Well I won't be voting because I'm pretty happily re-located to France, anyway it
is not in my constitution to vote for the lesser of two weevles; better die a man
than live a dog - or something like that.

What I have is perhaps a unique perspective as someone who used to know people who
will almost certainly vote for Hillary and also people who will almost certainly
vote for Trump, if at all. The Hillary voters I remember are the people who did
everything right and failed: doctors who settled for nursing, lawyers who aren't
really in the practice, professors who somehow ended up in the university mail-room.

These people collect stuff in their houses until it piles up because it "might be
worth something some day" and they drink to forget that the American Dream for them
didn't really pan out. Perhaps they're held back by some old meme that virtue is in
failure and suffering, then again maybe It's The Economy Stupid. These people spend
an inordinent amount of their time thinking about and talking about politics and
the horrifying reality it has become. There is a piece of self-loathing in their
psyche because they imagine themselves part of the society which is at fault for
most of the world's suffering. Every part of their self-identity will drive them to
vote for Hillary.

The Trump voters of my youth are the doers: factory machine operators, trades-men,
equipment operators and truck drivers. These people never meant to be rocket
scientists and for them virtue is in an honest day's work. Work which has been
harder and harder to find with the US in a steady decline since about 1970 but even
if they have to settle for less, they will still find some way to be proud.

They recognize the absurdity of politics, which is why many of them don't vote at
all. They also like an easy, feel-good answer: "Just build the wall and America will
be great again, I'll drink to that". They know on some level that it's not going to
be so easy but they hope someone more capable than them can take the helm - probably
one reason why "New York Businessman" Trump pulled ahead of "rancher" Jeb Bush.
These people generally recognize racism as a bad thing but are caught between trying
to be good citizens and seeing a dispurportionate number of black and brown mugshots
on TV and in the newspaper. The Hillary people, who will also go for an easy answer
are prepared to simplify all of the Trump people into viscious hate-mongers; faced
with this the Trump people would rather just own the title than try to argue the
point.

-

Almost 3 years ago, I moved away from all of these people and memes. But if I had
to live with one group or the other, I'd live with the Trump people. These are the
people who get invited to parties and who are fun to have a beer with, they are
relaxed and feel comfortable in their own skin and they know that bringing up
politics is a downer for everyone. Somehow they manage to have their lives
significantly more in order than the Hillary people.

At any rate, with either presidential candidate, the anger and divisions in the US
are unlikely to subside. I can see 4 years of Hillary followed by Trump or even
persistent "civil unrest" (civil war without official armies involved).

Some articles which seem relevant:

http://www.exberliner.com/blogs/the-blog/berlin-election-perspectives-dmytri-kleiner/

https://extranewsfeed.com/my-summer-with-the-donald-an-investigation-of-trumps-strategy-f083329a3680

http://qz.com/818726/donald-trumps-supporters-deserve-our-support-not-our-scorn/

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/10/judge_welcomes_new_juror_direc.html
This last one is worthy of note because the facts of the matter are not really in
dispute but the jury insisted "no crime has been committed" which is an effective
nullification of the federal government's right to carry out it's business.


Sorry about that, try to have a bright and cheery day :)

Caleb





On 01/11/16 23:02, Tim Patrick wrote:
> Been quiet on the list lately. Figured I'd ask what you all think of the US election?
>
> I've been following it from the start and it's now a week away from Election Day and I can honestly say I don't know who is gonna win.
>
>
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