I'm going to respond more generally to @soledadobrien here to see if I can get you all to understand the "but it's soooo awful" thinking and why it's dangerous. This is a story from the road in 2016, when I was asked by a friend about unemployment. /1
@soledadobrien He said: "Maybe Trump is right. Maybe unemployment is being hidden, and it really is 40 percent."
I said: "I PROMISE you that it is not 40 percent. I GUARANTEE you that this is wrong. It wasn't that high during the Great Depression."
He nodded, accepted that, and then...
/2
I said: "I PROMISE you that it is not 40 percent. I GUARANTEE you that this is wrong. It wasn't that high during the Great Depression."
He nodded, accepted that, and then...
/2
@soledadobrien He said:
"What if I *feel* like it is? Trump gets that."
I said:
"Who gives a shit what you feel? You could feel the moon is made of cheese, but that's not the truth."
He voted for Trump. Will again.
/3
"What if I *feel* like it is? Trump gets that."
I said:
"Who gives a shit what you feel? You could feel the moon is made of cheese, but that's not the truth."
He voted for Trump. Will again.
/3
@soledadobrien When you embrace "it's all terrible", against all available evidence - and yes, difficulties exist in the world and they are real - that this is "American carnage" of the left or right version, you're not only wrong, you're playing into the hands of demagogues. /4x
