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MichaelPhillips

If you become a right-winger because you're annoyed with leftists? You are weak. Most leftists spend every day being annoyed with leftists, but they don't let that turn them into an awful person

56 comments
Alex Keane

@MichaelPhillips It's like that one Simpsons scene with Groundskeeper Willie talking about the greatest enemy of the Scots. Other Scots.

MichaelPhillips

@squishymage42 it is not uncommon to find yourself agreeing with like 90% of the position of a leftist and being willing to compromise on an additional 5%, but realizing that the 5% were you differ is the 5% that everyone who's not already on board is going to see and assume applies to all of you and that's why no one wants to even consider the position

MichaelPhillips

@squishymage42 the person I can openly oppose is significantly less likely to just blow up my position then the person who opposes me on one item in 20 but that one item is absolutely poison

Queue :blobblocraccoon:

@MichaelPhillips I've had leftists call me a fake ally for:
- Not having time and money to leave home to protest
- Not willing to harm myself for someone in a hypothetical situation
- Being queer
- Not supporting China
- Not supporting North Korea
- For being American

And I still feel like capitalism is a death cult and fascism needs to be eradicated.

Every single time someone says "I left the left, they got too crazy" it always makes me just think they wanted to join it for status, and then leave for a different status.

And no one ever leaves the right for being genociders who goosestep while shouting white nationalist slogans. Fucking weird, right?

@MichaelPhillips I've had leftists call me a fake ally for:
- Not having time and money to leave home to protest
- Not willing to harm myself for someone in a hypothetical situation
- Being queer
- Not supporting China
- Not supporting North Korea
- For being American

And I still feel like capitalism is a death cult and fascism needs to be eradicated.

Jay

@queue @MichaelPhillips Was the NK thing about their hating America and enemy of my enemy and all that, or something else entirely?

Queue :blobblocraccoon:

@WhiteCatTamer @MichaelPhillips Probably a little bit of both, I don't recall the exact argument/pigeon chess, but seeing as every pro North Korea/DPRK person is also (rightfully but misguided in ways) anti-America, it was probably a mixture of both.

But that said, I was briefly a mod on reddit's /r/socialism when I *asked* why does the server discord say DPRK instead of North Korea, and it quickly spiraled out of control before I got removed and banned, not without saving some server logs.

MMR Nmd

@queue @MichaelPhillips Uh...leftist defending North Korea ? Leftists bashing queers ?
Then they are fake news and they are anything but leftists, If I may.

It is not because s.o. says he's/she's an ally of democracy or constitution, that he/she actually is.
Remember the guy with tiny hands and orange hair ?

MichaelPhillips

@MMRnmd it's right there in the name a democratic People's Republic is inherently a socialist wonderland and any claims by Western media that it's actually a fascist hell hole is just antisocialist propaganda

MichaelPhillips

@MMRnmd I mean seriously, I usually think that using the right words magically makes your position the correct one was right-wing magical thinking and then I remembered tankies exist

MMR Nmd

@MichaelPhillips Well, I can just assume that we don't know the same persons.

A leftist can NOT be homophobic, or he/she is just not a leftist.

It is as simple as that.

About calling China a communist country, please, stop insulting my intelligence.
China is the most capitalist of all countries, beside USA.

You can paint a sheep in black and throw it out of a plane, it won't make it a flying crow.

You/I can call yourself/myself a communist or an anarchist, it doesn't mean you are one.

@MichaelPhillips Well, I can just assume that we don't know the same persons.

A leftist can NOT be homophobic, or he/she is just not a leftist.

It is as simple as that.

About calling China a communist country, please, stop insulting my intelligence.
China is the most capitalist of all countries, beside USA.

MichaelPhillips

@MMRnmd oh he's definitely not a Scotsman. He does things I don't like

HyperSoop :spinny_cat_aroace: :spinny_fox_agender:

@queue @MichaelPhillips i'm not sure what definition of leftism we're going by but to me you aren't leftist if you support china or north korea

these are not communist states. you can't be socialist/communist without first establishing real democracy.

Queue :blobblocraccoon:

@soop @MichaelPhillips Same. China abandoned pretending to be socialist when Deng came into power, and North Korea reformed Juche sometime in the 2010s to remove all mentions of socialism and Marxism.

It's just weird.

Rich Felker

@MichaelPhillips Nobody does that. It was who they were all along and the signs were clear to anyone who didn't actively try to ignore them.

clayote

@dalias @MichaelPhillips while you're correct, calling fascists weak is observably more effective than calling them liars. They're proud of lying.

MadMike77

@MichaelPhillips I am always fascinated what "being leftist" means depending the country you are from.
"Beeing rightist" seems to match most countries though.

DMTea

@MadMike77 @MichaelPhillips to be honest, a “leftist” is a conservative boogeyman term. It’s picked up since 2015 and has effectively been seeded into infighting through insufferable purists and antagonists.

It’s literally everyone left of center. That’s such a wide net it’s impossible to say everyone should or could agree more than 50% of goals, and even less overlap on how to achieve them.

It’s a bunch of baloney. Fight fascism instead of each other.

DELETED

@MichaelPhillips "because you're annoyed with leftists" Sorry but bombing children with my tax dollars does more than "annoy" me. Maybe it was you who was never really on the left to begin with if bombing children was in your hand to start with, just saying.

But I know, I'm the ass for not wanting to compromise.. checks notes....BOMBING FUCKING CHILDREN

DELETED

@MichaelPhillips
report says that the United States has given Israel since the start of the war 15,000 bombs and 57,000 155mm artillery shells, mostly carried on C-17 military cargo planes. U.S. has also sent more than 5,000 unguided Mk82 bombs, more than 5,400 Mk84 bombs, about 1,000 small diameter GBU-39 bombs, and 3,000 JDAMs. sources says some of the bloodiest Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have involved the use of big US-made bombs

Ariaflame

@deadegos @MichaelPhillips I don't think you see many people arguing this is a good thing. This is a very bad thing. Israel's leaders are doing very bad things. The problem becomes when you assume that the USA leadership choosing not to do this is easy and simple. Or that a change in leadership would make it better.

DELETED

@ariaflame @MichaelPhillips

FML I didn't realize how unbelievably difficult is it to not bomb children. I personally struggle with alcoholism but this sound much harder to control then just saying "I'm not gonna bomb a child today."

Ariaflame

@deadegos @MichaelPhillips Yes, I didn't think you were arguing in earnest but strawmanning instead. Just answer one simple question. Would it be worse under Trump?

DELETED

@ariaflame @MichaelPhillips

I'm a serious as fucking bombing children. I've already changed my party from Dem to no party in Oregon via their SOS.gov site. You all fucking around too much with me.

DELETED

@ariaflame @MichaelPhillips

Most of you people would get fired from your job for saying the N word but would still vote for a man who bombs children because you live in a culture of fear that the other person is worse which you are probably right. If we got to burn it down then lets burn it all and start with the worst of them. I would rather die standing up to this BS. Then live complacent and pathetic. I would sacrifice you for these children. They would probably live a worthier life than u

DELETED

@ariaflame @MichaelPhillips I understand what these children understand, we probably both wish we were never born. I was born a street rat I will die a street rat

Ariaflame

@deadegos @MichaelPhillips You know that Bibi is complaining about Biden 'slow walking' the weapons to him right?

DELETED

@ariaflame @MichaelPhillips

If you ok with just a little bit of genocide then you really are not for all the other major issues you claim you are for, but rather a fucking hypocrite and a coward. In which case I don't give a fuck what happens to you. Its all or nothing with genocide with me. As a white dude self preservation will not be as hard because what you are asking is subjective by your design. Sorry not fucking sorry at all. I won't eat the shit no matter how many cherries u put on it

Ariaflame

@deadegos @MichaelPhillips So you will be happy if Trump wins and increases the genocide in Gaza and Ukraine? Got you. You want to be ideal and pure and pretend that you opting out doesn't make things worse. And no, I'm not voting for them because I live in a country where the voting system is far more sane.

DELETED

@ariaflame @MichaelPhillips Such pious words go fuck your self And your country

Maggie Maybe

@deadegos @MichaelPhillips oh I assumed he was #BlueMAGA assuming everyone who isn’t voting for #GenocideJoe is automatically voting for Trump. For some bizarre reason that cult thinks that every vote in the country goes to one of those two old capitalist assholes. Absolutely not. Some of us want third parties to win so we actually vote for third parties. Because they will never win if people don’t vote for them

arceuthobium

@MichaelPhillips
* Be leftists
* Agree on everything
* Disagree on relative priority of universal health care vs. liberalized immigration
* Get called racists & class reductionists
* Log off of Daily Kos

Qybat

@MichaelPhillips I concluded that many people join that political camp due to the deep fear that the country they grew up in has changed, their values are outdated, and now they feel alienated in their own homeland. "Things were perfect when I was young, before we had people talking funny languages and gender stuff! Put it all back how it should be!"

