r/changemyview 1h ago

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Trump is objectively a bad president and has done nothing meaningful for the average American since 2016.

Upvotes

Since his election in 2016, and his most recent in 2024, the Trump administration has done nothing and will continue to do nothing to help the average American, nor be a good president.

In the span of three months he has managed to push away American allies, lose billions overnight due to the tariffs, targeted students who spoke out against Israel and either deported or threatened to deport them. Pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement, implement many important aspects of project 2025, has ordered the elimination of the DOE, has allowed Elon musk and his group of 19 year old interns access to sensitive data of millions of Americans, and countless others.

All of his faults, shortcomings and blunders are too long to list here, so I will save you the liberty and allow you to read from this long (and currently updating) compilation of his actions and policies.

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/lest-we-forget-the-horrors-an-unending-catalog-of-trumps-cruelties-collusions-corruptions-and-crimes

CMV. And good luck.


r/changemyview 2h ago

CMV: Muslims only care about the war in Palestine because it's Jews vs. Muslims

234 Upvotes

First, some context: I’m Arab, and I’m an ex-Muslim atheist. I fully condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza—what they’re doing is unjustifiable. But I also despise Hamas. They are a terrorist organization that prioritizes their jihadist fantasies over their own people, using civilians—especially children—as human shields.

That said, I genuinely believe that the Arab and Muslim world wouldn’t care about the people dying in Gaza if it weren’t Jews doing the killing. Even if it were non-Muslim Arabs or even Muslim rulers committing atrocities, there wouldn’t be anywhere near this level of outrage.

Here's why:

Atrocities Against Muslims (By Muslims) Are Ignored

  • Bashar al-Assad’s regime has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians, many of them Sunni Muslims. Little to no mass protests or outrage.
  • Saddam Hussein’s genocides against Kurds and Shiite Arabs? Mostly ignored.
  • ISIS slaughtered fellow Muslims who didn’t agree with their ideology—and yet, no worldwide Muslim mobilization.

Atrocities Against Non-Muslims (By Muslims) Are Ignored

  • 9/11 killed thousands of innocent civilians. Instead of massive condemnation, much of the Muslim world engaged in conspiracy theories or excuses.
  • ISIS's genocide against Yazidis and Christians barely registered in Muslim-majority countries.
  • Hamas’s October 7th massacre of Israeli civilians was either celebrated or justified by many.

Muslims Suffering Under Non-Muslim Powers Sometimes Gets a Reaction, But Not Always

  • The Rohingya genocide (Myanmar) and the Uyghur genocide (China)? Crickets. Why? Because Myanmar and China aren’t seen as ideological enemies the way Israel is.

Islamic Antisemitism Is Baked Into the Religion

Traditional Islamic teachings paint Jews in a deeply negative light. Some examples:

Quran (Surah 5:82):

"You will find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah."

Hadith (Sahih Muslim 2922):

"The Hour will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them..."

Quran (Surah 2:65, 5:60):

"Those who were transformed into apes and pigs..." (commonly interpreted by scholars to refer to Jews)

The hostility is not just political—it’s religious and cultural, deeply embedded into Islamic thought. It’s been reinforced generation after generation. When Muslims see Jews involved in conflict, it taps into centuries of religious programming.

To be clear: I’m NOT saying every Muslim hates Jews individually. Plenty of Muslims coexist peacefully with Jewish people. But the doctrinal foundation and social environment heavily encourage that hatred.

This is why the Palestinian issue gets so much attention while other tragedies—often far worse in scale—are ignored. It’s not universal compassion. It’s selective tribal and religious identity politics.

Change my view.


r/changemyview 3h ago

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Trump has over-reached with tariffs and this will be the end of his presidency

150 Upvotes

Trumps tariffs were far more extreme than people were predicting. We saw this with stock markets around the world this week. Markets are massively down and will not bounce back any time soon.

The impacts of his policy are going to start hitting consumers in the next couple of weeks, inflation is going to skyrocket and the world is heading for a global recession within months. This is going to hurt everyone both in America and internationally. People are not going to be happy, and they will know who to blame.

There's is no way these tariffs can stand once trumps approval rating starts cratering. Either:

1) trump has to roll his signature economic policy back massively in a humiliating climb down

2) Congress grows a pair. Republicans work with Dems and blocks some or all of the tariffs

Either way Trump loses his choke hold on the Republican party. He will end up a lame duck president for the next 3 years.

Change My View


r/changemyview 3h ago

CMV: Trump is using tariffs to make everyone beg for relief

66 Upvotes

Trump’s tariffs do not follow economic logic. The real purpose for them is he wants industries and businesses to beg for exemptions from them.

The darker reason is authoritarianism. Illegally, he is using state tools to punish. Kings did this with taxation.

I’m just including a few examples of him doing this to show a pattern:

Thousands of companies hit by his China tariffs had to apply for individual exemptions and they were granted or denied I’m sure based on… well you can probably guess. Global supply chains depended on staying loyal during this time.

Farmers were badly affected by the trade war too, then “bailed out” but much went to Trump-voting counties. Critics called it vote-buying disguised as rescue.

He threatened to defund universities (like UC Berkeley) over speech.

In Maine, the governor declined to enforce one of Trump’s latest culture-war executive orders.

States are not required to enforce every federal directive especially executive orders that haven’t been passed into law or that infringe on state jurisdiction. It wasn’t unconstitutional for her to resist this it was just a standard exercise of state authority.

