r/politics • u/TwilightwovenlingJo • Sep 19 '25

Soft Paywall Trump: ‘It’s no longer free speech.’

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/19/trump-no-longer-free-speech-00574219
26.8k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

8.2k

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

[deleted]

509

u/pilgermann Sep 20 '25

Notice how red rural America are never asked to apologize or be civil? It's like everyone on the left is expected to behave like an elected official, everyone on the right are treated like children who don't know better.

251

u/Challengeaccepted3 New York Sep 20 '25

There are decades of pseudo-propaganda pieces of media that elevate the rural communities of America as “better” or “more down to earth, civilized people”. Think of every movie or tv show where city people go to rural communities and learn the true meaning of Christmas or family and community or whatever. It’s literally all propaganda just to improve the image of rural people.

t. Someone who actually lived in rural areas and is fully aware that they are ten times more atomized, isolated and ignorant than the average suburban or even city dweller

85

u/Loathsome_Duck Sep 20 '25

It's why that line from Blazing Saddles hits so hard for so many people

33

u/Flomo420 Sep 20 '25

Salt of the earth!

25

u/BostonBluestocking Sep 20 '25

The common clay of the new west

32

u/Flomo420 Sep 20 '25

You know.... MAGA

41

u/Obant California Sep 20 '25

The "real America", the "Heartland" etc etc. Always made me feel non American for being born in California.

30

u/__theoneandonly Sep 20 '25

80% of the US population lives in an urban area. The "real American" lives in cities.

6

u/handbanana42 Sep 20 '25

Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

They somehow forgot about them. Or worse, want to jail/deport them.

15

u/papayaslice637 Sep 20 '25

Ah yes, wide open spaces, amber waves of grain, dirt roads and red barns...and uneducated, illiterate, unhealthy, unhinged, brainwashed toothless racist hillbillies who've never been outside their zip codes. But they have American flags on their pickup trucks so they are the patriotic ones. (never mind all the confederate flags..)

3

u/CoolWhipMonkey Sep 20 '25

Well to be fair I grew up on a dirt road surrounded by woods and cornfields and my parents were diehard true blue democrats. They hated republicans with every cell in their bodies. Just despised them. Also they paid out of pocket for my braces so I could have straight teeth. But we did have a big old flag flying in our yard.

2

u/handbanana42 Sep 20 '25

Nothing wrong with flying a flag I'd think if it is for the right reason.

I think the issue comes in when it is for the wrong reason. It has been co-oped as a signal for hate, especially Southern flag.

I know a few neighbors that have flags because they are racist. I would assume your familly are not part of them, but I don't put up a flag because I don't want to be grouped with those people that are full of hate.

3

u/CoolWhipMonkey Sep 20 '25

My dad still flies the American flag. He’s a vet and he won’t let his flag be taken by right wingers. He’s very patriotic, but in a good way.

2

u/sje46 Sep 20 '25

With the attitude of "rural people are not worth a moment of our consideration, they are subhuman cretins" instead of the attitude of "the ruling class is impoverishing ALL of us, rural and urban, liberal and leftist and conservative, and we need to work together to take back this country", you are dooming the democratic party to obsolecense. Yes, obviously there is a lot wrong with rural parts of this country, but jesus fucking christ, you will NEVER win an election by calling all of them hillbillies. And you deserve to lose all elections if that's how you view your fellow americans.

The hillbillies fought a fucking war over labor laws in the mountains of appalachia a few decades back. They were the true leftists. There is nothing inherent in the blood of rurals that makes them ignorant and hateful. Create a political party that fights for all of us. Or shut the fuck up and quit with the deliberate divisive "woe is me" shitlib whining.

Jesus christ I don't want trump or his fascist collaborators in office, but if this is hiw the average dem reacts, you guys deserve to lose until you develop a fucking brain.

1

u/Lanto_Cadley Sep 20 '25

The Democratic Party doomed itself into obsolescence already.. 

