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Yeah those protests and votes will sure show capitalism! 2nd amendment? whats that? sounds AuThOrITarIAn (lemmy.ml)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/memes@lemmy.ml
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[–] 26 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Talking to other Americans,

"This is just what we have to deal with"

"Thats how it is in America"

"Yeah nobody likes it but we have to live with it"

Please, I'm begging you, I've heard everyone say it, just get together, please.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

    i hear this a lot in my own country too. it's something we will have to figure out where it comes from and how to disarm. why do people feel this way?

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."

    -Martin Luther King Jr

    The truth is people are rarely good or bad. The vast majority of people are simply creatures of comfort, and will be adverse to losing that comfort over all other things.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    little do they know they aren't that comfortable, and don't need oppression themselves anyway.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago

    Not comfortable, comfort. The comfort of routine, the predictable, the familiar… and fighting against a fascist government is very uncomfortable, especially from that perspective. Once they cease to feel comfort, then people act.

    That’s why massive social revolutions tend to be preceded by famines. Food comfort (that is, the idea of always having food available, even if so expensive one needs a 5-finger discount to get any) is one of the major motivational comforts, so its loss tends to hit very hard socially.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    The message that this is as good as it can possibly be is hammered into people from all sides. It is, I would argue, one of the key tenets of all forms of idealism, and serves the interests of the powers that be. People who don't believe that better is possible are much less likely to try to rise up and make things better.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    100% this. Lots of Americans would be on board with things like universal healthcare, except that they genuinely believe that private healthcare is better. The propaganda machine has them thinking we’d all be forced to pay like 147% of our income in taxes, while also being stuck on a waiting list for 18 months (determined by a shadowy death panel, who arbitrarily decides who is allowed to live and who must be surgically executed) for even the most basic procedures.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Meanwhile they pay a huge portion in premiums only to be denied coverage when they actually need it. Somehow the 'death panels' are a-okay as long as they're the boards of for-profit hospitals or insurance companies. The contradictions are sharpening though (see the doctor shortage) and I think all but the most brainwashed are waking up. You only have to look at the overwhelmingly positive reception Luigi got to see that.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    As an American getting these responses I have people starting to say I'm an extremist.

    I know I'm on ml but I signed up thinking it was just internet privacy enthusiasts.

    I just don't want to live under an Authoritarian regime. I am literally exactly who ICE would hunt after. I don't want to lose my freedoms. I want more worker rights. I want people to be able to make adult choices about their own lives. I want the rich to actually pay taxes. I don't want Israel to have influence on our government. I just get called a communist lol what drives me the most mad is when they think I'm just randomly listening to people online and seeing biased shit. I stopped watching TV when I was 13. I got rid of all social media recently and never was on much anyways. These people only get information with algorithms curated for them. I feel like I'm watching everybody around me get brainwashed. And the thing is most people agree these things are issues. They just think they can't do anything about it. People have been pacified by social media. At least that's what I'm seeing.

    We are literally supposed to be a country that was founded by revolution. Our Constitution was supposed to give us rights to fight back and prevent another authortian government. We have the right to protest but people don't do it enough. I just want to scream to these people that fighting back IS AMERICAN. Our country has never been perfect. Not at all. But it was supposed to be designed in a way we could improve upon what was originally laid down. These people have given up.

    I'm gonna listen to Five to One.

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    • [–] 19 points 2 months ago

    Somehow, if you replaced Marx with the founding fathers the US deifies, the meme would still work. That's where we're at in the liberalism-to-fascism pipeline.

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    [–] 10 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    "But violence is never the answer" says the person who then proceeds to open their phone and see the worst violence imaginable happen because of the people they voted for.

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    • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    I’m in Washington, Washington is 3,000 miles away ☹️

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    [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    I like the idea of doing both.

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    [+] -8 points 2 months ago* (2 children)

    The auth left really sure do hate being called auth left, don't they?

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    What is "auth left?" Any leftist that supports the use of a socialist state?

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    You know the answer. Muh evil gommunism CCP Stalinist 10000000000000000000000 killed all at once, fucking tankie redfash complaining about genocide this and genocide that shut up and vote harder already”. Something like that. US election season is coming around so it’ll only get worse and more annoying

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  • [–] -2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    You know fine well what it is, an authoritarian state with a great deal of control over the people living under it. You can argue that this authoritarianism is justifiable because it's the best way to bring about communism, but it's still auth left. Heck, we currently live under an extremely authoritarian right wing system, so it could be less authoritarian than the current system but still remain authoritarian in the full balance considering alternatives, and thus auth left.

    I hope this helps clear things up for you.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    What is a "non-authoritarian" state? You didn't answer my question, you just restated your assertion. What "alternatives" exist?

    My position is very clear: the state is a tool by which one class oppresses the others, and this is by definition authoritarian. A working class state, no matter how democratic it is for the working classes, is still authoritarian as it oppresses the rest. This is a necessary step forward towards stateless society, however.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    Not really, if people wanna do our advertising for us by drawing a clear distinction between us and the kind of leftists who can't build anything useful then they should be our guest.

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    • [+] -14 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    Violence begets violence. Whoever stops the cycle has true power.

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  • [–] 15 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    Pacifism is only a choice if you have the capability to enact violence. If you don’t have the ability to exert force, pacifism isn’t a choice; it’s a chain that your oppressors have put on you, while calling it jewelry. The entire point of pacifism is to send the message “we can if we want to, and we choose not to. This is your chance to start negotiations in good faith, because the only thing stopping us is that active choice.”

    In short, pacifism without the capacity for violence is simply sparkling victimization. Speak softly, but carry a big stick.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago

    What is "true power" if not the ability to dictate the direction of society? Should the working classes not be able to direct society, and instead have to slave away under the rule of capital, who very much are okay with using violence?

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