Infighting
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Is possible, just maybe, that you've been talking to trolls posing as communists, rather than actual communists? Because that's what it sounds like.
Those people were not being ironic, no. I think it's just a phenomenon that is excessively more common amongst internet MLs. Real life MLs are okay for the most part. Internet MLs are pretty much a cult that will try to take over ANY leftist community or be the dominant form of leftist discourse through any means necessary and will excessively push propaganda from literal fascists because they happen to be against liberals.
All I'm saying is that an embarrassing amount of leftists are terminally online and unable to do anything to try to push leftism other than argue with liberals online and spout hate towards those they see as "betraying" leftism. Those people don't actually do any organization IRL, which to me is a blessing... but sometimes that doesn't work. Brazil, and by extension all of South America, has a very bad problem with MLs dominating online AND IRL discourse, making it hard for other forms of leftism to be considered or even debated in good faith.
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Trying to decouple the term and core ideas from the past actions is going to be an uphill battle forever. That requires imagination and forward thinking, but you have the folks dunking on it because of the atrocities carried out under it, and the folks on the other side that have managed to embrace those parts so hard that they can no longer sea reason or find nuance.
Yes it is exactly like how antichrists have co-opted the term Christian. For many if it ever was, it will never be clean again in their lifetime unless there's some massive Purge. They never were Christians and, will never be christians. But as long as they're allowed to be the face of Christianity it's only going to hurt it as a whole. At least more than it already hurts itself.
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I'm not going to argue on the validity of that, but you're using .ml; Where the dev-admins themselves deny genocide and spout transphobic hate.
I can't take anything you say in good faith if you willingly use that space.
I'm trans and not a fan of what nutomic has said either, but have had no issues with any of the other admins. I certainly haven't seen those comments reflect in how they moderate, I even got made a mod here because I was calling out and reporting transphobia.
If he says anything like that in a comm I control I'll be banning him myself though.
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A thumb on the scale wouldn't really matter if we were united. They put their thumb on the scale with Mamdani and he won anyway.
Why else do you think we keep getting the same handful of candidates?
Because primary turnout is something like 15% of eligible voters, who are disproportionately old and "centrist".
Do you not see the pattern here? They want a dynasty in control not the people with the best ideas.
I'm not saying that this is false, I'm just saying it wouldn't matter if we quit the infighting, rallied behind a good prospect, and actually showed up to vote for them as the Democratic candidate.
wrote last edited by [email protected]They put their thumb on the scale with Mamdani and he won anyway.
He won a primary but has yet to win the election. This is the same party that also produced Trump supporter Adams and sleazebag Cuomo. The same party that just ousted recently elected party leaders for wanting to primary candidates like Adams and Cuomo with candidates like Mamdani. They've demonstrated time and time again that they'd rather have someone like Trump win than allow someone like Mamdani to take office and that's what he'll be facing in the general election.
Because primary turnout is something like 15% of eligible voters, who are disproportionately old and "centrist".
Because people have been beaten down with the same club for so long that they've given up. I can say with almost certainty that a majority of people these days are just voting against the other candidate rather than voting for someone, so how do you build a coalition of people behind someone in an environment like that? You don't.
I'm just saying it wouldn't matter if we quit the infighting, rallied behind a good prospect, and actually showed up to vote for them as the Democratic candidate.
I completely agree that's possible in theory but then it brings us back to square one where the DNC won't give them any support, puts out attack ads about how they're "too radical," excludes them from debates, and corporate media gives them no coverage. You're asking for a machine to produce a product that isn't wanted by the people actually running the machine.
People here and on Reddit will tell you election after election that it's on you to compromise and meet these right-wing Democrats where they stand. That "now is not the right time," that you should "vote blue no matter who," that "everything is on the line this time" as these very same candidates lose election after election. If you argue with them you're just met with a bunch of thought-terminating cliches like "bOtH SiDeS" or "Russian plant" and treated as a scapegoat for not compromising to their disgusting and ineffective values, meanwhile they act like said loser candidate was "the best option" in hindsight despite the fact that they lost yet again.
At this point I'd be perfectly happy to throw the Democratic party in the incinerator alongside the Republican party and just starting over from scratch. They only exist at this point to act as controlled opposition and kayfabe to give the appearance of two opposing sides.
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The more nuanced communists understand that the past doesn’t have to define the future 1:1, but they also have the uphill battle of people agreeing with everything they say, until they actually mention the word “communism,” thanks to decades of propaganda.
Well... How hard to they want to use that word?
Even more because if everybody is actually agreeing, that means they didn't wander anywhere outside of the "Social Democracy" boundaries of communism, and don't need to use the generic label that fascists stole long ago.
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You should be doing all that you can to avoid bad at all.
You should be looking at revolution not voting.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Why do you think those are mutually exclusive? Can you not walk and chew gum at the same time? Wouldn't doing all that you can do involve both laying the groundwork for revolution AND strategically voting against worse in the meantime? Voting doesn't prevent me from democratizing my workplace, organizing with other leftists, educating non-leftists, or anything else that furthers direct action.
