• @Sterile_Technique
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    9 months ago

    Just admit it, yall love harping about trump because it gives you the high ground against anyone left of Biden - yall hate leftists and see them as enemies WAYYYYYYY more than you ever did Republicans or MAGAts.

    I think most of the folks you’re talking about are sincerely, above all else, ‘not Trump.’ and they get defensive at anything that could benefit Trump.

    And that’s honestly a defensible stance - Trump is an enemy to the US, so keeping him out of power is one of the more productive things any of us can advocate for.

    …but other than that, I’m with you. I think it’s important that we hold our own accountable and criticize where it’s due… blind loyalty is dumb as fuck in any context. The amount of defensiveness and downvotes in response to things like people criticizing Biden for funneling our tax dollars into a genocide is frustrating. I think they mean well - again, ‘not Trump’ is beyond justified… but that shouldn’t be a free pass for ‘not Trump’ to fund a genocide, and I can’t fucking believe that’s a controversial take. -_-

    • @blazeknave
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      89 months ago

      Hi. I also agree with you for the most part. Here’s the problem. While you’re intelligent enough to appreciate nuance, context, and reality, and motivated enough to still vote, not everyone is. And every demoralized swing state Democrat that stays home in November after reading this equivocation all day every day on here, adds up real quick. Fwiw I vote far left down ballot. I primary’d Pelosi. Biden/Trump isn’t the election for protest. It’s not where we are today. I hate it. I despise genocide and American colonialism and imperialism. I’ve been trying to educate people for decades. But here we are. Never-Fascism and the continuity of free elections and human agency supercedes everything else.

      • @Sterile_Technique
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        39 months ago

        Yeah I’m with ya, which why I’m so upset. Not just at the reaction here on Lemmy, but at the Biden admin for doing anything that gives ammo to the bOtH sIdEs bullshit.

        He is absolutely going to lose votes in the general over his support of genocide - which in a vacuum is ofc completely justified. But the result is handing Trump the presidency on a silver platter, which, in addition to wiping Gaza off the map, will be devastating to pretty much everyone other than our enemies.

        I feel like I’m stuck on a plane with blown out engines, watching out the window helplessly as we approach a mountain.

        I’ll still vote Biden in the general. Anything less is supporting open fascism here… But if I’m being honest, I don’t see this ending well.

        I saw your other post talking about the actual activism you’ve done. Taking that at face value: thank you. I don’t understand how you aren’t burnt out to the point of debilitation. I want to be like you when I grow up - and I mean that sincerely.

        • @blazeknave
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          39 months ago

          Yet again I agree, and I understand your perspective where I don’t agree. The latter pretty much being the severity of open space for bad mouthing fearless blue leader bc people can’t overcome the cognitive dissonance as well.

          Hahaha not sure how old you are but I’ve noticed your username at this point and actually find a lot of your comments incredibly insightful and have expanded my perspective. Thank you. …So you might already be better than grown up me.

          Less burnout. More have trouble living in the present bc doom seems impending and unstoppable.

          • @Sterile_Technique
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            39 months ago

            I love that this site is small enough to actually recognize people!

            I’m in my mid 30s - I was a medic in the Air Force and a civ surgical tech now, both of which have pushed me hard to the left.

            I’ve never participated in protests or anything, so in that regard I look up to you. No real thought into age with the whole ‘when I grow up’ bit lol.

            As a surgical tech, I play a role in providing the kinds of care that Republicans relentlessly attack. Abortions, gender affirming surgery, etc. Health care. People need that shit.

            Republicans’ evil behavior surrounding healthcare really drove me to scrutinize the rest of the shit they advocate for, and whad’a ya know: even more evil!

            So… that’s the state of my head, lol.

            • @blazeknave
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              39 months ago

              Hahaha blessing and a curse…

              I truly appreciate your service. Fwiw I’ve never helped my community the way you are every day. You’re at the front line of what we keyboard warrior back and forth about on here. For you it’s mundane table stakes bc you wake up and do it and go to bed and rinse repeat everyday. But you should take a moment to consider the significance of your contributions daily. You’re probably underestimating your own merits.

              Were you GOP previously? Curious, given the way you’ve described waking up.

              • @Sterile_Technique
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                9 months ago

                I grew up in a very right-wing household, so when I started to be old enough to consider politics, I didn’t question it: the left were the bad guys, period. This was reinforced by the kind of shit that stands out to an idiot teen, like Bill Clinton’s affair.

                George W. was my first slap in the face to bring me to my senses with his obvious bullshit in the Middle East, so I had a ‘these guys are horrible too’ epiphany. When I became old enough to vote, I was stuck in the ‘both sides’ trap and either opting out or pissing it away to the libertarian party.

                I enlisted under Obama, and had a hard time criticizing him, so that’s when I finally started to question the left=bad nonsense and realizing that it was in fact nonsense, and that the parents I didn’t question were just politically morons. Started paying much more attention to actual policy vs just personalities, which started pushing me left.

                Then Trump happened, and he was SO CLEARLY an enemy to the US - everything he did weakened us, strengthened our enemies, and right-wing voters were cheering the whole time. That was the kick in the ass that finally got me to cross the line. I haven’t missed an election since, big or small - solid blue, as progressive as possible. I’ll even look up people’s voter registration when deciding things like judges or school board positions, etc to make sure I’m not giving any support that could even indirectly boost the GOP. Tired of this Nazi shit.