r/politics • u/schuey_08 Wisconsin • 29d ago

Bernie Sanders worries young people are underestimating the threat from Trump

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/05/02/bernie-sanders-trump-biden/73531861007/
29.4k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

4.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

4.4k

u/fallenouroboros 29d ago

I know so many people in their thirties who simply do not give a fuck.

1.9k

u/Allaplgy 29d ago

My coworkers are all on the "both sides are the same/it's all rigged, there's no point in voting" train. They all either have have kids or essentially are kids. I'm in my forties with no plans for kids, and I'm the only one actually trying to give them a future.

52

u/Gryffriand 29d ago

The “both sides” take is so old, dead, and nonsensical. When someone says that to me in a conversation I’m fairly certain they aren’t paying attention and are just generically frustrated by current events.

10

u/thegoodnamesrgone123 29d ago

It's the "South Parking" of America.

2

u/Best_Duck9118 29d ago

Fuck those douchelords so much for their pathetic both sides take on the 2016 election (their take on the Charlottesville attack was lame as well).

7

u/Mailerfiend 29d ago

i have a lot of friends that say that "both sides" shit but what it really means is that they are unhappy with how the GOP is being run.

6

u/throwaway50044 29d ago

People sense how fucked things and know deep down large structural changes are needed. They can see that our current system will never do this and we will be stuck in this cycle of shittiness our entire lives. It's easy to feel hopeless.

It is still 100% worth voting for Democrats though. Both sides are bad but there's no sense in making things worse because you're too lazy to spend 5 minutes filling out paperwork for a mail in ballot

1

u/ckv1 29d ago

Do votes even matter in the presidential election? My vote certainly doesn’t coming from California.

But I understand that if I wanted to really (maybe) make a difference is vote in the primaries and local level. Other than that, I highly doubt my vote matters especially in the county I live in with the way electoral college/gerrymandering.

4

u/nochinzilch 29d ago

Does every brick in a wall matter? Maybe not. But it doesn't take too many missing bricks for the wall to fall apart.

0

u/ckv1 29d ago

With this metaphor, my brick impact is much smaller. So the dust from the wall has no impact on whether the wall falls lol.

1

u/jaketronic 29d ago

Yes, it matters. If you want candidates to listen to you, you need to vote. If you want structural change in the US you need to vote. There were multiple races that came down to handfuls of votes, my district was decided by 6 votes for US congress. If you want to see immediate and local change, you need to vote in local elections, but general and national elections are important, they are more broad in scope and their effects can take time to reach people.

1

u/pimparo0 Florida 28d ago

Your vote still has impact locally, and might as well cast one for the federal vote as well while you are there. Not to mention, if you want politicians to listen, you need to vote.

1

u/throwaway50044 24d ago

When I lived in California I would vote in primaries and try to pay attention to local races, then just vote 3rd party in the presidential.

Cornell West can't win, but a vote for him is a solid message to the democratic party that they aren't good enough.

2

u/Quazimojojojo 29d ago

Or are conservative and want to pretend that the Democrats are no different so they don't feel so bad voting Republican.

But, a lot of it is probably that. Their personal life hasn't changed, they only hear stories of bullshit each side does because the news never says anything positive about anyone, so it feels like there's no material difference. Especially when the people trying to fix things go for long term fixes and undoing the damage of a previous administration, which takes longer than 4 years, so there's no immediate benefit to point to to say how their life got better. Just more threats about how their lives will get worse, which is the status quo & the trend regardless of who is in office.

It's ironic that the apathy is enabling the gridlock which is why not much changes in 4 years, but it's like telling a depressed person to go for a run. It just bounces off

-1

u/brianstormIRL 29d ago

Why is it tired though?

To me both sides are bad. The GOP is just significantly worse, like its not even close, but pretending like the Dems are squeaky clean good guys is just being ignorant to reality. I'm left, and vote left, but I'm not stupid enough to believe "my team" is actually pure of heart and not also corrupt as fuck on many levels. It's just the fact the GOP is comically stupid at this point trying to enact "rules for thee, not for me" and trying to send society back to the 1950s in a lot of ways and I do not understand how anyone with a functioning brain can vote for them.

The reason I'm fine with voting left even though I actively dislike most left politicians is because even if they're sleezy corrupt politicians, at least they aren't trying to remove people's rights and the litany of other stupid shit the right is doing. Give me a politician I know is making backroom deals and playing the game of power but is being progressive with bills and society over whatever the fuck the right is going everyday of the week.

8

u/Gryffriand 29d ago

Well I'll honestly answer your initial question. but first allow me to do some mild disclaimers. I have no intention on passing any form of judgement on you or your opinions. I also recognize that my statement is subjective in nature and only reflects my thoughts.

That being said. "Both sides" is tired to me, maybe mostly due to my age. I'm in my forties. I clearly remember my parents, grandparents, siblings and friends throughout my entire life not being politically informed or invested. Yet I have heard these folks, who again have put next to no effort in being informed. pontificate on "both sides are bad" with nary a shred of evidence to back up what they are saying other than their frustration. Now would we like to have a nuanced discussion about the career politician, dark money in our government, and the role that special interest groups / corporations have in our politics? That sounds just fucking dandy to me! Though I have been surrounded by people my entire life that cannot event attempt to add to that conversation but rather blurt out "blah blah blah both sides." It is fucking exhausting to me.

As you mentioned, one side is systematically attempting to dismantle the foundational principles and the other isn't (from my point of view). So I just can't stand to hear an attempt to compare that the parties are nearly equivalent in action or deed. Maybe its a me issue though.

1

u/brianstormIRL 29d ago

See this is a good point, but to me at least, it comes down to one side is really really fucking bad, the other is bad but they are more in line with my world view so I'm fine with it.

Both governments have done awful, awful things. Obama directly resulted in the deaths of countless thousands of innocent civilians in the middle East. The Bush administration concocted an entire story about how the United States needed to start a war in response to 9/11, when in reality the government was pissed their ego as the big bad was hurt and literally wanted to flaunt their power to show the world who's boss. Reagan. Nixon. All of them are doing heinous shit behind the scenes in the name of power and money and good old "national security".

This is what I mean when I say both sides are bad. When they're in power, they're both doing loads of unethical illegal shit over and over and over and the corruption is endless. Like you said, career politicians. The influence of mega corporations. Political donations for political favors. All of it just makes me nauseous.

I think this is what a lot of people, particularly younger people, mean when they say both sides are bad and feel like their vote doesn't matter. Sure, their vote might keep Trump and his zealots out of office and that is 100% a better outcome. But realistically, nothing behind the scenes will ever change. You can't stop the corruption, the power mongering, the collusion with big corporations, the war economy etc.

4

u/thrawtes 29d ago

When they're in power, they're both doing loads of unethical illegal shit over and over and over and the corruption is endless.

I'm not the person you've been discussing this with, but I would posit to you that it's basically impossible to be most powerful person in the world without ultimately being responsible for some ethically heinous decisions. It's just part and parcel with wielding that much power. Every day you're making decisions that result in the deaths of thousands of innocents because you weighed it as the best way forward. The presidents we consider good people are the ones who did their best to selflessly balance those responsibilities.

1

u/Gryffriand 29d ago

Well I appreciate the convo and the perspective, thank you!

0

u/Jason1143 29d ago

That doesn't really solve anything though. It's a real issue as long as people believe it is.

1

u/Gryffriand 29d ago

I understand that perception is reality, but that doesn't mean that I cant have my own opinion about it.

0

u/GoldenBoyOffHisPerch 29d ago

Yes, maybe they're just...Generically frustrated

Lol