If you are MAGA, do you have contempt for empathy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

+100. And as for "weaponizing the government" is the PP COMPLETELY BLIND to the massive escalation of weaponization that Trump is engaging in right now?

It's also astounding that they are still wrapped in some delusion believing Trump did absolutely everything above-board, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with maintaining multiple sets of books for his businesses to lie to banks with one set and lie to agencies and tax collectors with the other set, there's absolutely nothing wrong with cheating on your wives with porn stars, paying them hush money, lying about it, having your attorney be the middle man to do the pay off and falsely claim it to be "campaign legal expenses" - nothing wrong with defrauding contractors and vendors and not paying bills, leaving classified documents lying around in unlocked closets and bathrooms in your country club where random guests among which we KNOW there were spies foreign agents had unfettered access, nothing wrong with his campaign staff and senior advisors violating multiple laws, being on the payroll of foreign governments, nothing wrong with casino money laundering and questionable real estate deals with Russian oligarchs, nothing wrong with his history of discriminating against black casino workers and other employees, nothing wrong with any of that whatsoever???? Somehow it's the fault of the liberals that he's surrounded by criminals and has been for decades? It's all just a bunch of false accusations and a witch hunt that Joe Biden started against him going back to the 1970s???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

The federal bureaucracy is a behemoth. Efforts at reform have been ineffective. When an invasive vine is strangling your specimen tree, a pair of handclippers no longer does the trick. Eventually a large percentage of the population voted for Trump to come in with a chain saw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

+100. And as for "weaponizing the government" is the PP COMPLETELY BLIND to the massive escalation of weaponization that Trump is engaging in right now?

It's also astounding that they are still wrapped in some delusion believing Trump did absolutely everything above-board, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with maintaining multiple sets of books for his businesses to lie to banks with one set and lie to agencies and tax collectors with the other set, there's absolutely nothing wrong with cheating on your wives with porn stars, paying them hush money, lying about it, having your attorney be the middle man to do the pay off and falsely claim it to be "campaign legal expenses" - nothing wrong with defrauding contractors and vendors and not paying bills, leaving classified documents lying around in unlocked closets and bathrooms in your country club where random guests among which we KNOW there were spies foreign agents had unfettered access, nothing wrong with his campaign staff and senior advisors violating multiple laws, being on the payroll of foreign governments, nothing wrong with casino money laundering and questionable real estate deals with Russian oligarchs, nothing wrong with his history of discriminating against black casino workers and other employees, nothing wrong with any of that whatsoever???? Somehow it's the fault of the liberals that he's surrounded by criminals and has been for decades? It's all just a bunch of false accusations and a witch hunt that Joe Biden started against him going back to the 1970s???

I am not the PP.

Let me be clear: I absolutely and totally agree with you on what Trump is and has been doing. I think he is corrupt to the core. You aren’t wrong about anything you’ve written here.

I also think Biden has been corrupt to the core. I think the Democrats been interested solely in preserving the pipeline of tax money to their allies, cronies, and political donors. I do not think Biden is a good person, I do not think he was a good president, and I think we as a nation are going to suffer for years because of Biden’s self-serving corruption, selfishness, and venality. And part of that suffering is Trump in the White House. The Democratic collective refusal to deny truth, to obfuscate in order to keep the money tap open, to suppress language, to make criticism of Biden and the rapacious organizations to whom he funneled money into a moral issue: this chaos and devastation under Trump is our punishment.

What I object to most strongly in this thread is not the observation that MAGA has contempt for empathy. That’s true. What I object to is this conceit, this astonishing lack of self-awareness, that allows OP and apparently others to believe Democrats do not also have a deep contempt for empathy. I find that lack of introspection actually a little scary.

Be honest, Democrats. That’s all you had to do to win. But you could not be honest, so you blew it and based on what I see in thread, are going to keep blowing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

The federal bureaucracy is a behemoth. Efforts at reform have been ineffective. When an invasive vine is strangling your specimen tree, a pair of handclippers no longer does the trick. Eventually a large percentage of the population voted for Trump to come in with a chain saw.

