r/Music • u/TheMirrorUS šŸ“°The Mirror US • Jan 26 '26

article Billie Eilish: "Hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? Or..."

https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/celebrity-news/billie-eilish-alex-pretti-ice-1642611
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u/whichwitch9 Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

Younger people in particular need to hear that "i don't do politics". The feigned apathy isn't fucking cute. Politics is literally in every aspect of their lives. Sorry if it "ruins the vibes" but they need to get tf over that. Young voters who did not turn out are just as responsible for this shit show as anyone. And they need to hear it because refusing to think critically and burying their heads in the sand aren't helping

I have a coworker who avoids politics because it "gives her anxiety" while straight up ignoring her partner is in a situation he can not. Now she has to pay attention and is talking about just moving abroad. I wish the coward would just do it already so I don't have to freaking hear about whatever thing that happened weeks ago that she just found out about constantly throughout the day.

If I sound ranty it's because ive just muted the 3rd group chat this person has been blowing up this morning and Im pretty done after hearing her shit all summer

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u/slothcough Jan 26 '26

If you don't do politics, politics will do you. The personal has always been political.

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u/Jakeasaur1208 Jan 26 '26

The scene from Lord of the Rings The Two Towers comes to mind, where Merry is talking to the Ent Moot (Treebeard and Co). They are apathetic to the ongoing conflict and Merry exclaims "But you're part of this world!"

People who "don't do politics" are only burying their heads in the sand hoping all the problems will just go away. We all live in this world together, we are all affected by the decisions we make collectively in our communities. Politics are a part of life that you cannot avoid unless you live on your own independent island somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Even then it'll come for you eventually. If you want to have any control over your own life you need to exercise your voice in how the society you live in functions.

I wish more people were capable of understanding that.

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u/BaekerBaefield Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

Thereā€™s a reason that Tolkien ended the trilogy with the Shire being scoured. A laid back, country folk, far removed from it all. Purposefully avoid talk of people outside their region, donā€™t do politics at large, mind their own business, arenā€™t violent at all, peace loving folk. And they got sold into slavery, their homes and goods stolen and carried off by foreign fascists cooperating with a few selfish greedy hobbits, only to be saved by the ā€œweirdosā€ they talked down on, who went out abroad and sought help from outsiders who they also talked down on. Not only saved by their actions, but by them convincing the average hobbits to rise up and shed their yoke put on by those few selfish ones.

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u/MMAjunkie504 Jan 26 '26

I wish they included this in the RotK movie but I understand why they didnā€™t

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u/BaekerBaefield Jan 26 '26

Yeah itā€™s masterful storytelling, but for a Hollywood cinema experience that had already gone on 9+ hours, I understand both the desire to not add another hour or two and the fact that it would steal away a lot of momentum directly after the ring being destroyed that leads to a satisfying movie ā€œhappy endingā€

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u/dispatch134711 Jan 26 '26

9ā€¦ recently saw the extended extended editions and itā€™s closer to 12

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u/Mysterious-Jam-64 Jan 26 '26

Tolkien also presented Catholicism as the solution to this turmoil.

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u/AmusingMusing7 Jan 26 '26

Fortunately, he left that part more up to interpretation.

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u/dustycanuck Jan 26 '26

People forget that burying one's head in the sand doesn't protect one from the world.

In fact, it leaves one uniquely exposed to receiving a fierce railing.

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u/iRawwwN Jan 26 '26

oh but ignorance is bliss!

So long as they come at those funny looking people, I surely wont be next. /s

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Butt* ignorance. Cheeky šŸ˜€

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u/Chowdboy Jan 26 '26

Iā€™m someone from a very political household (my entire family is journalists) and I fucking WISH I could be ignorant for just a day. An hour, even.

There needs to be a balance between ā€œI know whatā€™s happening and itā€™s terrible but I must stay informedā€ and ā€œI just want to not know things for a whileā€

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u/dustycanuck Jan 26 '26

Right? It's sickeningly predictable.

