Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

because apparently 77M Americans can't add 2 and 2 when it comes to wannabe dictators


dictator, in modern political systems, a single person who possesses absolute political power within a country or territory or a member of a small group that exercises such power. The term comes from the Latin title dictator, which in the Roman Republic designated a temporary magistrate who was granted extraordinary powers in order to deal with state crises. Modern dictators, however, resemble ancient tyrants rather than ancient dictators. (from Britannica [1])

In some ways this fits the election of Donald Trump - he was designated as a temporary magistrate who was granted extraordinary powers in order to deal with state crises - but in most ways it does not. Trump does not possess absolute power nor is a member of a small group which possesses such power as the plethora of court cases blocking his decisions make clear. The real important bit here is this:

> apparently 77M Americans

That is the majority of the voting public which you're lambasting for making the wrong decision. Here's a bit more on that subject, read it well:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy and https://www.britannica.com/topic/republic-government

Don't agree with the majority and think they should listen to you or your group instead? There are names for such forms of government as well, names which are generally portrayed as being opposites of the two I pointed at earlier.

[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/dictator-ruler


weird you would prefer to use the 2000 y.o. definition of dictator than the current one but if that helps you cope, be my guest

the 77M people were not the majority but a plurality, although i'm not sure there is a 2000 y.o. definition for that to help you cope

don't look too far for a president who has been elected by a minority, it happened as recently as 2016


> dictator, in modern political systems

He used a modern definition. It referenced the origin of the term.

> the 77M people were not the majority but a plurality

What distinction are you trying to make here? That not everyone voted?

He called it the majority of the voting population.

> cope

heh




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: