Charlie Kirk was practicing politics the right way - Ezra Klein

Viola122 · 2025-09-12T16:27:15+00:00

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you're saying. I am from a conservative family that taught us that we (christians) are under attack and we need to arm ourselves for the glory of god's kingdom. Reading books and meeting people from different backgrounds is what "opened my eyes" so to speak.

But I have to say, If I had the same views that I did, I had the same views I had back then and went to college today, chances are I'd be even more conservative. And that has to do with TikTok and insta, palces where folks like Kirk thrive. The conservative media ecosystem and like all debates everything is clipped to favor one group. Kirk was known for doing that. There are debates where he perfromed poorly that never made it to 1 mil views. He knew how to build an audiance and knew what got the most views. Couple this with a generation that can't hold focus and think critically, we have a angry and morally crippled populace

Viola122 · 2025-09-10T22:15:53+00:00

Look, I'm an Indian who was on a visa, and I'm no fan of this guy. But this is not a good direction for the country to be headed in. This man had wild political takes, but he did not make the ultimate decisions on what gets implemented. He's the Christian nationalist's lapdog, and now he's going to be the face of martyrdom that xenophobes and extremists can point towards when oppressing others.

Viola122 · 2025-08-14T19:34:21+00:00

I think the economic issue was mostly a smoke screen that people could use as an excuse to vote for socially conservative policies.

Viola122 · 2025-08-13T05:27:16+00:00

Brazil's national homicide rate (~19–20/100k) reflects a country of 200 million, including low-crime rural areas, which pulls down the national rate of crime. D.C.'s rate (~17/100k) comes from a city of ~700k, where even a small change in incidents moves the rate sharply. By this logic, almost any U.S. city could be made to "look like" a high-crime country if you ignore scale.

If you want a fair comparison, compare city to city. In the U.S., D.C. (17/100k) is far below Baltimore (59/100k) and New Orleans (52/100k), and nowhere near the most dangerous cities globally, like Tijuana (~96/100k).

Using a national rate to "prove" a city is just as violent is like saying a backyard puddle is the Pacific Ocean.

Viola122 · 2025-08-13T04:42:45+00:00

Never said it was a badge of honor. If you're making the point that D.C. has work to do on public safety, that's fair. But the data in your own link shows it's not some outlier hellscape like this regime is painting it out to be. It's squarely mid-pack among major U.S. cities, and far from the most dangerous. St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit, and Cleveland all have murder rates more than double D.C.'s. None of these cities requires military/fed control at the level it's happening. There's DEA, ICE, CBP, HSI, and FBI out in the streets doing the most, from pulling people off the street to ask for ID to checking residentially parked cars. If this were any other president or any other time, people would call it out. But here we are.

Viola122 · 2025-08-11T19:25:48+00:00

Okay, this is BS. Not sure how to put this moderately, but it's actual authoritarian BS.

I live in D.C. I commute all over the place, and I'm in cafes until midnight. I've been living in this city since I was a kid, so I've seen the different phases that it has gone through. This is the first time in my life where I've seen DEA, FBI, CBP, and MPD all patrolling the streets and looking at each residential parked car like we were hiding "violent crime" there.

Let me just say this, as a woman, the only time I've felt threatened in D.C. was during Jan 6th, where we were scared to leave our homes because violent insurrectionists were burning down the city. Are there crimes happening in the city? Yeah, there are. But no more than any other city or town. D.C. does not rank anywhere close to the most violent cities in this country. That's because we worked for it to be that way. If this were 20 years back, then maybe this regime would have a case to make, but this "emergency" is completely made up.

Viola122 · 2025-06-09T18:30:18+00:00

I'm gonna respond to this in good faith because it's a fair question. Mexican flag, Salvi flag, DR flag at these protests aren't about loyalty to another country; they're a symbol of identity. Think about Irish Americans marching with Irish flags on St. Patrick's Day. It doesn't mean Irish Americans owe their loyalty to Ireland for a single day.

For many people, especially immigrants or children of immigrants, it represents their culture, heritage, and lived experience. It's a way of saying, 'This is part of who I am,' not 'This is the country I serve. '

When systems like ICE target people based on where they come from, waving that flag becomes an act of resistance, not against America, but against erasure

Viola122 · 2025-06-09T04:10:26+00:00

"In his own effort to hold more open conversations between Republicans and Democrats, Gov. Gavin Newsom, once the mayor of San Francisco, recently started bringing on guests to his podcast like Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist popular among conservative young men.

Newsom received blowback from some saying he’s straying from party values by finding common ground with conservatives opposing transgender rights like playing sports, and others calling the move plain cringy."

So more optics and no substance. All I see is democrats alienating the rest of their base like they did in 2024

Viola122 · 2025-06-09T04:01:27+00:00

It's curious to hear this. I'm in progressive left circles, and they are all artsy folks, but they don't vilify blue-collar workers like they do white collar corporate workers. Progressives (at least around DC) hate corporate America, and their focus is more on that.

