• DarkNightoftheSoul@mander.xyz
    ·
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    I mostly agree with you. But this idea of "permission" doesn't grok. They don't need legal/corporate permission if they're being not-so-secretly empowered by the fascist mechanisms you have already alluded to. They don't need law if their organization is more powerful than (or actively colluding with) the enforcers of that law. If your alternative is overthrowing capitalism, is it such a stretch of the imagination that their solution is overthrowing democracy?

    I don't know where the battle lines would be drawn. I've heard people make good-sounding arguments for urban vs rural, but I think the states supporting texas' border... policy... demonstrate an alarming willingness to defy federal authority. Further, the fact Brandon hasn't yet recalled them is powerfully suggestive, in my opinion, that he doesn't actually have de facto command of these units, despite his supposed authority as commander in chief. Further still, this article was incredibly chilling for me to read. We have acted on precisely none of these excellent suggestions since they were made three years ago. I don't hold out hopeful prospects of a peaceful solution here. The most likely avenue for peace qua peace in my opinion, is probably through a bloodless authoritarian coup. It would be a mistake to allow such an event to take place.

      • DarkNightoftheSoul@mander.xyz
        ·
        edit-2
        10 months ago

        This isn't hexbear, it's fediverse. I'm on mander, you're on hexbear (which I wouldn't deign to visit and only extend grudging tolerance to users thereof on good behavior), the post is on lemmy.ml. You betray your ignorance about more than just federated networking here.

        Anyway, if democracy is overthrown then what does it fucking matter who I vote for?

        • WashedAnus [he/him]
          ·
          10 months ago

          https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B

          Unless you're wealthy, it doesn't matter who you vote for. Your interests are not represented, and will not be represented. This isn't accidental, this is the system working as intended (See: Federalist 10). The US constitution was created by wealthy white men to enshrine the minority power of wealthy white men as the law of the land.

          The good news is that political activity is not just limited to voting! Voting in federal elections is mostly a waste of time, as the differences between candidates and major parties is largely just rhetorical. If you must vote, concentrate on local elections, where you might be able to fend off the interests of the powerful landlord and corporate lobbies. But, there's much more you can do! It just requires you to put in effort personally. Political organizing largely can't be done at a keyboard. You need to talk to and form relationships with your coworkers and neighbors. Organize a union at work, a tenants' union among your neighbors, undertake the task of actually educating yourself politically, feed the unhoused and treat them like human beings. Engage in direct action against the power elite who are killing us and our planet.

          Regardless of what task you set yourself to, it requires you to logout, touch-grass, and engage with other human beings.