# Is this how people felt post-JFK? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2016, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786 "2016-11-13T08:48:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/21 "2016-11-14T04:41:55Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I did hear someone say that they hadn’t felt this bad since 9-11. This is how I feel. I can’t describe the sadness I feel, I am so totally crushed everyday when I wake up and realize that Americans voted for Trump to lead our country. I actually feel worse about this than I did about 9-11. 9-11 made me fear terrorism but thats the point of terrorism. I worked at a university and a lot of my students were foreign Muslim students. I did not fear my students and I knew the US would survive the terrorists. Trump makes me fear for the survival of our republic. I am unbelievably sad about the rise of open racism, sexism and religious persecution. I feel the need to leave this planet sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/22 "2016-11-14T08:29:57Z")
**hajario** : Yeah, I don’t have a problem with your post. **Trinopus** : Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. **panache** : Oh lord. That’s it, isn’t it. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/23 "2016-11-14T14:40:15Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Reagan was a much bigger disaster. Trump hasn’t even taken the oath of office yet. How can you know? If Trump starts a second Great Depression or World War Three, both of which are frighteningly significant possibilities, you’ll be pining for the days of Ronald Reagan. Well, until we’re all vaporized or killed by the radiation. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/24 "2016-11-14T15:37:06Z")
Not in my family as far as I know. Even though we were all pretty mainstream Democrats few of that (my Dad’s) generation liked JFK very much or thought he was doing a good job. The Magic Bullet meant we had an earlier chance than we expected to turn things into a better direction. If it worked out that way is open to debate but ------- there it is. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/25 "2016-11-14T15:40:14Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Yeah, this. Right now I can’t bring myself to respect anyone who voted trump; even if you don’t subscribe to his hateful rhetoric, just a few minutes of objective research would be sufficient to understand why much of what he said about the state of the country is untrue and his plans would not work. > > To me, I’d say it’s like this: it’s like hearing half of the country have demolished their own houses because there’s a popular superstition going around that doing that will bring prosperity in the future. It’s close to that level of WTF for me. Here’s what I want to know- was there ever \*\*ANY \*\*path of defeat for Hillary that would not have brought on this level of butt-hurt wailing and gnashing of teeth? I mean, in the best case that I can imagine, had Kasich been elected, would everyone have just said “Oh well.” and gone about their business? Or going down in acceptability, let’s say that Rubio ended up elected? Or Cruz? Personally, I think we still dodged that Cruz bullet, even though we ended up with Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/26 "2016-11-14T16:41:44Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Here’s what I want to know- was there ever \*\*ANY \*\*path of defeat for Hillary that would not have brought on this level of butt-hurt wailing and gnashing of teeth? There would be less butthurt had Hillary lost to a normal Republican. It’s not just that she lost - it’s that she lost to a candidate that should have been a walkover. It would have been like when Bush was re-elected - over the top enough to be vastly entertaining, but not as extreme as what we are seeing. Another difference would be, if it had been Rubio or Cruz or Romney, I would be laughing my ass off. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/27 "2016-11-14T16:59:14Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > To me, it’s more like how I felt after Robert F. Kennedy was murdered. He had a darn good chance to be the next president…and then it was taken away in a totally unexpected way. > > (ETA: And we got a total fucking buffoon as President, so the parallels are fairly strong.) > > I have relatives who never voted again after that. They gave up hope in the American system. (Not I! I still have faith in the system, and will never miss an election!) I was in grade school in 1968. The only time I saw my (elderly) grade-school teacher cry was when HHH conceded. It was a one-two punch: what might have been with RFK, and then the sleazy Nixon taking over the leftovers of Camelot. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/28 "2016-11-14T18:26:21Z")
I said to my friend on Wednesday “now I know how people felt immediately after JFK was killed.” ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/29 "2016-11-14T18:52:21Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Here’s what I want to know- was there ever \*\*ANY \*\*path of defeat for Hillary that would not have brought on this level of butt-hurt wailing and gnashing of teeth? > > I mean, in the best case that I can imagine, had Kasich been elected, would everyone have just said “Oh well.” and gone about their business? Or going down in acceptability, let’s say that Rubio ended up elected? Or Cruz? > > Personally, I think we still dodged that Cruz bullet, even though we ended up with Trump. Yes. In a hypothetical alternate reality where Rubio gets the WH, sure I’d be annoyed just because I don’t like the direction the GOP has taken. And I probably would have been appalled by a third Bush being POTUS, even though he’s a pretty reasonable and capable guy. But the feeling would be nothing like this. His campaign went right to the gutter and disqualified him as a candidate over and over. To dramatize it once again: it’s the twist ending of the movie where the guys who don’t even pay taxes and have shown comtempt for the common people win in every conceivable way, and the people working tirelessly for the people are vilified. