GLORIOUS OFFICIAL IWAKU ELECTION 2016 THREAD | ALL OTHER THREADS INFERIOR

[Hecatoncheires]

HEY FUCKERS, I HEAR THERE'S AN ELECTION HAPPENING SOON.

So lemme get out ahead of this, before General Chat turns into Iwaku's own version of The Purge.

Y'know, more than it fucking is already.

Politics threads tend to go to hell in a hand-basket faster than you can scream "HITLER WAS RIGHT", and with this current election cycle that's never been more true. At the end of the day, we're a roleplaying forum and we really don't need politics coming into spoil everyone's nice time: this is a place folks come to for escapism, after all, so having the election cycle chase them here is less than ideal.

BUT WAIT, I'M NOT FINISHED.

At the same time, we also don't want to go laying down blanket statements about what you can and can't say on Iwaku. Goes against that whole "flexibility of speech" thing we have written down somewhere that @Jorick and @Astaroth keep yelling at me about whenever I suggest we just ban all of you and have done with it. With that in mind, we're gonna try and find ourselves a middle ground solution that allows folks to have their say without the entire forum descending into a clusterfuck of angry, bipartisan bullshit.

Again, more than it already is.

SO HEY, YOU GOBSHITES WANNA TALK ELECTION 2K16?

YOU DO IT IN THIS THREAD AND THIS THREAD ALONE.

To prevent me from rambling, lemme bullet-point how this is gonna work:

• WE'RE KEEPING THINGS LIGHT. NO BIG RANTS ABOUT HOW HILLARY'S A FUCKING LIZARDWOMAN AND/OR HOW TRUMP IS HITLER 2.0.
• We're keeping shit civil, too. Discussions are cool, but if you start slinging insults about (or, given how you fuckers tend to work, passive-aggressive sniping) you will get spanked.
• Any overtly rant-like/insulting/snipey posts will get edited by our lovely security team to be more user-friendly. We will insert butterflies, rainbows and other nice suggestions so you all maybe calm the fuck down or something. You'll know they've edited a post cos it'll be all red. Like the blood of our enemies.
• Gary Johnson is my husbando. You can't have him. He's mine.
• Seriously. Mine.

Hopefully that clears everything up about the purpose of this thread. Now go fucking kill each other.

Or don't, actually. I think that's why I got asked to write this.

 

[Shiri]

A Letter to the US From John Cleese

Made me giggle. I'm a little surprised he didn't mention cookies or cold tea.

 

[Turtle of Doom]

I saw this yesterday. And I can't agree more. Name-calling, mud-flinging and labeling does nothing to promote discussion, in fact, it tramples on the very idea of discussion.

 

[Maggie]

I simply cannot for the life of me, wrap my head around or begin to understand what is even remotely likeable about our new president. I'm sorry America... you screwed up big time. I voted for Gary Johnson, but I really wish Bernie hadn't of had to stop running. :/ These other two extremists are equally scary... Guess we'll all just have to wait and see what happens with the next 4 years.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Also oh my god your name and avatar are fucking amazing and hilarious.

Thanks, I feel like I really trumped it with the name. :3

Saw this on Facebook earlier. It's been making the rounds. XD

 

[Yatagarasu]

This.

ALL OF THIS

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Quick disclaimer on that Jonathan Pie video.

Dude is sponsored by Russia Today. So do take what he has to say with a pinch of salt.

 

[Hellis]

Quick disclaimer on that Jonathan Pie video.

Dude is sponsored by Russia Today. So do take what he has to say with a pinch of salt.

To add to that, Russia has been funding Right-wing nationalists and anti-progressives in Europe for decades.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

To add to that, Russia has been funding Right-wing nationalists and anti-progressives in Europe for decades.

And all the other groups, too.

Welcome to Non-Linear Warfare, friends.

 

[Dervish]

Quick disclaimer on that Jonathan Pie video.

Dude is sponsored by Russia Today. So do take what he has to say with a pinch of salt.

"Nyet, tovarich. We have no idea what you speak of. Continue sprinkling Pie's salt across Internet, da?"

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Ura, comrade.

 

[Shiri]

Its the internet. I take everything anyone says with a grain of salt. XD I just find the video cathartic for the stress of all these months. It's like the Shia Labeouf vid. Its inspirational...bitching? I blame watching so much Denis Leary in my youth. Lol

 

[Yatagarasu]

Quick disclaimer on that Jonathan Pie video.

Dude is sponsored by Russia Today. So do take what he has to say with a pinch of salt.

To add to that, Russia has been funding Right-wing nationalists and anti-progressives in Europe for decades.

But he still makes a bloody good point.

Calling people labels and insults don't work anymore and will just make people more inclined to keep their opinion.

I always thought the religious-right batshit insane nutjobs were the most disgusting of them all (and I still believe so), but after this election, I realised that the bullshit-spewing intolerant left can also be equally as appauling.

 

[Legens Legentis]

But he still makes a bloody good point.