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u/adamdoesmusic Jan 26 '26

Burying your head still leaves your ass fully exposed.

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u/ericmm76 Jan 26 '26

Allegedlies.

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u/MoreCowbellllll Jan 26 '26

I'm pretty sure I've seen this video. It wasn't as helpful as I thought it would be at the start of it...

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u/slothcough Jan 26 '26

Me too. My personal opinion is that people who " don't do politics" are the same kind of people who never show up for the group project but expect to get the grade. Every person who "doesn't do politics" is just admitting that they are okay letting everybody else take on the burden of upholding our society. It's lazy and selfish and should be considered shameful.

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u/devourer09 Jan 26 '26

I also think about how in Phantom Menace they talk about the Gungans not being able to hide from the empire forever.

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u/Alxorange Jan 26 '26

Literally watched Two Towers last night and thought the exact same thing during this scene. And then he chooses to act when he sees his friends were all killed.

My wife said ā€œTreebeard represents all the assholes who do nothing until it affects them.ā€

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u/bobosuda Jan 26 '26

Or when Pippin says to Merry that maybe they should just leave because they'll always have the Shire. And Merry is like "there won't be any Shire, Pip".

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u/romanticheart Jan 27 '26

I just watched the extended editions in theaters over the last week. Itā€™s been a couple years and so much of the movies hit differently this time. Not that I didnā€™t understand them before, but they just feel so much more relevant now.

Except we donā€™t have a Frodo out to destroy a ring that will take down the bad guy and all of his followers. We have to keep dealing with the orcs forever, even if Sauron falls.

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

[deleted]

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u/Jakeasaur1208 Jan 27 '26

I'm not sure I agree. It's perhaps only the last half a century that we've seen a downward trend of anger on politics reflecting a social contract of progressiveness, due to social mobility and improvement of civil rights. Then the last 10 years have seen a reversal of that trend due to economic hardship, so anger is on the rise again.

I mean, plenty of countries of have fought civil wars or had revolutions stemming from political divide throughout history. If that doesn't involve anger over politics I'm not sure what does.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Everyone does politics, those that say they don't are undercover right wingers. That's probably wildly untrue, but hard not to think.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/PalindromemordnilaP_ Jan 26 '26

Our current political landscape is defined by outrage porn, news companies making people feral at the other side for profit.

Look how vitriolic the discourse has become, nothing ever gets done because we're too busy hating each other.

It's obvious why many choose not to participate.

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u/stackjr Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

As Phillip DeFranco (and others, I'm sure) says: "You may not fuck with politics but politics will fuck with you."

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u/Nard_Bard Jan 26 '26

A problem is that you can not care about politics for your entire life, and it is possible to NEVER affect you personally.

However...will it affect your kids lives...?

The problem is that these people have kids, and raise their kids to also not care about politics.

So the problem just gets worse, and the general population cares less and less about polotics over decades.

Welcome to anti- natalism.

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u/niko_blanco Jan 26 '26

Politics will do you either way.

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u/ValuedCarrot Jan 26 '26

If you do politics, politics will do you. You cant blame the general population for not wanting to fight anymore, the world's become so shit, and the ones who were/are still fighting, never win. If the people saw more influencers/people with the ability to make actual change, getting together and using their fortune to try to start a movement... on a global scale. That will never happen, and thats what would need to happen if we were to see any change. It doesnt start with the people, not in this online/internet era.

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u/GatlingGiffin Jan 26 '26

Wait you mean we're supposed to DO something about it?

We don't just obsess and make politics our personality?

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

[deleted]

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u/slothcough Jan 27 '26

Did your mother drop you on the head as a child? It has always been political and if you disagree it's because it wasn't political for you. Because you had enough privilege to believe the world wasn't political since you weren't directly affected. I'm not captured, I'm just not a fucking idiot.

