I tried to keep the communist language as low key as possible, but I was in a thread I made about what could convince a leftist to vote for Biden, because I'm hearing some reasonable arguments from people I trust and respect. A progressive friend of mine (who's more left than like say, a Hillary supporter, but not any type of leftist) made some valid arguments about centrism and having to "play it safe" that I won't get into.

I've been dealing with a relatively severe manic episode the past few days, and I just let out a multiparagraph tirade about, "I understand wanting to appear moderate, but I'm fed up with capitalism, liberalism, and people being reactionary fucks. I wish we were already at the point where we could see that the whole Liberal-Conservative sham is what's keeping us sick, poor, and two paychecks away from homelessness." I didn't say anything about the USSR or Castro, but I also implied class struggle and how that should be our goal.

Eh, a pretty active thread with like 10 commenters haven't interacted in like an hour and a half, I hope I didn't completely alienate the rest of the people in my life, lol.

  • s0ciety [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    the whole Liberal-Conservative sham is what’s keeping us sick, poor, and two paychecks away from homelessness

    This is a good argument tbh. For most libs and cons in this country, that's an argument that they not only understand, but straight up agree with.

    Yeah, theories good and all,ll but those arguments are where you honestly can plant a lot of seeds.

    That being said, I hope you stay safe, conrad. In the middle of manic episodes it may be fun, but the come-down can be nasty :heart-sickle:

    • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      That was part of what I was wanting to accomplish. Yeah I let slip that I've gotten radicalized and I'm frustrated at the machine that is capitalism, which could be cringe to liberals who pride themselves on rationalism and compromise. But I also wanted to display, "Hey, if we were to juuuuuust take a peek at what's outside of capitalism, we could make things better for all of us. And that's why I don't trust Joe Biden, because he's only served the rich and the white his entire career, and I'm pissed off that in order to slow down fascism, I have to vote for this fucking guy because y'all asses aren't with the program yet and I don't want to end up in a camp."

      Edit: And thanks for the support. Despite this patch that I'm in currently, I AM on an upward trend. Back on meds and almost on a normal sleep schedule. Next is getting some exercise and then trying to get a job again.

  • RedDawn [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Sounds pretty tame to be honest, I think you might be worrying a little too much about it

    • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      Yeah, it was definitely the mania making me paranoid. I posted semi-ironically sorta, but now that I've chilled I'm not worried about it. Fuck it.

      • StolenStalin [comrade/them,they/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Yeah your fine, ive gone way closer to mask off with mychud family. They just think its democrat talkong points. Its hilarious, "im ready for no police cause i believe in gun rights ""yeah ok dad me too, thats why they should be defunded cause we dontn eed them and cant trust temh to always be there, everyone should be given the resources to defend themselves if possible, we could fund free training, gun, ammo for people who cant afford."

  • scramplunge [comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I got into a two hour discussion and my family member said. Chyna bad + “Chinese people are mean. They cut you off in traffic. They talk down to you.” Explained that racist. And then was told I’m too “paSsIOnAtE” about these things. It’s good to let it out every once in a while. They’re not afraid to say their awful bile. Why should you?

    • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      I got called a race-baiting, pandering pussy by my Alex Jones-loving brother, and I don't plan on ever talking to him again. I posted a stupid healthcare plz meme I made and my aunt said, "Well you know, most folks go out and start careers that provide healthcare. Shame you couldn't give that a try." and I wanted to punch her in the mouth for real lol. But instead I told her to fuck off and unfriended her. She's a terminally online boomer, so getting unfriended from your nephew is devastating to them.

            • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
              hexagon
              ·
              edit-2
              4 years ago

              The turd is the rock.

              Lmao now I'm laughing at the idea.

              And the first time he talked to me about 13/50, I tried explaining, "Well yeah, if those statistics are true, you need to look beyond that and look at racial profiling, unjust lock-up rates, unjust detentions. Obviously more black people are going to be charged with a crime if they're getting targeted more, you fucking shithead." But it's solely used to justify their view on POC, it's not a cry for concern over crime rates.

              Edit: I like your approach though, getting them to unmask what they're really trying to say. Maybe I'll try that if I see him again.

                • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
                  hexagon
                  ·
                  4 years ago

                  Haha I just remembered at my mom's last Thanksgiving, he was trying to talk to my kid about how the J*ws control the media. Suuuuch a fucking scumbag. I don't want this family, lol.

            • QuickEveryonePanic [he/him]
              ·
              4 years ago

              This reminds me of a Beau of the Fifth Column video where he says that's what he does when people tell racist jokes. He pretends he doesn't get it and asks them to explain. Great tactic.

          • Mindfury [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            just give that cunt the 40%, and when he gets mad, call him a liberal

        • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
          hexagon
          ·
          4 years ago

          Seriously. I'm 30 years old and had a 4 year career in wordpress development, and I couldn't afford the healthcare my job offered me. What the fuck am I doing wrong?

          • emizeko [they/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            4 years ago

            a lot of people with health insurance wind up going bankrupt anyway. the system works!

      • scramplunge [comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Good for you! Always inspiring to hear other people standing up to their families.