שחר שמש شحر شمش 🇮🇱

@MichaelPhillips Oh, I don't know. Many leftists are pretty awful. If you become a right-winger because you're annoyed with leftists you just traded one awfulness for another. It's likely you've been an awful person all along.
Identity politics and the black-or-white fallacy kill liberal democracies quite often lately.

Eli Wallach's favorite Bass

@MichaelPhillips Yeah I am hard pressed to believe anyone genuinely switches from left wing to right because of annoyance

Maggie Maybe

@voxofgod @MichaelPhillips I’m currently trying to process this horrible realization that a whole bunch of feminists have gone completely right wing because of trans panic.

And I’m not really sure how to sort this out in my head. I was all excited about the West 4B movement until I listened to a few of their lives and it was all right wing talking points.

They even used the term “the great replacement” in regards to trans women vs. “real women” and I was so disappointed. I’m completely down to decenter men but not if I’m joining some QAnon cult.

And I didn’t know any of these ladies before but they also talk about project 2025 and being against it, so I don’t think they’ve always been Trumper unless they’re just pretending and I haven’t listened to enough of it to see that. Digging into the organizers history on social media, she’s a black woman and an atheist, so I don’t think she’s always had right wing views. But she sure does now, and it seems like Biden’s changes to Title IX really set her off. And there’s a whole group of them.

@voxofgod @MichaelPhillips I’m currently trying to process this horrible realization that a whole bunch of feminists have gone completely right wing because of trans panic.

And I’m not really sure how to sort this out in my head. I was all excited about the West 4B movement until I listened to a few of their lives and it was all right wing talking points.

Eli Wallach's favorite Bass

@maggiejk @MichaelPhillips

Well that is a little more convincing of a narrative than I normally see. But oftentimes with niche groups That's how it works. Everything is crypto-fascist with the exception of the sheep's clothing which is very convincing.

But the idea of title 9 being the reason to go with a person that says yes let's make the police even more lethal doesnt scan for me.

But yeah that's a confusing scenario

MichaelPhillips

@maggiejk @voxofgod terfa have been like that for at least 30 years. Which is when I first became aware of their existence. Back when they created the label and we're proud of it instead of claiming it was a slur

Schroedinger

@MichaelPhillips I would sort of agree. If you trade left-wing ideas for right wing ideas, because you think it will be easier (because the right always presents simple, clear, straightforward sets of ideas. That is part of their appeal), then you are lazy.

Which is fine, until you start pretending it is ideological.

Holding a position of seeking to be decent is really hard work all the time.

Fardels Bear

@MichaelPhillips

While I agree with the general sentiment and remain a left-winger, the 'you are weak' line is typical of an extremely irritating holier than thou attitude.

Tical

@MichaelPhillips I would argue that said person was always an awful person and were fishing for something that isnt/wasnt there.

More importantly it shows the person in question doesnt have a consistent value set or principles to stand on. Going from believing in left principles to anything else shows that you never believed in anything in the first place.

hélio (-e)

@MichaelPhillips every annoying leftist I've ever had to work with has made me more of a leftist, tbh

Purple

@MichaelPhillips becoming a right-winger because you dislike leftists is just an excuse to not to say out loud you agree with discrimination. This is indeed a very weak thing to do.

leah & asm & forth, oh my!

@MichaelPhillips i mean, you can be an awful person and a leftist, but i find it increasingly difficult to believe that you can be a good person and a right winger

MMR Nmd

@MichaelPhillips

Leftist of the world (including myself) be like :

Misuse Case

@MichaelPhillips I’m in this picture and I don’t like it LOL

Michael Busch

@MichaelPhillips @astronomerritt This reminds me of how every so often I encounter people going "political diversity is important" or something similar as a pretext for allowing bigots into social spaces.

As if there wasn't a very diverse set of opinions among people whose politics I can respect, ranging from classical liberalism to anarcho-communism.

I just give no sanction to bigotry.

Gwen the Trans Balrog

@MichaelPhillips
If you become a right-winger for any reason, you were already a right-winger and you were just looking for an excuse.

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