this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2024
103 points (92.6% liked)

chat

8158 readers
451 users here now

Chat is a text only community for casual conversation, please keep shitposting to the absolute minimum. This is intended to be a separate space from c/chapotraphouse or the daily megathread. Chat does this by being a long-form community where topics will remain from day to day unlike the megathread, and it is distinct from c/chapotraphouse in that we ask you to engage in this community in a genuine way. Please keep shitposting, bits, and irony to a minimum.

As with all communities posts need to abide by the code of conduct, additionally moderators will remove any posts or comments deemed to be inappropriate.

Thank you and happy chatting!

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

It's a situation that I have been expecting for a while, but I wasn't fully ready to accept it. Specifically it's one of my LGBTQ friends who honestly believes in the democrats will protect them and their partner. I have tried to make the point that both parties are eroding any sort of civility towards all marginalized groups, but fear seems to drive them more than logical observations. They make the excuse that change doesn't happen over night and that the left continues to grow and will have meaningful affects down the road. I fundamentally just don't agree with that idea and vocalize it regularly. More and more it is ending up in a circular argument where I am painted as unrealistic and my rhetoric (leftist rhetoric) is doing more harm than good because it promotes distrust in the only system we have to work with. I try to tell them it's kind of the whole point. We gotta start somewhere if we want to see a better, more representative system, but they are so hung up on the immediate future while simultaneously saying that my idealistic feelings are shortsighted and I cant expect change in the immediate future... The double-talk is wild, I know.

I am trying my hardest to stop from engaging at this point because on the most basic level we agree on a lot of stuff, but they are just way to wrapped up in the fear mongering of the democratic party. They know that the two party system is broken, they know that something drastic needs to change, but they also think that they are powerless to do anything except choose the lesser evil. It pains me because I am watching them do the same shit past generations have done, where they give up on their ideals for the sake of preserving the current status quo that they benefit from. I am legitimately watching them imply "fuck you, got mine" under the guise of civic duty and I hate it. I want nothing more than to be able to finally say "I told you so" without being a smug asshole about it and ruining our friendship.

Thanks for reading my rant. It's probably a bit disjointed, but the frustration is boiling over and I needed to vent to the only group of people that seems to understand the hopelessness of being a disenfranchised leftist.

(page 2) 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 30 points 8 hours ago (6 children)

I don't get it, look at what they've been saying about the palestinian genocide, then look at what they're doing. How could anyone trust them??

[–] [email protected] 24 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

USAmericans don't care about foreigners at all so lying about them doesn't even register

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 31 points 9 hours ago (12 children)

I am painted as unrealistic

This shit gets me. I get called "too idealistic" and my response is what does that even mean? I think it's too idealistic for the few to benefit from the work of the many. Seems unsustainable which fits right in to the definitions of idealistic. I think it's idealistic for the Dems to expect a vote when they can't give even token concessions. "Unrealistic" get the fuck out of here 70 years ago we'd be blowing ourselves up in a world war for some crusty declining nobles (and soon we might be told to do it again!) now we watch complete strangers appear to entertain us for 30 seconds and evaporate forever on tiktok wtf do we know about realistic.

This hollow "community" of Democrats will happily cannibalize anyone without a second thought. The least I expect from my lib friends is to vote third party or shut up. Capitalism is a disease. Thanks for ranting so I could rant too

[–] [email protected] 26 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Whenever any of them tell me to "grow up" I can't help but think of the Dead Kennedys line: "I'd rather stay a child and keep my self-respect if being an adult means being like you."

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 hours ago

Seriously. Grow up and accept genocide and ecological collapse. Like a responsible adult. Sickening

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 hours ago

Whenever some liberal glibly tells me "the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows" I want to just scream IS-OUGHT at them until they shatter like glass.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

70 years ago we'd be blowing ourselves up in a world war for some crusty declining nobles (and soon we might be told to do it again!)

hate to break it to you but 70 years ago was 1954.

load more comments (9 replies)
[–] [email protected] 59 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I need to rewatch The Matrix.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 hours ago (4 children)

It's actually so good. All the matrix movies are despite what some would have you believe.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 hours ago

:keanu-whoa:

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I wonder if it's possible to convince these people to protest for Kopmala to enact non-Hitlerite policies with the logic of "well, if you're going to be voting for her anyways..."

