1.13 My Thoughts on Public Comments

How would you describe the fears and anxieties being expressed in these comments? What are these commenters afraid of, specifically?

Many of the commenters seem afraid over employment.  Some on income inequality.  One guy is afraid of dog fighting.  Most of all, the comments seem to focus on illegal immigration.

Trump's views on immigrants seem to be what attracts a lot of the attention towards him.  Many see him as a racist, but many try and praise his positions.  Many will blame other issues, such as the economy or job market, on the immigration problem.  It speaks a lot on many people's viewpoints towards Mexican immigrants.

But immigration aside, most people seem to be afraid of Donald trump.

What kinds beliefs and values are represented in these comments? How would you characterize the kinds of values and beliefs being expressed in the comments?

A lot seems to be related to the common American belief that if you work hard, you can achieve greatness.  Some will blame immigrants for 'cheating the system', so to speak.  Sneaking over illegally and stealing benefits rather than doing it the way the rest of us have to.

Others will point out the seeming impossibility of the American dream in current society.  It's hard to give it your best and pull yourself up by your bootstraps when all the jobs are leaving.  As the commenter BongBong says (a sentence I never thought I would write), "The manufacturing base...is gone and will not be returning."  A lot of these jobs didn't just move, they disappeared.  They're gone.  They won't build another factory to employ workers when a machine or computer can do it better and, more importantly, cheaper.

Others would point out concerns over Trump's beliefs.  Most of his comments are perceived as racist and many would criticize some of his more extreme opinions.

Most of all, the topics of the economy and racism appear the most frequent.

Which commenters came across as the most reasonable? What made them seem reasonable?

The best commenters were the ones that had complete sentences, few to no spelling mistakes, correct punctuation and well thought out or reliable viewpoints.  The best I felt was Al'n, who had a well thought out comment and used personal experience to refute Trump's comments. Whether you agree or not, it was a reasonable reply.

Which commenters came across as lacking credibility or trustworthiness? Why didn’t they seem trustworthy?

Right of the bat, anyone who can't type.

Anonymous#1 seems to Like to Capitalize random Words on occasion.  I don't Know how he think It works, But I don't Think it's Like That.  Also, one question mark usually conveys the point.

Paul feels typing in ALL CAPS is a debate technique, but it just reads like shouting or being drunk.  There may be people trying to sleep, Paul.

Anonymous#2 goes on about dog fighting, which while tragic, has nothing to do with Donald Trumps political aspirations, nor is it a reason to kick out all the immigrants.

Anonymous#3 goes straight for the Hitler card and invokes Godwin's Law.  Shame, Anonymous#3.

EDIT: I commented on Steven's blog and Andrew's.  It seems like a lot of us agree on which comments were good and which weren't.  It's also interesting to see how many people are put off my bad grammar and spelling.