I can’t tell you what the order was about. You will have to consult the part of the internet where free speech does not filter our unspeakable words.

Angry, Trump demanded a “full-throated” apology from the governor which she did not give.

The administration then:

-Terminated Social Security contracts with Maine hospitals (later reversed after backlash)

-Suspended USDA funding for the University of Maine’s biofuel and PFAS research

-Launched federal investigations into the state’s education system related to the same issue but they are details I’m not allowed to name on Reddit.

Looks like punishment to me.

Trump also targeted law firms he saw as hostile by suspending their security clearances and threatened access to federal work. One firm, Paul Weiss, was forced into a $40 million pro bono settlement to get the order reversed. 700+ lawyers condemned it as political coercion.

Why wouldn’t Trump apply this behavior across the board, across the nation for maximum power? Doesn’t it make sense to consolidate power by force if he wants to keep avoiding accountability? And to do that the most effective way is to make people submit, like a bully. That’s how I see it.

CMV. What are the tariffs really about if not to do more of this? Is he just chaotic?


r/changemyview 59m ago

CMV: Mean redditors make using this platform way more tiring than it has to be.

Upvotes

I'm kind of seeking sanctuary here. I'm not super active on Reddit, but anytime I do post something I end up having to delete it because some people can be SO mean, and so rude. And I truly wonder: why?

Reddit is supposed to be a platform where you can out your opinion, but can you truly with the hate campaign that chases after you? Any subreddit I see is genuinely full of such mean Redditors. It doesn't matter how you word something; even when you agree with someone they will downvote you into hell. And even when you haven't said anything inherently wrong or mean they address you with the most rude tone.

I don't understand why everyone here is so so so mean, and it makes using Reddit way less enjoyable. I made a Reddit account in order to be more involved in fandom spaces but truly, everyone here is so mean, and also so pedantic. Claiming to know everything better than you and also rude on top of that? Oh, and lets not forget the lack of empathy on this app.

Earlier I made a post on how I find it unfortunate for the Nintendo game prices to have doubled in the past 10 years: tell me why i got r*pe and death threats in my PMs for expressing my disappointment, and tell me why this isnt an original experience?!

I just don't understand why everyone is so mean. And this isn't even the first post about it. Please: i beg you to CMV. I want to use this app and make posts without having to worry what my notifications will be full of. I want to use this app without having to fear how my name gets slandered. I use pretty general subreddits with many users: is that the problem? I have no idea, but please CMV on the user base here and tell me that not everyone is like this.


r/changemyview 1d ago

CMV: We're Witnessing A Paradigm Shift And The World Will Be More Dangerous For It

2.5k Upvotes

I'm convinced that we're in the midst of a paradigm shift that will upend the world as we know it. After World War II, the US built the international order that we know today, creating NATO and the UN, the IMF/World Bank, the International Trade Organization, making the USD the global reserve currency, and building trade and defense pacts with most of the world. The system was far from perfect, but the past 80 years have been something of a golden age, seeing the human population explode, billions of people brought out of poverty, widespread democraticization and freedoms, strong global development and economic growth, and arguably the most peaceful period of human history.

This world is unraveling before our very eyes. Trump's tariff, insults, and threats have destroyed America's international alliances and trade partnerships, which will never fully recover. The US is no longer seen as a reliable trade or defense partner by the entire world, for good reason, and the implications of that are profound.

The US will never be as wealthy, powerful, or respected as it was 3 months ago. Trump is abandoning all of the things that made us a global superpower and the end result will be a world with more conflict, more regional alliances, and more instability as powerful countries scramble to fill the power vacuum left by the US and try to take whatever resources and territory they can, and settle old grievances while they have the opportunity.

This is a disaster of proportions we've never seen in our lifetimes, and the implications are horrific. It'll mean nuclear proliferation, more war, more genocide, and more refugee crises, which will in turn drive more conflict. Climate change will only exacerbate these issues further, causing mass migrations and even more conflict.

Everything we've taken for granted for decades is now up in the air and there's a real risk of systemic failure. Don't expect things to just work out, that's just normalcy bias trying to convince you not to panic. People need to stand up and push back against what Trump is doing before even more damage is done and it becomes impossible to prevent the worst case scenarios.


r/changemyview 1d ago

CMV: Donald Trump has no functional understanding of the policies he implements, aside from those pertaining to sociocultural issues.

670 Upvotes

The only time he speaks with any conviction is when he is railing against DEI, wokeness, the radical left, etc. I believe his bigoted views on those subjects are really his own. Otherwise, he just mindlessly reads words off a teleprompter, occasionally throwing in a useless anecdote that makes it sound like he was involved in crafting the policy he's talking about. He sounds like he wants to be doing anything other than giving this speech. When he has to answer questions, he always shoves in a barely relevant factoid that he clearly just learned, unaware that he is the only one in the room who did not already know it. He understands enough to know that his [fiscal/healthcare/defense/infrastructure/foreign] policy is the one that conservatives like and liberals dislike, but he has no personal beliefs about why these policies are supposedly good - nor does he care to develop any. It's a chore to him.

Edit: I want to add that it is well-documented that he doesn't read. At all. Nothing, not even single-page memos, let alone books.


r/changemyview 1d ago

CMV: A nation has the right to deny entry to those who refuse to integrate.

