting married, being over generous when it comes to corporate tax breaks and championing the exportation of American Jobs because it cuts costs, without any recourse for the millions who suddenly find themselves out of work.

Authoritarianism goes both ways. Right now I think the main fight is about stuff I just mentioned. Who can convince the most people like me who are somewhere in the middle that their form of authoritarianism is the right flavor.

Although I find it funny that Liberals here are trying to attribute Authoritarianism to Conservatism and Conservatism alone when Liberals, by their very own name (Liberal, as in Liberal amounts of Federal Government) support huge, cumbersome government.

originally posted by: WonderToys
I have little of substance to add, but this thread has been delicious. Like two dictators arguing over who's citizens are more free. The American left and the American right both wish to impose their will on the people. They'll both strip you of your rights, force you to do things you don't want to do, and make you pay for stuff you don't want nor need.

All while pointing their herd at the other side "No, it's not us.. it's totally those guys"

I've said it for years, neither side is 100% right about ANYTHING. No one is.

But they both think they are. So do their blind followers.

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
Politics in general makes people into walking contradictions, especially on the Republican side of the aisle.

They claim to want smaller government yet they want the government to govern what we do in our bedrooms and lives by banning gay marriage, they claim to believe in a man who said that what comes out of your mouth is what condemns you yet they are against being PC (watching what you say), they claim to believe the rich should be able to make as much money as they want yet Jesus said it was hard for a rich person to enter heaven and not to store up earthly treasures, they claim that socialism is evil yet their savior cured people of leprosy and fed them free of charge.

And yes, Republicans are overwhelmingly Christian. They have become caricatures of themselves.

Watching what you say as far as using vulgarity or being rude is not the same as being non p.c. Calling someone the n. word is wrong. Omitting a suspects race when describing a wanted fugitive, for fear of making all men of the same race feel stereotyped is stupid and p.c.

a reply to: introvert

Applause.

Of course authoritarianism grew. The entire American model is based upon it. Your fine country is inhabited by the great-grand children that invented the practical implementation of "If you don't like it, shoot it" and "Shoot first, than ask questions." That type of stuff. Authoritarianism at it's best: the right you claim to be somebody elses boss and if he does not like it, well *BANG*. Please remember: just 0.04 percent of the worlds population are Americans - yet Americans think they should be everybodies police force, have a say in everything and lead everyone. That is a very heavy burden America has put on its own shoulders. It requires the type of stiff upper lip that eventually tears your ass apart.

Which is what we see happening right now. And oh boy, the stench..

originally posted by: matafuchs
a reply to: introvert

Bernie has never held a real job. He has never really done anything according to his friends, lived off welfare for a bit and his political policies never pass.......

I am not talking about a 'conspiracy' either. I want to know who the really wealthy are who thinks he is a good idea. My guess would be big pharma and not fossil fuels.

Bernie's job and purpose is to drag in the millions that can relate one way or another......and give them false hope in some legitimacy frame. Who thinks this is a good idea??????? Probably the folks that like to lend the government money at interest to pay for the big socialist machine. Free education WOW.

I have to ask who in the he*l is running on such an idea now that the big college money machine and government backed loan and banks three way circle jerk has been outed????? Its to ugly to look at so lets just make it free and kick it back down to the tax payer. What tax payer......Bernie's 1%.