"Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has announced that he is dissolving the national assembly, and calling for legislative elections on June 30 and July 7.

The French president said that he can’t pretend nothing has happened, that the outcome of the EU election is not good for his government and that the rise of nationalists is a danger for France and Europe."

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[–] 277 points 2 years ago (51 children)

Hey, uhh, Europe? Can we talk?

Look, I know the way the left has been handling immigration has you upset, but could you please take a closer look at the absolute freaks you're electing today?

I mean, just take a good look at the United States, circa 2017 through 2020. Did we look like electing an absolute freak worked out for us? Did it fix our own immigration problems? Did it make electing your own Donald Trumps look like a good idea?

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  • [–] 118 points 2 years ago (20 children)

    When people feel ignored in a democratic country, they begin to feel like the democracy they live in is a sham or that democracy itself doesn't work.

    Votes like this aren't necessarily about "we need a different direction" and more about desperation and/or anger. They want to show the elites of their country that they still have the power, they want to cost them something for treating the population like it's there to be harvested from, they want to shake up the status quo at all cost.

    They want to prove to themselves that their vote still matters.

    Letting it get to this point is really bad governance. Once you get here, either they win, or they don't. And of they don't, most of the people who support them have their suspicions confirmed, they don't live in a democracy, they voted and didn't get what they want, again. This creates a division that is difficult to come back from.

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  • [–] 109 points 2 years ago (8 children)

    Except the fascists ARE the elites most of the time. This never hurts them. It only hurts themselves.

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  • [–] 42 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Exactly. And they won't fix immigration, they'll just enrich themselves as much as they possibly can.

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  • [–] 40 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    These right wing parties need migration. Their whole existence depends on there being immigrants to blame so actually closing the borders and "sending them home" is the worst move they can make politically speaking.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago

    Correct, the next step in the strategy is to blame the immigration on any random external entity (cf Brexit). Eventually this may devolve into full blown war, genocides, etc etc.

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  • [–] 84 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

    I just cannot comprehend how anyone can look at post brexit UK and think "yes, I want the same for my country"

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  • [–] 70 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It's truly bizarre. Every couple of decades or so, either the United States or significant chunks of Europe decide, "What the hell, let's give the right-wingers another chance, they say they'll fix immigration," and then we end up cutting funding for services and giving tax cuts to the rich. They pull this shit every goddamn time, and we keep falling for the bait-and-switch.

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  • [–] 30 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    The recent success of the European far right is precisely because they've revised their image to get rid of the freakshow aspects. The days when you could dismiss these people just by calling them "absolute freaks" are over.

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago (16 children)
  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    The US won the Civilization cultural victory 70 years ago and the world has continually gotten worse as a result.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    And making sure to tell the USA how stupid they are at the same time.

    A bit hypocritical, eh?

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

    If you look a little closer, it’s not. Educated European people do not want to copy American culture, or at the very least try to pick out the good stuff. They are those who criticise the US for the bad stuff, though.

    Our dummies, deplorables, low class people on the other hand have eaten up American culture hook line and sinker, they are culturally in sync with basic bitch Americans and their lifestyle and hobbies (minus guns because of laws)…music, movies, food, holiday destinations, political views, clothing, hobbies is all copied from the US. American soft power works wonders on soft European brains. These are the people who don’t criticise the US but the US shouldn’t take that as a compliment, because they’re morons.

    So there is a huge class divide in Europe between people who want to turn Europe in the US, end those who think that’s not a good idea. No hypocrisy.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (4 children)

    *our lower classes (in terms of education) do

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    We're at the USA obesity levels of 1995, now tell me it's just the ignorant.

    I mean it probably starts there but with a third if a population voting far right, ignorants will soon be the biggest part of our countries.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (2 children)

    It might as well be, that’s why the upper classes should look for an alternative.

    Also, who is “we”? I’m not from the UK

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago

    It makes me want to mock the EU considering how much, deserved, shit the US gets. But this is just depressing. I would much prefer the US to be mocked as we get our shit, hopefully, together. Not fucking join us.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Are they electing our Trumps or are we electing their Mussolini? Shitty people being shitty is not a US exclusive, but you’re right.

    As Saint George says, garbage in, garbage out

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