You know what's missing from everyone of these replies telling you how out of touch you are? Any mention or acknowledgement of Trump's racism, xenophobia or sexism. You know why? Because none of the people supporting him have the capacity to recognize any of those traits, because they are immersed in a daily existence where those exact traits subconsciously inform every second of their and their communities' existence. I grew up in a town 30 miles north of NYC and the mentality there is exactly the same: "I use the N-word from time to time but I'm not a racist. I hate Mexicans and Muslims but that's only because I love America. And yeah, I think women should stay in the kitchen and bedroom, but I'm not a bad guy."
I'm not making this up. I lived with it for years. And I could take you back there today and it would be the same. And this is in the "liberal northeast," a 45 minute drive from the epicenter! You can't show someone racism when they don't have any clue as to what the term actually means. It's the same problem when you start trying to show them "facts." They honestly dont even know what the word means because they've been bombarded by the likes of Fox News and Alex Jones for decades feeding them false definitions.
Once we understand how absolutely impenetrable this problem is, the sooner we can understand that it can never be fixed and our nation as most have understood it to this point, is doomed.
Jim Rich
Editor-in-chief
NY Daily News
PS: when I say doomed, I mean the give and take of our two-party political system that has guided, for better or worse, every domestic and international policy decision for decades. That can't exist when so many from one side of the dynamic refuses to admit the sky is blue simply because they are physically unable to see the sky is blue. They honestly believe it is green.
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Every single one of these is male. I feel that many men that are For Trump are sexist and afraid to see a woman in power. A$$holes!!!
Misty Stafford
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Every one of those names that were Google-able were old (angry) white guys. Luckily, math.
Jay Hughen
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Nothing short of terrifying, and as the granddaughter of Zionists and holocaust refugees, I find the “if the Jews only had guns” argument absolutely fucking revolting. Has he never heard of the resistance or the haganah? What he thinks as everyone was rounded up if they had just started shooting, they would have been fine?
What a fucking numbskull.
And all these idiots that think we can just “un-globalize”…these are our colleagues? Please.
Alicia Yaffe
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"Question: What is the difference between a pizza and an unarmed Jew living in Germany during WWII?
Answer: A pizza doesn’t make any noise when you put it in the oven.
I’ll bet all of the 6 million Jews who died under Hitler’s oppressive government didn’t own guns, but I’ll also bet the ones who turned them in to the Nazis wished they didn’t. Maybe a few more would still be alive. Think about it when you vote for Hitler, er, Hillary this Fall."
I've seen these idiots in right wing forums for a long time. This guy is particularly heinous, as I'm an Israeli Jew who's lived in the Midwest and NYC. We don't need this terrified, small man's help. Believe me, his bubble is a self curated hell-hole with constant self-congratulatory conspiracy theories by all the usual suspects - Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh. He is free to choose whatever facts he wants to spew while he masturbates with his guns and pictures of Sarah Palin. Or maybe Scott Baio...?
We do live in a bubble, but so do they, Bob.
Now it's just a matter of who's is big enough to win in the fall.
I want to tell this guy to fuck off and literally rip his head off in person, but that would make me small and terrified. Like him.
Mark Palgy
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The Jews? Really? This idiot with his insulting joke has never read a history book. The Jews were armed and many of the ghettos saw significant attacks against the occupying Nazi's. It's well documented, and the point he made actually illustrates the fantasy of the 2nd Amendment. The Jews were beaten by superior numbers, better armed troops and an enemy with more resources. Same would happen here if this country was invaded and civilians were left trying to hold their own. It would look like Syria here.
Most of the respondents think that someone who sees the damage done by gun violence is a pussy. Invariably they have little hands, like their leader.
Only a few comments were well thought out and reasoned. The rest were just noise from an uninformed and intellectually stunted chorus.
Democratic = elite? Wow, unlike a billionaire, father and son presidents in bed with the Saudi royal family, and a bunch of other extremely wealthy old white guys. Go figure.
John Brodey
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Godwin's Law prevails once again...
Richard Musterer
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Mojo Bone says : "Thus far, there's been no reported violence at the Cleveland convention, nor the environs thereof. Don't it make you wonder if those of us who say 'an armed society is a polite society' are right?"
No guns are allowed in or around the arena- open carry or concealed- by the wishes of the Republican convention. There is a perimeter around the convention site. According to the theory, this should have resulted in violence and impoliteness.
www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/us/politics/secret-service-bans-guns-at-gop-convention-ending-debate.html Zak Vreeland
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Scary.
I’m based in Sao Paulo (produce events there). I had been thinking about moving to the US, but starting to think
things aren’t so bad over here after all….
Edo Van Duijn
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As a Canadian, this email reinforces what many of us think about Americans.... gun toting maniacs whose heads are so far down in the sand it's laughable. I am truly terrified about the direction your country is going in. Good luck Bob, you're going to need it.
