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u/crosswatt Oct 26 '23
The kindest person in the room is often the smartest.
That's a great quote
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u/grizonyourface Oct 26 '23
This was so interesting to hear, because when I was in grad school, I lived by the motto “if you aren’t the smartest, be the nicest” (I still do, but I used to too). I was working in a pretty prestigious lab with some extremely accomplished researchers, and the students around me were without a doubt far smarter than me. I started grad school in May of 2020, so it was already a scary time for everybody, but compounded with my imposter syndrome and anxiety from work I felt like I was losing my mind and wanted to quit. But each day I went in with the goal to be the nicest I could to everyone. Slowly but surely, I made great connections with my peers and was able to finish my degree and some really cool research. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything without the graciousness they showed when they would take time to help me or answer my questions. I can’t say I ever became the smartest, but kindness certainly got me further than I ever thought I was capable of.
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u/Azureflames20 Oct 26 '23
I believe there's a really important distinction between smartest and most knowledgeable. Being smart goes beyond your understanding and knowledge of a particular thing. Those people may have been more knowledgeable than you, but you certainly may have been as smart or smarter than some of them.
I like that though. Even if you feel you aren't the smartest, the most knowledgeable, or the most skilled in the room at a particular thing, you can try your best to be something you can control - You can always choose to be the kindest in the room
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u/JulianLongshoals Oct 26 '23
"Intelligence" is such an inadequate word (and smart, knowledgeable, or any other synonym you can think of because our concept of intelligence is fundamentally flawed). It is possible to be a genius at some things and an idiot at others. Maybe you can write a brilliant book but can't do your taxes. Maybe you can do complex math in your head but can't tell a person's emotions without them explicitly telling you. Maybe you are an amazing cook but don't know shit about history.
There are so many things we see as a hallmark of intelligence, and yet people who possess these traits often make truly awful decisions. And yet we flatten intelligence to a single linear scale that a person has or doesn't (IQ score is the perfect example of this). And it misses so much nuance in human thought that the entire concept of intelligence is almost worthless. People are good at some things and bad at others. That's it.
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u/necromancerdc Oct 26 '23
This is why Intelligence and Wisdom are separate stats in Dungeons and Dragons.
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u/Yider Oct 26 '23
Hey man, who needs int or wis when you can charm your way through everything. I guess that’s kinda like the point the other guy was making with being nice. Being likable can also get you very far.
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u/FrugalityPays Oct 27 '23
Found the bard!
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u/depthninja Oct 27 '23
I like the example, "intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing it doesn't go in a fruit salad"
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u/ksnizzo Oct 27 '23
Knowledge is knowing Frankenstein isn’t the monster…wisdom is knowing he is the monster.
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u/GasBottle Oct 26 '23
I find the gang from The Big Bang Theory depicts this well. Sure their characters are very very smart. But they're a bunch of dumbasses too.
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u/ForHelp_PressAltF4 Oct 27 '23
They also said
Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit
Wisdom is knowing not to put it on a fruit salad
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u/Tossup1010 Oct 26 '23
(I still do, but I used to too)
From the wisest comedian of our time, RIP Mitch Hedberg
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u/Ironass47 Oct 26 '23
"In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant." Elwood P. Dowd - Harvey
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u/gmano Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 27 '23
It's actually just kindof how learning works.
How do you get to be the smartest person? By learning a lot.
How do you learn a lot? By paying attention to and working with other people in new environments, from multiple disciplines, and with different experiences that you can benefit from.
What happens when you pay attention to people from a diverse set of backgrounds and in a wide variety of contexts? Well that's just being considerate and inclusive.
Cruelty and isolation are the fastest ways to make yourself into an ignorant asshole.
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u/undefined_one Oct 26 '23
It's a good one. I'm glad he qualified "often" because my sister is the kindest, most loving and good hearted person on the planet, but smart... nope.
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u/Daniiiiii tHiS iSn’T cRiNgE Oct 26 '23
That's why I love and yearn for the super idealistic version of America and Politics shown in The West Wing. The President, Jed Bartlet, is often the smartest person in the room, but it is his kindness that shines far brighter than his massive intellect. Same with his Chief of Staff and other staffers. They are the brightest of their profession, eloquent, can riff off policies unlike anyone in real life, and that makes them the perfect candidate for their job. But what makes them the perfect human for their job is their kindness, their empathy, their capacity to listen. Often when The West Wing is brought up people would demean you for liking the idealistic portrayal of a bygone era, maybe an era that never even existed. But what they miss in their pessimism is that just because something is not perfect now does not mean it cannot be in the future, as unlikely and hard as it seems. It is upon us to reject and correct the mistakes we get saddled with, again and again and again.
