Every time I see this argument I’m reminded of Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. If “trying to help” is limited to thoughts and prayers online, it isn’t help, it’s just masturbation.
I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
I understand it may remind you of that, but it’s not an apt comparison.
I’ve been advocating direct non-violent action here like MLK was doing (and, reminder, I assume non-violent protest won’t satisfy the angry non-Americans here who are telling us to “arm up”). I don’t think anyone is advocating for “wait[ing] for a more convenient season” - we know fascism is here, but the question is what is the move that (a) doesn’t cause it to dig in deeper like a tick, and (b) maximizes the good that we pay for with the risk to ourselves and others.
And yes, we’re all talking online, that’s what Lemmy is. I have called what I am doing “therapy” which I would suggest it in fact is, rather than “masturbation.” Living in the US and not being MAGA right now feels like being a battered family member, but usually participating here at least reminds me of sanity. (Though maybe not when we’re being told we’re awful because our abuser made a mess while they were abusing us.) I come here to vent and commiserate - that’s not mutually exclusive from taking action.
I wake up and go to sleep (very poorly) fighting learned helplessness and awful emotions because I see the same headlines we all do here, and whatever the world feels seeing it, it’s happening here to us first.
I’m not asking to be a victim, not that anyone is offering any empathy to non-Trump Americans in this thread. I’m just saying, hey, maybe those of us in the US who are doing what we rationally can to stop Trump don’t need another abuser? I guess that’s my message for comrade_twisty and others gleefully (but definitely not masturbatorily!) piling on the “all Americans can fuck themselves” bandwagon.
Not to dogpile you too much here - I understand this is difficult - but part of the problem is framing this as a Trump issue. It really isn’t. Even with all this insanity, he still enjoys a 40% approval rating! This doesn’t end only by cutting off MAGA’s head, ahtough that would help - it also means salting the earth where it grows by finally eradicating the christofascist, patriarchal, racist current in the population that has been there since the country’s founding and before. That fight is just as important as going to DC and [REDACTED].
I have no idea why people are just taking those numbers at face value.
Any Americans in this thread, have any of you ever been polled about anything regarding any of this? I know I sure haven’t. I wish they would poll me, I got an awful lot of opinions for these mfers.
Trump and his associated hangers-on have a long and storied history of pulling numbers directly out of their asses. It perplexes me that anyone takes anything the government says right now at face value.
Deep south checking in. His approval rating locally is probably above 90%, because the vast majority of people here are hateful, spiteful, self-defeating morons.
When you see national averages, remember things like Alabama’s healthcare, or Oklahoma’s education system, etc are there dragging everyone else down.
Sure, let me just take a look at the board of directors… Gonna take a look at Reggie Van Lee, right at the top… Check open secrets on his consulting firm aaaand:
National Republican Congressional Cmte $71k, 2024
Hmmmmm… Well at least theres also thousands of dollars going to establishment Dems earlier on.
But that’s just a board member. They’ll be absolved by the clients listed in their testimonials. Surely it’s the good guys filling their bank accounts?
Southwest Airlines: Top contributions go to Trump (by a mile), Susan Collins, Ted Cruz, the RNC etc…
Estée Lauder: Wow! I’m seeing top contributions totaling $3 million+ to the RNC, Keystone Renewal PAC, Senate leadership fund, and 3-4 other sketchy conservative funds.
NFU Mutual: One of the top 5% groups for spend. $1 mil in contribution and even more in lobbying in 2024, a sea of red support…
Mercedes Benz: The same one slobbering over Trump’s tariffs? 😂
Enterprise Mobility: 2/3 of their PAC donations end up in Republican coffers…
I’ll give them credit, they show a lot of non-profits and schools-for-poor-orphans to signal how woke they are, but those clients aren’t the whales that keep the lights on. You think they’re tearing up those big checks when push comes to shove?
As Carlin once said, it’s a big club and we ain’t in it.
That 40% is what makes me think a 2nd American Civil War is needed. The festering wound that is the Confederacy still lingers in America, and needs to be cleaned with a thorough Reconstruction.
We have Nazis on the streets of Minneapolis, going door to door asking about Asians. The odds of those bastards stopping peacefully is pretty damn unlikely.
You have no idea what a civil war even is. Truly go read and learn about historical civil wars in modern times. I think you’re just some edgy teen who spends way too much time online. Violence occurring is one thing, but a civil war is a complete different thing.
Dude. I read an awfully lot of history, watched the entirety of Ken Burn’s Civil War and Vietnam series, read over 1,500+ pages of Larry Gonick’s Cartoon History, listened to many episodes of Dan Carlin, and Behind the Bastards.