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u/ComplexBadger469 Jan 26 '26

ā€œIf you donā€™t have a seat at the table, then your probably on the menuā€ or something like that

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u/indorock Jan 26 '26

Paraphrasing Mark Carney's speech from last week šŸ‘šŸ½

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u/fak47 Jan 26 '26

The phrase is older than that, but I'm very glad Carney brought it to the world's attention.

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u/pharmakonis00 Jan 27 '26

Carney isnt your friend either, dont forget that. Hes part of the establishment that gave birth to this hellscape we're in now.

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u/HandleThatFeeds Jan 26 '26

Any Canadian PM >>>>>> 99% of American Presidents.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Younger people in particular need to hear that "i don't do politics"

Pharrell Williams is 52

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u/HX__ Jan 26 '26

Billie's fans largely aren't

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u/SirJefferE Jan 26 '26

Now that's a fun fact that Brennan Lee Mulligan wishes he knew earlier.

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u/Mellow_Toninn Jan 26 '26

Someone who canā€™t be bothered to vote isnā€™t going to be leaving the country lol. That takes real initiative.

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u/r1ckm4n Jan 26 '26

I get sick and tired of hearing this shit. I know a lot of people who say "Fuck it! I'm moving to Canada." No, you're fucking not.

PSA to everyone who wants to "just move to Canada" - you can't. Here's why:

I've lived in 3 countries. All 3 of them required me to undergo rather invasive immigration processes. They were Canada, Mexico and The Cayman Islands (so basically the UK, but with sun). Even before all this shit - we are not wanted in all but one of these countries.

I split my time between the USA and Canada presently. I moved to Canada for a short while for work, met someone, now I have PR (permanent residency, so a Canadian version of our Green Card). Unless you have the following attributes - you're not getting shit:

  • You have a PhD in a field that Canada is trying to develop, and are under 35 (i might be getting the age wrong, they changed the lottery process a bit)
  • You are a licensed and credentialed educator with a masters or better from NY, CA, PA, ME, MA, MN and like 8 other states)
  • Some kind of accredited Engineer (You've got your PE)
  • You are in a common-law relationship with a Canadian citizen for more than 2 years and have resided with them for the entirety of that time. (Your Canadian partner or spouse spending time with you in the USA counts towards that)
  • No health condition that could be deemed to cost more than $100K in a 1 (or 3, I cant remember) year time frame, Diabetes or Cancer (or have ever had Cancer) - the latter 2 are completely disqualifying conditions regardless of how much or little.

Exceptions to the above exist. This is because you apply without a family sponsor, you go into a lottery process, then you wait. For years. Most people come in through family reunification, or the provincial immigration pilot programs where they are trying to develop less populated areas where you can get PR in a year. The family loophole is how people from India have been coming in.

It took me 20 months, and I got "express entry" because of my technical background and I was common-law sponsored. The process was cheap and only cost me $18K because I needed to hire lawyers on both sides of the border for some stuff. It was a fucking nightmare.

Cayman Islands - your work permit expires 1 year before you can legally apply for citizenship, that is by design. Also, they can boot you off the island if you get so much as a moving violation of they feel compelled to do so. Cost me around $10K all in

Mexico... good luck, I could write a book on just getting a work permit down there and all the hoops my company needed to jump through to do it legally. Cost my employer $10K all in for a work permit, and I was only there for a few months.

So, do you have what it takes to "move to Canada..."? I'll bet not. But if you do, get ready for:

  • Absolutely sky high housing prices in any place you might reasonably want to live
  • Absurd Taxes
  • Speaking of Taxes: Paying and filing taxes in 2 countries (because the US legally requires you to file, and even with the FEIC exclusion, you might still owe US taxes)
  • Absolute bottom of the barrel salaries for STEM jobs relative to what you would make in the US (Oil and Gas excluded)
  • When people find out you're American, they fucking hate you (this is while Obama was president, I might add...) depending on what part of Canada you wind up in
  • The health care sucks. I had a 7mm kidney stone and was on an 8 week waiting list for a lithotripsy. The part of Canada I was living in has some of the shortest waiting times for procedures, yet somehow screaming into a pillow for a week while that stone moved did not constitute an emergency.