Interesting analogy. Is the specimen tree really being choked though? Were we really on the precipice of death, or is the US just a large and complicated country that can always do some things better but by and large has been pretty darn successful in its short life due, in part, to the growth and development of the federal bureaucracy which has helped our economy grown and flourish and protected our democracy from external threats? Is the vine really invasive or is it native and actually essential to the overall health of the garden, even though obviously it needs tending and cutting back?

And is Trump a skilled gardener? Does he know how to bring the garden into equilibrium? Or is he just some random dude from down the street slapped a "Four Seasons Landscaping and Design" sign on his pickup truck and is running into your yard with his weird friends who are all high on ketamine and prone to violent arguments and impulsive behavior? Is he going to cut back that fine or is he going to cut down your precious specimen tree and feed it into a woodchipper with which he'll mulch your now barren, shadeless, dead lawn and then declare "mission accomplished" before hopping back in the pickup which is actually a private jet bound for Mar-a-Lago where he's hired dozens of ACTUAL gardeners to keep the grounds looking nice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To us liberals, this is optically very much the vibe. Is this the case IRL? Would love to understand the thinking.

NP. I’m a Democrat and it feels to me that the Democrats have a lot invested in appearing to have empathy, but not actually having any empathy.

The Republican lack of empathy feels more honest in many respects.

VS?

Versus actually having empathy. I simply do not believe Democrats as a group have empathy and compassion. I used to believe that, but no longer.

I find the Republicans somewhat refreshing in that respect. They don’t pretend they have empathy and compassion.

So your world view is that no one has empathy?

I believe people have empathy, but I do not think people grouped by political affiliation have empathy based on that affiliation.

In other words, I believe the average Republican is as likely to have empathy as the average Democrat. As political groups, I believe neither have empathy. And I certainly do not believe whatsoever that Democrats are more empathetic than Republicans.

I feel like a lot of my world view is based on the idea that it is not pleasant or desirable for anyone to suffer unless strictly necessary.

I think the reason this question is resonating is that republicans and maga seem to really relish others suffering. It doesn’t just seem like pragmatism. It seems core to the belief system and the culture.

It’s not that Dems want to avoid all suffering. But it doesn’t bring them any joy. Watch MTG, desantis, Elon or any of the Trump brothers and it’s clear that others misery brings real joy and that’s the culture they are fostering. They’re not just cutting taxes they’re taking great pains to ensure people feel miserable and humiliated.

That’s the crux of the q

This. Why does someone else's pain give MAGA pleasure. Why are they so full of revenge against anyone different from them. I can't stomach it....I have family who are MAGA and when I think back to when we were younger I remember the lack of kindness and empathy then to. Those who are MAGA don't surprise me anymore. Last time I gave them grace and thought after four years they will have better understanding how evil trump is....but this time I've just cut them out. They knew and they wanted this kind of pain and vengefulness in our country. They are racist, homophobic, phony christians, and honestly the ones I know are not well educated. I guess when you are that miserable you want others to feel this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

+100. And as for "weaponizing the government" is the PP COMPLETELY BLIND to the massive escalation of weaponization that Trump is engaging in right now?

It's also astounding that they are still wrapped in some delusion believing Trump did absolutely everything above-board, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with maintaining multiple sets of books for his businesses to lie to banks with one set and lie to agencies and tax collectors with the other set, there's absolutely nothing wrong with cheating on your wives with porn stars, paying them hush money, lying about it, having your attorney be the middle man to do the pay off and falsely claim it to be "campaign legal expenses" - nothing wrong with defrauding contractors and vendors and not paying bills, leaving classified documents lying around in unlocked closets and bathrooms in your country club where random guests among which we KNOW there were spies foreign agents had unfettered access, nothing wrong with his campaign staff and senior advisors violating multiple laws, being on the payroll of foreign governments, nothing wrong with casino money laundering and questionable real estate deals with Russian oligarchs, nothing wrong with his history of discriminating against black casino workers and other employees, nothing wrong with any of that whatsoever???? Somehow it's the fault of the liberals that he's surrounded by criminals and has been for decades? It's all just a bunch of false accusations and a witch hunt that Joe Biden started against him going back to the 1970s???

