Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit
The message is the same even for non-America - we need to engage with these folks and stop disparaging them. We need to talk to them, we need to understand where they're coming from, we need to help clear the air between "us and them" so that there won't be an "us and them" and so we can _together_ avoid people that tell us what we want to hear.
I bought that line in 2016 and again in 2020. I'm not saying I'm done with trying to understand, but that level of fks to give is very minimal now.

Obviously, I don't think 50% of the population is stupid, but every time I try to "understand" it's becoming increasingly clear it's about his "charisma" and "our team" and less about hard policies.

People out here voting against their own interests or blaming things on ignorance (inflation, etc.).

> 50% of the population is stupid

That would be the charitable interpretation, the alternate is that they are knowingly misogynistic, deeply racist and have strong fascist leanings to follow a flawed corrupt politician with cult-like devotion.

It’s clear that people hunger for the lash. It’s the only thing that makes sense.
That's why Kamala lost: they called supporters of the other camp racist and misogynists like you're doing right now instead of discussing and listening to their grievances.

Shitting on your voter base is no way to win sympathy.

loading story #42058985
loading story #42059058
loading story #42059381
loading story #42059948
But how Obama and Biden got elected then?
loading story #42060027
Maybe mankind ain't yet so developed that what you list isn't present in general population in large numbers, even majority.

Echo chambers like HN or typical workplace of typical HN user give skewed image how much rational folks out there generally are. Most people that I ever met are trivially susceptible to smart manipulation via emotions, even to the point of shooting their own foot.

"Am I out of touch? No, it's the American voter who is wrong"
You are so right. Thank heavens she was defeated.
I've read people say this over and over. And yet, I don't know of any single substantive position that Kamala has taken. She chose a vibes fight and she lost.
loading story #42058800
loading story #42059319
loading story #42059802
loading story #42062617
I think the lesson is you can't win an election with "Well they aren't like the other guy.."
loading story #42058666
loading story #42058520
loading story #42061748
loading story #42062441
Of course 50% of the population is not stupid. It's much higher than that.
The problem really is that we need to accept that they are "stupid" but in an empathetic way, remembering that we were once stupid and ignorant. We took it for granted that other people wouldn't confuse correlation with causation, blaming Biden's presidency for inflation. But all of us thought correlation was causation at one point until somebody educated us on science. When a topic was confusing and complicated, we leaned on correlation to guide us until we learned better in formal education. It would be immensely difficult to explain to someone why groceries have become unaffordable without extensive exposition, but it's a hard problem that we should try to solve instead of just calling people ignorant in frustration.
Yes and the media needs to stop being so obviously biased because it both undermines their role as the arbiters of truth and it undermines the party they allegedly want to win

I liked this podcast from Zachary Elwood:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5DYBm6we1WcTtktFpqHj7K?si=A...

I was just thinking the exact opposite, maybe the US needs to split into two nations. I was drawing border lines in my mind around central regions and wondering how things would pan out if they seceded. The lack of geographic continuity would be a problem for the coasts, but perhaps they could join Canada.
loading story #42058926
loading story #42058653
loading story #42061073
loading story #42058539
loading story #42060358
loading story #42058760
loading story #42058748
loading story #42058501
We need to understand that such people want to be distracted and entertained.

Give them the show they want, promise them something and they happily make you their king.

They don't ask you to fulfill the promises. They just want to hear them.

That's it.

You're losing if you write like this, because this is liberal/left wing writing. If the voters prioritize strength and machismo, you should be insulting them even more. They don't mind, they'll just assume it's about someone else.
Meh, it is clear where they care coming from and they talk quite clearly. What we need to do is to stop like naïve Pollyanna's, stop relying on fact checks, stop pretending "both sides are equal" and engage with dirty fight they do.
loading story #42058559
That's not what the GP means, the popular vote is likely to be for the Democrats, as has happened basically every election. It's only because of the electoral college system that Republicans win the presidency.
loading story #42058344
loading story #42058373
loading story #42058358