Political Discussion and Commentary

I've been thinking about something recently, maybe my idea isn't fully flushed out but I wondered if anyone has anything thoughts on this.

Go on any social media including here on Lemmy and what do you see? For political related things your feed is likely dominated by news articles. Maybe they look something like this:

Trump does something bad. Stoops to a new low.

Then you'll read a lot of comments where people basically agree with each other. Maybe the comments read like this:

Wow! What an idiot! Shame people voted for that guy.

This is really horrible!

Terrible! Can't believe it's happening!

I'm personally already left comments like that, it's pretty easy to do.

What I'm realizing though is you know what doesn't always happen? Actions that cause change. We just keep reacting to news articles among ourselves.

I've kind of started to think about how I can say what we can do about things rather than reacting to articles but of course I've only just started very recently. Or try educating people in a positive way like I see some people try claiming that people should stay home or not vote, I can explain why that's a bad idea. For example I saw recently the Trump regime is considering adding invasive questions including about social media history to the ESTA application. I'm trying to remind people that they can contact their congresspeople and also contact companies in the hotel and lodging industry and urge them to fight the requirements. But even this may be another trap trying to fight every little thing. Maybe it would have instead been better to work on trying to get Trump removed from office and the goons he's appointed so we can rollback all the things he has done.

I really wish we'd focus more on long term actions that will make things better, organizing coalescing on issues and actions and focusing on that rather than being trapped in a cycle of reacting to news articles and doing nothing.

A counterexample though is through current events I've learned things and came up with new ideas like I've been seeing news about Dave Ellison's efforts to consolidate control over the media and it made me realize it's important to boycott companies owned by the Ellisons. But then again another way to think about this is if I focus just on trying to get more Democrats elected not we'd have people who'd be serious about anti-trust and they could take care of it for us way better than I or even a group of people could by trying to organize a boycott.

Also don't get me wrong those discussions on social media do have their purpose but I hope we can focus more on taking actions when we read an article about something bad happen. I know one person can't fix everything but just pick a few things and try.

I will mention a counterpoint: we do see changes in polling with Trump, his approval rating is falling and I'm sure some of that could just be from reading the news, people see his actions and hopefully will vote accordingly next time around.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39082957

My guess is Friday the 19th of December. It fits the 30 day requirement by the legislation, it buries everything nicely for the Christmas holiday break, and it gives Bondi maximum time to scrub any mention of Trump, blowing and Bubba and classify them under national security.

What do you guys think?

cross-posted from: https://libretechni.ca/post/419452

https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.11532

New study preprint quantifies what we've suspected: Trump's Truth Social posting becomes measurably more erratic after Epstein coverage spiking on Fox News.

This legitimately isn't meant to be a gotcha question or an attack on any political ideology. I just want to get a better understanding of why class consciousness is only applicable to the left, and the concept of populism (while it does seem to be increasingly applied to both sides of the political spectrum in certain cases) seems to be reserved as a term used for the right.

Regardless of historical ties (like class consciousness originating from Marxism) from my understanding (which admittedly is very basic for both concepts), populism doesn't have to necessarily focus on class issues or class solidarity. However, when you look at the way somebody like Trump uses populism to target a voting base, it very clearly is doing this by promising the working class a way to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." Or, by attacking the "educated elites" on the left (who he, and many on the right, also accuse of being "cultural Marxists").

My very basic understanding of class consciousness, is the awareness individuals have regarding their place within a hierarchy of social classes and their common shared interests.

Again, I understand that populism doesn't have to be used this way, but in Trump's case, regardless of why and how a billionaire would need to define the "elite" to reach his voter base, Trump's form of populism very much seems to rely on defining a class, and an "us vs them," strategy that he promises will allow members of the working class to achieve a common interest.

Afghanistan got rid of America and its support. They are now reigned by a t*rrorist group now. Terrorism have some thing to do when they are in opposition - fight.
What do they do now when they dont need much of the arms now..

The picture shows a meme I posted about biden being a pedo vs trump being a pedo. Mine was disliked greatly and the other was like greatly. The people are obsessed with Orange man and are ignoring flaws in zombie man. Both are terrible

We can see the clear propaganda push by "the left". Now let me say the left and right are both the same party the only difference is the ideologies their followers have while they argue. Bush or Obama. Biden or Trump. Country goes down hill. These people are lost and can't see reality any more. How long do you think they have before Roman empire levels of collapse?

American population seems to forget that the government works for them. You have the ability to message a congressman or woman requesting them act on your part to facilitate certain changes in society, to support or not support certain bills.