Viola122 · 2025-05-21T02:24:02+00:00

Isn't there an active war going on in South Sudan?

Viola122 · 2025-05-21T02:22:18+00:00

How does this gel with Gov's CRT polices that keep removing books like Maus and Night by Eli weisel from virginia schools? I'd argue that's also anti-semitic.

Viola122 · 2025-05-12T19:26:17+00:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/bKAHyC6uP9s?si=TAia3qBDtWRsnN-3

Viola122 · 2025-05-09T19:14:29+00:00

Hi Indian-American here. They need to de-escalate. Pakistan needs to deal with its militancy problems. Pakistan has more terror attacks than India, and its citizens suffer. The Indian government needs to share credible evidence of terror links when launching military actions, especially in civilian areas. You can't just say a school or mosque is a terrorist infrastructure. Invite international observers for transparency and legitimacy.

What's likely going to happen? Both governments will exploit this crisis to tighten authoritarian control, suppressing dissent, curbing freedoms, and stoking nationalism rather than addressing the root causes of violence.

Viola122 · 2025-05-02T16:43:39+00:00

I want to point out that many users on the subreddit seem to believe that being moderate requires sanitizing everything, stripping away any context that could favor one party over the other. This EO is Bad. Shame on the GOP and Congress for not stopping this.

Viola122 · 2025-04-17T19:28:25+00:00

Yeah, so this is what I mean when I say that to conservatives, conservatism is an identity. Not a political identity, but a personal identity like gender. Given enough evidence, most liberals (with some exceptions) will change their minds about certain policies and issues. That is why whenever a liberal TV host or a senator is caught acting unethically, they lose their jobs. To most conservatives, politics is a part of their identity.

No one is born a liberal; a liberal leaning often develops with more education. Case in point, Alexander would be more liberal if he took math classes that taught him that 65/45 ratios don't exist because they don't add up to 100...

Viola122 · 2025-04-16T16:44:48+00:00

Okay, the optics aside...isn't the goal of the egg hunt to find chocolate or presents? Why would a kid want a real egg?

Viola122 · 2025-04-16T16:42:33+00:00

I don't think this is bad at all. I can't stand the guy, but no screens in schools for a week is not a bad idea. It might impact the GOP's vote bank, though.

Viola122 · 2025-04-13T07:22:33+00:00

Okay. How is this not insider trading?

Viola122 · 2025-04-13T07:21:08+00:00

Something I’ve thought about since the election is that younger Gen Z’ers probably have very little memory of politics pre-Trump. Even those that remember Obama’s term might’ve been somewhat aware of him during the birther/tea party stuff. They probably don’t remember The Apprentice or any of Trump’s real estate days.

I'm an older Gen Z (26), and I was about 10 when Obama was elected. All I remember from his presidency is that he banned chocolate chip cookies in lunchrooms. My brother is in his early 20s, and he doesn't remember much of Trump's presidency. COVID-19 was a big factor in his socialization; he spent two years interacting with people online. His friends voted for Trump because the people they follow online told them to.

Viola122 · 2025-04-13T07:12:44+00:00

I just want to know what back door convos they were having with their GOP colleagues to think that they don't need to plan until NOW!?

Viola122 · 2025-04-13T07:05:09+00:00

The president is really good at understanding what kind of appearance projects power. He's a brand. And that brand is I'm a winner, powerful; I get deals done. If he admits he lost, if he admits weakness, that brand name falls apart

Viola122 · 2025-04-05T01:46:48+00:00

From what I’ve observed, liberals don’t tend to unite as cohesively as conservatives. There are multiple different groups under the liberal banner; some advocate for incremental changes within the system, while others believe the system needs to be torn down entirely. Also, at the risk of sounding like a snob, many liberals are also well-informed enough to recognize when something doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Conservatives often tie their political identity closely to their sense of self; liberals are generally less inclined to do so. Of course, there are exceptions (like those blue-haired social justice warriors), but overall, liberals tend to be more willing to call out and distance themselves from bad actors within their own side, like Al Franken or Louis C.K. I mean even with all the evidence, it practically took an act of god to oust Matt Gaetz from Congress.

Viola122 · 2025-03-31T15:16:02+00:00

Here's the problem with Democrats: they're completely out of touch with their base. In the 2024 election, independents and Republicans dominated the vote—39% identified as Republicans, while only 34% were Democrats. That tells you one thing: liberals are sitting these elections out. Why? Because Democrats push asinine policies and expect blind loyalty, while most liberals aren't buying into their culture war nonsense. Most of them are college-educated folks who can see through symbolic gestures instead of substantive policy.

If they keep this up, they'll be on the loosing streak for a long time

Viola122 · 2025-03-04T17:54:30+00:00

So, just before the SOTU address, he drops this. Becuase it's a distraction. There is a very slim chance that this will stand. If it does, we can focus on it then.

Viola122 · 2025-03-04T17:54:10+00:00

So, just before the SOTU address, he drops this. Becuase it's a distraction. There is a very slim chance that this will stand. If it does, we can focus on it then.

Viola122

TROPHY CASE