43 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

You said "we know", but you mean "I think

 

This can't be stressed enough. Giving your opinion doesn't make anything fact.

30 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Is there a great business opportunity in designing and marketing some kind of dignified accessory or pin indicating being a pro-democracy, anti-maga American while traveling abroad?

 

Why do you want a pin with a lie on it?  I thought the whole point was for people to know your political beliefs?

14 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Normally, I just refer to myself as...The Omega...

 

Or, I also call myself:  The Alpha and the Omega.

 

 

 

 

I call you something else but won't mentioned here or I would be banned.

3 minutes ago, still kicking said:

I call you something else but won't mentioned here or I would be banned.

 

Jealousy is an ugly trait.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

This came up for me the other day and I wasn't sure how to deal with it.

Now that we know that the maga autocratic cult was not a one time fluke, that maga now represents who we are as a country for better or worse (worse) when we meet non-Americans if we don't support the maga cult, and the question of nationality comes up, do we just say Americans, or do we somehow try to communicate we're not "that" maga kind of American?

 

Of course I'm not talking about faking being Canadian, is that really fair to Canadians. I can't speak for all non-maga Americans, but I still love my national homeland and I'm not ashamed to be American. 

 

But I'm ashamed of maga.

In some ways, I think all Americans have some complicity in maga happening, just as all Russians have some complicity in Putin happening.

 

I compare this to Russians now. You meet a Russian and most people will wonder, is this a Z Putin loving Russian, an opponent, or someone completely apolitical.  I look at Russians I may meet and tend to guess based on age, appearance, affect, etc. but not always right.

 

I have an appearance that could easily be maga (or not).

 

Thinking out loud, I guess the wisest way is to check for any reaction from new people that indicates they are wondering (are you a maga or not) and then easing into the discussion if they seem receptive.

 

Is there another way? I can't imagine just announcing, I'm American but I hate Trump.

 

Penny for your thoughts?

These threads are getting sillier and sillier.   When you meet someone, and  asked .. "hey where you from ? ", do you actually state more than America ?

 

"America, oh, and by the way, I'm not a Republican, don't own a firearm, believe in MMGW & CC, also pro choice, and please refer to me as 'them/they' since they (not anyone) is my preferred pronoun"

 

"Oh, and where are you from ?"

 

"Oh, the UK you say, really"  "Labor or Tory and did you vote for Brexit?"

 

Really, this is the world you live in ? 

 

I just ask people if they are circumcised or have and vulva jewelry or prefer top or bottom. 

4 minutes ago, still kicking said:

I call you something else but won't mentioned here or I would be banned.

 

Actually...

No matter what you might call me......

 

I, personally, would never, EVER, agree to having you banned.

 

I enjoy your comments....as....

I am sure that you know...

By now.

 

16 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yeah I would respect hearing that.

But you're not everyone.

I recall being on a bus tour in Turkiye with mostly Australians during a heated U.S. election season. They were very cool educated Aussies but a few of them made it very clear to me that they were angry that they had to hear this American political stuff constantly even on their own media. So I didn't talk about it.

 

Of course they had a point. What percentage of Americans can even name the Australian PM. I reckon much less than one percent.

Is listening to media now compulsory in Australia now?

Just now, GammaGlobulin said:

 

Actually...

No matter what you might call me......

 

I, personally, would never, EVER, agree to having you banned.

 

I enjoy your comments....as....

I am sure that you know...

By now.

 

You not a moderator are you?

1 minute ago, mogandave said:

Is listening to media now compulsory in Australia now?

No Donald 

57 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Fine. It's a personal decision. It's clear to me that you're more maga than I am. I really don't want to be associated with maga in any way.

Most of my friends in the US are hard left, my best most trusted friend of many decades is no different than you on his political views, yet our differences of opinions are just different opinions without prejudice and has nothing to do with who and what we are , just regular people with friends and families. Cutting out individuals for having different opinions is your loss, yours alone.

I'm not concerned about Thailand, or in CM. However imagine I will have to deal with it next year in Euroland. On the plus side, lots of non MAGA Americans will have been there before me, and with me. So that should ease things up a bit. Easily three quarters if not more, of US tourists to Europe are non MAGA. 

Dej Vu all over again. Traveling in Greece right after Trump betrayed the Kurds to Erdogan and Turkey in 2019. As expected the Greek's were hot about it. Person to person, it was not a problem. I have traveled to Greece a lot,  so in ways easier to deal with there. No way to avoid it and never good to over compensate. If it comes up I tell them the truth, otherwise keep it to myself. I'm not on a trip to talk about ugly things. Now I did get blowback from border and security people. Not much you can do about that. 

10 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Why do you want a pin with a lie on it?  I thought the whole point was for people to know your political beliefs?

I think he’s afraid he’s going to meet some nice, intelligent people that he befriends, only to have to start hating them when he finds out they voted for Trump.

 

It’s nice that prior to the election, MAGA fascist was a small extreme group, but since the election, more than half of the country is MAGA fascist. 

 

He, i want a MAGA fascist garbage hat. 

59 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Is there a great business opportunity in designing and marketing some kind of dignified accessory or pin indicating being a pro-democracy, a

 

   What would you say if they asked that  if you are so pro democracy , then why did you stay in Thailand for 8 years when the military took over in a coup ?

   Why did you stay in non democracy Thailand when you could have gone to Obama's democratic  USA ?

   What would you say to them ?

Time to give the labelling a rest, and to move on. Trump is President. It will be a hard core Republican  agenda for the next 2 years.

