No context reminder: resentment of normies is intellectually lazy and politically corrosive.
Mani Moksha
@manimoksha.bsky.social
Still selling labour power, still not buying capitalism / former editor at Midnight Sun magazine / works in tech / rep for Coalition Against the Forces of Late-Stage Capitalist Decay (But With Reasonable Tax Policy)
Deliberately starving a civilian population and then setting up aid sites as a death trap to massacre starving people trying to get food is too evil to wrap your mind around. If we saw a supervillain doing this in a movie we'd think it was dumb, because it wouldn't be believable.
The Islamic Rep is at a point where surviving this war and surviving its aftermath at home are the same thing.
It's hard to focus on Israel's airstrikes in Lebanon due to Israel's invasion of Syria, which is hard to focus on due to Israel's atrocities in the West Bank, which are hard to focus on due to Israel's genocide in Gaza, which is hard to focus on due to Israel's war on Iran.
IMO Israel's objective isn't to neutralize Iran's nuclear program or ballistic capabilities. It's ultimately to degrade its industrial capacity and economy to the point of destabilizing it as a nation state.
Being a leftist is fun because it's mostly you and your buddies very loudly saying "this system doesn't work and if we don't do anything about it shits gonna get bad" only to be told "shut up don't be unrealistic" and then shit gets bad and those same people are like "wow I hope you're happy."
The notion of "male loneliness epidemic" is rhetorical and lends itself to masculinist rationalizations for shitty behavior. But the sociological trend depicted here is more than rhetorical fodder. We need a politics that can at least offramp young men from the manosphere (from acct in other app)
Polling USA@usapolling.bsky.social · last yr.The boys might not be alright actually
Building a mass movement (instead of a subculture) will require a lot of cringe, so get comfortable with it
Essential reading. A mass movement is rooted in solidarity not social affiliation - an important lesson at a time when people across society are radicalizing in contradictory ways, but open to collective projects resisting domination. www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
How Much Discomfort Is the Whole World Worth? - Boston Review
Movement building requires a culture of listening—not mastery of the right language.
bostonreview.net
Now people realize, from daily exposure to him, that Musk happily lies when it suits his interests, they have much more reason to be sceptical about robot maids and robot taxis and AI powered this and that. Tesla makes cars and it should be valued as such 4/x
Lest we forget: "US workers–including some who may have voted for Trump–are not our enemy. In most cases, they are reeling from 40 years of neoliberalism and a worsening cost-of-living crisis."
Spring Magazine@springmagca.bsky.social · 2y agoFor the labour movement and the Left, the trade war awakens long-dormant political questions about nationalism, free trade, and class power. The Left must put forward a clear political alternative or risk getting swept aside by the forces of reaction and profit. SpringMag.ca/trade-wars-a...
Perhaps it's a stretch, but Zelensky might benefit from the fiasco by adding momentum to Europe's break with US foreign policy and military dependence.
Do we think that the word "fascist" is over-used in American politics? Has its force diminished?
"The 1979 anti-disco bonfire in Comiskey Park can serve as a cultural window into today's anti-DEI purges, helping us to understand..." someone run with this and cite me as a co-author.
Just to underline - the US voted with Russia and North Korea on a UN resolution on Ukraine. China abstained
I know this political crisis extends from more enduring structural crises. But the sheer impulsiveness and megalomania of Musk and Trump makes this connection harder to see (and to sell). I feel like the notion of "flooding the zone" doesn't quite capture this.
As a worker in tech, I approve of this message.
Puff the Magic Hater@mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 2y agoYears ago, after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I interviewed a former fb employee, and I remember her continually emphasizing that these tech bros weren't evil geniuses, but were, in fact, dangerous because they were utterly clueless, totally reckless, and had too much power.
strongly agreed with Cara. some of y'all talk like you have hidden a spare population of unproblematic, unpropagandized people to build a mass movement out of under your couch cushions or something.
Dr. Cara Berg Powers@clbergpowers.bsky.social · 2y agoIt reminds me of my first labor organizing job when my trainer said "The thing that's different about labor is that you just have to organize who's here" and to some extent, the older I get, the more I realize that's true everywhere.
Is there a way leftists can harness the upswell of Canadian nationalism?
DEI is now a 'cumulative target' that represents any social arrangements not overtly organized around white /male supremacy as objects for attack.
Judd Legum@juddlegum.bsky.social · 2y agoMissouri's AG Andrew Bailey is suing Starbucks, arguing that its workforce is too "female" and "non-white" and as a result Missouri consumers “pay higher prices and wait longer for goods and services" because its workforce is "less qualified" This is a brazenly racist and sexist lawsuit.
Meta has suffered numerous leaks at the hands of its employees. I don't buy the bravado, and I bet their employees don't either.
TechCrunch@techcrunch.com · 2y agoMeta CTO says staff should quit if they don’t like Meta’s new policies
🧵"So this is how liberty dies..." Trump’s first 3 weeks have been a relentless flood of actions. It's incredibly hard to keep up. I’ve gone through 69 actions & mapped out the pattern - showing how they fall within 5 broad domains consistent with authoritarian states 1/9
“We should not have to prove our citizenship. We are the original people in this country, but we’re in a scary time right now, and I don’t want any American Indian to get lost in the system. [ICE] ‘lost’ children the last time they did this. It’s just like the boarding school experience.”
Indigenous Nations Mobilize Against ICE Targeting and Profiling
Many are working to ensure their citizens’ safety amid rising reports of Native people being stopped and questioned.
buff.ly
I found this helpful! I especially appreciate the range of scenarios it lays out. I wonder where a mass movement and push back by organized labour might fit in though.
Alex Norris@acxn.bsky.social · 2y agoMaking my debut in @liberalcurrents.com trying to do the least annoying possible version of "actually, it's an autogolpe." www.liberalcurrents.com/is-it-a-coup/