# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/381 "2026-10-13T14:30:24Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > How are the Voting and Civil Rights Acts doing these days?. Is that a genuine question? Are you aware of what was happening to disenfranchise people before these acts were passed, and can you think of anything remotely comparable today? Do you think that shady redistricting or making people reregister to vote annoyingly often by purging voter rolls is on the same level as literacy tests or grandfather clauses? I genuinely can’t tell if that’s your position, or if you’re just _that_ ignorant about what America was like before the passage of these acts. Probably because your only mode of communication is snarky one liner questions. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/382 "2026-10-13T14:33:26Z")
This is a newsletter from January published by the [Economic Policy Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Policy_Institute), discussing how Trump undid much of the progress made in the years since MLK’s assassination: > **[Six ways the Trump administration tried to erase MLK’s legacy in 2025](https://www.epi.org/blog/six-ways-the-trump-administration-tried-to-erase-mlks-legacy-in-2025/)** > > More than 60 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement helped generate the moral impetus and political will for U.S. lawmakers to pass sweeping legislation to combat the oppressive legacies of slavery, Jim... I’m sure in a few months when the next MLK Day passes we’ll get updates from people talking about how it has gotten worse. It doesn’t come anywhere close to completely erasing the progress made over the years, but any erosion of those goals is something to fight back against. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/383 "2026-10-13T14:34:29Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It doesn’t come anywhere close to completely erasing the progress made over the years, but any erosion of those goals is something to fight back against. Oh, I’m in 100% agreement with you there. What Trump is doing is disgusting and we should oppose it at every opportunity. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/384 "2026-10-13T14:40:11Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > But reality is it happens more when the person needing help is a 17 year old attractive white girl than say when it is a 35 year old Black man. Sure, but I saw it not just for me, but for what my parents were willing to do for strangers in need and the things strangers did for us. I suspect that kind of rural community vibe, for all its flaws, is one of the reasons they don’t tend to support social programs. Because they live in a reality where their community is their security, especially if they are churchgoers. I’m sure this has eroded somewhat since I was a kid but I don’t think they grasp that some people have literally no one to fall back on. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/385 "2026-10-13T14:50:25Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m sure this has eroded somewhat since I was a kid but I don’t think they grasp that some people have literally no one to fall back on. I think it’s more that they feel responsible for their community, which is why they are willing to go through hardship to support members of their own community, but they don’t feel responsible for people outside their community; if those people don’t have anyone to fall back on, that’s a failure of their community, and that community should take the steps to fix that problem, not them. If they’re missing something, it’s the expanded definition of the community/in group that people who aren’t part of insular communities have. IMHO of course. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/386 "2026-10-13T15:44:27Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Are you aware of what was happening to disenfranchise people before these acts were passed, and can you think of anything **remotely comparable** today? > > Do you think that shady redistricting or making people reregister to vote annoyingly often by purging voter rolls is on the **same level** as literacy tests or grandfather clauses? On the _same_ level? Perhaps not. _Remotely comparable_? Absolutely. (I love low-hanging fruit!) ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/387 "2026-10-13T16:01:36Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > On the _same_ level? Perhaps not. _Remotely comparable_? Absolutely. Suitably vague and meaningless, I love it! > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > (I love low-hanging fruit!) Apparently not low hanging enough for even one example, though. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/388 "2026-10-13T16:06:31Z")
I’m sure he has a _concept_ of an example. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/389 "2026-10-13T16:17:22Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Apparently not low hanging enough for even one example, though. Huh? Why should I bother when you already did? > [@Babale](#): > > shady redistricting or making people reregister to vote annoyingly often by purging voter rolls > [@Babale](#): > > literacy tests or grandfather clauses? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/390 "2026-10-13T16:20:21Z")
Got it, so you concede that there’s nothing going on now that is remotely comparable to the pre-Civil Rights era. Or you’re self reporting your ignorance of American history. Either way, thanks lil bro. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/391 "2026-10-13T16:30:44Z")
