This guy is our guy, got it? Yes he has said some stupid shit on Twitter but it's the actions that make a person, not the beliefs. This guy is a hero to the vast majority of the working class in the United States, who have been suffering under the absolute tyranny of the evils of the American "Healthcare" system. Maybe he will say some even dumber shit in the coming days, who knows? What I know is that we can't be like the Democrats who are bowing over themselves to remove credit whenever something good happens. This can't be like every political debate where the Republicans say something like "This Democrat wants to do all these great things" and then the Dem says "NO I'm not cool, I'm a total piece of shit actually!"

Maybe he will say something absolutely irredeemable to make him worth abandoning later, but as for now this guy is a confused brainwormed guy who needs some theory put in his hands. If we can have critical support for anti-imperialists abroad we can have critical support for this guy.

  • WhyEssEff [she/her]
    ·
    17 days ago

    part of the reason that guys like this get sucked into 'right populism' per se is that there is no viable alternative presented to the public. People are angry. they want someone to punish. you give the public a choice between the violent spectacular death in fascism and the slow agonizing death in neoliberalism, they're going to choose the former–at least it does away with the farce that we're not going to die as is. This guy rolls up and annihilates one of Eternal Hitler's spirit barons in the streets of Manhattan, and it's because the neurons finally linked–I'm in pain, I'm in debt, and the guy bleeding me dry is the reason for my agony.

    Our job as agitators is to encourage that kind of thinking, and that involves taking advantage of the state of play, even if it's not as we want it to be? Like, especially if we cede ground, the Dems dictate the 'left' talking points, and they're gonna condemn his actions, and it's going to wrench this anger even more rightward. We need to present a viable alternative to that.

    • wtypstanaccount04 [he/him]
      ·
      17 days ago

      Precisely. This guy had no left to lean into. Yes, we exist, but we aren't funded by mega wealthy people so we seep into the background.