You know how in comic books there are alternate realities where the writers get to explore ideas like "What if Superman was the bad guy?" without turning their main setting into a dystopia? We're in one of those. "What if terrorists attacked and then everyone lost their minds?"

(On Earth Prime, there was no such thing as a hanging chad, Gore won the election, and somehow he prevented 9/11.)

[–] GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org 55 points 1 year ago (3 children)

somehow he prevented 9/11

Not even necessary. The Bush administration's response to 9/11 caused most of the damage. We'd be living in a whole different world if Gore had been in charge, even if 9/11 happened the same way.

[–] Uranium3006@kbin.social 29 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I remember the halcyon days when we thought W was the dumbest president ever

[–] GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org 35 points 1 year ago

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

From my point of view as someone who doesn't vote Republican, Trump is a far more unpleasant individual but GWB did much more harm.

[–] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 year ago

I see it as sort of like: Bush was the room-mate who sold all the doors and windows of the house, Trump is just the crack-head who inevitably climbs in and starts sleeping in the living room.

[–] FlexibleToast@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Reagan did the most harm.

[–] TimeSquirrel@kbin.social 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Bush: terrorists based in Afghanistan did this.

Me in the early 2000s: uh huh.

Bush: so we're invading Iraq.

Me: makes sens-wait what?? Why the fuck for?

[–] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Hunter S. Thompson called it so hard it's unbelievable:

The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the United States or any other country. Make no mistake about it: We are At War now -- with somebody -- and we will stay At War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives.

It will be a Religious War, a sort of Christian Jihad, fueled by religious hatred and led by merciless fanatics on both sides. It will be guerilla warfare on a global scale, with no front lines and no identifiable enemy. Osama bin Laden may be a primitive "figurehead" -- or even dead, for all we know -- but whoever put those All-American jet planes loaded with All-American fuel into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon did it with chilling precision and accuracy. The second one was a dead-on bullseye. Straight into the middle of the skyscraper.

...

We are going to punish somebody for this attack, but just who or what will be blown to smithereens for it is hard to say. Maybe Afghanistan, maybe Pakistan or Iraq, or possibly all three at once. Who knows? Not even the Generals in what remains of the Pentagon or the New York papers calling for WAR seem to know who did it or where to look for them.

This is going to be a very expensive war, and Victory is not guaranteed -- for anyone, and certainly not for anyone as baffled as George W. Bush. All he knows is that his father started the war a long time ago, and that he, the goofy child-President, has been chosen by Fate and the global Oil industry to finish it Now. He will declare a National Security Emergency and clamp down Hard on Everybody, no matter where they live or why. If the guilty won't hold up their hands and confess, he and the Generals will ferret them out by force.

That was written less than 24 hours after the attacks, and he pretty much completely nailed the following 20 years of response to them IMO.

[–] RaoulDook@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

His last book was about the same theme, and it is great. Kingdom of Fear

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 year ago

He killed himself less than 3 1/2 years after writing that. He had health problems so I’m sure that was a big contributor, but I don’t think living in the immediate post-9/11 climate helped.

[–] HenriVolney@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And then - Freedom fries!

[–] Fazoo@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Don't forget that syrupy freedom toast!

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think you're right, but I hope the writers wouldn't have something pointlessly horrible like that happen in the main universe. Unless this is one of those edgy comics where Batman shoots people...

[–] Moonguide@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

So, Supreme Snyder is directing this billions years old epic.

[–] RandomStickman@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If Gore being the president stopped 9/11 does that prove that Bush did 9/11?