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I don't think corruption is valent anymore to most people. To generalize the views I tend to see: if you're on the right, you don't believe all the mainstream media lies about Trump, or alternatively you tolerate Trump's misbehavior because we NEEDED him to save our country; if you're on the left, you already assumed Trump was the devil so this kind of thing is just another drop in the pond.
But I actually had my mind changed on this recently. I don't know if we have any other Tangle readers here? They posted an extensive piece on Trump's corruption a few weeks ago that kind of opened my mind to the extent of what this administration is up to. Article here. I'd be curious to hear what other Trump supporters' thoughts are on it. I've noticed since reading it that my emotional response to Trump has become more negative, and I think I'm more open to left-wing commentary on the Trump admin. Was this what i needed to de-program me from MAGA brainwashing? Only time will tell.
It also doesn't really matter who started it or the level that it occurs. This isn't two people taking potshots at each other, so much of the corruption in this sense is just stealing from the American people.
It's seeing someone take candy from an innocent baby and going "I should steal candy from babies too". The vengeance narrative is not a good defense, but it's the only thing that even slightly appears acceptable because stealing from a baby (or from American taxpayers) is obviously wrong.
If the Dems are doing corrupt government settlements or committing fraud, and stealing from babies they should be stopped, not joined. The same way if you see a burgler breaking into someone's house, if you jump in and start looting homes too, you're not actually better.
That framing does not work. "Stealing candy from a baby" is a meme because the baby is a) helpless, b) doesn't have anything worth stealing but you're doing it anyway. As a result from b), you're likely doing it for a stupid ego reason rather than some strategic gain. Here, the baby is not helpless, is the richest collective entity on earth, and the Democrats (and now Republicans) have been appropriating that money to fund their political ambitions.
So, no, not at all like your analogy.
So if the baby could fight back even a little and had a few dollars in his hand, it's ok? No, theft is wrong.
Sure, Americans are one of the wealthiest groups on the planet and they're looking to fight back (vote against Trump and the Republicans in the midterm and 2028) according to prediction markets right now. That doesn't morally justify looting the public coffers even more.
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I merely assume that there's corruption everywhere, in every administration, and that what is [accurately] reported on with Trump is about how much there is more generally. The rest of it just won't get reported on, because the [old] media is Conservative/D/Blue and is therefore party to it whenever their candidates hold office.
So when it comes time to hold him (or rather, his party and successor) to account for that, what kind of barometer shall I use to determine, on a scale from Nothingburger to Iran-Contra, how bad it actually was? Because all the information I have, if I watch the news, is that him being elected was already infinity corrupt, and now I'm expected to believe there's an infinity + 1 like every other first-grader who just lost an argument.
Yup, that's pretty much where I was at before I read the linked article. However it now seems to me that both the scale and the completely unabashed nature of corruption in the Trump admin is in a league of its own.
What part of the article made you think that? It seemed meandering and stupid.
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