9mo ago

rule

FAQ

Q: why not organize and stop treating the bus as a legitimate entity? why aren’t you working to stop the bus?

A: do both. cut the fuel line. break windows. put oatmeal in the gas tank. but maybe your efforts don’t succeed this election cycle. and if so don’t fucking throw away your vote if it can help your neighbors fucking survive. “harm reduction” is not a political strategy for action. it is a last minute, end of the line decision to save lives, after all other resources have been exhausted.

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423 comments

My favorite morons ITT:
”Both options are cliffs!”
Yeah because the guy promising to end democracy and bring about Christian nationalism is exactly the same as the moderate we have now. I hope you’re getting paid to be that stupid.
”I won’t vote to support genocide!”
At the end of the day someone becomes president, and spoiler alert the other option is still worse. It’s cute you think your principles are more important than the safety and security of at-risk groups domestically (and frankly abroad as well). Short-sighted and idiotic.
”We might not even get ice cream!”
Okay well organize and protest that after we’ve avoided the cliff.
”Haha Americans are stupid for the entrenched political system that they find themselves in”
Hope you enjoy your five minutes of smugness, because a Christian nationalist USA doesn’t benefit anyone in the world in the long run.
- a lot of the individuals ITT are here in good faith i believe. i’m more trying to get meaningful change to happen than sow discord by calling them morons.
  
  You, i like you
  c:
  Ive gotten righty whities to agree with me on all sorts of wild leftist ideas, its about finding the angle and humanizing the problem.
  
  A-fuckin-goddamn-men.
  You need to communicate with people. Berating them is entirely self serving. No one ever said "you know what? I am a moron, thanks for pointing out my worldview is entirely wrong and I'm an asshole in those exact words."
  You can get people to realize they're wrong, but calling them names is exactly the wrong way to do it.
  I say "talk to a conservative in conservative language" and they'll understand you. Avoid "trigger" words like redistribution, socialism, LGBT+, etc... use words like "Liberty, freedom of expression, government overreach (when discussing infringement of LGBT+ rights) etc..."
  
  i feel like sometimes people forget the little username in their phone represents a living breathing life that may or may not have had breakfast this morning :(
  
  Well.... with the amount of bots confirmed to be out there.... and some of those living breathing lives are out to convince Americans that what they actually want to do is hand Dr. Fascismo the presidency by not voting or protest voting third party.
  
  Ha, I think at least 70% of Internet arguments are caused by hangryness!
  
  yes and the other 30% are caused by people being bags of flesh with bones and sickness inside
  
  Fair
  
  I hear you and I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, though I am skeptical that these people actually are coming here in good faith.
- ”Both options are cliffs!”
  But they are though.
  The cliff drivers aren't getting off the bus, even if we vote them down this time, if we don't change the system that allows them equal opportunity to drive us off a cliff they will eventually force it off the cliff.
  Biden has long supported the system that allows it, prides himself on being able to find a middle ground with them, and though he talks about not going over the cliff has no long term plan for dealing with those that do, because again he believes in the system that allows them to want to drive off the cliff.
  I believe I've stretched this metaphor about as far as it will go, but I'm going to try stretching it further.
  There are actually two cliffs, fascism and climate change, even if we pull the bus away from one cliff we've still got the other in front of us and basically no one is even pretending to deal with that.
  And to leave the broken bus scenario, I'm just going to say if you believe that a trump win will destroy American democracy, that we can't defeat his corrupt, senile version of fascism then the next republican demagogue will have no problems.
  
  There are actually two cliffs
  Yeah, and Trump is going to drive you off of both.
  
  If you think that trump is capable of that then you admit the American system is so flawed that a diaper wearing dementia ridden criminal is all it will take to bring it down. That Pax Americana is on the death bed and electing Biden is just kicking the can down the road.
  Without the looming existential threat of the climate apocalypse and the inevitability of children born today fighting in the water wars, Biden might be fine, but we need action now and anything else isn't just lesser of two evils, it's complete failure in our lifetimes...
  