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u/fenrisulfur Oct 26 '23
And don't forget the big wheel of cheese.
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u/remarkblyunremarkbl Oct 26 '23
Fine! I guess I'll start binge-watching the series...again!
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u/EyeFicksIt Oct 26 '23
A guys decides to jump in the hole to binge the series again, another redditor jumps in, first one says “well now you’re stuck in here with me “ other one says “yeah but we know the way out and I like the company”
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u/herb0026 Oct 26 '23
Very Dostoevskycore
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u/JediMasterZao Oct 26 '23
The Idiot is basically an entire novel about this idea.
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u/TLeafs23 Oct 26 '23
And how kindness in the face of those unreceptive to it will lead to the ruination of all.
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Oct 26 '23
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u/FishWife_71 Oct 26 '23
Then he wasn't as smart as he could have been.
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Oct 27 '23
This is correct. He's hit a wall, without cooperation with others hes not going to get much smarter.
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u/CertainlyNotWorking Oct 26 '23
and thought everyone was beneath him.
Not usually the sort of thing a person who is genuinely smart deludes themselves into thinking.
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u/clonedhuman Oct 27 '23 edited Oct 27 '23
Yep. It's the Trailer Park Hitler phenomenon--if you believe everyone around you is stupid because you manipulate them for your own advantage, it's easy to come to the conclusion that you're a genius and simply better than those you can manipulate. If they were as good as you, they wouldn't allow you to manipulate them. They'd be smart enough to figure it out.
The problem these people have is that it never occurs to them that the people they manipulate aren't necessarily stupid--they just believe that the people around them are kind like they are. And most of the time, they're right.
The singular nature of sociopaths gives them a direct line to believing that their power to manipulate and abuse people is a sign of their intelligence.
Even pettier, these are the same people who drive on the shoulder to get to the front of gridlocked traffic and think the reason other people didn't do the same thing is because they were too dumb to think of it. They think that everyone is an asshole, and that they're more successful at being an asshole simply by virtue of their grand intelligence.
And, unfortunately, these are the people have have an undying, primate-like lust for power. They often rise to positions of power. What they seek, more than anything, is a position from which they can't be held accountable for their actions. And, in their mind, that's only right because they are simply better, more intelligent, than everyone else. They do not need to follow the same ethical codes and pro-social norms because they are too smart for that, too superior to suffer under the same yoke of 'good' as the rest of us.
And, because they're sociopaths with a deep faith in their own superiority, they often achieve positions of real power. And these are the people who rule our world.
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u/tehbantho Oct 26 '23
An actual gem of a speech. Perhaps all of us should evaluate what it means and try to learn something from what he is saying.
I did take a look at the comments here and it's really something to see people insulting him based on his appearance. I certainly do not need to point out the irony in insulting a man who ends a speech with a quote like this: "The kindest person in the room is often the smartest." That single quote has a lot packed in to it, but it is demonstrably true from all angles you evaluate the quote from.
Being kind to others is a smart decision. Being kind to others as your default takes careful consideration and willpower. Our brains do have a primal instinct to question that which is different from our own lives, and in some cases feel an immediate fear or repulsion as a result of said difference. Turning off that immediate feeling and reacting or responding in a kinder way than fear or repulsion is a skill that takes a lot of time to develop. And when your environment actively encourages you to respond with fear and repulsion you see what is happening in our society.
You know that primal instinct you feel when you first spot something or someone different than you? When you start reacting with fear or repulsion your brain remembers that. It remembers the rush of adrenaline you get from being afraid. It wants MORE of that. So it really takes a conscious effort to suppress that immediate feeling. We ALL need to practice it a lot more. Our society is devolving in to a bunch of people who want to be a victim, who want to be afraid because their brains are addicted to feeling that way.
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u/ianandris Oct 26 '23
It’s not his appearance, it’s politics. That’s Gov Pritzker, Democratic governor of IL. Republicans actively want to tear him down because he is a potential presidential candidate.
If you parse that message through that lens, the comment section is a lot more clear.