I seem to have miscommunicated. My initial interpretation of your post suggested to me that you did **not** feel that shady redistricting or making people reregister to vote annoyingly often by purging voter roles, were remotely comparable to things that were happening in the Jim Crow era. My response was intended to advance my opinion that, while they might not be on the same level, they are undoubtedly comparable. My apologies for any confusion. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/392 "2026-10-13T16:35:41Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > My initial interpretation of your post suggested to me that you did **not** feel that shady redistricting or making people reregister to vote annoyingly often by purging voter roles, were remotely comparable to things that were happening in the Jim Crow era. You’re missing the point. Those things don’t affect Babale, so they’re not important. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/393 "2026-10-13T16:36:32Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > My initial interpretation of your post suggested to me that you did **not** feel that shady redistricting or making people reregister to vote annoyingly often by purging voter roles, were remotely comparable to things that were happening in the Jim Crow era. > > My response was intended to advance my opinion that, while they might not be on the same level, they are undoubtedly comparable. I mean, a mountain and a molehill are _comparable_ in the sense that it is _possible to compare them_, but they are also monumentally different in scale. The posts I was pushing back against argued that in the Trump era the gains made by and since Martin Luther King Jr’s to me have been rolled back. That’s completely unfounded. It’s true that directionally the Trump era has been heading backwards, and that this REALLY FUCKING SUCKS and we should do everything in our power to push back against it. It’s also true that we are ahead of where we were when I was a kid 30 years ago, much less 60 years ago when MLK was killed. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/394 "2026-10-13T16:39:17Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You’re missing the point. Those things don’t affect Babale, so they’re not important. Yes, you’re right, when I said: > [@Babale](#): > > Oh, I’m in 100% agreement with you there. What Trump is doing is disgusting and we should oppose it at every opportunity. What I meant was, “That’s not important”. What’s it like going through life at such a severely insufficient level of cognitive function? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/395 "2026-10-13T16:40:16Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I mean, a mountain and a molehill are _comparable_ in the sense that it is _possible to compare them_, but they are also monumentally different in scale. Where you seem to see a mountain and a molehill, I see a camel’s nose and a tent. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/396 "2026-10-13T16:45:47Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Where you seem to see a mountain and a molehill, To be clear, I didn’t say that we have a mountain and a molehill in this situation. I said that _even a mountain and a molehill can indeed be compared_, so if that’s the sense of “comparable” you want to use, then those two things (or two other things that are much closer together) would also be “comparable”. But that’s generally not how the phrase “there is no comparison” is used, which is what I was trying to demonstrate. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/397 "2026-10-13T16:58:47Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Where you seem to see a mountain and a molehill, I see a camel’s nose and a tent. I think it’s a good idea not to be complacent just because we still have a lot of progress intact, because any sort of a backward slide is bad. And of course, even before the deliberate effort to undo progress by the Trump administration there was still a lot of work to be done (work that will never be finished; no matter how far we’ve gone we can always do better). I don’t think anyone is suggesting that what Trump is doing is okay though, and we shouldn’t worry about it, because things are still better now than they were in MLK’s time. I don’t see anyone pushing that argument. Unless I missed it. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/398 "2026-10-13T17:02:38Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > that kind of rural community vibe, for all its flaws, is one of the reasons they don’t tend to support social programs. An interesting idea. First off the thought that rural communities are more likely to help a stranger in distress than an urban one. Not sure it is now or was ever true, not sure it wasn’t, but let’s assume it is - why? My guess is two reasons: - small town means higher chance of seeing these people or their family again, game theory with potentially multiple turns. Similar to why classic communism of each gives to their abilities and takes to their needs does work at a Kibbutz size but fails on larger scales. - Diffusion of responsibility. Isolated area if I don’t help them there is no one else who can, busy place well let someone else do it, they got it. The second part … maybe. @Babale the comparison would be to kibbutzniks. Very much the we depend on each other group. Were they less likely than the general population to support broader social services? Or is it not a great example since in group extending nationwide applies more in the Israel context than in rural America? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/399 "2026-10-13T17:10:53Z")
To the MLK discussion - the jump off was that MLK believed that the broad overall arc was progress and look what happened to him. What happened to him, progress after him followed by increased reactionary success significantly reversing some gains, does not prove his beliefs false. No one is claiming the march of progress is linear, it definitely swings backwards too, but overall in the zoom out view progress is unmistakable. Maybe it stops on a dime, reverts back farther than the gains had been before swing back to more progress. Not impossible. But it is not the historical record so far so we have reason to be optimistic that we can successfully push back and further. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/400 "2026-10-13T17:20:14Z")
Agreed. The problem comes in when folks demand / expect the pendulum to resume swinging their desired direction during their own lifetime. That’d be nice, but can’t be guaranteed. And especially not for older observers who’re now living through the _early_ stages of a major reversal phase after maybe 30-40 years of progress. You may have thought your life would see all progress all the time. Even if agonizingly slow at time Almost certainly not gonna happen. Sorry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214.md?page=21)