The only idiot is the individual who believes that the American people were given a legitimate choice. The way I see your post is being pissed off that Stalin won the election instead of Hitler. Calling everyone who voted for Stalin an idiot is non sensical.
Suppose the people were given the choice between eating dog shit or cat shit. Obviously everyone who votes for cat shit is an idiot! We have been eating dog shit for the past 20 years. Maybe people are so sick of dog shit that cat shit looks better.
Yes Trump has some major character flaws, but most of the sexist/racist/rude behavior does not translate into legislation / laws. In other words, his personal failings impact almost no one.
So far Trump has hurt no one compared to the millions killed by Hillary. Perhaps you prefer the Devil you know, but the majority seems to have bet on the Devil they don't know. There is some chance he could be better.
If the American people let a known devil get elected over a likely, but unproven, devil then perhaps that would have been more idiotic.
It is time for everyone to step back and not get attached to the outcome and drop the ego that assumes our perception is right and everyone else is an idiot.
Your fallacy is that personal character flaws do not translate into poor governing decisions. They most likely do.
This situation is not one of being more comfortable with the devil you know. We do know Donald Trump. He vows to jail his political rivals. He brags about sexually assaulting women. He preaches and even requests physical violence at his rallies.
Your hope, and the hope of others who voted for him, is that you do not know Donald Trump. But that is thin protection from the responsibility you took when you voted for him, because you do know him from his own words.
We also know that Hillary's political rivals actually end up dead under mysterious circumstances! We know Hillary stands by her husband who is also guilty of sexual misbehavior. Hillary preaches and actually instigates violence overseas. I just don't see how you can be blind to the fact that every single thing you point out about Trump also applies to Hillary.
Only your own cognitive biases allow you to perceive Hillary as better, but you lack empathy for those who have different experiences and perceptions than you. Your conclusion is "they are idiots" rather than "they are smart, but see a different perspective than I see".
To be fair, I would be saying the same thing to the trump supporters if Hillary had won.
First of all, I respect your opinions on this and don't fully disagree @dantheman.
It is interesting to me that there is an underlying assumption that I support Clinton. Yes, two devils. I don't believe we had a good choice, but I do think that of Clinton v. Trump, Clinton was a better choice because she is level-headed in her approach. She has also done work to repair her relationship with women and the community of color within America which is very important. As she is less internally divisive for the United States, she is a more logical choice than a man whose entire campaign has been avidly supported by the KKK, a white terrorist group I have personal experience being targeted by. So yes, I do have "cognitive biases" even though I do understand some reasons why a human could support Trump. For example, the perceived threat to white culture through technological advancement and outsourcing of jobs. That's a big deal. I get it. I'd love to support action toward creating a niche for these individuals but NOT at the expense of everyone who is not white, and that is precisely what Trump has been doing.
Trump has been intentionally polarizing from day one. I didn't call his voters idiots so that was not my conclusion. It was more of "you made this mess, fuck you." The term idiocracy was a reference to being ruled by an idiot. I did question intelligence when I said "how stupid are you." Why? I think a lot of ignorance had to go into this election for this to be the outcome. I mean, people voted for him without seeing his tax returns. And how many times have I heard it said that because he has no experience, he's a better choice since he won't be able to get anything done? Come on! He has a VP with plenty of experience and he has a mouth that insults every creature not yielding to his immediate expectations. He will be taking that with him when he talks with leaders of other countries with whom America's ties require diplomacy and finesse to be maintained. That in itself is a nightmare.
It would have been better if we had pulled the system down and put up a real candidate, but we didn't. Perhaps Trump will inspire that action. I don't know. What I do know is that Trump's antics pose a direct threat to the physical safety of me and my family. And those who voted for him may have real reasons other than xenophobia and sexism, but they still chose to support someone who is openly hateful and encourages American citizens to harm each other. Who hasn't even tried to temper it. There is no empathy in that action. In fact, there is a distinct lack. When it is an option, make a choice that does not support assaulting women and minorities or any of the many other groups he has so inarticulately disparaged.
