Let’s start by acknowledging that previous presidents have been able to mitigate the worst excesses of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in the past and that the slaughter we’re seeing right now is unprecedented and eclipses even the Nakba. Biden is a committed zionist and has willingly enabled this massive escalation of the genocide. Not only did he undemine Hillary Clinton’s negotionations with Israel during Obama’s administration, he has now sent two carrier groups to reinforce the IDF. A president with any spine or moral compass on the issue would have negotiated, and failing that, followed through on an escalating list of consequences similar to those imposed on apartheid-era South Africa. The US stands alone as the only major power in several organizations like the UN, G7, and NATO to ardently support Israel’s genocide. That could end, but Biden would never do that.

Dem technocrats are drastically out of touch and don’t realize how much aggrivement towards the status quo and desire for change there really is. Trump doesn’t do policy and it doesn’t matter because the people don’t care about policy either. We live in turbulent times, and there’s a groundswell of support for a nebulous ‘change’. Trump positioned himself as anti-establishment, persecuted, and radical in a way that was appealing enough to retain his voter base. Meanwhile, Harris’ institutionalism, focus on incrementalist policy, and boring rhetoric failed to galvanize support.

The gap

I’d make the (debatably semantic) argument that liberals, especially neoliberals are conservatives and that those in parties like the GOP and AfD are reactionaries

I don’t think the two of you actually disagree, I think you’re just using the term ‘life’ differently. You’re making the point that there are parts of life that are manmade and subject to change, like the economy which can and should be changed to help people. Meanwhile they used the phrase ‘life isn’t fair’ in what they’re saying is a descriptive rather than a prescriptive sense. They don’t think of it as a thought terminating cliche and they don’t oppose reform, they just see it as an accurate and realistic outlook for the time being.

Actually dumbass I’m on my computer

Or alternatively, ‘no, of course you’re not going to hell, you’ll just be spending time in our heated subterranean accommodations’

The IDF has deliberately killed many journalists and aid workers from the UN and NGOs, but yeah, if you’re not literally risking your life under Israeli bombardment and gunfire you’re a slacktivist.

On a surface level, yes, tribalism is easy to fall into and it’s important to examine your biases and reflect on your beliefs. Having done that though, it becomes clear that the Republicans are in fact stupid and ridiculous. It’s easy to see that their talking points are the results of ignorance and fascist propaganda and not much else. There are underlying reasons for that of course, fascist propaganda heightens feelings of fear, anger, and resentment, and appeals to people who feel aggrieved, especially about the loss of stability, privilege, or an imagined better past. We can’t do away with standards and values. We can’t allow our minds to so open that out brains fall out. Republicans do measurably, objectively far more harm.

Maybe Satan did the math and saw that having warehouses full of low grade condoms would actually result in lower pregnancy and std rates than if he had opted for fewer, more expensive condoms. After all, a barrier is a barrier and quantity is a quality unto itself.

Best I can do is ergotism

The Oval, according to architectural digest

I was primarily saying to have empathy for the non-assholes who are also effected by everything the assholes do, but while we’re at it, you should reserve some empathy for morons. Enough to think about and understand why they are the way they are, but not sympathize with their bigotry and hatred. The inability to think critically is cultivated. Through underfunding schools, through emotional and physical abuse, through brainwashing from childhood in fundamentalism, through lifelong propagandization and the manufacturing of consent, among many other factors.

I’m not saying it’s just the far right. The blues you’re referring to are still right wing authoritarians.

Thank you, I’d encourage you to continue your comment if you’re still interested. I’m certainly not the best writer and it’s always great to see more genuinely compassionate and progressive takes

Delete this

If you feel the urge to argue for collective punishment just shut the fuck up. Saying ‘you reap what you sow’ in this case is regressive and cruel. Fascists enacted this law undemocratically and many people, human beings that you should have empathy for, are effectively held captive by the GOP which has heavily gerrymandered Florida and engaged in voter suppression and disenfranchisement. Think critically for a second and direct your criticism at the right people.

Seriously!? You enjoyed surfing the web? Accessing the information superhighway, a completely novel and unprecedented advance in our ability to explore what is effectively the database of all human knowledge? Statements like this reinforce my incredibly niche but deeply held prejudice against “people” like you.

unnecessary antagonism aside, people have fun learning and satisfying their curiosity, and it’s more rewarding when there’s less bloat to slog through

I don’t think explodicle was criticizing Harris, I think they were criticizing desantis for not picking up the phone and talking to the person he should be talking to