Political maturity or "Let's be serious!"

 For the second round of the French presidential elections there are still candidates: Marine Le Pen (Front National), extreme right and Emmanuel Macron (Center and "all the rest" from classical left to classical right.) The minor leftist and rightist candidates were eliminated so we could expect them to vote in favor of macron since they defend the values of democracy. Not at all!

A big fringe of the new Chavez inspired leftist party "Les Insoumis " mostly students and intellectuals rejects the idea. According to them it would be voting between the plague and the cholera. It seems and by large that a majority of these people will vote for Macron, winning with 64% of the votes. Given the French electoral system never an extreme right candidate will reach the absolute majority: 50%+1.

(An asshole who vote will always have more weight than
two intellectuals who abstain)

   This is the big difference between the French electoral system which respects the majority and the  US one. Even if Hillary Clinton won in votes she lost because of the United States antidemocratic electoral system.  However this problematic situation could have been avoided. At least one million abstention votes were missing to Clinton to win in key states. And which were these votes? Mostly the frustrated students and intellectuals who wanted "Sanders for presiden" and later said: “Clinton- Trump: same corruption!” And here we are: Trump is elected president for at least four  years while in France people, even the ones opposed to Macron will in general mobilize themselves to vote. This has a name: political maturity or political consciousness.

Actually the same million of abstainers was marching later in Washington for women’s rights: too late. And what about the rights of the 3/5 millions "undocumented "Mexican workers who are going to be deported? Nothing. Another aspect of the American hypocrisy and well-thinkingness  

(Why did not we vote?

The psycho London dentist

 Unexpected readings in a Couchsurfing forum

Long ago one John, a strange London dentist, was harassing me so much online in a gay and lesbian hosting topic I had to stop participating. He was obsessed  in having me "justify", "clarify" what I was writing. I was not allowed to dissent. It is is a pity to needstop participating in a thread not to be permanently assaulted. I would have flagged him (reported him) but I do not go for this kind of practice. After all these discussions are no more than some air in the wind even though  if it is kind of frustrating to suffer these diktats. It is a pity also when someone like me in a topic like gay and hosting and knowing a lot  about the issue has to give way to someone who knows only in theory, at least officially... Like so many members John loved to write  in long tirades to impose his point of view on topics like politics, environment. A coincidence? Lately we learnt this problematic person sent a private mail to one of the  Couchsurfing members about group members psychiatric issues... 

"John, shortly after I joined this group, you contacted me on your own initiative by private message to inform me that a very significant proportion group members had psychiatric issues.
I won’t quote (for now) the wealth of psychiatric terms you used to describe the pathologies of group members you have never met.
[For the record, John also identified a handful of people he thought were worthy of being listened to.]

 What was the basis, John, for your statement that multiple group members had psychiatric problems,and listing many of those problems?
Do you have more exhaustive information about your fellow group members than I have about Trump?"

As for me I always thought John was a psychotic (as well as closet gay from what some posts in a Gay Lesbian hosting world thread suggest). Actually by discouraging all contributors John killed the topic.

Copy of the mail to CS after March 15 suspension

   "Hi Couchsurfing team

It seems that since yesterday early afternoon I have been suspended. It is like a shock for me since I again cannot imagine anything, any post  which could explain it, I mean what could have caused, especially in such a short time since I came back from vacation early February. So there must have been enough "blocks” of "flags" to justify it. From what two  friends confirm me there is absolutely NOTHING which can justify it.

More than ever it seems a group is playing against some members for reasons we do not know. Please could you do a maximum to clear to the situation for me?

Otherwise this situation leads to a lot of "unfounded suspicions."

Altogether there is a need to avoid this situation to be repeated and repeated in the future. It leads only to a frustrating self-censorship if not leading eventually by force to have us leave these groups. The only solution would be to enable each one to block completely members who show permanent aggressiveness and hostility so they could contribute in peace in groups life. So no contamination of in the exchanges the good vibes. Of course the members who flagged us might not be allowed to do it again (and again!) to avoid the same problem with more members.

So again I like to know what happened really: this is becoming a  real problem. Last time it happened to me in December while I was preparing a trip to New York, looking for a couch and information. Now there is soon a CouchCrash in Mexico City so I am cut off from the organization and events at least through the CS site.

  I am not the only one and by far suffering the same situation so please take this mail into consideration hoping it could contribute to a solution in the future.

Greetings

JeanJuan"