I am not the PP.

Let me be clear: I absolutely and totally agree with you on what Trump is and has been doing. I think he is corrupt to the core. You aren’t wrong about anything you’ve written here.

I also think Biden has been corrupt to the core. I think the Democrats been interested solely in preserving the pipeline of tax money to their allies, cronies, and political donors. I do not think Biden is a good person, I do not think he was a good president, and I think we as a nation are going to suffer for years because of Biden’s self-serving corruption, selfishness, and venality. And part of that suffering is Trump in the White House. The Democratic collective refusal to deny truth, to obfuscate in order to keep the money tap open, to suppress language, to make criticism of Biden and the rapacious organizations to whom he funneled money into a moral issue: this chaos and devastation under Trump is our punishment.

What I object to most strongly in this thread is not the observation that MAGA has contempt for empathy. That’s true. What I object to is this conceit, this astonishing lack of self-awareness, that allows OP and apparently others to believe Democrats do not also have a deep contempt for empathy. I find that lack of introspection actually a little scary.

Be honest, Democrats. That’s all you had to do to win. But you could not be honest, so you blew it and based on what I see in thread, are going to keep blowing it.

The Biden administration made disaster declarations to Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina shortly after Hurricane Helene. FEMA response is to provide money and services to those areas directly affected. Those states are not solely Democratic "allies, cronies, and political donors". Your arguments are faulty so your conclusions are unfounded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

The federal bureaucracy is a behemoth. Efforts at reform have been ineffective. When an invasive vine is strangling your specimen tree, a pair of handclippers no longer does the trick. Eventually a large percentage of the population voted for Trump to come in with a chain saw.

The federal government only exists because Congress passes laws to create it and to do things. The buck starts and stops with Congress.

Why can't you just change the laws and eliminate/reform functions of the federal government? Much of what Trump is attempting is extra-legal without a basis in law.

Your frustration is actually with the dysfunction of Congress. It can no longer govern, act in a timely manner, or come to consensus. And why is Congres dysfunctional? Because the American people are dysfuctional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

+100. And as for "weaponizing the government" is the PP COMPLETELY BLIND to the massive escalation of weaponization that Trump is engaging in right now?

It's also astounding that they are still wrapped in some delusion believing Trump did absolutely everything above-board, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with maintaining multiple sets of books for his businesses to lie to banks with one set and lie to agencies and tax collectors with the other set, there's absolutely nothing wrong with cheating on your wives with porn stars, paying them hush money, lying about it, having your attorney be the middle man to do the pay off and falsely claim it to be "campaign legal expenses" - nothing wrong with defrauding contractors and vendors and not paying bills, leaving classified documents lying around in unlocked closets and bathrooms in your country club where random guests among which we KNOW there were spies foreign agents had unfettered access, nothing wrong with his campaign staff and senior advisors violating multiple laws, being on the payroll of foreign governments, nothing wrong with casino money laundering and questionable real estate deals with Russian oligarchs, nothing wrong with his history of discriminating against black casino workers and other employees, nothing wrong with any of that whatsoever???? Somehow it's the fault of the liberals that he's surrounded by criminals and has been for decades? It's all just a bunch of false accusations and a witch hunt that Joe Biden started against him going back to the 1970s???

I am not the PP.

Let me be clear: I absolutely and totally agree with you on what Trump is and has been doing. I think he is corrupt to the core. You aren’t wrong about anything you’ve written here.

