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Does a politicians distant past matter?

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posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 09:28 AM
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a reply to: pthena


Why did you have to posture your answer to your own questions as Democracts take the moral high ground and Repubicans as excuse makers?

Oh, that's right. Because Demos, like yourself, are good and Reoublicans are bad.

Was that even necessary or was punching the other political party worth it?

Wasted space.
edit on 4-2-2019 by Justso because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 09:48 AM
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Unless it was a serious crime then no it should not matter. What I did when I was 20 -25 was sometimes just some dumb #. I learned from those lessons and don't make (many) dumb mistakes anymore lol.

The Democrats have turned me from an independent to more so right and I still don't think blackface should be something someone gets all in trouble for from the past. Things have changed from 20 years ago.



posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 09:55 AM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

Mistakes are fleeting.

Long term behaviours are not. They are ingrained, they do not wash away.

If a person wants to vote for someone on a family values basis, they had better not vote for someone who has been the cause of the collapse of a marriage and a family. If someone wants to vote for strength, they had better not vote for someone who has ever been a bully, instigated a fight, although they may vote for someone who has won a few. If they want to vote for someone to unify a nation or an organisation, they had better not vote for someone who has racial bias or has ever spent any significant period associating with those who do.

Its pretty bloody simple if you break it down. Your assertion that people change is accurate, but their motivations rarely do, especially if those motivations remain into the early adulthood. For example, Steve King, Iowa's eight term congressperson. I am sure he has undergone changes since his childhood, but he has not shaken off the corrupt programming of racists and fascists in America, instead embracing them and giving them a voice that, if he had changed at all, he would know that should not be uttered aloud.



posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 09:58 AM
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a reply to: HawkeyeNation

Yes. He wasn't at a clan rally lynching people, it was a costume party. Today they howl if you dress as an Indian or Chinese person. Was not like that in the '80s.

Still, it is current year and this thing will now haunt his nightmares forever.



boogeyman



posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 10:31 AM
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a reply to: Justso


Why did you have to posture your answer to your own questions as Democracts take the moral high ground and Reoubicans as excuse makers?


I didn't want to derail the thread, which I could have done accidently if I had actually exposed the glaring hypocrisy in the Democratic Party Platform.



posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 10:54 AM
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I keep hearing about psychological profiles. When I was young I was cruel to animals and a loner that didn't fit in. Animals feared me and I creeped people out. I also drew sadistic art and wrote twisted stories.

Now I'm known for my empathy and love of animals. Other people who love animals are often jealous of my rapport with them and ability to connect with them and get them to like me on another level. Whenever others want to understsnd how and why someone feels something they come to me because I am capable of getting to a persons head, getting a sense of what they are feeling and why and then explain it.

Somehow I've gone from pychopath to empath, complete opposites on the spectrum. If one were to only look at my childhood their picture of me would be completely scewed from the empathic loving helpful person I am today.

When I was young at wanted to join the army and had an obsession with killing and death. Now I'm a home health aide who desires nothing more than to make the world a better place and often sacrifices my own meager finances to help others above and beyond the requirements of my job.

I reiterate that one cannot take a single still from someone's entire life and presume to know them from it. People change, and some things are simply small insignificant periods in a persons life that, when things are taken as a whole, meant nothing.

I'm bi now, but in my teens hated homosexuality and was a bigot. Now I'm bi and have friends from all over the sexual spectrum. Take a snap shot from my teens and suddenly I'm a homophobe which I'm clearly not now.



posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 12:47 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

If we were held accountable for the dumb things we did as younger men and women, every single last person here and on the face of this Earth would be ruined

Does anyone here have the gall to claim they never made a mistake? Possibly even a serious one?

At what point do we accept no one will ever be perfect, and sometimes you just have to accept it and move on

I agree with you JAG, it is beyond ridiculous


If there is a crime within the statute of limitations then prosecute away. Otherwise, this court of public opinion BS has got to end. Enough with the purist, pious, self-righteous judging of others for their past mistakes (often many years or decades ago) and 99% of this nonsense doesnt even constitute crimes



posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 01:32 PM
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I know people can change but there are certain acts, people commit that I can never forgive.

My stepfather abused me my mother and his two daughters from a previous marriage so bad that we celebrated when that POS died alone from liver failure. He begged for forgiveness and never got it from any of us.

You reap what you sow....

And as far as I'm concerned politicians show their true character long before they are elected. However they can be redeemed by compassionate actions while in office. Lip service and lies to their constituents means nothing and only adds to the disdain rational people show.


edit on 4-2-2019 by olaru12 because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 4 2019 @ 01:44 PM
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a reply to: olaru12

Ahh but here you're comparing years of abuse to a single snap shot of a person's life. I bet if people looked hard enough and took the right snap shot and removed all other context it could look like you and they had a great relationship with your stepfather. After all I'm sure there's been at least a few times where if someone took a picture they could have caught any of you in his presence smiling at the same time as him.

This is the problem with these 'snap shots' it doesn't show the whole picture, and does it's best to avoid and ignore context, and refuses to even consider the event in context of the person's entire life and who they've become and are now.

Using just select snap shots and ignoring anything else everyone can be made into a devil or a saint.
edit on 2/4/2019 by Puppylove because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 5 2019 @ 03:39 AM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

If you Don't look back with some sense of shame or shock at your previous selves, have you grown much?


Part of the problem is, in our system of representative democracy, we are supposed to be "hiring" politicians who represent us. And psychology has shown we have a very flawed self image. So, you can see how there would be a problem there...

