this post was submitted on 28 May 2024
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[–] givesomefucks 58 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The beginning step is convincing the poors to care more about "the economy" than their own lives.

They want the poor slaving away to keep raising corporate profits with a smile on their face.

It's why it's so concerning that Dems are doing it now too. They're literally the only thing standing between us and fascism, the problem is they won't stop jogging over to the fascists.

We need a party that actually fights the fascist, not just hang out on the other side of a velvet rope but still in the same club.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (2 children)

For them the problem with fascism is that it is poorly marketed, rather than it being abhorrent.

[–] givesomefucks 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Do they have a problem with it?

From the last three elections that have featured trump, it seems like the DNC loves fascism because it lets them run terrible candidates that spent decades trying to get to be president.

It's only worked 50% of the time, and a random candidate would easily win.

So to me, it looks like the DNC was just waiting for a reason to run less popular and less progressive candidates.

trump gives them an excuse to shout down anyone that wants to hold the DNC to any standard what so ever.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

As I said, their problem isn't that fascism is bad, it's that they don't like the word, or anything that looks like 1930s fascism. For them it's a marketing problem that needs a marketing solution. How do we sell it to a country that hero-worships a generation that made war against it and first hand saw the evils it produced. Folk hate being called a fascist even if they fully support all the policies.

[–] Aceticon 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Lets put things this way:

  • Neoliberalism wants that The State, which is led by people chosen by vote with the votes of everybody - rich or poor - counting the same (ish) to stop "regulating", "interfering in the Market" and in general opposing the Power of Money. The Power of Money remember, is not at all equal for everybody, quite the contrary.

So essentially Neoliberalism, which is what the Liberals who control the DNC want, seeks to replace Democracy - were the greatest power is the one controlled by the vote - with Oligarchy, were the greatest power is that of Money.

Outside the moral arena, the only difference between Oligarchy and Fascism is that in the former the Pyramid of Power has the Moneyed at the top, then The State, then the riff-raff, whilst in the latter it's The State, the Moneyed and then the riff-raff.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

We see the games they play and it appals us. Unfortunately it's the only game in town. To change the game, you're not only fighting the DNC and RNC, but network effect and inertia. And some of us don't have the luxury to risk it. Even if it leads to a better world.

[–] givesomefucks 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

And some of us don’t have the luxury to risk it. Even if it leads to a better world.

To bring it back full circle:

Poverty literally rewires our brains and makes us plan on very very short timescales.

Feeling like you don't have the luxury to plan ahead is both parties playing on normal human thinking to take advantage of you.

They keep you poor, and you can't see through their bullshit.

Nothing will ever be fixed if we're always ignoring the long-term and just taking any crumbs were offered now.

We get the option of a shit sandwich or a single baloney sandwich a day.

Obviously the bologna is better, but it's not enough to live off of, we're just going to starve slower.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The only disagreement I have is with the rather sweeping statement:

They keep you poor, and you can't see through their bullshit.

As it makes it seem that the poor are ignorant, gullible rubes. Lack of money ≠ lack of wisdom, or insight.

[–] givesomefucks 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

As it makes it seem that the poor are ignorant, gullible rubes.

Nope.

Lack of money ≠ lack of wisdom, or insight.

Lack of resources causes a focus on short term because it's not safe enough to plan ahead because now is dangerous.

That's not a comment on any individual, that's not even a comment on every human. Every mammal is like that, and I'm pretty sure other animals as well like lizards, birds, fish, etc.

Being poor doesn't mean you started off dumb, but it literally drops your IQ almost an entire standard deviation

In a 2013 study published in Science, researchers from the University of Warwick, Harvard, Princeton, and the University of British Columbia find that for poor individuals, working through a difficult financial problem produces a cognitive strain that’s equivalent to a 13-point deficit in IQ or a full night’s sleep lost. Similar cognitive deficits were observed in people who were under real-life financial stress. Theirs is one of multiple studies suggesting that poverty can harm cognition.

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/how-poverty-changes-your-mind-set

That's just how our brains work.

You might not like it, but don't try and treat it as some opinion that I have that you can just argue away because you don't like it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The problem with this mindset is the ratchet effect.

If you see a fascist movement forming or a movement being coopted, you can’t just sit idly by, thats how you get fascism.

You have to fight it. You have to treat the real problems that cause people to become fascists, and show people that you can make a better world. Not by debating people in the market place of ideas, that’s a liberal pipe dream when fascists only use the rules as a bludgeon. But by actually building one inside the shell of the systems that are currently here.

The DNC is unwilling to fight fascists, and completely willing to allow people fighting it to get crushed by their authoritarian beliefs.

The DNC would rather give us moderates than a candidate that will bring people to the polls on the threat that the other one is a fascist

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

I take your point. However, fascists are not the only movement that can co-opt. I didn't say the DNC has to remain as it is currently.

The enemy wants you to throw your hands up and declare the DNC a lost cause. Not all of them are external.

Be a royal pain in the ass, shout down the adversary, do sit ins, gum up caucuses and for heaven's sake, throw out "servility politics".

[–] UnderpantsWeevil 0 points 1 month ago

Popular Fascism isn't called Fascism. Its called Patriotism, typically with a sneer towards the Fifth Columnists and Country Haters who would dare question the innate reasonableness and fairness of the domestic system.

Fascism is what happens in foreign countries. It Can't Happen Here.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Gotta keep voting for progressives until it's liberals vs progressives in the national election. Then we might start seeing some meaningful change.

[–] jumjummy 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)

This all the way. Make it so the Republicans of today are never close to winning again and then you can actually foster some splits within the Democrats.

As it sits today, the Republicans have such. Great shot at winning that the Democrats can’t post a super left-leaning candidate otherwise they’d get handily beaten.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Maybe America isn't nearly as progressive as we think it is.

[–] jumjummy 3 points 1 month ago

Oh, it definitely isn’t. If the US was actually progressive, universal healthcare at a minimum would be in place, same with more workers’ rights, etc. Let’s just hope American doesn’t become full blown racist with a Trump victory.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Meh. Define progressive.

People, the regular mud sitting kind, would absolutely love universal healthcare, guaranteed pay, personal freedoms, and more. But for them it's just a Quality of Life improvement they want. It's not for society it's for them. Phrase it like that and you have mass agreement.

The people with actual power and influence and those that follow their every word. Yeah far less interested cause they already have those things for themselves and it might eat into their life they think to give it to others.

People are selfish. Very few forward thinking social caring. But people will agree on a good thing, we just can't get it past the people with different motives.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

You are describing a one party state. Kind of optimistic to assume that if you manage to hand all of the power to one organization, with no real opposition, that it won't be corrupted (more than it already is).

[–] Guy_Fieris_Hair 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

That is by design, Gerrymandering will never let that happen. Republicans will Gerrymander votes for themselves and the dems will let them do it to keep things to the right. You can vote all you want, but the people in power will make sure your vote is worth less and less the further left the people vote.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

If the gerrymandering is done most efficiently, the gerrymandered side only wins by a few percent. So if the historically non-voters come vote for the underdogs, they can flip those districts.

That’s why there was no red wave in 22, and why the fascists are trying as many other methods to disenfranchise voters they don’t want voting (no food or water in long lines created by reductions in polling places and their hours, purging voter rolls, mail in voting bans, etc).

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

thats very optimistic considering you are now at conservatives vs fascists in the national election.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

No party is gonna defeat fascism. The state will not protect you. You want to fight fascists? Do it yourself. Direct action is your friend.