Well, an argument can be made that his party did give up Istanbul and Ankara in the previous round of local elections (albeit with quite a fight), so it serves to reason that they're not entirely opposed to the democratic process (most of their money is hidden in off-shore tax havens and not Turkey, so they can always bail if the political scene turns hostile towards them).
The issue is that, no matter how you see the current political climate, the dude won the recent elections fair and square (as far as we know).
The people voted for this, so let them enjoy it. To me it's like Brexit, except I'm living here and watching it happen to me as well.
Not exactly what most of us would call a fair election.
It's not a fair country, lol. But, regardless, things do work a bit differently here as people are aware of the fact he owns and controls the main news channels - folk aren't under the illusion that they're fair and balanced, so that metric isn't as relevant as - say - an election in the West where people are more likely to trust their media.
People went with him mostly because he promised stability, and the opposition don't have a great track record with that (even though they really gave it their best this time around). A lot can also be said about Kılıçdaroğlu and his refusal to step down... But that's a much longer discussion.
You can still have sympathy for people that didn't vote for him but are living there (so similar to remain voters living in a post-brexit UK), and even for people that voted for him based on lies.
I didn't vote for him and am living here (have been for 30 years). I do have sympathy for myself, thanks for bringing that up.
And I have no sympathy for the people that voted for him based on lies.
You're not from here, so allow me the following assumption: you have no idea the collective trauma caused by the recent catastrophes (the earthquake to the East, chief among them). For people to still vote for the folk who literally caused or assisted in the causes of these tragedies, after so much needless death, has lead me to adopt the view of: "you want this shit so bad? You can have it".
I'm done protesting and getting tear gassed. So done tip-toeing around conversations lest I get beaten or arrested for saying the wrong thing. So done walking around with a "go bag" in case another fucking coup happens and I find myself stuck on the wrong side of a divided city.
I'm moving away the first chance I get. I'm only sad for those who don't have the same opportunities.
But, yeah, please tell me more about who I should have sympathy for.
Sorry, I misread your comment as saying you were in the UK. That's on me, you didn't formulate it badly.
I do think that Erdogan's reelection is worse for Turkey than Brexit is for the UK. And I think the latter is fucked up.
Still, I truly believe that a lot of people that voted against their own interest are victims of themselves and the lies they were fed. But I'm definitely too soft hearted and naive at times.
Like you said, I'm an outsider and didn't mean to imply to mandate who you should have sympathy for.
I might've been a bit too vitriolic in my response as well, sorry about that - tensions are running high over here.
Still, I truly believe that a lot of people that voted against their own interest are victims of themselves and the lies they were fed. But I’m definitely too soft hearted and naive at times.
They are victims, for sure. The hashtag "pişmanım" (which translates to "I regret it") was all over the net the week after the election.
Having said that, we spent years warning them that they would get fucked if they didn't change course, and they chose not to listen (time after time again). Now their chickens have come home to roost, and life here is even worse than it was a year ago (during said disasters) - which is saying something.
Well, an argument can be made that his party did give up Istanbul and Ankara in the previous round of local elections (albeit with quite a fight), so it serves to reason that they're not entirely opposed to the democratic process (most of their money is hidden in off-shore tax havens and not Turkey, so they can always bail if the political scene turns hostile towards them).
The issue is that, no matter how you see the current political climate, the dude won the recent elections fair and square (as far as we know).
The people voted for this, so let them enjoy it. To me it's like Brexit, except I'm living here and watching it happen to me as well.
Erdogan received nearly 33 hours of airtime on the main state-run TV station, according to opposition members of the broadcasting watchdog, while his presidential opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, received 32 minutes.
Not exactly what most of us would call a fair election.
It's not a fair country, lol. But, regardless, things do work a bit differently here as people are aware of the fact he owns and controls the main news channels - folk aren't under the illusion that they're fair and balanced, so that metric isn't as relevant as - say - an election in the West where people are more likely to trust their media.
People went with him mostly because he promised stability, and the opposition don't have a great track record with that (even though they really gave it their best this time around). A lot can also be said about Kılıçdaroğlu and his refusal to step down... But that's a much longer discussion.
You can still have sympathy for people that didn't vote for him but are living there (so similar to remain voters living in a post-brexit UK), and even for people that voted for him based on lies.
I didn't vote for him and am living here (have been for 30 years). I do have sympathy for myself, thanks for bringing that up.
And I have no sympathy for the people that voted for him based on lies.
You're not from here, so allow me the following assumption: you have no idea the collective trauma caused by the recent catastrophes (the earthquake to the East, chief among them). For people to still vote for the folk who literally caused or assisted in the causes of these tragedies, after so much needless death, has lead me to adopt the view of: "you want this shit so bad? You can have it".
I'm done protesting and getting tear gassed. So done tip-toeing around conversations lest I get beaten or arrested for saying the wrong thing. So done walking around with a "go bag" in case another fucking coup happens and I find myself stuck on the wrong side of a divided city.
I'm moving away the first chance I get. I'm only sad for those who don't have the same opportunities.
But, yeah, please tell me more about who I should have sympathy for.
Sorry, I misread your comment as saying you were in the UK. That's on me, you didn't formulate it badly.
I do think that Erdogan's reelection is worse for Turkey than Brexit is for the UK. And I think the latter is fucked up.
Still, I truly believe that a lot of people that voted against their own interest are victims of themselves and the lies they were fed. But I'm definitely too soft hearted and naive at times.
Like you said, I'm an outsider and didn't mean to imply to mandate who you should have sympathy for.
I might've been a bit too vitriolic in my response as well, sorry about that - tensions are running high over here.
They are victims, for sure. The hashtag "pişmanım" (which translates to "I regret it") was all over the net the week after the election.
Having said that, we spent years warning them that they would get fucked if they didn't change course, and they chose not to listen (time after time again). Now their chickens have come home to roost, and life here is even worse than it was a year ago (during said disasters) - which is saying something.
C'est la vie - at least I can afford to drink.