YOU are speaking!

Have you made any poignant commentary on the recent election in the U.S.? Do you have a good response to liberals who are upset with the results or process of the election? Have you written or seen something as a comment reply/post that you think has standalone value? Did you see a new take or analysis you hadn’t previously considered?

Whether it’s a long idea with lots of context, or a short and sweet one liner, we want those thoughts aggregated here. This post is intended to be a resource for comrades to draw from when having actual discussions outside of Hexbear both online or IRL regarding the election.

Consider this a mini-effortpost aggregator. This is not for shitposts, but humor is completely acceptable if it helps make the point.

  • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    14 days ago

    A softer list I made on a Lemmy.ml thread that got a good amount of momentum and very little pushback on what liberals should do in the coming years, a mini What is to be Done?

    1. Get organized. Join a Leftist org, find solidarity with fellow comrades, and protect each other. The Dems will not save you, it is up to the Workers to protect themselves. The Party for Socialism and Liberation and Freedom Road Socialist Organization both organize year round, every year, because the battle for progress is a constant struggle, not a single election. See if there is a chapter near you, or start one! Or, see if there's an org you like more near you and join it, the point is that organizing is the best thing any leftist can do.

    2. Read theory. A good primer is Blackshirts and Reds. It will help contextualize what fascism is, what causes it, and how to stop it. I can offer a good introductory reading list regarding Marxism if you'd like, but this is a good starting point.

    3. Aggressively combat white supremacy, misogyny, queerphobia, and other attacks on marginalized communities. Cede no ground.

    4. Be more industrious, and self-sufficient. Take up gardening, home repair, tinkering. It is through practice that you elevate your problem-solving capabilities. Not only will you improve your skill at one subject, but your general problem-solving muscles get strengthened as well. Theory guides practice, which sharpens theory to be reapplied to better practice.

    5. Learn self-defense. Get armed, if practical. Be ready to protect yourself and others. The Democrats will not save us, we must save each other.

    6. Be persistent. If you feel like a single water driplet against a mountain, think of the Grand Canyon. Oh, how our efforts pile up! With consistency, every rock, boulder, even mountain, can be drilled through with nothing but steady and persistent water droplets.

    Here is the reading list I am working on, open to advice! I copy and paste it whenever it is asked for, which has been surprisingly frequent.

    Edit: Folded the reading list and this list together, I believe that works better.

      • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        15 days ago

        It really is fantastic agitprop. It slips beyond the liberal shields like a slow knife in Dune. lisan-al-gaib

      • Frank [he/him, he/him]
        ·
        14 days ago

        What is the Blackshirts and Reds reading level? Seems to be a lot of agreement that we need theory that's written at a 6th grade level because that's where most American's reading skills are. I'm not entirely sure what htat means in terms of word choice and concepts, since I think what we're going for is present the concepts straight, but using language - words, sentence structures, things like that, that people whose reading skills aren't strong. Like, they're not stupid, they're lacking a particular skill, kind of thing.

        • FloridaBoi [he/him]
          ·
          14 days ago

          I don't think it is a hard read and is quite short so it is rather quick (<160pgs). It isn't theory or a philosophical text. It is easy to read like any pop nonfiction book although the subject matter is sometimes hard to stomach.

          • Frank [he/him, he/him]
            ·
            14 days ago

            https://readabilityformulas.com/readability-scoring-system.php

            I plugged a thousand random words from Blackshirts and Reds in to this thing and it says it's either at 12th grade or college graduate. That means we've immediately lost 50%-70% of Americans. We gotta get a vocabulary, sentence structure, and layout that's approachable with a 6th grade reading level to get to most Americans.