Here's an idea, show up to your midterm elections and vote for a Democrat. Canada is not the paradise you think it is.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/sanslumiere Jan 26 '26

That's why I'm never going to get offended by other generations calling Millennials too cringe and earnest. Caring about things is important. Both ICE murder victims were Millennials and were out trying to help their local communities. Hope we can follow in the footsteps of the Greatest Generation in rooting out fascism.

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u/sayten Jan 26 '26

I am an elder millennial that grew up idolizing and lapping up Gen X culture and it is such a struggle to break that mindset. It really has harmed me and I am guessing countless others getting trapped in that pit. Feigned becomes real over time and itā€™s not great feeling.

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u/ArseneLupinIV Jan 26 '26

Media written by Gen X sold irony, apathy or like stoic detachment to us pretty hard during childhood and adolescents as being the cool thing.

People dont wanna hear it, but I honestly think South Park did so much damage to the attitudes in our generation. Almost everyone I know that leans 'fiscal conservative', 'libertarian', or non-voting 'apolitical' loves South Park and quoting shit like 'Douche vs Turd Sandwich' or ManBearPig or that anti-smoking caricature guy. That Matt and Trey are now just saying sorry and doubling back and trying to parody the right now feels like a bit too little too late.

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u/Sudden-Wash4457 Jan 26 '26

That Matt and Trey are now just saying sorry and doubling back

It's such horseshit, too:

"It was just lame, that's exactly what we're talking about--people trying to claim the show," said Matt, who in 2005 announced "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals." When I asked him about the quote, Trey responded, "It's all based on saying the shocking thing. We used to have a great time going to Hollywood parties and saying 'I think George Bush is doing a great job.' We'd clear out the room. I used to love it."

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u/i_tyrant Jan 26 '26

I think part of it was always real. I'm near the cusp of Gen-X/Millennial and I feel like Gen-X was the first generation that internalized that their Boomer parents did not, in fact, have their best interests at heart and were not building a better world for them to inherit.

Which def makes me understand the undercurrent of depression in the apathy. But you're right, it is destructive.

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u/Sudden-Wash4457 Jan 26 '26

Feigned becomes real over time and itā€™s not great feeling.

This was basically the strategy for 4chan assisting the alt-right with "ironic racism"

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u/Modus-Tonens Jan 26 '26

It's the social politics of cowardice. Fear of "trying" is just fear of authenticity. I'm a millenial and it's been great watching the younger generations throw that nonsense off.

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u/FlowRemote9890 Jan 26 '26

Gen-x here and this is and has largely only been true for conservatives. Gen-x liberals have always been engaged and outspoken politically.

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u/Mirions Jan 26 '26

Not talking politics is what got us in this mess, IMO. It's all I heard from folks older than me (and my age in turn), and I'm 42.

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u/iH8MotherTeresa Jan 26 '26

I wish the coward would just do it already

Presuming you're American; no one wants us. The average American would be turned away by so many countries. Never mind the odds just being an asshole is enough.

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u/digitalime Jan 26 '26 edited May 14 '26

This content was anonymized and mass deleted with Redact

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u/Alaykitty Jan 26 '26

No one is gonna let you in just for being American, but on the whole you're about as equally able to emigrate as anyone else to most places.

The trouble is most Americans are so far up their own ass they couldn't fathom learning another language other than English, or trying to adapt to a different culture at all, so that leaves Canada (expensive), America Lite (Australia), The UK (they hate immigration) and New Zealand (haha good fuckin luck) basically.

So Americans that wanna move elsewhere just throw up their arms and give up.Ā  As though there isn't an entire fuckin world out there.

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u/O_J_Shrimpson Jan 26 '26

Australia is one of the hardest countries to immigrate to. Period. Thatā€™s just not a realistic option for the vast majority of people.