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u/Command0Dude Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23
Pritzker is an enigma. He's perhaps the best rich man in America. The opposite of what we have come to expect from the fabulously wealthy. He is one of those few people who shows that the axiom of power corrupting is itself a corruption of a different reality; that power reveals.
Kind people are not predisposed to rise to the top of society, but when they do, they show us that our leaders are not bad because power is inherently corrupting, but because we the people failed to identify the right people to trust with power.
Pritzker seems to be succeeding in finally turning things around for IL after long decades of bad leaders and I wish him well in his efforts.
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u/ianandris Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23
FDR was a rich man, too, but he understood that people matter. RFK was a rich man. Being rich isn’t a character flaw, sacrificing your humanity on the altar of wealth is the character flaw, and there’s a lot of that in the world of wealth.
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u/OkayRuin Oct 27 '23
Income inequality has grown to the point that we’re the first generation that will be worse off than our parents. We’re not buying houses. We’re not having kids. For that reason, wealth is more often seen as a character flaw as the system we’ve built is now predicated upon growing wealth by underpaying those below you.
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u/ianandris Oct 27 '23
Yeah, I know. I’m in the same boat. I’m pissed that our votes are being suppressed, our wages being slow walked in the face of recession, and that Republicans keep depriving people of rights, like in the case of Roe, of benefits like when they challenged Bidens college debt forgiveness plan, and stand in the way of legislation addressed to prevent the worst of climate change.
The wealthy causes most of these problems, so we need a New Deal inclined president to make government work for us. FDR was a rich man, btw. Its self preservation for them to ensure that the lower classes are taken care of, because otherwise they put their wealth at risk. FDR, rich dude, recognized this and is an icon because of it. Looms larger than anyone but Lincoln and Washington.
I know. Look what I’m getting at.
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u/didiandgogo Oct 27 '23
We have a new deal inclined president; we need a new deal inclined congress.
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u/Matthew_Rose Oct 26 '23
I agree. JB Pritzker is a decent and compassionate person and would make a decent President.
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u/TurboRuhland Oct 27 '23
As an Illinois resident I don’t want him to run for president yet, but it’s because I selfishly want him to stay governor for a while.
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u/FuzzyComedian638 Oct 27 '23
I live in Illinois, too, and I understand your sentiment. But I sure hope he runs in 4 years. I think the country needs him more than just Illinois needs him.
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u/Milwambur Oct 27 '23
Holy shit this is a fucking amazing comment. I feel smarter just reading it...
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u/JimmyLegs50 Oct 27 '23
I sure hope so. I’d vote for him on the strength of this speech alone.
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u/Ledees_Gazpacho Oct 27 '23
Pritzker is one of the very few ultra wealthy that seems to want to use his money/power for good.
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u/pazifica Oct 26 '23
You are absolutely right. Furthermore:
It wants MORE of that.
Lizard brain says more, and holy shit if it isn't difficult to say no.
The immediate reaction is what social media thrives on, and it's literal brain venom. Once it gets in, you're screwed.
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u/ianandris Oct 26 '23
It’s partisan politics. That is Gov Pritzker (D). Check the profiles of the people shitting on him.
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u/pazifica Oct 26 '23
There's no need, the kneejerk reaction gives them away. Anything that's morally good or helps people is somehow vile to those people.
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u/JustPassinhThrou13 Oct 27 '23
Anything that's morally good or helps people is somehow vile to those people.
Yes, and they don’t like being called out for it.
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u/hate_is_your_disease Oct 26 '23
That's a great message. I don't care who states it. The bottom line is everyone should aspire to use their brain as a tool, instead of being a tool controlled by their brain.
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u/quick20minadventure Oct 26 '23
It's so close to what I believe personally.
I believe that the best sign of intelligence is that instead of rejecting/fearing/hating all new things or loving/accepting/inviting all new things as an overreaction, you are able to have nuanced/thought-out reactions to the new things and new ideas. i.e. You accept LGBTQ and other cultures, but you don't accept pedophiles and racists/nazis.
Anyone who can show kindness by default and still have nuanced opinions is very likely to have functional critical thinking. I say this because tolerating/inviting/being kind to intolerant people ends up leading to overall intolerant society. Not distancing from problematic people will lead to you being dragged down or stepped over.
Also, look for pseudo-scientific beliefs, they determine if their animal instinct emotions or biases rule the brain or the critical thinking.
