this post was submitted on 29 May 2024
0 points (50.0% liked)

Political Memes

5407 readers
3091 users here now

Welcome to politcal memes!

These are our rules:

Be civilJokes are okay, but don’t intentionally harass or disturb any member of our community. Sexism, racism and bigotry are not allowed. Good faith argumentation only. No posts discouraging people to vote or shaming people for voting.

No misinformationDon’t post any intentional misinformation. When asked by mods, provide sources for any claims you make.

Posts should be memesRandom pictures do not qualify as memes. Relevance to politics is required.

No bots, spam or self-promotionFollow instance rules, ask for your bot to be allowed on this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

It's educate, AGITATE, organize

edit: putting this at the top so people understand the basis for this:

You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.

Letter from Birmingham, MLK

top 31 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (4 children)

"Cool, what form does your agitation come in?"

"Encouraging apathy, and demonization of the only non-fascist candidate with a chance to win without suggestion of realistic alternatives"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Most "agitators" on here can't even vote.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Discourage apathy by putting your fingers in your ears and shout about how impossible making any positive change is instead!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

"Changing 50 years of foreign policy on an issue most American voters don't regard as important (however horrific that is) isn't going to happen because the left-wing is threatening to let a fascist take power; that's literally the opposite of the scenario that should be happening for improvement"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Putting your fingers in your ears to drown out the sound of the Overton window screeching to the right is a much better alternative.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Did you get an opportunity to suggest realistic alternatives? Or did the Democratic party steamroll your local primary and rob you of your voice?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I did. I suggested Bernie. Not enough people agreed with me, apparently.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

If I were encouraging apathy, I'd be trying to get people to ignore an important issue by arguing 'change simply isn't realistic so it's better to just shut your eyes to it'

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Sorry, but what are you encouraging then? Like, what's the ask?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

OP's only ask is "feel bad enough about Biden and the Democrats to stay home in November." That's it. That's the whole thing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I just noticed the username, and I've argued with this guy before. You're spot on, he does not have a sincere argument.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago

See my response to themeatbridge.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago (3 children)

The goal is to stop democrats from continuing to support a genocide (min) and a genocidal project (max)

The route is through moderates, who would really like to not talk about this issue, because while it is something they agree with, pointing to something bad that they are contributing to threatens to weaken their voting base. Any political agitation necessarily implicitly makes that threat, and it's intentional, because otherwise the moderate would have no reason to push for it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

So what you're saying is that you're a single-issue voter.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Single issue voters exist and Biden must take them into account.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Single-issue voters aren't capable of rational political conversation, or thought processing. They will be attracted to whichever charlatan offers to scratch their particular itch.

If you can't grasp nuance, you really aren't qualified to have political opinions.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago

Single-issue voters aren’t capable of rational political conversation, or thought processing. They will be attracted to whichever charlatan offers to scratch their particular itch.

And despite that, they continue to exist and continue to be a factor with which Biden must contend.

If you can’t grasp nuance, you really aren’t qualified to have political opinions.

And yet, single issue voters are voters. No matter how much you want to disenfranchise them for disagreeing with you.

Note that nowhere during this conversation have I said that I am a single-issue voter. I'm voting for Biden despite his support for genocide. If you don't understand the difference between acknowledging the existence of single issue voters and actually being one, don't talk to others about nuance.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (2 children)

So your aim is only to cast aspersions on Democrats, got it.

Surely you're aware of the two-party system of politics in the United States, one where if Democrats lose, Republicans win, and those Republicans will do the genocide you claim to hate so much even harder, not to mention royally fucking things up for huge swaths of people domestically, handing Ukraine over to Russia (which extends to directly threatening the rest of Europe/NATO), and walking away from Taiwan, for starters.

You don't want to "end genocide," you want to get Republicans elected.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Hey now let’s not forget, abandoning Ukraine and Taiwan means that Russia and China get to do some genocide as well.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

So your aim is only to cast aspersions on Democrats, got it.

Because they are the ones who claim to agree, but apparently lack sufficient motivation to stop obstructing progress.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

but apparently lack sufficient motivation to stop obstructing progress.

"Yeah, a fascist victory will motivate those fuckers! Take that, moderates! Maybe next election you'll-"

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

If agitating this issue is enough to make that threat real then it's enough for them to address it. It's that simple.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Address it... how? By swapping their position and losing even more votes from those with a pro-Israel position?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

By swapping their position and losing even more votes from those with a pro-Israel position?

Either by swapping their position and making their case to those who disagree with it,

or

keeping their position and attempt justifying it to those who disagree with it

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

keeping their position and attempt justifying it to those who disagree with it

The fuck do you think they've been doing.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago

The problem with that is their position is "let's keep supporting genocide" which isn't a justifiable position.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Nothing particularly convincing to anyone paying attention.

I have yet to hear their justification on ignoring the war crimes committed by an ally. I'll happily ruminate on it if I did.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Nothing particularly convincing to anyone paying attention.

Okay, so they are doing what you want them too, you just still don't like it enough to work to stop fascism.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ok, but that's an aspiration, not an action plan. What are you asking people to do? Who should they vote for? Where should they make political donations? Imagine you have convinced someone you're right. What's their next step?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

What are you asking people to do?

  • stop pushing this issue to the side and make it a priority

  • join in pushing your representatives to change their policy

The second point requires you do the bare minimum of raising the issue. The more you raise the issue the less your representative can ignore it.

Who should they vote for?

People should vote for the least bad option according to their own priorities. But if all you're doing is voting than you haven't done anything to address the issue being raised, and you are still a part of the problem. If, in response to this issue being raised, is simply 'but the other guy is worse', you've done nothing but obstructed progress and you'll be called out on it by the few of us who are doing the work of agitation.

Where should they make political donations?

In my opinion: to any organization that supports the end to the genocide. I recommend any of these progressives currently under threat by the AIPAC

Imagine you have convinced someone you’re right. What’s their next step?

Use whatever platform they have available to spread the message that democrats must end their support to Israel's war crimes. Make it clear that they risk losing their re-election if they continue dodging the issue.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Make it clear that they risk losing their re-election if they continue dodging the issue.

"If I don't get the policy change I want, fascism is an acceptable alternative" - People Who Are DEFINITELY Not Fascists(tm)