I also think Biden has been corrupt to the core. I think the Democrats been interested solely in preserving the pipeline of tax money to their allies, cronies, and political donors. I do not think Biden is a good person, I do not think he was a good president, and I think we as a nation are going to suffer for years because of Biden’s self-serving corruption, selfishness, and venality. And part of that suffering is Trump in the White House. The Democratic collective refusal to deny truth, to obfuscate in order to keep the money tap open, to suppress language, to make criticism of Biden and the rapacious organizations to whom he funneled money into a moral issue: this chaos and devastation under Trump is our punishment.

What I object to most strongly in this thread is not the observation that MAGA has contempt for empathy. That’s true. What I object to is this conceit, this astonishing lack of self-awareness, that allows OP and apparently others to believe Democrats do not also have a deep contempt for empathy. I find that lack of introspection actually a little scary.

Be honest, Democrats. That’s all you had to do to win. But you could not be honest, so you blew it and based on what I see in thread, are going to keep blowing it.

The Biden administration made disaster declarations to Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina shortly after Hurricane Helene. FEMA response is to provide money and services to those areas directly affected. Those states are not solely Democratic "allies, cronies, and political donors". Your arguments are faulty so your conclusions are unfounded.

Making disaster declarations for political expediency is not remotely equivalent to actually helping people impacted. There is plenty of evidence that victims were not helped at all. But what those declarations did to is market to the egos of people like you, e.g. “allies, cronies, and political donors.”

Marketing that you are a good person is not the same as actually being a good person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

The federal bureaucracy is a behemoth. Efforts at reform have been ineffective. When an invasive vine is strangling your specimen tree, a pair of handclippers no longer does the trick. Eventually a large percentage of the population voted for Trump to come in with a chain saw.

A behemoth according to who? US federal government is much smaller by percentage in comparison to the governments of most other modern industrialized nations and has not kept pace with the growth in population, industry or economic output.

You've been sold a propaganda talking point.

Is there inefficiency in government? Sure. But no more than in the private sector, and if you're worried about protecting your specimen tree from a vine you don't save the tree by attacking it with a chainsaw and cutting down both the vine and the tree you wanted to save.

Also, a large percentage of the population that voted for Trump doesn't understand government and takes a lot of what the government does for them completely for granted and doesn't realize that they will be harmed by Trump's wildly swinging chainsaw approach.

We're already seeing that with Medicaid now shut off. We're already seeing that with egg prices continuing to skyrocket while Trump's WH press secretary completely refuses to give any answer on what Trump is doing and instead blamed Biden who is no longer in office, for price increases that happened SINCE Trump took office.

This is NOT working.

[Anonymous]

If you are Democrat, why do you make everything about identity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

+100. And as for "weaponizing the government" is the PP COMPLETELY BLIND to the massive escalation of weaponization that Trump is engaging in right now?

It's also astounding that they are still wrapped in some delusion believing Trump did absolutely everything above-board, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with maintaining multiple sets of books for his businesses to lie to banks with one set and lie to agencies and tax collectors with the other set, there's absolutely nothing wrong with cheating on your wives with porn stars, paying them hush money, lying about it, having your attorney be the middle man to do the pay off and falsely claim it to be "campaign legal expenses" - nothing wrong with defrauding contractors and vendors and not paying bills, leaving classified documents lying around in unlocked closets and bathrooms in your country club where random guests among which we KNOW there were spies foreign agents had unfettered access, nothing wrong with his campaign staff and senior advisors violating multiple laws, being on the payroll of foreign governments, nothing wrong with casino money laundering and questionable real estate deals with Russian oligarchs, nothing wrong with his history of discriminating against black casino workers and other employees, nothing wrong with any of that whatsoever???? Somehow it's the fault of the liberals that he's surrounded by criminals and has been for decades? It's all just a bunch of false accusations and a witch hunt that Joe Biden started against him going back to the 1970s???

I am not the PP.

Let me be clear: I absolutely and totally agree with you on what Trump is and has been doing. I think he is corrupt to the core. You aren’t wrong about anything you’ve written here.

