I'm afraid it has finally sunk in.

[LAS14]

That I live in a country where a solid 35% (and often more) don't share my values, the values I thought were "American" values. The values I learned in school when I learned "Give me your tired, your poor..." The values that made me proude when I travelled abroad. It's not just those at the bottom of the economic ladder, or threatened with being shoved there. It's the people at the top that don't just disagree with me about the role of government (like our Republican friends who spent oodles of time and money on good deeds), but the masses at the top that seem like characters from a bad movie.

It's been slow coming, my evolution from disbelief to belief. I think the thing that finally tipped me all the way over was hearing about the taxi driver who asked my son how he liked this great economy. A small thing, but it tipped me.

Did any of the rest of you have to evolve to this point of understanding? Do any of the rest of you still not quite believe it?

tia
las

[dlk]

1. It Can be Disheartening to Realize How Many Truly Awful Americans There Are, However...

...the majority are not and that's where we need to focus our attention and efforts.

[I_have_had_enough]

44. Some people...

...need to be hated.
They need to be taught the difference between right and wrong, apparently.

[safeinOhio]

2. Last president election

results did me in.

[duforsure]

3. We have a illegitimate president and AG who think they can pick and chose

What laws they can abide by now, and to suit there needs for self protection from there criminals acts. If this is allowed without severe consequences , this country will not be ruled by laws, it'll be ruled over by the criminals.

[rurallib]

4. Yep, I evolved to this point a few years ago

At a point perhaps 10 years ago or so, after quite a while of reflections on my life I came to some startling conclusions. Boiled down to a simple statement I would say it like this:

"Most everything I was taught in school and by my parents was bullshit. Often it was done so I would be a good boy and be quiet or so that I wouldn't upset the apple cart."

All the Americana I was taught was used as a way to keep me in line and control me. All the religion (12 years of Catholic schools and most every Sunday etc) was used as a way to control me.

And all of it wrapped into a a control mechanism that perpetuated a class society with those with money at the top.

When I realized what I had been through, it really hit me that people of color have really been controlled.

And it all seems to be a control mechanism that evolved and has done its job.
Seems like those in power are doubling down on it because people are finally waking up.

[Ohiogal]

6. Wow

rurallib, you hit the nail right on the head. The upper class wealthy white males (and in some cases, older white women) want to control the rest of us. I am 62 years old but I can say I very often felt like my parents raised me in this way -- to be controlled and to not upset the apple cart. It surely fits the scenario of most people of color. Very profound!

One thing I don't understand is ....why isn't there a tsuami of protest by younger people over all the efforts Republican religious zealots have put forth to choke abortion rights? Either they simply don't care, or they're okay with it, which is totally disheartening, considering all the fighting my generation and older had to do just to win the right for a woman to choose her health care.

[harumph]

10. I think quite a few young people are more savvy about birth control

and I think it's (one) reason abortions are down considerably since 2000. This serves to
create a confirmation bias on the part of young people such as "Well, I don't need abortion rights b/c I'm careful..."
In other words, in many young people's minds it is thought of as somebody else's problem.
Of course, what they don't realize or appreciate is that there is a "long game" being played here
by an extremely patriarchal ruling class that wants to increase the number of (white) babies being
born to offset birth rates from minorities. They're not concerned about the health and welfare of
said white babies - only that there are more of them. It's just a numbers game that
bets on tribal/ethnic identities to bolster a white ruling class that's flat out of new ideas and
utterly unprepared to take on global problems such as climate change. The religious angle to
their arguments is just nonsense - but it appeals to the uneducated. They need this uneducated
navel gazing class to help them maintain their position - and the more the better.

[study war no more]

25. my observation

I've seen an uptick in the number of babies families with republican 'values' are having these days. Once it was 1-3 has turned into 3-5 per family. Perhaps making little minions for 'the cause'

[FiveGoodMen]

46. The cause being Quiverfull

[The Mouth]

28. Many of them snicker and gloat

that (supposedly) a disproportionate number of POC, and 'liberals' utilize Choice..