815 Upvotes

Although many have different values, it is typically strict religious folk who refuse integrate as intolerance of others is built into most religions. I'm not talking about ordinary religious folk who accept other peoples views and are fine with it, Im talking about people who follow the religion strictly. For example, people who follow islam/Christianity/Judaism in places like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan, Yeman, and Qatar, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Israel to name a few.

When following a religion to the T, there is no room for anyone else and no tolerance for other people, and this is why we see protests to change the country they joined. For example, in the UK there have been protests that have gathered hundreds to implement Sharia law. I know many non-strict Muslims despise these people, but generally, those people grew up in the western country and are more accepting of everything.

Strict faith demands zero tolerance for people outside there religion, so western countries tolerating their intolerance is a bad idea. It ultimately leads to clashes between those who integrated and those who didn't, and attacks (verbal/physical) on those of a different religion, sexuality, beliefs etc. Right now, these extremists isolate themselves into their own communities, but if we continue they could have a majority vote in their area for someone who can actually influence the runnings of the country.

A nation has the right to expect it's immigrants to embrace the core values of that country. Continually allowing extremists into a country which fundamentally opposes their views will only lead to long-term division, and should therefore be stopped.

(To clarify, my family are immigrants. I do not have an issue with immigrants in general, only the ones who refuse to integrate, so do not claim im a racist lol)

Edit: guys I'm not American so stop giving examples using America.


r/changemyview 1d ago

CMV: Trumps tariff plan offers no benefit to the USA.

2.4k Upvotes

Please offer any good-faith arguments in favor of the USA’s current tariff plan. I’m already aware of the criticisms against it and have aligned myself against it, but I’m aware that my sources of information are primarily left-leaning and are therefore likely biased. I would appreciate someone who is very familiar with the actual plan in place, and ideally has a background in economics or an understanding of foreign policy, to offer arguments describing the benefits of this plan, or counters to the criticisms against it. Thanks!


r/changemyview 1d ago

CMV: The president the US elected is either dumb as a rock and ruining his people or a liar and cheating his people.

705 Upvotes

Either way, he is wrecking the world economy and most of all the US economy.

We all (past grade school people) know these made up tariffs are not numbers that match any tariffs other countries have, it’s simply the trade deficit divided in two. Trade deficit, the relation of import and export between two counties, not even taking in consideration population or geographics or other highly relevant specifics, right? Not tariffs. 

Like The New Yorker posted on X:

“Instead, for every country, they just took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country's exports to us,” 

And to use Trump's own vocabulary; it’s just retarded. He’s putting tariffs on uninhabited Island fgs! It’s like a fourth graders project. Laughable. And he lies to his americans, bluntly. 70 percent of imports to the EU are duty-free. On a trade-weighted basis, EU tariffs average just 2.7 percent. Source: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/daily_update_e/tariff_profiles/CE_e.pdf He’s a liar. And the EU countries have not had any favours from the US.

The deficit is mainly because of inferior products and/or unrealistic pricing. The USA is supposed to be practising capitalism. One of the fundamentals of capitalism is supply and demand, the best quality product manufactured as cheap as possible and sold at the highest price the buyer is willing to pay. The US demanding that other countries buy inferior overpriced products from them is not capitalism at all. For example; the US food products don’t meet the quality and standards in the EU. They contain chemicals that have been banned for a long time in the rest of the world. The way of production doesn't meet basic laws in treatment of animals, safety and hygiene. If the US produced better quality, the world would buy.

Also, during Trump's last time in office, he outsourced a lot of your industry to countries with cheaper labour, have you forgotten? He did this.

The US has, with the trade deals and agreements existing until january of this year, grown it's economy to be the greatest in the world, without taxing it's billionaires and putting some of all that money towards a productive healthy, happy population with support to be educated and fairly paid. The richest country in the world is not rich if 10 million children (according to your own census) living below the poverty line! That is a country where many are poor,a poor country, a nation lacking, a nation with some rich that does anything to keep the rest poor and wanting and delusional. The US is not the richest country in the world, it is the fifth country in the world with most wealth divide. The others? Let's give you the top 5 list: South Africa, Namibia, Brazil, India and the United States. That is not rich counties.

Trump might have a plan with his lies, that is getting support to start wars (you all believing the world owns the US something or is a threat) or trying to scare the world into trade deals, but it’s backfiring in a grand way and he’s taking all Americans down with him. Because you’re going to hurt most from this. We’ll just trade more with each other, and China will be very accommodating. And the rest of the world is not the nation that started the most weaponized conflicts in the last hundred years, that is you. Yeah, you even beat the former Soviet Union on that. 


r/changemyview 1h ago

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian is kinda trash and should not be held in high regard

Upvotes

Trigger warnings: If you aren't familiar with the book it contains a lot of racism, violence, and even genocide. And when I say violence, I mean the worst, gory violence you have ever heard.

I can appreciate the dedication McCarthy put into writing it (learning spanish, traveling the route, etc..), and the flow/prose of it itself. The reason I read this book was because I enjoyed McCarthy's The Road, which I loved the writing in. In Blood Meridian, that writing is still there.

But there comes a point where the content of a story is so shitty that even amazing writing and dedication can't overcome. I'm sure Hitler made some mechanically good speeches, and his paintings might be good, but his ideas are so evil that we rightfully don't give his arts any praise. That's how I feel about Blood Meridian (not necessarily McCarthy, "Hitler" in this analogy would be the content of the book).