You have a different viewpoint from me, that war is bad and nasty. That is fair. But you are attacking me as a person, and reveal your colors: someone who can’t handle the idea that someone else has a different reasoning and perspective about the world. You are trying to infantize me.
I know that the odds of my death are probable if a 2nd American Civil War happens, as I intend to serve as an infantryman or whatever role is needed. But you know what? It is worth dying over, because I don’t want the latter half of my life to be ruled by the likes of Thiel, nor do I wish to die in RFK’s “wellness” camps. As a minority, I intend to live decently, and die on my terms.
Yeah, no. Those numbers are just wrong. And not only that, in this bright red state, maga hats and signs and stickers are disappearing pretty rapidly. The exact same people who wanted all the rest of us “snowflakes” to fuck our feelings and know exactly what they stood for are now disappearing back into the woodwork hoping we don’t remember what they stood for.
I get it. But just like the UK isn’t Boris Johnson, China isn’t Xi Jinping, and Italy isn’t Giorgia Meloni, no country is going to show the reality and complexity from headlines generated by a handful of people.
What is happening here seems to be everyone taking out their frustrations on the exact people most likely to help.
The best you can do is to make the bad parts of America face bad consequences for their malice, while supporting the good parts of the nation. You have different tools from my people, and should make good use of them.
Back in the 1st American Civil War, the Union had retained their international trade partners throughout the war, while the Confederacy was cut off. That starved the serpent, and made it much easier to tread upon as the years went by.
I wholeheartedly applaud and support them! They’re absolutely not the ones I’m referring to. Those I take issue with are the ones who do nothing but seek a pat on the head for being “one of the good ones”. I don’t care that you voted for Kamala or repost every Occupy Democrats meme you see. I care about praxis.
Every time I see this argument I’m reminded of Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. If “trying to help” is limited to thoughts and prayers online, it isn’t help, it’s just masturbation.
I understand it may remind you of that, but it’s not an apt comparison.
I’ve been advocating direct non-violent action here like MLK was doing (and, reminder, I assume non-violent protest won’t satisfy the angry non-Americans here who are telling us to “arm up”). I don’t think anyone is advocating for “wait[ing] for a more convenient season” - we know fascism is here, but the question is what is the move that (a) doesn’t cause it to dig in deeper like a tick, and (b) maximizes the good that we pay for with the risk to ourselves and others.
And yes, we’re all talking online, that’s what Lemmy is. I have called what I am doing “therapy” which I would suggest it in fact is, rather than “masturbation.” Living in the US and not being MAGA right now feels like being a battered family member, but usually participating here at least reminds me of sanity. (Though maybe not when we’re being told we’re awful because our abuser made a mess while they were abusing us.) I come here to vent and commiserate - that’s not mutually exclusive from taking action.
I wake up and go to sleep (very poorly) fighting learned helplessness and awful emotions because I see the same headlines we all do here, and whatever the world feels seeing it, it’s happening here to us first.
I’m not asking to be a victim, not that anyone is offering any empathy to non-Trump Americans in this thread. I’m just saying, hey, maybe those of us in the US who are doing what we rationally can to stop Trump don’t need another abuser? I guess that’s my message for comrade_twisty and others gleefully (but definitely not masturbatorily!) piling on the “all Americans can fuck themselves” bandwagon.
Not to dogpile you too much here - I understand this is difficult - but part of the problem is framing this as a Trump issue. It really isn’t. Even with all this insanity, he still enjoys a 40% approval rating! This doesn’t end only by cutting off MAGA’s head, ahtough that would help - it also means salting the earth where it grows by finally eradicating the christofascist, patriarchal, racist current in the population that has been there since the country’s founding and before. That fight is just as important as going to DC and [REDACTED].
The fact that his approval rating is FORTY FUCKING PERCENT is absolutely crazy. Makes me so sad for my fellow human.
I have no idea why people are just taking those numbers at face value.
Any Americans in this thread, have any of you ever been polled about anything regarding any of this? I know I sure haven’t. I wish they would poll me, I got an awful lot of opinions for these mfers.
Trump and his associated hangers-on have a long and storied history of pulling numbers directly out of their asses. It perplexes me that anyone takes anything the government says right now at face value.
Deep south checking in. His approval rating locally is probably above 90%, because the vast majority of people here are hateful, spiteful, self-defeating morons.
When you see national averages, remember things like Alabama’s healthcare, or Oklahoma’s education system, etc are there dragging everyone else down.