So I think your analysis is spot on. My only quibble is that I suspect the statistics are off and a whole lot more 'good girls' and 'non urban' youths get abortions than they realize (or want to face).

[rurallib]

18. They are being conditioned by media, schools, churches etc not to make a fuss either

Much as we and our parents repeat what our parents did, so do they. The few that stand up make headlines like the Parkland kids.

We like to believe that the younger generation is standing up, but like generations for eons past they pretty much do what their parents taught them. One myth that lives on is that the public was against Viet Nam and protests brought it to an end. While the protests were sometimes spectacular, most Americans went along.

Most of our generation used the societal control mechanisms to control our kids who in turn have done the same with the current young folks.

So while we hope they will be the generation that says 'enough' they too are concerned about money, jobs, housing and raising their kids. Step out of line and you may never get the chance back.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

27. Excellent summary...

And guilt was a huge controlling weapon. My dear mother could hit you with a guilt trip so hard it would make a blacksmith look like he was swatting flies.

(Ex-catholic here also)

[Iliyah]

5. High turn out in 2018 . .

Same will be for 2020 . .

But alas, guess which party will do their best in trying to steal it again.

t-rump's ratings are going downward. People are feed up and want him and this gawd awful party to be reduce to nothing.

[marylandblue]

7. I learnt that and more during the Iraq war.

First the march to war based on what (I thought) were obvious lies told me that people and even experienced political leaders are easily fooled. Then during Abu Ghraib, about 1/3 of people polled were okay with torture. Then they voted for idiot Bush again who sat in Alabama, while we arguing about whether Kerry deserved Vietnam War medals and other nonsense.

Trump for me, simply confirmed what I thought was already possible.

This is also why I think simply calling Trump a racist, an idiot or demented doesn't work. Too many people, even smart people, are okay with that. You have to offer a better alternative, not just point out the opposition is worse.

[watoos]

13. And even then it may not work,

Alabama ran a pedophile for Senate, Roy Moore, a decent man ran against him, Doug Jones right? Jones won by the skin of his teeth and I hear that Moore may run again. If Republicans can almost elect a pedophile for the Senate, anything is possible, even electing an accused pedophile to the presidency.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

8. Marginalized people know it all their lives. It's important to listen to them.

[LiberalArkie]

9. I learned a long time ago during the Chicago Democratic Convention, the Chicago 7 trial

Young kid, but I learned things were not as I had been taught in school.

[jalan48]

11. The 1960's when I learned the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was a staged event by our government intended

to sway public support for a large war in SE Asia.

[ZZenith]

12. Don't suppose you were alive during the Vietnam War then.

We’ve always had that element within us - weak-minded and fearful and looking for some authority figure to take control of their lives and protect them from the scary “others” while waving the flag and the Bible and spouting nonsense about how free and brave they are.

Same as it ever was.

[Initech]

14. The republican party has left us. A dangerous and scary cult has taken its' place.

That cult worships the gun and hates anyone who's not a straight, white bulging alpha male. That cult is just steeped in hatred and contempt for the other side because they didn't get to rule things with an iron fist the way they wanted to for the 8 years that Obama was in charge. Not to mention they can't admit their own failures. And it's scary that we can't even talk to members of the cult without them going off the rails. Trump is a cult leader, and if he told them to go jump off a cliff tomorrow, they would do it because they would "own the libs" doing so. I am scared to think of what is going to lie down the road in 10 years.

Where is this going?

[Ponietz]

15. I agonized for months after the Muslim ban in January, 2017

Saw ALL of this coming, begged my rep to throw down, spoke with anyone who would listen (very few) and made the decision to shun and shame all friends and family members who assisted them.

These people are no different than the Aztecs who marched their many thousands of victims up the pyramid steps for bloody sacrifice to the God State.

[ancianita]

16. I've pretty much understood it since GWB and 2000. Now globalists are astroturfing them and us

right out of majority rule democracy.

My Carville slogan: It's the democracy, stupid

[RockRaven]

17. I think I had that kind of realization when "liberal" CA passed Prop 187 in 1994...

and it has only been reinforced since then...