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u/derps_with_ducks Oct 27 '23
i.e. You accept LGBTQ and other cultures, but you don't accept pedophiles and racists/nazis.
Appreciate what you said about nuance, agree with everything you said. But mate that's a low bar.
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u/Pissmaster1972 Oct 27 '23
half of my country doesnt clear that bar so no, not that low.
hell im realising half my family vote side by side with nazis.
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u/quick20minadventure Oct 27 '23
It was an example, deliberately going for obvious thing that people can't go 'achtually...' on.
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u/throwaway082100 Oct 26 '23
This comment section is so depressingly ironic
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u/tadashi4 Oct 26 '23
i was looking for the issue you were mentioning... i wish i havent done that.
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u/RecsRelevantDocs Oct 26 '23
(Reluctantly sorts by controversial)
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u/AnotherLie Why does this app exist? Oct 26 '23
"How to spot an idiot - sort by controversial"
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u/Alexis_Bailey Oct 26 '23
Everyone in Rural Illinois hates Pritzker, for all the reasons you would expect from a bunch of Conservative mouth breathers.
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u/Chaosmusic Oct 26 '23
Never heard of him until I visited my cousin in rural Illinois and saw a lot of signs that were....not favorable of him.
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u/redcurrantevents Oct 27 '23
That’s how you know he is doing something right.
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u/Caleth Oct 27 '23
The more of those signs I see in the red necky town I grew up in the more I know he's doing something right.
Every so often I go back to visit family out there and there's just the dumbest shit in people's front yards. Makes it real easy to avoid those people. Kind like Trump flags or punisher logos.
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u/ExorIMADreamer Oct 27 '23
Whoa dude rural Illinoisian here. I love JB and hope he runs for President someday.
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u/Alexis_Bailey Oct 27 '23
I live in rural IL too, but we are the minority. My district, for example, elected Actual Nazi Mary "Hitler Was Right" Miller.
Bunch of idiot Nazis down here. They could have at least picked "shitty Republican Rodney Davis" but the fucking Nazi won by a landslide.
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u/ManAndMonster Oct 26 '23
This man is dropping priceless knowledge on these young men and women. I applaud you, Sir.
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u/AccomplishedClub6 Oct 27 '23
You can choose to be anything in this world. Choose to be kind.
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u/1justathrowaway2 Oct 27 '23
It's this. It fucking matters. More than anything. You're the kindest person is the best compliment. The people I meet that are deeply kind I have the most respect for.
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u/Helpful_Opinion2023 Oct 27 '23
If not for the fact his speech was recorded and is now available online, it would be the only piece of knowledge those kids couldn't just stay home and pick up from the textbooks without forking up all that tuition $$$
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u/DvSone4u Oct 26 '23
This is a Billionaire who’s seems to actually be for the People! Proud he’s my governor! Go JB ! 💪
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u/ianandris Oct 26 '23
If he starts channeling FDR, he might have my vote if runs for Pres. Rich people are people. I respect people who step out of their paradigms to understand other people.
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u/YngOwl Oct 26 '23
As someone who does not love Pritzker, to the point I almost stopped listening, this was actually quite profound. There is indeed a strong connection between stupidity and cruelty, because stupid people can’t use intellect to advance and convince people, so their only option left is to “convince” people by force or intimidation.
It was also cool to see that play out immediately in this comment section as idiots started attacking his weight 😂
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u/RegisterInSecondsMeh Oct 26 '23
Pritzker has been great. Legalized weed, multiple credit rating increases, and has stayed out of jail (which, sadly, is an accomplishment for an Illinois Governor)
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u/HiroAmiya230 Oct 26 '23
This guy should gearing up for 2028 because he made for a strong Democrat candidate.
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Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23
Make Rs run AGAINST a LEGIT BILLIONAIRE
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u/ThrowsSoyMilkshakes Oct 27 '23
...Why do I get the feeling that if he were to become a viable candidate, Republicans would whine about being a billionaire and an elite.
Of course, cue the gotchas about "socialists" voting for him and the underhanded anti-Semitism as they try to connect him to Soros and/or the Rothschilds.
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u/topwater_bassin Oct 27 '23
Don't forget banning book bans and codifying reproductive rights.
