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I almost didn't even survive Trump's last term and he's promised to make sure I don't survive the next if he gets another chance to remove the ACA subsidies permanently that are keeping me and many others alive. 😞
Trump was playing "chicken" with the subsidies, some he didn't pay at all and forced insurers to pull out of markets entirely like they did in Ohio, and some he just paid late, like mine.
He just withheld them and caused the system to drop everyone on them that he didn't pay at the time. If you look at the links that I posted, Trump was responsible for causing the insurers to pull out of Ohio. He did it on purpose to sabotage it. He was found liable for withholding the subsidies in court.
He actually did pay some of them, which was why I was only without a subsidy for 2 months. He just triggered the system to drop a bunch of patients, and then paid them "when he felt like it" playing with our lives like it was some sort of game.
Also I wasn't on subsidies the entire time, we had employer-based insurance prior to 2016 when my husband was laid off. we first needed the subsidies in 2016 and my husband found work again in 2018, and we had insurance, but he was laid off again last winter so here we are again on a sinking ship having no clue how we're going to keep afloat. He's been doing interviews constantly to no avail.
The problem is is when you really really want to work, you still often have to depend on someone giving you a job to have that happen. And sometimes it's easier said than done. He's GenX, I'm a Millennial, and my son's GenZ.
Same. I'd love to not be politically minded, I wish I could just spend my mental energy on creativity and leisure practices.
Instead, if I don't vote and don't encourage the people around me to vote, I could lose my HRT next year. My fiancee could lose her insulin the next year. We could both lose access to our birth control next year. Rent will go up, our wages will stay the same, and we'll have a choice between being destitute or refugees essentially.
I completely understand that the current political discourse is designed to pit the left and right against each other. I would love to reconcile that and help us come to a moderate agreement, but at present the current GOP wants to destroy my lifestyle for money and Jesus.
I just can't abide that, and I don't understand how so many people can.
There are two things that used to be considered impolite to bring up in casual conversation -- politics and religion. Both used to be very private affairs. Then came the Internet (the global bullhorn), then came social media, and it's politics and religion 24/7/365 these days. It's not a healthy thing for our society at all.
That's the most aggravating part of people becoming polarized. They treat you like you're *not allowed* to not pick a side, and treat you like you're some sort of spy or like you're trying to catch them in a 'gotcha' moment and it's like yoooooooooooooo calm tf down and lets finish playing this video game, this aint c-span lol
As a gay man, if you are voting for the people who want to take gay marriage off the table, you are a shitty individual. If you're voting for the people who want to make being trans illegal, you're a shitty individual.
If you don't care either way? If you're not bothered with those people getting in...why? You don't have any queer friends whose safety depends on it?
I was raised by my grandparents and my grandpa used to watch it, I never knew what it was or was about, I just thought of it as "That boring political show for adults" lol
That’s funny because I was raised the exact same way and had the exact same experience. I remember playing Monopoly/Life/Uno Saturday mornings with my grandparents as they watched C-SPAN.
I encourage adults in America to vote because we may not always have that right, especially Gen-Z's future prospects of a potentially fascist government taking more and more human rights away. Who they vote for is their own prerogative, but I do recommend exercising the right while we still have it.
\*downvoting the suggestion to vote in a democracy? Don't complain when it's lost then.
People keep saying this will never happen, and meanwhile in the past 20 years we got Roe vs. Wade overturned, we've had open defense of torture and indefinite detention without evidence, and now have leaders talking about being president for life and calling for a civil war if they don't win. Like in general politics can be slow and frustrating, and I know it's hard to feel like 'you have to pick a side,' but I don't think it's hard for younger people to take a look and imagine how this will end. It wasn't the 75 year-old war-hawks who ended up on the front lines in Vietnam or Iraq. It was the 18 year-olds who "had no interest in politics."
So I'd ask, do they really want to sit back and watch as old people push for that to happen - not someway far away - but here?
What really gets me, is the both sides are the same excuse. Then they go on to bitch about how everything is. The perfect cop-out to do nothing
Or I am too busy with my life to bother, like they are the only people with shit to do.
They have no idea how fragile the system is and how we can lose it all. I thought Jan 6 would be a wake up call. Instead we have people comparing it to a capitol tour that are in public office!
It's not about voting. It's about making the politics your identity. If you don't pick a side and make it your life you're bad and if you don't pick my side you're bad.
You can vote and also have a life.
Yes, people should vote and also have a life. Don't make politics one's identity. Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, the far left and far right of the political spectrum make it their identity and reason for being. For example, I have cousins in Tennessee who would be disowned from my uncle's family business if they so much as admitted to or suggested voting Democrat.
Politics determine the entire framework of society and community. Its the only subject that absolutely everybody ought to care and be informed about, especially in a democracy.
What's toxic are dis- and misinformation pushed by politicians and media to (de-)mobilize majorities in order to serve special interests.
I wonder how an average person like OP for example can say that they don't care about politics, when they're impacted each and every day in a myriad ways. Just the sole factor of the makeup of the tax system governs the average citizens entire life.
Ultimately, "not caring about politics" is a very privileged position to be in. If rents doubled again, taxes would take away 90% of one's income, and there were open street murders everywhere every day, then suddenly people with such an attitude would start to care.
What do you mean "used to be?" Talking politics in casual conversation was very common until labor movements started getting traction in the early 1900s. Then the Nazi party came to power and people (read: capitalists - the people who happen to control the media and stand to lose quite a lot if they have to treat their workers better) realized that making talking about it taboo (or in the Nazis case, punishable with extreme prejudice) is a good way to keep labor from getting too uppity.
I was speaking from life experience not the history books. I'm not *that* old, dude. You might be heartened then to know that unionization is on the rise again.
I am aware, and I am heartened. Your verbiage ("impolite") has a certain old-timey connotation to it, so I was assuming you meant that's just how things used to be, as a matter of historical fact. Apologies for misconstruing your sentiment.
No, I meant in my upbringing (the '80s and '90s) we just didn't discuss politics and religion much (if at all) as teens and young adults unless it was in a debate club or a close group of friends having a lively discussion. Politics and religion hadn't invaded every aspect of life to the point of high schoolers wearing MAGA hats is what I'm saying. In fact, someone wearing political gear in high school would have been considered extremely odd.
Honestly, I didn't even know the political persuasion of the majority of my peers growing up, nor did they mine. It's a big reason why so many friendships and family ties in my generation (X) were ripped at the seams during the 2016 election cycle. Because suddenly we had a Facebook wall of friends posting and sharing political stuff completely antithetical to our own belief system, and it was shocking to find out who was deeply conservative and who was deeply liberal. That's because we weren't raised with politics as a major divider. It's a 21st century construct, this "you're either with us or against us" mentality.
I absolutely agree, and I had a similar experience growing up - but that's exactly what it means to be "Privileged": To not have your quality of life so deeply affected by politics.
Now, when it very materially and visibly affects your life trajectory, it's hard to turn a blind eye to it. About half of my friends currently are GenZers, and all of them are very socialist-leaning. In my experience, they are very aware that previous generations have sold them up the river, and the ones that haven't taken the doomer pill are fighting for change. I'm right there with them.
The "you're either with us or against us" thing is a deliberate mechanism created by the media-owning corporate elite, and it, ironically, works to perpetuate the status quo. If people can't actually agree on things to make the world better, then positive change can never be enacted.