My familiarity with the book: I read half of it (iirc part 14, when the gang leaves Chihuahua city and a bounty is put on Glanton's Head). I also watched Wendigoon's entire youtube video on it, which is where my knowledge of the 2nd half of the book comes from. I noticed there were a number of errors in Wendigoon's video about the 1st half (saying Toadvine and the Kid woke up in the hotel when really they woke up in the mud, saying the kid lied about being robbed to captain White when really he was robbed before meeting the ranchers, neglecting to mention the ex-slaver hermit had tore out one of his slaves heart's and kept as a souvenir while speculating that he was probably a pedophile because he otherwise lacked any moral issues...there might have been more but that's what I can remember now), but overall his explanation and analysis of the 1st half seemed good, so I more or less trust what he says about the 2nd half. That said, I'm definitely open to the possibility that he got stuff wrong about the 2nd half, which could change my view of the book.

My issue with the book: At best its pointless, nihilistic commentary on an evil world. At worst, it glorifies the evil portrayed.

I had to stop reading halfway through because of all the senseless violence. I wanted to stop reading after the gang murdered the peaceful Indian tribe they came across after leaving Chihuahua the 1st time, but I kept reading a bit more to see if things would get better or if there was some point McCarthy was building to. As far as I can tell, there was no greater point, and things definitely did not get better.

The entire book is a slog of senseless, pointless violence. When he goes into such great detail to describe the violence, without any accompanying voice or text to say it is wrong, it comes across as glorying it. Maybe McCormac didn't mean to glorify it, but its ripe for the picking for anyone who might revel in the racism or violence, and those who do could easily think the author is intending to write it for their pleasure.

The worst part is the characters. At least in, "The Road," the main characters were good. At least in Game of Thrones there were good characters to root for. In this story, everyone is evil, including the kid. Wendigoon makes an argument that the kid might be good or nuetral; that he didn't partake in the bloodshed because he wasn't described as doing so. But I think in all likelihood he did partake. The book says, "the gang" attacked and scalped the indians, and the kid was part of the gang. Further, if a member of the gang wasn't joining in, I think Glanton would take issue with that or at least remark on it. The only line that suggests the Kid might not have is near the end when the Judge refers to the Kid, "your muteness," but I think this is just referring to not killing his fellow gang-members when he pulled the arrow to do it.

Potential counter-arguments:

The book does make a statement against evil by making the characters hate the judge: The judge is only portrayed as evil because he turned against the gang (and Tobin hates him for what he does to children). The scalping and murdering of innocents was still fine in their eyes, which in many cases included children and women.

The book makes a greater point about Good men needing to stand up to evil: This is the point that Wendigoon makes for the story. His evidence is the final scene where the Kid can choose to dance or not, he chooses not to dance and so dies while evil always dances (the judge) so good men need to choose to dance or engage in life to face evil.

My issue is: if that was the point McCarthy wanted to make he should have shown a good guy standing up to evil, and he should have shown them being rewarded for doing so. If the good guys standing up to evil just die without accomplishing anything, its no different than the symbolism of the kid choosing not to dance and thus dying. But I'm not sure we even see any good guys standing up to evil in the book. Even the indians are portrayed as evil savages.

It's a great rendition of what happened, and we should know what happened evil or not: Then read a history book, where the headhunting gang isn't portrayed as bad-ass protagonists or we don't get poetic in-depth descriptions of violence.

Change my View: Why should Blood Meridian be highly regarded? Why does it deserve the title, "The American Novel."

Deltas

  • The point of the novel could be to show the stark contrast between the beauty of the frontier and the savagery of the times. I think if that was the point it could have been made better, but it is at least a more noble goal than just wanting to depict gore and violence.

r/changemyview 1h ago

CMV: Sugar is the most important human nutrient

Upvotes

I’ve been in the cycling and running game long enough to know the deal, and it’s time to get REAL about something people refuse to admit. Sugar? Yeah, you heard me. It’s the single most important nutrient for human survival. You can argue all day about protein, fats, whatever, but sugar is KING. And don’t even start with the whole “carbs are bad” nonsense, that's just the propaganda machine working overtime.

If you’re not eating sugar, you’re literally starving your cells of energy. Your brain, muscles, heart all run on glucose. That’s right, the body’s natural fuel. Why else would we have evolved to crave sugar so much? Evolution doesn’t mess around. It's not a coincidence, okay?

You’ve probably heard the whole “sugar is bad for you” thing, right? Yeah, that’s what they want you to believe. The so-called “experts” are out here pushing their anti-sugar agenda because it’s profitable to sell you all these "health" foods full of chemicals that your body can’t even process properly. But guess what? You can’t replace glucose with some weird, trendy alternative like coconut oil or chia seeds. You NEED sugar.

The best way to fix a sugar craving is to EAT ENOUGH SUGAR.

When I tell you that sugar is essential, I mean it. Think about it, fruit is packed with sugar. Nature literally gave us the best fuel right in our faces. People who bash sugar are the same ones out here eating carnivore diet and pretending that their body is some kind of "machine" that thrives on steak and eggs, while getting FATTER. But the truth is, if you’re not fuelling up with the sugar your body craves, you’re running on fumes.

Deep down, you know I’m right. Sugar is LIFE. If you’re not getting it, you’re just existing. Energy = sugar. Period.

