this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2024
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[–] grue 169 points 1 day ago (11 children)

Democracy supporters have to win every single time, while the fascists only have to win once. This is not a sustainable situation. We have to do what is necessary in a way that's a lot more permanent than just winning an election.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 9 hours ago

thats exactly why voting is not a solution.

[–] Cornelius_Wangenheim 3 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

That's only going to happen if the side in favor of democracy is given a decisive victory. Squeaking out another win isn't going to be enough.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 hours ago

Did Harris have any pro-democracy stuff in her platform, like ending FPTP or the Electoral College? Trump campaigned on bad election reforms like ID requirements and same-day voting.

[–] Gammelfisch 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Indeed, the first step would be to dump the Electoral College.

[–] FinishingDutch 4 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Preferably out the back of a C130 just off the coast of Florida.

[–] dual_sport_dork 1 points 4 hours ago

An AC-130U. We can play a game of see how many times you can hit it with the side guns before it lands in the ocean.

[–] Xanis 29 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That requires carrying this energy past the election cycle, regardless of the differences we may have on opinion, and coming together in agreement.

Historically, the Left has been rather poor at banding together. We're more likely to argue than get things done most of the time. So it'll be an uphill battle for leaders of smaller groups across the Nation. First though, we need to make it past this hurdle.

[–] model_tar_gz 17 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Voting for Democrats isn’t even voting for the Left anymore. More Rlite.

[–] omarfw 6 points 13 hours ago

It hasn't been a left wing vote for a long time, if ever.

[–] Xanis 2 points 1 day ago

It's still a choice that we should strive to utilize. Not doing so may mean not having that choice, or the illusion of one. I do agree though, it's about time we shifted things back towards a better life for everyone.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think a big part of this is rural over representation. Not even talking the senate, but the house to be fair should allot 1 rep per the minimum pop of any state, which would give us about 573 reps and like 676 electors for president. Hell if we did it as the founders intended, one per like 60k people we'd have a house of 5.6k members.

[–] Anticorp 31 points 1 day ago

Unfortunately the huge land owners want unequal representation, and they have a lot of power.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago

So anyways, I started ~~blastin~~ teaching my loved ones how to safely build guillotines.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The founders thought they inoculated us against tyranny in 1776.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They did, but you gotta get your booster shots every now and then.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"...The people can not be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13. states independant 11. years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state. What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure. Our Convention has been too much impressed by the insurrection of Massachusets: and in the spur of the moment they are setting up a kite to keep the hen yard in order. I hope in god this article will be rectified before the new constitution is accepted."

  • Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, Nov 13, 1787
[–] idiomaddict 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them.

Good goddamn, Jefferson was wrong again. I bet this is what a lot of judges are thinking about when looking at J6 cases.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I also have this weird feeling that there was some assumption of gentleman's decorum back then even with those one disagreed with.

I appreciate his "forgive them, educate them, and move on" ideal. As if surely, once they've learned how things are, they will calm down! I wish it were that way.

But I think he'd be (im/de)pressed with just how low the bar has fallen when it comes to civil human behavior, general education esp. in civic affairs, and practical reasoning. There is no line too far anymore. There is no punishment for violating foundational social contracts or civil discourse.

One half is constantly flabbergasted that the other half keeps flagrantly violating the power of their office and saying "So what? I'm winning."

We're just so far past the point of reason now.

Edit: Also remember, Jefferson wrote this long before the Civil War. I believe his point in "forgive them and move on" was optimistically more in the interest of preserving the young Republic at all costs, rather than letting it crumble from the inside with internal feuds. (As is the fate of many rebellions)

[–] Jiggle_Physics 2 points 17 hours ago

Considering we had things like fist fight, a near fatal beating with a cane, etc on the floor of congress back then, I don't think much of their old timey decorum

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

I don't think your assumption is accurate. They famously started shooting at a government because they taxed them a little more than they wanted to be taxed (to pay for a war we started).

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They also had slaves. A lot of slaves. Maybe we shouldn't accept their fight against tyranny at face value.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago

Also, if they're so smart, then why are they dead?

[–] Anticorp 5 points 1 day ago

They did a great job at that. It has lasted 248 years. But they also gave us a framework for updating our constitution and government, and that has been sorely neglected for a long time. The founders were wise enough to recognize that the system would need to change as times changed. What they didn't seem to anticipate is the insane tribalism created by technologies that weren't even a dream at the time, and how that tribalism would grind our government to a halt.

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

you guys need to force a reform.

[–] Anticorp 1 points 1 day ago
[–] Anticorp 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not really. The fascists won in Germany, yet they're not currently fascist. Nothing is forever.

[–] samus12345 14 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Fascism was defeated because of the Allies, led by the US, the country with the most powerful military in the world by a large margin. Who's going to defeat the US if it goes full fascist?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (2 children)

80% of Nazi casualties happened on the eastern front by the Communists. But yeah, the Soviet Union no longer exists, Russia has fallen to fascism, and now the US has too. The world is fucked.

[–] rottingleaf 1 points 9 hours ago

Some appreciation for the Hezbollah please, they know that and they don't care

[–] samus12345 2 points 12 hours ago

I can't disagree.

[–] Anticorp 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

It's a good question that I don't have the answer to, but I don't think the USA would be able to continue funding a military 20x the expense of the next most powerful military while under authoritarian rule. We have the funds for such a military now because of a hundred different conditions that wouldn't exist anymore under a fascist government.

[–] samus12345 22 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Fascist governments always collapse eventually because of loyalty over competence, but the thought of the damage a powerful country like the US would do before that collapse is terrifying.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 16 hours ago

I mean, Russia has been a fascist country for 30 years now and they haven't collapsed

[–] Anticorp 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It is. Even just the economic damage that the world would suffer is horrifying.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Anticorp 3 points 1 day ago

I questioned if I should add more context, but people will suffer a lot of hardship if the global economy is flipped upside down. It's not the rich assholes I worry about, it's the common person who will struggle to find a job or buy milk.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 16 hours ago

The US spends 3.4% of GDP in defence. Israel is at 5.3%. Also the US only spends a bit more then 3x what China spends and well US products are more expensive. So the US can probably fund its military for quite some time, without too many problems and right wingers love to do it, to bomb the shit out of people.

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

The EU will ... oh wait, nevermind

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

There was never any democracy here to save, and no way to make it sustainable without tearing down the constitution and starting over, and no way to hold a new constitutional convention that wouldn't be poisoned by money and power from the start.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 16 hours ago

You're not completely wrong. There are many aspects of our system that are deeplh undemocratic: the way that the donor class gatekeeps who is able to run, the way politicians serve lobbyists and donors over the public will, and the way that oligarchs own 95% of our news media all create an environment where the interests of the people are not represented by our government