I don’t think this is gonna sound “civil”, because I genuinely think we are so completely fucked in the US that if we want to avoid either a Somalia-style civil war (which is really bad BTW) or a dictator in power … we need to do some pretty drastic stuff. And … even this is kinda dangerous IMO, but also IMO “safe” was something that went byebye in the 2024 election.
We must primary worthless Democrats like Schumer anywhere we can. “Ohhhhhkaayyyy…” FUCKING NO DAMMIT, NO MORE! This surrender bullshit has to stop and that means he’s gotta be removed from “leader” at the least. Then we need to get every Democrat we can into office, with strong leadership in the Senate and Stronger in the House. We must flip the Senate.
Next, Vance needs to be impeached. Yes Vance. Congress doesn’t actually need “cause” but claiming an army of fucking stormtroopers have “absolute immunity” to murder Americans is cause enough. He’s gotta go. And Congress must refuse to appoint his replacement. Because when you then impeach Trump over … pick a crime, really? That makes the Speaker our president. You see why I said this is dangerous, because one party rule always is corrupt. If we come out of this with a democracy where elections matter it’ll be a miracle.
The new president can begin firing Trump’s cabal of feckless, corrupt incompetents, and sith lord Stephen Miller too. At that point we need a special counsel to start investigatin’ and referring people for prosecutions as the evidence is collected. And the prosecutions need to happen. I don’t think people accept less than that. The evidence has to come out, and people need to be accountable. That is gonna include some in Congress. (Although frankly every Republican in Congress had access to classified info that proved a lot of Trump’s crimes from the start, so IMO they’re all co-conspirators. But I doubt even firebrand Democrats have the guts to charge them all.)
This is a monumental task and I have no idea how it gets accomplished.
If you’re an American voter, you are. That’s the thing about sea changes in politics. They come from people who have very little power. And we do have very little power. It happens when there’s a damned lot of us, and not until then. The last time was when they kicked out the railroad barons and created anti-monopoly laws that are still on the books, mostly unused since the 70s. The time before that was pre-civil war. And before that was the revolutionary war itself.
These things don’t always have to be done via war, but they do have to be done by an overwhelming majority of people. Fatalism doesn’t help. Organizing does.
If you’re agreeing with ameancow’s suggestion that the solution is to primary non-progressive democrats, that’s not how we seize our power as the working class imo. The Democrats rigged their primaries against Bernie Sanders then had a court declare they were legally within their right to do so.
“[The DNC] could have voluntarily decided that, Look, we’re gonna go into back rooms like they used to and smoke cigars and pick the candidate that way. That’s not the way it was done. But they could have. And that would have also been their right…” - DNC attorney Bruce Spiva
You are trying to play democracy with a fundamentally undemocratic institution, according to their own legal claims. And even if you win, they’re excellent at corrupting people - just look at AOC Pelosi voting to fund the Zionazi entity.
On the other hand, you’re totally right that we have the real power in this country as the working class. Electoral politics - especially on the federal level - just aren’t how we’re going to effectively exercise that power. I vote anyway, it’s not a difficult thing to do, so why not? But I’m not under the illusion that it will save us. We have to hit them in the only place they care about: their wallets, bank accounts, stock portfolios, and GDP.
Your biggest enemy in this is going to be other self-described leftists who think that it doesn’t matter, that politics cannot change anything and expect immediate reward in the form of some kind of “armed revolution” and anything less than that is too boring and slow for their attention spans.
I’m a secret third thing: a self-described leftist (is there another kind? do I apply somewhere?) who thinks electoral politics will never save us, and armed revolution doesn’t have the critical mass to save us any time soon.
I think America is the only thing that can kill America, and that that outcome is inevitable, and the duty of any person of conscience is to organize and bond their community together so the fewest possible number of people die during that collapse. This means different things for everyone, but it should include growing food if you’re fortunate enough to be in a position to do so, then freely giving it away to neighbors.
That’s not doomerism. I think the world that comes after will be better, but the turbulence leading there will be horrific.
With that said, I do admire your revolutionary optimism and I’d prefer you be correct than me. Feel free to block me anyway though, I don’t really mind that either.