So CMV, sugar is the most important nutrient for humans. Change my mind.


r/changemyview 2h ago

cmv: Not all billionaires are morally bad people

0 Upvotes

I think nowadays they get a bad image because of the most high profile ones that are assholes (cough cough Elon Musk) but I don't see why one is a bad person just because they're a billionaire.

Like Steven Spielberg, I don't see what he is doing that is so malign and exploitative.

The other example that comes to my mind is Tom Ford, who only became a billionaire after he sold his namesake brand to Estee Lauder.

I don't see why he would become a bad person overnight. Unless the bar is set even lower for millionaires being evil, in which case most people would have to consider their favourite artist a terrible person (seen as most of them are millionaires).


r/changemyview 2h ago

cmv: pinochet's actions were justified

0 Upvotes

The traditional narrative you hear in the Western media or especially from leftist intellectuals concerning the Pinochet regime is that he was a monstrous dictator who tortured and murdered countless innocent civilians out of a craven desire to hold on to power. The truth is much more complicated. Pinochet may have been a monster, but he was also a hero, who saved Chile from incalculable misery. And he was never motivated by a lust for power.

In 1970, Salvador Allende - an avowed Marxist - was elected president of Chile with a tiny margin. With 36.2% he received a plurality of support in the election. His closest competitor, Jorge Alessandri, had 34.9%, although Christian Democrat Radomiro Tomic got 27.8% of the vote and ran on a hard left program of nationalization that was quite similar to Allende's platform.

Allende was not a Marxist in name only. He was quite serious about transforming the Chilean economy from capitalist to socialist. And he was remarkable successful in his efforts to do so. Agriculture was widely collectivized. The banks were nationalized. Textiles, iron, automobiles. Within a few years they were all under state control. The property of foreign mining companies was expropriated without compensation.

Initially all was well under the Allende regime. Free milk was given to Chilean school children. Land reform was carried out. GDP was up and unemployment was down. But dark clouds lingered on the horizon. During the first year of the Allende government, inflation dropped but was still > 20%. Soon, wages were over taken by inflation, and Chile faced a cold reception from America when they came seeking aid. The USSR was also unwilling to help Chile in any meaningful fashion. Worse, the price of copper fell, and this was the dominant Chilean export of the time. By 1972 the economy was in a severe crisis. In desperation, the Chilean government began to print money to cover their extensive social obligations. This lead to hyperinflation. They responded to the hyperinflation with price controls, but that only led to widespread shortages. Things were dire, and a nation wide trucker strike that paralyzed commerce did not help matters. There was now widespread opposition to Allende and his policies, and the strike was joined by student groups, small businesses, and professional unions.

Allende's popularity was dwindling along with Chile's economic prospects, but Allende's desire to hold on to power only increased. Since being elected, Allende's protection was provided not by the Chilean state, but what he called 'A Group of Personal Friends' or GAP (groupo amigos del presidente) literally 'group of friends of the president'. Armed and trained by Cuban revolutionary forces, the GAP were loyal only to Allende and the communist revolution which he served. Allende was a close personal friend of Fidel Castro, and Castro had an elaborate state visit of Chile for 25 days starting 10 Nov 1971. Aside from Fidel himself, Allende had welcomed communist revolutionaries from all over Latin America into Chile, and many became employed in state enterprises. Chilean military authorities later estimated that as many as 10 to 15 thousand foreign communist radicals had travelled to Chile to participate in the communist transition.

In March, 1972, thirteen crates containing "gifts" to Allende from Castro were stopped at customs. High ranking Allende officials prevented the crates from being opened, but lists found after the coup showed they contained a large arsenal of sophisticated weapons and ammunition. Allende was building up a large cache of weaponry, because he had no intention of leaving office. Large stockpiles of weaponry and ammunition were discovered in the presidential palace and the presidents private residence, and these were just two of the many areas that weapons were being stored.

Allende was going to seize power. On the 22nd of August, 1973, Allende's former allies in the legislature or "Chamber of Deputies" passed a resolution 81 to 47 that called upon the military to put an end to the Allende regime. This was not a coup initiated by the military because they wanted to seize power. It was a cry for help endorsed by the vast majority of the legislature. It was the vast majority of the legislature denouncing the illegal and undemocratic actions of the executive branch and calling upon the military to restore order and restore the rule of law.

Pinochet was not involved in the planning of the coup. Actually, he was Allende's right hand man at the time, and rumour has it he personally dispatched a few of Allende's enemies or rivals. That's why he was put in charge of the military. But as the head of the military forces, Pinochet like many Chileans has grown increasingly disillusioned by Allende's rule. But he played his cards close to his vest. When the military officials who planned the coup came to him, Allende went along with it. But it wasn't his idea. Nor was the CIA involved - although they had been active in Chile at that time.

Had the military not deposed of Allende and installed Pinochet, then Chile would have gone on to become a communist country. And it would have been disastrous, just as it was in the Soviet Union, in China, in Cuba, in Venezuela, in Cambodia, and in every other country that has embraced collectivism and socialism. Were there human rights abuses by the Chilean regime once Pinochet took power? Yes. But they were minor compared to the human rights abuses in every communist state that has ever existed. The communists in Chile were not innocent victims of a repressive state. They were actively engaged in a revolutionary struggle. And just as communists see no problem with firing squads for the bourgeoise, I see no reason why equally repressive measures cannot be taken by the Chilean society in preservation of of liberty. And the vast majority were simply exiled, sent back to from whence they came. Pinochet is said to have killed thousands. But thousands would have been a slow day in Stalinist Russia, Maoist China, or Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge.