Why do you think it's an either/or choice?
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Perhaps that was an argument before Trump got voted, but now? What have the Dems actually done? Why not vote someone else instead of these 2 garbage options?
Because no one else has the popularity to win at the moment?
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I'm anti authoritarian and anti right. Tankies are leftists that I have no interest in getting along with. They are just as excited to be holding the gun in this comic
Yes, leninists are nominally on the left. Nominally. However throughout history most similar ideologies have consistently exterminated executed and oppressed everyone that ever disagreed with them. Allies or not. Left or right. Which makes them authoritarian and untrustworthy first. Left at their convenience.
As an anarchist, I have no major beef with actual communist. While I will disagree a lot with demsoc or socdems. I have no issue allying with them where we agree. Because even though we disagree, on the things we agree on. I know they are just as committed, and won't turn on us the moment it's convenient.
But I'm all too familiar with the type that behave like the comic. I think we all are. Anyone using the term shitlib or blue maga for instance.
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Is possible, just maybe, that you've been talking to trolls posing as communists, rather than actual communists? Because that's what it sounds like.
Are you saying nutomic is a troll?
Most communist don't identify as that because of the way leninist and Maoist have soiled it.
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The antidote to infighting in my experience is organizing in ideologically diverse spaces. I've organized with liberals and all types of different leftists. It has left me with the perspective that all these people are good people that just want better for the world. It's hard to get angry at them once you know them. Per usual the solution is to touch grass.
Grass is dangerous, specially if you have allergies. My advice is to never touch grass!
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How does that work in the opposite direction, though? Republicans are protecting pedophiles and labelling truth as opinion, all whilst dehumanizing fellow Americans.
Tell me, how does one meet in the middle with such a monster?
Armed and ready to fight.
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You pretend, for a little while, then slowly introduce truth to them drip by drip. Like an undercover propaganda agent.
Since that's probably what they're doing to us.
I've seen this type of tactic really well displayed in this video by SquidTips.
This man talked to a fucking Proud Boy wearing a rainbow shirt that said in large letters "GAY" on it with a button that had the hammer and sickle in trans colors, mentioned his partner was trans, and got the guy to agree with him on the fact that he should be focusing on the class war rather than the culture war.
Even Proud Boys and people on the far, far right still think that what they're doing is good for society. You don't have to convince them to "stop being evil, switch to being good" you just have to convince them that "this is a more effective method at making society better than what you currently believe is the best."
Will it work for everyone? Of course not. Some people are just going to be too far gone for you to reach, but there's a lot more people than you might think that could be swayed, despite what the flood of media coverage of the extremes of society can make you believe.
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[dude with glasses in a communist t-shirt, arguing]
I'm the only leftist here, your opinions are TRASH[dude holding a theory book on smug, arguing]
Read theory you losers, you're all WRONG[dude in an anarchist hoodie, arguing]
Nuh-uh, I'm the only leftist here, you're SHITLIBS[the three dudes are now caught in a cartoon fight, glasses gone flying, punches everywhere, while a firing squad of nazis are targeting them with rifles]
[a confused nazi asks]
Why… why are they still arguing?Infighting | The Bad Website
Infighting - A comic on The Bad Website
The Bad Website (thebad.website)
wrote last edited by [email protected]It's why ranked choice is the only sane voting approach. First past the post heavily favors right wing authoritarians.
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It's why ranked choice is the only sane voting approach. First past the post heavily favors right wing authoritarians.
Hell yea I would love to vote for the people I actually want to vote for
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There aren't enough showers in the world to wash off the shame of any part of that interaction.
Well that's why they're winning, because they have no problem employing spies.
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I've seen this type of tactic really well displayed in this video by SquidTips.
This man talked to a fucking Proud Boy wearing a rainbow shirt that said in large letters "GAY" on it with a button that had the hammer and sickle in trans colors, mentioned his partner was trans, and got the guy to agree with him on the fact that he should be focusing on the class war rather than the culture war.
Even Proud Boys and people on the far, far right still think that what they're doing is good for society. You don't have to convince them to "stop being evil, switch to being good" you just have to convince them that "this is a more effective method at making society better than what you currently believe is the best."
Will it work for everyone? Of course not. Some people are just going to be too far gone for you to reach, but there's a lot more people than you might think that could be swayed, despite what the flood of media coverage of the extremes of society can make you believe.
I've found that even if you do this, it doesn't really alter their behavior. A moment of consensus is never going to be enough.
People need to treat this kind of stuff like breaking someone from a drug addiction or helping someone lose weight. Without addressing the lifestyle factors that drove them down that path, you'll never get them to actually change.
That's why the brainwashing is so terrifying. People can fall into it pretty quickly and then it can take years and years to deprogram them.
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How does that work in the opposite direction, though? Republicans are protecting pedophiles and labelling truth as opinion, all whilst dehumanizing fellow Americans.
Tell me, how does one meet in the middle with such a monster?
The truth about many republicans, is that they want good things for society as well. However they are some of the most gullible, ignorant, uneducated, even miseducated people you will ever care to meet.
