#what kind of fucked up federal democracy is this

[hadeantaiga]

your posts about the electoral system have been so fucking vindicating for me. I jumped off ship from twitter back to here not long ago, and over there it seems like every leftist is under the impression that we, suddenly, hold a LOT more institutional power than we actually do. most of the ones I followed were actually suggesting it was morally repugnant to vote at all. and these weren't like, fresh adult teenagers or people in their early 20s, these were like full grown middle aged people who should know how this works by now. I really felt like I was crazy seeing takes such as "the solution for when both parties are evil but one less so is to abolish the system that makes you choose between two evil people" like.... yup! that would be cool! but we dont fucking live in that world!

sorry to ramble and rant in your askbox lol but you're the first person in a while to make me not feel like I've lost it on this topic 😭

I'm glad you've felt vindicated, Anon *hug*

I absolutely advocate for changing our electoral system! It is broken and needs fixing - land doesn't vote, as they say, people vote. The electoral college is garbage and unfair. We need a true 1 person, 1 vote system. We also desperately need some kind of ranked-choice voting so that third parties can actually be viable.

It's hard to force that change though, because it would obviously be dangerous for the politicians who are currently in power. Abolishing the electoral college would basically ensure Republicans never win another election, and ranked-choice voting would be even more harmful for them, plus it would put incumbent Democrats at risk.

However, it's absolutely possible and it's gaining momentum! Forcing this kind of change has to start from the local level up - that's how Maine did it. And it's coming! It's on its way! Ranked choice voting is authorized all the way up to federal elections in Maine, Hawaii, and Alaska! Plus, there's a bunch of other states who have it in specific areas within the state, and there's local or state level legislation pending in many other states in 2024.

So if you live in a state with federal ranked-choice voting in 2024, congrats!!! You don't have to put Biden first on the ballot! You don't have to put him second! You literally just have to rank him higher than Trump.

#uspol #positivity

[qqueenofhades]

took some time to rewatch some of the footage from Jan 6th and it gets me how we really were just one step away from the cliff edge

I mean.... yeah. We all knew it was bad at the time (I was texting with some friends on the morning of January 6, since we were braced for some kind of batfuckery to go down after Josh Hawlin' Ass announced his intention to object to the results in the Senate), and then it was just like... wait a second people have broken into the Capitol, what in the hell is going on, isn't there security, what is this, what the fuck. It was an anxious wait to see what the fuck was going to happen and/or if the police were going to get the rioters out of there, but I definitely didn't fully understand the gravity of what had gone on, even though we were all aware that an armed attack on the US Capitol in the name of overturning a lawful presidential election was a) very bad, and b) unprecedented in American history. I stayed up late that night to be sure that they would bring Congress back and certify the results, which they did, but also: Jesus Christ.

Everything that we've learned since has confirmed that this WAS a deadly serious attempted coup, and that while it failed, it was not due to lack of planning or effort on the bad guys' part. Trump was openly asking the DOJ and DHS and other high-level defense and security officials to do crazily illegal shit, declare martial law, seize voting machines, order a re-run of the election, etc etc. If they had just done what the president asked them, Jesus Christ knows where that would have taken us, and they get away with this shit because it has never happened before and nobody knows what to do, so they just decide to accept it since it's easier than fighting. Fortunately, some people, even otherwise openly terrible ones a la Bill Barr, told Trump to his face that this was insane treason and they weren't doing it. The Republican Party has been busy trying to remedy that fact by installing mindlessly loyal, Big Lie-believing toadies at every level of the state and federal apparatus, so that the next time a losing Republican candidate asks them to overturn an election, THEY WILL DO THAT. That is a deeply fucking terrifying fact: we had to rely on the personal choice of terrible people to decide that treason was a bridge too far, and say no. Next time, we do NOT have that certainty. As I have said before, our institutions are not designed to automatically counteract an endlessly malicious, evil, stupid wannabe fascist like Trump. They ultimately did hold, but they were stretched to the breaking point, and the GOP has been busily trying to break them the rest of the way ever since.