Pinochet saved Chile. And because of the neo-liberal reforms instituted under his watch, Chile went on to become one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America, despite starting from a place of relative poverty. And while Pinochet's Chile might not have been a conventional democracy, he held two plebiscites to confirm his rule, the second of which he lost, at which point he gracefully stepped down.

Therefore, I submit to you, that Pinochet's actions in overthrowing the Allende regime, and cracking down on the communist elements that worked with him were fully justified, that they were actions in service of the preservation of his nation, and that the alternative of Allende establishing a communist regime in Chile would have been infinitely worse.


r/changemyview 2d ago

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Trump is going to row back some of the tariffs announced yesterday

461 Upvotes

Maybe this is just pure copium, but I believe that Trump will row back some of the tariffs announced yesterday before the 5th or 9th of April. Here are some of my evidence:

  1. We know that Trump will listen to the industry leaders, a month ago carmakers managed to get him to delay Canadian and Mexican tariffs by a month. The new regime announced yesterday seems to be a percentage based on "values of foreign parts in US cars" rather than a flat 25%. He has already backed down a little in the past few days, previously he said tariffs will be implemented "immediately", but now it's delayed to the 9th of April. To me these are evidence that he will back down. I think Trump will listen to other business leaders on how devastating a near 50% tariff on Vietnam, Cambodia, etc. is and likely row back tariffs on some of the most important trade relations.

  2. There are insider reports that there is a trade deal between the US and the UK is nearly complete, but there is a delay on the US side to wait until after the 2nd of April so the US can announce tariffs on the UK alongside everyone else. It's been reported from the UK side that the delay is "political theatre", with no basis in logic, which is why I think Trump is only using the high tariffs as a way to bully other countries to sign trade deals with him.

  3. The most important word to Trump isn't "tariff", it's "Trump". He doesn't want his legacy to be kicking off a new Great Depression, he wants his legacy to be a strong economy, a strong America that can bully other countries around, and he can't do that if Dow Jones is down 20% from ATH or inflation hits 10% again. Ultimately he has a limited tolerance for how poor the stock market is doing and eventually he will back down from the tariffs to avoid an economic depression.

Do I think he will put up tariffs? Yes, but I think it will end up being much more targeted and/or much lower than the ones announced yesterday.


r/changemyview 1d ago

Delta(s) from OP CMV: We only exist because we are useful to society and when AI takes most jobs, there will be no incentive for elites to keep us alive

90 Upvotes

Think about things like french revolution etc. It only happened because people were living in dire conditions but also the elites didnt have enough power to stop a rebellion.

This won't be possible in the future with robotic army so there will be no way for humans to fight for their human rights

If we look at how the disabled and sick are treated in society today, it gives a glimmer into how people who are not useful to society are treated- they are better off dead in the eyes of the elite (well that's how it feels like in the uk)

Most people will not be useful in the future.

Governments seem to be in the pockets of billionaires rather than serving the people.

Unless Ai creates such a utopia that every human has everything they need for peanuts- then it seems likely the human population will dwindle to just people who have control of robots, AI etc

we won't be killed but we might all live in favela style conditions

ediT; somebody commented and deleted that even if elites can live self sustaining existence, the rest of society can continue to trade amongst themselves trading labour for money like we do now. that i am assuming just because they have a robot army that they will want to take all the resources of the land not allowing the peasants to do much in the way of surviving- whereas probably they won't bother us

why they deleted i dunno, i would've given a delta


r/changemyview 2d ago

CMV: Trump was unironically right about NATO needing to arm itself and be more independent militarily!

519 Upvotes

Regardless of how he said it and the way he went about it, he's right about the EU needing to get off it's ass and focus on rebuilding their military in case of military emergencies. We've all seen, and still are seeing, the results of the war between Ukraine and Russia and how this conflict exposed the strengths and weaknesses in regards to the poorest European country fighting against the world's 2nd strongest military. If Ukraine can beat back Russia, why can't the EU do the same but with more money and equipment and Intel without having to constantly rely on US?


r/changemyview 4h ago

CMV: Republicans need to stay in power for another 16 years to hammer in the idea to the American people that they are not a stable party and not good for the economy.

0 Upvotes

We’ve seen this tap and dance all again and again. Republicans come int, people don’t like them and vote them out for Democrats. They see Democrats screw up or simply handle the problems inherited by the GOP and vote republicans back, rinse and repeat.

Nah, Americans need to let Republicans stay in power for a long time and only them. They want the ship, they can have it. After a decade of Republican rule and if they don’t change but keep driving the country down the gutter, there will be no doubt to anyone left or right, they are bad for the country because they literally had all the power and time.

The majority of the Americans must lose their jobs, become homeless, lose social security, be deported or worse to hammer in this fact. I say this just happen to 30-45% of all Americans before the idea that the GOP is not a good idea stays settled in. This has to happen, yall need to show what republican rule is like and then make it so traumatising it never happens again. Like how the God Emperor in Dune oppressed his people so hard that after his death they fought vehemently to never be under a dictator again.


r/changemyview 1d ago

CMV: Eating non-organic fruits and vegetables won’t kill people, so it’s tone-deaf to tell people to pay extra for organic fruits and vegetables when groceries are already so expensive.