You also can make requests for them to come and participate at a town hall meeting or to give a speech to the community to facilitate certain political stances or goals.

It's time for you all to participate in the government meetings or voting because you, the citizen, are actually the primary member of the government. The government is a public organization that works for the representation of the people. They're not these figureheads that are supposed to have endless power and make decisions. decisions are in void without the permission of the population.

Remember how Democrats are the biggest supporters of free Palestine (hashtags) but they are super fanned up for Biden, the same person who sent bombs to his Israeli masters? Or that Trump did the same thing? Now they are mad at Trump because "TRIBALISM MENTALITY"

Republicans blame Biden for sht economics. Now Trump is doing the same thing and even more.

Democrats and Republicans are both major threats to the economics, well-being and prosperity of Americans. The fanboys and fangirls are all too blind to realize that all presidents suck hard. For us not blinded let's just get ready to push both parties out the way so America can not be a plight on the earth but an actual nation that focuses on development. Not arguing over dumb stuff like what's viral in the News this month.

curious as to what you all think of this!

(I was asked to move the post here)

Regardless of this shitty news of Senate Democrats caving we must keep going:

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/09/senate-democrats-shutdown-vote-00644146

Also Schumer wanted this to happen! (Thanks TallonMetroid for this source):

https://prospect.org/2025/11/08/why-does-schumer-keep-trying-to-cave-government-shutdown/

🇺🇲 But Don't Panic! Organize.

(Search for that GIF phrase online to understand what I mean if you don't know)

Never forget the Senate Dems caving today. But also dont let it make you any less hopeful or driven to get things done. We still have momentum. We still demolished GOP a couple days ago. We still can switch to real Progressive candidates (Actual Left) instead of Moderates (Center-Right on World Politics stage) that have failed us for decades

So as a fellow American doing and getting others to do together I highly request all of you to do as well!! Collaborate, and get others active across the country!!! There are many of us doing and refusing to back down!! Join up with your cities/towns/states that are nearby you in-person and online

Here are things that can be done (Pick any):

• Protest!!! Strike!!! (The main goal of a protest is getting people together to make connections so we can get things done together after the protest. Remember every movement is only as strong as people doing and there are many of us that are.)

• Get other people doing as well (Help them connect them to in-person & online communities because with more of us doing the stronger we collectively are. Organizing, Logistics, & Collaboration is the foundation of any movement. Informing Each Other, Strengthening/Growing Each Other, Learning, Doing Together, etc is the main goal we must all strive for!!)

• Support Run For Something by sending good people who will actually do the job to be trained as progressive candidates. Also volunteer to help them with their current/future candidates and those in office

Edit: (Remember everyone. Moderate Democrats in USA are Center-Right in World Politics. They might as well be 2 sides of the same coin

If you are a voter who wants real change put in progressives, or indpendents that actually lean left in World politics

Run For Something trains progressive candidates to run and win. Couple days ago they won big for various elections when we had that very good day

They also have on Substack: RFS Feel Good which gives weekly updates about everything they have accomplished in & out of office

Volunteer to help more candidates & current officials to get things done!!)

• Support Elias Law Group by getting more law people to help them out on cases internationally. Financially support them too since they have been doing overtime for the people

• Talk to any military/police people so they know they are not alone. So they know that the people care about them and so they don't side with the fascists. If you are directly part of any military branch/police department of those then highly recommend you all have discussions with anyone that is high risk of not being on side of the people with others around.

• Talk to Mexico/Canada/International Allies part of Government/Regular Citizens from those Other Countries to form Contingency Plans for USA in Case of any Emergencies/Situations to Have in Place. Also so we get any assistance we can get from them: food/medicine/etc. Also to have in place ability to form a Myanmar N.U.G.-like organization as moments notice to manage all USA Military/People/Etc in case things go nuts

• Get creative: Food, Medicine, Community, Transportation, help people switch to Open Source Software/Apps/Hardware many alternatives on https://alternativeto.net/

• Show them what FAFO means!!!!!

Hope, Action, Community, & National/International Allies are the most powerful things to have right now. Read this and never lose hope no matter how hard they try to make it seem. Make your own hope in every way and for others! Make yourselves resilient!:

https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/hope-key-in-meaningful-life

https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/hopeful-people-live-better-lives-study

https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/hope-quotes

Also we can become like the Nordic countries & Canada that live well but we must do for what we want!:

https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark-pavillion/press/why-does-denmark-have-such-high-quality-life

https://denmark.dk/people-and-culture/happiness

Strength in Unity!! Power to the People!!! They try but they will not break our resolve!! Together we are making this country what it should be for us all!! Keep each other safe and show them what a real American is capable of!!! They have gone too far for too long and this is beyond party lines at this point!! Finally, show this post to other people so they too can be hopeful & amped up!! Save it, believe it, & let's move!!

