Rant The unfortunately necessary RFK Jr. thread

[pmv]

From what I have seen, Thump is correct. And the pandemic added napalm to that fire. The vast majority of crystal rubbing, anti-vax woo following gritty granola folks that I have seen are now hard core Trump. They feel HE is the anti-establishment guy because society asked them to mask up and vaccinate (and social media removed their anti-vax/alt-med posts) and they are having a fucking tantrum over that... they all went down a deep fucking rabbit hole of conspirtuality. They were already primed by the alt-med grifter industry narrative to swallow fantastical BS and COVID restrictions sent them squarely into Don the Con's camp.

RFK Jr. is a perfect example of this. The formerly leftist hyper environmental types who fell down rabbit holes of constantly being scared of every chemical, microwave and vaccine now think Trump is their savior.

I reckon there are a lot of moving-parts to this.

It's not solely about the hippy mentality being anti-state, it's also the fact that it tends to be a characteristic of affluent white people. Only the well-off can afford to be so obsessive about "spiritual" stuff and be so focused on "wellness" and trying to attain perfect health and live forever (by buying expensive 'organic' food, etc).

It's a very individualist and solipsistic kind of mentality, and it lends itself to a rejection of materialism and a focus on idealism (in the philosophical sense, i.e. the notion that everything is determined by the thoughts in your head, and that physical, material things - like, you know, the distribution of wealth and power in society - don't matter...and from which point it's a small step to deciding that the poor and the sick have only themselves to blame for their misfortunes, as it must be their wrong thoughts that are the cause of their suffering). It also leads to mysticism, which is an element of Nazism. Its really not surprising when mystics turn fascist.

I mean, the Dilbert guy might be another example - he went from magical thinking in the form of his fixation with affirmations (or whatever it was), to becoming a Trump supporter.

 

[iRONic]

I'm just glad the hippies that were into growing weed back then turned into the scientists of today that made cannabis medicine/technology what it currently is!!!! 👍👏🤤

 

[feralkid]

I'm just glad the hippies that were into growing weed back then turned into the scientists of today that made cannabis medicine/technology what it currently is!!!! 👍👏🤤

*Dude*

 

[iRONic]

Sorry. Too OT?

 

[feralkid]

Sorry. Too OT?

Not at all, I meant it more like:

 

[nakedfrog]

New shit has come to light, man.

 

[MrSquished]

President Obama was about as provocative as slightly-warm milk--we could have used a bit more fight from him IMO--so anyone who "broke" due to Obama was over one thing. And I'm not talking about imaginary FEMA death camps.

I'd give a lot for Candidate Obama about now though--and that's even when I think Biden has done a somewhat better job as President. I'll take whatever (even RFK jr, though barely) if it keeps Trump out of power.

100% what you said about Obama.

He was too milquetoast too often. He was such a transformative figure with a lot of popularity and he could have spent some of that capital earlier on actually standing up to the Republicans directly. He's a very intellectual and smart dude, and while he was very relatable too, he talked too fancy more often than not about the knitty gritty. He didn't speak plainly enough about what the Republican party was doing after he was president. As a personality type he was too amiable. And to people in power that were really fucking evil already.

And I think he kind of assumed people in general have more knowledge than they do, and more good in them than they do. I think he completely underestimated the reality on the ground about people and politics in this country not long after he got elected. Because he definitely underestimated them all, and treated them with kid gloves relatively speaking.

It's very ironic because to get where he was he was very in touch with what people wanted. He just lost touch in that regard.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

100% what you said about Obama.

He was too milquetoast too often. He was such a transformative figure with a lot of popularity and he could have spent some of that capital earlier on actually standing up to the Republicans directly. He's a very intellectual and smart dude, and while he was very relatable too, he talked too fancy more often than not about the knitty gritty. He didn't speak plainly enough about what the Republican party was doing after he was president. As a personality type he was too amiable. And to people in power that were really fucking evil already.

And I think he kind of assumed people in general have more knowledge than they do, and more good in them than they do. I think he completely underestimated the reality on the ground about people and politics in this country not long after he got elected. Because he definitely underestimated them all, and treated them with kid gloves relatively speaking.

It's very ironic because to get where he was he was very in touch with what people wanted. He just lost touch in that regard.

-I feel that's somewhat a function of rising to the presidency as a senator rather than a governor.

I'm sure someone has done the math, but it'd bet... Like... $5 that Governors make more aggressive presidents than senators (not necessarily more effective, mind you) just because of their political pedigree and relationship with legislative bodies.

A Senatorial President is facing his friends and colleagues, a Gubernatorial President already knows he's looking at a pit of vipers.

 

[ivwshane]

100% what you said about Obama.

He was too milquetoast too often. He was such a transformative figure with a lot of popularity and he could have spent some of that capital earlier on actually standing up to the Republicans directly. He's a very intellectual and smart dude, and while he was very relatable too, he talked too fancy more often than not about the knitty gritty. He didn't speak plainly enough about what the Republican party was doing after he was president. As a personality type he was too amiable. And to people in power that were really fucking evil already.

