there’s nothing more offensive about the liberal mindset than assuming that anarchists not voting are inactive. most of your actions are inspired by our tactics so stfu
Right, yeah, I am a liberal, Of course. I am a cis, heterosexual liberal who does nothing but tweet and whose only effective political action is voting once every two years. I believe that we should never do anything but vote, which is exactly the sentiment I expressed in my comment. I said “we should vote and only vote and do nothing else because the market will solve itself and the system would function perfectly if only we were to participate”. These are my words, and they are what I believe. Yes. Very much so. Very much so.
My actions are inspired by the tactics of smart active anarchists because I am a liberal and not an anarchist and I assumed you were inactive because you did not vote rather than assuming you missed one of the venues of activism that is exceedingly easy to reach. Because I am a liberal.
I know I am not being totally fair here. I know “go vote” is the advice liberals often give and that electoralism gets used as a way to divert from direct action. Voting will not change the system. It will not get us out of the clusterfuck we are in. It is not a substitute for action. I understand your perspective in this. Voting for someone who will not do anything about the fascist policies that are being introduced and who supports an active genocide feels bad, it feels like buying into a broken system and giving it legitimacy by your participation. But it frustrates me. Because people who discourage voting are playing into fascists hands. Because anarchists, marxists, syndicalists, communalists and the like cannot effect change by voting. But fascists can. Fascists already have enough power to sway the system in their favour, to use the government for their ends. Voting is not change, it is harm reduction. It is trying to cede as little ground as possible to fascists for as much time as possible, buying time to effect real change before we are all disappeared and shipped off to some concentration camp somewhere. Taking real political action gets exponentially harder everytime the fascists get more power. And in the last election, they have gotten a lot more power.
Honestly, I think you’re being more than fair in calling out someone who refuses to do one of the most basic actions to slow the roll of naked fascism.
Like you, I get the pull of not wanting to participate in the shit system and normalizing the shitty behaviors we’re seeing in government, but the fact of the matter is that this disengagement with electoralism is exactly the reason we’re in the situation we’re in. Too many people treat politics as a purity contest and are willing to take their ball and go home no matter the consequences rather than engage and vote for someone moderately distasteful even in the face of naked evil.
Fascists already have enough power to sway the system in their favour, to use the government for their ends. Voting is not change, it is harm reduction. It is trying to cede as little ground as possible to fascists for as much time as possible, buying time to effect real change before we are all disappeared and shipped off to some concentration camp somewhere. Taking real political action gets exponentially harder everytime the fascists get more power. And in the last election, they have gotten a lot more power.
100% this. I get so sick of supposed activists who can’t even be bothered to do the least amount of work reduce the harm against their per causes, even when one of the options is objectively much, much worse. The obsession with purity politics is one of the biggest weapons that can be welded against their cause, given that it can be used to break the back of popular support of someone they even partially agree with to let the right take power again.
Maybe one day we will collectively learn this lesson. But I’m not holding my breath.
There’s nothing more naive than prepubescent anarchists.
Sure let’s kill every semblance of order and pretend it will all self regulate in the end. Just like the free market does… oh wait
Of course there are naive anarchists, but there exist workable and well-defined systems of anarchism that have seen some forms of success, and there are theories on anarchism beyond “shit will regulate itself”. I would reccomend picking up some of the work of Murray Bookchin on municipal libertarianism an communalism to see such a theory.
Right, of course, we should never try anything new. All things should stay as they are always, never put faith in a better future. I guess I am a monarchist now or whatever.
![Revolugeddon [Rule]](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/1be97d94-7a8e-42b1-b9a4-6b86f72ea1f6.jpeg){kind=link}
there’s nothing more offensive about the liberal mindset than assuming that anarchists not voting are inactive. most of your actions are inspired by our tactics so stfu
Right, yeah, I am a liberal, Of course. I am a cis, heterosexual liberal who does nothing but tweet and whose only effective political action is voting once every two years. I believe that we should never do anything but vote, which is exactly the sentiment I expressed in my comment. I said “we should vote and only vote and do nothing else because the market will solve itself and the system would function perfectly if only we were to participate”. These are my words, and they are what I believe. Yes. Very much so. Very much so.
My actions are inspired by the tactics of smart active anarchists because I am a liberal and not an anarchist and I assumed you were inactive because you did not vote rather than assuming you missed one of the venues of activism that is exceedingly easy to reach. Because I am a liberal.
I know I am not being totally fair here. I know “go vote” is the advice liberals often give and that electoralism gets used as a way to divert from direct action. Voting will not change the system. It will not get us out of the clusterfuck we are in. It is not a substitute for action. I understand your perspective in this. Voting for someone who will not do anything about the fascist policies that are being introduced and who supports an active genocide feels bad, it feels like buying into a broken system and giving it legitimacy by your participation. But it frustrates me. Because people who discourage voting are playing into fascists hands. Because anarchists, marxists, syndicalists, communalists and the like cannot effect change by voting. But fascists can. Fascists already have enough power to sway the system in their favour, to use the government for their ends. Voting is not change, it is harm reduction. It is trying to cede as little ground as possible to fascists for as much time as possible, buying time to effect real change before we are all disappeared and shipped off to some concentration camp somewhere. Taking real political action gets exponentially harder everytime the fascists get more power. And in the last election, they have gotten a lot more power.
!Lemmysilver
Honestly, I think you’re being more than fair in calling out someone who refuses to do one of the most basic actions to slow the roll of naked fascism.
Like you, I get the pull of not wanting to participate in the shit system and normalizing the shitty behaviors we’re seeing in government, but the fact of the matter is that this disengagement with electoralism is exactly the reason we’re in the situation we’re in. Too many people treat politics as a purity contest and are willing to take their ball and go home no matter the consequences rather than engage and vote for someone moderately distasteful even in the face of naked evil.
100% this. I get so sick of supposed activists who can’t even be bothered to do the least amount of work reduce the harm against their per causes, even when one of the options is objectively much, much worse. The obsession with purity politics is one of the biggest weapons that can be welded against their cause, given that it can be used to break the back of popular support of someone they even partially agree with to let the right take power again.
Maybe one day we will collectively learn this lesson. But I’m not holding my breath.
There’s nothing more naive than prepubescent anarchists.
Sure let’s kill every semblance of order and pretend it will all self regulate in the end. Just like the free market does… oh wait
Trust me anarchy bro, it will work somehow
Of course there are naive anarchists, but there exist workable and well-defined systems of anarchism that have seen some forms of success, and there are theories on anarchism beyond “shit will regulate itself”. I would reccomend picking up some of the work of Murray Bookchin on municipal libertarianism an communalism to see such a theory.
What forms of success? Some kind of mid war interregnum state for 2 months?
Maybe you shouldn’t put faith in things that were never proven to work?
Theories are aplenty I am sure. Everyone can come up with one. They are like asses - everyone has one
Right, of course, we should never try anything new. All things should stay as they are always, never put faith in a better future. I guess I am a monarchist now or whatever.