Can the Chinese even discuss politics like we do here? Haven’t seen anything on rednote beside “political studies” and some Marx praises.
Must admit it’s a bit more difficult with all of it being in mandarin, but god damn, are they under surveillance.
Yes they can. They don’t do it in English. They also don’t share it on international social media. There is not much of a difference between the day to day life of someone in the US and China and everything they know about each other is propaganda.
Le chat mistral told me differently. I’ll have to talk openly about politics with a Chinese citizen before I change my mind.
It’s not fucking normal that a country with such an economy doesn’t have people on the global scene.
You have us, Europeans, you Americans, Aussies, Japanese, Indonesians (VPN), Singaporeans, … All here talking to eachother.
Chinese? Nope. Great firewall of china. I couldn’t even speak to my wife when she was in Shanghai unless it was on WeChat. Her emails were blocked. WhatsApp was blocked. The other phone she tried to use VPN on became completely useless.
China controls their population. Until enough Chinese citizens are able to tell me otherwise.
Brilliant economy, brilliant growth, but god damn, allow them to come out of their hole.
All the countries you mentioned have large English speaking populations. America, Australia are both primary English speaking, Japan was occupied by the US, One of Singapore’s official languages is English. Indonesia while not colonized directly by the US has been in its sphere since the cold war and the end of the direct Dutch colonialization. China not so much. They don’t really speak English there so they don’t really participate in the English internet. Same with my home country, Iran isn’t as controlled as Americans think either and lots of people are extremely vocal. But they also do not tend to speak English unless they have family that live in the US. When people in Iran learn a second language they tend to learn French. So the effect is despite the fact they are able to they don’t participate on the English internet either.
Not by voting, but tomorrow I will hold up a sign near a road for 2 hours. Trump will have no choice but to step down after that.
Protests are for building public solidarity. You know, organizing… the only way for the masses to accomplish anything in the face of fascism. It’s not for convincing Trump of anything.
I think OP might have been talking about that pesky amendment that comes after the free-speech one
Which also benefits from organizing.
Another fairy tale is thinking that Vooting Bloo No Matter Hoo can defeat fascism.
Im vooting! I’m vooting!
The american government was designed to serve exactly the people it’s still serving (rich merchants and landowners). It’s working extremely well, they just lied to you about what it was designed to do.
True… but you can sure enable one by not voting.
Repeat after me …. The democratic party is funded by the same wall street military and prison industry profiteers that fund the republican party and they are fundamentally opposed to shifting policy to the left and adopting economic democracy to any extent in their platform to the point they would rather ensure a right wing candidate wins by sabotagingrg any popular pro workers rights candidate rather than nominate anyone left of their platform which makes american western neo liberal democracy a defacto class dictatorship!
Whew! I followed you though. There are other factors as well I’m sure, but yeah, those are some of them, and big ones too. Greed sure does become complicated over time. Institutions are built on it. It was a bit hard to get past the arrogant-sounding “Repeat after me” but I’m glad I kept going.
I noticed you conveniently left out " Christian nationalists" from your list of people funding political parties. Why is that?
Bro i was born and raised to be an evangelical nut job so you don’t have to project your qualms with white Christian nationalism on me.
Those with capital who are in control of our political system are first and foremost fascists. They don’t care about christianity so much as it serves them as a tool to manipulate those dumb enough to buy into it. The whole perpetuating industrialized genocide to make a profit selling military ordinance and keep humanity under the boot of endless militarism is more dangerous than religion. Intertwining the two is a recipe for disaster but the main danger here are the war mongering billionaires not whatever imaginary friend they use to peddle bigoted hate and idiocy onto the masses
My point is only one party accepts money from them. One party wants fascism. The other wants oligarchical capitalism.
Hate both, don’t conflate both.
Oligarchal capitalism is fascism. Fascism js essentially the combination of corporste power and government or corporatism. The democrats are fascist lite but still fascist. They took their marching orders from the same billionaires and got us to the precipice of where we are now. They have no remorse and just continue to make excuses. Read the writing on the wall ffs.
No, it really isn’t though.
https://www.openculture.com/2024/11/umberto-ecos-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html
They both suck, but let’s be clear about why they suck. Oligarch capitalism sucks because of wealth disparity and financial oppression.
Fascism sucks because of the punishing of “out” groups and strict social control. And also wealth disparity and financial oppression.