[trev]

42. Yes, I remember that, too.

I was secretly pleased (bad me!) when that Prop produced the economic failure of Republican Orange County.

The only problem with that bankruptcy, as I saw it, was that it didn't register with those who it affected the most.

[Poiuyt]

19. And Christianity is quite different than I learned as a wee lad.

Back then, I thought Jesus was all about love. How naive I was.

[LAS14]

35. Of course, Jesus was and is all about love. :-)

[Pepsidog]

20. Two great hopes. Mueller severely rebukes DOJ actions and Trump loses in 2020. Only Mueller can

speak with any authority on his report. If Trump wins 2020 we are screwed. If h does win no doubt by the time 2024 comes around the economy and country will be far worse than 2008 when Obama inherited a disaster. Trump wins and republicans win senate then there goes the federal judiciary. Plus who knows the gains that China and Russia are making worldwide while the Traitor tweets. China is the real threat.

[calimary]

21. I don't know which is more galling -

knowing that at least 35 percent of the population doesn't share one's values, or that this MINORITY of 35 percent is running the joint. Isn't the MAJORITY supposed to be doing that? Since when does the fucking MINORITY party get to call the shots and get its way?

[trev]

43. Ever since GWB's appointment as president.

[lunatica]

64. Ditto. It was the day the Constitution became irrelevant.

[johnnyfins]

22. yesterday's hearing was a new low

Its very sad. An AG lied to Congress and no one seems to give a rat's ass.

[kairos12]

23. I learned this under Raygun.

[Grey]

24. I started waking up with George HW Bush

And was completely woke with GW Bush and that bunch. I took a lot of flack if I was open about my opinion. So I lurk and message people small bites of information. Some have come around to my way of thinking, the rest I just talk about the weather and my dogs.
You can't fix stupid.... Cheers.

[ehrnst]

26. POC, especially women, have experienced this for awhile. (nt)

[Kaleva]

29. The history classes that I took in school taught me that this nation has always been divided

[PaulRevere08]

31. And the percentages have not changed much

About 1/3 of the population lived in slave states and the majority of them were traitors. It took the bloodiest war in our history (where over 600,000 were killed) to get them to give up their slaves.

[Kaleva]

33. About 1/3 of the population supported King George III

[doompatrol39]

30. Welcome!

Been hanging out here since the late 90's. It's been a frustrating time, especially since the people in charge all shared your misplaced optimism for far too long, and many still do.

Not sure what exactly it's going to take to get them on our side, but.....I'll still be here.

[SWBTATTReg]

32. Great post! I learned especially after our wages were still stuck in the 1980s and it is 2019. ...

I am disappointed that even something so basic as healthcare is so intractable and unreachable for a lot of Americans. There is no excuse.

I am bitterly disappointed that the end of our generation may actually be the end of the human race due to rampant pollution, wars, famine, massive distortion of wealth (and I thought we were all supposed to have a chance at the 'big time' too), and so forth.

I am bitterly disappointed in those so called republicans who in truth doesn't share our values, and might as well be Russian. I don't consider them republicans any longer, but simple thugs. What else can you call them? I think HRC said it best in describing them. I still remember those two idiots (brothers / twins) wearing their Russian tee shirts being proud of it instead of an American valued themed tee shirt. Really nice to support all things American, eh?

At times like this, I tend to think of the statue of Liberty in NYC. It's not just for those lucky immigrants who are coming to America, but us too. Every time I hear rump or one of his ignorant toadies mutter something stupid or distasteful, I think of that statue to keep my mind.

And I think grimly and thoughtfully to myself 'go ahead, rant and rave all you want, our day will return'.

[CDerekGo]

34. I've watched

this happening since Nixon. I truly believe that GOP, began working on it's 'Master Plan' of overtaking our Country, one step at a time. Not that the Master Plan had time lines, just what they were working towards, even if it took decades to accomplish.

Reagan/Bush pushed this plan even further with their tax cuts for the rich, pushing our Country, further and further in Debt. A completely and totally unnecessary War for Oil in 1990, then when Shrub 2 stole the election from Al Gore, we got into another War for Oil, this one ALL on a Credit Card, after Bill Clinton had almost managed to get our Country debt free. Gerrymandering voting Districts, disenfranchising POC voters.