There are some signs that this message may be getting through, as a recent poll listed "threats to democracy" as the top issue motivating people to vote in the midterms. There has also been major movement toward Democrats on the generic Congressional ballot and overperformance for Democrats in otherwise strongly-Republican states and districts (the Kansas abortion referendum and special House elections in Nebraska and a red district of Minnesota). That is because, as I have said and keep saying, the Republicans are simply too dangerous to be allowed to hold any kind of power again, since they've gone around the crazy bend and then some. Trump's coup failed, but I've seen a lot of people acting like "lol he's so stupid of course it was gonna fail it was never a serious threat." JESUS CHRIST, NO! IT WAS A VERY SERIOUS THREAT AND THE ONLY REASON IT FAILED WAS DUE TO DUMB LUCK! Like, if Officer Eugene Goodman of the Capitol Police hadn't led the insurrectionists away from the open door into the Congress chamber, THEY LITERALLY WERE PLANNING ON MURDERING NANCY PELOSI AND MIKE PENCE. They have said this in their plea filings and their court appearances. They have straight-up admitted that their plan was to decapitate the government and install Trump as dictator. Jesus.

When the Jan. 6 committee publishes their full and formal report, I encourage every American to read it as a matter of basic patriotic and civic duty. Especially if you haven't been paying attention, you are still buying into the "both sides are bad" rhetoric, or anything else. Because this happened, it is still happening, and may yet happen for real if people get complacent and decide that it is over. So. Yes.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts

[lily-orchard]

Hey Lily, I want to say thank you for talking about the problems with fandoms in your videos. It's a conversation that is long overdue and needs to be changed. I've dealt with how toxic and ignorant these places are. How they shut themselves in their echo chamber as they allow bigotry to flourish because they can't recognize intolerance even if it's in front of them. The worst one, for me, is the ATLA fandom which preaches acceptance, kindness, and forgiveness but it's all a lie. I've seen how mods attack people with no repercussions. One example is the Ian Ously incident where a Cherokee Veteran was attacked for pointing out how the show isn't as progressive as they believe it is. How the Water Tribe being an amalgamation of 574 federally recognized Indian Nations is problematic because it trivializes and homogenizes the diversity of multiple ethnic groups. A constant problem in the media which Avatar is no exception. The mod didn't even get a slap on the wrist for their aggressive behavior. I've seen how fans speak as if they or the writers/creators were tenured professors who can professionally speak about war crimes, colonialism, war, and historical events. When pointed out how they are wrong or why they shouldn't be doing this, fans quickly whine about how they are being victimized. It doesn't matter if you provide sources from your university or link minority voices to show them the actual reality. "You are wrong, you are white, you are bigoted, you just hate Avatar!" I get tired of content that discusses how Avatar is a reflection of the real world. How it perfectly encapsulates colonialism while regurgitating the same talking points the colonizers used to justify their conquest. When you learn about the Conquest of Mexico you are taught a similar lens. What you aren't told is how the conquistadors relied on translators and thousands of Indigenous allies who they end up backstabbing. They erase their stories and remove their agency leaving them as voiceless victims needing to be rescued. The flawed argument of how the Fire Nation was technologically advanced and militarily superior while the Earth Kingdom is inferior is seeing events through a colonialist lens which the show is guilty of. Worse is how they espouse "Oriental Despotism" as to why the Earth Kingdom *cough* China *cough* is an authoritarian hellscape needed to be shown democracy. There is a reason why historians no longer teach this because it's justifying western imperialism and superiority. Only the west is capable of modernity.

They claim they love minorities but they don't. They will lie to you about being an ally only because it gives them brownie points for their show. They only care about minority issues when it benefits them. Otherwise, fuck your court cases, fuck your struggles, fuck your communities.

I get bullied while fans cheer. I get told how I should keep quiet and not respond while a toxic person is left to do what they want. I've seen mods applaud fans for having a respectful discussion while ignoring the subtle racism in their comments. I've been harassed with mods telling me it shouldn't be personal. I've had my identity attacked because people took offense to a comment for 'mansplaining' a topic they butchered. It doesn't matter if you are connected to these communities or fall under the same ethnic group. They will humiliate you in front of everyone and they will cheer. Never again will I care about Avatar.