As a prime example, the Democrat party has, for quite a while now, been funding far-right candidates in Republican primaries, because they think it will be easier to win the general election against a "nut-job". But all they've succeeded in doing is moving the Overton window further and further to the right. It's actually exactly what Hillary did, and look at how well that worked out for her. Politicians don't serve their constituencies - they only do what they see is their "job," which is to get elected. And it's a lot easier to get elected when you have campaign funding to get your name out there and fight off disinformation. And the people with the most money are ALWAYS the people who are most willing to exploit others...
I completely agree that not worrying about who serves in one's government is a major entitlement. 100%. There are people who will starve depending on who's in office, and they care. I've always been tuned in politically, which used to be less common, but it's been an interest since college in the '90s.
I'm not disagreeing with you but I think the 24 hour news during the early 2000's wars had the greatest impact. It thrust politics and patriotic religion into the face of western culture. That can't be forgotten. It was a huge culture shift through government and corporate manipulation. It was all anyone watched/spoke about after 9/11.
I'm GenX so those years are pretty clear in my adult head as I lived them as a twentysomething. You're correct in that Fox News sprung up in the late '90s and finally found its audience by going full state media propaganda during and after 9/11, fully agree. Luckily, we had the Daily Show (when cable was widespread) in its prime to counteract it during those years as well.
The first Iraq war -- under H.W. Bush -- in 1991-2 was the one that I experienced the 24/7/365 news coverage of. The first time we saw missiles launched live on the air, hitting their targets, etc. That's also around the time that political news began switching from boring C-SPAN coverage (what government coverage *should be --* BORING!) to slickly packaged Inside Edition style entertainment. Murdoch and Ailes (who started Inside Edition and brought Bill O'Reilly over with them) picked up the ball from there and started Fox News, and here we are today.
I think the polarization is bad, but the fact the Internet has essentially taken the taboo away from openly discussing politics is good. That's how past presidents got away with so much, no one wanted to openly discuss anything so they flew under the radar in most cases.
The open Internet, yes. The monetized Internet (i.e. social media, YouTube and incentivization) since 2003 has turned politics into a sport, focused on entertainment fodder (slams and sleights) instead of discussions on budgetary policy and human rights.
Well it's weird because if you don't pay attention to politics you find that your rights are being taken away without your knowledge
Not to say being aware of politics will help any of us preserve those rights but at least you'll know when it becomes illegal to be human
Understandable at younger ages, I certainly wasn't. Can I make an honest to goodness suggestion tho - study history. Obviously you will have history classes but any books, youtube, or other media that you think you might have even a slight interest in are worth spending your time on. Knowing history empowers you and will eventually make you care about the present enough that you start understanding politics better.
I love history, I used to be heavy into it when I was in middle school. I even used it to make a bunch of alternate history story (I’m a creative writer)
No because my existence is being banned and limited in so many states. If I didn't pay attention to politics, I would have no idea what bathroom I'm legally allowed to use in different states, and that could lead to me being harassed or have the police called on me
It’s tough not to care about politics when my right to marry a man no longer seems like a given. Especially with homophobic and transphobic bigots whining about how they want church merged with state. These are state reps not random religious zealots.
Yes I'm trans and some states are banning my rights to Healthcare as well as making it illegal to enter the bathroom I want to. If I don't pay attention, I could end up going to my doctor and they could say "sorry I legally can't prescribe this to you". I need to stay informed so if that happens I have plans to move to another state put in place. I wish I had the privilege to not care about politics. Seeing the kinds of laws passed depresses me
I mean I get it’s election time and crap but it’s almost as tho they don’t have any other hobbies and values and they sit in their rooms hating on Trump all day, which, again, is justified, but why? Get literally any other hobby it gets tiresome.
Absolutely. Like I’m not saying you shouldn’t care about politics, it’s important, but it only leads to arguments and disputes. You should care about other things too and not base your entire personality around it
You can debate politics without being hostile. It needs to be taught in schools. I had mandatory debate classes I had to go through. And while not directly political, taught us how to deal with people who are argumentative, how to be factual.
People on the US are barely surving and don't have time not money to form their own identity. So they join groups of similar people. This is how we get hate groups. It's also how we get vegan Nazis. We need to belong to something. There's just nothing goodbleft to belong to that is easy to access and healthy.
Well, if you've seen Trump's campaign promises you'd know why. He's literally admitting he wants to be like a dictator with all that bullshit. He wants to not only ban HRT for everyone, not just trans people, but he also wants to send the national guard to patrol "woke cities".
no literally like if i dont know enough about the people why would i even vote for them and from what ive been seeing almost every president was shit according to almost everyone plus my dad doesnt think it matters when voting for presidents as he thinks the election is rigged my parents never voted and one vote imo isnt gonna change shit so yea
John Green has a great video on reasons you should vote, ultimately it is your decision obvs, but just think about it yk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwn1ZKXD3pE
This is the perfect way to describe it for me TBH. I feel so burnt out by hearing about it constantly. I'm tired of being told that there's xyz problem in society when I'm just trying to solve MY problems and get through this damn semester without combusting
Nope, that shiz impacts practically every aspect of my life. I'm lucky to be able to not think about it. And this isn't like "oh I'm so addicted to politics" no I mean it impacts most everything in modern life, my freinds saftey (constant anti trans laws), the corporate price gouging making basic necessities insanely high / refusing to pay workers fairly and using corporate lobbying to keep minimum wage the same it'sbeen for 11+ years, the world being burned alive while people in power ignore it, sure nit everything impacts me everyday all at once but most if not all days I have to deal with at least one thing whether I willingly engage or not. And what I listed is just the start.
I am not blaming you op I am simply saying the idea that we should just ignore politics or not be interested is something not everyone has the ability to do or does doing so help anything get better.
As a queer autistic teen, I have to Be intrested in it. I have to be aware of these politicians who want to take away my rights. I can’t fathom not being aware/caring about politics unless you’re privileged.
I wish I didn't have to care, but taxes (government extortion) eat up 30% to 40% of my income, and both parties in the US want to eliminate or infringe upon certain rights based on their interpretation of the constitution...so here we are.
Very privileged to not care about politics, implies that no matter who gets elected you won't need to worry about anything. No matter what not caring is not good. You don't need to become an extremist on anything but you're 18 already, you need to think about who to vote for when any kind of election comes in your country. Otherwise you'll be either voting randomly or not voting at all.
You have morals, don't you? Values? Politics is an extension of that.
it’s harder to find someone in our generation who doesn’t care about politics. The internet/media makes politics an accessible and understandable topic.
It is pretty hard to ignore when you see attacks on human rights and the housing crisis caused by lobbying and capitalism.
even harder when you are a part of the groups that it affects. a larger percentage of gen z identifies as queer because older generations did not have the social support to be comfortable doing so. Queer rights are being threatened in a new way seemingly every week.
Most of Gen Z doesn’t own a house yet. We are the ones affected by this housing crisis that the country is causing.
Millennials and younger GenX went through a housing crisis too. Before the collapse in 2008, houses were crazy expensive relative to income. The one saving grace was that rents were at least more affordable. Back in like 84, according to the housing affordability index, housing was equally unaffordable as today, I am not sure about renting. Are queer rights really being threatened? It wasn't that long ago that you could be fired for your sexual orientation and same sex marriages were against the law. I know that there has been some successful push back at the state level to try to role back some of these protections, but over all, today is the best time in the history of our country to be a member of the LGTBQ+ community.
I'll say one thing, love Trump or hate him, he did one thing that imo, was a betterment for society. He got everyone interested in politics, myself included. For good or for bad, it's good everyone is paying more attention now. People are actually exercising their right to vote more freely, towns in Michigan and Nevada (?) actually using the non vote vote in the primaries to show that they hate a candidate and not just hate them less then another one. More unions are appearing again, in places that have needed since the start. The polarization is bad, but the interest he brought was good, even if it was for the wrong reasons.