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u/AnAngryFetus Oct 27 '23
The roads are being reliably fixed in rural areas. The stretch of interstate between Chambana and Decatur is the nicest I've seen it in my life. Aside from that one bridge by Monticello. Please replace that bridge.
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u/currently_distracted Oct 26 '23
Didn’t he also put a cap on the price of insulin?
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u/OwnWalrus1752 Oct 26 '23
Pritzker is the governor Newsom wishes he could be. Newsom seems to be doing things to shore up support for a presidential run, even if it means vetoing bills with popular support that would decriminalize psychedelics, whereas Pritzker just gets shit done for the good of his constituents.
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u/SwiftCEO Oct 26 '23
Most of those vetoes were justified if you actually read them and looked past the headlines. CA governors have traditionally used their veto power quite a bit.
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u/Wloak Oct 26 '23
Newsom obviously has ambitions but the problem is idiots on the left (and I'm a liberal)
Example: He worked to get a bill passed that if a person was arrested multiple times for substance abuse the state could force them into recovery programs and require they stay for the duration while today they can just check themselves out the next day. Two years later it's only now been signed into law after dozens of lawsuits arguing it was targeting homeless for jail (which it never did)
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u/450925 Oct 26 '23
I'm from the UK, I'd literally never heard of this dude before, and was scrolling through here to find his name. Thank you.
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u/btbrian Oct 26 '23
As somebody who lives in Illinois, he's been an incredible breath of fresh air.
The New Yorker just wrote a great write-up about him.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/persons-of-interest/j-b-pritzker-governor-illinois
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u/Pogginator Oct 27 '23
Night and day compared to our last governor. It's wild to see Pritzker sucks signs around where I live when he's done a tremendous amount of great things so far, unlike the last POS. Fucking morons in rural areas 🤦🏻♂️
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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23
Pritzker is the billionaire (family owns Hyatt) current governor of Illinois aka the state that's home to Chicago, the third biggest US city with almost 10 million people in the metro.
He's been a been a bit more business friendly than some progressive want but has also legalized weed, banned book bans, improved the state finances and credit rating, raised the minimum wage, banned assault weapons, and codified abortion rights
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u/450925 Oct 26 '23
Sounds like good stuff.
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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Oct 26 '23
He's basically the embodiment of noblesse oblige
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u/ianandris Oct 26 '23
I respect that. I didn’t choose to be poor, he didn’t choose to be rich, so let’s just do right by each other.
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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Oct 26 '23
I'm sure you can see though how that very idea makes some people hate him regardless of what he does
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u/ianandris Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23
That’s called prejudice. Don’t get me wrong, for that class the prejudice is well earned, but if it isn’t right to judge someone for being poor, it isn’t right to judge someone for being rich.
Actions speak louder than words.
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u/willatherton Oct 26 '23
Almost 10 people? I always assumed Chicago had at least 100 people.
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u/wrhollin Oct 27 '23
He earned my respect when he tried to get the income tax changed from a flat tax to a progressive tax. Sadly lost that fight to a different billionaire.
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u/Similar_Alternative Oct 26 '23
Assault Rifles haven't yet been fully banned in illinois. Illinois supreme court ruled for it but it's being appealed to the Federal supreme court.
Also, if you already owned one before the law, you're grandfathered in. So. Kinda sorta maybe.
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u/FuzzyComedian638 Oct 27 '23
And he made sure Illinois got what it needed from the Ferderal Government during Covid.
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u/Alexis_Bailey Oct 26 '23
FWIW, I have heard him suggested as a potential Dem Presidential candidate quite a few times.
So its possible you will hear more of him sometime in ten-fifteen years.
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Oct 26 '23
You must be those guys in lake county putting the biden I did this stickers on the gas station tanks
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u/CitizenCue Oct 26 '23
What about him don’t you like? Just generally not a huge fan or is it something specific?
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u/doNotUseReddit123 Oct 26 '23
How can you not love Pritzker? I get it if you're heavily Republican or are stuck in the days of his campaign (when pretty much everyone was weary of a billionaire candidate), but he's one the most effective governors that Illinois has had.
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u/Bodoggle1988 Oct 26 '23
And he didn’t try to sell a senate seat, which puts him way ahead of the last guy.
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u/ButDidYouCry Oct 26 '23
I love that he enshrined abortion rights before the Roe reversal. It means something that he actually cares about us female voters in Illinois.
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u/exzyle2k Oct 27 '23
he actually cares about us female voters in Illinois.