The person in question is an elderly aunt. She's a decent, caring senior citizen and loves me very much, but she's also a devout Christian (as is the rest of my extended family), and anyone familiar with that demographic will know how much they're targeted by right-wing propaganda. At this point I can observe the state of the disinformation meta by the stuff she posts in our family group chat. Zionism, Christian homophobia, Islamophobia, the works.

Up until now I haven't engaged with her on politics at all. She's been doing this since I was a child, long before I was capable of forming independent political opinions. Then as I grew up, I realized I was trans, and suddenly I couldn't bear to even think about what her views would mean for me if I were to come out. The fear and the hurt were just too much to process. Her politics became background noise as I hid in the closet for the next few years.

In spite of it all, though, my mental health situation has improved a fair bit over the years. I'm still terrified and in the closet, but I've realized that I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to face my fear, and it's only a matter of time until I attempt to transition. When that happens, the degree of estrangement from my extended family will probably be correlated with how much hateful propaganda they believe.

I'm not naive enough to think I can turn these people into leftists, or that they will ever view a transfem atheist without some kind of suspicion; but if I put in some groundwork now, I may be able to marginally decrease the amount of hurtful nonsense I have to listen to when I come out. Even if it doesn't work, it's really the most I can do at this point in my life, and I think it'll make me feel better if I at least try.

Recently she DMed me this video of JD Vance 'debating' people at TPUSA 'in honor of' Charlie Kirk. I think you can tell how deep she's fallen in just by the fact that she watched this. She's gone all-in on the 'Kirk as a Christian martyr' narrative for the past few weeks.

I think this might be a good opportunity to engage, for a few reasons:

• She's the main source of political propaganda in our family; everyone else isn't particularly invested in politics. If I can get through to her, I might be able to stem the tide a little.
• This is the first time she's initiated a one-on-one discussion on politics, so I can hopefully avoid coming across as suspiciously invested in the leftist perspective. (Remember, she doesn't know I'm trans, and the family vaguely knows I'm an atheist but kind of chooses to ignore it; I'd like to keep it that way until I'm ready to come out.)
• She actually seems kind of squishy and persuadable on political issues. There just haven't been any progressive voices in our family so far.
• Kirk was a vile person, and if I can make that clear she'd probably think twice about her adoration for him. She hasn't lost her sense of empathy, and if she sees how Kirk devoted his life to punching down she probably wouldn't like him as much.

So I'm looking for ideas and advice on how exactly to go about this.

It looks like she spends a lot of her time online watching videos, so I thought I'd start by sending her videos or articles as a way to start the conversation. I underestimated how much of a right-wing hellhole YouTube has become, but after a lot of searching I was able to find this Three Arrows video, this Hadi Rahim one and this Rebecca Watson one. I also found a short list of his shitty quotes, and an article on his racism specifically. The problem is that she'd be inclined to agree with a lot of the homophobic/islamophobic/anti-abortion quotes from Kirk.

Has anyone come across anything that would be more persuasive? Ideally I'd like to highlight what a horrible slimy scumbag Kirk was; as a Christian she'd probably be more swayed by character defects than any of his actual views.

I'd also appreciate any general advice on how to proceed. I'm sure plenty of people here have had to have conversations like this in the past.

EDIT:

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone. You're probably right that I'm going to have to take a Christian perspective with her. I think I'd been unconsciously avoiding that fact because I really resent how much of my life is centered around a religion I was brainwashed into, but I guess I need to bite that bullet. I'll keep it in mind when the conversation starts.

After giving it some thought, I realised that the Vance video she'd sent me barely mentioned Kirk, so I decided to go after Vance instead. He's a much easier target since his even his own church's leaders hate him, so I sent her an article about that. Also he tells an obvious lie about his Palantir ties, so I refuted that. Hopefully that should disillusion her a bit about the current government at least.

The rest of the conversation will probably not be anywhere near this easy, but we'll see how it goes. I'll probably make another post if anything significant happens.

You might have heard that with the government shut down, SNAP benefits for November (you might know them as "food stamps" though that's not technically accurate anymore) are at risk:

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/americans-prepare-halt-snap-benefits-im-hungry-kids/story?id=126908769

Well, a local coffee shop here is stepping up:

Check your local community, people are pulling together!

