this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2024
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Lefty Memes
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An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of "ML" (read: Dengist) influence. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.
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That refers to funny image macros and means that generally videos and screenshots are not allowed. Exceptions include explicitly humorous and short videos, as well as (social media) screenshots depicting a funny situation, joke, or joke picture relating to socialist movements, theory, societal issues, or political opponents. Examples would be the classic case of humorous Tumblr or Twitter posts/threads. (and no, agitprop text does not count as a meme. Please post agitprop here)
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I mean, I think you and I feel very similarly. We are disillusioned, angry, we feel hopeless. Iām not 100% in favor of my strategy. Because it means supporting someone I donāt actually support. But, having weighed the pros and cons, I just feel like there is so much to lose for vulnerable communities. And, on the whole, I feel most peoplesā true intentions in advocating for this are ultimately selfish. Iām not saying that is your motivation at all. You could very much be an idealist. But as a fellow idealist feeling the need to give into my realism as I get older, I find its best to sacrifice yourself and your own sense of idealistic purity for othersāagain, Iām not saying youāre doing the opposite. Itās a super complicated and shitty lose-lose scenario.
I agree that not all third party votes would otherwise be votes for Biden. But itās been proven over and over and has been a Republican strategy for a long time to suppress turnout. Because they arenāt popular. Their ideas are terrible and no one actually likes them. Their supporters are just angry and want to hurt others.
So my thinking is, if itās a Republican strategy to push third party candidates, and itās the third party candidatesā campaignsā position that they are the only hope to defeat a vote against the fascistā¦I meanā¦theyāre not like you and me basing our opinions mostly on rough approximations. They are looking at data that shows how this changes things. There are few things I trust republicans and antivax nutjobs on, but this subject is one of themāprobably the only one.
I get where youāre coming from. But thatās not the way I look at my position at all. If I were a democrat pushing this type of thinking with the motive of getting more votes for my preferred candidate, yeah, thatād be my problematic position.
But Iām a leftist that has gone back and forth on this issue and debated it in my head for more than half of my life. I get what youāre saying, and sometimes I feel exactly how you feel.
Itās justā¦a complicated issue and we are both looking at the same thing, seeing the same issues, and coming up with different answers. Literally, after your post I was thinking to myself, āwellā¦Iām in NY. Iā¦could probably do this.ā But after 2016, I felt so much guilt, for the first time in my life, for voting third party. And that threw my entire view on the subject into doubt.
I dunno. I donāt have the answer. And apologies if I seemed to have assumed you were a cishet white guy. Theyāre just usually the most likely to throw everyone elseās caution to the wind to advocate for their own ideas. Not that thatās what you were doing. Just that they always feel the most comfortable in being reckless with othersā safety and well-being.
No need to apologize for the bit at the end stranger. š
You're a good dudešš
You've given me some things to think about. Again I appreciate your input and your knowledge and your kindness.