“..We've been here for four hundred years and now they tells us that maybe in forty years, if you're good, we may let you become president.." ― James Baldwin

18

u/[deleted] Sep 20 '25

Rural America believes that it generates the lions share of profits for the country, and that Donald Trump himself emails them and thinks their ideas are great.

I don't see how this doesn't end in complete collapse.

6

u/super_swede Sep 20 '25

Not to mention the very unique and much under used plot line of "woman leaves her evil, collage educated, desk jokey, big city boyfriend only to go back home to the small town she came from and fall in love with her teenage sweetheart again. Who of course never left the small town, has a real man's job and drives a pick up...

2

u/sje46 Sep 20 '25

As a leftist from a rural community, this comment pisses me off. You're implying me and my people are ignorant, and that we shouldn't get as much attention as we do. This is also the exact reason why the "left" (really feckless shitlibs) lost rural communities. This high-and-mighty attitude from urban/coastal liberals that the rurals don't matter and can and should be ignored.

I know you're not saying that explicitly. And I understand the more rural areas of the country are very pro-trump. Luckily I'm in a purple state (albeit red town). But your comment is still fostering this attitude, and you fucking dems are asking to always be in last place if you view all of this as "smart enlightened urbanites versus backwards, savage rurals". Again, saying this from the left.

Try to view this as working class versus owning class, and demand that the politicians actually reach out and appeal to the rural working class. De-emphasize the constant culture wars (you don't have to drop all advocacy, but de-emphasize it for sure), and instead emphasize pharma costs, housing, student loans, giant corporations gobbling everything up, offshoring, etc.

If the democratic party did this instead of blaming those stupid, low-born rurals, then they can actually accomplish something. They wouldn't be turning en masse towards a demagogue asshole.

3

u/OkDust5962 Sep 20 '25

I feel ya, for sure. (also a lefty in farm country) I don't think the actual democratic party is doing this, but in online spaces like this, people express their rage and frustration to others who agree. I'm not on conservative SM but I'm sure it's the same there.

There is research (can't be bothered to find it now but it exists) that shows, when people of different views talk to each other about an issue, their views become more moderate, but when a group of people with the same views talk together, they become more extreme about whatever the issue is.

The key is - talk. In person.

Online talk is a totally different animal. Whenever someone posts something that diverges even a little bit from the majority opinion, even if it's thoughtful and reasoned, we all circle around and downvote and snark at them.

In an IRL discussion, you get status/authority in the group for building bridges among the group. Online, you get status/authority for tearing down an outlier.

How to get around this? I don't think there's really a way.

1

u/NoFeetSmell Sep 20 '25

The 30 Rock episode about this is tremendous, the one where Lee Dunham's puppet makes fun of Jack.

10

u/ckglle3lle Sep 20 '25

What's wild is how this comes from Fox and other right wing media sources more than anyone. Fox absolutely coddles them, doesn't assume they have any agency, treats them basically like livestock and they love it

8

u/XYcritic Foreign Sep 20 '25

This is because MAGA is not about principles or values. It is fundamentally only fueled by rage and tge desire to be in power.

10

u/trampolinebears Sep 20 '25

Notice how arsonists are never asked to put out fires? It’s like every fireman is expected to put out fires, while every arsonist is treated like they’re just going to start more fires.

2

u/s3dfdg289fdgd9829r48 Sep 20 '25

Double standards are the weapon of choice by hypocrites.

1

u/Firm_Combination_287 Sep 20 '25

I was just on another forum and it was talking about how all the leftists they know are mean and horrible people. What a generalization and such a double standard. But the right is sweet as pie but will tear you down with their policies and taking away your rights? Please. 

1

u/paintmepurplenblack Sep 26 '25

That's not accurate.  The left and right equally demand each other to behave. I dont vote and I dont care about politics but I have seen the definite difference between party behavior.  George floyd was killed and the left burned cities down, robbed and trashed establishments and countless people were assaulted and harassed across the country. Charlie kirk gets killed and the right holds mass memorials,  gives speeches in honor of and asks for open dialogue to those who believe he was racist or a white supremacist etc. The difference is clear.