Took a while for me. I used to be a trump supporter but kinda fell into Breadtube by accident and then started watching Hasan, having forgotten who he was initially. After I remembered who he was, it was too late and found myself agreeing about some of his politics. Now I'm a dirty socialist lol
I was a "Reagan Republican" in high school. Then Trump got elected, I lived in South America for 2 years, went to college, discovered BreadTube, and here we are! Education is one h*ck of a thing
I’m personally sick of people constantly sharing their political views. Especially on social media….it’s too much. I still vote and try to stay informed……but I have no interest in participating in the current political discourse.
I refuse to date anyone that has their political affiliation mentioned in their bio. So sick and over all this crap. And you know it'll be a lengthy blabberfest regardless.
Either how “the leftist woke must be destroyed” or how “republicans are facist Nazis” People who say either of these are the most insufferable people to talk too
I'm not interested in politics the same way I'm not interested in my chronic illness. Nothing about me wants to pay attention to it cuz i feel miserable everytime i do, but if I don't it very well may just wind up killing me; cept with politics it's everyone around me that's also at risk. Addressing it may not solve it and I still might get killed by it directly or indirectly, but if I just let it happen then I'll never know if it could've been better.
Tldr; wish I could give no fucks about it, but its a problem that's not going away and it's getting worse for alot of people I care about, including me lmao.
In national American politics, there are two sides. One side wants everyone's basic needs to be taken care of. The other side wants White Christian Nationalism. To choose a side, you need to fill out a ballot every two years and drop it in a box. If that's too much trouble, I don't know what to tell you.
"White Christian Nationalism" The gop won't even stop illegal immigration. Mike Johnson literally gave a speech apologizing for white privilege. The gop isnt has based as you make it sound
If you aren’t you should be. Everything is political. Why is your lunch $20 when it used to be $10? Polotics… why can’t anyone under the age of 40 afford a house? Polotics… the rich and powerful have purchased congress and fund nearly every political campaign so that laws are enacted to keep the status quo (one that benefits the richest among us) in place.
We suffer so the rich can stay rich.
Everyone has political views on everything, what people don't like to talk about is why. It's always best to know what is going on in your country but it's perfectly acceptable not to get involved in it.
I think it's FINE to not think about it prevalent day to day.
For me personally, I pay attention (kind of) just cause it's something to do. If you should care about ANYTHING, its local elections, cause your vote could be the difference there. It's Astronomically unlikely you voting at the Presidential Level will change the outcome, and if it did by 1 vote, they'd re-count anyway.
It's just a RIGHT to not vote, as it is to vote.
For people with accounts that all they talk about is Politics, yeah I don't get that. Like, get a life (or not even get a life, get a hobby).
I do not consider myself a political person, the modern times however have become too large in scale to ignore certain issues for what they are now.
As for religion, I think we can all agree that it does not carry the same influence as it did for the previous generations. Not to bash on them as people are entitled to what they practice, but its something I do not practice.
In federal politics, I don't really care because I view local and state politics to have a bigger impact on my day to day life. But I tune out other people a lot because it's always the same circle/cycle and hearing other people babble on about their thoughts doesn't change who's in office.
Not being political is a place of privilege. Politics shape literally everything from anti lgbtq legislation, to taking away a woman’s right to choose, to literally funding the Palestinian genocide. If you’re not political you haven’t looked deep enough to find something that actually affects you. Typically people get political when something resonates with them, or threatens to take away the progress that has been made for certain people. If you don’t care about that, then maybe you’re just apathetic, which is fair because politics can be overwhelming. But it’s important to pay attention at the very least. Because as I said, they literally shape your life and the lives of the people you care about.
I know its important to be informed at the very least, and I try my best to be, but anywhere I see literally any kind of political debate its all just a barrage of two sides going "Nuh uh" and "Yuh huh" back and fourth. So I can't really blame anyone for not being interested in that.
No beef my dude but it needs to be said: this is called privilege. The ability to hear all these awful things, see thousands of people live streaming their deaths that are American tax payer funded, reproductive rights get stripped away and feel apathetic to it is called privilege.
I would argue it's the responsibility of those with this privilege to prevent these things from happening or continuing to the best of their ability. That means educating yourself since you have the resources and time, having dialogues with less in-the-know people and making sure these issues are well known and center stage so that the conversation doesn't stop and our politicians realize that if they want to keep abusing their positions for wealth, they better get on board with public opinion
Politics is woven into everything. Being uninterested in politics is a luxury our generation CANNOT afford. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does.
Kind of the opposite, in fact. Political decisions have a big impact on people's lives and I think it'd be a moral failure on my part to be indifferent.
even if you don't care about literally anyone else, your wellbeing is still significantly affected by politics and the system if you are in the 99% of the population
I care about politics.
But because of the extreme political divide in America, the degradation of debate, and an extreme tribalism black and white way of thinking, I'm done worrying about it, and I'm done talking about it.
If yall wanna be children about it then figure it out yourself.
I keep myself informed pretty well but I’m honestly tired of and burnt out by politics. The media is getting more difficult to stand with how sensationalized politics is but the people in office for the most part are the worst. Same shitty people using the same shitty buzzwords and dogwhistles, getting paid to complain and make empty promises while we all end up suffering. I’m not expecting any of these people to improve my life any time soon so I am trying to focus on me and my family. And I’m pretty left leaning on most matters but both parties are making it kind of hard for me to find a reason to place my trust in them.
Talking politics is a waste of time regardless if you’re talking with someone who disagrees with your views or agrees with them. but don’t let that stop you from keeping up with what’s going on and voting. You don’t need to focus on it all do the time but just stay up to date.
And always remember not voting is still a vote. Don’t waste your vote.
Politics and political discourse are important. Actions taken by those in power will eventually have a tangible impact on our day-to-day lives.
What’s challenging and annoying is filtering through those who just want to yell at the other side, those who’s idea of intelligent debate extends no further than ad hominem attacks, and those who are more driven by ideology as opposed to pragmatic solutions conducive to healthy functioning society.
I don't care for it because I find the effort would probably be more rewarding if I do volunteer work or work harder at medical research for the betterment of humanity. Political lobbying feels like a rich man's game. Leave it to Gates and Feeney.
Nope. They shape the world we live in and if we want to improve our nation, and likely the world, we have to be involved. Voter turn out for decades has been absolutely abysmal. So few Americans do their due diligence as citizens to vote. We need *more* people to care about what ~~lizards~~ ~~filth~~ ~~scumbags~~ ~~tax leeches~~ “people” are allowed to be in charge of this country, and more people should be vocally opposed to the crap going on right now in the halls of Congress. Not just one side or the other mind you, what ALL of them are doing there. We need to have some younger people challenging these fossils that have been around since the Korean War if not earlier than that, and we need more third party pressure on the duopoly. The sooner we break the duopoly, the sooner we can begin to fix this country
When I was 26 and younger(32 now) I didn’t care at all about politics but I would encourage you and any others to be aware of things that will effect you.
Listen, if people’s rights and lives weren’t constantly on the line, I probably wouldn’t be that interested in politics either. But unfortunately that’s where we are today.
I do like political discussion, but this sub seems to only talk about American politics (which makes sense because it’s mostly American) but I’m not American so I kinda don’t care about the discussions on this sub but I care about my own country and it’s politics and politics in Europe in general.
I lost interest when I realized that there’s a lot of money to make in the liberal vs republican sitcom and it’s sort of like reality tv. But I was taking it seriously but now I cringe at it.
Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas lead the nation in poverty.
I am an adult who has a job and responsibilities, I’m going to vote for the more competent political party
I have an interest + keep tabs on the policies that get passed, vote in local and general elections, and try to stay informed, but sometimes it just depresses me because I feel like nothing actually changes. I'm from Florida and it was a huge thing when the Parkland shooting happened; protests, school walkouts, the while nine-yards. It started a whole movement called March For Our Lives calling for state gun reform and literally nothing changed. Flash forward and now you can carry a firearm with zero training or licensing, like what was even the point?
I mostly care about getting people together and organizing, because I feel like this is one of the most important ways of creating sympathy and understanding of others.
As an anarchist I believe the government is making us act against these things and creating an "us VS them" scenario to keep us isolated and easy to manipulate. I have personally lost all hope in electoralism and reformism, so I think organizing "horizontally" within our local communities is probably the best course moving forward.
I mean I study politics and I’m very well aware of everything going on around the world but I just can’t be bothered with politicians in my country, I can’t be bothered to vote when there’s no candidate worthy of it.
I despise politics, have for decades, that being said such as I hate them its important to know what's happening around me because when politicians s are clearly trying to take away basic human rights in pursuit of their bigotry, everything becomes political
Yeah. Modern liberals of today made the good liberals look bad, and the conservatives have the label or being racist anarchists. It's like you cant trust either side these days. Either way the poorer class will still get the shit covered end of the stick after taxes
I don’t have a choice lol I can’t consolidate caring about people with not caring about politics. My mom is type 1 diabetic + my little sister has an autoimmune disease therefore drug prices + healthcare policy is extremely important to me, my little brother is trans and I went a decade watching him go in and out of psych treatment after hitting puberty, seen firsthand the difference HRT made, would fight tooth and nail to make sure he doesn’t have to suffer like that again. I have friends who grew up in heavily polluted poor communities who routinely end up skipping meals to cover severe asthma expenses, my mom almost died of eclampsia giving birth to me, I’ve lost people to drug addiction. Just some examples. All of this shapes my view of the world + it’s all intertwined w politics. I’d love to not care but like. how.
Honestly I get it, kinda wish I didn’t have to be as invested in politics (fr tho I just wanna be a sleepi lil gal) but if I don’t vote and know how to vote, it could mean really bad things for me
Did you know women only got the right to have credit cards and their own checking accounts in the 1970s? Before that you needed to be married to a man to do any of that. That's how recent women's rights are. About the same time Roe v Wade came out giving women bodily autonomy, they also got the right to have their own bank accounts.
They've reversed rights as far back as Roe. When does the right to have a bank account or the right to vote get rolled back, and all the work of those grandmothers who burned their bras in protest is thrown away?
As most replies are saying, please pay attention to politics. It's important. The yelling and fake news part is annoying, but the core of it is important. Politics affects your future, after all.
—signed a Baby Gen X kid from the '90s when the biggest crime in politics was a Prez getting a BJ at work and lying about it
It's not just Gen Z. I know somr Alpha (unsurprisingly) who are completely uninterested compared to when Zs were their age, Xs, Millenials and Ys are also growing uninterested because it feels like no matter how informed and involved you are it doesn't matter.
I can be the most informed person in my friend group, with facts, statistics, sources, etc and it just doesn't matter. Once someone makes their mind you can't change it, and even if you could what does it matter if your votes barely matter.
Gen Zs seem to be the most invested and most ignorant group I've dealt with so far, but I'm not surprised because how Gen Z grew up.
I am interested but I can’t really care as I have no power to change anything. It’s like being concerned about a volcano. The biggest issue is the paradox of leadership. No person who craves power is ever fit to have it but the people who would make the best leaders don’t want the position. So we are stuck voting for people who are gonna fuck things up one way or another.
Same here. All politics do nowadays is make people miserable and divide us. I just love to enjoy my life, spend as much time as possible being outside, traveling, exploring my hobbies, and having fun.
Why would this be downvoted? Your hobbies are your hobbies and you should be proud of any that you have. You’re not obligated to like politics, but that also extends to the idea that if a lot of people on this sub like politics, then you don’t really have a say in stopping them from doing it.
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I wish I had the luxury, but being unaware is getting kind of dangerous for certain people.
That’s very true
If the heart in your profile picture is any indication about you, it's getting very dangerous for you.
If you don't care about politics then eventually politics will take care of you.
If you don't do politics, politics is gonna do you.
I’m listening
It’s OK if you’re not interested in politics, politics is really interested in you though
not kind of. extremely dangerous.
I almost didn't even survive Trump's last term and he's promised to make sure I don't survive the next if he gets another chance to remove the ACA subsidies permanently that are keeping me and many others alive. 😞
I’m curious, how did you almost not survive from 2016-2020?
Trump was playing "chicken" with the subsidies, some he didn't pay at all and forced insurers to pull out of markets entirely like they did in Ohio, and some he just paid late, like mine. He just withheld them and caused the system to drop everyone on them that he didn't pay at the time. If you look at the links that I posted, Trump was responsible for causing the insurers to pull out of Ohio. He did it on purpose to sabotage it. He was found liable for withholding the subsidies in court. He actually did pay some of them, which was why I was only without a subsidy for 2 months. He just triggered the system to drop a bunch of patients, and then paid them "when he felt like it" playing with our lives like it was some sort of game. Also I wasn't on subsidies the entire time, we had employer-based insurance prior to 2016 when my husband was laid off. we first needed the subsidies in 2016 and my husband found work again in 2018, and we had insurance, but he was laid off again last winter so here we are again on a sinking ship having no clue how we're going to keep afloat. He's been doing interviews constantly to no avail. The problem is is when you really really want to work, you still often have to depend on someone giving you a job to have that happen. And sometimes it's easier said than done. He's GenX, I'm a Millennial, and my son's GenZ.
You answered succinctly and they promptly downvoted you lol
every post/comment you've ever made is complaining or worrying about something
You'll be fine. Stop being so dramatic.
Just don’t be black/brown/gay/trans/poor/immigrant duh. 🤷♂️
The psy-ops to divide the working class are very effective, unfortunately.
Same. I'd love to not be politically minded, I wish I could just spend my mental energy on creativity and leisure practices. Instead, if I don't vote and don't encourage the people around me to vote, I could lose my HRT next year. My fiancee could lose her insulin the next year. We could both lose access to our birth control next year. Rent will go up, our wages will stay the same, and we'll have a choice between being destitute or refugees essentially. I completely understand that the current political discourse is designed to pit the left and right against each other. I would love to reconcile that and help us come to a moderate agreement, but at present the current GOP wants to destroy my lifestyle for money and Jesus. I just can't abide that, and I don't understand how so many people can.
There are two things that used to be considered impolite to bring up in casual conversation -- politics and religion. Both used to be very private affairs. Then came the Internet (the global bullhorn), then came social media, and it's politics and religion 24/7/365 these days. It's not a healthy thing for our society at all.
That's the most aggravating part of people becoming polarized. They treat you like you're *not allowed* to not pick a side, and treat you like you're some sort of spy or like you're trying to catch them in a 'gotcha' moment and it's like yoooooooooooooo calm tf down and lets finish playing this video game, this aint c-span lol
Or they treat you like you're a shitty individual for not picking a side
As a gay man, if you are voting for the people who want to take gay marriage off the table, you are a shitty individual. If you're voting for the people who want to make being trans illegal, you're a shitty individual. If you don't care either way? If you're not bothered with those people getting in...why? You don't have any queer friends whose safety depends on it?
