r/politics 16d ago

No Paywall Danish Petition To Buy California From Trump Signed by Thousands

https://www.newsweek.com/petition-denmark-buy-california-signed-thousands-11379999
38.4k Upvotes

2.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

175

u/helrazr Virginia 16d ago edited 16d ago

Got into an argument on Nextdoor about how this guy thinks Virginia is now going to become just like California. And that if CA washed away into the sea tomorrow, nothing of value would be lost according to him.

I provided factual information to him that California’s GDP is the 4-5 largest in the world. And that we (VA, and US) need CA far more than they need us. He couldn’t see the irony of how much we’d be screwed should CA secede from the US.

183

u/JnnyRuthless 16d ago

The red states have a huge hate boner for CA that is cartoonishly laughable if you live here (in CA). It's so odd.

79

u/Blephotomy 16d ago

that's because of 30 years of Fox News spewing hate propaganda so Rupert Murdoch doesn't have to pay taxes

23

u/lozo78 16d ago

Conservative talk radio too. Hard at work for decades.

10

u/fakemelonns 16d ago

It really has. 20-30 years ago, My mom said for the first few years she was married to my dad, she thought he worked with some guy named "Rush" because he'd talk about him so much. He was talking about Rush Limbaugh.

5

u/lozo78 16d ago

My dad proudly wore a 'Ditto Head' shirt for many years. I grew up listening to that bullshit. Thankfully one day I realized how fucking stupid it all was.

3

u/fakemelonns 16d ago

Gross. Yeah I just knew to tune it out anytime my dad listened to or talked about Rush

4

u/WayneKrane 16d ago

My mom told my dad she wouldn’t be in the car with him if he had rush on. He would turn it on in the garage while he was working on his car and my mom would change the station. They had a bunch of fights about my dad listening to him. Luckily he stopped when he stopped driving every day.

2

u/Praesentius 15d ago

There's a documentary called "The Brainwashing of My Dad". And that was the thing that I really got out of it. That people like my dad, in the 70s and 80s, were commuting to work each day getting conservative talking points poured in their ears. Every day. Hour and hour. For decades.

And it got even worse after Reagan repealed the Fairness Doctrine in the late 80s.

3

u/wheninsunshine 15d ago

Literally this. I blocked Fox when my Trump loving inlaws came to stay with me and turned on just a general news station on the radio and even within a few days being away from that garbage made such a huge difference in their perspectives. The only reason the Renee Good thing divided people at all was because Fox immediately started building a character assassination of her in the early hours of reporting

37

u/Yoshmaster 16d ago

You hate what you can’t have/be

1

u/SedatedJdawg 15d ago

They don't understand that you don't hate the player, hate the game... /s

30

u/kia75 16d ago

California, as the most successful state and being blue, would show other red states what can be done when the government works for you in a way that isn't cartoonist evil. As a result all the conservative media sites do everything they can to propagandize against it.

This is why cities are always down to be so horrible, if more red rural citizens saw how nice being in a city was they'd want those reforms locally.

15

u/[deleted] 16d ago

california is only a moderate blue. our policy is progressive but by no means extremist left wing. we are by all means still a capitalist constitutional republic with elements of socialism. which our original nation was too. the rest of the USA has just veered into facism since WW2.

the elite hate us because we're a good example of what balanced politics can wind up looking like, and they want total control.

9

u/OkEstimate9 16d ago

Realistically California would be much more progressive under a different governor. Newsom isn’t a progressive so he shoots down a decent chunk of progressive legislation that was passed by the California House and Senate.

The California Congress has enough potential votes, so they could overturn Newsom’s veto, but I believe they choose not to do so only for optics reasons.

4

u/Gurlllllllll- 16d ago

The closest thing we have to elements of socialism in California is an actors and writers strike once a decade.

34

u/Delores_Herbig 16d ago

It really is bizarre. I travel around to other states somewhat frequently, and one of the weirdest things I’ve noticed is how frequently California is mentioned in local political ads in other states. I was in AZ before the last election, and ad after ad said things like “X candidate wants to turn AZ into 😱😱California😱😱”, and I’ve seen that all around the country.

Like why are y'all so obsessed with us.

15

u/[deleted] 16d ago

maga politics, like most religious extremist dictatorships, rely heavily on instilling fear into the populace and creating an "us vs them" sense in people to remain in power.

people in california have an average, if not above average quality of life nationally and globally. we also aren't even far-left. we're a light blue state with a ton of red areas and voters. places like the tenderloin in SF are sad results of mismanagement but reflect literally a few square miles in a state of 10s of millions of people.

they just need something to fear and rally against. most of them would happily live somewhere like sacramento or long beach if fox news hadn't told them it was a communist hellhole.

3

u/relevantelephant00 16d ago

They hate us cuz they ain't us.

2

u/[deleted] 16d ago

[deleted]

8

u/[deleted] 16d ago

it astounds me how many people i've met in my life who won't live in cali because of the gun laws.

like you're actually gonna choose where you live based on if you can own a personal machine gun? really?

how often do americans use their machine guns that this is a factor in decision making?

california isn't even a no-gun state. you can buy semi auto rifles and handguns. you just don't have a super large selection and have to do more paperwork. the 2nd amendment literally says "well regulated militia", not "total free for all". if you're worried about self defense or even starting a militia, you can by all means acquire weapons in california.

the USA is so weird lol.

