4th

[freeheelwilly]

Hey guys,

You should plan a ski trip together so that you could argue about your different political views and then post a report. That will make for a really good reading

Perhaps being from another country, it's difficult for you to understand what's happening in this one. Trump supporters, who were never a majority and are shrinking in number, will not ever be accepted back in to the national conversation. No one is just going to forget what they did at this pivotal moment in the country's history. This is NOT simply another "political disagreement". This completely trancends politics. Why? Because Trump and his supporters actually don't value the norms and practices of liberal democracies. They wave the flag around a lot but they're actually deeply un-american in their thinking patterns and in how they see the nation's future. They don't believe in the rule of law, an independant judiciary, an open and vibrant free press or transparent and fair elections - all hallmarks of liberal democracies for hundreds of years. They are drawn to authoritarianism and authoritative leaders. They look at Trump's actions vis-a-vis Putin and in the Ukraine and say, effectively, "so what?" When he re-tweets some skinhead shouting "White Power!" they say, effectively, "so what?" They no longer have anything in common with ordinary Americans nor do they support what were always considered, by both Republicans and Democrats, to be fundamental American ideals. So no, there will be no happy ski trips with Trump Trash like Grampa Tele. He will be treated like a pariah. I do not have a single friend who supports Trump and I never will. Family members who support Trump will never be spoken to again. Ever. They will and are paying a price for their bigoted, illiberal treachery. They're already complaining about it but their protests fall on deaf ears. I don't even recognize them as fully human, to be honest. I find that fact rather sobering but I can't do anything about it. If Trump and his followers aren't roundly defeated in November, this country will not stand. We are in an existential struggle for the soul and future of this country, it is no less stark and dramatic than that. So while you may, from afar and with a limited understanding of this country and what's happening here, find this upcoming election "interesting", no one here does. We find it daunting, foreboding and scary. We know Trump will stop at nothing to get re-elected. He'll enlist help from foreign governments, suppress votes and manufacture "crises". When he loses he will falsley declare that he was robbed and his armed and ignorant supporters will almost certainly do.....something. I'm sorry but this upcoming election isn't remotely "interesting". This will almost certainly not end well.

[greatgt]

Free the heel free the mind....orange hair will do just fine....TM

[connyro]

Free the heel free the mind....orange hair will do just fine....TM

Hey teleracist, you must be disappointed that your local hate rally in NH was called off due to "bad weather" (even though it was sunny and nice). Yeah it was canceled because your racist piece of crap leader couldn't muster a crowd of enough bigoted morons like you to stroke his ego. Oh well. I'm sure you've got really important things to do anyhow like spreading covid 19 or babbling incoherently about something nobody cares about. FHW hit the nail on the head with his post above. Dumbfuck racists like you have no place in government and you will remembered in history as the deplorables that almost ruined the country. Arc on!

[freeheelwilly]

Free the heel free the mind....orange hair will do just fine....TM

Hey teleracist, you must be disappointed that your local hate rally in NH was called off due to "bad weather" (even though it was sunny and nice). Yeah it was canceled because your racist piece of crap leader couldn't muster a crowd of enough bigoted morons like you to stroke his ego. Oh well. I'm sure you've got really important things to do anyhow like spreading covid 19 or babbling incoherently about something nobody cares about. FHW hit the nail on the head with his post above. Dumbfuck racists like you have no place in government and you will remembered in history as the deplorables that almost ruined the country. Arc on!

So, this forum seems to be pretty international in its membership and many here may not realize how despised people like Grampa Tele are to about 60 to 65% of the population here. Consider this post a helpful tutorial.

Grampa Tele is an old, white male from the backwoods of a very rural region of the United States. His interactions with people that don't look, think or speak like him are extremely limited and, when they do occur, are fleeting and superficial. He doesn't read much. He clings to glorified images of a United States forged in the last century under very different circumstances and when this country was demographically almost unrecognizable from today. It's not that all of his memories are false, they're not, but they're not particularly helpful when looking at the United States today. In a post WWII world, with most of the industrialized nations bombed to rubble, the United States built cars and washing machines for the world. The Cold War was raging and, despite what some historical revisionists might try to say, the Soviet Union posed a genuine threat to liberal democracies everywhere. Europe was still emerging from the trauma of widespread genocide and Japan's economic miracle was still some way off. Think circa.......1960 or 1965. That's when Grampa formed his world view and because he's intellectually incurious and an extremely wooden and reductionist thinker, it remains his worldview today. He's a simpleton. Period. Full stop.

