In hindsight, it was the most predictable thing in the world, yet it still somehow caught me by surprise.
No, I don’t support the guy. I don’t even live in the U.S., and I wouldn’t have voted for him if I did. But I do think the average person who identifies as "on the left," particularly here on Lemmy, doesn’t realize how incredibly toxic the atmosphere becomes for true independents. We’re stuck enduring a firehose of insanity and hatred from both sides.
In my view, one of the main reasons we got Trump in the first place was the identity politics and wokeism on the left. For a while, I thought the pendulum was swinging back toward reason and balance, but now it feels like we’re back where we started. Honestly, I can’t even blame people for voting for him - it’s just a shame that the silent majority has to suffer because of the vocal minority.
Why is it that political discussions seem incapable of being conducted dispassionately? I can’t shake the feeling that this polarization is driving more people to the right, only worsening the issue. Hell, I’m probably going to be labeled a right-winger just for making this post. And then people wonder why the right is gaining popularity. Where else can centrists even go anymore when the left eats its own?
As they should.
The reason I focus on the vocal minority is that, if those are the only voices someone hears from, I can’t blame them for feeling like everyone on that side is against them. It’s not an accurate perception, but it’s an understandable one.
I, for one, have to constantly remind myself that the views I see on Lemmy don’t represent the silent majority. Not everyone is able to make that distinction. If someone spends 8 hours a day debating politics on Twitter, there’s no middle ground - only the most extreme views get amplified. Anyone attempting a dispassionate, fact-based, non-partisan discussion gets attacked from both sides.
Abortion is a good example. Somehow, I’m a “blue-haired screaming liberal cuck” for thinking a total abortion ban is an indefensible position, but I’m also a “fascist bigot” for believing there should be a point after which abortion requires a legitimate medical reason, backed by a doctor - or even two.
This should be a reminder to you then: this is not a problem with "the Left" if you get it from the conservatives as well. Why does this somehow push you further right if you have extremists on both ends treating you this way?
Well, I mean, nowadays Lemmy is the only social media platform I spend time on, so naturally, all the pushback I get comes from the left, as right-wingers are practically non-existent here. Back on Reddit, I was getting it from both sides.
My point is that shunning people who are, or are perceived to be, even slightly on the right is a bad tactic. To win elections, we need these people to vote for our side. In my experience, the right is much more welcoming toward "ex-liberals," whereas I don’t feel the same applies to the left. Take Joe Rogan, for example - he still holds plenty of liberal values but doesn’t get attacked from the right for it.