The people I take issue with are the leftists who don’t want to plant trees they won’t sit in the shade of, and reject all forms of helpful engagement unless it makes them feel a civil war is about to start for their personal amusement
Yeah, I learned what that’s called recently lol. Putschism. I have a good friend who thinks that way. I think they’re just frustrated and desperate, which I can totally understand, but I agree it’s not the way forward. I think they also tend to be white (and I mean, same lol), and I saw a quote that said, “White men are the most socialized to glorify violence and the least likely to be impacted by the consequences of it.” I think that reality lends itself to putchism too. The intentions fundamentally are good, I absolutely disagree with you framing it as being “for their own personal amusement”, but the thought pattern is not particularly realistic imo.
The dissolution of active community-building is what sank progressivism in the US, the right kept power because they still unite and connect through gun culture and mindless stupidity and waving the flag, while the left retreated to the far reaches of the internet sulking in their atomized spaces that the other leftist group wasn’t inclusive enough or had a “bad tone.”
Absolutely, completely agreed. I saw it said that a lot of these leftists come from evangelical backgrounds, and just replaced the term “sinful” in their vernacular with “problematic”. Though of course I think some discourse and strife is healthy, we have to ‘keep our eyes on the prize’ so to speak.
If we can restore communities, of almost any kind, from small groups of outdoors gardeners to apartment blocks looking out for their neighbors, AND use that momentum to actually elect real representation, we can repeat what’s been repeated over and over again recently in progressive politics.
Also totally agree with this. I went to WalMart once recently - it was literally the only place that sold the item I needed except Amazon - and I had to ask where to find an item. I approached the worker and said, “If I’m not interrupting you too much, could you show me where to find (item)?” He was actually taken aback by this incredibly basic level of humanity. He said something like, “Oh I don’t mind being interrupted”, and as we were walking over to the section with the items, he told me that people just didn’t treat him like a human anymore. He said “it’s like, like slave labor” and that he remembers the 70’s, when things weren’t as bad. I’m like 99% sure he was a Filipino immigrant, so I would’ve thought the 70’s would be more racist and all that, but I got the impression that whatever shit he had to deal with back then was less hurtful than the way people treat him now.
I posted that story on Pixelfed, and someone asked, “Okay, well what do we do about it?” And my answer was, “Start growing food.” Unless you have a lot of money, or maybe a connection to get him into a better job, then you can’t help that man today. You have to help the children who will grow up into that man, or someone in even worse circumstances. (Though I’d like to go back and at least talk to him again some day, it’s a big WalMart and it might be unlikely I’d see him again.)
That was a longer tangent than I intended, but my point mostly being, we are each others’ only way through this, whatever “this” turns out to be. That approach is the only reason we survived humanity’s near-extinction during an ice age (I think it was a mini-ice age rather than “THE” ice age).
Well thank you stranger-friend, that’s a kind thing to say, and I feel the same way.
we’re not loving each other anymore. We are all scared of each to the degree that we’re even resisting our desires to connect and have emotions and intimacy, and that’s a huge red flag for our society that isn’t getting enough attention.
I agree, and I think the issue is very complex, but could be significantly reduced by just teaching boys what healthy masculinity is. Buut as with all things, capitalism gets in the way - who will teach these boys anything if their parents (and other relatives) are working all the time? Who will be their role models when the worst, most misogynistic behavior is so often rewarded and glorified?
I focus on masculinity specifically because, while it’s largely true that everyone is afraid of each other, the fears of feminine people are generally more founded in the actual danger presented by men, while the fears of men are often artificial. (Not always though, like the whole parental custody controversy, but often.) Reduce those artificial fears, and hopefully men would behave in less of a manner which culminates in actual danger, ie no incel rage if you realize you really don’t need to be an incel if you’re just… a decent person.
Birth rates, I am not sure what to think, in all honesty. Aging populations are bad for the obvious reason of, there won’t be enough young people to take care of all the elderly, at least not to the extent which they deserve. But the resulting lower global resource use isn’t a terrible thing, maybe even a vital thing as we transition to more sustainable systems capable of supporting more life. Maybe it’s just humanity returning to levels of population which the earth is actually capable of sustaining, which we deviated from only as a result of the aberration that is the industrial revolution? I genuinely don’t know though, I’m not saying I believe that, I’m just thinking out loud here.
