DSMB t1_j0fthj2 wrote
Reply to comment by techman710 in Jacinda Ardern auctions off ‘arrogant prick’ comment to raise money for prostate cancer charity by Laogama
>She seems like a very normal person who is doing her best despite not always getting it right.
There is so much bullshit in politics, I find myself gravitating more and more towards simple character assessment of prominent figures when forming an opinion of a party.
Since we can't trust anything they say, I will judge their personality and actions instead. People will critique leaders based on certain policies, and this is really important to keep constant pressure on our leaders. However it should not distract us from assessing who is most fit to lead and who will at the least try harder for the people.
Many people think that these seemingly decent people are actually really sneaky and worse than the loud mouthed asshole (not referring to anyone one particular). But I think this is bullshit people convince themselves of to justify their preconceptions.
For example, as an Australian, my opinion of Morrison solidified when he addressed the country during the bushfires. I could see right through his bullshit. He couldn't even fake empathy. He didn't care. It was like he was saying what he thought would sound like he cared. And the evidence continues to mount. Robodebt being a prime example.
With the amount of spotlight politicians get, and sometimes unfiltered social media, they can only fake it so far. We can tell who really cares, and I think (just my opinion of course) we should pay more attention to that human perception.
CCtenor t1_j0gd8cs wrote
Same. While I will listen to policy, I spend most of my time listening to how a candidate acts, forming a character assessment, and voting based on that. At the end of the day, I find I want somebody who embodies what I want to see in a person and/or leader more than somebody who is good at saying all the right things.
Unfortunately, as a left-leaning American in (what I feel is) the most chaotic, stupid, and possibly divided, democratic political system to somehow manage to stay together (so far!) in the modern, western, world, a character assessment of a candidate often means checking how often they repeat directly harmful rhetoric, and lies, about minority groups, when platforming their politics.
Needless to say, most of the time, I’m voting a straight ticket in one specific direction, to avoid putting people into office who believe that, say, they can see Russia from their house, women’s bodies have “ways to shut it [rape] down”, or their grandparents were “good at nuclear”, and less so who has better policy. At least there is a correlation between lying, and having bad/no policy, seems a bit correlated still.
The_Scourge t1_j0homnr wrote
Scomo acts like he's God's gift and it's true for the Labor party. So many generational liberal voters tolerated Howard and Trumble but shit no one outside of Hillsong could justify just how inhuman Scotty From Marketing proved to be. That handshake he forced on that poor woman who refused to shake his hand after the fires was the perfect snapshot of a complete arsehole. As a reluctant Shirey I know the Engadine Maccas story is probably bullshit but at this point who cares? Not like believing it changes what a sociopathic bastard he really is.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments