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Trump
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Ack! You caught me. I meant to speak about small Buddhists, so it should have been "wee". ?
The "wrong speech", particularly on a Buddhist website, was what kind of grated on me, although I share the concerns of so many on the topic of Donald Trump. I'm still guilty on the "wrong speech" aspect, but I try to reserve it to political websites.
Lesson happily learned by me. Appreciate it @vinlyn
Becoming angry, becoming annoyed, being amused, being sadden, being indifferent etc etc...
However one chooses to react, it's all entwined within one's Dharma practice...It's all Dharma, there's no escaping it...
I was going to chime in on the Paris withdrawal and I think @yagr and @vinlyn already echoed my sentiment.
Nothing in the Paris agreement was required or enforceable so I think withdrawing hurts the US standing more than it will hurt the climate. Without the US other countries will step up to lead the way even more as well as individual states and US corporations, even Walmart and Exxon-Mobile are taking steps.
The moral argument for the welfare of humanity on this planet is a strong reason to control carbon emissions. But the economics of clean energy is what will really drive the level of change needed and the reduction of prices there continues to move quickly forward.
Many sources of political media spin things to get their readers riled up probably because angry people tend to be motivated people, motivated to take action on whatever that media cares about.
Actually he can. Anyone can. I do receive requests by OPs to dispose of threads now and then.
Not suggesting or even hinting it should be done in this case. Just pointing it out.
Incidentally, I act as appropriate, not 'on a whim'.
I consider different factors....
I would like to end my contribution to this Trump thread I have started on a positive note. It has been cathartic in ways but I have learned much from others comments and I have learned how much farther I need to travel on my buddhist path.
I thank you , all who have contributed and I leave this thread.
Having insulted the Mayor of London after the recent terror attack, the Farting Trumpet is now worried that he won't be welcome in the UK. What a dick. Mrs. Maybot said his visit won't be cancelled, but hopefully she will do a U-turn on that as well, her circuitry has been misfiring a lot recently. I reckon Doctor Evil is behind it all.
Tell us how you really feel. Don't hold back.
I'm with you there.
Hi @vinlyn!!
@Hozan One thing I have realized is that we are frequently told "venting" has a place and a purpose. It feels good to get that stuff off our chests, and the idea is that holding it in just makes things worse. But I do think we can process how we feel without expressing it out to the world. I have had to learn to do this. I used to call my mom to vent about various problems, but it only created more problems. Venting seemed to cause us both to hold onto the problems, and then it would continue for days as frustration set in that she kept insisting on things and then getting mad I didn't take her advice when all I wanted was to "get it out." We do need to acknowledge and process our feelings. But it doesnt' mean every thought associated with those feelings has to be verbalized. This is something I try to help my kids learn. That if you are careful with which thoughts you give a voice to, your voice becomes more important rather than just more wah-wah-wah Charlie Brown adult voices adding noise to the world. When something needs to be done, I do what I can. But I am learning to let the rest go with various meditation and breathing and even exercise or walking techniques rather than voicing all my frustrated thoughts.
Another thing is that if you give initial news a few days to play out, often you find solutions work themselves out. I went on vacation the day we withdrew from the Paris accord, but within a few days found that many states have already agreed to keep their benchmarks in place and follow the accord on their own regardless of what Trump said. including my state. So the problem resolved without me getting my panties in a twist about it. The result? I didn't get upset and frustrated because I was too busy enjoying my time and whatever the result happens to be will resolve without my voicing my input unless it's to people who can make a difference (like my politicians). We most of the time upset ourselves. We make ourselves crazy. We then blame it on Trump or whoever/whatever else. But it's only us.
@karasti I agree with you. I came to this realisation too. And as promised I have no further Trump news to add.
Much metta
Hozan
P..S I hope you had a lovely vacation and welcome back.
?
Dear Friends of the Buddha,
Outstanding post from @karasti
stuff ... it is all small stuff apart from:
Don't worry about the small handed
Usual stuff ... We iz plan!
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/29/16900646/trump-administration-tweets-media-polarization
An interesting article
There is no Donald Trump.
I think he might disagree with you there.... Humbly, of course....
My reply will be...okay, where is Donald Trump? Is Donald Trump your leg? Your thoughts? Your beliefs? As you can see, Donald Trump, Donald Trump is merely a figment of your imagination.
Oh yeah? Point to Donald Trump. Booyah.
Donald Trump is an angry twitter-bot who happens to have been elected president.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions/trump-administration-holds-off-on-new-russia-sanctions-despite-law-idUSKBN1FI2V7
Troublesome times. A law passed 6 months ago is now ignored by Trump. Democracy is being chipped away at by Trump in the US. An Authoritarian in the making?? Next step fire Mueller?? Worrying times for the US and the world.
Is Trump like Senator Palpatine aka Darth Sidious aka The Emperor?
Unfortunately there is a Donald Trump and even more unfortunately the damage he is doing is very real.
So tell your mom to stop it.
Ok. She said she would do her best to stop it. Thank you. Sound advice.
Sometimes a virus kills us and sometimes it strengthens our immune system. Will Trump kill us or strengthen us?
That depends on our own inherent resistance to the virus.
I agree, it depends. Are you familiar with the term antifragility? It's the idea that some systems get stronger via stressors and weaker when they are protected from them, such as the immune or skeletal system, or evolution. I guess I think democracy maybe like that too. So Trump's attacks on the media and laws would actually cause those systems to respond and strengthen. It could be that he kills them though, so it is an open question to me. So it is worrying but in the long run it could make us stronger for it.
