That’s fine - unlike my posts about the economy that post that seems to have riled up particular posters (who notably haven’t engaged with the economic discussion at all, despite it being the subject of the thread) was clearly an opinion. It was clear in the original context that it was (given that it was a response to another poster asking my opinion about the motivations) and I had also specifically stated that Reform supporters are millions of people, I am not one of them and am not a mind reader, so all I could write was the reasons that I am aware of based on research on the topic and the stated opinions of Reform supporters who have stated them either publicly in the media or to me in person.
I also specifically stated that I’d be interested to hear from others who are supporting them/ considering supporting them about their reasons for doing so and how they think that this will impact the UK’s economy, fiscal position, and therefore the living standards of its residents (given that this is a thread about fiscal policy and its effect on the economy) because I wanted to understand their reasoning. Sadly, the only responses received were a series of personal attacks and then some very bizarre comments from somebody deranged and in need of medical help due to a strange obsession with teachers. Furthermore, I noted that I’m autistic so use language bluntly and said sorry if I had caused offence as this was not intended; I was simply answering that particular question I was asked which was about my opinion on motivations. I’m not a psychologist, however, so not my area of expertise to give anything more than an opinion. I am interested in the economics and evidence and data, and it seems that me having given an opinion in ONE POST which was specifically asked for and therefore clearly was not presented as fact but personal opinion has been used by certain people to try to derail the thread and prevent any factual discussion about the economics, which those same posters haven’t engaged with in any meaningful way at all. Quelle surprise….
I have read so many comments on various forums/ newspaper column sections online stating that “nobody understands Reform supporters” and “nobody will listen to their point of view”. Yet the outrage if someone else states a point of view even when asked to do so has taken up multiple pages of the thread. And if you ask for their reasoned analysis of how they think Farage’s policies will improve the fiscal situation/ economy etc (which presumably anybody on this thread is interested in, given that is the subject of it!) so that you can try to understand their point of view you get met with a barrage of personal insults and no substantive response at all. It’s difficult for others to fathom why Reform’s supporters believe that the party’s stated fiscal policies will be an improvement when not a single credible economist agrees and not one Reform supporter on this thread has been able to articulate and argument to support that their policies would be beneficial to the economy.
Instead, these posters continue to claim to be “misunderstood”, like sulky teenagers, so I have to admit that I am now inclined to think that their “nobody will listen to us” retort is disingenuous because the ones who have posted here haven’t been able to articulate any analysis of why Reform’ stated policies would have any positive economic impact and have refused to discuss this at all - even on a thread that is specifically about the fiscal impact of Government policy!
Instead we get “are you a teacher?” X 10 or whatever other nonsense. And false claims from the very people who’ve made lots of nasty personal comments that others are “insulting” them personally by discussing general economic or voting trends and what the motivations for those might be, in general terms without referring at all to any specific poster.
The cognitive dissonance appears to be the size of Mount Everest. How do these posters know the motivations of millions of other Reform posters and know that my list was wrong (note again - I didn’t say that even in my opinion this was an exhaustive list of motivations, just some of those I have noted). Once you decide to support Reform do you get access to some kind of Hive Mind where you can read the minds of all other Reform supporters and know why they are supporting Reform and, therefore, that all of the reasons that I listed as reasons why some people are supporting them are incorrect?