Andrew Matthews
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If this truly is reflective of opinion in the USA then your country will get the POTUS it deserves .. and God help you all.
As a 'Limey' here in the UK suffering post-Brexit result, I thought we had fucked up. Turns out we've got a mild case of dyspepsia. Your country on the other hand may be about to inflict open heart surgery on itself. With a spoon.
One of the most myopic nations in history got even more short sighted. Kool Aid is not recommended for diabetics.
Mike Cosby
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The "Pro Trump" answers you received and shared with the list are partially disturbing to read. For me as German the "example" of non-armed jews was especially disgusting and irrational. The answers you distributed also give hints about some of the problems we (the western world) face. It is not about Trump vs. Hillary, it is not about free access vs. restricted access to guns and unfortunately it is not about good vs. bad music (or taste?). These discussions are all symptomes of an unballanced, unfair and highly media hyped world which is driving a single thing: the discontentment of people as a group and the individuals.
As you mentioned before it is all bout the money...
In most cases a nation gets the leadership it deserves, I hope that the US people make the right choice.
Best regards
Markus Rindchn
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The pathetic part is that you have so many readers with middle-aged onset dementia. Don't seem to remember the golden era only 8-15 years ago with our last republican: 9/11/2001, a war w/ no planning fought over lies, total attack on civil liberties and privacy dubbed the Patriot Act, of all things. Worst recession since before any of us were born, crash of equity markets and Dow down to 6600 (it's 18,500 now; 82 million retirement portfolios have recovered threefold between 2009-2016). Yep, that's a few things "W" brought you, and I didn't even get into job losses and unemployment stats.
Now they've latched onto a guy who's father seeded him with $100M when in his 20's (1 1/2 -2B into today's dollars), and they buy the great businessman hallucination. Any economist can tell you Trump could have plunked his money in an S & P 500 fund, gone scuba diving in Costa Rica, and have considerably wider coffers.
So, as of his hour-plus speech Thursday night, the true believers will be holding out their pots, waiting for that chicken to fall in. Waiting for Donald. Waiting for Godot......
Edgar Koshatka
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I had to stop reading at this:
'You're a typical liberal from the NE that doesn't understand American family values..."
Trump has 5 children from 3 different women. It's known that he cheated on both former wives, even bragging about it. American family values? Hahaha.
How would it be perceived if Barack Obama had 5 different children from 3 women? Hmmm.
Nikki Vinci
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All very emotional responses. If we really wanted to look in to facts, how many people die in America, and other places where guns are plentiful (and many other similarly interesting, unemotional truths) compared to countries that don't, all these pro-gun people would lose.
Where were all the guns during 9-11, and how could they have helped?... so preaching that we all need guns to keep ourselves safe when 'Hitler', or Isis, or whoever comes, is flawed too.
I live in South Africa and it is well known that people with guns are a target - so criminals actually look for people with guns, to get those guns for themselves, and do harm to other people with those guns, and do harm to the people they steal the guns from. What better way for a criminal to arm themselves - steal a gun that's licensed to someone else. I guess in America criminals are spoiled for choice.
And how many kids kill themselves or others with their parent's guns? I could go on with the examples, but I don't believe this is a search for the truth - whether guns do more harm than good.
But people are emotional, hence the anger at your letter, the name calling. And owning a gun might make you feel like you have some power... but looking at some of these responses, I am scared of these people owning guns... so angry, ignored by their leaders, powerless... the last people who should be owning guns.
Most of these people, even when angry, probably could not bring themselves to kill another human being just so. To wrap their hands around someone's throat and squeeze until the light dims from their eyes, or hold them under water for minutes until they stop struggling... but a gun... a gun distances you from your prey, from the act of killing. And that scares me.
Stick to your 'guns', Bob... I appreciate the way you think.
I would much rather live in a world full of Bob's than angry, gun-wielding people.
Shaun
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Bob,
i own probable 30 plus guns and they are all in my house right now!…... in multiple places and all properly stashed away.
I never think of them as being for personal protection! From what or who?
I’ve hunted since I was a 7 year old kid with my Dad and family and I have numerous trophies hanging on my walls right now.
But when a gun crazy buddy of mine came parading into my house to show me his new hog leg pistol, I immediately felt ….LESS SAFE!
Guns kill people too easily…...either by accident of otherwise.
I believe the world would be a far safer place if sensible gun laws were enacted!…and as a result a lot fewer folks would get blown away!
Look at the statistics for Great Britain. That’s my point.
The NRA is way off on many things and that is why I have never joined.
Go Hillary! Dump Trump!
Jeff Shoaf
PS: Trumpster is such a misguided, pathologically lying and pathetic moron and is truly
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Re: Ted
This guy is despicable as well as uneducated. I only wonder where he went to school. He believe the lie that the US "gave" $180 billion to Iran when it was actually their funds that had been frozen since the hostage crisis, and not our money at all? He has the lack of taste and intelligence, and that is putting it lightly, to tell a holocaust joke and actually believes that the only thing that cost 6 million jews their lives was that they were unarmed? He should be publicly shamed, not hidden behind a first name only.