        I don’t talk to my brother either. Fucking chud agent for one of the big insurance companies. Spews hateful chuddery all the time and he called a couple weeks ago and I didn’t answer. I know I need to call him and tell him not to call anymore, but it gives me tons of anxiety because I won’t be able to keep my composure and will break it down to him exactly how big of a piece of shit he is. That way he won’t ever want to talk to me again. But those convos are exhausting so I’m waiting. But one of these days...

        • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
          hexagon
          ·
          edit-2
          4 years ago

          That sucks, and confronting that shit is so uncomfortable. Idk the overall leanings of your family, but my family is EXTREMELY hard right. Both of my brothers are hailing Rittenhouse and calling for antifa to be put down violently. It's really scary and sad. One of my brothers went to jail for a year for killing a dude with his car. My grandpa was in the literal KKK and was involved with plans to bomb school buses that transported black kids. He also went to prison for robbing a bank. I have cousins with white prison gang tattoos, and an uncle who married a disabled woman for her social security check (that one doesn't really fit but it's still fucked up lol)

          • scramplunge [comrade/them]
            ·
            4 years ago

            Wow! That’s a lot to deal with. I’m sorry you have to be apart of that. Do you have anyone in your family on your side?

            My brother is a capitalist and so he benefits from this system and listens to right wing radio every day. He’s always been a hateful bastard. My other brother is on the streets smoking heroin every day, he’s also racist. I’m the only one who actively searches the city for him. My alive grandpa is a Trump supporter and would have killed me if we both lived in nazi Germany. Worked for the railroad and told me about all the racist shit he used to do at work and I remember arguing about how terrible that was at like age 8 as my mom sat back in silence and told a child “not to talk about politics.” I don’t even know what my mom believes to be honest. I think she’s becoming more lib the older she gets. She was so proud to tell me about the “racial sensitivity” training she took at work and I told her it only means as much as you’re willing to call it out in your own family and I don’t see that happening. Because “we shouldn’t talk about politics at the dinner table.” Other family members are mostly just pieces of shit and I don’t relate to them so we don’t talk.

  • Neckbeard_Prime [they/them,he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I dunno, my mom called me a couple of weeks ago and I blurted out the old, "Stalin did nothing wrong. Wait, I take that back -- he did do one thing wrong. He died." Then I started paraphrasing the labor theory of value and the concept of Hegelian dialectics.

    I'm probably not getting invited to Thanksgiving.

  • Fourny [he/him,comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    There may be plenty of people lurking on Facebook who feel the same as you, but thought they were alone. We shouldn’t be afraid to come out of the closet with our friends and family (assuming you don’t depend on them for food and housing).

    From the little bit you mentioned, it sounds like you were pretty tame. Let the seeds germinate and you might have a new crop of leftists in the spring.

    • heqt1c [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      The only political content I see posted is vague lib shit (blm/trump bad) or chud shit, but when I make posts that are kind of scraping the boundaries of actual praxis... I typically get at least some engagement/discussion. I feel if I went full mask off it would disuade any of the libs I am friends with and they wouldnt engage as much, but if anybody has had success w/ that here, lemmy know.

  • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
    hexagon
    ·
    4 years ago

    I think I'm gonna take a break from all online stuff for a few days. My brain's been kind of melting the past couple weeks and I need to go for a walk or something.

      • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        4 years ago

        Thank you, comrade. I was commenting back and forth with a cute radical ML girl in a FB group earlier, and she was ripped and had photos of her training in the woods and shit. How cool would it be to get in the best shape of your life and learn some basic maneuvering and hand to hand stuff.

    • Mindfury [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I need to go for a walk or something.

      I wanted to keep making sims jokes in this chain, but being serious - do this.
      Get out into nature somewhere, whether out of town or just a local park. Enjoy the sun, the breeze, being surrounded by plants. Vibe on the quiet and bird noises and shit, it's refreshing

      • ThisMachinePostsHog [they/them, he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        4 years ago

        I'm going to commit to that this week. There's a nature trail a couple miles from my house with enough twists and turns to get lost in if you're not paying attention. I went once last month and it was fun until it got dark lol. Nah it was still fun then.

  • proonjooce [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    It's time we stopped hiding in the closet comrades and become out and proud communists.

    We're here, we're advocating for the complete restructuring of society to improve material conditions and prevent environmental collapse, get used to it.

  • abc [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    i genuinely cannot wait for thanksgiving because its the only time of the year I get a good hour to sit in front of my lib family and preach to them about why apes together strong

    • scramplunge [comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I think that’s the only reason I go to family events. Make them face their hatred face on. Me vs the Klan. Because no one else in the family is willing to call em out.

  • congressbaseballfan [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    It’s ok comrade. Masks are fake news anyway, meant to sequester the alpha males and castrate society. Better to keep your mask off in these trying times

  • unsanitaryberry [they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    hey you lasted longer than I did atleast. I lost my shit hearing about the 'china virus' around the 4th of july.

  • Speaker [e/em/eir]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Gosh, I would sure hate to stop talking to my infuriating lib family and friends.