The coffee shop estimates a breakfast burrito and coffee is $15 so I'm kicking in 10 meals worth, I challenge other folks to do something similar.

This video connects Trump’s behavior to the new age thought occult “power of positive thinking” nonsense, and it is depressingly accurate. From that lens, most of what Trump says is his practice of magical thinking and “willing” his thoughts into existence. So everything he does, or enacts, will have no foresight or planning behind it, and no “reality check” feedback because he is removed from the consequences and surrounded by sycophants who prey on these types of “positive thought” people.

What’s the effective approach here, convince enough politicians to have him committed to a mental asylum on grounds he is a danger to himself and others? Is this just proof that the majority of Americans are irrational, that “magical thinking” is now the dominant culture?

Time 19:30

Date:10/20/2025

This uses widely known knowledge and information. Nothing that is hidden or shouldn’t not be already known to calculate a probability and this is such a simple idea that any smart group of leaders could cause.

As we know The Government Shutdown has been happening.

I am Kira of House Drakos. A military lineage. I ask you listen and consider what I am saying.

The Republicans have demands one being healthcare prices raising.

Now The Government has become shutdown and no funds are being set in place. Simply. As it’s been said across many states that funds for Snap may be delayed which is the good scenario but worse. Snap isn’t sent out.

Now I’m not here to argue whether everyone deserves snap but I am saying everyone needs food no matter what and if that isn’t met. It’s likely two scenarios. Fabrication of Riots so a government can do a full take over and blame the other side or if even farther long term which is very unlikely. Eugenics or A Slow genocide of those who can’t work.

Please understand this. I think the later option is thankfully unlikely.

Though it’s more likely if Democrats don’t fold on The Republican Demands. They’ll keep The Government shutdown going. All winter.

If snap benefits do not go out. It is unlikely Citizens could last long without food in winter. This will be what fabricate riots and violence. Then logically DT could take over and come back giving an abundance of food to people and blame the democrats for holding them back.

I ask everyone to truly sit and consider these possibilities. The information used for this is widely known and anyone who knows statecraft and empire building knows. The number one thing that keeps citizens in check is good food… if they can’t access that it is only a matter of time until they riot or fight back. He is planning on this. If the democrats don’t fold. Understand I’m hoping he isn’t smart enough for this and I don’t think he is but there is likely many people in his circle helping. I truly don’t think it’s just one person. Never have.

So I'm trying to kick a bad doomscrolling habit I've developed around political news specifically. I'd like to find a balance between "constant low-grade desensitized misery from watching a burning world" (where I'm at now) and "ignorant ~~bliss~~ indifference interspersed with periodic shock followed by deep depression at how bad it's gotten" (how I ended up when I tried to cut out the news completely in the past).

How do you handle this?

Some ideas I've found so far:

• Curate your news sources. What are some sources for US/Global politics that aren't totally doompilled, but also don't shy away from scary/inconvenient topics like the collapse of US democracy or the genocide in Gaza?
• Limit news intake. How do you manage this, when every outlet is doing their utmost to make you click on article after article, video after video? And how do you fight the internal impulse to doomscroll?

Any other ideas?

Then we lose Obamacare, leading to backlash against Trump who is then never reelected?

I was reminded today that Israel has space lasers. Why do they need to buy anyone else's weapons? Shouldn't they be selling their space lasers to the rest of us? /s (I hope that's obvious)

Asking this here instead of asklemmy because its a political question

Recently I find Hayao Miyazaki as an influential person who has shaped my progressive / left leaning views and I want to what influential thing or person helped shaped or start your progressive / left leaning views.

This is a strange post, but I’ve noticed a strange shift in the last week or two. It felt like people are more tense, things are ratcheting up in different ways, and it’s hard to describe besides “the vibe is off.”

I asked some other friends who I consider reasonably good empaths. They told me they felt a similar shift that’s been hard to explain, but a feeling that something is out of place or shifted a few degrees the wrong way, more than usual. Maybe it’s collective paranoia with my friends & echo chamber.

Has anyone had similar feelings? Do things feel off axis? Do people seem more irritable or less collaborative than “normal”?

Liberalism arises historically with the bourgeoisie, promising universal rights, free markets, and political representation.

Its core contradiction: it proclaims universal freedom but maintains private property, class hierarchies, and colonial domination.

Its “progressive” content (rights etc) is always mediated by its “reactionary” content (capital accumulation, imperialism).