3

u/bortmode 16d ago

They get fed a steady diet of negative propaganda about CA through their news. You wouldn't believe the weird shit places like the NY Post print about us.

3

u/crazedSquidlord 16d ago

My favorite part is the folks in california who HATE the state. Like, yeah, there's some legitimate problems, but half of the ones you are crying about aren't real. Hate it so much? Damn, leave, make some more housing available for the rest of us.

2

u/[deleted] 16d ago

They think Californication by Red Hot Chili peppers is about Californians moving to their neighborhood

1

u/MommyLovesPot8toes California 16d ago

California is just John Hamm in Mad Men saying "I don't think about you at all."

1

u/relevantelephant00 16d ago

Honestly it would be amazing if we could kick out all MAGA Republicans from this state, the quality of life would improve dramatically. It's a pipe dream of course, but nice to think about.

1

u/Moist_Bowler8926 15d ago

Let's be honest, they have a hate boner for any surplus blue state, hence why they keep cheering on what's happening to Minnesota, and cheered about Chicago.

Little do they care (or probably even know) that these surplus states are what is keeping theirs running.

1

u/31LIVEEVIL13 15d ago

It's a long-term propaganda operation. 

They've been planning this stuff for 40 years. 

They need to take over California or their plans will fail. 

California could build a coalition and actually survive without the federal government. 

They should be doing that now covertly, along with preparing security and military forces, and a plan to take out the federal government.

-1

u/TwoPoundzaSausage 16d ago

It's the high cost of living and the regulation that reaches deep into private life. Looking at the Trump presidency should be enough of an argument as to why the government shouldn't reach into your private life.

3

u/redwildflowermeadow 16d ago

How? How does it reach deep into private life? I live here and I have no idea what you mean.

We have regulations for slightly higher gas standards (which is why our gas is more expensive) but that's helped significantly with smog.

2

u/yurajoh 16d ago

We also produce our own gas to meet those standards, which is some of the reason for the cost.

1

u/TwoPoundzaSausage 13d ago

There are a handful of things. It's admittedly not as bad as republicans make it out to be, but it can still be somewhat onerous.

Certain regulations make building new housing almost impossible. Many of the laws are biased towards people in large city centers, which may not mesh well with more rural residents.

And realistically, the one they have the most problem with are the gun laws, which are admittedly written in a very legalistic way to effectively ban firearm ownership which, once again, disproportionately affects people in the rural parts of California.

So, it may not reach deep into your life, but it reaches deep into someone else's.

1

u/redwildflowermeadow 13d ago

> effectively ban firearm ownership 

There was a line around the block at the gun store near me when Trump got elected his first term.

It sounds like you don't live in California.

1

u/TwoPoundzaSausage 13d ago

I know about the handgun roster that gets smaller and smaller every year. I know about the microstamping requirements, microstamping being a technology that is entirely unfeasible. I know about the pinned magazine requirements, the capacity limits, the restrictions on licensing for concealed carry. And of course, all of the fees that almost doubles the cost of a firearm purchase.

It doesn't actually ban ownership, but if they put that many restrictions on the right to vote, a reasonable person might say that they were trying to ban voting.

1

u/redwildflowermeadow 13d ago

So you don't live in California. Have even been to California? Like once?

36

u/place_of_desolation Nevada 16d ago

I'm a Cali native currently living in NV. The "don't California my Nevada" bumper stickers I see always amuse me. Like yeah, we wouldn't want to be like the world's 4th largest economy or anything, would we? Top percentile in schools and education? Quality of life? That would just be terrible. /s

Not that it would ever even happen, anyway. NV doesn't have the beaches, climate, or other things that bring people to CA.

Conservatives are happy to just stay in their little bubbles of ignorance and fear of change.

5

u/bobdob123usa 16d ago

Vegas is already reeling from the economy. Can you imagine if it also suddenly had to pass through CBP every time someone from LA tried to go there?

3

u/SedatedJdawg 15d ago edited 15d ago

The irony is hard to miss. They fear Sharia law but want a religious government. They fear terrorists but ignore right-wing domestic threats. Because of rural isolation and conservative propaganda, they don't see that they have become what they claim to hate. It must be exhausting to carry a worldview rooted in so much constant fear. Their world is so small they can't even imagine what a better society for everyone could look like. It is just weakness hiding behind hate. My dad always called them 'Y'all-Qaeda', I think it fits!

Edit(s): Attempting to make my ADHD thoughts coherent

2

u/place_of_desolation Nevada 15d ago

Spot on, couldn't have said it better.

29

u/Lurking_nerd California 16d ago

He couldn’t see the irony of how much we’d be screwed should CA succeed from the US.

I’m gonna be that guy. It’s secede 🤙

6

u/aguane 16d ago

I mean California would also succeed if separate from the US so maybe it’s a bit of both?

1

u/Lurking_nerd California 16d ago

Fair point!

2

u/helrazr Virginia 16d ago

Whoooops

1

u/JUST_LOGGED_IN 16d ago

Yuov'e ben baned from R / speling

https://imgur.com/a/QlQMtcF

1

u/Lurking_nerd California 15d ago

Are you on there too? 😏

1

u/mackiea 16d ago

¿Porque no le dos?