  Biden has put a hold on a ton of planned LNG infrastructure permits.
  Trump gave out permits left and right. Also Trump literally tried to overthrow the government on January 6th.
  Biden may not be doing enough, but he isn't doing nothing either. Trump is going to make everything worse for everyone and the climate.
- That Christian Nationalist USA is already present. It's emboldening is inevitable due to the inaction from Democrats and especially Biden: the alleged "moderate" president.
  Biden is also actively arming a genocide in Gaza. A move I would say is extremely far from moderate in any position. Trump is a horrible choice for president. It was true in 2016 and it's true now. But if Biden refuses to do even the barest of minimums to defeat him in an election what does that say about Biden?
  So sure, call it smugness, call it idiotic or whatever bullshit; continue to vilify those tired of voting for bullshit candidates and inaction. I'm sure that will help prove your point; as Biden does literally nothing to combat any of increasingly tense situations rising in the US under his tenure.
  
  Please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not thrilled about the situation either.
  But I’m also not going to coddle anyone that thinks making things significantly worse for untold millions to maintain some kind of ideological purity makes them somehow superior or less culpable.
  
  I wouldn't water opposing genocide down to "ideological purity". It's opposing genocide, and that's objectively right every time.
  And that's before getting into Joe's inaction on pretty much any important issues during his term. If Trump wins the 2024 election then outside of the GOP that's entirely on Joe Biden for failing to oppose genocide and run any sort of compelling administration.
  
  The reality of the shitty political system of the US means that it comes down to two bad choices.
  However one of the bad choices would see the genocide of the Palestinian people accelerated. Not only that, but Trump has tried to oppose aid to Ukraine, which would allow for genocide of the Ukrainian people to occur unabated.
  So if your actions to oppose one genocide results in the continuation of that genocide plus one more, is what you did objectively right every time?
  
  Yes, it is still objectively right. Anyone deciding not to vote for Biden isn't automatically culpable for any Trump victory unless they voted for him personally.
  Again, Biden has had plenty of time to prove that he's against genocide. To take any sort of major action to try and stop this genocide from continuing the way that it has. Or at the very least taking away all US military funding from Israel. He has done none of that while approving additional military funding for Israel.
  This is of course before bringing up the electoral college and how the majority of states don't even get a say in the presidential election outside of their states predetermined answer.
  I will not vote for anyone funding genocide. Again, if Trump wins that's entirely on Biden and the Democrats for failing to do anything. The signs have been here for months if not years in terms of voter disatisfaction: and they continue to do fuck all.
  
  Yes, it is still objectively right. Anyone deciding not to vote for Biden isn't automatically culpable for any Trump victory unless they voted for him personally.
  This is an incredibly naïve and privileged perspective, clearly held by someone who has nothing to lose if Trump were to win.
  
  All the anarkiddies that think the revolution is right around the bend forget that the reason vulnerable groups dont typically get any better treatment post revolution is bc they are the first to be destroyed when the revolution kicks up and the fascists double down.
  These sorts of takes kill me. There is nothing stopping you from taking revolutionary courses of action right fucking now. The doors wide fucking open. Youll find that those doors will inch closed real fucking quick under trump.
  The Spanish anarchists still have a political party active in Spain whose history runs right back to the civil war in which they fought. The very second of their posted tenets is (paraphrasing), making conditions under the current agenda more tolerable.
  Meanwhile, russia has a single communist party formed in the 90s. Why? Bc all others were singularly crushed. They left the one that offers least opposition to the status quo.
  That situation hasnt arrived yet. You are free to organize, you are free to aggregate in groups. You can spread your own propaganda, just as you can form or join labor unions, and you are free to try and create new communities of mutual aid. Those are all viable (read: necessary) steps to take.
  Good luck taking them when the boot comes crashing down harder than this country has ever seen or was ever prepared for. Voting for Status Quo Joe isnt an endorsement of him, his policies, or the neoliberal status quo. Its just that, a vote. You can use it strategically to buy more time to make evasive maneuvers, or u can forfeit ur vote and lose it all. Then theres always throw it to the dogs via third party the way the american libertarians tried in 2012 when ron paul didnt get the repub nom the way they wanted. Guess what happened then... Johnson still get way under the 5% of the vote needed to give third parties greater tv time next time around. And this time, if dump wins, thats probably going to be the last ur able to vote for a third party president anyway.
  We (the left) have been hit by foreign astroturfing the way the right was in 2016. The influx of youth that was supposed to save us by their leftward skew is running away from the political process bc they think theyre going to be revolutionaries. Sorry boys and girls, anarchy/communism wont be brought about by memes, sitting at home, or pretending that you can convince ppl to join ur cause after trumps elected when their lives are going to be all the more consumed and their free time dwindles away as we all work heavier and heavier hrs and the retirement age slips further and further away.
  Really sick of hearing it all.
  