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 hours ago

I don't think so... Most of them are too lazy and complacent to do that, they think exercising their civic duty of voting is enough.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (5 children)

Not everyone around me in the northeast is friendly, let alone a comrade, but I'm very glad to be far away from Silicon Valley liberals at long last.

I was very nearly approaching explosive-shouting-replies to the smug, arrogant, and even occult shit they'd keep saying to me, unprompted and unsolicited, especially after dae le epic "AI" hype waves took off.

https://futurism.com/openai-employees-say-firms-chief-scientist-has-been-making-strange-spiritual-claims

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 hours ago

That article is from last year and since then NVDIA is now "worth" 11% of the US GDP as a consequence, so I can kind of understand how you can see this as some sort of "miracle".

What is the opposite of capitalism realism? Capitalist absurdism? We are increasingly seeing events and trends that defy even previous well established mainstream rethoric.

Surely they're already believing or soon will turn into the old too big to fail rethoric, everyone prepares for the crash that never comes. When it does come its not a crash at all but a "pullback" only. The line only goes up, you may lose all your money but as long as Blackrock servers keep running the HFT algos Wall Street will be open every weekday at 9am.

At some point yeah, its like believing no matter what happens the church will always be there etc. There is some argument the closer we are to climate collapse the more we will regress towards fantasy escapist beliefs. The world is shit but AI will save us is just what a 14th century peasant would be saying about the church and god during the Bubonic plague. We haven't changed.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 28 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Change never arrives because the people who own the rest of us suddenly feel charitable.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 9 hours ago

Fascism has never willingly or peacfuly conceded.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (2 children)

Yeah I was about to make a similar post - just had a big debate with some older family friends at a party my parents had that are die-hard dems (which was nice, as they're way further left then most other people there).

They were aghast when I said I wasn't voting blue, and had no idea who Claudia or the PSL are, of course.

Got a lot of "this is the most important election ever" and "if he wins democracy is over" of course. But the one that really chapped my biscuits was saying that if he wins, then [my family member] will lose access to reproductive health care and IVF in particular.

So I said yeah right, neither side is going to change a damn thing about that, because they both see it as way too valuable of a carrot/stick to give up campaigning and fundraising on it. If the dems care so much about it, why haven't they actually done anything about it?

"Well Biden's wanted to, but he's been hamstrung by the extremist right!"

So what about those years when he had full congressional majority?

"Oh well yeah, I mean I guess he could have done more there..."

And then we got called away to the rest of the party and never got to continue.

Bonus points for my insistence that both parties intend on continuing the genocide - but ofc he is going to do it worse somehow. When I said I'm not going to vote for Genocide Light™️, they said, "Hell yeah I am! It's better than the other option!", and I sadly beat a dead horse a little more about there actually being more options available and maybe you actually don't have to put your stamp of approval on genocide-with-rainbow-flag-characteristics.

Also bonus-bonus points for one of the two (very sweet, kickass person generally) asking "So what does genocide mean again?" in a completely honest, non-hostile way, indicating that they simply had not engaged with even the thought of such a thing happening before this conversation.

And these are the two that always get in trouble for being too vocal about their left-ish political opinions at these functions. agony-soviet

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

ofc he is going to do it worse somehow

Push libs on this and they no response: just how, exactly, will he be worse? What specific actions would he do? Because right now we’re pretty much at the limit of what any administration can reasonably do.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I've asked many libs this and all they return with is quotes of trump saying he'll do worse. But not how. Trump lies all the time and yet they believe him that he'll somehow do worse this once.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago

Yeah it was pretty much this.

"He said he'll flatten it!"

What, like as opposed to the dems, who will write a very strongly worded letter after the bombs they send over are used to flatten the place?

"Well yeah at least they're writing that letter! Better than no letter! "

maybe-later-kiddo

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 43 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

I’m just grateful for my friend who listens to my rants and admits I know way more about it than him.