The idiocy of some Voters, who only listen to the latest sound-bite, never once researching as to whether any of this crap is true (10,000+ lies and counting). 33 to 35% of our Nations voters prefer to be spoon fed what they want to hear (Fux News), never once bothering to at least reading, or watching, or researching other news.

If I hear "but her emails" one more time!

[Woodwizard]

36. I live in mid state NY

And we have a lot of magats here, my town is over 60 percent republican. The interesting thing is the wife and I are involved in a lot of volunteer functions, town beautification ect and we have met most of our progressive friends at these events, of the republicans that belong I have not found one that will admit they like 45.

[study war no more]

41. but they will hold their nose and vote for him again.

Right?

[Afromania]

37. It took me a good week after the election.

I had to come to grips with the fact that 35% of the entire country, and a majority of white people hate my skin tone enough to vote for somebody like trump. They hate it enough that they'll suck down the swill trump and the republicans are feeding them. It's a damn hard thing to go from thinking things were getting better to understanding that so many people secretly, not so secretly now I guess, are willing to cut their own face off just to spite me.

[HeiressofBickworth]

67. The only ray of hope is this:

Over three million more voted for Clinton than voted for trump. He "won" for a few reasons. First, the antiquated Electoral College gave him an edge, assisted by the many forms of interference by Russia and funded by American oligarchs. Next, the massive amount of free advertising by the MSM looking for higher ratings and higher advertising revenue. I'm my opinion, right-wing bigots alone didn't put that mad-man in the Oval Office. It was a collective effort by the worst of the system.

I don't think any one group was targeted for discrimination, that was just a bonus. They wanted nothing less than a damaged democracy with an eye to a permanent one party government.

Where's the hope? Over three million more voted for Clinton. People need to be motivated and organized to change the system. Each and every one of us need to recruit at least one other to understand the peril our country is in. VOTE!!

[Girard442]

38. I didn't evolve slowly -- I hit the wall in 2016

I grew up in an Evangelical family and although I left all that behind, I still stuck up for the Evangelicals. I said that although they were misguided about some things and their leaders were sometimes loathsome, they had good hearts.

I was so wrong. I think the only parts of the Bible they truly believe are the ones that make them feel that anyone who pisses them off will be cast into Hell.

[world wide wally]

39. It's hard to accept that a virtual idiot has accomplished what some of the most powerful armies ever

assembled in the history of the world failed at.
18th century England. Germany, The Soviet Union...All of then tried to conquer the USA but couldn't.
Then along comes a court jester and completely destroys America from within with the help of a few friends like Barr and McConnell and Vlad.

[colorado_ufo]

40. I think it is unfair to blame every teacher, parent, and other influential person in your life

as trying to set us up to be controlled. At the top levels of politics and industry (the "military industrial complex&quot , I am sure that you are absolutely right. But many of the people who are teaching us these values are teaching the values that they, themselves, truly embrace, and they that hope we will grow up to be the types of persons who exemplify these values.

They are giving us a foundation. They know that life will unavoidably alter our thinking.

If these people, the ones who truly care about us, taught us from day one how to be manipulative, deceitful, greedy, false, power-hungry, self-serving, lawless, self-aggrandizing, and totally lacking in empathy and morality, and we started OUT that way, where would we be by the time we reached adulthood?

We would be an entire race of Trumps.

[FiveGoodMen]

45. It's still sinking in for me.

I keep having to learn it over and over again because it's just so hard to believe. (Not to mention devastating)

But you're right; a third of this country doesn't believe in our "common values" at all.

[Fyrefox]

55. The Rude Awakening

I guess that I was naive, but 2016 hit me like a ton of bricks. I always knew that there were people lurking in the woodwork who thought like Trump supporters, but I grossly underestimated their numbers, thinking that they represented not more than 10% of the population. To realize that over a third of the population could see their way clear to vote for Trump leaves me feeling shaken and fearful for our future. I doubt that I will ever feel fully safe and confident again in the judgement of people or in the system that allowed this to happen...

