this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2025
749 points (98.1% liked)

Political Memes

5672 readers
3220 users here now

Welcome to politcal memes!

These are our rules:

Be civilJokes are okay, but don’t intentionally harass or disturb any member of our community. Sexism, racism and bigotry are not allowed. Good faith argumentation only. No posts discouraging people to vote or shaming people for voting.

No misinformationDon’t post any intentional misinformation. When asked by mods, provide sources for any claims you make.

Posts should be memesRandom pictures do not qualify as memes. Relevance to politics is required.

No bots, spam or self-promotionFollow instance rules, ask for your bot to be allowed on this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

We don’t learn. Trump is a lolcow. He generates outrage over absurdity to gain media leverage. This recent media cycle is not an accident and I am disappointed that we didn’t learn our lesson the first decade of this.

all 46 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 8 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

His style is definitely to bring up new outrage to dilute previous outrage. That doesn't mean none of the outrageous positions are not "serious". So many replies to these types of "trap/distraction" accusations are to "just tune out". This is the same as "vote 3rd party or stay home" election calls. If you are not burning things down, you are accepting your slavery. Tuning out is no path to liberation, and won't stop his agenda.

[–] sumguyonline@lemmy.world -3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Ya know why rent prices isn't the first thing on his agenda? Because he's part of the problem. Same as kamala. Ya'll are fucking morons for voting for either. People already couldn't afford rent under kamala, NOW! No rule changes, no laws, just: "bring in the immigrant engineers and annex Canada!" We knew we were already getting screwed under democrats! You knew what happened last time trumpo was in charge! He cut taxes and left US a timebomb to make the Democrats look bad! We do not want people like this running the country but you douche bags all act like it has to be dem or rep. Insane.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 0 points 3 hours ago

first three sentences: basedbasedbasedbasedbased

the rest: mid af and pretty out of touch

[–] rational_lib@lemmy.world 24 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

If Biden said what Trump is saying about Greenland, everyone would assume his dementia's gotten so bad he's gotta be removed from office even before the inauguration. But Trump does it, and everyone treats it as a serious thing that could happen. The reason is, Trump is so dumb if he has severe dementia, there's no way of knowing. I mean that seriously, that is the actual reason he gets a free pass on dementia.

[–] WordBox@lemmy.world 10 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

These posts are annoying and useless without providing real information. Pot/kettle material.

If you want to make a point, provide the information that's more important than the lolcow news crap otherwise this is more lolcow meta.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe -5 points 8 hours ago

i totally would edit my post to add info if you hadn’t been rude about it :)

if you are so concerned about an absence of information, add it in the comments. that’s what they are there for.

[–] WhatSay@slrpnk.net 11 points 15 hours ago

Sheep gonna sheeple

Those who are awake are in the living nightmare

[–] Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world 10 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

Medias in on it, bub. You try to pull pee-paw and mee-mae off of the conservatives teet known as fox "news." They have as much as admitted they are "entertainment" and not news. CNN is owned by a conservative. The Washington Post died in the darkness. They own AM radio and all the local news. ABC cow towed when they paid out to d-trump, basically giving up their right to free speach.

There isn't any political media you should take at face value. In fact you'd waste your time doing anything if your not getting personally involved. Just fucking vote straight D and give the RNC the finger any chance you get. We'll let you know if anything changes.

As for me, I'm a child who takes pleasure in insulting these fucking idiots any chance I get. So no, don't be like me.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 1 points 15 hours ago

you say “Medias in on it, bub” like that isn’t literally the point of my post 😭🙄 so thanks for saying my own thesis back to me with rude intonation i guess

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 15 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

Really puts into perspective why the media was so eager to get Trump elected. Just easy clickable shock value stories that require no real work effort or context.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 5 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

Not if we collectively ignore it.

[–] VerdantSporeSeasoning@lemmy.ca 0 points 3 hours ago

I don't want another fucking war. If we're war-mongering, as happened before the Iraq war, we shouldn't just ignore it.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

I don't know if you been cruising most of the front page today, but people ain't ignoring it

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 5 points 18 hours ago

infinite money glitch

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 62 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

He's drawing attention away from president Musk and the whole H1-B visa debacle — dominating discussion the week prior — as well as the fact he's not gonna apply Tariffs (other than symbolic) or anything about inflation etc.

