Reddit? Or the circumstances of Trump’s presidency?

Hacker News is radicalizing, and is very likely going to have to decide if it’s going to be pro MAGA or not.

What did people think the response was going to be once Trump did everything he said he would? People would lie back and let things happen?

In America? The land of the second amendment? I mean people should be happy, after this liberals are going to be proud members of the NRA.

From what I'm seeing so far, Trump has

- deported a few thousand illegal immigrants who are criminals and rapists

- reduced border encounters by 60-90%

- taken back Panama Canal from Chinese dictatorship

- attempted to shrink the size of the government and American tax burden

- put more tariffs on Chinese dictatorship

- increased foreign spending in US by a few hundred billion

- focused US on AI

- prevented biological men from beating up biological women in sports

- taken over Gaza to prevent another war between Israel and Hamas

- gotten Mexico and Canada to finally own up to protecting the border

- been taking fentanyls killing Americans very seriously

I've never seen so many good things accomplished from a government in such a short time. I'm sure many people around the world are jealous at the velocity of our government.

:D you forgot the /s

> deported a few thousand illegal immigrants who are criminals and rapists

As well as thousands who are normal hard-working people.

> taken back Panama Canal from Chinese dictatorship

By using threats of force like a dictatorship.

> attempted to shrink the size of the government and American tax burden

In illegal, non-democratic ways.

> put more tariffs on Chinese dictatorship

As well as more democratic allies.

> focused US on AI

Without understanding the huge risks involved for all of humanity.

> taken over Gaza to prevent another war between Israel and Hamas

By doing ethnic cleansing.

> gotten Mexico and Canada to finally own up to protecting the border

And in the process lost the trust and respect of allies.

> As well as thousands who are normal hard-working people.

Do you have sources for that? Honestly trying to find out. Thanks!

The only way to round up the numbers Trump wants to round up at this point is by going to job sites. You may think differently, but I don't think criminal gang members are typically working construction, in meat packing plants or picking crops. They are busy doing...you know, criminal things.

Also, Biden has already addressed the numbers coming across the border [1]. So again, the people who are left are mostly hard working people trying to make a life.

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c36e41dx425o

> after this liberals are going to be proud members of the NRA.

I grew up an active NRA member, shooting since I was 6. I have long since disassociated myself with the group but want to make it clear - a lot of liberals have guns and regularly practice using them.

We don't need the NRA (a Putin funded organization) to do that!

Well Trump is leaning into the Curtis Garvin BS which is apparently quite popular with the Silicon Valley crowd.

It feels like everyone forgot Reddit's roots as far as its politics are concerned. Namely, the place was Libertarian Central on the internet until 2015 when it got astroturfed basically overnight to swing the other way. I was there to witness it and the whiplash was something fierce.

Reddit has been basically unusable for anything concerning politics since, and nowadays with politics leaking out into every damn sub possible it definitely has a problem.

It's a shame it's become hard to make free speech arguments on reddit. RIP Aaron Swartz.

It’s not a Reddit thing. I also remember the days when everyone online was a libertarian. But Conservatives then turned to nationalist ideologies that don’t emphasize the free market, that are anti-immigration, and that take a dim view of personal sexual freedom. There are fewer people expressing libertarian points of view all over the shop. There’s a good article about it here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/the-individual...

Sounds like you're the victim of the astroturfing I mentioned.

Nope. I’ve just been around long enough to observe the overall shifts in political discourse that have occurred since the early 2000s.

I used to be a libertarian too, when I was 17 years old and I thought I was the smartest person in the room.

Then I realized that my kindergarten teacher was onto something when she told us we should be nice and share our toys, and I grew up.

Libertarianism was never my thing, but I get the impression that it's not as popular with people in their teens and twenties now as it was in the 2000s.

Astroturfed by whom?

You lick boots

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

I think it's ironic that people are up in arms about random posts on Reddit while many of those same people cheer at pardoning those who attacked the capital and brought actual violence on police officers. Will people letting off steam on Reddit lead to a violent insurrection?

The temperature is so high right now, and it's only continuing to rise because there seems to be zero accountability for what's happening whether it's pardons or Musk running unfettered through government accounts. Unfortunately, it's natural for people to keep escalating when they see no other avenue.