[Karadeniz]

47. I read several books about Trump during the campaign, so I knew from the start he was

repulsive. His name-calling and incessant meanness violated a foundational principle of every religion and code of ethics:be nice to others. That's sort of the bedrock of civilization and he failed on that most basic criterion. So for me, it's been downhill since he slid down the escalator.

[playaseeker]

48. Werner Herzog said it best....

Dear America: You are waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that 1/3 of your people would kill another 1/3, while 1/3 watches.

[myohmy2]

49. sad...

...but true...

...

[SMC22307]

50. Did you not appreciate during the BFEE...

that a full 1/3 of the country is insane? But now Dubya is OK because Michelle gave him candy and Biden thinks Darth Cheney is a decent man.

What's good Democrat to do?

[vlyons]

51. I am not surprised at all

I'm a Buddhist and see it with a Buddhist perspective. When Buddha became enlightened, he did NOT say, "Life is great, and we're all going to have so much fun." Nope the first thing that he said was, "There is suffering." In Buddhism, we call the life that we are living "samsara," the realm of suffering. I keep forgetting that. And basically what keeps us stuck in samsara is ignorance about how reality actually exists, and our insatiable desires and attachments.

This age that we are in is a degenerate age. What has defined this age is the poison of greed. The 0.01% oligarchs have insatiable greed. It has been at the expense of regular people to cut the taxes of the ultrarich. There's not enough money to fund things like good public education, healthcare for all, dignified retirement, a clean environment, a living wage, etc. All day and night long the MSmedia pumps out ads to tickle our desires for a new car, a new kitchen gadget, a shopping spree, an ocean cruise, etc etc. Greed and desire, greed and desire. Endless greed and desire.

I believe in creating an enlightened society in which people live a dignified life with meaningful work, loving relationships, leisure time for family and cultural enrichment. But we will never get their as long as we let the 0.01%ers corruptly rig the system.

[regnaD kciN]

52. Not just that 35%+ don't share "American values"...

...but that said 35% has managed to shoehorn itself into a position of near-total power in Washington...and that it’s going to be damn near impossible to undo their damage for the foreseeable future, no matter what the results in 2020 and beyond.

[Snackshack]

53. Yes.

The concept that there are people who have values opposite to mine sunk in long ago. Having said that I am not entirely convinced that it is 35%. It has also sunk in that polling data is very dubious and must be taken with a grain of salt especially after the last election where we were told repeatedly that HRC was in the 90th percentile to win. Polling results can be predetermined by how the questions are framed and the zip codes the phone calls are made in.

Maybe I am fooling myself...I know there are the David Dukes / Rush Limbaugh’s / Roy Moore’s / Alex Jones’s and others like that out there but I don’t think they add up to ~114,800,000 of us. At least I hope not but certainly I could be very wrong about that.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

54. I see it from a different light through evolution.

There is, and always has been a percentage of humans world-wide that have a blend of selfish, narcissistic and psychopathic tendencies to some degree, and those evolutionary personality characteristic then become blended with our environment - whether it be as a billionaire's kid or that of a poor farmer in the Mississippi Delta. Most are highly vulnerable to the influence of conspiracy theories, convoluted religious dogma and fear-driven media.

In reflection of my era of youth in the 50s and 60s, most of those types were shunned and marginalized by our culture because selfish tendencies were rejected, and were contrary to church teachings.

What we're seeing in the USA and a number of other parts of the globe is the confluence of these people and a complex web of extremely wealthy plutocrats that are hidden from society. Many of that personality type become elected to public office as well, through bought and paid-for political campaigns. The billionaires use these rubes to stir up divisiveness and to amplify fear, nowadays via social media and plutocrat-owned mass media.

Let's all remind ourselves daily that the entire GOP is nothing but a convenient tool of the ultra-wealthy 1% or so that essentially own or control most of the world's liquid and investment capital as well as most natural resources and real estate. The GOP is therefore not a valid political party assuming we reject plutocracy in America.

I fear we're screwed until the issue of the world's vast economic inequality is solved once and for all......