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/30 "2016-11-14T19:02:08Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Yes. In a hypothetical alternate reality where Rubio gets the WH, sure I’d be annoyed just because I don’t like the direction the GOP has taken. > And I probably would have been appalled by a third Bush being POTUS, even though he’s a pretty reasonable and capable guy. > > But the feeling would be nothing like this. His campaign went right to the gutter and disqualified him as a candidate over and over. > To dramatize it once again: it’s the twist ending of the movie where the guys who don’t even pay taxes and have shown comtempt for the common people win in every conceivable way, and the people working tirelessly for the people are vilified. I guess where I’m going is that a whole lot of the things people seem most worried about are unlikely to be different under Trump as opposed to any other Republican. Either way, there will be at least one Republican nominee for SCOTUS, and the Congress is going to do what it was going to do anyway. The assumption is that Trump has the full backing of the Republican party to try and enact whatever lunacy he personally thinks is appropriate, and I’m not convinced that’s necessarily so. Just because he won doesn’t mean that any of those people who pointedly would not endorse him, or even endorsed Hillary are going to somehow fall in line and vote for his stuff. They’re probably even more intransigent now than before, even if they’re not as vocal at the moment. In other words, Trump may personally want to build a wall along the Mexican border, but I doubt he can get it funded because there are still enough Republicans who don’t like him to prevent that. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/31 "2016-11-15T01:11:50Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > of people did. I just felt that assassinations, in general, had no place in American politics. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that the vast majority of Americans feel the same way. > [@](#): > > What I’m feeling now is closer to what I felt after 9/11: shock, anger, depression. Except that after 9/11, there was a sense that we could at least retaliate (NOT by invading Iraq), rather than just settling into acceptance. I find this insane, and quite frankly, along with all of the other comparisons to 9-11, a wee bit offensive. At first, nobody knew what to think, we weren’t quite sure that there wouldn’t be more attacks, people were dead, dying, missing, etc. Trump is a total douchebag, and he does have the potential totally fuck things up. But to compare it to the worst terrorist attack in history? Fuck that. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/32 "2016-11-15T01:29:08Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Here’s what I want to know- was there ever \*\*ANY \*\*path of defeat for Hillary that would not have brought on this level of butt-hurt wailing and gnashing of teeth? > > I mean, in the best case that I can imagine, had Kasich been elected, would everyone have just said “Oh well.” and gone about their business? Or going down in acceptability, let’s say that Rubio ended up elected? Or Cruz? Here’s the difference: with those career politicians, we at least would’ve had an inkling of what to expect over the next four years. Granted, there are always surprises (who could’ve imagined that GWB was so ineptly brain-dead? Or that Bill Clinton was so capable?) but they at least have a track record which makes the future easier to predict. Trump is a complete wildcard. He’s never held any political office, so there’s no track record to speak of. He says a lot of crazy shit, but what’s not clear is how deeply he actually _believes_ his own shit. So it’s worse than knowing we’re in for a bad future – we’re in for a bad future in a totally unpredictable way. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/33 "2016-11-15T01:49:30Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > …Another difference would be, if it had been Rubio or Cruz or Romney, I would be laughing my ass off. > > Regards, > Shodan If Romney won, I’d be like “eh, we lost, that blows” instead of “OMFG WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE.” heh heh. I actually sorta like Romney, even before he came out against Trump. I feel like we chose chaos over stability, even if HRC sucks. So it is a little more disturbing than a singular event like 9/11, because that was a bunch of foriegn, terrorist assholes and this was the work of my brothers and sisters. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/34 "2016-11-15T02:40:50Z")
No; okay, I was a kid, but post-JFK was mourning. Even if you didn’t like him, and I didn’t, his assassination was a shocking thing, more like 9/11 than like an election won by somebody you don’t like. Now if you want to compare it to the election of Reagan, then I’m right there. And this is probably how a lot of people felt when they saw Obama winning, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/35 "2016-11-15T02:55:33Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The assumption is that Trump has the full backing of the Republican party to try and enact whatever lunacy he personally thinks is appropriate, and I’m not convinced that’s necessarily so. > […] > In other words, Trump may personally want to build a wall along the Mexican border, but I doubt he can get it funded because there are still enough Republicans who don’t like him to prevent that. I don’t know…I think it’s too soon for me to placate myself with thoughts like that. Conventional wisdom says the president doesn’t actually have much power. But conventional wisdom also says Trump gets laughed off the stage early in the primaries. I’m not saying jettison everything we know, but put it like this: the GOP almost entirely turned its back on trump and then one by one they all came crawling back or are completely sidelined now. I think in the short term that may mean few in the GOP are willing to go against him, and who knows, Trump’s shown he can manipulate people pretty well…maybe he sustains that climate much longer than should be possible. Also, as I said, there are some things he can do without the support of his party: executive orders (especially winding back obama’s executive orders), a voice on the world stage and, oh yeah, nuclear apocalypse. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/36 "2016-11-15T04:00:50Z")