As to Hillary supporting her husband, I wish I had the energy to get into a discussion on sexism and power right now. There is plenty wrong there, but the main take away is that his actions were also crimes against her and as a woman, she stands to lose more than he does by stepping away from him. That doesn't even touch on potential abuse/victim/survivor scenarios that may be at play. If she hadn't shifted her language around survivors of sexual violence, I would still be as vocally anti-HC as I am anti-Trump. But she did which shows a very important characteristic: she listens and takes action based on the feedback she receives. The Trump equivalent has been deleting abusive tweets.
But more importantly than empathy is logic: America elected a man who, again, has incited violence WITHIN OUR BORDERS openly and with delight. That IS unintelligent. The president is supposed lead our country and protect its citizenry, but we've chosen a man who has done the opposite from day one.
There were four choices for president. Media just happened to put the other two in the media-blackout so that unedcucated/ignorant people wouldn't know that there are better choices than these two psychos.
There were like 10 on my ballot. :) I also considered writing in Vermin Supreme.
The Clinton Foundation is a criminal enterprise and the Clintons are criminals. Clinton wanted to "drone" Julian Assange for leaking the emails that allowed us to see how corrupt the DNC really was and their dirty tricks! And you wanted to elect this crazy, psychopathic bitch to POTUS because in your opinion she is the "better" choice? Are you high on meth? Why don't you do some research and find out who Hillary Clinton really is before making another one of your ignorant posts!
It is the media inciting violence by the way. They seem to be intentionally fueling the fire since before even Trump and Hillary were an issue. They seem to be intentionally be adding to the problem.
Hillary's campaign by the way was caught asking people to do exactly what you are claiming. My recommendation. Turn off CNN, CBS, ABC, BBC, MSNBC, etc... It is a constant bombarding of negative things.
First of all I don't vote for Devils whether I know them or not. I do not endorse Trump. I do not endorse the election process.
The election process is designed to give people the illusion of control and the feeling of "power" while lacking any substance.
Speaking flowery words on a stage does not mean a person has good character. It means they are good at speaking, or in some cases reading and speaking. Speaking poorly on stage may or may not reflect good/bad character. That is subjective.
Ultimately it comes down to which you think matters more WORDS or actual ACTIONS.
I'll complain when there are actual actions. Until then it is speculation and reacting to my own imagination.
Millions killed by Hillary, really?
Wars in Iraq, Libya, and ISIS. She has been largely responsible/complicit with much of the death and destruction around the world.
Perhaps I don't get something, since I'm from another part of the world, but weren't these the decisions of the Senate and Obama?
Hillary has a long reach and has been a key player in supporting violence outside the U.S.. It would be a fallacy to assume Trump won't do worse simply because he's a noob, though. They are both unfortunate choices.
So, if they are both bad, you were hoping for a miracle? Sorry for this question (we often had the same situation...)))
@richman, I was hoping for a choice based less on reactivity and more on preserving the stability within the United States. Anyone but Trump could accomplish that. He has incited violence within the US citizen to citizen from the beginning.
Hillary was a Senator and voted for some of those wars. Then as Secretary of State she pushed for and advocated for those things. There is also some indication she likely benefited from it. Also what happened with Benghazi with the leaks showing the ambassador tried to reach her about 100 times before his death, and she even had an email conversation with others before that death rather than responding to the ambassador.
Yet she has been involved a different levels in politics since 1974 and the amount of corruption is staggering. As to the mysterious deaths of people investigating her and Bill. You could say coincidence, but when the cases near 100 cases it starts to be unlikely to be coincidental.
The real problem is the media. Since you mentioned Hitler. They did begin the mastery of Propaganda. They said "Repeat a lie enough and it becomes the truth" That is what they do repeat, repeat, repeat. What were they repeating. Attacks on Trump. Deflecting from the actual actions of Hillary when she had power.
I used to like Hillary years ago. Now I think she is one of the most corrupt and frightening things out there. Simply due to her voting record, and her actions as Secretary of State.
I also found it very revealing that the position that is supposed to oversee the department of the Secretary of State for corruption and accountability remained EMPTY the entire five years Hillary was Secretary of State.
Trump says some very stupid things. Other politicians say some very flowery things. I believed flowery things in 2008. That was the last time. The words flowing from their mouth are meaningless. It is what they actually DO that matters. After January 20th there may indeed be some things to complain about.
Yet you are accurate. I told people it was like choosing between a shit sandwich or a shit pie. I like your cat shit and dog shit analogy better. :)