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I am troubled by it, but has anything really changed? There have been mass purges of users before spam bots, accounts liked to the Islamic state, etc. Multiple

I am troubled by it, but has anything really changed? There have been mass purges of users before spam bots, accounts liked to the Islamic state, etc. Multiple hosting providers terminated Gab's services. Usually large companies don't take action like this until they are under public scrutiny and have something to loose. The mess the US is in right now can in some ways blamed on the way way it's democracy works: candidates can win elections with a plurality of the vote. This incentivizes highly partisan activities like gerrymandering and makes it more difficult for 3rd party to gain traction. Most states and localities have closed primaries, meaning you need to be registered with a party to vote for a candidate. This takes power away from the people and puts it in the hands of the parties. If the US puts measures in place that disincentivize partisan politics, we'll see less of the activity that comes along with it.

nobody9999 6y ago
>If the US puts measures in place that disincentivize partisan politics, we'll see less of the activity that comes along with it. That's slowly changing ~15 states have non/bi-partisan redistricting commissions. A dozen or so states and localities have implemented Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). Is it enough? No. And it never will be unless people all over the country stand up and demand it. It's not as hard as it sounds. Election laws are made by the states and election systems are run by each county. 26 states have ballot initiaves/referenda. All you need are enough signatures to get changes on the ballot. How many people voted for your state assembly person in 2018? For your state senator? You can go look it up. I'll wait. Not very many, right? Those are the people who make the election laws for the state. And how many people voted for your council member in your city/town/county? For your mayor/county executive? They set the rules for your local elections (sometimes the state has a say too, but not always). But in order to make changes like non-partisan redistricting and RCV and open primaries (although those aren't always so fabulous either, cf. California) and term limits and public funding of elections, etc. you need to pound on your elected representatives. And if even a few hundred people pester your state assembly person or city council member, it's likely you can get some movement on these initiatives.

nobody9999 6y ago

>If the US puts measures in place that disincentivize partisan politics, we'll see less of the activity that comes along with it. That's slowly changing ~15 states have non/bi-partisan redistricting commissions. A dozen or so states and localities have implemented Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). Is it enough? No. And it never will be unless people all over the country stand up and demand it. It's not as hard as it sounds. Election laws are made by the states and election systems are run by each county. 26 states have ballot initiaves/referenda. All you need are enough signatures to get changes on the ballot. How many people voted for your state assembly person in 2018? For your state senator? You can go look it up. I'll wait. Not very many, right? Those are the people who make the election laws for the state. And how many people voted for your council member in your city/town/county? For your mayor/county executive? They set the rules for your local elections (sometimes the state has a say too, but not always). But in order to make changes like non-partisan redistricting and RCV and open primaries (although those aren't always so fabulous either, cf. California) and term limits and public funding of elections, etc. you need to pound on your elected representatives. And if even a few hundred people pester your state assembly person or city council member, it's likely you can get some movement on these initiatives.