Would a political event incite you to move?

[Kai "the spy"]

Would I move because of a political event? Well, knee-jerk reaction is, no. But then, today a far-right party had big results in three federal state parliament elections in Germany. A party, where two high-ranking active members have demanded border patrol to shoot at people illegally crossing the border, even at children. Others have called for violence against "political adversaries".

Thinking back to the Third Reich, with the Jews the Nazis also arrested "political adversaries", namely communists and democratic socialists.

So, as a democratic socialist, I have to say, yeah, maybe there would be a political climate that would make me leave. Now, that kind of political climate is still far away, but we got a lot closer to it today.

 

[Amaris]

Well said, @Kai "the spy". I don't think many of us are saying we'd leave because we were upset, but because life would become dangerous for select groups if certain politicians or parties were elected. I have dear friends who are LGBTQIA+, who are Muslim, who are atheists, who are communists, socialists, people who form every facet and are from every walk of life. That's what happens when you accept humans as humans, and not as objects of hate and ridicule. I worry more for them than I do myself, though I do have concern for myself. Even so, I can get away with looking like the rest of the crowd.

A lot can happen in 4 years between votes. Legislation against gay people, against transgendered people, against black people, Muslims, and so on, can be enacted. Prayer can be made mandatory in school, atheists can be barred from office, Muslims could have to register their religion with the State, walls can be built, the poor can be more easily crushed underfoot. Millions can die from lack of medical care. All it takes is the stroke of a pen and a little agreement in the halls of Congress. Even the majority people can be persuaded to be a part of it if they feel threatened, and it's not that difficult to make a majority fear a minority.

There is valid reason for people to feel they need to leave a country, if it seems the country is dangling on the edge of a precipice and that their votes weren't enough to push the nation away from the edge. Just as with this election in the U.S., people are so focused on Trump they don't realize that the second most popular candidate is just like him in policy (even more conservative in some areas), but so much quieter and seemingly more "sane". That's just as insidious, if not moreso. So there is, I believe, reasons for people to fear the coming storm, and if they want to leave, if they feel they need to leave, then I have nothing against that.

 

[Timewalker]

I voted in favour of adopting mixed member proportional representation in Ontario when we held that referendum back in... oh, my, Wikipedia says 2007. Sadly, the existing system won the vote quite handily. It still surprises me that the majority of people seemed to prefer first-past-the-post.

They don't realize that in most cases, it doesn't matter precisely who their representative is, as long as that person knows and understands enough of the local issues (there have been a few exceptions who were truly exceptional; I always envied the people of Burnaby for having had Svend Robinson as their MP). And even then, it's gotten to the point where our views aren't the ones taken to the government, but rather the other way around.

Try writing a letter to each party leader. The only one you'll get a meaningful reply from is Elizabeth May. You won't get any reply at all from the Conservatives - at least I didn't, after I informed my MP's secretary that I wanted to know my MP's take on the issue, not hers, and could he please reply? No answer, and all further inquiries were ignored. Given that he hadn't even bothered showing up to the public forums for the previous election, I shouldn't have been too surprised. The potted plant that stood in for him was rather pretty, though.

 

[MacLeod]

I voted in favour of adopting mixed member proportional representation in Ontario when we held that referendum back in... oh, my, Wikipedia says 2007. Sadly, the existing system won the vote quite handily. It still surprises me that the majority of people seemed to prefer first-past-the-post.

Well the UK had a referrendum on changing the voting to system, we decided to stay with FPTP.

 

[RJDiogenes]

The problem with that is that in 9 out of 10 provinces and in all 3 territories, we have FOUR main political parties. The province of Quebec has five main parties. The ranked system still won't do much good for the people who support the Greens.

Four main political parties would be an improvement here. Our problem is that politics is dominated by two huge parties, which are essentially corporations who look out for their own narrow interests rather than what's best for the country. A ranking system (along with the abolition of the Electoral College) would open things up for independents and new parties. The current system is just a Darwinian process that selects for extremism rather than competent public servants.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I'm quite happy and thankful to be living where I do. So, I don't know if I'd move unless the situation were dire or if certain conditions were to change.

I came across something Justin Trudeau said a few days ago in an article that really struck me. It's really a great quote:

“I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone that I stand firmly against the politics of division, the politics of fear, the politics of intolerance or hateful rhetoric. If we allow politicians to succeed by scaring people, we don’t actually end up any safer. Fear doesn’t make us safer. It makes us weaker.”

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^ Great quote!

 

[Timewalker]

I'm quite happy and thankful to be living where I do. So, I don't know if I'd move unless the situation were dire or if certain conditions were to change.

I came across something Justin Trudeau said a few days ago in an article that really struck me. It's really a great quote:

“I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone that I stand firmly against the politics of division, the politics of fear, the politics of intolerance or hateful rhetoric. If we allow politicians to succeed by scaring people, we don’t actually end up any safer. Fear doesn’t make us safer. It makes us weaker.”

^ Great quote!

Indeed. Trudeau was referring to Stephen Harper's way of governing. If he'd won in October, there would now be something called the "Barbaric Practices" tip line, whereby all of us would be encouraged to report our neighbors for anything "barbaric" they might do. The ostensible purpose of this was to protect Muslim women and girls from being abused or killed, but since we already have that newfangled thing called "911", we didn't really need a snitch line.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Actually, that particular quote was in response to a question on his stance about Trump:
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/justin-trudeau-takes-on-donald-trump/

I feel that the quote is universal in nature, however.

And actually it was from December, rather than a few days ago.

 

[In_Correct]

I know bringing up political topics is verboten, so this isn't about any of the politicians at hand in the present scandalous US presidential nomination run. What I'm curious about is... if someone manages to make it into the presidential chair of the USA and you are extremely opposed to them being there, would you consider moving to another country? This is of course probably not even a consideration for someone who is married and with children, so mostly directed to single folks or couples who aren't geographically tied down.

Frankly, the way things are going, I am appalled by the selection this time around. There's only one person I think would be the right person for the job, and they're not going to get it (pretty certain of that). The remaining choices... they're all a bunch of liars who pander to interests within their personal agendas. I think the USA is heading towards another disastrous phase. Frankly, if there was a solid opportunity for a job in another country that is reasonably stable, I just might take it. Some places in my mind are Canada, Australia or New Zealand (within choices where English is predominantly spoken, that is), but I've no clue about how difficult it would be to immigrate. I love many parts of Europe, but there are so many economic troubles there right now, and I'm not one who is good with languages like French or German, let alone Scandinavian languages.

How about you? Would you move? If not, how do you plan to cope?

There is certainly a lot of people saying "Go Back To Europe." If there is an overwhelming amount of them, then I will probably do just that.

Alternatively I could move to Africa but moving any where requires lots and lots of money. It is going to have to be a retirement goal. By that time there just might be in the U.S.A. more bad schools, bad doctors, bitter hatred, fear, fear mongering, propaganda, drama, "We Work Jobs We Hate, To Buy Things We Don't Need, To Impress People We Don't Like." a constant boredom requiring mindless entertainment, and "socializing" restricted to "sharing" a spammy image with occasional comments, but NEVER any simple basic One On One communication in the real world. I have ran into too much of all of this, that I have given up.

As far as I know, much of the rest of the world isn't that severe.

But I don't think I would leave the U.S.A. permanently just be cause somebody got elected president. And besides, the president can only do so much. I try to remember that.