Calling people labels and insults don't work anymore and will just make people more inclined to keep their opinion.

I always thought the religious-right batshit insane nutjobs were the most disgusting of them all (and I still believe so), but after this election, I realized that the bullshit-spewing intolerant left can also be equally as appalling.

The same people that criticize Trump for receiving an endorsement from the KKK are the same bunch to gloss over Clinton's support from the Communist Party of the United States.

I'm not even making that up.

 

[Wolk]

(A bit heated, but hey)

 

[Rae]

Just a note on the Electoral College:

Its existence actually makes for a better democracy in many ways. It forces politicians to focus not on just the states with the largest pool of voters but also on the small states. Yes, it can undermine the majority vote, but this is rare. Even moreso, the difference between the majority is usually so small it can be considered negligible, just like this year's 200k out of millions. In regards to the Electors changing the vote, this is also extremely rare and unlikely to happen. First of all, there are 24 (?) states that don't even allow the Electors to change the popular vote. Those that do make them pay a fine to do so, if I'm correct. It would also be a way of rejecting the democracy of voting in the first place and would likely cause major issues for the Elector--in this day and age, more riots and violence are almost guaranteed.

I also agree that the current state of things is rather terrifying. I haven't personally experienced it, but I've heard/read plenty of news about it. It goes to show that hate can be found on both sides, and it's heartbreaking. In an ideal world, the result of this election would cause peaceful protests at worst, but that simply isn't the case anymore. People resort to violence at the first chance rather than as a simple mode of defense. :(

 

[Hellis]

Athe trump camp has allready threatened with legal actions towards critics. this is how faschism begins.

 

[Jorick]

Just a note on the Electoral College:

Its existence actually makes for a better democracy in many ways. It forces politicians to focus not on just the states with the largest pool of voters but also on the small states. Yes, it can undermine the majority vote, but this is rare. Even moreso, the difference between the majority is usually so small it can be considered negligible, just like this year's 200k out of millions. In regards to the Electors changing the vote, this is also extremely rare and unlikely to happen. First of all, there are 24 (?) states that don't even allow the Electors to change the popular vote. Those that do make them pay a fine to do so, if I'm correct. It would also be a way of rejecting the democracy of voting in the first place and would likely cause major issues for the Elector--in this day and age, more riots and violence are almost guaranteed.

I also agree that the current state of things is rather terrifying. I haven't personally experienced it, but I've heard/read plenty of news about it. It goes to show that hate can be found on both sides, and it's heartbreaking. In an ideal world, the result of this election would cause peaceful protests at worst, but that simply isn't the case anymore. People resort to violence at the first chance rather than as a simple mode of defense. :(

The electoral college is actually rather undemocratic because it gives unequal weight to votes. The very same system that forces politicians to care about the smaller states is what causes this. All states start with a minimum number of votes in the electoral college because it's based on number of members of Congress each state has. This means that in smaller states you have relatively smaller ratios of voters per electoral college vote, which in turn means those votes technically count for more than a vote from someone in California. This does not make for a better democracy, it makes for a clumsy system that allows a minority of voters to win their pick because their votes are worth more.

There are far more elegant ways to make sure everyone is fairly represented and has an equal vote in choosing the president. The fact that Clinton got about 1% more of the total votes but Trump got a significant margin over her in the projected electoral college votes is proof that the system is really not truly democratic in the way of every person having an equal vote. It's also worth noting that this is the 5th time there has been a difference between popular vote and electoral college vote winner. 5 times out of 58 elections means an 8.6% rate of this problem cropping up, and that's a pretty awkwardly high rate of the majority vote not selecting the president. I would love to see it replaced in my lifetime, but all candidates knew the rules of the game when it started and Trump won fair and square by the rules of the game, so it's not exactly right to say Clinton got cheated or any such nonsense.

Also, as far as electors going rogue, states actually cannot stop them from doing it. They could all vote against their states' wills and it could not be stopped. Many of them would get fined, but their votes would still be counted as cast. It is quite likely that the actual electoral college vote count after that there will be a few rogue votes this year but it is indeed unlikely for there to be enough people doing that to change the result.

 

[Hellis]

Bannon in the goddamn whitehouse. This is a nightmare.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

Also, as far as electors going rogue, states actually cannot stop them from doing it. They could all vote against their states' wills and it could not be stopped. Many of them would get fined, but their votes would still be counted as cast. It is quite likely that the actual electoral college vote count after that there will be a few rogue votes this year but it is indeed unlikely for there to be enough people doing that to change the result.

I don't know. Trump is already talking about breaking a law by appointing his children into government positions and leaving them in charge of their businesses. Plus, Bannon being put in the White House is going to have some serious backlash. Plus, there's still the trial coming up on November 28th. Evidence from that could influence how the EC votes.

Yes, I'm being hopeful, but considering the alternative, I want to remain hopeful. People are writing their representatives now, and there are a few noted who said they do not want to vote for Trump. Maybe the EC can break itself and go against the norm. It would be nice if it happened, but I'm not counting on it.