Twenty GOP Zoomers on Trump, Hitler, dating, racism, politics, the economy, and more

  • MagicShel@lemmy.zip
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    14 days ago

    Andrew: As far as Fuentes is concerned, I feel like his viewpoints would have been mainstream not that long ago.

    In 1935, yrs.

    If he’s saying something like most women want to be raped, well, Fifty Shades of Grey sells like hotcakes to women, so I feel like that’s just a fact.

    Jesus fucking Christ.

    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      Having not read 50 shades of Grey, doesn’t she consent to the BDSM stuff? I recall reading that there are some issues in the novel that don’t follow the well established rules in the subculture, but still

      • MagicShel@lemmy.zip
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        14 days ago

        Basically yes. There are problematic elements but it’s not rape. Also it’s fiction where things happen in service to a plot that, unlike real life, comes to a resolution. So even if a woman does enjoy reading about rape, that doesn’t mean she wants it. In fact, it’s often read for cathartic reasons to deal with trauma. It’s about overcoming a situation she can identify with, not wallowing in the assault (caveat: healing is different for different people. I can’t speak for everyone, but I understand my wife pretty well).

      • ChicoSuave@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        You’re looking for delineation and distinction where the right wing doesn’t. 50 shades was a book about fucking rich people doing whatever they wanted and the woman accepting it. That’s the stereotypical impression from people who don’t read.

    • fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works
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      12 days ago

      “The fact that “All quite on the Western Front” proves that men just want to watch their friends die in a pointless war, it’s just fact.”/s

      People are crazy to not get that fiction can in fact represent a wide range of things from support, condemnation, and even neutral exploration of a meriad of topics at once.

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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    14 days ago

    Tbh I think this is much more an indictment of misogynistic, incurious, “Christian” (specifically Christian, as they overwhelmingly identify with the sect; in quotes because their positions are just so comically and obviously antithetical to what Christianity is ostensibly about) people, who aren’t terribly intelligent or mentally critical. Less sure about how much of a role living in Tennessee plays here, but I’m also sure it doesn’t help.

    The levels of cognitive dissonance are… frankly baffling. “Andrew” straight up doesn’t think women should vote, and thinks Jewish people (across the board - Jewish, not Israel or even Israeli people) are “a force for evil”… and yet picks AOC as a candidate he’d like for president…?

    Also: lmfao at the dudes going “waaaaah there are too many feminist women and nobody wants to date me”

    • some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      Ladies and gentlefolk: the American Education System.

      In all likelihood though, they just cherry picked the worst person they could find. The Gen z folks I happen to know are all extremely well adjusted, kind, more empathetic than I am and seem to have been able to see the writing on the wall for their future lives way sooner than my peers and I did.

      Admittedly, it only takes a few psychopaths to undo all of that, so like any generation it’s probably a wash.

      • velindora@lemmy.cafe
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        14 days ago

        Not disagreeing, but I think the problem is letting people like this have a voice. The people producing this stuff think, “let’s shock people with this dudes behavior,” but in reality a shocking number of people think, “I’m not alone! I can say and think this!”

    • MirthfulAlembic@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      One minute they’re saying women are too emotional, belong in the home, and one goes so far as to say they shouldn’t be able to vote, the next they don’t want Muslims in the country because they treat women as second class citizens.

      It really smacks of people who have an end belief and later try to find a somewhat socially acceptable rationalization for it. Which is ironic with how much they praised conservative pundits who apparently do all the research or whatever.

      • DancingBear@midwest.social
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        10 days ago

        Interesting perspective, my first instinct was to downvote this comment but it’s… in a Dracula voice very very interesting

    • DancingBear@midwest.social
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      13 days ago

      Did he ever say Jewish people or did he say the Israeli government… Israel is currently committing genocide, and if you’re not a news junky it is not too difficult to conflate Israeli government with Jewish folks, considering Israel government and many nations are trying to conflate criticism of Israeli government as being antisemitic .

      • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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        13 days ago

        RTFA - dude specifically says Jewish people; one of the interviewers goes “wait; direct question to you: you believe all Jewish people are “a force of evil”? And the dude goes “Yes sir, that’s what I said”.