In the late 20th century, liberal politics shifted focus from material redistribution to recognition and representation of identities (race, gender, sexuality).

This has real emancipatory elements (civil rights, anti-discrimination), but within a liberal framework it tends to:

Fragment the working class into competing identity groups.

Leave capitalist property relations untouched.

Turn politics into a symbolic arena of inclusion/exclusion rather than redistribution.

This becomes what some call “neoliberal multiculturalism”.

The Alienation of the Proletariat:

Workers whose economic position deteriorates under neoliberal globalization see elites championing diversity while offshoring jobs and cutting welfare.

They perceive “liberal elites” as hypocritical or hostile — not because they oppose equality per se, but because the equality on offer seems to bypass their economic suffering.

This creates fertile ground for reactionary movements that reframe their economic grievances as cultural ones.

The Dialectic: Liberalism to Fascism

If we think dialectically:

Thesis (Liberalism): Universal rights, formal equality, market freedom.

Antithesis (Proletarian Alienation): Mass discontent over the gap between formal equality and real inequality.

Synthesis (Fascism): A counter-movement that rejects universalism but mobilizes identity (national, racial, religious) to restore a sense of collective belonging and purpose.

Fascism thus does not arise ex nihilo; it is the reaction to liberal contradictions:

Liberalism’s fragmentation of solidarity enables fascism’s call for a unified, “authentic” national identity.

Liberal elites’ cosmopolitanism enables fascism’s anti-globalist populism.

Liberal tolerance of corporate power enables fascism’s authoritarian alliance with capital.

Fascism is hence the “Degenerate Offspring” of Liberalism

You can theorize fascism here as:

Not simply a negation but a mutation of liberal politics: it retains mass politics, identity focus, and even some welfare-state promises — but only for the “in-group.”

A perverse form of “recognition politics” where instead of expanding recognition, it contracts it violently.

The endpoint of liberalism’s failure to resolve class contradiction: when equality cannot be achieved materially, it is abandoned and replaced with exclusionary hierarchy.

This would mirror Marx’s notion that each stage of history contains the seeds of its own negation.

This theory does not mean liberal politics intends fascism. Just that its contradictions enable fascism.

Overcoming fascism requires not just defending liberal norms, since the radical aspects of it which have been valuable are being attacked, but transcending liberalism’s economic foundations — i.e., re-centering class and material redistribution.

Now I’m no Hegelian, my understanding of Hegel and Marx is fairly limited. But this is the best I could do put forth the reasoning for fascism and where to move forward.

This is also not US centric, I am not american and am seeing fascism and surveillance states rise around the world. While fascism used to be a fear of ‘the other’ as an outsider, we’re seeing a world where fascism uses citizens as ‘the other’ now.

I would love to go more in depth here. I would like to incorporate naom Chomsky’s idea of manufacturing consent to show how the alienation is created.

In a genuinely Hegelian sense, capitalism contains the seeds of its own transcendence. But contrary to Marx, this transcendence is not socialist.

Through ideological domination the working class is stripped of its revolutionary potential. The only remaining agent capable of resolving capitalism’s crises is the capitalist class itself.

This class resolves contradictions not by abolishing capital but by restructuring the state around authoritarian and nationalist principles.

Thus the dialectic moves from capitalism to fascism, not because of proletarian liberation, but because of capital’s own drive for self-preservation.

They're readers and also like to watch YT quite a bit so I'm curious if anybody has any good suggestions on YT channels and/or books I can send them that'll help ease them to the left. Even better if there are books and videos that specialize in converting Republicans to the left

Looking for something to wedge in the ice crack, we're talking about "40 year lifelong Republicans" here so gotta go slow and steady

A few days ago Third Way, a “centrist” think tank, published a memo with a list of 45 terms that they think Democrats should stop using. The terms, from “unhoused” to “pregnant people” and “LatinX,” largely originate with academics and activist interest groups and are, per Third Way, alienating to voters.

The first part of the article is about that.

The second part of the article digs into who’s actually funding this “centrist” “think tank”. (Hint: not Democrats)

Trump is infact the man who won the popular vote in the US. Yet a majority of the mainstream is anti trump. His fascist tendencies are now influencing the media landscape. The liberal politics are overrepresented in media.

(While the process is objectively vile) I do believe its going to lead to a more accurate representation of the nation.

Disclaimer: Non American anarchist here seeing the American horror story that is your politics. Please don't take me for a right wing cunt. At worst I'm a provocateur.