# Pitting Der\_Trihs **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 5, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214 "2026-03-05T01:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/241 "2026-03-21T21:23:05Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > The underlying reality is probabilistic. We’re not on a road to tyranny or anywhere else, because there is no road: we’re on an open plain. Josh Marshall speaks of optimism as a moral choice. He doesn’t mean being pollyanna: he’s not really talking about prediction. He’s discussing attitude. I want to thank you for posting this. I like the cut of this Marshall’s jib, and it speaks to some stuff I’m going through right now. There has to be a principled alternative to just laying down and dying. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/242 "2026-03-21T22:01:25Z")
I never understood any of that, our cultures are similar but there are points where it’s simply too alien. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/243 "2026-03-22T00:28:26Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I guess what I’d dispute is the previous poster’s characterization of “second founding.” Their view seems to imply that there was sort of a reboot that corrected the errors of the first founding, merely by virtue of creating new amendments. Whereas I’d suggest that the “second founding” was only superficially different form the first, and left most of the structural problems in place. Well Jamelle Bouie has called for a third founding and everyone understands that Jim Crow followed Reconstruction. But the changes were far more than superficial. Let’s go to the tape. From section 1: > No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Remember the bill of rights? That applied to the federal government only. After the 14th amendment it protected all of the citizenry from policies passed at the state level. That’s not superficial. Also due process guarentee: not superficial. In the end though the constitution doesn’t protect the people, but rather the people protect the constitution. Liberals and most moderates accept that when law doesn’t protect everybody, it protects nobody. But not everyone has gotten the memo. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/244 "2026-03-22T13:47:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Don’t get me wrong. I get the frustration when you are fighting your hardest and see people who seem to have given up. But they’re not the enemy. They’re the ones who care the most. They often are the ones who have been trying and are worn out. And, even if they aren’t, they’re the people whose mental health is being harmed by this world around us. > > If you want to help solve the problem, I would argue you need to try and build these people up, not tear them down. Quoted for Truth/Quite F%$in’ True > [@JRDelirious](#): > > Again, **Der** ‘s doom-ism may be a defense mechanism: better feel relieved if by 2029 you’re still out and around, if massively inconvenienced, than be surprised by getting rounded up in 2027. And this. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/245 "2026-03-22T14:36:31Z")
I wish the people criticizing Der would acknowledge that he’s been right about a lot of things, his “doomerism” has been a lot more accurate than all the people on this board who were very slow to see the threat posed by Trumpism. All of the “someone will stop him” and “just wait until the midterms” crowd have been spectacularly wrong again and again, but he’s the one who gets called crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/246 "2026-03-22T15:02:49Z")
I admit I sadly look at his posts and think omg, this is so much defeatism. I acknowledge he makes me think. I just believe it’s ain’t over til it’s over. It’s like they’ve just given up. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/247 "2026-03-22T15:16:27Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > All of the “someone will stop him” and “just wait until the midterms” crowd have been spectacularly wrong again and again, but he’s the one who gets called crazy. We even had a thread for that: [I pit over-the-top Anti-Trump hysteria](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735) It’s been awfully quiet lately. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/248 "2026-03-23T22:21:51Z")
Okay, I’ve been thinking about this, and I think I should try to get over a couple of visceral reactions that seem to be affecting my view here: that everyone/most who agree with Der also agree that human civilization will be nuked out of existence before 2030, and that because of that, anyone who isn’t living under the same belief is naive and stupid, and their dreams and work are worthless. I’m sure a non-zero number of people here DO think that, but I shouldn’t be assuming. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/249 "2026-03-23T22:28:14Z")
I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll (probably) muddle through. But then I don’t buy into the premise that any degree of hyperbole or hysteria over Trump et al is justified even when it isn’t literally true because Trump is so eevil. (And no I don’t admire Trump at all). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/250 "2026-03-23T22:44:43Z")
I think nearly nobody besides DT really thinks a civilization ending all out nuclear war is inevitable before the decade is out. IMO that’s him, and him nearly alone, going waaay off the rails. But despite him being (IMO) utterly wrong about that, at the same time he sure can be right that the racist Fascists can comprehensively f-up the USA, make life miserable (or over) for anybody who’s not a WhiteCisHetMaleXianFascist, and also destroy the US economy while actively willfully hastening the decline of human civilization via unrestricted carbon release. You’re not good at middle ground. There’s _huge_ middle ground between those two ideas. As an aside, I doubt DT is WhiteCisHetMale, nor any flavor of Xian, even the mild sort. I don’t know in which way he’s different from the racist Fascist standard, nor do I care. But I’m quite convinced he fears being targeted for who he _is_, not for what he _believes_. Which belief is pretty standard radical socialism with a side order of Progressivism. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/251 "2026-03-23T23:03:48Z")
IMHO, a similar, but less-repetitive version of **Der Trihs** was/is **BobLibDem**. He held much the same (mostly-accurate) views, but was more colorful, creative, and didn’t sound as bash-head-against-wall bleak. He communicated the awfulness of Trump and MAGA without being a tape recorder stuck on repeat. Always good reading with good points. Speaking of which, where is the guy? Haven’t seen BLD around here for a while. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/252 "2026-03-23T23:29:10Z")
He last posted 9 hours ago in the Wordle thread. See here for more: > **[@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boblibdem/activity)** If you (any you) aren’t seeing him, you’re not looking in the right places. He’s still got political commentary going. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/253 "2026-03-24T02:04:21Z")
…and a shit-kicking wordle’er. heh actually never visited the thread ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/254 "2026-03-24T03:42:01Z")
Ah OK, thanks. Somehow I’d failed to click on anything he was in. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/255 "2026-03-24T09:26:08Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > the last line of verse three of John Lennon’s “Revolution” That’s **“_You better free your mind instead.”_** Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery Bob Marley Free your ass and your mind will follow Parliament-Funkadelic ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/256 "2026-03-24T11:47:02Z")
Thanks for the correction. I guess I am getting old - both singers are amongst my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/257 "2026-03-24T11:54:03Z")
“Free your mind and your ass will follow”, right? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/258 "2026-03-24T11:56:18Z")
[**Yessir!**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Your_Mind..._and_Your_Ass_Will_Follow) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/259 "2026-03-24T12:48:18Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > He really thinks that secret (or not-so-secret) cabals are motivated by nothing more than fiendish inhuman sadism. I don’t occupy the same position as @Der_Trihs on everything, but I’m not sure this is a completely faithful representation of what he thinks. There definitely is evidence for ‘the cruelty is the main point’ being a real thing in the MAGA movement and by no means being some minor fringe phenomenon there. But whether that really means the people driving the whole thing have that as their primary motivation, is another matter. The people in charge have discovered that they can manipulate cruel, hateful people, but I think they’re doing it for money, power, status etc. The voters are the ones having their cruelty fuelled and stroked and nourished, but by people who know they can use all of that to further their own agendas, many of which are sociopathic, selfish and inhuman, but not necessarily in identical ways to the behaviours they are encouraging the public to pursue. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/260 "2026-03-24T13:03:52Z")
Well said. Cunning psychopaths in charge; generically mean, narrow-minded people in the rank and file. It’s a proven powerful combination with millennia of accumulated testimonials. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214.md?page=14)