Give Me Liberty... Don't Give Me Death

My take on the understandable fear from those who prefer Pete Buttigieg but believe that moderates may not be up for a gay vice president: I suspect many moderates usually wouldn't. I don't know if moderates, however, would opt for a 4th Reich to avoid him. Nor would they opt for possible death camps next year to avoid him. Nor nuclear war to avoid him. Nor the end of human rights to avoid him. Nor being under the absolute power of a man who would be legally allowed to shoot protesters in the street as he so wanted to that one time when he was president. Let alone being under the absolute power of a man who let hundreds of thousands of people perish... to try to look better in the press about the pandemic. Moderates may very well... not be ready for all of that... more than not ready for someone they knew was a really good candidate... but, oh no, he's gay. And after that, when you then add in, not only his undeniable longstanding rapport and comfort with VP Harris... but the absolute opposition ending *weapon* he is against both the unraveling of our system of government, as well as the gaslighting, both, from Maga and from the media...all of that *on top* of the fact that moderates probably would not opt for the end of American civilization as we know it... just to avoid a gay man?

And they'd be willing to perish next year to make sure they avoided that gay man?..

And keep in mind, someone else raised the valid point that as a species we've demonstrated a lack of urgency over things like climate change, another example of something which presents the notion of us perishing. But there's a difference. Climate change is this ethereal futuristic thing that people haven't quite wrapped their mind around... and more importantly, their primal visceral fear around being an imminent threat. The imminent threat of less than 100 days from now we could begin the process that could have us all dead by next year is one that is seeping into people's conscious as well as subconscious mind in a way that climate change never has. The threat 100 days from now is something that people have wrapped their primal visceral fear around. People are having come to Jesus moments, because we're less than 4 months away from what could be... the end of all of us. In.. less than 100 days... from right now. This is tending to hit people a little differently right now than... "we need to address climate change because in 10 years... we may see devastation." The profound understanding that we may all perish beginning in 4 or 5 months from now... and be led to our demise... by an unhinged child raping lunatic with his finger on the nuclear button, with no legal ramifications for his actions due to his recently established immunity to prevent him from killing us all... after he already killed hundreds of thousands of us by simply ignoring the pandemic because it made him look bad... has kind of gotten into everybody's bones, under our skin, in a way that other threats have not, but have been dampened within our sense of fear by the procrastination laden "I'm sure we'll fix it someday-ism."

A separate person's take: I engaged this whole topic of discussion with another person who countered that I needed to keep in mind that people are homophobic idiots in this country, and so I can't rely on people valuing Pete Buttigiege for his true merits in the place of such bigotries.

To which I truthfully responded, "No no, I'm agreeing with you."

But I continued to distinguish between that point and the one I was making, neither of which were in conflict with each other. That is, I am simply saying there's a difference between what homophobic idiots do in their own homophobic self-interest... And what they do when the alternative... is death. The folks who are going to be that extreme, will never vote for Kamala Harris no matter who she chooses. We're talking about moderates here, though. Moderates are the only getable voters at this point beyond the ones we already have. The ones who are firmly Trump right now?... Nothing will get them. And they, I'd argue, would potentially walk themselves off a cliff to their own deaths just to show Donald Trump allegiance. We're never getting those people. No matter who the vice president picks. Instead, we're talking about the people who aren't allegiant to the leader of a personality cult to the point of being at least suicide-adjacent.

