# "Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon, survey finds" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314 "2022-07-21T12:49:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/181 "2022-07-27T14:10:46Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > What though. What assaults on them do they perceive? - People wish them “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” - They have to press 1 for English. - Their kids are taught about evolution in school. You get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/182 "2022-07-27T14:13:33Z")
I think starting in the 80’s and onward we saw a growth in special interest groups who claimed they were being oppressed in some fashion and deserved attention. WASP men and women were distinctly left out of the loop so they decided that they were being oppressed by those who were being oppressed and wanted change. Now, to WASP men and women, baking a cake in their cake store for a gay person is them being oppressed. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/183 "2022-07-27T14:17:43Z")
IMHO no one on the right is being oppressed. They just want to be oppressors. Makes them feel powerful or something. I guess most of us here understand that though. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/184 "2022-07-27T14:24:20Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > What though. What assaults on them do they perceive? > > That same sex people can marry? Doesn’t affect them. > That woman have the right to choose? Doesn’t affect them. > That people want to feel safe in schools and when out of their house? As a gun owner, I’ll say it may affect certain fetishes of the right. Nobody, no how is going to take all their guns away. Can’t be done. Well, that’s sort of the point of calling them “perceived” assaults. That they have no basis for feeling like they’re being attacked just because these things exist doesn’t stop them from screaming about it every chance they get. Yes, it’s just made-up bullshit nonsense, but it’s made-up bullshit nonsense they actually believe, and are willing to destroy the country over. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/185 "2022-07-27T14:26:38Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Well, that’s sort of the point of calling them “perceived” assaults. That they have no basis for feeling like they’re being attacked just because these things exist doesn’t stop them from screaming about it every chance they get. Yes, it’s just made-up bullshit nonsense, **but it’s made-up bullshit nonsense they actually believe, and are willing to destroy the country over.** Bolding mine, and well put. I still wonder why they have such a perception though. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/186 "2022-07-27T14:29:33Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I still wonder why they have such a perception though. See post #182 just above. I think they feel the rest of the country is riding roughshod over them. Everyone but WASP men/women have a grievance and have their hand out and those WASP men/women think they are paying for it all (literally and figuratively). That enrages them since they do not think there is a problem to begin with. No one is really being oppressed except them (by the people pretending (in their view) to be oppressed). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/187 "2022-07-27T14:35:08Z")
It’s just so stupid. They don’t want to help those in need, and by extension help themselves, but they want to help those that are **not** in need. They are setting it up so that rich overlords can run roughshod over them. Already happening. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/188 "2022-07-27T14:40:34Z")
Years ago on this message board (far too long ago for me to ever be able to find it again) I was debating someone who was distinctly conservative. I showed them that a particular welfare program (not necessarily actually welfare) returned more money to the economy than it cost. I had numerous cites from years of data showing that to be the case. He/she explicitly said they did not care. They did not care if them sending a dollar in taxes to this program meant they got more money back. They were simply opposed to the handout. Period. Full stop. Even if it ultimately hurt them. Even if it hurt the country. I never forgot that response. It shocked me. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/189 "2022-07-27T16:29:59Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Now, to WASP men and women, baking a cake in their cake store for a gay person is them being oppressed. Actually in that instance, being oppressed was being told that the bakery’s license to operate would be yanked if they didn’t make a gay wedding cake, since gays were a protected class. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/190 "2022-07-27T16:36:05Z")
You must be thinking of another instance, as the baker that was in the news wasn’t asked to make a gay wedding cake, but instead to make a wedding cake, something that he claimed was a part of his business, and to treat the couple exactly like every other couple he has made a wedding cake for. And yes, there was some issues over whether or not a business that bills itself as a public accommodation would be allowed to discriminate against people. There were quite a number of lunch counters in the 60’s that thought that they were being oppressed when they were no longer allowed to turn away people for being of the wrong skin color. Basically, to a right winger, taking away their freedom to oppress others is the worst form of oppression of all. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/191 "2022-07-27T17:28:16Z")
Didn’t that baker win in court and wasn’t required to make that cake? See, that’s how it’s done, if you feel you are aggrieved you turn to the courts. In this case the baker won, and in a bipartisan decision with liberal justices joining with conservatives. So the baker was assaulted by getting his own way and establishing a precedent on the constitutional basis under the right to free exercise of religion. My heart bleeds for the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/192 "2022-07-27T20:57:06Z")
So it only took eight years of appeals and a Supreme Court decision for him to not be penalized for his stance. And even then the SC only decided in his favor on narrow technical grounds. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/193 "2022-07-27T21:01:48Z")
Was he penalized? Was he forced to make a cake? I agree that it should have been easier but I think it was better solution than a civil war over a wedding cake. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/194 "2022-07-27T21:08:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Was he penalized? Was he forced to make a cake? I agree that it should have been easier but I think it was better solution than a civil war over a wedding cake. YMMV IIRC he was fined; and multiple infractions could in principle have led to the revocation of his business license. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/195 "2022-07-27T21:14:17Z")
So, this is the sort of “oppression” that you expect the right to start a shooting war about? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/196 "2022-07-27T21:27:22Z")
No, because it didn’t come to that, and eventually legal relief was found. But imagine a sort of quasi-socialist “Loony Left” that in the name of utopian ideals was prepared to run roughshod over any traditional conservative rights, using the full power of the police and judicial system to do so. At some point people would say F-U. Fortunately the left _isn’t_ that militant, so it hasn’t come to that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/197 "2022-07-28T02:40:43Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > IIRC he was fined; and multiple infractions could in principle have led to the revocation of his business license. Were those fines and infractions revoked? The system that allows these delays and potentially irrevocable actions works the same for both sides though. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/198 "2022-07-28T20:54:01Z")
So, are you saying that if he hadn’t been allowed to discriminate against people, then that would have been the kind of oppression that would get the right up into arms? The left isn’t militant, but if it passes laws, then the full power of the police and judicial system would generally be behind them. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/199 "2022-07-28T21:01:03Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, are you saying that if he hadn’t been allowed to discriminate against people, then that would have been the kind of oppression that would get the right up into arms? I’m extremely dubious of the left defining whatever it wants as a “right”, and then demanding that the rest of the world defer to them. A hypothetical: If you insist you’re a woman despite the fact that you have testicles and a penis, and you want the law to punish me if I refuse to respect your self-identification, then somehow it sure feels like I’m the one being oppressed, not you. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314/200 "2022-07-28T21:10:20Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’m extremely dubious of the left defining whatever it wants as a “right”, and then demanding that the rest of the world defer to them. A hypothetical: If you insist you’re a woman despite the fact that you have testicles and a penis, and you want the law to punish me if I refuse to respect your self-identification, then somehow it sure feels like I’m the one being oppressed, not you. Yeah, a lot of straight people react that way to the idea that queer people should be treated with some degree of respect and dignity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-americans-anticipate-a-u-s-civil-war-soon-survey-finds/968314.md?page=11)