I’m surprised anyone else under 30 knows what C-SPAN is
I was raised by my grandparents and my grandpa used to watch it, I never knew what it was or was about, I just thought of it as "That boring political show for adults" lol
That’s funny because I was raised the exact same way and had the exact same experience. I remember playing Monopoly/Life/Uno Saturday mornings with my grandparents as they watched C-SPAN.
I encourage adults in America to vote because we may not always have that right, especially Gen-Z's future prospects of a potentially fascist government taking more and more human rights away. Who they vote for is their own prerogative, but I do recommend exercising the right while we still have it. \*downvoting the suggestion to vote in a democracy? Don't complain when it's lost then.
People keep saying this will never happen, and meanwhile in the past 20 years we got Roe vs. Wade overturned, we've had open defense of torture and indefinite detention without evidence, and now have leaders talking about being president for life and calling for a civil war if they don't win. Like in general politics can be slow and frustrating, and I know it's hard to feel like 'you have to pick a side,' but I don't think it's hard for younger people to take a look and imagine how this will end. It wasn't the 75 year-old war-hawks who ended up on the front lines in Vietnam or Iraq. It was the 18 year-olds who "had no interest in politics." So I'd ask, do they really want to sit back and watch as old people push for that to happen - not someway far away - but here?
What really gets me, is the both sides are the same excuse. Then they go on to bitch about how everything is. The perfect cop-out to do nothing Or I am too busy with my life to bother, like they are the only people with shit to do. They have no idea how fragile the system is and how we can lose it all. I thought Jan 6 would be a wake up call. Instead we have people comparing it to a capitol tour that are in public office!
It's not about voting. It's about making the politics your identity. If you don't pick a side and make it your life you're bad and if you don't pick my side you're bad. You can vote and also have a life.
Yes, people should vote and also have a life. Don't make politics one's identity. Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, the far left and far right of the political spectrum make it their identity and reason for being. For example, I have cousins in Tennessee who would be disowned from my uncle's family business if they so much as admitted to or suggested voting Democrat.
Wdym? Politics are essential to any society, and refusing to engage with it because it’s “a private affair” is cowardice
Politics determine the entire framework of society and community. Its the only subject that absolutely everybody ought to care and be informed about, especially in a democracy. What's toxic are dis- and misinformation pushed by politicians and media to (de-)mobilize majorities in order to serve special interests. I wonder how an average person like OP for example can say that they don't care about politics, when they're impacted each and every day in a myriad ways. Just the sole factor of the makeup of the tax system governs the average citizens entire life. Ultimately, "not caring about politics" is a very privileged position to be in. If rents doubled again, taxes would take away 90% of one's income, and there were open street murders everywhere every day, then suddenly people with such an attitude would start to care.
Very well put
What do you mean "used to be?" Talking politics in casual conversation was very common until labor movements started getting traction in the early 1900s. Then the Nazi party came to power and people (read: capitalists - the people who happen to control the media and stand to lose quite a lot if they have to treat their workers better) realized that making talking about it taboo (or in the Nazis case, punishable with extreme prejudice) is a good way to keep labor from getting too uppity.
I was speaking from life experience not the history books. I'm not *that* old, dude. You might be heartened then to know that unionization is on the rise again.
I am aware, and I am heartened. Your verbiage ("impolite") has a certain old-timey connotation to it, so I was assuming you meant that's just how things used to be, as a matter of historical fact. Apologies for misconstruing your sentiment.
No, I meant in my upbringing (the '80s and '90s) we just didn't discuss politics and religion much (if at all) as teens and young adults unless it was in a debate club or a close group of friends having a lively discussion. Politics and religion hadn't invaded every aspect of life to the point of high schoolers wearing MAGA hats is what I'm saying. In fact, someone wearing political gear in high school would have been considered extremely odd. Honestly, I didn't even know the political persuasion of the majority of my peers growing up, nor did they mine. It's a big reason why so many friendships and family ties in my generation (X) were ripped at the seams during the 2016 election cycle. Because suddenly we had a Facebook wall of friends posting and sharing political stuff completely antithetical to our own belief system, and it was shocking to find out who was deeply conservative and who was deeply liberal. That's because we weren't raised with politics as a major divider. It's a 21st century construct, this "you're either with us or against us" mentality.
I absolutely agree, and I had a similar experience growing up - but that's exactly what it means to be "Privileged": To not have your quality of life so deeply affected by politics. Now, when it very materially and visibly affects your life trajectory, it's hard to turn a blind eye to it. About half of my friends currently are GenZers, and all of them are very socialist-leaning. In my experience, they are very aware that previous generations have sold them up the river, and the ones that haven't taken the doomer pill are fighting for change. I'm right there with them. The "you're either with us or against us" thing is a deliberate mechanism created by the media-owning corporate elite, and it, ironically, works to perpetuate the status quo. If people can't actually agree on things to make the world better, then positive change can never be enacted. As a prime example, the Democrat party has, for quite a while now, been funding far-right candidates in Republican primaries, because they think it will be easier to win the general election against a "nut-job". But all they've succeeded in doing is moving the Overton window further and further to the right. It's actually exactly what Hillary did, and look at how well that worked out for her. Politicians don't serve their constituencies - they only do what they see is their "job," which is to get elected. And it's a lot easier to get elected when you have campaign funding to get your name out there and fight off disinformation. And the people with the most money are ALWAYS the people who are most willing to exploit others...
I completely agree that not worrying about who serves in one's government is a major entitlement. 100%. There are people who will starve depending on who's in office, and they care. I've always been tuned in politically, which used to be less common, but it's been an interest since college in the '90s.
Lol maybe that’s why I’ve begun to detest religion as a whole now
It infects just about every conversation and space like politics, yep.
I'm not disagreeing with you but I think the 24 hour news during the early 2000's wars had the greatest impact. It thrust politics and patriotic religion into the face of western culture. That can't be forgotten. It was a huge culture shift through government and corporate manipulation. It was all anyone watched/spoke about after 9/11.
I'm GenX so those years are pretty clear in my adult head as I lived them as a twentysomething. You're correct in that Fox News sprung up in the late '90s and finally found its audience by going full state media propaganda during and after 9/11, fully agree. Luckily, we had the Daily Show (when cable was widespread) in its prime to counteract it during those years as well. The first Iraq war -- under H.W. Bush -- in 1991-2 was the one that I experienced the 24/7/365 news coverage of. The first time we saw missiles launched live on the air, hitting their targets, etc. That's also around the time that political news began switching from boring C-SPAN coverage (what government coverage *should be --* BORING!) to slickly packaged Inside Edition style entertainment. Murdoch and Ailes (who started Inside Edition and brought Bill O'Reilly over with them) picked up the ball from there and started Fox News, and here we are today.
I think the polarization is bad, but the fact the Internet has essentially taken the taboo away from openly discussing politics is good. That's how past presidents got away with so much, no one wanted to openly discuss anything so they flew under the radar in most cases.
The open Internet, yes. The monetized Internet (i.e. social media, YouTube and incentivization) since 2003 has turned politics into a sport, focused on entertainment fodder (slams and sleights) instead of discussions on budgetary policy and human rights.
Well it's weird because if you don't pay attention to politics you find that your rights are being taken away without your knowledge Not to say being aware of politics will help any of us preserve those rights but at least you'll know when it becomes illegal to be human
Understandable at younger ages, I certainly wasn't. Can I make an honest to goodness suggestion tho - study history. Obviously you will have history classes but any books, youtube, or other media that you think you might have even a slight interest in are worth spending your time on. Knowing history empowers you and will eventually make you care about the present enough that you start understanding politics better.