Is the nightmare over yet? Or close to being over? Anybody here Stateside who is following it closely? Is Muellers endgame close? Will Trump be ousted ? Will Trump see jailtime?
I see in media today the word "trump" and "nobel peace prize" in the same sentence?????
Where do we go from here? The global damage to democracy is already immense. Trump is a criminal, pure and simple. He is a liar many times over. More besides. All of these so called "checks and balances" and he is still lying his way through his presidency. Please somebody Stateside give us hope and say his time is nearly up. He will see justice?
https://www.esquire.com/uk/latest-news/a20111768/donald-trump-has-managed-to-tell-3001-lies-as-president-here-are-five-of-his-best/
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/01/politics/donald-trump-3000/index.html
What is cause also for much worry and pessimism are his loyal base who stand behind him no matter what. No matter how many lies, corruptions, statements of racism or homophobia - his loyal base stand by their leader. For the benefit of the US and the world , Trump, Pence and the whole White House staff need to be swept out of office. Whether that is through impeachment/legal grounds or just voted out in 2020 - it needs to happen ASAP to limit any further damage.
On a related note, Michelle Wolf's appearance at the White House Correspondent's dinner. I thought it was savage but hilarious and accurate. Pretty much everything she said about Trump, his staff, and the media were true.
https://www.salon.com/2018/05/04/donald-trump-and-rudy-giuliani-a-pair-of-aging-new-york-goons-plot-their-last-big-heist/
?
Meanwhile in UK ...
... Someone in their own party (general secretary of UKIP) described their electoral annihilation (yesterday council elections) as 'like the black death'.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/04/black-death-ukip-almost-wiped-out-in-english-local-elections
... and now back to more serious mettas ...
I don''t mean in the sense that Trump is going to good things, I mean in the sense that, like a virus, his presence causes citizens to mobilize and actually cause change. For example the recent push for gun control has us closer to actually making progress than during the whole Obama presidency when enough people were complacent leaving up to Obama to fix the problem. Also, in response to Trump there is an expected Democratic advantage of several points in the upcoming congressional elections such that they will likely take back the house and possibly the Senate.
It's about keeping a broad, long term perspective. Not about supporting Trump.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guns-trump/trump-back-in-step-with-nra-after-doubts-over-parkland-shooting-idUSKBN1I50ZR
Sadly I'm not sure the US is any closer to tighter gun control than it ever was. I understand your "what is good and what is bad" being a false dichotomy example but sometimes a you have to call a spade a spade. Personally I am going to say Trump is bad. Very bad for America and the world. The damage he is doing is very real and will take a long time to reverse. His attitude to climate change and the environment may cause irreversible changes . We were already playing catch up with climate change reversal. I am not going to afford trump the "what is good, what is bad" example as he needs to be called out for what he is.
From where I stand your point is good. In the analogy of a virus to the body, that requires the body (citizens) to recognize the harmful invader and react to protect the body. In doing that though the system is now stronger and more resilient to other similar harms.
Maybe my point isn't so much about the world out there, but more about our own psychological perspective on how we view it and I'm just not expressing that well enough.
@person you are making an excellent point and are expressing yourself very well indeed.
??????
Would someone please delete this post? I don't need to see that name on a Buddhist forum. There must be somewhere to go to escape him, and the disgrace he represents for America.
Sorry i meant thread not post.
I get that politics really pushes people's buttons in a major way. So with as much kindness as I can muster.
Thank you @ person for the kind intro. I'm not trying to get rid of all the shoes in the world, just one heel.
I take your point.... but if you're serious, we can't accept requests to delete threads made by other members. However much I would dearly love to comply!
Sometimes when we have an itch, it's wiser to let it be without scratching...
The more you scratch it, the worse it gets.
I think this Trump thread is one that would be best left alone and ignored... I am actually unclear as to why @Socair thought it wise to 'revive it'....
Then again, if anyone on forum is actually obliged to view it, that would be a Moderator... everyone else has the choice to steer clear....
I don't follow the thread. I just got tired of seeing Trump on the list of topics. He's always in the news in the U.S. which is precisely what he wants, to be the center of attention at any cost.
It appears I transgressed forum policy. It wasn't a virulent post, more like enough already. I ' m still learning the ropes, sorry @federica. I thought your semi admonition was well balanced.
You didn't transgress forum policy at all, and there was no intention to admonish. I have however, 'sunk' the thread. There is such a thing as 'too much information'...!
I suppose I revived the thread as Trump presents a real and present danger to us all and life on Earth. Another point is that forgetting about him won't solve the problem. If we "sink" Trump to our awareness in real life because of the disgrace he has caused ( as you have mentioned @Tsultrim ) we bury our heads in the sand. I actually think Trump relies on constant scandals to make people weary of his constant negative presence which is a frightening tactic. We are over saturated with negative Trump news indeed but he is relying on that. It wont go away if we sink the thread or turn the other way.
Not complaining in the least @federica but just curious as to what "sinking the thread" means.?
No need to answer @federica . I understand now. Sinking means new comments don't bring the thread to the top so it eventually just sinks its way out of contention entirely. As the name sinking suggests! Doh! My wish would be that Trump may sink in a similar fashion!
@Tsultrim
Surely buddhist forums must not exclude issues that are difficult. Ignoring difficult issues isn't a solution to those issues.
@Socair it is a question of skilful.
Pot-ass DJ Rump to give her full title, is the embodiment of a king Troll. Your point about difficult issues is taken:
Look forward to threads on:
etc.