It is possible to reach them. But it is one of the most Herculean tasks you will ever undertake. One of the hardest parts of it is to avoid triggering their programming. Starting small with basic concepts you can both agree on. And working from there.
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They put their thumb on the scale with Mamdani and he won anyway.
He won a primary but has yet to win the election. This is the same party that also produced Trump supporter Adams and sleazebag Cuomo. The same party that just ousted recently elected party leaders for wanting to primary candidates like Adams and Cuomo with candidates like Mamdani. They've demonstrated time and time again that they'd rather have someone like Trump win than allow someone like Mamdani to take office and that's what he'll be facing in the general election.
Because primary turnout is something like 15% of eligible voters, who are disproportionately old and "centrist".
Because people have been beaten down with the same club for so long that they've given up. I can say with almost certainty that a majority of people these days are just voting against the other candidate rather than voting for someone, so how do you build a coalition of people behind someone in an environment like that? You don't.
I'm just saying it wouldn't matter if we quit the infighting, rallied behind a good prospect, and actually showed up to vote for them as the Democratic candidate.
I completely agree that's possible in theory but then it brings us back to square one where the DNC won't give them any support, puts out attack ads about how they're "too radical," excludes them from debates, and corporate media gives them no coverage. You're asking for a machine to produce a product that isn't wanted by the people actually running the machine.
People here and on Reddit will tell you election after election that it's on you to compromise and meet these right-wing Democrats where they stand. That "now is not the right time," that you should "vote blue no matter who," that "everything is on the line this time" as these very same candidates lose election after election. If you argue with them you're just met with a bunch of thought-terminating cliches like "bOtH SiDeS" or "Russian plant" and treated as a scapegoat for not compromising to their disgusting and ineffective values, meanwhile they act like said loser candidate was "the best option" in hindsight despite the fact that they lost yet again.
At this point I'd be perfectly happy to throw the Democratic party in the incinerator alongside the Republican party and just starting over from scratch. They only exist at this point to act as controlled opposition and kayfabe to give the appearance of two opposing sides.
He won a primary but has yet to win the election.
My whole point was about primaries, but even still he's polling well in the lead. If he wins will you admit that it can be done?
Because people have been beaten down with the same club for so long that they've given up. I can say with almost certainty that a majority of people these days are just voting against the other candidate rather than voting for someone, so how do you build a coalition of people behind someone in an environment like that?
Okay, what's your point? That the same population that's too apathetic to vote in a primary are going to what, pick up arms and take to the streets? Organize behind and promote a minority party? How do you plan to build a coalition behind an objectively more difficult and unlikely strategy? You don't.
You're asking for a machine to produce a product that isn't wanted by the people actually running the machine.
Mamdani, and several other leftist candidates have been running exceptionally successful grassroots campaigns through social media and hitting the streets. We live in the information age, viral community-driven campaigns have the potential to reach more people than legacy media. And again, what alternative do you propose that will face less corporate opposition? You think the DNC is going to stay silent on third party candidates competing for their votes? You think corporate media is going to stay silent on any attempt at actual revolution? If the machine is so powerful, what action are you suggesting that can actually overcome it?
they act like said loser candidate was "the best option" in hindsight despite the fact that they lost yet again.
So long as elections in this country are FPTP, and leftists don't show up to primaries, and Republicans keep pushing Christo-fascism, then they are correct that it is the best option. Splitting the anti-Republican vote just helps the Republicans, and by extension the Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society. Personally, I'd rather have a Neo-Liberal government than a Christian Nationalist one, and there aren't any other options right now.
At this point I'd be perfectly happy to throw the Democratic party in the incinerator alongside the Republican party and just starting over from scratch.
No disagreement here, but where's the incinerator and the power to throw them in it? If I had a magic wand that I could wave to erase both parties, I would. But I don't have that kind of magic wand, and neither do you. We have to operate in the environment we actually exist in. Idealism doesn't get us any closer to material change. Voting against the worst option is the best choice we have at the polls, until we can get seriously organized. Serious organization takes a lot of time and effort. Ignoring the material present for a vague idealist future is a massive strategic blunder.
It's a lot harder to organize as a political prisoner in a concentration camp.
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Are you saying nutomic is a troll?
Most communist don't identify as that because of the way leninist and Maoist have soiled it.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I don't want to put you out, but if you've got actual links to him saying dodgy stuff, then please could you show me?
I'm about ten minutes into reading through his Reddit comments and he's not even said anything political. One of the most recent comments was him replying to an accusation of creating the federated wiki alternative for right-wing purposes, which is confusing me even more.
He's specifically telling people which instances they can join that block lemmygrad.
He doesn't seem that extreme. If you can provide something, it'd really be appreciated, because from looking at his posts so far, he seems a nice enough guy.
Edit - never mind, I think I've found what you're referring to. I'll look through them properly in a little bit.
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I'm anti authoritarian and anti right. Tankies are leftists that I have no interest in getting along with. They are just as excited to be holding the gun in this comic
wrote last edited by [email protected]Exactly, all authoritarians (far left/far right) can suck a big fat one. They are always the best boot lickers.