Either take a page from the MAGA  collective and organize and agitate and oppose vociferously with litigation and  protests, or accept the reality and invest in renewing a damaged and misguided Democrat party. Or do both.  Whatever, it may be, life goes on and the   bills still need to be paid.

10 minutes ago, mogandave said:

I think he’s afraid he’s going to meet some nice, intelligent people that he befriends, only to have to start hating them when he finds out they voted for Trump.

 

 

    I have met some American Dems in Thailand and the first question that ask people is "What do you think about Trump"

    And if you say anything positive they will just say Goodbye and walk away , potential friendship over .

   Ends up that everyone he speaks too agrees with what he says 

6 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

    I have met some American Dems in Thailand and the first question that ask people is "What do you think about Trump"

    And if you say anything positive they will just say Goodbye and walk away , potential friendship over .

   Ends up that everyone he speaks too agrees with what he says 

I'd have to answer ... Who ? 

35 minutes ago, still kicking said:

You not a moderator are you?

 

No.

Not smart enough.

Do not have the stamina.

Do not have the inclination for it.

And, above all, I lack enough empathy for others.

 

52 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The first European I met here in Thailand was very aware of the situation. So I think an awful lot. Certainly Europeans and Russians often would.  Maybe the MAGA thing has you confused. Pro Trump or anti Trump.

You seem to assume that's all anyone thinks about.  Really?  

 

Last weekend, I was in Bangkok for a few days and watched some of the cabe channels in my hotel.  On one of the European channels, someone was interviewing Putin.  And according to Putin, Trump is just another Deep State character.  

 

No one with any sense cares. 

2 hours ago, Airalee said:

I tell them that I am politically agnostic and that I think Trump is an ass#ole.

 

Then I show them a picture of Sam Brinton, tell them about it’s history and say “This is what the left represents” 

Then I ask…”who would you vote for?”

 

 

 

 

 

which one is Jingthing?

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I'm pretty sure many or most non-Americans these days are thinking about Trump when they meet an American. 

Well Europeans anyway. 

 

Paranoia is a dangerous health issue. Please seek professional help before it's too late, though I think you're clearly past that stadium already

21 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

Paranoia is a dangerous health issue. Please seek professional help before it's too late, though I think you're clearly past that stadium already

Are you paying?

1 hour ago, jas007 said:

You seem to assume that's all anyone thinks about.  Really?  

 

Last weekend, I was in Bangkok for a few days and watched some of the cabe channels in my hotel.  On one of the European channels, someone was interviewing Putin.  And according to Putin, Trump is just another Deep State character.  

 

No one with any sense cares. 

No one with any sense doesn't care.

1 hour ago, Patong2021 said:

Time to give the labelling a rest, and to move on. Trump is President. It will be a hard core Republican  agenda for the next 2 years.

Either take a page from the MAGA  collective and organize and agitate and oppose vociferously with litigation and  protests, or accept the reality and invest in renewing a damaged and misguided Democrat party. Or do both.  Whatever, it may be, life goes on and the   bills still need to be paid.

The republican party no longer exists.

It's 100 percent the Trump maga party now.

You are normalizing something that is the opposite. 

1 hour ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   What would you say if they asked that  if you are so pro democracy , then why did you stay in Thailand for 8 years when the military took over in a coup ?

   Why did you stay in non democracy Thailand when you could have gone to Obama's democratic  USA ?

   What would you say to them ?

That I'm not Thai. Duh.

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yeah well living in Pattaya, I can tell you that there are many Maga Americans here. Perhaps the majority. No hat needed. Less so in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. 

 

Don’t kid yourself. There are plenty of us MAGA types in Bangkok too… including Thai people with American citizenship. It’s been super-fun and awesome meeting conservative people of many stripes — including Trumpers — over the past months and years. It makes a nice break half the year for me and wife, who live in a strongly leftist part of the USA during the other half of the year.

5 minutes ago, tai4de2 said:

 

Don’t kid yourself. There are plenty of us MAGA types in Bangkok too… including Thai people with American citizenship. It’s been super-fun and awesome meeting conservative people of many stripes — including Trumpers — over the past months and years. It makes a nice break half the year for me and wife, who live in a strongly leftist part of the USA during the other half of the year.

Trump is not conservative!

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The republican party no longer exists.

It's 100 percent the Trump maga party now.

 

Such is the power of a unified movement and party? That’s actually a good thing; dunno what to tell ya.

 

Contrast with the Democrats, who are seemingly in disarray, practically a civil war even, because the ones least palatable to the electorate refuse to compromise in any way.

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Trump is not conservative!

 

I’m not using word “conservative” here in some obscure pointy-headed way whose nuance would require me to post a reference to a PhD thesis as justification.

 

I meant it in its plain, commonly understood facility as a synonym for “Republican”. So my post says that I’ve enjoyed meeting non-leftist Americans of all stripes in Thailand.

 

Of course, I’ve also enjoyed meeting leftist ones too… Certain kinds of people — to their detriment and great experiential loss — assess the value of everything and everyone they encounter in life through a political lens. I am more open-minded, and thus am not such an experientially limited person.

You don't sound like an American. We are not tied to our leaders like that.

37 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

That I'm not Thai. Duh.

 

That’s just a convenient rationalization. Living somewhere by choice for an extended period of time under a regime installed by a coup, which some people consider anti-democratic, etc. is somewhere between “endorsement” and “I don’t care about its negatives”.

 

Most of us don’t care about either of those labels and people should just do what they need to do in their own lives! But if you are going to talk the talk about a Trump administration being bad for… all the reasons people are quick to jump on President Trump, then not walking the walk elsewhere in life is a wee bit hypocritical.