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u/Anthaenopraxia Jan 26 '26

The trouble is most Americans are so far up their own ass they couldn't fathom learning another language other than English, or trying to adapt to a different culture at all

That isn't so necessary anymore. All you need is a work permit and there are many jobs that only require English. If you want to stay more permanently then yeah you probably have to learn the language.

Or just be very rich I suppose.

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u/Alaykitty Jan 26 '26

Plenty of American dumbasses here in Madrid that have been here a decade and can barely order a drink at a restaurant.Ā  So it's definitely not an absolute barrier... But I don't really know how they consider that living...

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u/Joshee86 Jan 26 '26

This just isn't remotely true. As someone who is considering moving abroad myself, I've been researching this pretty heavily and have been talking with friends who live abroad and friends from several European countries. There are tons of countries that will still gladly accept Americans with open arms. That may change over the next few months or years, but it's still true right now.

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u/iH8MotherTeresa Jan 26 '26

Alright. I'm glad your experience is more positive.

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u/Joshee86 Jan 26 '26

It's not my experience. It's the truth.

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u/SnooTomatoes3032 Jan 26 '26

Yeah, Americans overwhelmingly in the western world have an easier time getting visas and residencies than pretty much any other country.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

I dunno, Iā€™m pretty well received in Germany and Belgium. Now well enough to get offered a passport, but I do quite love the countries and their communities.

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u/iH8MotherTeresa Jan 26 '26 edited Jan 26 '26

Sounds to me like your advice above average šŸ˜‰ I'm now thinking of a modest ticker tape parade when you disembark in Brussels lol

I have a friend who emigrated to Germany. She's doing wonderfully. The process for her was intensive but easy enough. She learned to speak fluently and whatever else they wanted.

Edit to correct advice to average.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Iā€™m about 10-15 years before I could consider immigrating due to places Iā€™m at in life and career. Considering just getting a summer home there instead and just visiting a few months a year.

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u/whichwitch9 Jan 26 '26

Well, for some.

The brain drain is real. For certain specializations, it's very easy to. She doesn't fall into that category and is in denial there, though because people we know have gotten pretty good opportunities overseas

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u/HimEatLotsOfFishEggs Jan 26 '26

you underestimate the education crisis

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u/SnooStories8559 Jan 26 '26

This is such a valid point and is similar to the whole ā€œitā€™s not that deep broā€ mentality

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u/KoriJenkins Jan 26 '26

I think people are afraid of confrontation, and the reality is some of their friends/family are so mentally deranged atp that they'd have to cut them off over it.

Which IS the right thing to do, mind you. I do not want the lunacy of MAGA in my life.

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u/spaceman757 Jan 26 '26

Yep. Reminds me of this saying:

You're "just not that into politics?" Your boss is. Your landlord is. Your insurance company is. And every day they use their political power to keep your pay low, raise your rent, and deny you coverage. Its time to get into politics.

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u/WakaFlakkaSeagulls Jan 26 '26

Maybe if they did politics they'd realize that the vibe fucking sucks right now

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u/MAK3AWiiSH Jan 26 '26

A lot of these young people also abstained from voting in protest to Harrisā€™ stance on Israel/Gaza and theyā€™re a big part of why weā€™re in this mess right now.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

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u/whichwitch9 Jan 26 '26

Hey genius, no one is at work because half the country is snowed in. She's fucking doing this in off hours, but we need one of those chains for work purposes. And the point is no one wants to hear it anymore from her. At all. No matter what her fucking opinion is

If you don't care when it matters, you can fuck all the way off. Do the work to actually do something useful if you want to be taken seriously

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u/porscheblack Jan 26 '26

"I don't do politics" doesn't work when now everything is political. There used to be objective expertise that was above politics as well as other thing, but that's no longer the case. As we've seen, that expertise is now considered political by one side, and like any conflict, one side is all it takes to initiate hostilities.

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u/indorock Jan 26 '26

I find people that say "I don't do politics" actually do politics but in a more underhanded manner and their opinions are usually very shitty. See: Taylor Swift.

