msbtastic
Shy Member
Posts: 22 
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Post by msbtastic on Nov 13, 2016 19:36:10 GMT
Hi everyone, I'm pretty new here, so please excuse me if I'm not doing this right!
I have a question- I keep hearing (actually reading) that this country is more divided within the last few years than it has been. Can you tell me why you feel that way?
I'm sure many do you will think this is a dumb question- or rather that it is obvious, but I really don't see why people believe that. It could be because I am surrounded by a diverse group of people, and many of them don't feel that race relations (except in regards to Muslims) are worse.
I am not intending to bait anyone, or have a gotcha moment, or any of those things. I genuinely want to understand why people think it. I keep seeing it in regard to the current president and have heard many say that the president elect will work to heal that divide. And please, sweet baby Jesus, don't start about Trump healing the racial divide (or not). I'm plum Trumped out!
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
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Post by Mystie on Nov 13, 2016 19:45:25 GMT
Oh dear. I hope the responses you get don't scare you away!
Are you asking about race relations or just in general? I think some of the race stuff is cyclical, it ebbs and flows. I also really do believe that having a black president has awakened ugly things that may have been ore dormant before.
As far as divisions in general go, I think social media and the Internet have a TON to do with that. People who I've never talked politics with before express a political opinion on FB and now I see them in a different way. People tweet stuff and nobody can explore nuance in 140 characters. (I hate Twitter.) And it's so easy now to find lots of like-minded people, form a group, and never hear anything else. We see here how hard it is to have a rational discussion, between keyboard courage, misunderstandings of tone, and things getting jumbled up as to who said what.
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Post by ntsf on Nov 13, 2016 19:51:35 GMT
it is divided by how people get information. if you listen to 20 yrs of fox news saying hillary is a crook and a liar, you will believe that. if you read the new york times for 20 yrs..you can't understand how hillary is really any worse than most politicians..in fact, worked against the wall street people, made some mistakes..but not ones that reached those that bush made... so there is no reconciliation to the two viewpoints..cause people don't have one source of agreed upon unbiased information.
the republicans' actively trying to destroy obama will not be forgotten and the trenches dividing us are deeper.
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pilcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,936
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Post by pilcas on Nov 13, 2016 20:10:32 GMT
Mystie and ntsf, your answers are both so true. I have known some people casually for years and never known who they voted for, now I do -thanks to social media-and for that I am sorry, I liked them a lot better before. I do think thinks got out of hand during this election and things were said that can not be unsaid.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Nov 13, 2016 20:17:05 GMT
Hi everyone, I'm pretty new here, so please excuse me if I'm not doing this right! I have a question- I keep hearing (actually reading) that this country is more divided within the last few years than it has been. Can you tell me why you feel that way? I'm sure many do you will think this is a dumb question- or rather that it is obvious, but I really don't see why people believe that. It could be because I am surrounded by a diverse group of people, and many of them don't feel that race relations (except in regards to Muslims) are worse. I am not intending to bait anyone, or have a gotcha moment, or any of those things. I genuinely want to understand why people think it. I keep seeing it in regard to the current president and have heard many say that the president elect will work to heal that divide. And please, sweet baby Jesus, don't start about Trump healing the racial divide (or not). I'm plum Trumped out! 1st off WHERE do you live that you havn't seen this? Are you IN the US? I live in the boonies and even I have seen it. Because basically Trump stands for everything most Millennials, and democrats don't believe in. Anti pro choice, Muslim, gays, equal marriage rights, the environment, global warming, etc, etc. I think he was voted IN, because people want change esp due to the affordable care act, taxes, and jobs. Yes, things need to change. Unfortunately I think people want it to change BACK. Back to the Reagan years, back to their childhoods. That won't happen. We've come to far. So it's going to be hard. I hope he finds a way to fix some of the things, but it's going to be hard, and I don't think he can do it with the old guard he has had around him. He needs new fresh blood. |
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Post by mymindseyedpea on Nov 13, 2016 20:35:04 GMT
I feel the experience of division more because I feel it is like a rubberband. It's going to stretch further and further until it breaks.
Which will bring the realization that this way of expressing separation is not the solution for a better world.
I may see division differently though. It goes beyond race, war and beliefs to me. I see it in expectations, greed, conditions, fear, hate, control, lies, judgement and external validation.
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msbtastic
Shy Member
Posts: 22
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Post by msbtastic on Nov 13, 2016 21:30:00 GMT
1st off WHERE do you live that you havn't seen this? Are you IN the US? I live in the boonies and even I have seen it. Because basically Trump stands for everything most Millennials, and democrats don't believe in.
Anti pro choice, Muslim, gays, equal marriage rights, the environment, global warming, etc, etc. I think he was voted IN, because people want change esp due to the affordable care act, taxes, and jobs. Yes, things need to change. Unfortunately I think people want it to change BACK. Back to the Reagan years, back to their childhoods. That won't happen. We've come to far. So it's going to be hard. I hope he finds a way to fix some of the things, but it's going to be hard, and I don't think he can do it with the old guard he has had around him. He needs new fresh blood.
[/quote]
Lol! I live in Kansas. I do believe that some people do want it to go back to that. Also, I've been hearing it long before Trump. Especially in reference to the BLM movement and the president. I was not meaning politically. When people say that, it is usually in reference to race.
I was trying to ask without perhaps explaining myself better. I didn't want to be seen as a race baiter, or something worse, because I genuinely wanted to get information from people different than me.
So, in reference to your first question- I feel that I should tell a bit of background info. I'm mixed- black and white. But I look like I could be anything- I've heard Peruvian, South American, Egyptian, and Indian (country). Being raised single handedly by my father in the black culture, I have seen my fair share of racism and prejudice. Given that I look like I could be from another racial group, I saw even more, especially after 9/11. Given my background, I feel that racial tensions are much more relaxed. In my eyes, we are definitely not more divided than before (except politically). I know my son has not seen anything even close to what I have. I'm confused as how people see that it is worse. Working in a diverse school with like minded people, even though they are often white, means that I just hear what I already believe.
I believe that other posters are correct, and that social media gives more people a voice then previously. I also believe that due to somewhat more relaxed racial environment that people are more willing to voice their experiences. But what I experience and for many it is nowhere near as bad as a decade ago, well except the last week. And the fact that many things are better often makes it seem that the things that aren't better need to be addressed. I don't know if I made sense or went off on a tangent. Lol.
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msbtastic
Shy Member
Posts: 22
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Post by msbtastic on Nov 13, 2016 21:34:10 GMT
Also, I just realized, when I quoted I didn't have the cool gray bubble for her quote. Why so technology so difficult!!?!?!
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