Bringing people back to love and connectivity is one reason why I’m a major advocate for psychedelic drugs. They dissolve social norms and make you question your conditioning - at least, I would say, if you’re listening to them. They still need to be reinforced by a strong, loving, human culture; they’re not a silver bullet. They had LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin available for purchase on Epstein’s island ffs, and Peter Thiel and Elon Musk have both tripped. So psychedelics alone aren’t THE ANSWER, but I do think they can be a major aid in the fight to return humanity to western cultures. But microdosing doesn’t count lol
I don’t think this is gonna sound “civil”, because I genuinely think we are so completely fucked in the US that if we want to avoid either a Somalia-style civil war (which is really bad BTW) or a dictator in power … we need to do some pretty drastic stuff. And … even this is kinda dangerous IMO, but also IMO “safe” was something that went byebye in the 2024 election.
We must primary worthless Democrats like Schumer anywhere we can. “Ohhhhhkaayyyy…” FUCKING NO DAMMIT, NO MORE! This surrender bullshit has to stop and that means he’s gotta be removed from “leader” at the least. Then we need to get every Democrat we can into office, with strong leadership in the Senate and Stronger in the House. We must flip the Senate.
Next, Vance needs to be impeached. Yes Vance. Congress doesn’t actually need “cause” but claiming an army of fucking stormtroopers have “absolute immunity” to murder Americans is cause enough. He’s gotta go. And Congress must refuse to appoint his replacement. Because when you then impeach Trump over … pick a crime, really? That makes the Speaker our president. You see why I said this is dangerous, because one party rule always is corrupt. If we come out of this with a democracy where elections matter it’ll be a miracle.
The new president can begin firing Trump’s cabal of feckless, corrupt incompetents, and sith lord Stephen Miller too. At that point we need a special counsel to start investigatin’ and referring people for prosecutions as the evidence is collected. And the prosecutions need to happen. I don’t think people accept less than that. The evidence has to come out, and people need to be accountable. That is gonna include some in Congress. (Although frankly every Republican in Congress had access to classified info that proved a lot of Trump’s crimes from the start, so IMO they’re all co-conspirators. But I doubt even firebrand Democrats have the guts to charge them all.)
This is a monumental task and I have no idea how it gets accomplished.
None of your plan is realistic because no one in a position of power to do anything agrees with you.
If you’re an American voter, you are. That’s the thing about sea changes in politics. They come from people who have very little power. And we do have very little power. It happens when there’s a damned lot of us, and not until then. The last time was when they kicked out the railroad barons and created anti-monopoly laws that are still on the books, mostly unused since the 70s. The time before that was pre-civil war. And before that was the revolutionary war itself.
These things don’t always have to be done via war, but they do have to be done by an overwhelming majority of people. Fatalism doesn’t help. Organizing does.
If you’re agreeing with ameancow’s suggestion that the solution is to primary non-progressive democrats, that’s not how we seize our power as the working class imo. The Democrats rigged their primaries against Bernie Sanders then had a court declare they were legally within their right to do so.
You are trying to play democracy with a fundamentally undemocratic institution, according to their own legal claims. And even if you win, they’re excellent at corrupting people - just look at AOC Pelosi voting to fund the Zionazi entity.
On the other hand, you’re totally right that we have the real power in this country as the working class. Electoral politics - especially on the federal level - just aren’t how we’re going to effectively exercise that power. I vote anyway, it’s not a difficult thing to do, so why not? But I’m not under the illusion that it will save us. We have to hit them in the only place they care about: their wallets, bank accounts, stock portfolios, and GDP.
deleted by creator
I’m a secret third thing: a self-described leftist (is there another kind? do I apply somewhere?) who thinks electoral politics will never save us, and armed revolution doesn’t have the critical mass to save us any time soon.
I think America is the only thing that can kill America, and that that outcome is inevitable, and the duty of any person of conscience is to organize and bond their community together so the fewest possible number of people die during that collapse. This means different things for everyone, but it should include growing food if you’re fortunate enough to be in a position to do so, then freely giving it away to neighbors.
That’s not doomerism. I think the world that comes after will be better, but the turbulence leading there will be horrific.