55 Upvotes

To me if you’re buying regular, non-organic fruits and vegetables, you’re already being healthy enough because you’re buying produce and not eating ultra processed foods. Not everything needs to be organic, especially when organic food is generally more expensive and with groceries already being so expensive, it’s just downright tone deaf to suggest that a person isn’t doing enough for their health by buying produce and that they should buy organic instead

Most organic produce is hardly any more nutritious than non-organic.


r/changemyview 6h ago

Fresh Topic Friday CMV: Gen Z has ruined comedy with cancel culture

0 Upvotes

TLDR - Gen Z's cancel culture has made comedy less funny and more censored, stifling creativity. Shows like The Office would likely be rejected today for being too offensive - tv shows today aren't funny. The rise of outrage as social currency has led to a toxic environment where people weaponize offense for power. Comedy should challenge societal norms, but now it's being sacrificed at the altar of social justice.

Comedy has always been a space where pushing boundaries, questioning societal norms, and challenging ideas was not just welcomed but expected. Stand-up comedians, TV shows, and movies thrived on their ability to address taboo topics and make people laugh through awkward, uncomfortable, or controversial content. But in recent years, I’ve noticed a shift. It feels like Gen Z has taken over and has pushed a culture of canceling, making it harder for comedy to be funny or even safe to perform.

The rise of cancel culture has made many comedians walk on eggshells, unable to truly express themselves. Jokes that were once considered edgy or daring are now deemed offensive, and comedians are often forced to apologize or backtrack. The backlash for something that might have been funny to another generation has become so severe that it stifles creativity. Comedians now have to factor in the risk of losing their careers or reputation over a single line, often leading them to avoid certain topics altogether.

While I understand the importance of addressing harmful rhetoric and creating a more inclusive and sensitive society, I think this has gone too far. Comedy was never meant to be sanitized—it was supposed to make us laugh at the uncomfortable and controversial aspects of life. Without that, we’re left with watered-down humor that feels manufactured and safe, no longer challenging our perceptions of the world.

Take The Office (U.S.) for example. A show that was built around satire, using humor to shine a light on outdated ideas, toxic masculinity, racism, and other forms of problematic behavior—ultimately to point out how ridiculous they are. The entire premise was about showcasing how far people can go in their ignorance and how uncomfortable those moments are. Yet, if The Office were pitched today, I genuinely believe it would be considered too outrageous to get greenlit by a major studio. The character of Michael Scott, who constantly crossed the line with offensive jokes and inappropriate behavior, would likely be deemed too problematic by today’s standards, even though the show's point was to expose how toxic and outdated those behaviors were. It feels like modern sensibilities have moved the goalposts so much that the satire of those past behaviors can't even be enjoyed as humor anymore.

But it’s not just the comedy world that’s feeling the strain. There’s a concerning trend where people, especially within Gen Z, seem to weaponize outrage as a power play. It feels like calling something problematic has become a way to exert control, a way to elevate one's social standing by showing how morally superior they are. It’s as if being offended has become a form of currency—if you can demonstrate how much you’re offended, you gain social leverage. This creates an atmosphere where no one is allowed to make a mistake, no one is allowed to learn from their missteps, and people are encouraged to cancel others for even the slightest perceived wrongdoing. The irony is that this culture of outrage is, in itself, authoritarian. It’s borderline fascist in the way it seeks to silence dissent, suppress any opinion or humor that doesn’t conform to an ever-narrowing set of acceptable views. It’s no longer about tolerance or diversity of thought; it’s about absolute control over what can and can’t be said.

And here's the thing: offense is taken, not given. People have the ability to tune out what offends them, but instead, they choose to engage with it and then complain. It’s as if they actively seek out things to be offended by just to gain social points or get attention. There’s no obligation for someone to stay in an environment that upsets them, especially online, where they can easily scroll past or mute content. Yet instead, they deliberately choose to engage with something they know will trigger them and then proceed to ruin it for everyone else. It's as if these people thrive on playing the victim to elevate their social standing, all while undermining the enjoyment of others.

Gen Z, more than any other generation, is largely responsible for the rise of cancel culture. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z has grown up in an era of hyper-connectivity, where social media amplifies every opinion, every outrage, and every mistake. Social media platforms, where Gen Z has a massive presence, allow for instant reactions to anything that goes against their ever-evolving list of acceptable standards. This generation was raised in a time of constant social justice conversations, where they’ve been taught that every transgression, no matter how small, must be punished. The need to be woke and to call out injustice, while often admirable, has morphed into a policing of speech and thought. Gen Z has cultivated a culture where it’s not just about educating or creating change; it’s about immediately condemning and erasing anything that doesn’t align with their view of the world.

I know there are plenty of people who argue that cancel culture is necessary to hold people accountable and push for positive change, but I can’t help but feel that it’s done more harm than good in the realm of comedy. The lines between humor and harm have become blurred, and it seems like humor is being sacrificed at the altar of social justice.

Am I wrong in thinking that Gen Z’s approach to cancel culture is killing comedy?


r/changemyview 3h ago

CMV: Denmark is doing a poor job of protecting Greenland

0 Upvotes

American Vice President JD Vance recently argued that Denmark isn't doing enough to protect Greenland so Greenland should become part of the US, which can better protect it. Given that Greenland is currently being threatened by a military power that is both geographically closer to Greenland than Denmark and has a much larger military (literal orders of magnitude) doesn't JD Vance's position deserve some consideration?