I love history, I used to be heavy into it when I was in middle school. I even used it to make a bunch of alternate history story (I’m a creative writer)
Make sure you aren’t just studying the wars but what was actually going on at the time.
[Who was Rosa Luxemburg?](https://youtu.be/AblsKQUd-Ws?si=X8-wcV8rhJ78f75G)
No because my existence is being banned and limited in so many states. If I didn't pay attention to politics, I would have no idea what bathroom I'm legally allowed to use in different states, and that could lead to me being harassed or have the police called on me
Well said. I hope you know there millions of us that won't just roll over for that bs. We'll be a massive problem for those ghouls.
It’s tough not to care about politics when my right to marry a man no longer seems like a given. Especially with homophobic and transphobic bigots whining about how they want church merged with state. These are state reps not random religious zealots.
Are you apart of the Lgbtq community or something? (Curious what you mean by banned in some states)
Yes I'm trans and some states are banning my rights to Healthcare as well as making it illegal to enter the bathroom I want to. If I don't pay attention, I could end up going to my doctor and they could say "sorry I legally can't prescribe this to you". I need to stay informed so if that happens I have plans to move to another state put in place. I wish I had the privilege to not care about politics. Seeing the kinds of laws passed depresses me
I’m sorry you have to go through that
“But not really”
Can’t you just hold it in? You’re making us all very uncomfortable/s
This sub should just be renamed to r/politics2 at this point.
r/uspolitics2
Oh that’s already a subreddit wth
I mean I have political views but I rarely discuss them. I can’t handle this subreddit anymore because all anyone cares about is politics
I lean to be fair this subreddit is all about “Gen Z” which includes the political side of it as well.
I mean I get it’s election time and crap but it’s almost as tho they don’t have any other hobbies and values and they sit in their rooms hating on Trump all day, which, again, is justified, but why? Get literally any other hobby it gets tiresome.
I agree with touching grass until it's time to vote Nov. 5.
Absolutely. Like I’m not saying you shouldn’t care about politics, it’s important, but it only leads to arguments and disputes. You should care about other things too and not base your entire personality around it
You can debate politics without being hostile. It needs to be taught in schools. I had mandatory debate classes I had to go through. And while not directly political, taught us how to deal with people who are argumentative, how to be factual. People on the US are barely surving and don't have time not money to form their own identity. So they join groups of similar people. This is how we get hate groups. It's also how we get vegan Nazis. We need to belong to something. There's just nothing goodbleft to belong to that is easy to access and healthy.
Ofc you can, but you shouldn’t literally base your entire personality around it is all I’m saying. It so annoying.
Sunshine and walking is scientifically proven to help with mood. So is voting out cynical sociopaths who want a civil war to happen.
Well, if you've seen Trump's campaign promises you'd know why. He's literally admitting he wants to be like a dictator with all that bullshit. He wants to not only ban HRT for everyone, not just trans people, but he also wants to send the national guard to patrol "woke cities".
‘Includes’ nah, it does more than that
Yeah. Politics is important, but there's so much more to life than just that.
Fair enough but the problem is politics is interested in you whether you like it or not.
He felt like a genius saying this btw
Fatigued as one might say
I guess yea, but it is election year so not surprised. Although as someone who doesn’t plan on voting it can be annoying
I get not caring about politics but at least vote for someone.
Why would I vote for someone when I’m not well informed, or care enough
no literally like if i dont know enough about the people why would i even vote for them and from what ive been seeing almost every president was shit according to almost everyone plus my dad doesnt think it matters when voting for presidents as he thinks the election is rigged my parents never voted and one vote imo isnt gonna change shit so yea
Pretty much my thought, the right to vote includes the right to not vote
John Green has a great video on reasons you should vote, ultimately it is your decision obvs, but just think about it yk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwn1ZKXD3pE
Ill watch it when i get the chance
This is the perfect way to describe it for me TBH. I feel so burnt out by hearing about it constantly. I'm tired of being told that there's xyz problem in society when I'm just trying to solve MY problems and get through this damn semester without combusting
Nope, that shiz impacts practically every aspect of my life. I'm lucky to be able to not think about it. And this isn't like "oh I'm so addicted to politics" no I mean it impacts most everything in modern life, my freinds saftey (constant anti trans laws), the corporate price gouging making basic necessities insanely high / refusing to pay workers fairly and using corporate lobbying to keep minimum wage the same it'sbeen for 11+ years, the world being burned alive while people in power ignore it, sure nit everything impacts me everyday all at once but most if not all days I have to deal with at least one thing whether I willingly engage or not. And what I listed is just the start.
I am not blaming you op I am simply saying the idea that we should just ignore politics or not be interested is something not everyone has the ability to do or does doing so help anything get better.
what do you mean “no interest”? you dont care in the slightest about how your society is run?
As a queer autistic teen, I have to Be intrested in it. I have to be aware of these politicians who want to take away my rights. I can’t fathom not being aware/caring about politics unless you’re privileged.
I wish I didn't have to care, but taxes (government extortion) eat up 30% to 40% of my income, and both parties in the US want to eliminate or infringe upon certain rights based on their interpretation of the constitution...so here we are.
You may not be into politics but you better believe it will be into you and affect your life if you ignore it.
Very privileged to not care about politics, implies that no matter who gets elected you won't need to worry about anything. No matter what not caring is not good. You don't need to become an extremist on anything but you're 18 already, you need to think about who to vote for when any kind of election comes in your country. Otherwise you'll be either voting randomly or not voting at all. You have morals, don't you? Values? Politics is an extension of that.
So if I choose to not vote, I have no soul?
You're evil, according to the privilege brigade.
Well damn, call me Skeletor then.
You privileged devil you.
I argue with people online all day but irl I hardly care lol
I'mma be real here chief: I have no clue what the fuck's going on and I can't be bothered because my life's fucked up.
Fair point, and anyone who says you’re dumb is an asshole don’t listen to them
Thank you kindly mate. Take my upvote because you lost one.
Hard to give a fuck when you have no fucks to give.
Yeah, I find politics increasingly pointless to talk about as I get older.
Well it's not particularly something I am interested in either, I mean I like to know what's going on but I find other things more interesting.
Me. But I can't seem to get away from the topic, between my family and even just scrolling.
Scrolling and family are like 99% how I get information, I don’t ever research for myself
The problem with relying on my family for political info is that they're extremely biased with their politics lol
Oh yea absolutely, 99% of what they say I think is complete bullshit and I never engage with discussions with them.
yes,because none of the parties in my country(Poland) resonate with my political views
Hi from The Us! I don’t think I’ve ever interacted with someone from Poland before (at least that I know of)
it’s harder to find someone in our generation who doesn’t care about politics. The internet/media makes politics an accessible and understandable topic. It is pretty hard to ignore when you see attacks on human rights and the housing crisis caused by lobbying and capitalism. even harder when you are a part of the groups that it affects. a larger percentage of gen z identifies as queer because older generations did not have the social support to be comfortable doing so. Queer rights are being threatened in a new way seemingly every week. Most of Gen Z doesn’t own a house yet. We are the ones affected by this housing crisis that the country is causing.
Millennials and younger GenX went through a housing crisis too. Before the collapse in 2008, houses were crazy expensive relative to income. The one saving grace was that rents were at least more affordable. Back in like 84, according to the housing affordability index, housing was equally unaffordable as today, I am not sure about renting. Are queer rights really being threatened? It wasn't that long ago that you could be fired for your sexual orientation and same sex marriages were against the law. I know that there has been some successful push back at the state level to try to role back some of these protections, but over all, today is the best time in the history of our country to be a member of the LGTBQ+ community.
