# Obama and Divisiveness **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 8, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286 "2016-03-08T15:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/361 "2016-05-23T20:07:34Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > As rare as hen’s teeth, a class or subgroup of humans who willingly give up an unjust advantage. When white people complete that mission, they will indeed have something to be proud of. the USSR tried that kind of thing. It flopped miserably, resulted in dictatorship, division, deaths, etc… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/362 "2016-05-23T20:09:59Z")
Perhaps it requires Americans to show how it can be done. Exceptionalism I can get behind, as in totally. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/363 "2016-05-23T20:17:38Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > “Transgender ideology?” I guess there’s always “debate”, just as right now the KKK still “debates” how inferior African-Americans are to Latinos. :smack: No, not “just as”, not at all. Only kooks argue that non-whites are sub human. While the concept that a person without an X chromosome can choose to be a man simply by deciding that she is one is the kooky proposition, no matter how much effort is put into shoving it into the cry-bully, manufactured outrage fueled, political correctness safe-space bubble. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/364 "2016-05-23T20:22:54Z")
It’s kooky to think the brain has a greater effect on mental processes than the genitals? ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/365 "2016-05-23T20:29:41Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Perhaps it requires Americans to show how it can be done. Exceptionalism I can get behind, as in totally. America is exceptional because we freed the world from fascism and communism (achievements that benefited the world), broke off from a tyrannical empire into the first modern democracy (which paved the way for others to do so), and we have the strongest military and economy in the world, _not because America can reverse human nature. Because we cannot_. That’s why communism never worked out. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/366 "2016-05-23T20:35:40Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > America is exceptional because we freed the world from fascism and communism (achievements that benefited the world), broke off from a tyrannical empire into the first modern democracy (which paved the way for others to do so), and we have the strongest military and economy in the world, _not because America can reverse human nature. Because we cannot_. That’s why communism never worked out. This doesn’t conflict with anything Obama has ever said or done. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/367 "2016-05-23T20:50:05Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > America is exceptional because we freed the world from fascism and communism (achievements that benefited the world), broke off from a tyrannical empire into the first modern democracy (which paved the way for others to do so), and we have the strongest military and economy in the world, _not because America can reverse human nature. Because we cannot_. That’s why communism never worked out. I think most of us understand the evils of communism. Some of us even experienced it first hand. Now, if I may ask, would you mind addressing the last half dozen or so requests made by various posters who have asked you to explain the following: > [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > What I mean by “recriminations against whites” include: getting rid of names of University buildings because members of the majority of our country from decades and centuries ago had different views, changing titles of “dorm master” to “whatever” simply because the word “master” has a synonym, telling people to “check their privilege,” safe spaces, microaggressions, trigger warnings, screeds about “marginalized vs unmarginalized” peoples, etc. I think the idiocy of those things is pretty obvious. As much detail as you are able to provide. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/368 "2016-05-23T21:10:35Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > It’s kooky to think the brain has a greater effect on mental processes than the genitals? No, it’s not. Nor is it kooky to think that legs have more to do with height than genitals. What would be kooky would be thinking that a man who is closer to the average height of a woman is a woman, or can become a woman by declaring himself one. Some dudes are just short. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/369 "2016-05-23T21:38:49Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > **America is exceptional because we freed the world from fascism and communism** (achievements that benefited the world), broke off from a tyrannical empire into the first modern democracy (which paved the way for others to do so), and we have the strongest military and economy in the world, _not because America can reverse human nature. Because we cannot_. That’s why communism never worked out. Emphasis mine. I’ve seen you make this claim multiple times, so I will repeat my issues with it. China has the highest population in the world and is a communist state. Cuba, Vietnam, and the Lao People’s Republic (formerly Laos) are also classified as communist. N. Korea may or may not be a communist state, but it is certainly socialist. Nepal, Moldova, and Guyana are multi-party systems currently governed by their respective communist parties. The world is not free from communism. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist\_state#List\_of\_current\_states\_described\_as\_communist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_state#List_of_current_states_described_as_communist) Beyond that, as one example, the US did not cause the breakup of the USSR except in an indirect way. Its primary cause was economic stagnation. [http://www.arcaneknowledge.org/histpoli/soviet.htm](http://www.arcaneknowledge.org/histpoli/soviet.htm) Nor did the US free the world from fascism. In no case that I can think of were we any more than an ally in doing so, and in no case other than Japan and Italy were we the leading force in terms of either troops committed or territory at risk. But you’re free to find some yourself. