tsld11h ago
George Takei  🏳️‍🌈🖖🏽
Government can’t function without people working in it, folks.
3:01pmWeb
Show threadProfessor_Stevens11h ago

@georgetakei

George, that is the point: Trump and the rest of the MAGAts want government to stop functioning. They want Americans to hate their government so much that the people will be willing to replace it entirely with private contractors.

Show threadWenzel 👨‍💻11h ago
@Professor_Stevens @georgetakei with anything, really. It's the playbook populists and worse use all the time.
Show threadProfessor_Stevens11h ago

@stairjoke @georgetakei

What I don't get is why people keep falling for it. I guess motivated reasoning is too compelling to be overcome by reality.

Show threadWenzel 👨‍💻10h ago
@Professor_Stevens @georgetakei I'm not sure, there might be many reasons. The question is, if there is anything that can be done to invalidate that message.
Show threadProfessor_Stevens8h ago

@stairjoke @georgetakei

They elected Donald Trump a second time. We have the answer. It is "no."

What we CAN do is outnumber them. More than half of Americans eligible to vote prefer liberal policies. We just need to get enough of those Americans to vote for them in the form of our candidates.

Show threadWenzel 👨‍💻8h ago

@Professor_Stevens @georgetakei don't underestimate the numbing effect of a two party system.

You either get A or B, no nuance. Looking in from the outside, I live in a country with five parties in parliament, the number one issue I've been hearing about from US citizens nd from political scientists is that people don't want to vote for either option, but a third or fourth option has no chance of getting established.

I don't have a solution or suggestion.

Show threadProfessor_Stevens3h ago

@stairjoke @georgetakei

Your sources match mine: a lot of Americans don't like either party. But a new party would be DOA. The thing is, however, that poll after poll shows that liberal policies are far more popular than conservative ones, among people who don't vote. The solution is to get them to realize voting is worth it.

Show threadWenzel 👨‍💻15m ago
@Professor_Stevens @georgetakei I'd call it a worthwhile part of the solution, not the solution. American politics needs reform, American education needs reform, American society needs to deal with its past, America needs consumer protection especially in areas of food safety and healthcare.
Show threaddatenwolf9h ago

@Professor_Stevens @stairjoke @georgetakei

Most people (regardless of baseline mental capabilities) are incapable of thinking in terms of higher degree levels of transitive causality chains.

They see the actions of an entity only on surface level. That's not some belittlement, just a weird an irritating thing about humans: Taking intellectual shortcuts whenever possible.

https://medium.com/mental-models-product/mental-models-product-5-second-order-thinking-893e510c428c

Mental Models & Product #5: Second-Order Thinking - Mental Models & Product - Medium

New to this series? Check out why I started writing it and why mental models are important in the product space 👉 Game Theory & Product Ever had something occur and realized that you should have…

Mental Models & Product
Show threadZiehmerTheGamer3h ago
@Professor_Stevens @stairjoke @georgetakei it's simple really from an analytical standpoint of statements and sentiments. An administration which gave sociopathic and sadistic fascists room to operate. Now, he gave them a voice. They don't care about those who live, or die, it's not important for them.
Show threadZiehmerTheGamer3h ago
@Professor_Stevens @stairjoke @georgetakei I'm reminded of an educator, and so called disability advocate, who is a hard core Trump supporter. As soon as I had picked up on her defending the cuts. and ending the diversity programs. That a poster put on a local article before I left Facebook. They mirrored empathy and sympathy so well they almost passed and instead failed.
Show threadcrazyeddie7h ago
@Professor_Stevens @georgetakei Alternative strategy is to prop up a bunch of idiots as head of state and replace the underlying system with more qualified, but ideologically pure, people who struggle with the unqualified heads. Then declare Trump unfit, replace him, then his cabinet, and finally his appointments, who's replacements are brought up from below rather than outside--essentially saving us from a madman and entering an era of healing and cooperation.
Show threadMassimiliano Siddi11h ago
@georgetakei Extreme right #Longtermism It hit a red state - this time.
Show threadTheNovemberFella ✊🏳️‍🌈 🇺🇦☸️🛰️🚀11h ago
@georgetakei There's a reason I refer to her as Kristi Noem-nothing 🙄 Nice of her to emphasize it.
Show threadAlex P Roe11h ago
@georgetakei MAGA - Morons Are Governing America 😢
Show threadDDRitter 🏳️‍🌈🎗️🇵🇸8h ago
@alex_p_roe @georgetakei Monsters. Monsters Are Governing America
Show threadEka A.11h ago
@georgetakei
Just like firing of probationary people at call centers for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc, now Trump administration is cutting off the ability to services we already paid our taxes for from FEMA.
Show threadEka A.11h ago
@georgetakei
Next, Trump will try to privatize all of those social services to restore them. This is yet another grift off of your tax dollars. DON'T LET THEM because we'll end up paying huge amounts more for less lower quality services. The salary, equipment, and facilities overhead only administration of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, FEMA are very efficient compared to also adding a 15+% profit margin. Plus the workers doing all that work are in the US and get real living wages.
Show threadChampiZen11h ago
@georgetakei You must be a bad person to point this out !...
Show threadArchaide 11h ago
@georgetakei 🤯
Show threadOrdovician11h ago
@georgetakei The Hundred Year Flood has been reset, dont'cha know! 🙄😒
Show threadDoug 🌈🇨🇦 6h ago
@georgetakei basically the Trump administration is saving money by letting it's supporters die.
Show threadgunstick4h ago
@georgetakei it's as if @godpod was pulling the strings by sending the flood on the day the contracts expire. Just tonsend a deadly message to the government. But it looks like the message was not recieved.
Show threadZiehmerTheGamer3h ago
@georgetakei the government doesn't actually work under this administration. As old school as Donald E. Westlake has written how Freddie Trump operated in Bronson for The Hunter which spawned Point Blank with Lee Marvin as Walker and saw Jim Brown take the mantle in The Split. You also had Robert Duvall in The Outfit. All this is, is a busy working arrangement to appear to show empathy and sympathy where Abbott and Trump don't actually have any.