Sigh. I KNOW it’s been done before, but not by me. Anyway, I rarely discuss politics at work, but a coworker asked another coworker who she was voting for. I think this is rude, but the answer was Bush. When asked why, it was “I don’t like Kerry”. When asked why again, it was, “I just don’t.”
You can tell certain people lists and lists of reasons why Bush is not good for the country. You don’t get angry, just tell them, but they DON’T LISTEN. Not everyone, but just these certain people. Kerry is bad because he flip-flops, because they don’t like him, because he looks French.
What the fuck is wrong with our country ? Vote for whom you like on the basis of intelligent, informed decisions! Aargh!
Hell, if this were the case all of the time, the Republican party would never stand a chance. They tend to cater to the lowest common denominator, and as such you get these kinds of answers.
Criminy, talk to my mother. She won’t vote for Kerry because he gives her a “creepy feeling.” I ask her to point to specfic policies that she dislikes, but all she can say is that he “looks weird.”
Never get into political discussion with morons at work. 16 years ago I had this conversation with a Bush I supporter:
Idiot: I hate Dukakis.
Me: Why?
Idiot: I just do.
Me: Because of his foreign policy?
Idiot: No, I just think he’s jerk.
Me: Why, what did he do to you?
Idiot: sigh There was this one time I rode in an elevator with him. He was a jerk.
Me: Did he say something nasty?
Idiot: He said hello.
Me: And?
Idiot: He’s just a jerk.
Me: Did he say hello in a nasty way?
Idiot: No, he smiled. He thinks he’s so important.
Me: And that’s it? Why would that influence your vote?
Idiot: He’s a jerk. I’m voting for Bush.
What’s wrong with “Don’t you have a better reason for disliking Kerry”? If one is going to vote against a politician, one ought to have a better reason for one’s vote than, “I dunno, just 'cuz.” I can respect an opponent who can cite Kerry’s voting record as a reason for disliking him more than I can a person who votes for Bush because “Kerry looks like Frankenstein.”
So you think I am unintelligent because I ask that, if you plan to vote against a particular candiate, I would like you to have a better reason than “he’s creepy” or “I just don’t like him”?
What is your reason for thinking I am unintelligent? To be honest, if you think I’m voting for Kerry, you’re not even sure about that, are you? I am, just to let you know. But if you ask me, “Elenia28, why do you dislike Bush?” I could say “He looks like a chimpanzee to me,” or I could give you the litany of reasons I don’t like him, starting with Iraq and going to Haliburton and Swift Boat and…why am I bothering?
Really, danceswithcats? I thought you were better than that.
I’m honestly trying to figure out what you mean. Wouldn’t it follow that you would be able to explain your reason for voting or not voting for someone with something better than “I don’t know” if you were intelligent and informed?
oh and btw, Elenia28 , I agree with you. I got hung up on not understanding dwc’s post to answer the OP :smack:
I find those types of answers very frustrating also…I mean, come on people… surely you have a valid reason other than “I don’t know”. You don’t know? Then get at least informed enough to have your own opinion.
Do a frikkin Kerry-Bush T-bar analysis if it’s not already crystal clear to you (like if you have been living in a cave or something) but at least take the time to figure it out!!
Somebody got ambushed by somebody sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong, and decided not to get into it. Good for them.
There are a lot of supporters for both sides who range from enthusiastic to appoplectic fanatacism. “I just don’t like him” is often code for “Will you shut the fuck up and get out of my face, I don’t have the time to defend my poltical feelings one more fucking time, and don’t wanna get you set off again, because I have a fucking job to do!”
Often? How often? 1 in 10? 2 in 10? a full 5 in 10?
I actually think that often it is code for “I really don’t have an opinion either way, and [such and such] wrote a funny comic strip making fun of [so and so’s] phyisical facial features, so I won’t vote for him because his [blanks] are [big/ugly/disproportionate/looks like a chimp/looks dead].”
Fuck. I’ve invented political madlibs! I’ll be rich now…
Seriously, don’t give those who make ignorant decisions a fucking pass on being ignorant. There’s no excuse.
This one in particular gets to me. At least when someone gives the reason: “I just don’t like him”, they are happily displaying their own stupidity or prejudice. But the whole flip-flop argument is actually given credence by the media. I’d rather have a leader who analyzes a situation and then forms a decision, instead of someone who is unyielding and sticks to an agenda regardless of the variables involved. Different situations call for different actions. I’d much rather have a “flip-flopper” as president.
Elenia28 indicated that one should vote for their candidate based upon an intelligent and informed opinion, and to that, I take no exception.
I consider my own opinion to be equally well-based, but not in the opinion of the community dogpile. The bottom line is that there is absolutely no possible reason I can give for feeling as I do which will pass muster, so my opinion is what it is.
Your opening line was disappointing to me, Elenia. “I KNOW it’s been done before, but not by me.”
When someone starts the 8th “Ray Charles is dead” thread, other posters remind that search is your friend, because duplicity isn’t. That was my point, and if it causes me to lose favor in your eyes, so be it.
This horse is dead, the flesh long ago flayed from the bleached, white bones remaining. Beat them to powder and thence into the dirt if you wish. I’ll pass, thanks.
Well, I happen to agree with wolfman. Outside of a few people at work I tend to deal with political queries by making a short, glib statement because I don’t want to spend time debating and possibly pissing off coworkers.
Of course, this means that I might have been the subject of an ever-predictable SDMB “look how smart I am and how dumb everybody around me is” threads.
P.S.- I hate discussing politics at work-loathe it, actually, but when I’ve been goaded into it, I’ll respond. When I respond, I’m never afraid to make sure that the initiator of the conversation understands my position.