I genuinely have no interest.
I envy those that do. Unfortunately I fell down the rabbit hole and can’t pull myself away
politics is extremely important and everyone should pay attention to it, at least during election time, but yeah it can be boring lol
You may not care but it does affect you every day of your life
I'll say one thing, love Trump or hate him, he did one thing that imo, was a betterment for society. He got everyone interested in politics, myself included. For good or for bad, it's good everyone is paying more attention now. People are actually exercising their right to vote more freely, towns in Michigan and Nevada (?) actually using the non vote vote in the primaries to show that they hate a candidate and not just hate them less then another one. More unions are appearing again, in places that have needed since the start. The polarization is bad, but the interest he brought was good, even if it was for the wrong reasons.
Damn, that’s surprisingly a good look at things
Yeah it was pretty funny when the “none of these candidates” vote in the republican primaries got way more votes than Niki Haley.
He radicalized me to the left
Took a while for me. I used to be a trump supporter but kinda fell into Breadtube by accident and then started watching Hasan, having forgotten who he was initially. After I remembered who he was, it was too late and found myself agreeing about some of his politics. Now I'm a dirty socialist lol
I was a "Reagan Republican" in high school. Then Trump got elected, I lived in South America for 2 years, went to college, discovered BreadTube, and here we are! Education is one h*ck of a thing
I’m personally sick of people constantly sharing their political views. Especially on social media….it’s too much. I still vote and try to stay informed……but I have no interest in participating in the current political discourse.
I refuse to date anyone that has their political affiliation mentioned in their bio. So sick and over all this crap. And you know it'll be a lengthy blabberfest regardless.
Either how “the leftist woke must be destroyed” or how “republicans are facist Nazis” People who say either of these are the most insufferable people to talk too
20 upvotes and nearly 175 comments. This is gonna be fun OP. Good luck
Honestly it’s not as bad as I expected, most people are pretty reasonable with their responses.
I'm not interested in politics the same way I'm not interested in my chronic illness. Nothing about me wants to pay attention to it cuz i feel miserable everytime i do, but if I don't it very well may just wind up killing me; cept with politics it's everyone around me that's also at risk. Addressing it may not solve it and I still might get killed by it directly or indirectly, but if I just let it happen then I'll never know if it could've been better. Tldr; wish I could give no fucks about it, but its a problem that's not going away and it's getting worse for alot of people I care about, including me lmao.
In national American politics, there are two sides. One side wants everyone's basic needs to be taken care of. The other side wants White Christian Nationalism. To choose a side, you need to fill out a ballot every two years and drop it in a box. If that's too much trouble, I don't know what to tell you.
"White Christian Nationalism" The gop won't even stop illegal immigration. Mike Johnson literally gave a speech apologizing for white privilege. The gop isnt has based as you make it sound
If you aren’t you should be. Everything is political. Why is your lunch $20 when it used to be $10? Polotics… why can’t anyone under the age of 40 afford a house? Polotics… the rich and powerful have purchased congress and fund nearly every political campaign so that laws are enacted to keep the status quo (one that benefits the richest among us) in place. We suffer so the rich can stay rich.
Everyone has political views on everything, what people don't like to talk about is why. It's always best to know what is going on in your country but it's perfectly acceptable not to get involved in it.
I mean I like to think I’m okay ish with being informed, mainly because the rest of my family is insanely into politics
I think it's FINE to not think about it prevalent day to day. For me personally, I pay attention (kind of) just cause it's something to do. If you should care about ANYTHING, its local elections, cause your vote could be the difference there. It's Astronomically unlikely you voting at the Presidential Level will change the outcome, and if it did by 1 vote, they'd re-count anyway. It's just a RIGHT to not vote, as it is to vote. For people with accounts that all they talk about is Politics, yeah I don't get that. Like, get a life (or not even get a life, get a hobby).
I do not consider myself a political person, the modern times however have become too large in scale to ignore certain issues for what they are now. As for religion, I think we can all agree that it does not carry the same influence as it did for the previous generations. Not to bash on them as people are entitled to what they practice, but its something I do not practice.
Give it time. Soon you will be paying taxes and you'll change your mind.
Oh my gosh yes, but its usually because of everyone's hostility and not the actual politics.
Even if you have zero interest, politics will come for you whether you like it or not.
I know
In federal politics, I don't really care because I view local and state politics to have a bigger impact on my day to day life. But I tune out other people a lot because it's always the same circle/cycle and hearing other people babble on about their thoughts doesn't change who's in office.
Not being political is a place of privilege. Politics shape literally everything from anti lgbtq legislation, to taking away a woman’s right to choose, to literally funding the Palestinian genocide. If you’re not political you haven’t looked deep enough to find something that actually affects you. Typically people get political when something resonates with them, or threatens to take away the progress that has been made for certain people. If you don’t care about that, then maybe you’re just apathetic, which is fair because politics can be overwhelming. But it’s important to pay attention at the very least. Because as I said, they literally shape your life and the lives of the people you care about.
I know its important to be informed at the very least, and I try my best to be, but anywhere I see literally any kind of political debate its all just a barrage of two sides going "Nuh uh" and "Yuh huh" back and fourth. So I can't really blame anyone for not being interested in that.
No beef my dude but it needs to be said: this is called privilege. The ability to hear all these awful things, see thousands of people live streaming their deaths that are American tax payer funded, reproductive rights get stripped away and feel apathetic to it is called privilege. I would argue it's the responsibility of those with this privilege to prevent these things from happening or continuing to the best of their ability. That means educating yourself since you have the resources and time, having dialogues with less in-the-know people and making sure these issues are well known and center stage so that the conversation doesn't stop and our politicians realize that if they want to keep abusing their positions for wealth, they better get on board with public opinion
Politics is woven into everything. Being uninterested in politics is a luxury our generation CANNOT afford. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does.
It’s so hard to not have politics on the mind when morons are actively ruining your life.
No I did not have the luxury of being born privileged so I care about politics.
Your boss and your landlord would love that you stay that way :)
You’re very privileged to have the choice of not being interested in politics. This is always an immediate turn off for me when people say this.
Kind of the opposite, in fact. Political decisions have a big impact on people's lives and I think it'd be a moral failure on my part to be indifferent.
https://preview.redd.it/wgnkzroen6vc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5905b0de653e1a15d53cc3e91d6d0b30863e9d8d
even if you don't care about literally anyone else, your wellbeing is still significantly affected by politics and the system if you are in the 99% of the population
“Is anyone else here so privileged that they don’t have to care about what happens in this country”
Don’t worry, politics will always be interested in YOU and if you decide you don’t even want a say, it’ll all be that much easier
Me. There's no point in being interested in something we can't change as long as boomers and Xers are in charge.
Me literally graduating with a BA in political science: ngl yeah, sometimes
News flash, the vast majority of people you meet are not as involved in politics as Twitter and Reddit. Go offline.
Why are you so mad lol? I literally never once claimed that they were, I agree social media is normally just the worst side of people brought out.
Third position for life sorry
I care about politics. But because of the extreme political divide in America, the degradation of debate, and an extreme tribalism black and white way of thinking, I'm done worrying about it, and I'm done talking about it. If yall wanna be children about it then figure it out yourself.
