Times like these I'm reminded of Cory Doctorow's position on hope: "Hope is a method: If I do something about this situation, I might change it enough so that I can do something else about this situation."
Only way out is through, indeed, and only way through is to push.
I think a lot about how it felt we were gifted a "progressive future" in 2008 and no we weren't. we have to fight for it. These are the reactions of deeply fearful people grasping on every lever of power. it sucks but progress is never won without a fight.
...and you have to keep fighting.
Every year. Every election. Every school board meeting.
It's never over. Progress can be taken away, as it isn't seen as "progress" by everyone.
The fact that you think voting and attending meetings is "fighting" is precisely why you're losing. Under Biden, we've basically regressed to the 19th century, and you still think you can vote your way out of this. Delusional.
It's part of it.
We have to do everything there is to do and that includes voting and going to meetings.
It also involves running for local office, school boards, etc..
Even becoming a constitutional lawyer can help.
What doesn't help is someone with all the complaints and no answers.
You: "You don't have any answers!"
Also you: *Embodies the definition of insanity by doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result*
The answer is to stop doubling down on failure.
You have no idea what i have or haven't done.
Just like i don't know what you've done, so i haven't been so presumptuous as to wag my finger at you for something i'd just be assuming about you.
The answer is to not be a douchebag.
We CAN vote our way out if we have the ability to fight voter suppression and maintain machine integrity. I don’t have the answers, but hopefully others do.
It's not like a decade of doomerism and nihilism has done anything more than gotten us here in the first place.
Any doctor will tell you that contrary action is the first step towards health
The denialists and Pollyanna’s are the ones in charge, though? Nothing about our response to climate change, or the plague, in any way even suggests that ‘doomers’ have any power at all!
One of whom was Hillary herself, since she was so confident in her victory against the opponent she hand picked that she did little to ensure it. The Trump’s & Clinton’s were so close they went to each other’s weddings and shit. Too bad she pissed off his fragile little ego, and he ran for real.
*waves at replies* I know there are still lots of people who are pretending the leaked campaign emails pertinent to the 2016 election aren’t real, just like there are people who deny the existence of Area 51 because it isn’t officially acknowledged. At this point, it’s best to just ignore them.
I didn't see anyone dooming in 2016. The only thing that would have beaten Trump then is Any Other Democrat. Had Obama not cut Biden off at the knees in favor of Clinton, we would probably be looking at the end of his 2nd term now and Trump would be in the Sarah Palin dustbin
Really, all of this failure has much more to do with the internal maneuvering of about 20 terrifically incompetent political nitwits that the Democrats can’t seem to cut free from advisory roles. Much more than any non-specific doom field, thats for sure.
A big problem with the Democratic gerontocracy is that their frame of reference seems stuck in 1985. The tools they had then are no longer relevant, but they keep using them anyway, with predictable results.
Yeah like hillary would have an acceptable stance towards climate change. She'd talk the talk but back out as soon as her climate crusade happened to go against private interest. People need to stop being fatalists and violently make the powerful fear the consequences of ending the world
Is it really doomerism and nihilism to blame? You can squarely blame many people for the current shit sandwich but they are not the doomers. Democratic leadership for their delusional attitudes, right wing reactionary think tank shitbags, Facebook uncles, but not Bernie bro straw men.
Easiest way to answer is to ask the converse: what if the centrality of doomerism and nihilism wasn't part of our lives? What would all of those things look like if left leaning folk (really, the majority of the country) took consistent positive action demanding better leadership and representation?
The much easier converse of "what if we all just believe and everyone was more involved" is "what if the democratic leadership wasn't delusional," man. It's not like people are just doing nothing.
Volunteer for a local candidate. Donate to a swing state candidate. Call your reps. Go for a walk in the sunshine and remind yourself of how beautiful this world is. Pet the dog. Clean your lint filter.
Hit the streets. There will be protests. Or,join the army of little old ladies (and others) writing postcards & making phone calls on behalf of Dems. 🫡 For me, it channels my anxiety into something proven to help. Indivisible.org will show you how to connect locally.
Hope, faith, and optimism create the possibility of a good outcome, while cynicism and despair close that off. You can't guarantee success, but you *can* guarantee failure.
You can be pessimistic as all get out and recognize that you have no choice but to move forward with whatever means are at your disposal for positive change because it's the only path to improvement.
Bro, with all due respect, please cut the horse shit. If you got something else on offer besides posting let's hear it. Otherwise I think despair is a pretty reasonable reaction here
i'm getting so, so tired of the doomerism on here, and the press loves covering shit like a horse race instead of explaining fundamentals and what's at play, a job that seems to fall to @golikehellmachine.com on here.
so here's a thread about why i'd rather be biden — yes, biden — right now
