5 ms·

I think we got some wires crossed somewhere, my government is helping them beat me up more ...

cyanydeez 1y ago
That's because another group of people made a pact with the devil, and a third group just shrugged their shoulders when everyone had a chance to nullify that pact....
vkou 1y ago
It takes constant vigilance to prevent that union from being captured by management.
- bmitc 1y ago
  That's a great analogy. Government = worker's/consumer's/people's union. Management = capitalism/corporations.
  - MaxZero101 1y ago
    What is capitalism?
- int_19h 1y ago
  Being captured by the management is its normal state, that's how it evolved in the first place.
delusional 1y ago
Assuming you live in a democracy (we'll see if America still counts in 3 years), elect a better one.
- gblargg 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - scoofy 1y ago
    Yes it is. “Democracy” from the Greek: “common people rule” and “Republic” from the Latin: “the thing, public.” Republic and democracy mean the same damn thing, rule by the people as opposed to rule by a monarch.
    - pksebben 1y ago
      In what way is this country ruled by the people? You're periodically given a non-choice between two options that have equal disdain for your actual concerns, who then go on to play games to see who can get the most bajiliionare backing for reelection, and if you don't like what they're doing you're perfectly free to vote for the OTHER jerk who also doesn't give a shit about you. This is oligarchy. The 'democratic' process is a smokescreen, and an increasingly thin one. Look up 'liquid democracy'. It's the best example of what an actual democracy might look like if we did it. We won't, but I also enjoy Blade Runner and Star Trek, so there's no harm in fiction.
      - scoofy 1y ago
        Oh, god, this tired nonsense. Yes, obviously, it's ruled by the people. We have parties, we vote, anyone can run for office. Anyone can vote third party, and they occasionally even win. That your neighbors don't share your views does not make it undemocratic. It's not perfect, but it's democratic. It's like people can no longer imagine living under a totalitarian state... where you don't even get a vote, and if you don't like what's happening and you say something about it, you're shot. That's literally the way things were done before democracies and republics existed... it's still the way things are done in places like North Korea.
        pksebben 1y ago
        So we ought to be thankful we're not in NK. Got it. Glad your bar is so high. It's apparent that you're decided but other folks will read this so let's break it down barney style. The 'third parties' argument is a painful joke, statistically speaking [0 1 2]. You can make all sorts of arguments as to why but the fact is that without support from D or R you can go get fucked. This raises the question - are there only two opinions? With the obvious answer - of course not. We could say 'well, maybe people fall generally into two camps', but that doesn't really pass muster either, does it? I have friends on both sides of the aisle and I agree with all of them on some things. This is evidenced by the amount of voters registered third party despite the abysmal election numbers [3]. So what's going on here? Well, people are being strategic. We're on first-past-the-post in most places. This means you're typically voting not for what you want but for what you don't want. That is not a system of representation, it's a sports game where the prize is some cosmetic social program changes and not much else. Mamdani is an excellent example of what this system does to third party candidates. As soon as there's a legitimate threat to the entrenched parties, fundraising spikes massively for the opposition [4]. Not getting a vote under this system wouldn't be more totalitarian, it would be more honest. 0 -https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown 1 - https://www.senate.gov/senators/SenatorsRepresentingThirdorMinorParties.htm https://www.senate.gov/senators/SenatorsRepresentingThirdorM... 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_and_independent_members_of_the_United_States_Congress https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_and_independent_me... 3 - https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-voters-have-a-party-affiliation/ https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-voters-have-a-party-a... 4 - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/nyregion/mamdani-adams-donors-money.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/nyregion/mamdani-adams-do...

That's because another group of people made a pact with the devil, and a third group just shrugged their shoulders when everyone had a chance to nullify that pact....

vkou 1y ago

It takes constant vigilance to prevent that union from being captured by management.

bmitc 1y ago
That's a great analogy. Government = worker's/consumer's/people's union. Management = capitalism/corporations.
- MaxZero101 1y ago
  What is capitalism?
int_19h 1y ago
Being captured by the management is its normal state, that's how it evolved in the first place.

delusional 1y ago

Assuming you live in a democracy (we'll see if America still counts in 3 years), elect a better one.

gblargg 1y ago
[flagged]
- scoofy 1y ago
  Yes it is. “Democracy” from the Greek: “common people rule” and “Republic” from the Latin: “the thing, public.” Republic and democracy mean the same damn thing, rule by the people as opposed to rule by a monarch.
  - pksebben 1y ago
    In what way is this country ruled by the people? You're periodically given a non-choice between two options that have equal disdain for your actual concerns, who then go on to play games to see who can get the most bajiliionare backing for reelection, and if you don't like what they're doing you're perfectly free to vote for the OTHER jerk who also doesn't give a shit about you. This is oligarchy. The 'democratic' process is a smokescreen, and an increasingly thin one. Look up 'liquid democracy'. It's the best example of what an actual democracy might look like if we did it. We won't, but I also enjoy Blade Runner and Star Trek, so there's no harm in fiction.
    - scoofy 1y ago
      Oh, god, this tired nonsense. Yes, obviously, it's ruled by the people. We have parties, we vote, anyone can run for office. Anyone can vote third party, and they occasionally even win. That your neighbors don't share your views does not make it undemocratic. It's not perfect, but it's democratic. It's like people can no longer imagine living under a totalitarian state... where you don't even get a vote, and if you don't like what's happening and you say something about it, you're shot. That's literally the way things were done before democracies and republics existed... it's still the way things are done in places like North Korea.
      - pksebben 1y ago
        So we ought to be thankful we're not in NK. Got it. Glad your bar is so high. It's apparent that you're decided but other folks will read this so let's break it down barney style. The 'third parties' argument is a painful joke, statistically speaking [0 1 2]. You can make all sorts of arguments as to why but the fact is that without support from D or R you can go get fucked. This raises the question - are there only two opinions? With the obvious answer - of course not. We could say 'well, maybe people fall generally into two camps', but that doesn't really pass muster either, does it? I have friends on both sides of the aisle and I agree with all of them on some things. This is evidenced by the amount of voters registered third party despite the abysmal election numbers [3]. So what's going on here? Well, people are being strategic. We're on first-past-the-post in most places. This means you're typically voting not for what you want but for what you don't want. That is not a system of representation, it's a sports game where the prize is some cosmetic social program changes and not much else. Mamdani is an excellent example of what this system does to third party candidates. As soon as there's a legitimate threat to the entrenched parties, fundraising spikes massively for the opposition [4]. Not getting a vote under this system wouldn't be more totalitarian, it would be more honest. 0 -https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown 1 - https://www.senate.gov/senators/SenatorsRepresentingThirdorMinorParties.htm https://www.senate.gov/senators/SenatorsRepresentingThirdorM... 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_and_independent_members_of_the_United_States_Congress https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_and_independent_me... 3 - https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-voters-have-a-party-affiliation/ https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-voters-have-a-party-a... 4 - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/nyregion/mamdani-adams-donors-money.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/nyregion/mamdani-adams-do...