No, it’s third party, independent polling firms that do it. Of course I wouldn’t trust anything this regime says directly.
Don’t ask who signs their paychecks, what other media outlets they own and what PACs they contribute to
OH MY GOD you’re right, Gallup Polling is funded and owned by Trump himself!!!
…no, it’s not, go look it up for yourself
Sure, let me just take a look at the board of directors… Gonna take a look at Reggie Van Lee, right at the top… Check open secrets on his consulting firm aaaand:
Hmmmmm… Well at least theres also thousands of dollars going to establishment Dems earlier on.
But that’s just a board member. They’ll be absolved by the clients listed in their testimonials. Surely it’s the good guys filling their bank accounts?
Southwest Airlines: Top contributions go to Trump (by a mile), Susan Collins, Ted Cruz, the RNC etc…
Estée Lauder: Wow! I’m seeing top contributions totaling $3 million+ to the RNC, Keystone Renewal PAC, Senate leadership fund, and 3-4 other sketchy conservative funds.
NFU Mutual: One of the top 5% groups for spend. $1 mil in contribution and even more in lobbying in 2024, a sea of red support…
Mercedes Benz: The same one slobbering over Trump’s tariffs? 😂
Enterprise Mobility: 2/3 of their PAC donations end up in Republican coffers…
I’ll give them credit, they show a lot of non-profits and schools-for-poor-orphans to signal how woke they are, but those clients aren’t the whales that keep the lights on. You think they’re tearing up those big checks when push comes to shove?
As Carlin once said, it’s a big club and we ain’t in it.
That 40% is what makes me think a 2nd American Civil War is needed. The festering wound that is the Confederacy still lingers in America, and needs to be cleaned with a thorough Reconstruction.
Either Russian/Chinese/American bot or agitator, or incredibly stupid.
No, a second civil war isn’t needed. What the fuck are you even saying. Or you might be like 14 years old and not know how anything works.
We have Nazis on the streets of Minneapolis, going door to door asking about Asians. The odds of those bastards stopping peacefully is pretty damn unlikely.
You have no idea what a civil war even is. Truly go read and learn about historical civil wars in modern times. I think you’re just some edgy teen who spends way too much time online. Violence occurring is one thing, but a civil war is a complete different thing.
Dude. I read an awfully lot of history, watched the entirety of Ken Burn’s Civil War and Vietnam series, read over 1,500+ pages of Larry Gonick’s Cartoon History, listened to many episodes of Dan Carlin, and Behind the Bastards.
You have a different viewpoint from me, that war is bad and nasty. That is fair. But you are attacking me as a person, and reveal your colors: someone who can’t handle the idea that someone else has a different reasoning and perspective about the world. You are trying to infantize me.
I know that the odds of my death are probable if a 2nd American Civil War happens, as I intend to serve as an infantryman or whatever role is needed. But you know what? It is worth dying over, because I don’t want the latter half of my life to be ruled by the likes of Thiel, nor do I wish to die in RFK’s “wellness” camps. As a minority, I intend to live decently, and die on my terms.
Yes, that’s by far the most troubling part of all this - that 150 million Americans are on board with it.
Yeah, no. Those numbers are just wrong. And not only that, in this bright red state, maga hats and signs and stickers are disappearing pretty rapidly. The exact same people who wanted all the rest of us “snowflakes” to fuck our feelings and know exactly what they stood for are now disappearing back into the woodwork hoping we don’t remember what they stood for.
Great, I agree with everything you just said. Constructive discussion! I’d like for that to be what we spend our energy on.
Unfortunately we outside the US see mostly impotent hand-wringing coming from there. That’s why we’re so frustrated.
I get it. But just like the UK isn’t Boris Johnson, China isn’t Xi Jinping, and Italy isn’t Giorgia Meloni, no country is going to show the reality and complexity from headlines generated by a handful of people.
What is happening here seems to be everyone taking out their frustrations on the exact people most likely to help.
The best you can do is to make the bad parts of America face bad consequences for their malice, while supporting the good parts of the nation. You have different tools from my people, and should make good use of them.
Back in the 1st American Civil War, the Union had retained their international trade partners throughout the war, while the Confederacy was cut off. That starved the serpent, and made it much easier to tread upon as the years went by.
What about the Americans how are standing up and doing something and not sitting back.
I wholeheartedly applaud and support them! They’re absolutely not the ones I’m referring to. Those I take issue with are the ones who do nothing but seek a pat on the head for being “one of the good ones”. I don’t care that you voted for Kamala or repost every Occupy Democrats meme you see. I care about praxis.