I also think Biden has been corrupt to the core. I think the Democrats been interested solely in preserving the pipeline of tax money to their allies, cronies, and political donors. I do not think Biden is a good person, I do not think he was a good president, and I think we as a nation are going to suffer for years because of Biden’s self-serving corruption, selfishness, and venality. And part of that suffering is Trump in the White House. The Democratic collective refusal to deny truth, to obfuscate in order to keep the money tap open, to suppress language, to make criticism of Biden and the rapacious organizations to whom he funneled money into a moral issue: this chaos and devastation under Trump is our punishment.

What I object to most strongly in this thread is not the observation that MAGA has contempt for empathy. That’s true. What I object to is this conceit, this astonishing lack of self-awareness, that allows OP and apparently others to believe Democrats do not also have a deep contempt for empathy. I find that lack of introspection actually a little scary.

Be honest, Democrats. That’s all you had to do to win. But you could not be honest, so you blew it and based on what I see in thread, are going to keep blowing it.

The Biden administration made disaster declarations to Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina shortly after Hurricane Helene. FEMA response is to provide money and services to those areas directly affected. Those states are not solely Democratic "allies, cronies, and political donors". Your arguments are faulty so your conclusions are unfounded.

Making disaster declarations for political expediency is not remotely equivalent to actually helping people impacted. There is plenty of evidence that victims were not helped at all. But what those declarations did to is market to the egos of people like you, e.g. “allies, cronies, and political donors.”

Marketing that you are a good person is not the same as actually being a good person.

Shifting the goalposts! A clear sign that you are winning! A snippet of FEMA aid to North Carolina:
https://wlos.com/news/local/fema-in-north-car...assistance-hurricane

I suppose next you'll say that Biden and the Dems should've been out there with a shovel?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To us liberals, this is optically very much the vibe. Is this the case IRL? Would love to understand the thinking.

NP. I’m a Democrat and it feels to me that the Democrats have a lot invested in appearing to have empathy, but not actually having any empathy.

The Republican lack of empathy feels more honest in many respects.

VS?

Versus actually having empathy. I simply do not believe Democrats as a group have empathy and compassion. I used to believe that, but no longer.

I find the Republicans somewhat refreshing in that respect. They don’t pretend they have empathy and compassion.

So your world view is that no one has empathy?

I believe people have empathy, but I do not think people grouped by political affiliation have empathy based on that affiliation.

In other words, I believe the average Republican is as likely to have empathy as the average Democrat. As political groups, I believe neither have empathy. And I certainly do not believe whatsoever that Democrats are more empathetic than Republicans.

I feel like a lot of my world view is based on the idea that it is not pleasant or desirable for anyone to suffer unless strictly necessary.

I think the reason this question is resonating is that republicans and maga seem to really relish others suffering. It doesn’t just seem like pragmatism. It seems core to the belief system and the culture.

It’s not that Dems want to avoid all suffering. But it doesn’t bring them any joy. Watch MTG, desantis, Elon or any of the Trump brothers and it’s clear that others misery brings real joy and that’s the culture they are fostering. They’re not just cutting taxes they’re taking great pains to ensure people feel miserable and humiliated.

That’s the crux of the q

Thank you for good faith engagement. I think you sincerely believe what you are saying. I just don’t believe it is true. The left is just as capable of being vicious and showing no empathy or mercy to out groups as the right. The most recent high profile example being the J6 prosecutions.

I’ll grant that there were some people who committed very serious crimes that day and deserved serious punishment, but there was also a significant number of people who were over prosecuted and prosecutorial tactics were shocking and vicious. I have not heard anybody from the left speak for the over prosecuted group.

I also lived through 2020 when medical establishment and politicians were calling anti-lockdown protests super spreader events but a few weeks later BLM protests were literally labeled necessary health events by those same people.