Yeah, in terms of quality of work and fanbase, Avatar is on the level of Harry Potter. It was generally always a mistake to gas it up the way we did just because it showed death and sadness sometimes (which are the only reason you fuckers liked it, don't lie.)

[nation-of-bros]

The Federal Republic of Germany is not a democracy

I recently learned from an acquaintance how the police were purging their own ranks: In a shared private Telegram group, some police officers posted things critical of the government, and someone else must then have informed their superiors about it. A short time later, a horde of police loyal to the state stood at everyone's doorstep and confiscated their cell phones. The accusation: anti-government attitudes, i.e. AfD supporters. They are all on forced leave for the time being.

Since the alleged meeting for a "coup plan" led by Prince Reuß, the German Interior Minister has gone completely crazy with her Antifa past, and has purged all state organs of any government critics or who are otherwise not in line with the rainbow. They are constantly constructing an “extremist right-wing” threat everywhere. But they themselves actually represent the real danger, because for them “democracy” ends where any dissenting opinion arise. They call themselves "Democrats" but systematically exclude large parts of the population who do not share their completely disturbed left-green anti-racism feminism rainbow ideology.

I recently saw a video in which an influencer reported how he was offered 50,000 euros if he spoke out against the AfD in a television show. Opposition parties are fought by the system using all kinds of dirty methods:

That's why it seems incredibly stupid to me to listen to this idiotic talk from our politicians when they complain about Russia. Yes, Putin is an autocrat. Where is the problem?! I don't live in Russia, it's not my business. But it is my problem if my opinion that deviates from the system is suppressed in MY OWN COUNTRY. The police had already searched my apartment just because of a fucking YouTube comment. So I know how it feels when they invade your privacy, dirty all the carpets with their shoes, ruthlessly go through your things, and take away every computer, cell phone, even small memory stick because there might be something critical of the government on it…

In reality, it is just harassment by the state of those who think differently. In fact, if I hadn't paid the fine in the end, they would have put me in prison for two and a half months for a mere "crime of opinion"; while illegals who rape and stab are not treated half as harshly; or someone can be the chancellor who is involved in the biggest financial crime in Europe.

My respect for the German state is thus in the deepest negative range. As far as I'm concerned, they can all continue to destroy themselves because of their own madness. Do the shitty politicians, judges, police officers think that their fucking salaries will still be affordable in 10 years?! Are they really so naive to believe that the German state can still pay their fat pensions later?!

Germany consists of 1/5 of civil servants, including all positions indirectly dependent on the state. If the economy continues to fuck up like it is now, all of this will no longer be affordable, including the millions of parasites like Ukrainians who are plundering the German welfare state. However, the state already doesn't have a single cent left and the budget for next year will be impossible. There is a lack of money in every nook and cranny.

Just the other day I read in the news: The state is stopping all railway expansion programs, while the next article reports on how "Rheinmetall" is building a new ammunition factory. If they think that waging war on dissent at home and against Russia abroad is more important than looking after the common good, then please let them go down. They don't deserve anything else!

I have nothing to lose anyway, it doesn't affect me half as much as the many civil servants and politicians who depend on this state.

It's only right for me if they thin out their own ranks in any way and destroy themselves in the long term. There is already great discontent among the population and people no longer know what to do next. The system collapse will come, it is only a matter of years and not decades. If the Federal Republic of Germany falls, the entire EU will collapse, including the fucking Euro currency; that sounds fantastic.

