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Comment by sho | Hacker News Reader

> if you shed tears because Trump won the election you are mentally unstable

Upvoting you to counter your ridiculous downvotes. What the hell people. If you shed tears because Trump won then you are actually part of the problem. You are on "Team Blue" and crying because "Team Red" won. This simplistic tribalistic nonsense is not how you run a society.

update for the downvoters: unless you view Team Red as intrinsically illegitimate, in which case you need to ask yourself - do you live in a democracy? Really - a one-party democracy? What a splendid innovation!

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Huh? I mean you realize elections have real-world consequences right? It's not exactly like their team lost the superbowl. What about the dreamers, surely they're allowed to cry because of Trump's win right? What about trans people? What about those who would benefit from medical marijuana? What about those who have insurance because of 'Obamacare'? What about those with family members in 'muslim countries'? Maybe you didn't have too much at stake in recent election but many, many people do and they're perfectly justified in their tears.

>This simplistic tribalistic nonsense is not how you run a society.

Ironically it seems like you two are being just as tribalistic as the people you complain about. Maybe something to think about.

> you two are being just as tribalistic as the people you complain about

You might be right. I just don't know what to do about political discussion these days. The punchline is, in case you didn't see any other posts by me, is that I've never not been on the left.

In my defence I'll address a few points. The cannabis and DACA issues were not contemporaneous with the president's election, so exclude those. Trump promised, disingenuously, "bigger, better" healthcare. The Muslim thing was not known at the time. Actually, none of your points stick.

But I'll concede anyway. Yes, elections have real-world consequences. But the vibe I got from the comment I replied to - of valley girls crying into their pumpkin spice lattes - was valid. They were mourning their team losing. This is a deathly trap we fall into these days politics-wise. It's a team sport and you will never forsake "your" team. I picked up a few traces of that loyalty from your examples, btw.

> It's not exactly like their team lost the superbowl

I'd counter that it is exactly like their team lost, or won, the superbowl

The punchline is, in case you didn't see any other posts by me, is that I've never not been on the left.

I'm having a really hard time taking this at face value.

valley girls crying into their pumpkin spice lattes

'Valley girls' refers to the San Fernando valley in Southern California, as (stereotypically) depicted on TV shows like 'The OC' - shallow fashionistas primarily concerned with gossip and social status. It's specifically a Southern California Thing and has never ever been associated with Silicon Valley.

Perhaps your social observation skills aren't as keen as you imagine them to be?

> The cannabis and DACA issues were not contemporaneous with the president's election,

Trump, during the campaign, said he would immediately terminate DACA if elected, and also (by the end) had reversed his earlier position of leaving marijuana legalization up to the states, in favor of reinforcing prohibition. So, both were active issues in the election.

> Trump promised, disingenuously, "bigger, better" healthcare.

With no actual content except the repeal of the ACA.

> The Muslim thing was not known at the time

The Muslim ban was one of the earliest and most frequently repeated campaign promises, though the exact wording changed over time. It was not a policy preference that was out of the public awareness at the time of the election.

Ok. This is definitely going "into the weeds" as they say.

I'm not a US citizen and probably didn't follow all of this stuff as closely as you. Maybe Trump getting elected was literally worth crying over. I'll concede the issue.

During the election Trump was promising things like a muslim ban, and increased deportations of illegal immigrants. Regardless of how you feel about these issues politically the plain fact is that they impact the lives of real people, and not just the people who may be deported or not allowed back in the country. These are people with families, children, friends, property, lives. And those things may just disappear one day at the whim of a politician. In the case of the muslim ban it was particularly severe because impacted people were in the USA legally, and had permanent residency.

Going through all that's required to get a green card and then have the government take that away from me as if it's nothing, and for such a stupid reason? I would cry too.

I don’t think this follows. Trump has very little in common with traditional “team red” politicians, and much more in common with European ethno-nationalist populism. I had no problem with Mitt Romney or John McCain, but consider the fact that so many Americans would vote for Trump to be profoundly disappointing.

I know a lot of first generation immigrants who shed tears when he was elected because they're worried about the security of their families. I don't think your characterization of politics as a tribal affair like sports contests is well grounded in reality.

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