Capitalists don’t care if you’re gay or black as long as you have money.
US capitalists certainly do. I don’t know how many more examples it will take for gringos to stop going on about how “this isn’t America” like bro that’s ALL it’s ever been. I can’t point to a single time in US history that there haven’t at least three ethnic groups persecuted and disenfranchised, and that’s without even mentioning the violent political persecution.
If it always pushes racist war criminals to the top, that’s what your society was built to do. You don’t get a hundred thousand sausages and say “man, we gotta put different meat in, we can’t seem to get the machine to make any burgers” like, please look at the fucking mechanisms.
I know the 14 traits of fascism well. And they are present in both parties to varying extents. Democrats still support the war on drugs 100% which is a defacto fascist attack on minorities and lower socio economic classes who are shipped out to corporate owned for profit correctional centers so tax dollars can be siphoned for their profits while also profiting off of legally permissible slavery. Democrats are fascists with a smiley face mask waving a pride flag and blm slogans. They are inherently anti worker and pro corporate power protection. Engaging in identity politics while chastising and belittling working class solidarity and class consciousness is a fascist plan of attack through division.
Ok yeah. But not voting still enables the fascist. You can still vote for harm reduction, then protest/riot for progress.
We can agree that our entire political system has been corrupted by money? Right?
What makes people naively believe that our electoral processes have not been corrupted in the same exact way? Some delusional belief in American democratic exceptionalism?
In germany their highest court decided that electronic voting is unconstitutional because it is impossible to differentiate between fraudulent results and legitimate ones for laypeople/anyone who isnt a cybersecurity or IT expert.
Both parties are fascist albeit to differing degrees but both parties blatantly exhibit 13 of 14 traits of fascist regimes. The one trait they can claim plausible deniability in regards to is fraudulent elections. But if our corporate owned leaders have allowed our society to disintegrate to fascism 93% of the way then its pretty illogical to believe they would stop short and work diligently to prevent the last 7% from reaching that point.
There is the Princeton study done within the lasy 2 decades that concluded the amount of influence one has on our political system and any legislated policy is directly proportional to the amount of wealth you have with regular working class people having a statistically near zero irrelevant amount of influence on any policy regardless of how popular or unpopular it may be. Since lewis f powell’s pro corporate supreme court decisions paved the way for citizens united and the erosion of our constitutional republic and its comprising democratic elements it has now become apparent for anyone paying attention that every aspect of our political system is for sale to the highest bidder and most likely the reality is that our presidential elections are rigged and have been since at least reagan. But even before then there was likely corruption involved since it is pretty much a historical fact that jfk won the presidency in no small part due to a backroom deal his father made with the mafia because of the connections he had made during his time establishing a bootleging empire during prohibition.
Ok. But the Dems and Republicans aren’t the same. Like I agree with you that our system is beyond fucked, but that doesn’t mean both of our shitty parties are equally shitty. If you want to pretend like the Obama or Biden administrations were the same as the Trump administration you just as much in a fantasy as someone who thinks the Democrats are actually competent and well-meaning.
Like shit, I’m not pretending like voting is the be-all end-all of civic action: FAR from it. That’s why voting, at best, is harm reduction. But fuck, it’s so goddamn easy, and why would we want to ceade ground for no reason?
They only differ in rhetoric. Deportations exploded under Obama and were higher than Trump’s first term. Drone strikes skyrocketed. Biden approved record breaking amounts of money to Israel so they could fund a genocide they were proudly broadcasting. Obama’s cabinet was filled with Wall Street execs right as it became clear that they’d knowingly crashed the global economy to make a quick buck and then gave them money to buy the assets of the people they fucked in the first place.
If you still believe in democrats, you’re not engaging in politics, you’re engaging in a cult.
The dems only pretend to be different. They don’t have to be the same if the financial entities who fund control and dictate their decisions and actions are the dame financial interests behind the republican party.
Look ip the ratchet effect. Basically when the Republican party is in power things move as dar to the left as possible then when dems are in they pretend to tru to push progress to the left but the mechanism just ratchets back without moving anything meaningful to the left then the right comes back in and boom more progress to the left.
Whag did democracy just do this last election cycle? They ignored constituents and refused to move any policy to the left and instead courted “moderate republicans” and touted endorsments from liz cheney joe walsh and other past republican leaders as wins? The Democratic party is not a left party they are a neo liberal right wing party. They are the other wing on the same bird and that bird is shitting all over you.