[X_Digger]

56. Turnout in 2016 was 58%. So 35% of 58%.

So, no.

[Mr. Ected]

57. I think such a demographic exists in almost every country

To me, it's a bad gene, it's a defect, it's an affinity for and affiliation with authoritarian rule.

Our 35% has always been there, and by all appearances will always be there. And because of their proclivity to rule and take over they vote. So the remaining 65% needs to think real hard when the time comes to cast a vote: a vote for the Republicans means a vote for those who would crush us if given the opportunity.

Right now....they've been given that opportunity.

[TheFarseer]

58. In Nebraska

We will tolerate absolutely anything as long as our politicians will put anti abortion judges on the court

[prodigitalson]

59. I finally realized that I was wrong to think all the poor and working class white people here in

the south were voting against their interests and were being fooled by politicians stirring up racial resentment. The fact is the torment of minorities, racial and otherwise, is precisely what they are interested in. Those politicians don't fall out of the sky. The represent their constituents. Loui Gohmert is representing the 75 percent of the people in his district that vote for him perfectly. When you or I see him acting like an ignoramous, they are cheering him on.

[The Liberal Lion]

60. Indeed, I came to this realization

Once I saw that there weren't going to be any mass and ongoing protest by the people over the great fraud that had been perpetrated on us, namely trump entering the White House. We know that we are victims of a crime, we, we the people have the power to stop it at anytime we want, but we, we the people, aren't willing to make the sacrifices necessary to end this nightmare, this catastrophe. But rather we continue to go along with this farce as though it is legitimate. This is the matrix, and despite the fact of us knowing this, we continue along as though everything is going to be ok. Everything is fucked! We keep looking all around for heroes to save us, except looking in the direction that counts the most. That direction is in the mirror. We, each of us, must be our own heroes. It's past time for each individual with conscious to make the decision for civil disobedience. We can no longer afford to believe that this system can bring justice when at every step it shows itself unable and unwilling to do so. Our system is utterly broken. It needs destroyed. If we do not destroy it, it shall make us it's slave even more than we are already.

[albacore]

61. How do we ever "kiss and make up"?... knowing who and what they are...?

How can this country ever unite... even slightly?
There is NO middle ground.

[backscatter712]

62. Yep, it's true. 35% of the population are bigoted pieces of shit.

And we're supposed to make nice with them...

[lunatica]

63. This rush to the rotting underbelly bottom has convinced me

We definitely have a shadow side and a disgusting underbelly in our country. And the heartbreaker is that it’s at the top.

[Nitram]

65. Yup. It hurts.

[Politicub]

66. As a gay man, I was already aware of mass hatred

Now it’s bubbling to the surface for everyone to witness.

[Loki Liesmith]

68. 35% of any human group is trash

You’re about in the 2nd standard deviation at that point.

[Buckeyeblue]

69. I'm surprised by the number of white supremacist

I grew up in Southwestern Ohio. Growing up I heard a lot of adults use the N word. I found it very off-putting but I chalked it up to how they were raised and thought at most they were bigoted. But now I realize it was more than that. And their children are worse, in some cases, than they were. Especially ones that are part of the New Christians.

[heckles65]

70. That's an odd thing coming from a taxi driver.

I drove cabs for several companies about 1987-2006. While I had my share of good nights, particularly working in a college town, I NEVER felt it was "a great economy" for me, doing such a service job that entailed long hours, long periods of waiting, bad nights and occasional fares that insisted on playing head games with the drivers. However, I was very careful to not engage in political discussions.

One amusing incident: just before the 2000 election driving in the college town I got four frat boys as fares, who were quite loud in their support of George W. Bush. "Hey cab driver," one of them said, "who ya gonna vote for next week?" After trying to evade the question, I finally responded, "I plan to vote for the smarter of the two candidates." All four roared in indignation like stuck bulls. None thought to make the case that Bush was the smarter of the two.

[Meowmee]

71. Because of my experiences growing up here

I have always known this country had a large number of fascists etc. But I never imagined this and that it would get this crazy with another illegitamate prez who is compromised etc and a complicit senate. Looking at world history etc and my family history etc I have always feared it though.