Toby Mamis
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"You're a typical liberal from the NE that doesn't understand American family values....as you've never had children."- Barry Burmaster
Because of course, liberals from the NE don't come from American families. But I think I know the new coded language of what "American" really means.
And Barry paid for college when it cost $500/yr. And he knows the Trump children right? I mean, since he vouches for their character like he helped raise them. SMH.
Just mind blowing.
Shawn Young
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I didn't read the trump email because I'm sick of this BS.
But some of these responses are just outright sickening. Ted and his Jew pizza jokes can **** right off. How offensive can you possibly be?
I'm British. We don't have guns and mass shootings are rare. So rare that in the case of a Lincolnshire shooting this week the questions we the public asked ourselves were 'how the hell did he have a gun to kill his family?' After sandy hook some people didn't even question society, didn't have the gumption to ask what was wrong. They DEFENDED the perpetrator and his right to bear arms. He had no right - in his state of mind. Simple legislation would prevent these tragedies.
I'm inexpressibly GLAD I don't live in a society where everyone has a gun. It would scare the shit out of me knowing that my neighbours or people in my neighbourhood owned guns. Cause some of them are mentally ill, have rage issues, are cocky, young disenfranchised men.
Open carry wouldn't make them or me polite. It would make us all scared. THAT IS TYRANNY.
Lewis Fieldhouse
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The funniest thing about those replies is that one of your readers claims "I don't know where you went to college".
Since subscribing to The Letter I think I know more about Middlebury than I do my own alma mater.
Nick Peters,
Sydney
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Bob you should remind everyone the bounce back of California, who thanks to Brexit is I think the 7 th largest economy in the world? This was with dem gov and dem controlled government.
George Drakoulias
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It's amazing to me how someone can call you out for being "out of touch" with being an American cause you don't have kids????
So people that don't have kids aren't actual Americans? Please. Typical right-wing b.s.
Meanwhile in the same breath praise Trump's kids for being "raised-right"? We're talking about the same guy that abused and paid off his first wife and says his own daughter is "hot".
Please, he didn't raise those kids. There is several nannies responsible for how good or bad his kids turned out. I'm a degree of separation away from him I know.
This is the problem though, the bottom don't really know what's it's like to be the 1%.
Talk about being out of touch- they are so clue-less about this lifestyle, that if they really knew how it was, they would be as mad as you. Money reigns supreme.
Maybe in the next life it won't, but money gets you power and a seat at the table whether you deserve to be there or not.
It's just the way life works.
David Garcia
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yes, i'm with you.
been posting a lot about the gop nonsense for years, and receiving lots and lots of negative responses.
after november if trump wins i'l probably head to new zealand or canada.
this country deserves the government it gets(especially with anti-hillary left wing forces either not voting or working to get trump elected).
seems like ignorance has won.
i don't know, maybe it's fluoride in the water? or just too many people in love with their ignorance and their anger.
moby
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Yes. All the Pinders are with you. Although I have been here 40 years I still do not have my US Citizenship but the kids and wife are 100% with you. Reading the responses was very scary, and sadly did not burst our bubble as we know that many are right wing, frightened and uninformed. Look at my homeland with Brexit.
We are with you mate.
Mike Pinder and Family
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... Today, yesterday seems like a long time ago - and there's a tear, a tear in my eye;
I hardly recognize the things that I used to know, yes there's a tear, a tear in my eye ...
(SomeDay - Richie Furay [Hand In Hand])
even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20) for hope and change I can really believe in ...
Richie Furay
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Wow some of those responses were something else! As a Sanders supporter I was disappointed to see him throw "support" (if you could call it that, he looked miserable at that podium giving that speech) behind Clinton, who I'm fairly sure is a sociopath on some level.
That said, I think Hillary represents the past, the status quo, the Man, and those haven't worked for us in awhile, so in the interest of moving the country ahead, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I kind of hope Trump gets elected. I think he knows he's not prepared to be president and even if he does screw everything up, sometimes you have to break things down in order to build them back up again. The only positive I can see to another Clinton presidency would be her Supreme Court nomination. I'll likely write in Bernie at the polls, but I think we need to make our big mistake the way Germany, Japan, and Italy did so we can move beyond it and rebuild the country rather than continuing to stand on the precipice trying to decide whether or not to jump. Keep em coming Bob!
Adam James Deiboldt
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There are a lot more of us than you think voting for Trump. We're just tired of arguing with Democratic Liberals.
Geoff Patterson
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I agree. You're a self loathing East Coast loser and a West Coast wannabe who's poor, ugly and bald.
Tim Flanagan
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