The informed among us were always aware of the Grampa Teles of the world but most of us thought they were largely harmless and politically contained. These type of people were and are present in both political parties but there was a tacit agreement that neither party would ever give them a real voice in public affairs. Then, over the last 30 or 40 years, the Republican Party discovered a political advantage by leveraging some of these folks who were becoming increasingly frightened and alarmed as the country became more diverse, more brown and more educated. But they still kept them contained and largely removed from any positions where they might cause harm. This Faustian Bargain, however, came home to roost when Trump threaded the electoral college needle, almost by accident, in 2016. The Republican "party" is now more of a cult which demands unquestioned fealty to its despotic leader. Trump's approval rating among Republicans is somewhere north of 90% - a figure even Ronald Reagan, practically a diety in the Republican Party - would have envied in his day. They've taken over the party rendering it, almost overnight, virtually unrecognizable from what it was even a decade ago. Proof of this can be found in the fact that Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for President and nominal head of the party in 2012, was the sole Republican vote for impeachment of Trump last December. Think about that. Wow.

When Trump was elected in 2016 most of us thought he would be contained. Contained by national and international norms. Contained by the Constitution. Contained by the Republican "establishment". This did not occur and the maniac is now running free - unleashed and unconcerned by norms of behavior with which he clearly never had any familiarity to begin with. He presents a clear and present danger not just to this country but to all of us. And his unthinking, uneducated and unread supporters, like Grampa Tele, continue to cheer him on. We no longer see Grampa Tele and his cohorts as amiable old cranks; silly but harmless. We now despise them for what they have done, AND WANT TO CONTINUE TO DO, to our country and to our world. It's easy to be angry with Trump. The real threat, however, are those like Grampa Tele that continue to support him and need to be the focus of our collective wrath and disgust. Please join us in our bid to make them unwelcome in civil society;despised at home and abroad, ignored, ridiculed and marginalized at every turn. Trump will be gone in a few months, God willing, but his supporters will remain and I don't want to be fooled again. We need to hound them where they live, work and play. We need to ensure that they're constantly in a state of anxious discomfort. They'll never feel shame (they're shameless trash) but they should not be allowed to feel accepted, forgiven or like welcome members of the broader body politic. We owe at least that much to posterity. All of our lives, to one degree or another, and the lives of our children, may depend upon it.

[connyro]

[greatgt]

Wow Free heel Silly and connie the hater on the same team...One thinger you two have right is most Telemarkers and BC skiers hate Orange hair...90o are on downhill equipment pretending to be telemarkers...Phonies on the electorate and the same in telemark expression....Arc on children....TM

[freeheelwilly]

Wow Free heel Silly and connie the hater on the same team...One thinger you two have right is most Telemarkers and BC skiers hate Orange hair...90o are on downhill equipment pretending to be telemarkers...Phonies on the electorate and the same in telemark expression....Arc on children....TM

Behold the precise and unassailable logic of the average Trump supporter.

I think Americans get exactly the government they deserve. I'm just sorry that the rest of the World has to go along for the ride.

[greatgt]

Silly just one thinger....Wrong on every guess on who and what I am...Born in a city.....AND the First baby boomer born....Figure that out silly...You used to get a laugh but trying to go straight doesn't wear so good....Good luck on your redemption...Oh and you andt he hater on the same team isn't unusual...Virtually every one at Ron's sight agrees with you....You know all the banned....like delusions of grandeur....mikie....Ron because he is a wild man....for real....To bad all their politics are the same as yours....TM

[fgd135]

I was really enjoying being a member of this forum, reading about and discussing tele skis, skiing and other outdoor activities...
This thread has changed everything with it's virulent political name-calling and such.
Is this site moderated in any way? If so, how about moving this thread to the "off-topic" posts.
Thanks.

[greatgt]

Totally agree....Didn't think a salute to our great country would receive such vitriol....Sorry! Will try to refrain in the future....Arc on...TM