And I think he kind of assumed people in general have more knowledge than they do, and more good in them than they do. I think he completely underestimated the reality on the ground about people and politics in this country not long after he got elected. Because he definitely underestimated them all, and treated them with kid gloves relatively speaking.

It's very ironic because to get where he was he was very in touch with what people wanted. He just lost touch in that regard.

I always got the impression that he was always trying to avoid pulling the race card despite republicans obvious use of racial tactics (birth certificate anyone).

That’s why anyone who says Obama divided us is full of shit, he did everything he could to keep race out of the conversation (at least he did until there were too many black kids being killed).

 

[pmv]

-I feel that's somewhat a function of rising to the presidency as a senator rather than a governor.

I'm sure someone has done the math, but it'd bet... Like... $5 that Governors make more aggressive presidents than senators (not necessarily more effective, mind you) just because of their political pedigree and relationship with legislative bodies.

A Senatorial President is facing his friends and colleagues, a Gubernatorial President already knows he's looking at a pit of vipers.

Interesting angle, that I hadn't heard before.

Still can't decide what I think of Obama. He did seem over-cautious and conservative, but I don't feel in any way in a position to pass judgement.

He had an extremely difficult job, not only in the sense that being President is always difficult, but in being the first black President, and coping with the mess left by the Bush years.

 

[MrSquished]

I always got the impression that he was always trying to avoid pulling the race card despite republicans obvious use of racial tactics (birth certificate anyone).

That’s why anyone who says Obama divided us is full of shit, he did everything he could to keep race out of the conversation (at least he did until there were too many black kids being killed).

There is a lot more to the evil of the GQP than just its racism though. I could see Obama giving the race card a very wide berth. But there's plenty of other fodder.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

A big thumb in the eye of the little knucklehead.

​

U.S. News // 1 hour ago
Kennedy family to endorse Biden's re-election campaign in Philadelphia
April 18 (UPI) -- The Kennedy family is set to endorse President Joe Biden in his 2024 presidential campaign in Philadelphia on Thursday.​

 

[eelw]

That weird quiver to his voice. His sister also has it

 

[nakedfrog]

That weird quiver to his voice. His sister also has it

The first time I actually saw video of him talking, I was wondering what was up with that...

 

[hal2kilo]

The first time I actually saw video of him talking, I was wondering what was up with that...

I thought maybe it was due to having been revived from a heroin coma a couple of times.

 

[Amused]

The first time I actually saw video of him talking, I was wondering what was up with that...

Kennedy said he suffers from a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, which causes the muscles that generate a person's voice to go into periods of spasm.

This has nothing to do with his batshit insanity.

 

[eelw]

Kennedy said he suffers from a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, which causes the muscles that generate a person's voice to go into periods of spasm.

This has nothing to do with his batshit insanity.

Genetic then since he’s sister sounds exactly the same

 

[iRONic]

Kennedy said he suffers from a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, which causes the muscles that generate a person's voice to go into periods of spasm.

This has nothing to do with his batshit insanity.

Tangerine terrorist using it as a way to mock and denigrate a disability the other candidate has in 4…3…2…

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Inbreeding?

 

[feralkid]

Inbreeding?

No thanks.

 

[pmv]

Kennedy said he suffers from a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, which causes the muscles that generate a person's voice to go into periods of spasm.

This has nothing to do with his batshit insanity.

Curiously, Scott Adams had the same thing.

Just coincidence, I guess (though maybe, at a stretch, with a lot more data, one could find a connection, either some underlying neurological issue that correlates with both the condition and the attitudes or maybe experiencing that condition encourages the development of particular views?)

https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/spasmodic-dysphonia-rendered-dilbert-creator-scott-adams-nearly-speechless-for

Interesting that it's yet another condition for which the cause is unknown. I have at least three such conditions myself. I sometimes wonder if medical science actually knows anything at all, or if it's mostly just bluff.

[Edit] From introspection, I wonder if having a condition that doctors turn out to know little about, induces skepticism about everything else doctors tell you? Being told things that turned out to be completely wrong, repeatedly, by multiple medical professionals for decades, certainly hasn't done anything for my faith in them as a collective. Though it didn't make me an anti-vaxxer.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Does it mean anything?

It doesn't have to mean anything .... does it?

​

U.S. News // 14 minutes ago
Jeffrey Epstein's address book at auction includes entries for Donald Trump, RFK Jr., more
May 3 (UPI) -- Alexander Historical Auctions said Friday it will offer infamous financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's address book at auction​

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Another strike ....

RFK Jr. contractor arrested for allegedly assaulting woman in New York​

ABC News|4 hours ago
Trent Pool's firm has been key in trying to earn Kennedy ballot access. NEW YORK -- A key figure in Robert F. Kennedy Jr's effort to make the ballot in all 50 states was arrested Saturday in New York City for allegedly striking a woman, according to the ...