Unfortunately he’s still just voting for Kamala shrug-outta-hecks

Every time we hang out is basically:

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

We don't drink much these day but I do turn into this when I'm drunk. I remember back before we were married, my wife's best friend used to call me "your communist boyfriend."

Good thing we don't drink a lot now, in the current political climate I'd probably jump on the Hamas love train and death to (various evil entities) slogans too hard and get "your terrorist supporting husband" instead.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 hours ago

The struggle is super relatable. I've taken to letting my lib friends share complaints with us then when voting comes up mentioning PSL and Green parties. They don't live in a swing state but still are visibly shocked by the suggestion.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Just point out the last time any progressive legislation was ever written at the federal level was gay marriage and bring them crashing down to earth. The party has zero interest in actually using the power it has to do good for everyone, they are content to fuck over everyone that isn't in a blue state, and everyone in blue states will be fucked over eventually. This isn't a case of IF, it's a case of WHEN, and that only by reckoning with this reality and committing to working for the change that is sorely needed can marginalised peoples truly get on the correct strategic path. The current strategic path being pushed is a dead end and the liberals are content to continue mis-selling it to you because you choose to be naive as a result of the very understandable fear that reckoning with this instills.

Their claims that we are shortsighted and idealist are projections of the naivity they know they are choosing because it's the only hope they have.

This is also a failure of the left though btw. The left is not offering hope, and until the left finds a way to offer hope people will continue to choose naivity if it feels like a possible hope to them.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

Yep. This is how LGBT people in the US are cowed to the dems. With fear. With browbeating arguments to "safety" that never seems to materialize (and comes at the expense of the safety of others).

And it works because there genuinely are threats. Hate crimes, etc.

But its always the most comfortable members of the community that place their safety over solidarity. That's what kept me aligned, even before I read much theory, was seeing the absolute most beaten down people in society be the most eager to put themselves on the line when they were able to provide aid to others, or make a change or a statement. If they can do it what's my excuse?

its touched on in an old paper written during the 2014 israeli war on gaza that I really like (CW transphobia mentions):"Even a Freak Like You Would Be Safe in Tel Aviv: Transgender Subjects, Wounded Attachments, and the Zionist Economy of Gratitude"

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

The "safety" line is such bullshit. I don't see armed Dems on the line at drag story hour events protecting against the 3%ers across the street. It's leftists that actually show up. All these people do is throw $20 at Human Rights Campaign and go to brunch.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 hours ago (10 children)

Honest question: How do people reconcile their approaches to these situations with what Combat Liberalism instructs? Because Mao says fuck your discomfort and yell at people.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 9 hours ago

It's been awhile since I've read Combat Liberalism, but I thought the context of that was for disputes between people in the same party or organization. If it's someone who's a friend but otherwise isn't struggling alongside you to build communism, I'm not sure what the point of being super insistent on ideological correctness would be.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 9 hours ago

We live in different times than Mao. I don’t have an answer but it is that which should inform your praxis, not book worship, as it were.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 hours ago

Combat liberalism is more of a list of Mao's personal grievances in the human condition/behaviour under the label of liberalism than anything else. It's a short text written in the context of instilling party discipline then anything else.

load more comments (7 replies)
[–] [email protected] 28 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

More and more it is ending up in a circular argument where I am painted as unrealistic and my rhetoric (leftist rhetoric) is doing more harm than good because it promotes distrust in the only system we have to work with.

Noticing genocide is more socially unacceptable than committing it. Also, even recognizing a system is dehumanizing, don'tchaknow.

Thanks for reading my rant. It's probably a bit disjointed, but the frustration is boiling over and I needed to vent to the only group of people that seems to understand the hopelessness of being a disenfranchised leftist.

Right there with you. It's lonely enough already without having to worry about losing friends, and it hardly feels like I'm doing everything I can to fight back against the genociders when I can't even talk about it with my loved ones or get them on the right side.

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

Yeah, that's the extra layer is feeling like I am talking to a brick wall. If it weren't for the plethora of carrots on sticks that the dems laud over us, they would probably have come around to our side by now.

load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›