#politics #essay

[doodlytoodly]

i rarely giggle with glee over stuff, its gotta be like absolutely preem stuff to me, so theres this alt history thing (Kaiserreich, Hoi4 mod, got alot of lore in it, basically Germany beat the entente in ww1, France and Britain became syndicalist, Russian revolution failed, the British government was exiled to Canada ((👎)) austria hungary is still around, also the ottomans, Italy is in 2 or 3 pieces cant recall rn, all that stuff, and america is not doing good at all ((I’m a loser btw did y’all know that))) and I just found a youtube channel all about it, with a little series goin on, i think theres only 2 episodes of it? Ive only watched the trailer but its got me all giddy about it, gonna watch the actual episodes tmrw cause its 3 am and i spent an hour typing all this (i edited this part after finishing the rest lol) its about the second american civil war which happens in this world cause america is all kinds of fucked up since they lost the war, i think there was also the great depression still, but theres also black monday after that (german stock market crashes, everyone that isnt syndicalist or whatever gets fucked over), america splits into quite a few shards (im not yhe best source for all this btw cause i like to play the version that is wackier and less realistic) ((i think in normal kaiserreich theres 7 factions in america, maybe 6, in the wackier version there can ve like 11)) anywya im pretty sure its the pacific states, which is the pacifc states of america ofc, they are progressives, social liberals, that stuff, there might be the western command center, that has the rockies, which is a split off of the federal government, same side of the civil war as the federal gov, idk if they exist in normal kaiserreich, (if they dont its just the actual federal gov who control it), they seperate the PSA from the American Union State, who has the midwest with texas and stuff i believe, their leaders huey long, (one of 2 i remember) in game their ideology is authoritarian democracy or smth, i think theres a lil bit of socialism goin on in there, idrk what their deal is in the lore i havent looked at them much, then theres the Syndicalists, who have the rust belt, they are ofc syndicalists, and below them is the constitutional american republic that controls the south, religious, racist, nutjobs, just imagine the confederacy 2.0, very L faction honestly (they usually get stomped in game <3) , in Washington D.C theres the federal goverment, I think run by macarthur after he takes charge for the war, or coups if some of the other factions get elected, they are the legitimate government, macarthur is still macarthur, and finally (if i recall correctly) theres New england, they control the new england area, ( they are controlled by the feds until they ask canada to come help them out, canada walks in, establishes new england ((in game as a puppet usually, once again i. am NOT the best source for this, they are usually just like normalish i think, idk prolly like the democrats in america today, but 1930s (in the wackier version they typically get taken over by hp lovecraft and go insane but thats all very non canon).

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I have no idea where j was going with this, uhhh, im just gonna leave the trailer here for it cause why not, did I mention I get no bitches btw? cause this prolly psychically repells people without either of us realizing. anyway if anyone actually reads all my dumb rambling thanks for taking the time, if you didn’t and your only reading this, thanks for reading any of it at all, yeah.

#Youtube

[rametarin]

Imagine a person..

The sort of person that walks into a D&D campaign, or any place centered for nerds on high fantasy, and the conversation they want to have is that, castles and monarchy are bad, and therefore, bad culture and bad influence on society.

So they demand putting in big disgusting notes at the start talking about, “CERTAIN UNDESIRABLE GROUPS sure have been whooping up monarchy and racism lately, huh! The feudal times were actually horrible and unequal and a terror, and we should stop idolizing them beyond nostalgia for [beloved book series that’s on thin ice but politically inexpedient to trash on without losing the audience]”

Then they start to suggest, ohhh, I dunno, fantasy settings with more.. I dunno.. just spitballin’.. anarcho-syndicalist or socialist themes maybe? Or mythological tribespeople with weird cultures on equality, something about ‘critical lenses’ maybe, and advice on why you should want to involve many cultures in your games and stories, but not allow anyone to play as them unless they’re the appropriate racial background in real life.

Yeah it’s irritating. But it’s also fucking ridiculous and presumptuous. You know whom you sound like when you do this?

How so? Okay,

what other presumptive ass would walk in on a bunch of nerds and tell them they’re FANTASY GOVERNMENT IN THEIR YE OLDE TIMEY MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN FANTASY GAME AND FRANCHISE WRONG? And then have the audacity to demand maybe OHHHH I DUNNO... CONSTITUTIONALIST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAVING REPUBLIC, WITH REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY?

Having the gall to tell them they, “shouldn’t idolize dead kings and should get a REAL government system in their imaginationland.” Because, “kings and royalty are for wusses and communists.”

You might be going, “THAT’S TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM WHEN I DO IT!” and. no it isn’t.

