Comment by bsder | Hacker News Reader

Comment by bsder | Hacker News Reader

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> As a liberal-progressive with this background, I've had a mix of pride and concern, over the years, about how my current socioeconomic peers have supported some good causes, but also let huge swaths of the nation be thrown under the bus.

How can you live through Reagan and can say this with a straight face? I remember 25% unemployment rates (see: Johnstown, PA). I remember Reagan specifically breaking the unions which were the only bulwark against getting ground to dust. Reagan threw the Rust belt under the bus, let the companies loot the pension systems, and transferred vast amounts of money into defense contractors on the West Coast.

I also remember the equivalent of MAGA from back then cheering while this happened. This is not new. The "I'm okay being miserable as long as you're more miserable" crowd has always had a strong showing in this country.

This was also not US specific. Things seemed to be even worse under Thatcher in the UK.

Did the Democrats make anything better? No. The unions screamed about NAFTA (signed by Clinton, but started back with Reagan ... see a trend?), but nobody listened.

However, where is the accountability for Republicans and the policies they voted for? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, but the memory hole isn't new either (dates to 2004):

"Remembering Reagan" by Kirk Anderson: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg...

> Did the Democrats make anything better? No.

Exactly.

Which is related to why I said "my current socioeconomic peers [...] let huge swaths of the nation be thrown under the bus" with a straight face.

> How can you live through Reagan and can say this with a straight face?

I don't understand the relevance.

Also, as a kid, I wasn't aware of what was going on during the Reagan years.

Which is another reason why we should be reading about the experiences of people who are not us.

> "Remembering Reagan" by Kirk Anderson:

That's a great comic. And probably we should understand how the support for Reagan happened, and how other personalities seized power, so that maybe we can prevent it from happening again and again.

>The "I'm okay being miserable as long as you're more miserable" crowd has always had a strong showing in this country.

If the choices are "I am miserable whilst my enemies are happy" and "I am miserable whilst my enemies are even more miserable", I know what I would choose.

There's a loosely related joke, which might apply a little...

A person discovers a genie in a bottle, and is given 3 wishes, but with the condition that their worst enemy will receive double the wish.

"For my first wish, I would like a billion dollars"

Genie nods. Person is surrounded by stacks of dollars and gold. "Your enemy gets two billion."

"For my second wish, I would like a mansion."

Genie nods. Person is transported to a beautiful mansion. "Done. Your enemy gets two mansions."

"Now beat me half to death."

> If the choices are "I am miserable whilst my enemies are happy" and "I am miserable whilst my enemies are even more miserable", I know what I would choose.

THOSE ARE NOT ALL THE DAMN CHOICES!

How about we try: "make everybody less miserable". Could we please try voting for that? Maybe?

And who the fuck are your "enemies"? The poor people down the street? The poor people in the rural areas? The poor people in the cities? What the hell did they do to YOU, PERSONALLY to warrant being your "enemy"?

Cries in Vonnegut.

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