We're talking about the moderates. The ones supposedly still on a fence. And more on that later. If a moderate were uncomfortable with a gay man... This would be the year that they would vote... for a gay man. Not because they're virtuous, nor even because they suddenly shed their bigotries.. But because they don't want to die next year. It's self-interest. Not virtue. Holding on to one's bigotries is easy to do when you're not looking down the barrel of a gun in the shape of facing a death camp, or in the shape of watching your little girl being raped by a man who has absolute immunity to do it as much as he wants. People tend to not be as afraid of a gay man... When dying a slow death as their lungs collapse from a pandemic neglected by a sadistic leader is the alternative. A gay man doesn't seem so bad after that. And if he's the only way to avoid such a fate... a gay man seems to be a godsend in that moment standing in the voting booth. But any other year? People will make the stupid homophobic choice. Because any other year... when death of a nation is not on the ballot... they're not going to die for making the homophobic choice. Their voting for a gay man this year... is pure self-interest. And this might be the only year where self-interest of not wanting to die next year in a fourth reich, trumps (no pun intended) holding onto one's own aversion... to a gay man. And especially.. if they actually know the gay man would be pretty perfect at the job itself, perhaps better than everybody else, and that the only reason they wouldn't vote for him would be because they were only uncomfortable that he was gay. But not accepting someone they know is good, even perfect for the job, because they are... too uncomfortably gay to them... and choosing death... instead?

I don't buy it. Not for a millisecond. Not for moderates who are just looking to get out of this alive at this point.

No one's looking at them when they're in that voting booth. Kamikazes who are all talk within their bigotries... tend to disappear in the privacy of a voting booth when no one looks, and they're simply evaluating their own self-interest, of which self-sacrifice through death of themselves and their nation to honor one's own bigotries... death to honor one's own bigotries... has no appeal. Especially if none of their bigoted friends are next to them who might otherwise cause any potential degree of peer pressure to make the self-destructive choice... are nowhere near them. Because they're in the privacy of a voting booth. So they only have their desire to not die next year in a death camp... as they make... their choice. Remember, we're talking about moderates... not the lunatics who are never going to vote for Kamala Harris no matter who she picks. Not ever. People on the fence don't ever choose to leap off of the fence... and over a cliff. So if a cliff is on the other side, in that distinct case... they'll always choose the side... that doesn't have the cliff on it. It's only when there's soft grass on both sides but just of, perhaps, different colors.. one of which may be to their discomfort... perhaps a bigoted discomfort... that they may choose to leap to the side whose grass color they're least offended by. But a cliff leading to their own death instead of a differently appearing lawn of grass​... was never a part of that serious consideration... in the privacy of a voting booth, as they press down the pen in the selection that would either kill themselves... or would have them for the first time perhaps tolerating a gay man in office not to kill themselves. They knew what actually be good at the job, gayness notwithstanding. Moderates.

Versus... Suicidal crazy maga people who will never ever ever ever vote, even if it means dying next year, for Kamala Harris no matter who she picks.

So we don't have to worry about Madam Vice President's pick of running mate for their sake.

Something else to keep in mind.

A large amount of prejudice affects our society... based on the people who simply make decisions out of fear that other's bigotries will come into play...

So, in effect, the people who are afraid of other people's bigotries, end up carrying out a meaningful percentage of the effects of said bigotries themselves.

It's a perverse unintended consequence.

I've had many people in my personal life subject me to the effects of bigotries, removing me from opportunities...

out of fear of what other bigoted people would decide against me.

Only to learn that said other people... never manifested...

And the only ones who put me in the place of disadvantage... Were the ones who were afraid I would be put at disadvantage by... *other* bigoted people.

This is how groups of societies create self-fulfilling prophecies, and unnecessarily cut themselves out of the benefits were they just simply to go for the best outcome.

We prevent ourselves and lose out all the time.

Fear doesn't just disadvantage people from those with bigotries.

Fear disadvantages people from those who are afraid of people with bigotries..

people afraid whose actions in response to this fear of other people's bigotries... often result in carrying out the same results of bigotry..

against the very people who just want someone to give them the chance to show that they will do this, and they will succeed.

Tragically, there are a lot more supporters of the actual effects of discrimination through this fear of how some will be received by the prejudices of other people... ​​than merely the bigoted people we non-bigots would like to say are the entire cause of. And even in some cases, we non-bigots end up being the only supporters of the experienced impact of prejudice​, because we keep them out of opportunities to protect ourselves.. from the feared reaction of bigots. And sometimes we tell ourselves that we're doing this to protect the recipients of such impacts while we are simultaneously creating that self-fulfilling prophecy of disenfranchisement by removing them from the equation of engaging in some form of participation... out of the same said fear.

