Hot, Bad & Unpopular Takes

[Dr. MB]

Europe needs to stop with its open borders policies or else they'll get destroyed. The growing terrorism and rise in rapes are deeply disturbing.

(hides)

Agree

Also I don't support the EU, the euro, or NAFTA, and think the U.S. needs to be strong allies with both Russia and China.

[Dr. MB]

The European Union is a undemocratic entity which in the ends seeks to end European nation states and culture as a whole and morph it into a technocratic neoliberal leaning super state.

End the mass migration of refugees (who are mostly not even) from the Middle East and Africa and are destabilizing the nation states of Europe and making terrorism skyrocket. Mass deportation if needed and not exactly a fan of Muslim majority states in all of the European Country's if this crisis continues.

We should work together and ally ourselves more closely with Russia. Also Putin isn't the worst leader ever.

(Only to this forum) Tulsi Gabbard would make a great president

International Free Trade in pure form hurts the American worker and needs to be fairer (not really unpopular, more like split)

The Elites push too divide people by race to distract them from the elites themselves

The United States is a effective Oligarchy

Social Issues are distractions from economic issues

[Dr. MB]

Those making 20k a year or less shouldn't pay income tax.You

Agree but 30k.

[Dr. MB]

Oh yeah. And I can't stand Emmanuel Macron.

[Dr. MB]

The more pressing problem is that scientists are not looking for a cure to gender dysphoria (and homosexuality, for that matter) out of fear for left-wing PC activists.

Oh, yes, they've tried, they tried for decades, centuries, but it doesn't change much. You can make someone pretend to be straight, but that doesn't automatically convert them to heterosexual. You can shock them and prod them all you want but all that does is shame them into pushing back whatever homosexual feelings they might have, and that's not good for the mental state of anyone.

[Dr. MB]

an orgy of mass consumerism

Isn't everything like that nowadays?

[Dr. MB]

Some other political ones:
-The drinking age should be 18
-Magic mushrooms, LSD, and other psychedelics should be legal
-People with lower-median and low incomes should have extremely low or no tax rates
-Turnpikes shouldn't exist
-Agreeing with Michael Bloomberg, zoning is pretty dumb. I think you should be able to do whatever you want with your property.
-Federal BLM lands should be transferred to the states
-Jaywalking should be legal
-Youth curfew shouldn't exist
-Homeowner's associations are bad and I'd never live in a neighborhood with one

And some non-political:
-I don't like peanut butter, ketchup, or mayonnaise
-Or tomatoes, either
-Papa John's is the best pizzeria
-I don't care about Stranger Things
-I don't drink coffee because I don't want to become reliant. It also doesn't taste good.
-For travel, it's good to drive whenever and wherever you can. Road trips are fun because you can experience the place more.
-Most pop music post-2009 or so is bad, with some exceptions
-I like tourist traps

[Dr. MB]

Abolish Congress and the President and replace them with a Parliament/Prime Minister system with fairly-drawn districts.

Our system may be bad but the Parliamentary system is just awful for two main reasons:
1. The executive isn't chosen by the people but rather by the parliament
2. The representatives are bound by what their party wants and can't vote freely as they choose

[Dr. MB]

- I'm mostly against direct democracy and referendums. They are frequently used by populists and the loudest demagogue often wins. And I'm especially against referendums on certain "rights". Like on gay marriage. Basic rights shouldn't be decided by a majority-minority vote.  I think referendums should only be used for controversial construction projects like railways, bridges or solar parks.

I agree with this. Representative democracy is the only acceptable form of government. However, I tend to disagree on the infrastructure referendum issue, because anti-development NIMBYs often turn out and win. Though LA did pass high speed rail and metro rail expansion this way, so I suppose that isn't always the case.

I agree gay marriage, etc. shouldn't be left up to a referendum, but they should be used far more often for other major decisions.

[Dr. MB]

Well, I'd rather have a pedo jacking off to a child porn instead of actually harming a real child... oh wait, to manufacture a child porn you have to exploit a real child first.

When there's a demand there has to be a market.

[Dr. MB]

Since we're on the topic...

I don't believe that a teenager taking a "suggestive" photo of themselves should be considered illegal child pornography. If they did it themselves, I don't see what the problem is. Criminalizing teens for it usually does more harm than good.

[Dr. MB]

Less than 1% of the world's population is trans.

That's proven fact, not opinion.

[Dr. MB]

Less than 1% of the world's population is trans.

That's proven fact, not opinion.

How exactly can something like this be "proven"?

Well, consistent surveys show that less than 1% identify as trans, which is the only data we can go by.

[Dr. MB]

"Good billionaires" do not exist.

I'm not a fan of billionaires but I think some are decent. I have respect for Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Phil Knight.

[Dr. MB]

Globalization is nothing but a force for evil driven by the elites.

[Dr. MB]

Police protest training needs to be radically changed. Protestors should not be arrested under any circumstances unless it’s 100% clear they are committing a crime. The First Amendment is absolute.

[Dr. MB]

https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/22/stoked_journalist_alexei_wood_first_j20

Also, even if the crime/riot had been committed, 50 years is ing ridiculous. Maybe a few months probation or a fine at the most.

[Dr. MB]

I like Mitch McConnell Nancy Pelosi...

To be fair I'd bet Pelosi is more popular with Democrats than McConnell is with Republicans.

[Dr. MB]

You should be pulled over and ticketed for going more than 10 mph below the speed limit.  Not sure how "unpopular" that'd be, but it has zero chance of ever happening.

Agree 100%

[Dr. MB]

Abortionists should receive the death penalty once abortion is illegal

as in, the ones currently performing abortions or lawbreakers after it's illegal?

[Dr. MB]

-Meyers-Briggs tests are as accurate as horoscopes

Add on IQ tests.

[Dr. MB]

Avatar: The Last Airbender is the greatest show ever created.

The death penalty is a perfectly acceptable punishment for neo-Nazis

Freedom of Speech completely unabridged is overrated, we'd be better off with European style laws

Scotland would've been better off Independent in 2014.

The wage gap is a myth.

Airports are a fascinating places to be.

Citizen Kane is mediocre.

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Not enough information

Strongly agree

Disagree

[Dr. MB]

(forum-only but this is pretty obvious already). Tulsi Gabbard and Dennis Kucinich are great politicians. Not without flaws, of course. But much better than their opponents.

[Dr. MB]

The Requirement for VRA Districts should be waived if the data shows that the area with a substantial minority population has a non-minority population that has either evenly divided or identical overall partisan leanings as the minorities.

I agree, but I think VRA districts should be eliminated in a perfectly non-gerrymandered world.

[Dr. MB]

Partisan gerrymandering and regional polarization are good things because they allow more people to be represented by people they agree with

That kind of defeats the whole purpose of elections. Forcing everyone into their own little social safe space where everyone agrees only worsens every single divide that plagues America.

I'd prefer if most districts were inside of the R+5 to D+5 range, and as square-shaped as possible.

All Maryland State Government officials who took part in 2010 redistricting are complicit in all the horrible things Andy Harris does, since they had the opportunity to gerrymander him out of Congress, but chose not to.

I hate everyone who took part in that redistricting also, but for a completely different reason. See my post above.