        • DancingBear@midwest.social
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          12 days ago

          NEVER ONCE DOES HE (the zoomer) USE THE PHRASE JEWISH PEOPLE. NEVER ONCE DOES THE MODERATOR ADDRESS THE FACTS OF HIS FIRST ANSWER. Israel is currently…. Right now… committing genocide… even if this guy were Hitler reincarnate, this fact would still be true. This zoomer’s random opinion conflating Israeli government genocide with the Jewish diaspora is much less egregious than the current genocide being committed by the Israeli government.

          He is conflating the Israeli government with the Jewish diaspora. Which is easy to do when you have the Israeli government as well as other governments of the world doing the same thing.

          Even in this example you are giving, he is not saying it, the moderator is. You’re also leaving out the rest of his answer and the previous question and answer.

          —————-(I don’t know how to do the html code to quote articles lol)

          Moderator: What do you think of Jewish people?

          Andrew: I would say a force for evil. I don’t see why we support Israel. I think Israel’s a very evil state. The genocide in Gaza, killing all these poor people. And the only reason we really support them is because they are the biggest donors. We have AIPAC, and these are all Jewish-run organizations.

          Moderator: Let me clarify that. Andrew, you think the Jewish people are a force for evil?

          Andrew: Yes, sir. It doesn’t bother me if it’s true. Those slurs, if you’re racist or whatever, that just rolls off my back… This is my country, my people have been here since the American Revolution, so I say what I want to.


          Andrew is answering a question about the Israeli government, which he may be conflating with the the Jewish folks around the world. It seems very obvious to me.

          Israeli government and corporate media, as well as many governments around the world have already conflated anti Israeli government sentiment with antisemtism.

          I’ve already addressed this previously in this thread, if you’re interested https://midwest.social/comment/21884870

          Edit: i am by no means always right, I just like this topic because it’s in the news so much to be honest… if I am ever wrong about something let me know and I am wrong a heck of a lot. Just ask my wife… but I think I am somewhat accurate in a lot of the things I’m saying here

          • anarchiddy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            13 days ago

            He’s doing what a lot of actual antisemitic nationalists do, which is intentionally conflating/ hiding behind the already established conflation between Israel and the Jewish people.

            I don’t think we should be surprised that neonazis are taking the opportunity to call out the genocide in Gaza - we should also not be fooled into thinking they’re being earnest.

            • DancingBear@midwest.social
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              12 days ago

              No, he is doing the exact same thing that the Israeli government and corporate media have been doing when they call anyone who criticizes the Israeli government an antisemite.

              The entire idea of the antisemitic trope is completely obliterated at this point. Supermajorities of Americans support the people that the Israeli government, corporate media, and governments through legislation to limit free speech - supermajorities of folks in all political parties support folks labeled as antisemitic, because we all understand that the antisemitic label is complete bullshit now, thanks to … again, the Israeli government, corporate media, and the governments bought and paid for by organizations similar to aipac around the world.

              • BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world
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                12 days ago

                The Israeli government intentionally conflates anti-Zionism and antisemitism because it’s politically useful for them. It allows them to use accusations of antisemitism as a cudgel against anyone opposing the genocide of Palestinians.

                Just because Israel does it, and antisemites do it, doesn’t mean you or I or anyone else should do it. There are huge numbers of Jewish people worldwide who oppose the genocide and oppose the Israeli government.

                I go to a Passover seder every year that the host mother dedicates to the people of Palestine, that they may one day be free of their oppression and bondage just as were the Jews of legend.

                You can oppose the genocide in Palestine without agreeing with this POS and generalizing your hatred to all Jewish people. Maybe consider that a large proportion of the public figures in the U.S. who oppose Israeli aggression, like Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Ezra Klein, Bernie Sanders, Ben Cohen, etc., are themselves Jewish.

                • DancingBear@midwest.social
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                  5 days ago

                  It’s also not my or your or anyone else’s job to give a shit about Israel or Jewish folks in general. My point is that he is a random Gen Z young person answering random questions about geopolitical issues. It’s not his job to be savvy and knowledgeable about this issue.

                  Like I said, and like you said. What he is doing is the same exact thing that Israeli government and zionists do all day every day.