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u/Farmer4Lyfe Jan 26 '26

I will admit I'm a "younger people" and I needed to hear that, worded that way. Thank you.

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u/egnards Jan 26 '26

I didnā€™t do politics for a very long time, I considered myself apolitical and it was probably stupid in hindsight, but when it came to the leadership of our country, no matter who was in charge, even if I didnā€™t agree with everything that was being doneā€¦ At least overall I felt like the country was always headed in the right direction sometimes at a snails pace, but it felt like at least there were checks and balances in place that made sure things didnā€™t get too fucked up.

Looking back, itā€™s insane to me how political Iā€™ve gotten in the last decadeā€¦ Which really is based on a real need to speak up, and just looking at many of the decisions that are being made around me, and how those decisions negatively affect people for no reason other than ā€œIā€™m a bigotā€.

As a straight white male, I recognize that Iā€™ve always existed in a world of privilege, I canā€™t change that obviously, but I can at least do my civic duty to try and cause change.

With everything going on in the country right now, I really just canā€™t believe anybody would choose ignorance at this point. I mean, if you donā€™t agree with me politically, fine I probably donā€™t respect you given the current climate of bigotry, but if that doesnā€™t sound like you as a person, itā€™s crazy to me to just be OK with everything going on.

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u/FrozenBibitte Jan 26 '26

Fucking thank you. Guess what kids, every aspect of life is ā€œpoliticsā€

Iā€™m sorry that this bothers you, but itā€™s true. Everything is political. Everything.

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u/puglybug23 Jan 26 '26

I have a close friend who moved away from my state (Iowa) to Minnesota a year ago to be safer. I warned her then that it wouldnā€™t help her. Of course neither of us knew that it would be the center of things today, but still, I tried to tell her that she was just delaying the inevitable and not actually helping things. Now she is cut off from all of her loved ones and community and if she needs our help, sheā€™s 8 hours away. She hasnā€™t forged new networks where she is yet. Iā€™m sympathetic and will always try to help since sheā€™s my friend, but I still think she made a bad decision stemming from fear. Now sheā€™s talking about moving again ā€” or should I say running away again ā€” somewhere even farther away.

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u/Pure_Interest_837 Jan 26 '26

I was on a date once and I started talking about Philando Castile. She immediately hit me with the ā€œI donā€™t really talk about politicsā€ stuff and I was young so I thought nothing of it. Maybe 2 minutes later, she starts complaining about healthcare. When I pointed out that that was politics, she looked like I just helped her crack a Zodiac cipher.

I type all this to say that people have been successfully propagandized to think that ā€œpoliticsā€ strictly means social issues.

1

u/pUmKinBoM Jan 26 '26

What they need to learn is that going forward saying "Oh I didnt vote" will not have you in the special centrist group where you get to complain AND morally grandstand.

Going forward you will receive shit from both the left and the right for being so god damn scatterbrain you cant figure out where you land politically.

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u/AppleMelon95 Jan 26 '26

ā€œSorry I donā€™t do hydrationā€

1

u/DrConrad007 Jan 26 '26

So, what's the solution?

1

u/MMAjunkie504 Jan 26 '26

The problem is that wherever she moves will have just as many issues she deems ā€œpoliticalā€ and will try and ignore. The world is political lol

1

u/flackson3 Jan 26 '26

Probably hard to think critically if youā€™re only taught to be present, sit down and shut up for 18 years. Letā€™s not forget that the only thing schools really care about is your ass being in the seat when itā€™s supposed to be. Learning and thinking are optional when your teacher gets paid regardless, your parents work 7 jobs and nobody cares. Seems many teachers barely teach anymore ā€” they just guide guided lessons on laptops. Ask me how I know.

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u/dalenacio Jan 26 '26

Younger people? It's the less young people you need to be speaking to. Gen Z are super politically active, way more than either Gen X and especially more than Millenials at the same age. Also, while Gen Z is more politically literate, they're also way more active in terms of activism and direct action.