Oh ho ho you just wait till midterms! That’s only two years. It’s not like it’s taken them two months to make half of Project 2025 a reality.
Good thing I don’t live in the US
Me neither but it’s not a good thing no matter where you live. The world is very small these days.
I’m starting to believe that the saying “All roads lead to Rome” might’ve been a warning.
Or peaceful protests with arts and crafts.
You mean knitting a pink hat doesn’t work?
This made me so mad I actually looked up my representative and wrote her how impotent this stunt was. Of course, “writing your representative” is just as pathetic, but SOMEONE had to hear about my anger. Kudos to Al Greene though. The old geezer stood up for all of us, literally.
Thoughts and prayers
Managed opposition.
They see tge writing on the wall. This happenned before.
“I can change them.”
Police state? XD
The NYPD budget would make it something like the third largest military if compared to countries’ military budgets. The NYPD’s main purpose is to protect capital which, per “stop and frisk” and similarly racist policies, are intended to harass minority groups. If there is a safety issue where minutes matter, they are only hours away. If a shop window gets broken they’ll be there immediately.
Apparently the NYPD has a budget of $5.4 billion, with is a lot, but would be about place 40 compared to military budgets
A PD placing… anywhere is evidence.
The NYPD’s total budget is over $10 billion. They pull from other line items for things like buildings and benefits.
Oh, come on. About 90 million people listened to everyone and their (non-conservative) mother say how this might be the most important election, Trump won’t give up his power, they’re going to enact Project 2025, it’ll be nothing but a revenge tour, they’re fascists, a second Trump administration is an existential threat to this country, Trump is compromised, this administration will end American democracy, the people who stood in his way last time aren’t around any more, etc… 90 million people heard this… then still chose to stay home and let this happen. I’m sorry Biden/Harris didn’t sweep us off our feet, but we deserve this. Don’t you dare say we “tried” voting against it.
If Did Not Vote had been a candidate:
I’m sorry Biden/Harris didn’t sweep us off our feet,
My sister in Satan…they enabled a genocide.
but we deserve this.
You do. I don’t.
Im copying a response i left to another comment in this thread because it is relevant and people need to wake up and figure out what’s really going on instead of believing our government is still democratic when the writing has been on the wall for decades
We can agree that our entire political system has been corrupted by money? Right?
What makes people naively believe that our electoral processes have not been corrupted in the same exact way? Some delusional belief in American democratic exceptionalism?
In germany their highest court decided that electronic voting is unconstitutional because it is impossible to differentiate between fraudulent results and legitimate ones for laypeople/anyone who isnt a cybersecurity or IT expert.
Both parties are fascist albeit to differing degrees but both parties blatantly exhibit 13 of 14 traits of fascist regimes. The one trait they can claim plausible deniability in regards to is fraudulent elections. But if our corporate owned leaders have allowed our society to disintegrate to fascism 93% of the way then its pretty illogical to believe they would stop short and work diligently to prevent the last 7% from reaching that point.
There is the Princeton study done within the lasy 2 decades that concluded the amount of influence one has on our political system and any legislated policy is directly proportional to the amount of wealth you have with regular working class people having a statistically near zero irrelevant amount of influence on any policy regardless of how popular or unpopular it may be. Since lewis f powell’s pro corporate supreme court decisions paved the way for citizens united and the erosion of our constitutional republic and its comprising democratic elements it has now become apparent for anyone paying attention that every aspect of our political system is for sale to the highest bidder and most likely the reality is that our presidential elections are rigged and have been since at least reagan. But even before then there was likely corruption involved since it is pretty much a historical fact that jfk won the presidency in no small part due to a backroom deal his father made with the mafia because of the connections he had made during his time establishing a bootleging empire during prohibition.
Well, you can’t vote fascists out, but historically speaking they’ve always been voted IN. Authoritarianism is always a degeneration of liberalism. When people get fat and lazy, shit like this happens. Weak men creating hard times ect.
Actually it’s strong men not getting cut down. The problem is concentration of power. “They were too weak and lazy to stop hitler2” This idea is a memetic weapon to make it appears it’s the people who are being stepped on that are at fault, rather than the plainly obvious empowered elites just letting go of any restraints, buying “democracy” outright and then blaming the oppressed for their oppression.