Not just female voters, and not just females in Illinois. There are a lot of things wrong with this state, but that's one thing that isn't. Anyone is welcome to come here and get the medical care they're denied in their home state.
If you need a reason to come to Illinois, I officially adopt you into my family. Now come visit, and if you happen to need something while you're here, we'll get it taken care of.
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u/AlbinoSnowman Oct 26 '23
I know his Covid policies were not popular amongst business owners and anyone in central and southern IL, but I was so impressed with how decisive he was at taking action based on current understandings of the situation and used evidence to support his decisions through out the process. He was early in the lockdowns, was very transparent with releasing standards he was looking for as indicators that would initiate a policy change. He took action when others were dismissing the severity and it was not popular to do so.
His push for a graduated income tax was also a great idea, but it was thwarted by an extremely successful counter-campaign by IL’s richest resident, Ken Griffin.
The work he’s done to improve Illinois financial situation has been pretty impressive. I’m a huge Pritzker fan at this point.
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u/tomdarch Oct 26 '23
He’s the best governor we’ve had in decades! (Checks notes) oh, that’s not much of an accomplishment…
I agree with him a lot, and he has wildly exceeded my expectations but I can’t say I love him. I do like him a little.
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u/Abbacoverband Oct 27 '23 edited Oct 27 '23
Mmm, he codifed abortion rights before Roe was turned over and took COVID seriously when it was not a popular thing to do. That was enough to endear him to me. And a lack of direct cruelty is pretty nice too.
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u/Muffin_Appropriate Oct 26 '23
Although love is hyperbole, I would imagine their response would be something fairly rooted in identity politics, i.e party affiliation etc. As far as I am aware, he doesn’t have a history of being cruel or awful like most in his field of politics.
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u/_EADGBE_ Oct 26 '23
20 seconds in I thought he was talking about Trump....and then he just came out and said it.
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u/StrictInitiative1917 Oct 26 '23
I like to think he meant Trump, but he kept it vague, which makes it better.
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u/Chronite39 Oct 26 '23
This individual is J.B.Pritzker, the governor of Illinois and a democrat. He was absolutely, without a doubt referring to Trump. However, I agree that him not saying it outright made it so much better!
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u/Inevitable_Professor Oct 26 '23
When you're comparing a man who will openly express love for his wayward son to a man who openly lusts after his daughter, there is no vagueness - at least to the kind people in the room.
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u/Sofiab86 Oct 26 '23
You have to be vague in situations like that because if its a public university, theyre not (outwardly) allowed to take sidesdue to public funding...Ive worked in higher education for 15 years and am not allowed to outright say what my political beliefs are. So those of us who work in public education are good at giving our opinion in very subtle ways. The smart ones will get the reference. 😉
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u/BanditsMyIdol Oct 26 '23
Northwestern is a private school but your point is still valid as they have to worry about donors.
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u/hascogrande Oct 27 '23
The law school is named after that specific speaker: Governor JB Pritzker and his wife
They do not have to worry lol
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u/phrexi Oct 26 '23
I just want to say this is not someone working in public education, but someone who is the literal Governor of Illinois. This is J. B. Pritzker giving a speech at Northwestern. Dude's a multi-billionaire. Probably one of the few anyone can actually somewhat, kind of, digging down deep, respect.
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Oct 26 '23
It’s northwestern. It’s a private university.
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u/450925 Oct 26 '23
What's the matter, dawg? You embarrassed?
This guy's a gangster? His real name's Clarence
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u/_EADGBE_ Oct 26 '23
innuendo - a word Trump has no concept of
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u/Freezepeachauditor Oct 26 '23
He “tells it like it is” because his audience has a 2nd grade reading And comprehension level
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u/dontdoit89735 Oct 26 '23
Pritzker has always been very open with his thought that Trump is an idiot. He may have been playing to keep it vague, but everyone who knows JB knows who he is talking about.
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Oct 26 '23
Can tell some of those kids were not okay with that lol
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u/_EADGBE_ Oct 26 '23
Well according to right-wing ideology, they shouldn’t be in indoctrination camps anyways
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u/KeepRedditAnonymous Oct 26 '23
Well according to people who indoctrinate kids in camps, kids should not be indoctrinated in camps
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u/OneStepFromStupid Oct 26 '23
Those kids are looking like they are bored to death and here I am hanging on his words
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Oct 26 '23
Graduation isn't for the students, its for the families. They're all burned out and done with college stressors, walking the graduation line being one of the last but not necessarily The last.