We think we need a well mannered, well educated, well spoken, unrealistically moral, unrealistically patient, unrealistically calm tempered person who ALWAYS takes the high road in every situation, but at the same time, paradoxically brave, strong, decisive, determined, and NEVER afraid to do whats right even when its unpopular, even when it may be perceived as Not "taking the high road"... Basically we think we deserve Jesus.

"Yeah, I would say Jesus is a pretty good match for me, character wise. I mean, he could use a little work on standing up for himself, but, in most other areas he is probably my equal, so, eh, close enough. I mean, I'm not gonna necessarily complain that you took the unnecessary step of adding "Son of" to my rightful title... but I'll definitely make sure you get the hint so this mistake never happens again. But sure, whatever, for this election cycle, Jesus will have to do as an adequate representative for me, the combined hive-consciousness of the American Voter."


So, again, there is a problem because we are seeking what is not possible. Ok so you eliminate everyone with any sort of a "past" from the pool of available contenders. If this were possible, then what we would have left are people who have no experience in problems, and yet its supposed to be their job to solve the problems we are facing. They never had to face a real problem in their entire life, because there has always been someone there to pick up the pieces and clean up their mess. They don't have a clue what it's like to actually be on your own in this world.

We have a self image that tells us we don't have any real problems to work on, its always someone else who is the problem, so that makes a lot of sense. We haven't grown much, so the concept of looking back on your previous self with disdain is totally foreign to us.

We are perfect and always have been, therefore we need a politician who can meet our high standards. Impossibly high standards... so in other words they better be a good liar.

In truth, a recovering drug addict like myself would be an authentic representative for at least 20% of Americans, compared to the less than one percent representation we get when we elect, well, the 1%ers.

You could literally select a person at random, and they would have a 99% chance of being a more authentic representative of the American people than some well to do slick talking clone churned out by the Media Machine...

There are even foreigners who would be a closer match for us.

Donald Trump is a stepping stone towards a more perfect president. Obviously his money is a red flag, but the fact is, thats what it took to forcefully break into the club that only accepts media blessed candidates. That's what it took to make us realize that we don't need to keep on voting for clones.



posted on Feb, 5 2019 @ 04:16 AM
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a reply to: toms54

As I have already made clear, there is a difference between a fleeting MOMENTARY lapse in judgement, and a system of behaviours which remain in evidence throughout a life. The yawning gulf of difference is plain when a life is examined in full, in totality.



posted on Feb, 5 2019 @ 04:37 AM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

It shouldn't, unless it still affects the present. At the end of the day, people can change and every person is capable of outright stupidity at times.

It is the still affecting the present that is the important distinction. For example (and i apologise but it is the easiest example to think of) say someone was in a racist organisation say 20 years ago, now they aren't but their political views are still rather race based, then it should make a difference - because they have no impartiality.



posted on Feb, 5 2019 @ 04:38 AM
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originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: toms54

As I have already made clear, there is a difference between a fleeting MOMENTARY lapse in judgement, and a system of behaviours which remain in evidence throughout a life. The yawning gulf of difference is plain when a life is examined in full, in totality.



I think even that is a bit harsh in that if it was a long time ago, it doesn't really matter if it was fleeting or long lasting - as long as that is no longer the case and doesn't influence decision making now.



posted on Feb, 5 2019 @ 06:08 AM
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a reply to: Flavian

Long term behaviours do not evaporate all of a sudden when someone reaches a certain level of age and experience, especially the sort of pathological, compulsive behaviours that are considered to be the sort of thing that one does not want those they look up to, to engage in.

To be clear, this is not a partisan issue. Leaders should not have traits familiar to those who study psychopaths, serial sex pests, or those who have committed grand larceny. Their character should be at minimum, absent ANY of these markers, for as much history is available on them, if not since birth. You would not have amorality in the halls of power no matter who occupies them at a given moment, if proper, modern, up to the minute checks and balances were installed to ensure that at no time is a nation being led by elements of its worst, only by its very best, brightest, most compassionate, most decent, most noble (in the sense of a persons character rather than any connection to aristocracy) persons.

People from every political faction should desire this much at least. Put another way, if the person who repaired your muffler last week is a better sort of individual than the ones running your city, your state, your nation, its intelligence services or its military, then you have a problem.



posted on Feb, 5 2019 @ 06:17 AM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

as long as that past didnt concern illegal activity then sure !

as for potentially debatable private life ,, then no it shouldnt matter if they love orgies
or food eating competitions or dressing up as a furry !



posted on Feb, 5 2019 @ 02:10 PM
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America has move into a very sensitive state where context has all but been forgotten. I think it's wrong to leave critical thinking and emotional intelligence out the door but that is where we are. Should a distance past be forgiven? Depends on what it is, the severity of it, and whether a person has shown that behavior is in fact distant past.



posted on Feb, 10 2019 @ 07:21 PM
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originally posted by: tabularosa
America has move into a very sensitive state where context has all but been forgotten. I think it's wrong to leave critical thinking and emotional intelligence out the door but that is where we are. Should a distance past be forgiven? Depends on what it is, the severity of it, and whether a person has shown that behavior is in fact distant past.


Well you can thank the Democrats for that. They are the ones that plowed this field and now the fruits of their labours are coming to fruition.

They can suck it and reap what they've sown.



posted on Feb, 11 2019 @ 12:47 AM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

Its people's nature is what is important.

People do silly stupid things when they're young and not so young These can be ignored if the person is by and large a changed person due to lessons learned in life.

However, some dont repeat past or similar deeds simply because they have learned not to, not because they don't wish to do such things again because they likely would if they percieved there will little risk of being caught or exposed.

These people are difficult to see and identify but its these people who are the Bad B and need to be kept out of politics.... for ever.




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