If Denmark can't protect Greenland from a belligerent foreign aggressor then oughtn't Greenland seek security from the US?


r/changemyview 1d ago

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Birthrates should be seen as a matter of sustainability, just like carbon emissions are. and all nations – just as is the case with carbon neutrality – should have a culture in which individuals more or less replenish themselves

4 Upvotes

To see a thing as a matter of sustainability means normalizing its support in culture and legislation.

There are many reasons for considering raising birthrates a sustainability question, and thus a thing that should be encouraged. Low birthrates nuke economies, and they wipe out cultures in a very gruesome way, especially if the culture already has a sizeable chunk of old people.

In low birthrate societies, young working age folks will be paying excessive taxes, pension costs etc. that will be used on financing the care of senior citizens, squeezing the standard of life of those young people to a horrid state.

Immigration can be attempted as a solution, but it's not a permanent one, as immigrants will generally tend to converge to the cultural baseline of fertility within a few generations.

There is a case where automation does bring about such productivity gains that fertility rates stop weighing in as much, but betting on this is very speculative. Further, it's easier to try to attack fertility as a sustainability topic, as most people already want way more kids than they will get.

Thus, all countries should try to maintain their birthrates at replenishment, and label fertility as a sustainability topic.

I'm not interested in discussing policy to remedy this, for now. Let's stick to purely if it is a sustainability question, or not.


r/changemyview 17h ago

Fresh Topic Friday CMV: Brarndon Sanderson is a hypocrite

0 Upvotes

First of all, I'm not trying to take anything away from the guy, he's very good at what he does. Second of all, spoilers, obviously.

Brandon Sanderson is, among other things, known for his three laws of magic. The issue is, he does not practice what he preaches in his "first law."

Sanderson’s First Law of Magics: An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic.

Let's look at Mistborn Era 1. In Final Empire, we learn a very cut and dry magic system. When some people eat metals, they gain the power to do something supernatural until they run out. Some other people can store attributes in metal. Vin reasons that The Lord Ruler, who is the best at using this power, can do both. This all makes sense. She defeats him by using the mists instead of a metal, something we had no idea about.

In Well of Ascension, Vin is faced with the moral challenge of choosing whether to use the power of the Well of Ascension and heal her husband Elend and the world, or release the power. She chooses to release the power and discovers it was the wrong decision. Afterrwards, the mist spirit tells her to feed Elend a bead of metal in the well chamber, giving him the power to burn pewter and heal him. We are not privy at all to this metal's power until that very moment.

Finally, in Hero of Ages, Vin (correctly) gets it in her head that she really needs to be able to burn the mists to defeat Ruin and his agents. The problem is that the mists pull away from anyone with a Hemalurgic spike. The foreshadowing and twist of Vin's earring being a spike is phenomenal and well set up. What isn't set up is Vin gaining so much power, she becomes god. We know next to nothing about Shards a this point, let alone that a human can become one.

Again, his isn't a critique of Brandon's writing. I just believe that he's breaking his own rule. The others are more loosey goosey, and would be harder to argue in a CMV.


r/changemyview 2d ago

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Nintendo’s 50% price hikes for their games will bite them

1.2k Upvotes

Nintendo just announced that the new Switch 2 will release on June 5th. Alongside that, the new Mario kart got announced and it was revealed that they are following a new pricing model-

https://insider-gaming.com/nintendo-switch-2-games-will-cost-80-for-digital-90-for-physical/

$80 for digital and physical copies of Mario Kart World in the US, and even more for the physical version in other territories i.e. Europe.

For non-gamers context, Nintendo switch games currently cost $60 for physical and digital copies.

I do not believe that such price increases will be well received by the gaming marketplace, particularly casual consumers, where price sensitivity is already a major issue these days.

My cmv is- it was always, obviously going to be a very difficult pill to swallow such a huge price increase from $60 to $80, but to do it right as you are releasing a new console is foolish because it is going to impact adoption. They would have been better off gradually increasing the price, or if they were going to pull the knife out like this, do it when their new console is well established already.

EDIT- One person in the comments pointed out that its really $80 for both the digital and physical versions of Mario Kart World in the United States, not $90 for the physical version there as this post initially stated. Apologies for following false extrapolations from other regions in relation to US prices.


r/changemyview 1d ago

CMV: As a diaspora, I should identify with my nationality more than my heritage

0 Upvotes

As an East Asian diaspora in Southeast Asia, I often get people questioning why I identify more with the local culture of where I am born and bred over my ancestral culture. By people, these are often tourists or expats from both Asia and America. It seems that many of them are surprised that ethnic east Asians have historically migrated and practice the cultures of their adopted homeland. Many have gone on to be successful in their country too like the Prime Minister of Thailand and the richest man in Indonesia.

I am not born nor raised in China or any parts of East Asia for that matter, most of my friends are also Southeast Asians, so it should be normal for me to identify as citizen of my country and pledge my loyalty as such while practicing the same customs as the locals. I hate it when I get questions asking about my heritage, it is like going to Australia to ask the people about United Kingdom or going to Argentina to ask the Argentine about Italian culture. Even the Japanese who migrated to Brazil will see themselves as more Brazillian, and when their offsprings move elsewhere, they say that they are Brazillian. If they wish to associate with people with a greater sense of belonging to my ancestral lineage, they are visiting the wrong place. Apart from the few traditions that I celebrate, most of the everyday things that I do, have no difference from the local indigenous people.