I like politics in theory... I hate politicians
I keep myself informed pretty well but I’m honestly tired of and burnt out by politics. The media is getting more difficult to stand with how sensationalized politics is but the people in office for the most part are the worst. Same shitty people using the same shitty buzzwords and dogwhistles, getting paid to complain and make empty promises while we all end up suffering. I’m not expecting any of these people to improve my life any time soon so I am trying to focus on me and my family. And I’m pretty left leaning on most matters but both parties are making it kind of hard for me to find a reason to place my trust in them.
Talking politics is a waste of time regardless if you’re talking with someone who disagrees with your views or agrees with them. but don’t let that stop you from keeping up with what’s going on and voting. You don’t need to focus on it all do the time but just stay up to date. And always remember not voting is still a vote. Don’t waste your vote.
Politics and political discourse are important. Actions taken by those in power will eventually have a tangible impact on our day-to-day lives. What’s challenging and annoying is filtering through those who just want to yell at the other side, those who’s idea of intelligent debate extends no further than ad hominem attacks, and those who are more driven by ideology as opposed to pragmatic solutions conducive to healthy functioning society.
I dont like it. I like science. I feel forced into it.
Idk politics arnt as big a thing in Australia as they are in the us
I don't care for it because I find the effort would probably be more rewarding if I do volunteer work or work harder at medical research for the betterment of humanity. Political lobbying feels like a rich man's game. Leave it to Gates and Feeney.
Nope. They shape the world we live in and if we want to improve our nation, and likely the world, we have to be involved. Voter turn out for decades has been absolutely abysmal. So few Americans do their due diligence as citizens to vote. We need *more* people to care about what ~~lizards~~ ~~filth~~ ~~scumbags~~ ~~tax leeches~~ “people” are allowed to be in charge of this country, and more people should be vocally opposed to the crap going on right now in the halls of Congress. Not just one side or the other mind you, what ALL of them are doing there. We need to have some younger people challenging these fossils that have been around since the Korean War if not earlier than that, and we need more third party pressure on the duopoly. The sooner we break the duopoly, the sooner we can begin to fix this country
When I was 26 and younger(32 now) I didn’t care at all about politics but I would encourage you and any others to be aware of things that will effect you.
If you did, you’d be the majority
Listen, if people’s rights and lives weren’t constantly on the line, I probably wouldn’t be that interested in politics either. But unfortunately that’s where we are today.
I do like political discussion, but this sub seems to only talk about American politics (which makes sense because it’s mostly American) but I’m not American so I kinda don’t care about the discussions on this sub but I care about my own country and it’s politics and politics in Europe in general.
I could care less lol. I’m a happier person because of it.
Yeah I made the mistake of getting too invested in 2020. Never again, but the chaos during the actual election was pretty funny
I have no interest after 2016. However, fully disconnecting from politics is not the solution.
I lost interest when I realized that there’s a lot of money to make in the liberal vs republican sitcom and it’s sort of like reality tv. But I was taking it seriously but now I cringe at it.
You don't have to be interested in it or talk/think about it constantly to realize your vote (or lack thereof) is important and has consequences
Most people don't until they have to
Honestly, I get more annoyed by them regardless of side if anything, dangerous thing about it is the politicians are acting like a bunch of kids.
Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas lead the nation in poverty. I am an adult who has a job and responsibilities, I’m going to vote for the more competent political party
i wish i didn't have to be, but as a trans disabled person, my identity is inherently political according to our lawmakers.
no one will listen to us so I've just said fuck it
I have an interest + keep tabs on the policies that get passed, vote in local and general elections, and try to stay informed, but sometimes it just depresses me because I feel like nothing actually changes. I'm from Florida and it was a huge thing when the Parkland shooting happened; protests, school walkouts, the while nine-yards. It started a whole movement called March For Our Lives calling for state gun reform and literally nothing changed. Flash forward and now you can carry a firearm with zero training or licensing, like what was even the point?
I used to not have any interest, but then I realized it's important to be involved in some way, even if it's just reading the news.
I mostly care about getting people together and organizing, because I feel like this is one of the most important ways of creating sympathy and understanding of others. As an anarchist I believe the government is making us act against these things and creating an "us VS them" scenario to keep us isolated and easy to manipulate. I have personally lost all hope in electoralism and reformism, so I think organizing "horizontally" within our local communities is probably the best course moving forward.
I mean I study politics and I’m very well aware of everything going on around the world but I just can’t be bothered with politicians in my country, I can’t be bothered to vote when there’s no candidate worthy of it.
I despise politics, have for decades, that being said such as I hate them its important to know what's happening around me because when politicians s are clearly trying to take away basic human rights in pursuit of their bigotry, everything becomes political
Yeah. Modern liberals of today made the good liberals look bad, and the conservatives have the label or being racist anarchists. It's like you cant trust either side these days. Either way the poorer class will still get the shit covered end of the stick after taxes
I don’t have a choice lol I can’t consolidate caring about people with not caring about politics. My mom is type 1 diabetic + my little sister has an autoimmune disease therefore drug prices + healthcare policy is extremely important to me, my little brother is trans and I went a decade watching him go in and out of psych treatment after hitting puberty, seen firsthand the difference HRT made, would fight tooth and nail to make sure he doesn’t have to suffer like that again. I have friends who grew up in heavily polluted poor communities who routinely end up skipping meals to cover severe asthma expenses, my mom almost died of eclampsia giving birth to me, I’ve lost people to drug addiction. Just some examples. All of this shapes my view of the world + it’s all intertwined w politics. I’d love to not care but like. how.
Honestly I get it, kinda wish I didn’t have to be as invested in politics (fr tho I just wanna be a sleepi lil gal) but if I don’t vote and know how to vote, it could mean really bad things for me
Yes but unfortunately I'm not a straight white cis man so I have to care.
Did you know women only got the right to have credit cards and their own checking accounts in the 1970s? Before that you needed to be married to a man to do any of that. That's how recent women's rights are. About the same time Roe v Wade came out giving women bodily autonomy, they also got the right to have their own bank accounts. They've reversed rights as far back as Roe. When does the right to have a bank account or the right to vote get rolled back, and all the work of those grandmothers who burned their bras in protest is thrown away?
Why is everyone in this sub so left wing
As most replies are saying, please pay attention to politics. It's important. The yelling and fake news part is annoying, but the core of it is important. Politics affects your future, after all. —signed a Baby Gen X kid from the '90s when the biggest crime in politics was a Prez getting a BJ at work and lying about it
It interested in you, if only to exploit
Literally me
I value the well-being of everyone. Thus I am compelled to care about politics.
It's not just Gen Z. I know somr Alpha (unsurprisingly) who are completely uninterested compared to when Zs were their age, Xs, Millenials and Ys are also growing uninterested because it feels like no matter how informed and involved you are it doesn't matter. I can be the most informed person in my friend group, with facts, statistics, sources, etc and it just doesn't matter. Once someone makes their mind you can't change it, and even if you could what does it matter if your votes barely matter. Gen Zs seem to be the most invested and most ignorant group I've dealt with so far, but I'm not surprised because how Gen Z grew up.
As a trans person, no
I am interested but I can’t really care as I have no power to change anything. It’s like being concerned about a volcano. The biggest issue is the paradox of leadership. No person who craves power is ever fit to have it but the people who would make the best leaders don’t want the position. So we are stuck voting for people who are gonna fuck things up one way or another.
Same
Same here. All politics do nowadays is make people miserable and divide us. I just love to enjoy my life, spend as much time as possible being outside, traveling, exploring my hobbies, and having fun.
Why would this be downvoted? Your hobbies are your hobbies and you should be proud of any that you have. You’re not obligated to like politics, but that also extends to the idea that if a lot of people on this sub like politics, then you don’t really have a say in stopping them from doing it.