There won't be mass deportations or concentration camps significantly beyond the current ICE levels. American corporations depend on migrant slave labor, so they'll just bribe Trump with cold hard cash if he's too stupid to have taken the rights propaganda literally; the entire agriculture and hospitality industries would collapse overnight ffs.

The MSM knows this. They are complicit. They're just propaganda operatives whose sole goal is manufacturing consent for the plutocracy that runs AmericaCorp.

Trans rights, education, medicare, regulators etc are all gonna get fucked, though. That's a certainty as they negatively impact, or are irrelevant to, corporate profits.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 13 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Every new article in this stupid slap fight makes me so mad. Mexico made a retort? Canada offered to buy some states? Who fucking cares dude !

(Good insight about mass deportations. That’s a flaw in my language but my rhetorical goals are still there, ty.)

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 17 points 19 hours ago

Word. Ignore this assclown's rhetoric, how's the gulf of "reduced grocery costs" doing?

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 8 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Mexico made a retort? Canada offered to buy some states? Who fucking cares dude !

I care. If Trump is going to be joking around with territorial disputes with us then it's only fair that we're represented. He deserves all the mockery he gets.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 3 points 4 hours ago

No judgement for caring! My judgement is on the proportion of caring across the whole media spectrum. :)

I would vastly prefer a week of focus on other injustices hurtling toward us in the media rather than an obvious distractionary narrative that is exceedingly unlikely to be meaningful, is all I’m saying

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

I think we did learn our lesson though. All of those things not being talked about in headlines (concentration camps, education defunding, etc) are what the majority of American voters want. Its not that Americans don't know President Musk (and vice president trump) are putting those forward, its that they agree with those horrible positions.

[–] rational_lib@lemmy.world 4 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I think it's a bit more complicated than that. Take for example the fact that Trump made large gains among both Jews and Muslims in 2024. My explanation is that the war made both groups feel like Biden wasn't biased towards their side enough, so they went to Trump.

People don't vote for positions, they vote for emotions. If they're angry, they vote to show their anger. And how does one show anger? By doing something irrational, like if you're angry and you punch a wall, only hurting yourself. The American people were angry, and they expressed their anger with the voting equivalent of punching a wall and hurting themselves - voting Trump.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 1 points 8 hours ago

precise analysis, ty!

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

I get what you’re saying so no hate but…

Its not that Americans don’t know

Except, no. In most cases Americans don’t know. See: every single post in c/leopardsatemyface. Americans near universally prefer policies further to the left than the candidates they elect. Example.

The entire Republican platform is based on lying and then distracting voters.

  • Trump caters to racist America by promising to deport migrants, but doesn’t say how that is done (detention camps and similar which are very unpopular).
  • Republicans cater to transphobes by promising to ban trans women from sports, but doesn’t say how this is done (penis inspection day which is very unpopular).
  • And other examples.

The majority of voters don’t want detention camps or harrasment of trans children. The majority of voters wanted Trump.

It’s totally fair that you didn’t know this, but I hope it can be vindicating now that you do. The gap between public preferences and actual political outcomes is massive, and is kept that way precisely by the strategic ambiguity, distraction, and misinformation that I made this post to illustrate. Does this perspective make sense?

[–] Scubus@sh.itjust.works 8 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

And we spent 8 years trying to educate people. Anyone at this point who is pro trump literally cannot be convinced to vote for their own self interests until they are harmed.

[–] uberfreeza@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Not just "until they are harmed" but "until they are directly harmed." I'm convinced at this point that unless Trump himself personally comes to their homes and executes them, they'd blame prices, immigration, illness, etc. on something else.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 0 points 4 hours ago

i think you’re on the right track but all these descriptions are a bit oversimplified

they are a tiny minority, but the case of Dearborn-Palestinian families shows how someone who is being directly harmed can even be encouraged to vote against their self interest. as someone else said in this post, Americans are voting for emotion, not candidates or even policies really.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe -2 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Every election cycle there are a non zero number of voters who switch from red to blue so your assertion is false. But if you want to be doomerist and accelerationist and boring “literally cannot be reached” I can’t stop you

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 3 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

The majority of voters don’t want detention camps or harrasment of trans children. The majority of voters wanted Trump.