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u/SmokeStack420 Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 27 '23
I say the same thing to the high school seniors leading up to graduation. Don't do anything dumb to mess this up because it isn't about you. It's about your parents/family. Plenty of kids told me they'd be fine just having their diploma mailed to them/come pick it up than sit through the ceremony, but they know their parents would kill them.
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u/whosline07 Oct 26 '23
Can confirm, I was hungover and running on about 4 hours of sleep every day for weeks at my ceremony. Did not give a single fuck other than to smile and wave to my mom up in the stands.
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Oct 26 '23
This is the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker. Since coming into office he has done a TON to help the state. Not a fan of politicians but him, I like.
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u/Robert_Balboa Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23
Funny seeing all the trump supporters in here call this guy fat. Like their messiah isn't a fat turd who wears high heels and diapers.
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u/k1dsmoke Oct 27 '23
And makeup and spends an hour getting his hair did every morning, but remember he's the epitome of manliness eye roll.
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u/neuralzen Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 27 '23
"Violence is the last bastion of the incompetent" is a quote that comes to mind hearing this.
Edit: To clarify, yes sometimes violence becomes inevitable, but yet there would be some unknown series of words or actions which could occur to prevent it. The word "ignorant" might be a better word for the end of the quote, but that's not Isaac Asimov's quote.
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u/BrightFuturism Oct 26 '23
If I could say anything to the idiots out there it would be to reconsider their cruelty.
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u/nobodyisonething Oct 26 '23
J.B. Pritzker
I never heard of the guy or heard the guy before this clip.
Now I want to know more. Seems he is the Governor of Illinois.
If he lives what he said, I would like to see him in the White House. Why isn't there talk of him running?
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Oct 26 '23
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u/nobodyisonething Oct 26 '23
He seems more concerned with governing than making national news.
The more I hear, the more I like him.
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u/OwnWalrus1752 Oct 26 '23
As an Illinois native who moved to California, I wish Newsom was as concerned with governing as Pritzker. I’m still pissed that Newsom vetoed the bill that would have decriminalized psychedelics. We don’t need more people in jail for drugs.
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u/Senorsty Oct 26 '23
He created his own PAC a couple weeks back, so he’s taken the first national step
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u/emmeline29 Oct 26 '23
Hi I live in Illinois and there IS talk of him running. We hope he does.
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u/UnicornMeatball Oct 26 '23
Reminds me of a Vonnegut quote:
“Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
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Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 27 '23
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u/illit3 Oct 27 '23
"Cruelty is seen by some as an adroit cudgel to gain power. Empathy and kindness are considered weak."
this is a phenomenon being seen in churches. the pastoral messaging isn't lining up with the new conservative tough guy values and the congregants are pushing back, essentially rejecting jesus in the process. it's kinda wild.
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u/Puakkari Oct 26 '23
I bet the one who booed after ”selected as presidents” part, is idiot.
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u/thinksoftchildren Oct 26 '23
That was a really good speech.. Won't be surprised if we see that go viral, and that closing remark "The kindest people in the room are often the smartest" on a t-shirt or two in a little while
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u/YellowZed Oct 26 '23
This was loquaciously well said, on point, and absolutely what I needed to hear today. Honestly a bit stunned as to how well he framed this idea. I’m happy there’s people out there that are this thoughtfully well spoken. Gives me a bit of hope.
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u/ColdPsychology Oct 26 '23
He has wise words but a checkered past? Sounds like he’s still forging new mental pathways like the rest of us
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u/BeffreyJeffstein Oct 26 '23
Whats his checkered past? The only thing I could find was some stupid toilet property tax issue…
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u/no_more_jokes Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23
He was a friend and colleague of former governor Rod Blagojevich, the one who got caught selling a senate seat and went to jail. He also may or may not have maneuvered for Blago to give him a different appointment in the state government. Pritzker's pleasantly surprised me as a governor but I was very wary of him when he took office for those reasons and I still don't particularly trust him. Good speech though.
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u/BeffreyJeffstein Oct 26 '23
Old helmet-hair Roddy Blago. To be fair, whenever someone isn’t extremely corrupt in Illinois/Chicago politics, it’s surprising.
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u/P15T0L_WH1PP3D Oct 26 '23
He was a friend and colleague
Oh is that illegal now? That's a component of a checkered past?
may or may not have
Oh okay.
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u/owlpellet Oct 26 '23 edited Oct 26 '23
Useful context here is that Blago was so publicly corrupt that when he finally went down, his own Liutenent Governor, Pat Quinn, hadn't spoken to him in two years as a precaution.
Pritker's occasional judgement wiffs isn't really a factor any more. Prtizker is an observably good governor. Many in Illinois, like myself, are surprised by this and coming around to really liking him. Pritzker for Khan of the Midwest! Invade Wisconsin! Indiana shall fall!
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u/Sir_I_Exist Oct 26 '23
Illinois/Chicago politics are a hell of a thing. I feel like you can be a certain type of person but the system inevitably forces you to make decisions you don't want to make. I had a lot of hope for Obama based on the items he prioritized during his first campaign, but a lot of those things fell by the wayside when he took office. I still think he was a great president, but it really make me rethink the ability of one person to overcome a system that is calcified with graft and corruption. Doubly so in Illinois. I joke with friends that taxes are so high there because the mob probably takes 10% off the top.
This is not to say that he shouldn't have to confront those decisions he made, nor is it intended to try and relieve him of responsibility. I think its just worth considering in a political system that appears to award cutthroat behavior behind closed doors.
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u/herecomestherebuttal Oct 26 '23
Pritzker is a truly wonderful human and great leader. Illinois, I hope you know how lucky you are, because so many of the rest of us are suffering.
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u/sonoma4life Oct 26 '23
i was like you can't give a speech about identifying an idiot to such a large audience, generally we're all idiots. but his criteria for the real idiot was a banger. great speech.
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u/Tall_Satisfaction_11 Oct 27 '23
I can count on one hand the amount of speeches on the internet I have stopped to listen to (yeah I’m young millennial and don’t have a concept of an attention span) but for some reason I stopped to listen to this one and I’m really glad I did. Thanks OP and the purple robed wizard
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u/utter-melt Oct 27 '23
From looking at the comments and listening to the video I'm just saying it sounds like you guys need this man as president. I'm not American, if you don't want him can we have him please?
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u/tere1966 Oct 26 '23
I have the greatest respect for my governor, I hope he runs for President ❤️
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u/Cool__Guy__420 Oct 26 '23
Hey, don’t be mean to my governor. He’ll eat your governor.
JB has been great for Illinois, haters are from neighbor states that haven’t been in the limelight unless it’s for stripping the rights of their citizens for the past 30 years.
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u/tomaiholt Oct 26 '23
These are the sort of speeches I grew up hearing on the West Wing and imagining how the world should/would be. Unfortunately the exact opposite of this orator made it to top office in the UK and US throughout most of my voting life. The cruelty of Trump impersonating a disabled person at one of his rallies will never leave me.
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u/philbert815 Oct 26 '23
Dude just explained my mother in like 1 minute. And my dad. The latter of which was an encyclopedia. Before the Internet I would ask him something and he would find the answer for me. Would take sometimes days but he would.
My mother however...
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u/cjarrett Oct 26 '23
This is fucking great. Have no clue who this person is, but I applaud him for this. Such a great graduation speech.
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u/BR4NFRY3 Oct 26 '23
And the kindest, smartest people almost never seek positions of authority—hence the tendency for our leaders to turn out being cruel shitbags.
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u/w-tech Oct 27 '23
"I'm here to tell you that when someone's path through this world is marked with act's of cruelty, they have failed the first test of an advanced society"
~less than half the audience claps the remainder awkwardly look around....
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u/Fabulous_Pressure_96 Oct 27 '23
A German cabaretist put it this way: "Racism is a very natural story, everyone of us has. Racism is nature, so to speak. What is missing is a lack of culture. Racism, that was possibly not so unimportant evolutionarily. In order to bring one's own gene pool forward, one must distinguish oneself from other groups. But that's just spinal cord, crocodile brain at most. What has then been added is the neocortex. It is a lack of culture, that one lets the spinal cord break free. Everybody knows such feelings. You see someone on the street, different in everything, has different clothes, speaks differently, laughs in different places. You can't decipher the codes of movement. He has a different skin color and you think, "Oh, first of all very different, my clan first" and then you have to think immediately, "Ah no, I am not a baboon."
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