Another person I chatted with challenged the notion that moderates even really do have a problem with Pete Buttigieg's sexual orientation, making the argument that he has been fully embraced by moderates in his political career. Thus, he asserted, understandably given he felt the premise itself wasn't true, that my argument, itself, was... "bogus."

My response to him was as follows:

"All the more reason I'm confident about Pete.

The conviction of my argument was simply that if there is any degree to which moderates would be uncomfortable with him based on homophobia, one which people keep asserting to be the case in this discussion thread, and one which I do imagine is an understandable fear, as we are not in a place where homophobia is absent the effect of influence on politics in our country... but that, nevertheless, assuming that's true, I can still fully alleviate the concerns of that argument and maintain that this would be the year any homophobia by said moderates, even in theory, would be readily shed once actually standing in that voting booth and considering the alternative being, essentially... death.

I stand by that argument. One which, hopefully, is understood with that clarification... I maintain is not bogus at all. And if those who are asserting that some moderates, too many of them, would be uncomfortable with him... isn't the case... all the better.

This argument will continue to be raised, thus, my interest is in showing that even if it's true, it doesn't hold water at all if you know anything about collective human behavior and the nature of how self-interest manifests differently depending on the actual situational parameters in different circumstances.

So, my argument isn't truly whether or not moderates are uncomfortable with so much a gay man, in other words. My argument is simply demonstrating that to those who assert that to be the case, nothing can be said to have them shed that fear, that if we take that to be true, it still doesn't matter. Because even if it were true that moderates weren't comfortable enough with him on the whole due to homophobia, to a point of concern presenting a possible threat to the Democratic ticket winning the election, this would actually be the one year in which that wouldn't matter and he would be more embraced this year to the sacrifice of anyone's held homophobia, then any other year perhaps in our American history. More so than any other year. Again, assuming if people's assertions in this thread that moderates aren't comfortable with him are true.

And I'd rather meet people where they are and show them that they have nothing to be concerned about, if they just take a moment to look at the realistic psychology at play, even, and especially with the component of prejudice being an influence alongside self-interest, than try to alleviate their fear through an argument that won't assuage it but merely seek to invalidate it. Seeking to invalidate someone's fear in an argument, in my personal experience, isn't as effective, nor helpful to the person I'm trying to reassure. Nor is it needed if there is an argument that meets and validates their fear and still shows them why, if they just stop and take a few moments to assess what's really at play psychologically with imperfect people... they have nothing to worry about at least in this particular situation along these particular lines. Legitimately.

It'll keep coming up, this specter of homophobia and the fear people have of it sinking our chances if Pete is our choice. So rather than dismissing this fear as having no reason to exist and just ending the conversation there, I'd rather show any who express the fear of others homophobia and the effects they worry it would have on choosing our Pete... I'd rather show them the remedy to this fear, rather than The demoralization towards them of invalidating its existence. Thus, we can all come to better understand why, yes, we can have the best candidate for this job without fear of others who would be on the fence, preventing us from having him for this job. We don't have to let that opportunity just... slip through our fingers. We don't have to give up on it, not even try for it. Because those would be homophobes on the fence realize that this year, their hesitation is between two different kinds of choices than in previous years where their would be homophobia may have more agency in what they choose versus what they would avert. On one side of the fence is grass, and unlike other years where the other side may be grass that moderates just don't like the looks of, or feel of... this year the other side of the fence... is a cliff leading to their death. And no one on any fence, no matter how much they may be holding off before they actually have to make a choice in the voting booth, will end up choosing death... if they're moderate... and not some disturbed cult member. And if they would choose death from a cultic psychology, well... we were never going to get their vote even if Kamala Harris chose Jesus Christ, himself.

So put simply to you specifically, as I don't have to address the concern embodied by others which I do have to address... my position is that there is absolutely no argument that holds up which has Pete Buttigiege as being anything other than the best choice. (Not even the homophobic one for those who can't otherwise be convinced that the homophobic factor doesn't at least exist has compelling enough because death is the alternative this year).