The main trouble with Trump that I see is that his campaign both in the primaries and against Hillary was nasty through and through. And because he was so nasty about things, that’s what we heard about him. Extremely little time was spent discussing issues. This has brought negative campaigning to a new height (or depth). And Trump has now shown that this method can win. I’d hate to see US elections become even more based on negative campaigning. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/37 "2016-11-15T04:41:49Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > No; okay, I was a kid, but post-JFK was mourning. People had to stop mourning after a while and figure out where they were going to go from there. I’ve heard scores of flashbulb memories of that weekend, but I was asking about December 1963 and early 1964. > [@](#): > > Now if you want to compare it to the election of Reagan, then I’m right there. Some people were strongly convinced that Reagan would bring us into WW3, either by starting it himself or goading the USSR into it. That didn’t happen, of course, but no one knew it going in. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/38 "2016-11-15T04:59:35Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > No; okay, I was a kid, but post-JFK was mourning. Even if you didn’t like him, and I didn’t, his assassination was a shocking thing, more like 9/11 than like an election won by somebody you don’t like. Unless you were hard-core Republican and believed that JFK stole the election so it was an act of God. Why yes, my father was a support of John Birch. Thanks for asking. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/39 "2016-11-15T05:42:36Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > The main trouble with Trump that I see is that his campaign both in the primaries and against Hillary was nasty through and through. And because he was so nasty about things, that’s what we heard about him. Extremely little time was spent discussing issues. This has brought negative campaigning to a new height (or depth). And Trump has now shown that this method can win. I’d hate to see US elections become even more based on negative campaigning. I agree with you on that. Out of all the outrageous things he said, I am most upset by what he said about Megan Kelly of Fox News because it was completely unjustified and inappropriate. A good rule of thumb is, that when Fox News denounces you for being offensive, something has gone horribly wrong. OTOH, the KKK arguments about endorsements are complete bullshit. How many KKK members has anyone here ever known in their life? It is the tiniest fringe group possible. So what if a group of very old men that like to dress up and march around in places like Connecticut and Indiana prefer anyone (those have been some of the recent strongholds)? You might as well report how the Elks Lodge in Walla Walla, Washington is feeling these days. I am almost exactly concerned about their support as I am curious about who the PETA members, Westboro Baptist Church and Hollywood Scientologists backed. Crazy is as crazy does and it has no relevance to anyone else. Again, I am not a Trump supporter but I am a SDMB member. We are supposed to stand for rationality and reason. To paraphrase A League of Their Own - ‘There is No Crying in Politics’. Just get off your sorry ass and do better the next time if you don’t like the result. That is what adults do. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786/40 "2016-11-16T00:48:29Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > No, because Johnson was Vice President and continued Kennedy’s policies such as Medicare and civil rights. He may have been crude and gruff, but he was a Washington insider, having been a Senator before, and he knew how to call in favors and cajole people around to his point of view. He was popular enough to win re-election in his own right in 1964, and if not for Vietnam, might have run again in 1968, and become one of the greatest presidents in modern times. People were stunned by JFK’s death, but there was no protesting in the streets when LBJ assumed office. It was a smooth transition to office because that was what was expected to take place under the Constitution. > > I can understand people’s misgivings about Trump. I share them. But JFK’s assassination and Trump’s election really aren’t equivalent. LBJ was an experienced politician who knew how to work the system and sincerely was concerned for the country’s well being. Trump is an outsider who has yet to prove himself. This pretty much sums up how I felt. If Johnson hadn’t escalated in Viet Nam, we would be looking on him as one of the greatest for his role in civil rights. And it would have saved us from Tricky Dick. Even he wasn’t as big a shock as the Trumpster. He had been a senator and VP and understood how things worked. He was done in by his paranoia. Not the worst president by far, despite his slime. My first reaction to the assassination was utter shock. But I didn’t view Johnson with much misgiving. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-how-people-felt-post-jfk/771786.md?page=3)