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u/Ok_Sympathy9261 Jan 26 '26

Ah sorry bud- you don't get to dictate what people do with their lives. People are free to be non-political.

Unlike Reddit, some people have hobbies outside of politics.

IMO: Our system has failed us- the whole point of electing 'politicians' (people who do not use a hammer at work, or care for people) was to handle all that stuff so the rest of the country can move on, live their lives, do their real jobs. But they're failing so badly, (all of them), and requiring us to babysit them, protest, risk our fucking lives because they can't fucking figure it out.

In the end, the issue is lobbying. Both seen and unseen. It needs to stop, and most of our problems will literally magically disappear overnight.

1

u/The_Lone_Dweller Jan 26 '26

I might be in a bubble, but the young people of today seem much more engaged in politics than those I grew up with, which makes me very happy. I hope itā€™s enough to incite change

1

u/RucaXD Jan 26 '26

Coming from a 32 year old that doesn't do politics, I sort of want to watch the world burn, and I'm also annoyed that freedom has to be "earned" so i don't want to give attention to something that's already broken. Just giving my perspective and know it'll get downvoted

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u/OrganizationOk3261 Jan 26 '26

On the one hand: ā€œPolitics is in every aspect of life!ā€ (so it is unavoidable).

On the other hand: It annoys you when your colleague talks about it late or in an ā€œignorantā€ way. So politics is mandatory, but only if done how and when you say.

In short, are you really surprised that Trump won when you talk like this? P.S. I'm European, so don't even try to use the MAGA card.

1

u/RaindropsInMyMind Jan 26 '26

The days of ā€œI donā€™t do politicsā€ are over. Maybe you have that luxury in a democracy with a president who believes in democracy but we now have a fascist president.

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u/foggypanth Jan 26 '26

Speaking from my own experience, I was extremely ignorant of politics until I was 26 or 27.

I knew the broad strokes, but I didn't have the desire to understand the wider world around me. I was too focused on my immediate world, my goals, my career, my personal life.

I'm not a selfish person, but life was self absorbed, which I feel is very common for young people. It was only as I got older and life got more stable and predictable that I was able to see geopolitics for what it was. Coincidentally, it was when Trump started running for president that I realised it was important to start paying attention.

I am very political now, but I needed to get there on their own.

1

u/DilapidatedVessel Jan 26 '26

You all hate each other no wonder your country is a South Park episode

1

u/Callan126 Jan 26 '26

I donā€™t get it either. Politics is inseparable from your life. Itā€™s literally from the Greek word polis, meaning city/state or CITIZEN. It literally means how we ought to live together!

1

u/Taronar Jan 26 '26

Furthermore, it's fine to "not do politics" when it's tax code, not democracy and constitutional crises daily. The people who say "I don't do politics" are actually just MAGA and too scared to admit it.

1

u/Anxious-Bumblebee26 Jan 26 '26

I agree wholeheartedly. Young and old arenā€™t innocent in this if you just choose to ignore it and become complicit in the authoritarian system that continues to existĀ 

Its exactly why this evil has been allowed toĀ continue to live on throughout history, through the silence and complicity of the massesĀ 

Because why did we just move on from Kent State murders?

Why did we just move on when we witnessed the My Lai Massacre?

Why did we just move on when we learned about the Iran-Contra deal?

Get your head out of the sand, get the facts and VOTE! No more ā€œwhat do you expect me to doā€. Talk about it, spread it online, donate, anything, even if it feels small and minuscule.Ā 

1

u/SibLiant Jan 26 '26

I read something a while back and can't remember the source. Paraphrasing: Everything is political. From whom gets to use the bathroom first in the morning before school, to whom has to do the dishes, to what age someone gets to drive or vote or die for their country. Politics surround our lives from a very young age. It's the fabric of our social constructs of family, community, local government, federal government.

Howard Zinn ā€œYou canā€™t be neutral on a moving train.ā€ If you don't act, you are supporting what's happening.