                  He is a random regular dude on the street.

                  The only pieces of shit I see are the Israeli government and the zionists…

                  I refuse to attack my fellow citizens. This guy is not the asshole, Israel is. Period.

                  Nobody cares about the so called cudgel of the antisemitic label. This is a growing problem for Jewish folks all over the world, and it’s the Israeli governments fault.

              • anarchiddy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                11 days ago

                he is doing the exact same thing that the Israeli government and corporate media have been doing when they call anyone who criticizes the Israeli government an antisemite.

                I agree.

                supermajorities of folks in all political parties support folks labeled as antisemitic, because we all understand that the antisemitic label is complete bullshit now

                Antisemitism is still a thing - it just happens to be a thing that’s perpetrated by those claiming Israel as ‘the Jewish state’ (and attributing their actions to those done by ‘the jewish people’) and by people who go along with that conflation. Supermajorities don’t support antisemitism, they oppose Israeli apartheid. That just makes it all the easier for actual antisemites to cover under the same political rock and pretend that they’re in the majority, while simultaneously leaning into the Jewish identity of the perpetrators of that genocide.

    • qprimed@lemmy.ml
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      14 days ago

      no kidding…

      For some, that may not come from the Right.

      One participant named Michelle Obama as his ideal next president. Another—the same one who had praised Nick Fuentes—cited Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as preferable to Ben Shapiro.

      • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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        14 days ago

        some people really just like kick-ass people and don’t care about the exact set of policies they’re gonna implement.

        And i would say that yes, AOC is a kick-ass personality. That’s why i like her too. (but just to be clear, i don’t like nick fuentes)

        • DancingBear@midwest.social
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          12 days ago

          Yea I thought that was really cool, the guy said he doesn’t like Shapiro but likes aoc and Fuentes haha

          I think if all you see is cable news, Nick Fuentes might be an interesting character, but I would say he is really creepy. Fucker tarlson is coming around and he is very intelligent and has a lot of good things to say, but I’m not a fan of seeing things through the lens of a bearded man in the sky. Tucker is only being attacked currently in the media because he is speaking truth to the current and ongoing genocide in Palestine, being committed by Israel and funded by the United States. No true maga America first voter can support Israel while being America first, and Tucker Carlson is speaking to this. Fuentes is a racist weirdo, much like Netanyahu, but I’d rather see Tucker interview Fuentes than Netanyahu. Netanyahu deserves the platform much less than Fuentes. (Edit: At least by seeing interviews with Fuentes we can see what the issues are that are leading Americans down this path where it’s hating and blaming other people seems easier than the daily grind. I want to be aware of why and how people are struggling and when people are flocking to racist podcasters, it’s not because everyone is a shitty person. It’s because they are struggling in their real lives and the creep is offering a cheap and easy solution.)

          Neither Fuentes or AOC are being paid to spew Israeli government propanganda, which is very interesting to me. Anyone would prefer AOC over Fuentes for president even if they were stupid. Even according to all the mysogynist logic…. She is a heck of a lot hotter than the Fuentes guy, even if you aren’t all into city people who get all dressed up. Just saying. And if you’re worried about misandrist stuff Fuentes has a very trashy racist vibe anyway

        • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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          14 days ago

          the “z” in gen z comes from the word “zero”. as in, zero intelligence, zero prospects, zero accountability, zero hope.

          Gen Zero.

    • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      A heavily propagandized, desensitized, sociopathic, and mentally-ill group… who would’ve thought?

  • ToastedRavioli@midwest.social
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    14 days ago

    Moderator: Does anyone think women should not be allowed to vote?

    Only Andrew raises his hand.

    Moderator: What do you think of Adolf Hitler?

    Andrew: I’m in favor of a strong executive. I think we should have a stronger executive branch… I’m very pro-strong executive, strong leader, strong man. I support national sovereignty, and Hitler was a nationalist. He was like, we have to take Germany back for Germans. And I feel like we should do that in America. We should take America back for our native population. So, I’m not an expert on Hitler by any means, but as far as nationalism is concerned, I’m all that.

    Moderator: What do you think of Jewish people?