D&D and fantasy fiction use mythological past to stimulate the mind and actually learn about history, just to mythologize it. Of course feudalism was actually terrible. Romance of some things, particularly pirates for example, is terrible. But the people marching up this hill to make a fuss and try to pull a silk screen over peoples hearts and minds to manipulate them know publishing academic hitpieces, calling women out on their romanticizing pirates in novels and fiction, would make them terribly unpopular and rend their target audience dumb to their voice.

When fantasy utilizes the romantic image of the monarchy, they are NOT sponsoring monarchism, oh my fucking god. This disgusting fiction exists for nothing else than to justify treating aspects of media and culture the way tribes and nations treat features of geography for area denial from the enemy, to keep them thirsty, to starve them, to give them nowhere to live. I’m so tired of it not being understood that these people are behaving and thinking like this specifically for this tactic and outcome. Gatekeeping and ownership of the entire fandom of production and consumption of stories and fiction and art.

That’s authoritarian and tyrannical, and trying to use postmodernist nonsense the way religious moralists bandy about their religious text as if it were a book of facts for their undesired opinions.

Also popular is talking about how, “you know how European culture is specifically racist and all their fantasy creatures are just expressions of xenophobia, right? Orcs are ‘swarthy’ dangerous barbarian foreigners. black people! Those racist Europeans!”

Boiling down and tainting all European history to just, “white people are conceited monsters who unlike everybody else, hated everybody that was not their chosen people.” The least historical and most unflattering interpretation of culture and mythology you can have, done purely to invalidate and delegitimize a thing.

They invite other groups of people to accept this interpretation for two reasons. Firstly, it gives them cultural power to interpret things as true or false. That is a kind of power. Second, it gives different political entiites a popular (if incorrect) imagery to treat as true when dealing with European or people that are descended from them. And in theory since these people claim to be SoooOooOooOO protective of “persons of color,” this relationship can never go bad, can it?

Wrong. That’s not how people that think like this work. In conventional Marxism, the Marxists start spreading propaganda and working backwards with people to demand upon them even imaginary common ground they can agree on. Such as, “Ryan is an asshole because-”. Then they keep doing that, until the group reach consensus Ryan is an asshole, at least they can agree on THAT, and decides to kill Ryan. They make him dig his own hole, then put a bullet in his head and bury him.

And then the Marxist does the same thing to the next runner up, Michael, progressively assassinating the character of the competition without directly competing with them, getting the other participants to do his dirty work for him.

It start with, “all white people are racist.” When white people are no longer the scapegoats, then the same people that clawed their way up claiming to, “only care about racial and sexual justice!” and that white men embody the worst elements of both, suddenly switch to the next nearest, “oppressive majority.”

And they train youth to do this inter-community. So on the macro scale they’ll at least pay lip service to caring about Native American culture and religion and identity. On the micro scale, if they were being honest, they’d call many Native American tribes racist, most Native American cultures sexist, and tell them they don’t care what their history or traditions or culture say- they’re doing them wrong unless they do whatever the postmodernist socialist thinks is correct.

They didn’t USED to be so bold and broad with their terms for racism. They at least used to maintain a doublethink by the positive liberals that would say, “all racism is wrong,” while carefully using non-discussion and not allowing arguments or probing these thought destroying statements to prevent them asking if they’re saying non-whites are incapable of “being racist.”

The truth was they always believed racism was tied to class struggle theory and that meant white people were oppressors, thus racism was “the phenomenon of oppression living under a white majority with capitalism.” But the more general, palatable interpretation was, “racial discrimination bad. :)” With a million unseen and inaccessible asterisks that you WEREN’T SUPPOSED to even see to further ask them to clarify about.

But then they realized with the internet, people could trace the social lines back to sociology classes and professors and see the organization and institutions preaching this shit, even find the textbooks they’re printed in. So, they started being more upfront about it.

Before, they would’ve just avoided talking about it and let the other person give them the benefit of the doubt. SURELY, they didn’t mean, “all white people are racist/black and Asian people are incapable of racism,” right? When, yes, they did. Hiding in the ambiguities and things you’d never imagine they’d be implying in practice.