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_fascist\_movements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fascist_movements) The assertion that we were the big, bad, communist/fascist conquerors is a myth. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/370 "2016-05-24T04:10:50Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > No, not “just as”, not at all. Only kooks argue that non-whites are sub human. While the concept that **a person without an X chromosome can choose to be a man** simply by deciding that she is one is the kooky proposition, no matter how much effort is put into shoving it into the cry-bully, manufactured outrage fueled, political correctness safe-space bubble. (emphasis added) Um…barring very highly unusual cases, almost all people assigned male at birth have at least one “X” chromosome. And all women too. What are you even saying? This is the most epic science fail I’ve seen in quite some time. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/371 "2016-05-24T04:27:58Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > (emphasis added) > > Um…barring very highly unusual cases, almost all people assigned male at birth have at least one “X” chromosome. And all women too. What are you even saying? This is the most epic science fail I’ve seen in quite some time. I think he meant Y-chromosome… > [@](#): > > Beyond that, as one example, the US did not cause the breakup of the USSR except in an indirect way. Its primary cause was economic stagnation. Umm we’re the ones who made Afghanistan a quagmire, which ruined them at home and on the world stage, and also caused a lot of the economic downturn. The fall of the USSR brought down MOST of the commie regimes around the world (Iron Curtain, ones in Africa, wannabes in Latin America, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/372 "2016-05-24T04:42:43Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > … > Umm we’re the ones who made Afghanistan a quagmire, which ruined them at home and on the world stage, and also caused a lot of the economic downturn. The fall of the USSR brought down MOST of the commie regimes around the world (Iron Curtain, ones in Africa, wannabes in Latin America, etc.) Tell me, who invaded Afghanistan? Or are you saying that our providing arms to the mujaheddin did that? Yes, I know how that argument goes. Perhaps you’d’ve preferred another Soviet satellite state. And no, you don’t get to claim 20/20 hindsight 40 years after the fact, or that the USSR would’ve fallen anyway. The fall of the USSR had very little to do with us. Which means its succeeding consequences had very little to do with us. Which, once again, dovetails into We didn’t conquer communism. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/373 "2016-05-24T04:59:46Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > I think he meant Y-chromosome… > > Umm we’re the ones who made Afghanistan a quagmire, which ruined them at home and on the world stage… Yeah, Afghanistan could never mire a large army into a ten year quag without _our_ help! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/374 "2016-05-24T05:07:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Tell me, who invaded Afghanistan? Or are you saying that our providing arms to the mujaheddin did that? Yes, I know how that argument goes. Perhaps you’d’ve preferred another Soviet satellite state. And no, you don’t get to claim 20/20 hindsight 40 years after the fact, or that the USSR would’ve fallen anyway. > > The fall of the USSR had very little to do with us. Which means its succeeding consequences had very little to do with us. Which, once again, dovetails into We didn’t conquer communism. My mistake…30 years. My inner calculator must be off. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/375 "2016-05-24T05:21:19Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > (emphasis added) > > Um…barring very highly unusual cases, almost all people assigned male at birth have at least one “X” chromosome. And all women too. What are you even saying? This is the most epic science fail I’ve seen in quite some time. So chromosomes do determine gender, then? I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/376 "2016-05-24T05:36:07Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > So chromosomes do determine gender, then? > > I agree. Deliberate distortion of what someone says is really shabby debate technique. Chromosomes cause biological sex. Gender is not the same thing, or, at very least, this is what is being debated. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/377 "2016-05-24T15:08:02Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > No, it’s not. Given that gender is a mental process, then, you have your answer. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/378 "2016-05-24T16:59:59Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > So chromosomes do determine gender, then? > > I agree. Bwuh? No, I’m telling you you’re entirely wrong about science. Do you actually need a citation as to the presence of an X chromosome in most genetic men and women? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/379 "2016-05-24T17:01:06Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > I think he meant Y-chromosome… Don’t know. He has refused to correct himself or even admit he’s wrong. I guess we’ll see how deep the rabbit hole is. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/380 "2016-05-24T18:24:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > The fall of the USSR had very little to do with us. Which means its succeeding consequences had very little to do with us. Which, once again, dovetails into We didn’t conquer communism. An [interesting article linked very recently by **DSeid**](http://www.thenation.com/article/barack-obama-is-a-foreign-policy-grandmaster/) disagrees, and names Zbigniew Brzezinski as a key U.S. mastermind. But even without that, I thought it was well known that economic problems brought on by U.S.-driven arms race, contributed to Soviet collapse. Do you really think the Soviet block would have fallen so easily if U.S. never pushed back militarily? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286.md?page=20)