Kevin

Wandering through life, and for reasons unknown decided to be here. All opinions expressed are my own, and are correct. My adjectives are inquisitive/bookish.

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@HistoryBoomer Chomky's rather lame answer to this is to posit that carrying out undesirable work will be decided on some sort of egalitarian basis. But (at best) that only says how work would be assigned. It doesn't explain *why* any given person will actually do it.

[Carl @HistoryBoomer]

It's a mistake to see people who vote differently from you as evil.

People think, "From what I read and watch, I can see clearly that Trump [or Harris] is evil. Knowingly voting for evil makes you evil."

There are many problems with this POV.

First, they aren't reading and watching what you're reading and watching! The world image they've drawn in their minds is substantially different than yours. You watch MSNBC, they watch Fox (or vice versa).

This one is huge. Most people, on a gut level, don't believe that other people literally see a different version of reality. "It's so obvious! They have to see what I see!" But it's not obvious, and they don't! (Remember the white and gold dress all those maniacs thought was blue and black?)

Second, remember that most people don't pay much attention to the news. Most of my students have no idea who the vice president is or whether there's a primary on Tuesday. The majority of folks vote on vibes, not deep research of the candidates and issues.

Third, we all have different priorities. For you, Trump's disrespect for democracy was critical. For them, Biden's loose border policies and altering Title IX were the issues that mattered. It's not that they embraced his ugly side; they just thought Harris would be worse. (Or, again, vice versa.)

Fourth, have a little humility! You might be wrong! My Harris vote was easy—Trump is awful—but maybe I've misjudged her. Maybe she would have imposed a bunch of crazy progressive policies and required everyone to tattoo their forehead with the trans flag. Or she'd have nuked Russia and started WW3. I think these are very unlikely, but maybe I'M the one who's wrong!

If my neighbor with different political views cleans our hallway, helps out the elderly, gives to charity, and never has an unkind word for any stranger, I'd prefer her to a jerk who always votes my way.

Judge people for how they treat their family, friends, and community, not for how they vote.

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@IonaItalia People have gotten weirdly obsessed with the idea that kids should only be had when the situation is "optimal" to the point that they lose sight of the fact that people born under so-called "suboptimal" conditions still go on to live happy lives that are worth living.

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@mungowitz https://t.co/7ANzDqqvAm

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@stephencdawson @IonaItalia

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@jennfrey Possible explanation from @bryan_caplan

https://t.co/p0p99yUmRU

[Jessica Riedl 🧀 🇺🇦 @JessicaBRiedl]

Trump ran against the Biden record. Then he:
– Raised gas prices
– Launched foreign wars
– Dangled $300B for Iran
– Backdoor-forgave student loans
– Raised taxes (tariffs)
– Blew up the deficit
– Worsened inflation
– Weaponized DOJ against enemies
– Pardoned swampy lawmakers
– Let his family cash in
– Nationalized businesses
– Blamed corporate greed for prices
– Executive overreached
– Said an armed protester had it coming.

I hope all the MAGAs who despised Bidenism are enjoying the sequel. The remaining economic, foreign policy, and small-government conservatives who did not abandon their policy beliefs (what they call “RINOs”) are just sitting back saying “I told you so.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@_preordained @jayvanbavel I'm not an introvert but I absolutely thrived on remote work, and my company's shift to requiring two in office days per week (flex work, as you say) has been a massive downgrade in my work experience and has actually hampered my overall productivity. But YMMV.

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@jayvanbavel @Noahpinion Again, I'm sure what you're saying generally holds for most people most of the time - but it's worth remembering humanity is not a monolith and people like me exist too!

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@jayvanbavel @Noahpinion Recently my company has been requiring people to be back in office twice a week, and it's been a downgrade on every front, with none of the benefits you describe.

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@Kschu11 @ViolaGreenwood @IonaItalia Anyhow, I'll link the essay next, and apologies for the long winded thread in reply to your admirably more terse comments! Cheers, and happy Friday Eve.
https://t.co/1MI4rV3BX0

[Kevin @IdeasAndReality]

@Kschu11 @ViolaGreenwood @IonaItalia And for what it's worth, I grew up in a low income and pretty dysfunctional set of circumstances, and the behaviors and mindset described here are immediately recognizable to me - it was the waters in which I swam as I grew up.