And then there were two... (Boston: ranked, best, park)

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by BruinsGirl

They already managed to created a havoc in EU to the point of almost splitting, and divide Atlantic alliance.

Source? For one, any non-UK country seriously considering leaving the EU (Poland?). Second, that Russia is primarily to blame for Brexit.

Anyway, we cannot afford anymore of inside division, class/race bating etc. Hopefully Wu won’t will not do anything too progressive like De Blasio.

Inside division and class/race baiting as are American as apple pie. That’s the point I was trying to make when I originally responded to your post a few pages back. Maybe you haven’t been in this county long enough to really understand that, but I promise that this isn’t a new thing in the social media age. If anything, modern technology may have just made it easier for people to butt heads about it.

[BruinsGirl]

I live here for 25 years and don’t remember anything like last several years. Something is definitely changing and it doesn’t feel good. Anyway I hope that at least Baker will stay for next term. He seems to be able to keep sanity in this state.

[Space_League]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Source? For one, any non-UK country seriously considering leaving the EU (Poland?). Second, that Russia is primarily to blame for Brexit.



Inside division and class/race baiting as are American as apple pie. That’s the point I was trying to make when I originally responded to your post a few pages back. Maybe you haven’t been in this county long enough to really understand that, but I promise that this isn’t a new thing in the social media age. If anything, modern technology may have just made it easier for people to butt heads about it.

I feel likt its gotten different over the past few years. I feel like everyones hyper alert about political issues now. Theres an undercurrent of identity / political group membership in regular day to day conversations that wasnt there in the past or at least Iwasn't aware of it. It was easier to be friends and interact with people in of other races and political affiliations. It wasn't even something I thought about back then now it's like a tension hanging in the air at all times.

[WestieWhitie]

Not too long ago Honorable X Farrakhendi would have been laughed out of town for his racist nutjobbery, now he’s the gospel of god.

Originally Posted by Space_League

I feel likt its gotten different over the past few years. I feel like everyones hyper alert about political issues now. Theres an undercurrent of identity / political group membership in regular day to day conversations that wasnt there in the past or at least Iwasn't aware of it. It was easier to be friends and interact with people in of other races and political affiliations. It wasn't even something I thought about back then now it's like a tension hanging in the air at all times.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by Space_League

I feel likt its gotten different over the past few years. I feel like everyones hyper alert about political issues now.

My grandparents were big hippies and protesters from the sixties forward, so I guess I grew up in a more politically active family than the average. Maybe therefore, it doesn’t feel to me like people feel more strongly about politics now than when I was growing up. However I do think people fight about it more just because there are more shared spaces.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Its just that all the marginalized groups and people have a voice now. So for people who were mostly in 1 or 2 realms-everything seems chaotic and overcrowded now. But these were all viewpoints many people had. Theres just wasnt as much overlapping/sharing/broadcasting of it all.

[Space_League]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

My grandparents were big hippies and protesters from the sixties forward, so I guess I grew up in a more politically active family than the average. Maybe therefore, it doesn’t feel to me like people feel more strongly about politics now than when I was growing up. However I do think people fight about it more just because there are more shared spaces.

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Its just that all the marginalized groups and people have a voice now. So for people who were mostly in 1 or 2 realms-everything seems chaotic and overcrowded now. But these were all viewpoints many people had. Theres just wasnt as much overlapping/sharing/broadcasting of it all.

What do you mean by shared spaces? Upbringing and whatnot could be a part of it. I just remember being 19 working at the EPA of all places for an internship taking the train down everyday hanging out with group of us interns where everyone had different ethnic backgrounds and unknown political views. I was the only one whos white yet it never evencame up. We just talked about music or sneakers or random crap. Politics came up 0 times in that internship in the whole summer.

My roommate was from middle east, guys next door from greece and taiwan. Still had friends growing up who are considered "far right" now cuz they were white guys who voted for Trump, but back then they were just country boys who drove trucks, chewed their tobacco instead of smoking it and went hunting before school. One of them went to the prom with a black chick which wasn't even notable at the time but now it seems like something worth mentioning because of how different things have got

Had black and hispanic roommates and neighbors as well as white ones all in my early 20s and politics never came up we'd hang out all as peers. Now that I think back the older generation WOULD get in shouting matches over politics and people even get kicked out or storm out of gatherings occasionally over politics but in the people my age we kind of rolled our eyes and never got into any of that for the most part. There were a few kids who were always politically active and the number grew more and more over the years until it exploded recently.

Maybe the other young pople just hung onto these things internally without ever deciding to mention it even when their parents and aunts and uncles were occasionally going in over it, but that just doesn't seem likely to me. I think they just didn't start really caring about it and making it a bigg part of their identity until later on.

I think people got way more activated over the years and pulled off into diverging camps especially in the last 3-5 years

[bostongymjunkie]

Politics is injected into everything lately but it seems rarely based on a deep dive into the specifics and actual causes of social problems and more on surface and ideology. The party that was once the party of the underdog, the individual, the working class, and civil liberties has shifted to identity politics and has aligned with multinational corporate business and other establishment factors in promoting division and not inclusion and in attempting to marginalize anyone who disagrees. It works to suppress ideas that don't fit the narrative rather than promote a marketplace of ideas and toward finding the best solutions through vigorous public debate. But of course those who haven't been of legal voting and drinking age for more than a decade have not witnessed those dramatic shifts to the same degree, especially if they have not been fully engaged in the full range of the political process. And it is always amusing to see them opine, with absolute certitude mind you, of how things have always been.

[Mayei]

Originally Posted by BruinsGirl

Exactly. My liberal friends in Russia cannot believe Americans could that easily fall for such primitive left propaganda https://equitablemath.org/ . It’s not even USSR of 70-80ies, but 20-30ies

It's certainly very worrying. In general, people are too arrogant to believe they could be susceptible to propoganda.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Mayei

It's certainly very worrying. In general, people are too arrogant to believe they could be susceptible to propoganda.

But you’re above propaganda? You have the elusive clarity?