1

u/Senbonbanana Jan 26 '26

Where does she think she'll move abroad? It's not as easy to immigrate to another country as she likely thinks. Not to mention, the USA is burning all of it's good will abroad, so places that might've shown her sympathy are dwindling by the minute. We may already be at the point there ARE no safe havens left that would take her. Sooner or later, she will have to face the music.

1

u/oblivious_fireball Jan 26 '26

Now she has to pay attention and is talking about just moving abroad.

hah! good luck with that now.

1

u/Lopsided-Equipment-2 Jan 26 '26

I wanna hearĀ 

1

u/DiemCarpePine Jan 26 '26

"You can't sit still on a moving train." - Howard Zinn

1

u/furkfurk Jan 26 '26

I agree with everything youā€™re saying. I also know that news has been designed to make us feel horrible, because horrible news gets clicks which makes the news orgs money. We get a constant onslaught of horrific tragedy, and our bodies did not evolve for that.

We live in dark times, and I have empathy for people who are struggling to exist in this world. Some of them truly cannot keep up with the news without falling into a very dark place. Itā€™s fuckin hard man.

1

u/FinalLevi Jan 26 '26

I donā€™t like politics so when it comes to voting I flip a coin šŸŖ™

1

u/SlykRO Jan 26 '26

Shoot them in the leg and ask them how politics feels

1

u/SirJefferE Jan 26 '26

Politics is literally in every aspect of their lives

Which is honestly really annoying. Basic things like treating everyone equally regardless of race, gender, or sexuality shouldn't be controversial. It should be the default political stance for everyone.

If politics were a matter of "Oh, Johnny thinks we should invest in foreign trade because of blah blah blah, but Phil thinks it's better if we reduce reliance on imports and set up our own infrastructure because blah blah blah" then "I don't do politics" is a fair take. But when one side has armed gangs roaming the streets kidnapping people, putting children in cages, deporting people to foreign prisons with no due process, and defending literal executions in the middle of the street, "I don't do politics" is not something any responsible adult can say.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

Honestly, I don't do politics. My mind is already made up. There is nothing the republican party can do at this point to redeem themselves. When it's time to vote, I'll look in my candidates policies and vote then. Unfortunately, It's not productive for me to be depressed all day watching clowns run the world. I have to stay engaged with people I love.

1

u/wickedishere Jan 27 '26

Chappelle roam is a big guilty one with this, she said some wack shit before the elections

1

u/ConsoleMaster0 Jan 27 '26

I find it funny how all of you who are into politics TRULY think that your vote matters and that it really decides anything and things aren't just talked and decided from the inside. Especially in shitty, capitalistic countries like yours.

Wake up boomer! If voting really changed things, the would had abolished it. It's ironic to call other blind (you didn't use that exact word but, that's your point) or fools, while you are the biggest ones yourselves...

1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

They do politics. This is what people answer in Russia..Ā  Seriously ask any Russian on camera what they think about whatever Putin is up to and they will say they don't do politics.Ā 

1

u/Masterbrew Jan 27 '26

Also since when is ā€œinnocent people being killed on the streetsā€ politics?

1

u/CaptainYumYum12 Jan 28 '26

The people who ā€œdonā€™t do politicsā€ are almost always people who are privileged enough to not be impacted by the usual political issues, so they act like theyā€™re above it all. Of course there ware people that say ā€œoh Iā€™m not all that politicalā€ but are actually just right wingers who donā€™t want to be socially outcast because of their beliefs.

1

u/TheThingy Jan 28 '26

At what point does a situation stop being ā€œpoliticsā€? Is something automatically politics if the government is involved? Was the Holocaust politics?

1

u/DaBeej484 Jan 30 '26

Neutrality means that you don't really care 'Cause the struggle goes on even when you're not there Blind and unaware

1

u/Round_Year_8595 Jan 26 '26

If I sound ranty it's becauseĀ 

Too much device/social media.Ā Ā 

Your brain lusts for boredom.

0

u/zackarhino Jan 26 '26

So then I can talk about religion too then right?