However, that’s just one step. Vilifying white people until white people are denied access or legitimacy to society because of their ethnic background isn’t the final step. Once whites are denied franchise just on the basis that being white is oppressive to others, then they’ll start trash talking the next minority as being the in-power majority; probably Asians, seeing as black people are the biggest sacred cows when it comes to racial discrimination, not just in the US, but globally. Then the generational story will be, “our beliefs weren’t complete. Also [other group] are bastards and their culture and heritage are imaginary trash, too.”

And so on. Presenting this as, “white people bad, we should gang up on them and do justice” is merely a means to an end for them. Sugar on medicine that sits in wait. Even if the next step is introduced 20 years from now.

So in short, these people are not the people you want to give the power to interpret fiction and fantasy, or gatekeep what is appropriate or not. They are not forthcoming, most of the time, and confuse THEIR good with true good on purpose. And believe so long as the book they’re drawing their absolutes from isn’t a religious text, but a sociology one, that it’s somehow more valid or empirical.

And they have no more weight to their bullshit than Stan Smith does, demanding our fantasy stories and romantic genres revolve around his idea of a “correct, moral and upstanding government and social values.” for the exact same reasons Stan would want to impose those on his son’s games.

[z34l0t]

"We live in a democracy, and that means anyone can grow up to become a scientist—even people who have not studied science. In this country, it doesn’t matter what kind of “qualifications” you have. It doesn’t matter that you are a failed lawyer promoting a theory that millions of actual scientists and doctors have unanimously rejected. That kind of cronyism is not how America works. Only one thing matters here: who your parents are. That’s what the Founding Fathers intended, and it’s why they weren’t called the Founding Peers."

[from 2017]

#robert f. kennedy jr. #rfk jr #nepo baby #anti vax grifter

[msbarrows]

Watched a bit of the coverage of the ongoing circus-that-is-the-US-House-of-Representatives today. Had to stop watching it at the point where a new round of nominations was starting up, because I dislike listening to speeches by even my own politicians at the best of times and that was just... fuck off. Go get fired directly into the sun, you hypocritical asshats.

Anyway. Had me thinking about how GD thankful I am to live in a country with a (relatively) sane system of democracy.

We don’t have the insanity of a two-party system or an electoral college or related nonsense. Anyone can form a party, though you don’t start seeing official taxpayer-paid support for it until it’s won a minimum number of seats. (And oh, the delightful schadenfreude of watching the old federal conservatives tank so hard they lost official party status).

We don’t have horseshit like gerrymandering, because we started fixing that noise back in the 60s, and today it’s all done by purposefully non-partisan independent commissions who mostly aim to make nice neat rectilinear shapes rather than Escher’s carefully curated salamanders.

The right to vote is enshrined in our constitution, and afaik at this point in time we don’t exclude anyone who is old enough to vote (except the Chief Electoral Officer and the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer themselves). Not by race, not by gender, not by present or past criminal status, not by age (apart from old enough to vote), not even by physical location (as of 2019). You can live abroad for years at a time and still be a Canadian eligible to vote in Canadian elections (though figuring out what riding you’re eligible to vote in might take a little more work than normal, if you haven’t maintained a Canadian address).

And registering for the vote is stupidly easy here. Elections Canada maintains the roles, and there’s none of that constant door-to-door data-gathering going on. You pay taxes? There’s a check box to share your name and address with Elections Canada. Do a change of address via Canada Posts’ address service? Part of the service is that they inform Elections Canada. Plus there’s a web site, phone numbers, local offices... And if all else fails, you can register at the polls on election day itself, just bring all the right ID along. And “all the right ID” includes a lengthy list of possibilities. Obviously any government issued ID counts (from any level of government), but also things like a student ID card. Library card. Label on a prescription container. Utility bill. Bank statement. Letter of confirmation from a student/old age/long term care residence, a shelter, or even a damned soup kitchen. Failing all else, haul along someone else who does have ID, fill in a form declaring your name and address in writing, and have the person with ID vouch that you are who you say you are.

In a real democracy, the goal is to encourage as many people as possible to get out and vote, not to put roadblocks in their way.