With that said, I do admire your revolutionary optimism and I’d prefer you be correct than me. Feel free to block me anyway though, I don’t really mind that either.
electoral politics isn’t going to save us, but we can use it. shit, why don’t a few of us run?
deleted by creator
Yeah, I learned what that’s called recently lol. Putschism. I have a good friend who thinks that way. I think they’re just frustrated and desperate, which I can totally understand, but I agree it’s not the way forward. I think they also tend to be white (and I mean, same lol), and I saw a quote that said, “White men are the most socialized to glorify violence and the least likely to be impacted by the consequences of it.” I think that reality lends itself to putchism too. The intentions fundamentally are good, I absolutely disagree with you framing it as being “for their own personal amusement”, but the thought pattern is not particularly realistic imo.
Absolutely, completely agreed. I saw it said that a lot of these leftists come from evangelical backgrounds, and just replaced the term “sinful” in their vernacular with “problematic”. Though of course I think some discourse and strife is healthy, we have to ‘keep our eyes on the prize’ so to speak.
Also totally agree with this. I went to WalMart once recently - it was literally the only place that sold the item I needed except Amazon - and I had to ask where to find an item. I approached the worker and said, “If I’m not interrupting you too much, could you show me where to find (item)?” He was actually taken aback by this incredibly basic level of humanity. He said something like, “Oh I don’t mind being interrupted”, and as we were walking over to the section with the items, he told me that people just didn’t treat him like a human anymore. He said “it’s like, like slave labor” and that he remembers the 70’s, when things weren’t as bad. I’m like 99% sure he was a Filipino immigrant, so I would’ve thought the 70’s would be more racist and all that, but I got the impression that whatever shit he had to deal with back then was less hurtful than the way people treat him now.
I posted that story on Pixelfed, and someone asked, “Okay, well what do we do about it?” And my answer was, “Start growing food.” Unless you have a lot of money, or maybe a connection to get him into a better job, then you can’t help that man today. You have to help the children who will grow up into that man, or someone in even worse circumstances. (Though I’d like to go back and at least talk to him again some day, it’s a big WalMart and it might be unlikely I’d see him again.)
That was a longer tangent than I intended, but my point mostly being, we are each others’ only way through this, whatever “this” turns out to be. That approach is the only reason we survived humanity’s near-extinction during an ice age (I think it was a mini-ice age rather than “THE” ice age).
deleted by creator
Well thank you stranger-friend, that’s a kind thing to say, and I feel the same way.
I agree, and I think the issue is very complex, but could be significantly reduced by just teaching boys what healthy masculinity is. Buut as with all things, capitalism gets in the way - who will teach these boys anything if their parents (and other relatives) are working all the time? Who will be their role models when the worst, most misogynistic behavior is so often rewarded and glorified?
I focus on masculinity specifically because, while it’s largely true that everyone is afraid of each other, the fears of feminine people are generally more founded in the actual danger presented by men, while the fears of men are often artificial. (Not always though, like the whole parental custody controversy, but often.) Reduce those artificial fears, and hopefully men would behave in less of a manner which culminates in actual danger, ie no incel rage if you realize you really don’t need to be an incel if you’re just… a decent person.
Birth rates, I am not sure what to think, in all honesty. Aging populations are bad for the obvious reason of, there won’t be enough young people to take care of all the elderly, at least not to the extent which they deserve. But the resulting lower global resource use isn’t a terrible thing, maybe even a vital thing as we transition to more sustainable systems capable of supporting more life. Maybe it’s just humanity returning to levels of population which the earth is actually capable of sustaining, which we deviated from only as a result of the aberration that is the industrial revolution? I genuinely don’t know though, I’m not saying I believe that, I’m just thinking out loud here.
Bringing people back to love and connectivity is one reason why I’m a major advocate for psychedelic drugs. They dissolve social norms and make you question your conditioning - at least, I would say, if you’re listening to them. They still need to be reinforced by a strong, loving, human culture; they’re not a silver bullet. They had LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin available for purchase on Epstein’s island ffs, and Peter Thiel and Elon Musk have both tripped. So psychedelics alone aren’t THE ANSWER, but I do think they can be a major aid in the fight to return humanity to western cultures.
But microdosing doesn’t count loldeleted by creator