The immigration debate is also illustrative: the same party that would claims to care for the working class has no qualms about mass undocumented labor undercutting the working class…

Research shows that all people are empathetic to in groups and hostile to out groups. The only thing that changes is who is the in group and out group.

hard disagree.
it's been said elsewhere in this thread but the difference is this. Democrats have empathy for people who make bad choices driven by desperation or mental illness NOT for people who make spiteful choices driven by a desire to win or to one up others.
THAT is the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wether or not you believe in empathy, one big problem right now is that people are already at a breaking point. People are struggling and suffering, because their cost of living is too high, food costs, housing costs, healthcare costs - especially healthcare. And we saw that with Luigi, who snapped. And now another - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/man-arrested-...y-scott-bessent.html

But what is Trump doing to help them? Trump RAN on fixing inflation and bringing down the cost of groceries and housing and promised "phenomenal" healthcare. But what is he ACTUALLY doing? He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American.

But now it's getting far worse than that. He's shut down grants and funding for a whole range of programs. He's shut down Medicaid, he's cut hungry people off from SNAP, he's terminated housing subsidies, and on and on and on.

That will break people. It will make people homeless, hungry and desperate.

This is YOUR guy Trump. He did this.

No. Your bureaucracy is NOT there to help people. It is there to protect itself.

The first and foremost rule of any bureaucracy is to protect the inefficiency of itself.


"He's on some deranged rampage over things demonizing federal employees and weaponizing the government against his political opponents and all kinds of other things that don't help the average American. "

Hilarious statement based on just what you democrats did the last four years. You must be self-identifying.

You have so much hatred that it blinds you. Bureaucracies are not perfect but they serve a valid purpose. You speak in simplistic slogans that don’t show any real world understanding of the issue. You are just parroting the words of other people who have a personal motive to manipulate you. You are serving the interests of bad people who want to pillage our government.

The federal bureaucracy is a behemoth. Efforts at reform have been ineffective. When an invasive vine is strangling your specimen tree, a pair of handclippers no longer does the trick. Eventually a large percentage of the population voted for Trump to come in with a chain saw.

The federal government only exists because Congress passes laws to create it and to do things. The buck starts and stops with Congress.

Why can't you just change the laws and eliminate/reform functions of the federal government? Much of what Trump is attempting is extra-legal without a basis in law.

Your frustration is actually with the dysfunction of Congress. It can no longer govern, act in a timely manner, or come to consensus. And why is Congres dysfunctional? Because the American people are dysfuctional.

Or maybe because the Republican party has decided to stop coming to the table and abdicate their responsibility to properly govern. It's not both sides here. Democrats have shown, time and time again that they are willing to compromise, work together and basically give in. Republicans just want to throw a wrench in the machinery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are Democrat, why do you make everything about identity?

The Republican party is the once that constantly brings up identity, because it's a winning line of argument for them. It confuses people and makes them angry. Democrats don't actually care that much about it. It's the Republicans who are obsessed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not that I loathe empathy. I can take it or leave it.

It’s that I respect power, and recognized long ago that it’s stupid to be Democrat. They always tie themselves in knots and can’t punish Republicans for hurting people. But Republicans turn the screws on the libs every time they get into office, with Trump deciding to end Democrats once and for all.

If you’re not on record as MAGA, you’re going to go through some things. It doesn’t matter if you’re George Soros or famous or a senator or a judge. If you’re Democrat, Trump is going to make you miserable and TONS of people are cheering him on.

Trump knows everyone’s weaknesses and how to nail them. Take even Federal judges. People hope somehow the courts will check Trump. Nuh-uh. Trump has enormous leverage over the Judicial Branch, because it’s the EXECUTIVE branch that protects them. Namely, the US Marshals.

So if they play ball, everything’s cool. They’ll get their courthouses secured and get bodyguards when they’re on official travel. But at ANY time Trump could pull the marshals, without telling anyone he’s doing it. Now imagine being a Democrat judge going on a junket, and all of a sudden your marshals are ordered to stand down or be fired, JUST as the Proud Boys Trump pardoned show up at the resort to have a word with you.

Yeah, THAT’S Trump’s power. He can have anyone eliminated just by melting away their safety. So they go along and just go through the motions so that it’s the little people who get hosed, not the powerful.

WTAH did I just read? 😳