In my humble opinion.

And that is an argument that I stand by and will defend against its assertion of being bogus... to the very last."

Because of this very particular unique time, and unique dynamic in this year's presidential election... with death of a nation on the ballot... as being half of the binary choice... this may be the only window in the near future that Pete Buttigieg would actually have a free pass and be virtually assured to not stop the Democratic win, but in fact, would most effectively strip away the concerns of his being gay to reveal his absolute political weaponry against this fascist movement... because of this binary choice between: discomfort with a gay man... and death."

There's a boldness to a Kamala Harris Pete Buttigiege ticket that forces the opposition to say: "We don't want you because you're black and because you're gay." And how is the first half of that argument been going for the opposition so far? Nobody wants to be that. Nobody wants to associate with that.

Quite simply, the boldness of a Kamala and Pete ticket would electrify the campaign in a way that some people don't quite understand. Yes, the campaign has already been electrified by Kamala Harris. And with adding Pete Buttigiege, what some don't understand, yes, even with the concerns about a woman of color and a gay man just being too much... is that by adding him... lightning would strike twice. You would get people who wanted to define themselves as progressive, and distance and disassociate themselves from the ugliness of the other side. You would get people coming out of the woodwork who perhaps never felt this country represented them in this way. And are seeing it for the first time not only in their lives but in a review of American history. People who would vote who've never voted before. People you don't even know exist out there as voters... because they're so invisible in the political landscape specifically because they've felt fundamentally unacknowledged, and resigned to this disenfranchisement. This would awaken a sleeping voter contingent giant. This would be the quintessential, undeniably most profound validator of an entire ever-present segment of the American population that they've ever experienced. A once-in-a-generation awakening of swaths of voter interest that have never been reached before. Have never been awakened before. Now, not only awakened... but electrified. For the first time in their entire lives. A groundswell of validation of the highest order from a nation they never thought possible to bestow it upon them, now suddenly doing exactly that to the highest degree: a nation showing them they are committed to putting someone from the LGBTQIA spectrum... a heartbeat away from the American presidency arguably one of the most powerful positions... on Earth. One has no idea the mobilizing impact upon an entire population who have been invisible. Them not even knowing if they'd ever get this chance again. You want to see voter percentage turnout within one demographic? Holy shit would it be high in this demographic. And just consider: 30% of 100 million people, with an added 90% of 10 million. A fundamentally profound shift in the entire landscape of cultural existence within our our country. And that's not even bringing up the people who are closeted, haha. You will also get people flocking to that bold choice of virtue and acceptance when the choice is between that boldness... and the boldness of sadism, racism, bigotry and hatred. And for those who do choose the latter, once again, we were never going to get them in the first place no matter who the vice presidential pick it was.

Will team Harris figure all this out? I don't know. It does feel like a pretty big ask to have this level of savvy collective insight amongst a group of so many different humans, no matter how much they're coming together for a common cause, in the midst of such fear over the future of our entire country, our lives. Fears which significantly raise the chance of such a given collection of people to act, not boldly, but conservatively, even when conservative is, upon deeper analysis, the less likely chance for a win, and boldness upon this same analysis is a much more likely chance for a win, because you've assessed specifically why this is so this time, even though it may not have been in previous times. That this is specifically the way to go for this time only. If they figure this out, I will be even more impressed by this upcoming administration in a way that I've never been impressed by a group of people coming together to accomplish things which, through the nature of human committee, often has the tendency to water itself down away from bold choices, even if they're the best choices. It will be a huge achievement of collectively savvy insight consensus amongst a collection of people. And I will be delightfully surprised if they manage to collectively arrive at this daring level of perspective and strategy... as a group.

With all this in mind... I'll conclude by saying... if you really look at how people are, and what truly motivates them en masse... it may suddenly come into crystal clear focus to you as to why...

this may just be Pete Buttigieg's... perfect year.