Though I do kind of wish we’d adopt Australia’s “don’t vote, get fined” system. And I say that as someone who can’t always be bothered to take the time to walk to the polls and vote, because I know given a choice between walking over or paying a $50 fine on my next taxes, I’d probably walk over. (I also wish we’d adopt their get a sausage while you’re at it thing).

#Democracy #Politics #Oh Canada! #Like I'm not saying our system is perfect #Far from it #But JFC it's a lot better than the so-called democracy to the south of us #This has been a rant

[qqueenofhades]

Hey, i just wanna say thank you for your political posts because this is the first time in literal years that i've felt any sort of understanding of the american political system and why shit is as bad as it is. Honestly I've even come out of reading a lot of then with optimism as weird as that may sound, because it seems like things CAN be made better and thats something i really needed to know.

So yeah uh, thanks. I guess.

Aha, you're welcome. I do try. There is so much toxic and illiterate political misinformation out there, from both right and left, that I am not always sure how much good it does, but at least I'm saying it, so, yeah. Ever since I started posting more regularly about politics, my block list has grown exponentially and looking at my notes is often an.... interesting.... experience, but there you have it.

The last six years have been unprecedented in American history, and even if we've grown more or less numb to the constant cavalcade of disasters, we shouldn't normalize them. Nor should we think that everything is totally fucked and beyond any kind of fixing. That sort of "nothing matters so just either give up or put all your hopes in a fantasy revolution to fix everything!" thinking is never going to do any good for anyone, and it's not even reflective of what's really going on. It's hard to tell among all the GOP screaming and extremism and threats, but 2022 is (at least thus far) representing the first sustained move away from Trumpism that we've seen since Trump first got elected. Things are getting better, and if there's a good result for Democrats in November, they have a chance to continue doing so. Even the professional liberal handwringers and concern trolls extraordinaire at MSNBC just ran this graphic:

Yes, the Republicans are so dangerous that they can't be allowed to get anywhere near power again, and I worry that too much of the country doesn't see that (and will be helped out by Democratic voter apathy, but we did just have that barn-busting result in deep red Kansas, so... yeah, I think Team Blue is paying attention). Yes, the Supreme Court will kill us all if it doesn't get fixed, and soon. But people who are acting like "oh it doesn't matter that the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, nothing is going to happen" like... what? The reason the Republicans are screaming about how it has never happened before is because it has never happened before. Because while we have had shitty terrible crime-adjacent ex-presidents before, none of them have been as bad as Trump. We don't know what yet, but this means something. I have been as skeptical of Garland as anybody, and I'm still waiting to see what comes when the J6 committee finishes its hearings. But this increases the public pressure for accountability, and the FBI followed up the raid by seizing cellphones belonging to Trumpy members of Congress (including coup-supporting GOP PA Rep. Scott Perry). The recovered documents are reportedly so sensitive that the FBI had no choice but to send in the gang to execute a search warrant, signed by a Trump-appointed federal judge and a Trump-appointed FBI director. Welp.

Anyway, the point is: boy, do I also struggle with the "things are terrible and there's nothing to be done" mindset. But it isn't true, the people who are telling you that have a vested interest in your disempowerment, and for all its flaws and failings, there's absolutely no reason we have to abandon our venerable old democracy to the absolute worst of what America has to offer. People voted en masse in Kansas and defeated Republican extremism -- IN KANSAS! There are some great progressive Democrats running for Senate, and getting just a few more will rid us of having to kowtow to God Emperor Joe Manchin and Grand Vizier Kyrsten Sinema every single time we want a bill passed. And we got that whole above list of accomplishments done in the worst possible political circumstances, so, uh. Maybe the Democrats actually do know what they're doing, just a little. (Also, I will personally pay ten dollars to anyone who can actually, thoroughly, and satisfactorily explain to me how the Democrats "are really a right wing party!!!" Just saying).

So yes. Things can get better. Things ARE getting better. Things can continue to get better if we continue to act in a way that makes that possible. Etc etc my favorite quote about how to engage with a flawed and frustrating reality: "you are not obliged to complete the work, but nor are you free to abandon it." Because. Indeed.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts