Hello Tom, I think I first found you because I wanted to read your review of that "new" Sony 16-55 f/2.8...which I still want a lot, but it is still too expensive for me to justify with my semi-pro work. It seems very unusual for a camera youtuber like you to reach into the realm of political commentary, but I respect everybody, and I respect that you might want to speak of issues that are important to you, so you put yourself out there, and I will try to give you some feed-back in-kind with the tenor of your own comments. You said that it's not about performance; it's about perception. I agree it is to an extent, but it shouldn't be. You also said that the average person doesn't have a good impression of Trump (or his tone - I don't recall) even though you said that Trump has the support of 40% of voters. 40% is a lot, but it isn't a majority, so I'm not sure how that bares on statistics about the "average" voter. I think you make your point in saying that perhaps for the 20% that are undecided, it's more about perception than performance, and I can accept that premise, even though it disappoints me. But putting aside the undecided voters' psychology, and just speaking for yourself/ourselves (I'm not asking you what you actually prefer - it's rhetorical) would you rather have a president that is a blustery arrogant personality telling you exactly what he wants to do even if he isn't sure how we will do it, or would you prefer a candidate that is a total chameleon, deliberately espousing moderate positions for the sake of sound-bites and perception to attract undecided moderates while his comments have little relationship to what he will actually do in office under pressure of his own angry extreme party? Do we want a president that will tell you what he wants to do, knowing he will try his best to do it and convince his party, or do we want a president that will balance his own party's demands on him from all corners constantly including now, and since he can't know how that will go if he is elected, everything he says in a debate is just for show? Do we want a president that wants us to be judged "by the content of our character and not the color of our skin". Or do we want a president that will be ruled by the more exterme parts of his party that want all of our politics and society to be rearranged and managed based on the idea that what groups you are a part of: man, woman, black , white, asian, poor, rich, is a much bigger component of your own identity than everything you have done and even more important than your own mind and beliefs that you can hold in a moment or a lifetime?
Thanks for the well-considered reply, Mark. Yes, I wondered if I should even make that video, but honestly, my channel isn't much yet, so my 'risk' is pretty low ;) I agree with all your comments, and let me clarify something I said - I do belive that winning debates (and even elections) in the US is, unfortunately, largely about perception. However, as you stated, I too desperately wish that were not the case. In this country (and perhaps others) people simply don't pay enough attention until about 1-2 weeks before the election, and then pretty much only listen to what their favorite news feed tells them.This, as you can imagine, can be dangerous. As I said in my video, I prefer to judge people by what they have done, not by what they are currently saying. But this is much more difficult to do, and therein lies the rub. Thanks again for the great comment!
Enjoyed listening! Nice to see and hear you, Tom!
Thanks Tom. Hope you are well.
Hello Tom, I think I first found you because I wanted to read your review of that "new" Sony 16-55 f/2.8...which I still want a lot, but it is still too expensive for me to justify with my semi-pro work. It seems very unusual for a camera youtuber like you to reach into the realm of political commentary, but I respect everybody, and I respect that you might want to speak of issues that are important to you, so you put yourself out there, and I will try to give you some feed-back in-kind with the tenor of your own comments.
You said that it's not about performance; it's about perception. I agree it is to an extent, but it shouldn't be. You also said that the average person doesn't have a good impression of Trump (or his tone - I don't recall) even though you said that Trump has the support of 40% of voters. 40% is a lot, but it isn't a majority, so I'm not sure how that bares on statistics about the "average" voter. I think you make your point in saying that perhaps for the 20% that are undecided, it's more about perception than performance, and I can accept that premise, even though it disappoints me.
But putting aside the undecided voters' psychology, and just speaking for yourself/ourselves (I'm not asking you what you actually prefer - it's rhetorical) would you rather have a president that is a blustery arrogant personality telling you exactly what he wants to do even if he isn't sure how we will do it, or would you prefer a candidate that is a total chameleon, deliberately espousing moderate positions for the sake of sound-bites and perception to attract undecided moderates while his comments have little relationship to what he will actually do in office under pressure of his own angry extreme party? Do we want a president that will tell you what he wants to do, knowing he will try his best to do it and convince his party, or do we want a president that will balance his own party's demands on him from all corners constantly including now, and since he can't know how that will go if he is elected, everything he says in a debate is just for show?
Do we want a president that wants us to be judged "by the content of our character and not the color of our skin". Or do we want a president that will be ruled by the more exterme parts of his party that want all of our politics and society to be rearranged and managed based on the idea that what groups you are a part of: man, woman, black , white, asian, poor, rich, is a much bigger component of your own identity than everything you have done and even more important than your own mind and beliefs that you can hold in a moment or a lifetime?
Thanks for the well-considered reply, Mark. Yes, I wondered if I should even make that video, but honestly, my channel isn't much yet, so my 'risk' is pretty low ;)
I agree with all your comments, and let me clarify something I said - I do belive that winning debates (and even elections) in the US is, unfortunately, largely about perception. However, as you stated, I too desperately wish that were not the case. In this country (and perhaps others) people simply don't pay enough attention until about 1-2 weeks before the election, and then pretty much only listen to what their favorite news feed tells them.This, as you can imagine, can be dangerous. As I said in my video, I prefer to judge people by what they have done, not by what they are currently saying. But this is much more difficult to do, and therein lies the rub.
Thanks again for the great comment!