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So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that: • Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.

I think I can explain this.

From my point of view as an American, British politeness is largely motivated out of fear of being perceived as impolite. As a people, the British profoundly value face, and anything that would impugn upon that is a thing to be avoided.

In America meanwhile, politeness is born of the fear that somebody might shoot you in the face, so you should probably be nice to them. Not in a day-to-day practical matter, but rather as a point of historical origin. Remember that current day Americans are the descendants of people who decided that, rather than partake of tea and biscuits while chatting about the weather, it would be preferable to cross an ocean in a death barge to live in cabins made of trees and shoot bears to cook over an open fire for dinner and bathe in a lake every couple weeks.

Yes, Americans are nice. Comically so, in some cases. But American niceness isn't born of fear that one might be thought a barbarian.

American niceness is born of the barbarian.

But over over centuries, the wilderness has been tamed, and the rugged individualist proudly telling himself "it's you and me against the whole world!" has instead put on a suit and tie and lives in a cubicle. It's like keeping a wolf in a cage in a zoo while children laugh and throw him bits of meat. Even if he's well fed, he's still unhappy about it. Instead of being free to roam and hunt...and yes, maybe even to die...he's stuck in a metal box , humoring and entertaining the humans who captured him.

It gnaws at him.

His very nature fights against it.

Go ahead and tell him that he's safer in the cage, that his food is assured, that medical attention is avaialble and that he'll live longer...but his heart cries out against his captvity, and he would cast aside those comforts in an instant if it meant he could be free again.

"Freedom!" has always been the cry of the American, and a cage cannot replace that no matter how well gilded.

Trump appeals to something very central to the American identity. He's uncouth. He's irreverant. He's indelicate. Rather than thinking before he speaks like a good, proper Brit might advise, he speaks first and then maybe doesn't even bother to think about it later. He speaks his mind. And maybe someone does or doesn't like what he has to say, but that doesn't matter. He said it.

To a large segment of the population, that's refreshing. Those who feel at some core level of their being that they're the descendants of those rugged frontiersman, feel that these very nice, very gilded suits they're wearing are stifling, to those people, Trump's roughness around the edges speaks to the core of their being.

Try to understand that a lot of people who vote for Trump...don't even like him. He's not the king of the prom with a charming smile who says all the right things and does what he's supposed to do, he's the guy who goes up to the podium and says "This is dumb. This whole thing is utterly stupid and you're an idiot for participating."

Some people don't want to hear that. Some people do.

All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.

And who are American heroes?

Rambo. Dirty Harry. Well intentioned, but not people you would invite to tea. Davy Crocket..."king of the wild frontier."

Not plucky underdogs, and not people particularly well known for humor. Lone wolves and rugged individualists who resist convention, and who are not adverse to fighting in the mud.

2884674 I'm not particularly impressed with Joe Biden either, though saying someone else has flaws doesn't absolve Trump of his crap. The fact that you jump to that response rather than defending Trump's actions is rather telling.

However, the Russian collusion, and the fraud and treason with the phone call were proven. They just weren't acted on because the Senate is controlled by Republicans and party politics were more important than the truth, the law or the constitution. And if that doesn't scare you, it should.

As a British person, the quote below, particularly resonates with me.

Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response: A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.

So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief. Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them.

His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness. There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.

And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege. And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that: • Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are. •

You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man. This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss.

He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.

He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump. And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumps of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?

If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.

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Though you talk like real life is some simulation game, where people are nothing more than numbers on a screen, so I doubt you have any empathy.

So I guess when talking about societal issues or politics, just throw out statistics altogether. The problem with your assertion that I'm some heartless asshole isn't that I don't have empathy, but you're trying to say I'm not as emotional as you and want a Feels Good strategy instead of a logical real-world solution. I do have ideas on real-world strategies, but it's not palatable to most activists because it doesn't make them feel good about it and requires real work.

Also, immigrants bring valuable skills. As you said, healthcare workers are a fintie resource, and you know what immigration brings? Skilled workers, including doctors and nurses. I will agree that unlimied immigration is unsustainable, but some immigration is necessary.

I agree with you on all of that, yes. It's very easy to be accepted into another country if you have skills or done the time and money to make yourself a citizen, and integrate into the new host culture. Nobody would argue against that and I would welcome that. The thing that makes most other people, including me, furious about immigration and immigrants, are the illegals and migrant caravans that storming the borders like an invading army, and politicians that allow it.

Also, multi-national corporations are scum, yes, but people power is the way to combat them. And you don't get people power by isolating yourself into tiny groups that are easily picked off. The first Equestria Girls Movie is a metaphor for how we can be controlled when we are divided. Alloys are stronger, whether they're metal or people.

I have the movie, but not seen it yet. It's on my Watch list. For your idea, I do think that isolated pockets still have power if there's enough people. Like, religious communities have their own police force, or a hobby gatekeeps certain people out so it doesn't get taken over. I think that's what most people will go towards after the massive censorship of the mainstream tech world.

Still, getting back to the original point. Trump is scum, and that Obama wasn't squeaky clean or any other president doesn't alter the fact that he's objectively worse. However, he's probably good for the USA in the long term as he's exposed just how corrupt and venal your entire system has gotten. The first step in solving a problem is to admit you have one, and no-one says problem like Trump.

Wholly disagree on Trump, mainly because his on-screen persona I believe is just a persona (he's been a reality TV host for many years), and the things he's done for the economy has helped me and my family immensely. There's a website by his fans showing his accomplishments so far. I believe he's one of the better ones we've had in over 30 years, and even that should scare you. What you and I will agree with is how corrupt our political system is, but not the way you might think.