...and trump and the GOP deliver detention camps and harrasement of trans children in the past and will again in the future.

trump's first administration had children separated from their parents at border crossings. Desantis of the GOP signed state legislation banning gender affirming care for children before the election. Dewine of the GOP has now signed state legislation banning bathrooms to trans children in public schools.

Trump caters to racist America by promising to deport migrants, but doesn’t say how that is done (detention camps and similar which are very unpopular).

So unpopular, they voted in the guy that says he was going to do deport people.

Republicans cater to transphobes by promising to ban trans women from sports, but doesn’t say how this is done

So unpopular they voted in the party that does it.

They may grumble about the methods, but at the end of the day, this is what the majority of American voters are. They've announced in a loud voice that they are racist, bigoted, sexist, and anti-trans. A majority of American voters want the guy and the party that is pro-camps and anti-trans.

In your OP you said that you're disappointed that "we didn't learn our lesson". Why is it that you are still denying this is who American voters are today?

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 4 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

Precisely. These policies are so unpopular that Republicans know that to communicate or even allow discussion of them in the media is dangerous. So they force the narrative to be about something else. Erasing that destruction and violence for the sake of clicks and engagement.

Why is it that you are still denying this is who American voters are today?

I am not. You are correct, this is who American voters are today. I am pointing out that the current media cycle is part of a system that ensures they stay that way.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 2 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Precisely. These policies are so unpopular that Republicans know that to communicate or even allow discussion of them in the media is dangerous.

What is erased? This was known long before this recent election. This is who trump was in his first term. We saw it. It wasn't a secret. It was in the headlines then and in the last two elections too.

So they force the narrative to be about something else. Erasing that destruction and violence for the sake of clicks and engagement.

You're laying this at the feet of the media. Its not. Its American voters either advocating for it or apathetic to it.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 3 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

You’re laying this at the feet of the media.

Didn’t say that, no. I am laying this at the feet of Republicans.

It’s pretty simple. Americans aren’t crazy smart. They forget things almost immediately. The media serves to remind dumb, overworked Americans of what happened, and so it has some sway among voters. I’m not saying it’s 100% or even more than half, but some. And Republicans are using that power.

If you can’t admit that, you’re just silly, and if you can then we agree. 👍

[–] cygnus@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You're being too charitable. All that doesn't excuse the fact that half of Americans willingly embrace hateful policies in the first place. The logistics of implementation are not all that relevant if you hear something like "we will deport one million immigrants" and think yeah, that sounds great to me.

[–] WhatYouNeed@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Not half:

Total US population who voted for tangerine: Around 22%, or 1 in 4

US population who could vote and did vote for tangerine: 31%, or 1 in 3

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 7 points 1 day ago

Did not say excuse. Explain does not mean excuse. Explain means to shine a light upon what happened and perhaps inform what can be done about it, and no more than that.

[–] usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No, people didn't vote for policy here. They voted for a person

I mean Project 2025 only had a 4% approval (and a 57% disapproval rating) but obviously that wasn't reflected in how people voted

People really did believe his lies that he wouldn't do that kind of stuff

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 5 points 21 hours ago

People really did believe his lies that he wouldn’t do that kind of stuff

The lies weren't new either. If it was ignorance, it was willful ignorance on the part of a majority of American voters, but I don't give them that much credit. This is who we are apparently.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's why they voted for him. That was all known before the election.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

What we didn't know before the election was that it was the majority of American voters. We've learned our lesson now.

[–] BlackLaZoR@fedia.io -5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

concentration camps, education defunding, etc

I don't think voters even care about these things. But they do care about their jobs - and they're pissed off about losing jobs due to Diversity/Equity/Inclusion hires

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exactly. Trump’s 2025 campaign succeeded by focusing on real economic struggles, but his solutions were based on falsehoods. Deporting migrants won’t improve most Americans’ lives, there are only a few transgender women in school sports, and DEI isn’t causing job losses. But with distraction and misinformation, these claims gained traction.

Focusing on irrelevant issues like Greenland or Canada only fuels the pro-Trump narrative without addressing the real problems about to befall the country.

[–] takeda@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The woman on the right is actually H1B proposal that was dividing Republicans. trump just successfully diverted attention from it like he did it millions of times before in 2017-2020.

We learned nothing and we are really the dumb ones.