    Andrew: I would say a force for evil. I don’t see why we support Israel. I think Israel’s a very evil state. The genocide in Gaza, killing all these poor people. And the only reason we really support them is because they are the biggest donors. We have AIPAC, and these are all Jewish-run organizations.

    Moderator: Let me clarify that. Andrew, you think the Jewish people are a force for evil?

    Andrew: Yes, sir. It doesn’t bother me if it’s true. Those slurs, if you’re racist or whatever, that just rolls off my back… This is my country, my people have been here since the American Revolution, so I say what I want to.

    • DancingBear@midwest.social
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      13 days ago

      I feel like his answer for “what do you think of Jewish people” was set up to get him to say that he hates Jewish people. Set up may not be the right word exactly… but he was answering a different question in my opinion.

      Everything he said in that paragraph about Israel and aipac and the genocide is spot on.

      He’s conflating Jewish people with the Israeli government in his line of thinking, probably due to his media influences, and also maybe just a general lack of awareness that this is even an important distinction to make.

      Israel also does the same thing, shouting from the rooftops that anyone who speaks out about the Israeli government is antisemitic. If you only listened to corporate media, and weren’t particularly interested in politics, it is quite easy to make the same mistake. They use this as a blunt instrument to quell any discussion or criticism of Israel, intentionally, and they’ve been doing it for decades.

      But everything he said in that paragraph you quoted is spot on. The problem is that he seemed to be answering a question about the Israeli government when the moderator was asking about Jewish people.

      In the next question, he’s defending himself from an argument that what he is saying is antisemitic.

      In both questions, it seems to me he is talking about the Israeli government, while conflating the government of israel with all of the Jewish diaspora.

      The moderator seems to be having a separate conversation than the one this person is having.

      To show what I mean… without changing the answers he gave, if I change the questions, 90 % of democrat voters would agree with his answers.

      Question 1: what do you think of the Israeli government?

      Question 2: Let me clarify that. Andrew, you believe the Israeli government is a force for evil?

      Just saying. US Voters on Both the right and the left agree that genocide is bad, and that the Israeli government is pretty evil right now. And making the distinction between the Israeli government and the Jewish people of the world is more important than ever in my opinion.

      Edit:

      He never once said Jewish people, he only mentioned Israeli government. Yes, the moderator mentioned Jewish people twice.

      However, in this case I believe the onus is on the moderator to address Andrew’s facts. Never once does the moderator address actual facts that Andrew has brought up. At least in these specific examples you are quoting. His follow up question appears troll like. (In the context of an actual genocide being committed, right now. Today, in Gaza and the West Bank. Whether someone professes to actually be an hater of Jews is irrelevant. One of the great things about the first amendment in the United States. This zoomer’s opinions are irrelevant compared to the actual genocide happening on the ground, currently, right now.) Israel is literally committing genocide while suggesting anyone who says this is antisemitic. AIPAC is literally contributing to campaigns of like 80% of congress in the states. It makes the antisemitic arguments looks naive and childish. And if Israel itself is going to constantly conflate criticism of its racist government policies against the Semitic peoples of the Palestinian nation with being antisemitic against all Jewish folks… it’s nonsense. Jewish folks around the world are going to have to stop this I don’t have an answer but it’s really messed up. When republicans are agreeing with leftists on these issues it gets really wild.

      The lesson folks on the left need to take is please stop attacking folks who are agreeing with you. Take your wins and keep working towards policies you support. Stop attacking Marguerita green potato head for agreeing on this issue dam it.

  • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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    14 days ago

    Interesting and well-written write-up. Definitely worth a read.

    I found it interesting how lots of people seem to get their views entirely from social media and have no self-experienced real-life experiences.

    Like, most of their takes seem to be getting from social media. There’s actually short interviews with each of the candidates in the article. Then, i wonder, isn’t it the same for many of you/us? Who really gets their news from own-life experiences? Who really goes out to the people to see how they’re doing? Basically nobody. It’s not good if we rely on articles too much for our input. Because articles are biased and often incisive. We can only find our own worldview if we see the world through our own eyes, with as few middle-men as possible, because middle-men blur the picture. It’s like the telephone game. The longer the chain of information transport, the more distorted the informations get. It’s best to directly make own observations.