  Voting for Status Quo Joe isnt an endorsement of him, his policies, or the neoliberal status quo.
  that's what a vote is.
  
  It is a strategic decision. Same as the past however many elections.
  For the first time 2 years ago, however, i got the opportunity to vote for a candidate that i actually really liked to represent my voting district. And guess what, she won! My vote for her wasnt my endorsement of her, however. My spamming her name and cause to anyone in the area that would listen and donating money was.
  
  voting is an endorsement
  
  These sorts of takes kill me.
  Literally me.
  
  Woke up for my graveyard shift and amongst the tankies crying about facts in my inbox i at least had this to make me laugh. Thanks bae <3
  
  reason vulnerable groups dont typically get any better treatment post revolution is bc they are the first to be destroyed when the revolution kicks up and the fascists double down.
  citation needed
  
  if dump wins, thats probably going to be the last ur able to vote for a third party president anyway.
  there is no reason to believe this. he has never suggested animosity toward so-called third parties.
  
  Project 2025 is a thing, it is backed by the federalist society. What third parties remain will be the equivalent of the same in russia.
  
  p2025 is a ghost story told to keep blue voters in line. I'm not a blue voter anymore so it doesn't work on me
  
  I'm actively watching the rights of my loved one literally be stripped away while Biden does fuck all. You can call me whatever you want, but the point remains that Biden has done fuck all and is actively promoting genocide.
  You don't know the first thing about me; so don't condescend to me while ignoring everything else I've said.
- you can do so much more to defeat the reactionaries by visiting:
  a gym
  a shooting range
  a library
  your local revolutionary organization's meeting
  than a polling station
  
  It's so weird to see it framed as an either/or. Voting is the absolute bare minimum you can do to participate. So yeah go vote, and also organize your friends and network with like minded people around you and work towards the change you want. I doubt any of the ideologically pure abstainers here have even ever turned out to vote much less actually worked on a campaign.
  
  People frame it as an either/or because the reality is that voting doesn't hold the personal power you think it does.
  Due to how our elections work your vote just might be worthless. Add on all of the other issues at hand, and the prospective of voting is absolutely depressing for some of us.
  This still doesn't really make it an either/or situation, but one situation gives you the ability to potentially make a positive difference in the world, whereas the other, not so much.
  
  Like I said, absolute minimum you can do.
  
  Lemme tell you a story. In the last parliamentary election in Poland in October we had a record high turnout of 73% or so. This only emboldened the liberals and the pseudo-left to introduce lower health insurance contributions for the capitalists and tax breaks for IT sector but lift the food VAT cancellation despite some product categories still being affected by an inflation rate of up to 20% and gas and electricity prices freeze. Which is actually being justified by the "socdem" ruling triumvirate partner instead of them standing against it. But ig for them idpol matters much more than standing for poor people. Then they're fucking surprised they vote for social conservatives. Just like many Trump voters who are not right-wing extremists but just disillusioned proletarians with false consciousness.
  Recently state TV invited fucking landlords to discuss how to deal with non-paying tenants to a morning TV. On the contrary, the so hated social conservative PiS government has at least managed to introduce a vacant property tax. Now under the glorious liberal regime we can expect the rent to still gobble up more than a half of a large part of the population's salary. Yay! So progressive, so European, so democratic! 🥰🎉✌️
  Women's rights were the hallmark of their campaign, but we still have one of the most barbaric laws regarding abortion and emergency contraception access in Europe due to the centre-right coalition partner torpedoing any change in this respect – hey, how is doing anything about Roe v. Wade being overturned going?
  Also militarism. Both of them (Biden and Trump) will waste massive amounts of taxpayer and printed money on producing fucking scrap metal death machines. But Biden is actually more hawkish. In Poland we are already spending 4% of our GDP (twice the NATO target!) on that and in the past few years it increased by like 260%. All of this despite Russia actually virtually not increasing it's military spending and incessant media reports about how they are using 50 year old equipment in Ukraine.
  So many people fell totally duped in Poland right now, and rightly so. Now the hope lies in the streets, in the radicalization of women's protests and gathering storm for a strike wave. Government of the rich, for the rich won't do shit for the working class unless they feel fear. Luckily the farmers' protests have shown the way to go.

423 comments