2884301 You talk about me being led by emotion, but you have so many examples of that yourself.

Though you talk like real life is some simulation game, where people are nothing more than numbers on a screen, so I doubt you have any empathy.

Also, immigrants bring valuable skills. As you said, healthcare workers are a fintie resource, and you know what immigration brings? Skilled workers, including doctors and nurses.

I will agree that unlimied immigration is unsustainable, but some immigration is necessary. Also, multi-national corporations are scum, yes, but people power is the way to combat them. And you don't get people power by isolating yourself into tiny groups that are easily picked off. The first Equestria Girls Movie is a metaphor for how we can be controlled when we are divided. Alloys are stronger, whether they're metal or people.

Still, getting back to the original point. Trump is scum, and that Obama wasn't squeaky clean or any other president doesn't alter the fact that he's objectively worse. However, he's probably good for the USA in the long term as he's exposed just how corrupt and venal your entire system has gotten. The first step in solving a problem is to admit you have one, and no-one says problem like Trump.

2884174
Let me go through this one at a time.

It is obvious to any normal person that a health service is like a fire service or police force, something best handled by government. Every other civillised country has one, including our own NHS.

Because healthcare isn't a human right. Medicine and doctors are a finite resource. It's not food, shelter, or clothing. You can't evenly distribute or easily pay for healthcare to everyone. Food, shelter, and clothing can be made in abundance and is necessary for a person's survival from nature. Healthcare isn't a true necessity since you likely don't need it to survive and, even cynically, some people do deserve to die from health problems like the morbidly obese and chronic smokers instead of being taken care of by my taxes. (Their choices, their life and funds.)

It's easy to replace a strong man with 6-12 months of procedure training. A doctor requires 6-8 years of medical school using expensive drugs, bodies living or dead, and almost half a million dollars in debt. Drugs as well with the half-billion Dollars it takes to R&D and manufacture the things. They're finite.

People that criticize centralized healthcare usually bring up "death panels" for a reason. Namely, a centralized administration always comes to the problem of "we've run out and can't give this to everybody. Who do we give it to?" They'll prioritize making the young healthy for the good of society, while the old get left behind and subtly told to just die quietly. Because finite resources.

You don't need to be rich to afford healthcare in an American system, but it helps to not use health services as much and to be self-reliant. It saves to help people who need it more.

To turn it round, if 'socialising' the Health Service is so bad, why don't you privatise other services in America? Private firefighters, who only come to stop your house burning down if you pay your premiums and charge you extra for the water they use? Private police who you have to pay to investigate crimes and bill you if they stop someone mugging you. A private army loyal only to whoever pays them the most. And if you can't pay you go to debtors prison. Sounds like the American dream.

(That's some serious mental gymnastics with the all or nothing fallacy.) You see, we do have historical precedence in the US and UK why some services need to be centralized, namely that not doing so causes more property damage and loss of life from private companies fighting each other. But these are the very very few exception of what's "necessary services." Firefighting is a very obvious one if you read the link. The Police have a government monopolization on Force, while private security guards are still subject to the Force of the police. This is why in case of emergencies, you call upon the Police to use their Force to bring back peace. Citizens legally cannot have private armies of their own to create city-states. Militia's however, and by extension private individuals, have the principle of protecting themselves using their own Force from a government that oversteps their legal authority. This idea is why we both have a major Army and why we have the 2nd Amendment. (And for my birthday present next weekend, I'm buying my first AR-15. )

I'm British, and we have outside sources of news, so we can see the whole picture. You don't.

No. You have biased big money sources and government propaganda feeding you manipulated information to craft a narrative.

And I was anti-Brexit, as the benefits we got from being a part of the EU were greater than the costs. But we have our own xenophobic, jingoistic idiots, who managed to scare the undecided into voting against it.

I'm seeing the problem here. You're lead by your emotions. I've read your own news cycle as well now and again. And it makes me feel better knowing I don't live there. Many media outlets within your country are funded by multi-national corporations who would greatly benefit from a centralized one-world-government type of system where they can abuse and manipulate populations to their advantage. And your country was the richest giving to the EU out of all the other countries.

So what tactics does the EU and these corporations use? One of the failures of your EU system was the massive illegal immigrant population that flooded your country and most other wealthy countries. These illegals are low paying, low-IQ, and no choice people that don't speak your language so they can't go to the authorities, can't read your laws, and have an incompatible culture with them that clashes hard with the natives. Multi-national corporations want a slave population (without them being technically slaves) to buy their products and grow the GDP regardless of cultural\racial tensions. It's also easy for politicians to stand on these illegals and their human traffickers just to say "look at how good of a person I am vote for me".

So seeing as how Brexit happened and Boris Johnson wanted to have British national sovereignty back with laws that aren't pro-EU, to get rid of many of these illegals and putting a stop to the human trafficking, the media and their allies go all in on calling everyone who supports him or Brexit a "xenophobic bigot". So I'm suspecting out of self-preservation and wanting to show off how Virtuous you are, you go all in on your rhetoric that people that don't accept it, are just fearful Nationalistic bigots who hate brown people.

And I know this very well, because it's the same issues here, the same typical playbook of the Democrat Party here in the United States, and whats been happening to Trump for the last 4 years.

To what I'm try to impart onto you, I know what I'm talking about. I've done a little research, and listened to some people that are smarter than me. This is not new to me, and this is all my researched rationalization without impotent rage coming out. Save your pity.