5 ms·

It seems as if the current administration is among the total Hall of Fame of lowest IQ. At the least they have big hands ... right?

jfengel 7mo ago
We elected them. A lot of us are vociferously defending them. What does that say about us?
- scarecrowbob 7mo ago
  Well, I'll grant you that the folks defending them are certainly making statements worth judging harshly. I am not sure if I buy the idea that "We" elected them. I'd be really stoked to know what I personally could have done (or encouraged my cadre / comrades to have done) to prevent this outcome, because I don't recall even being given a choice about who I thought should run against the current regime and I live in a state where I am a political minority (a left anarchist organizing against specific local actions like ICE "enforcement" and flock camera usage, among far less contested actions). This is an actual question, because I am curious and have read your comments enough to recognize your username in the pile of folks writing thoughtful-ish comments: is it the case that you identify enough with this government to count yourself among the (presumably judgement-worthy) "we" or is it the case that you count everyone counted by the US government as a citizen as "we"? Or would you state it in some other way? What do you mean when you write "we" in this case?
  - jfengel 7mo ago
    When I say "we" I mean about 1/3 of us who voted for this, and about 1/3 who decided that either way was good for them. That includes a bunch of people who are diametrically opposed but for whom the main alternative wasn't quite good enough. That's roughly two-thirds of us. Those of us who took even the trivial effort to oppose this are a distinct minority. I don't think there's any that minority could have done differently. We are merely complicit in the suicide pact that is the Constitution, whereby we go with the majority and hope the majority would let us try again in a few years. That's an increasingly dubious proposition, and now we have to decide if this social contract hasn't already been broken.
  - lovich 7mo ago
    You could have voted against Trump. You did have a choice as the democrats held primaries that year and Biden won the primaries. Unfortunately he withdrew afterwards and there was a scramble to find a replacement, but you don’t get to rewrite history that the primaries didn’t occur. If you didn’t vote for Harris then you were fine with Trump as a possibility. Own your decision.
    - scarecrowbob 7mo ago
      How about this: if you voted, you signed up in a system that says you're okay with the outcome of the situation. How is that not true? "I did what I could"... sure. So did I. But I wouldn't have been okay with either outcome, so I didn't sign up saying that after an election we'd all just be like "whelp, good game guess I should go back to brunch". So here I am, having to go organize against ICE because of the shitty political system that you reify. Thanks, asshole. If you voted, then you're okay with the outcome- that's what it means to vote.
      - lovich 7mo ago
        No it’s not what it means. Voting is using your small bit of political power to try and enact change. Not voting means you’re fine with the status quo or others making decisions for you, you don’t get to just pretend you have no say in the matter. Avalanche doesn’t feel responsible for the snowflake and all that
- e584 7mo ago
  [dead]

jfengel 7mo ago

We elected them. A lot of us are vociferously defending them. What does that say about us?

scarecrowbob 7mo ago
Well, I'll grant you that the folks defending them are certainly making statements worth judging harshly. I am not sure if I buy the idea that "We" elected them. I'd be really stoked to know what I personally could have done (or encouraged my cadre / comrades to have done) to prevent this outcome, because I don't recall even being given a choice about who I thought should run against the current regime and I live in a state where I am a political minority (a left anarchist organizing against specific local actions like ICE "enforcement" and flock camera usage, among far less contested actions). This is an actual question, because I am curious and have read your comments enough to recognize your username in the pile of folks writing thoughtful-ish comments: is it the case that you identify enough with this government to count yourself among the (presumably judgement-worthy) "we" or is it the case that you count everyone counted by the US government as a citizen as "we"? Or would you state it in some other way? What do you mean when you write "we" in this case?
- jfengel 7mo ago
  When I say "we" I mean about 1/3 of us who voted for this, and about 1/3 who decided that either way was good for them. That includes a bunch of people who are diametrically opposed but for whom the main alternative wasn't quite good enough. That's roughly two-thirds of us. Those of us who took even the trivial effort to oppose this are a distinct minority. I don't think there's any that minority could have done differently. We are merely complicit in the suicide pact that is the Constitution, whereby we go with the majority and hope the majority would let us try again in a few years. That's an increasingly dubious proposition, and now we have to decide if this social contract hasn't already been broken.
- lovich 7mo ago
  You could have voted against Trump. You did have a choice as the democrats held primaries that year and Biden won the primaries. Unfortunately he withdrew afterwards and there was a scramble to find a replacement, but you don’t get to rewrite history that the primaries didn’t occur. If you didn’t vote for Harris then you were fine with Trump as a possibility. Own your decision.
  - scarecrowbob 7mo ago
    How about this: if you voted, you signed up in a system that says you're okay with the outcome of the situation. How is that not true? "I did what I could"... sure. So did I. But I wouldn't have been okay with either outcome, so I didn't sign up saying that after an election we'd all just be like "whelp, good game guess I should go back to brunch". So here I am, having to go organize against ICE because of the shitty political system that you reify. Thanks, asshole. If you voted, then you're okay with the outcome- that's what it means to vote.
    - lovich 7mo ago
      No it’s not what it means. Voting is using your small bit of political power to try and enact change. Not voting means you’re fine with the status quo or others making decisions for you, you don’t get to just pretend you have no say in the matter. Avalanche doesn’t feel responsible for the snowflake and all that
e584 7mo ago
[dead]