The voting in the US is literally predetermined during redistricting and as real as the outcome of Wrestlemania so not sure what you’re talking about
Trump won the popular vote, all excuses are off this time.
You can’t redistrict the electoral college.
Districts still matter when it comes to voter suppression measures. Less polling stations, requiring voters vote only in their district, purging voters, etc.
You sort of can by adding new states, which has been done before, splitting existing states into 2 to get more senators and electoral college votes. It is harder to keep this hidden though.
About 90 million people listened to everyone and their (non-conservative) mother say how this might be the most important election
We get told this every election, but then democrats cooperate with republicans every step of the way. Most recently, democrats had an opportunity to force a government shutdown and use that as leverage against the republicans, but instead they instantly folded like they always do. I recognized this pattern when Obama promised hope and change but then mostly continued Bush’s policies when he got elected (e.g. corporate bail-outs, deportations, and warmongering). Democrats follow republicans as they journey further and further to the right.
Sheldon S. Wolin talked about the fact that the US system was a “managed democracy” and a form of “inverted totalitarianism” in his book Democracy Inc about twenty years ago. In a managed democracy the pretense of democratic voting is maintained, but the system is so heavily managed as to render voting ineffective and largely irrelevant. The US voting system is so heavily gamed that to expect the average US citizen to have any power through the ballot box is laughable.
This is a pretty decent overview of the ideas in that book for anyone who is interested.
So you think it’s right to blame people who did what they could? Just because others voted against them? Prick.
Wow, personal insults, classy. And “people who did what they could”…? Are we reading the same words?? I’m calling out my fellow Americans who decided not to do all they could. Those who literally didn’t do the absolute minimum to prevent all of this: gestures broadly at the everything by voting. And I’m not acting above it or anything. Maybe I should have done more outreach? Apparently we didn’t hammer home the dire consequences clearly enough…?
Still, what in my rant makes you think I’m targeting anyone who made any effort at all?? I’m saying to people who did nothing: they and we need to do better. We literally won’t have a country anymore otherwise…
Wow, personal insults, classy
Mate you personally insulted every American. I’m an American. Don’t get mad at tit for tat.
You said we all deserve this. You didn’t just say it to those who do nothing.
There’s no insults here. Obviously. Like it or not, we as a country are in this together, so we have to do better. Until then, we deserve this until we can get off our asses.
you’re making it really fun to own you. thanks for siding with the fascists.
What kind of inferiority complex makes people claim they “own” others that they disagree with?
the kind that comes from being the one person on earth your mom said ‘no’ to.
See, this stuff with putting other people down, it just makes me wonder if there’s not anything in your own life to feel positive about? Like, what are you proud of, for yourself?
no, see, it’s nominally a ‘your mom’ joke, but the punch line is that even she made an exception for me, because im (depending on how SFW and sentimental you want to make it) unlovable/unfuckable.
and those last two are very different questions with very different answers.
Yeah, I get that, but you’re avoiding the question: what are you proud of, for yourself?
there’s a list. the stuff that wouldn’t dox me and isn’t either a crime, or likely to be a crime pretty soon, or effectively a crime even if there’s never been a law against it?
I’ve saved a few peoples lives. or played a substantial role I’m not confident someone else would and could have in doing so.
I’ve done a lot of hospice. a few of them recovered, which I’m proud of despite it absolutely not being my doing. I think it’s kind of reflexive, which is also something I’m pretty proud of.
I’m a really fucking good cook.
my concept of love is I think a lot less fucked by existing power structures than most, and given where I come from; I think putting anything that wasn’t 99% abuse together was pretty long odds.
I have a pretty good sense of humor, and I’m a pretty good writer when I have my shit remotely together.
I’m ridiculously hard to kill. I have healed from a lot of stuff that would make most people give up. or at least survived it, in the case of some of the emotional shit. I can’t really talk about a lot of stuff I’ve been through with people, or show too much skin, or people get really upset and can’t look at me. mixed feelings on that one, but pride’s in there.
you?
So what’s Portugal? Narnia?
Any chance having specific source about it ? Not for me it’s for a friend, thx
I’m not very familiar with Portuguese history but my understanding is that authoritarianism in Portugal was ended by the carnation revolution, which was a military coup. I’m curious what this person means as well. You can’t vote out authoritarianism, at best you get a dictator kind enough to decide to step down when asked.
Yeah who cares about the Carnation Revolution?
