cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16451158
this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2026
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As a lifelong Independent, this post can F all the way off.
Yes, this is my civil, indoor voice.
Don't you MFing tell me not to have opinions and free will, and that I should change who I am so I don't make a bunch of establishment Dems that genuinely don't care if I'm alive or dead have bad feels. Maybe the Dems should Fing field people that don't gobble billionaire scroat like they invented it.
And Democrats can maybe, just once in a while, not happily fundraise and capitulate and do the policy strategy version of pump and dump schemes around the central point of "hey, we're not the Nazis, we're the mildly annoying guys that whimper when Nazis do Nazi shit, but do eventually give them everything they want. So it's Nazi shit FAST or Nazi shit less fast with some of us around :D"
"Both sides suck" posts should encourage anyone with guts to see how much of the country wants a god damned set of independent candidates or even, (shudder) another MFing option between Shibag A and XXXL Shitbag B. People need to shed the chains of both parties and run at the local level. Give both sides a fucking scare.
Scratch a neo-liberal a fascist bleeds.
Yes, because liberals are like fascists.
Fucking-A, our educational system is failing.
Neo-liberals in particular, yes. Liberal doesn't mean left like it's come to colloquially mean. It's an ideology in itself, not a political spectrum.
Goes to Vegas.
"I don't care how dumb you think I am, I'm not playing the game your way. If I don't get four of a kind on the first deal, then I fold. Take my money, see if I give a fuck, I can always make more. I want fucking four of a kind, goddammit, and I want it on a fresh deal."
That's how you sound.
Oof, friend, you're going there? As someone that grew up near Vegas, let's go.
It's really more like:
Goes to Vegas. Knows the house always fucking wins. Went to dealers school and used to work on slot machines (for the sake of your analogy, this would be my degrees in political science and experience working with politicians and adjacent to politics, ugh)
Friends say let's go out! Sure, of course, it's expected others will want this even though you tell them the house always wins. Friend says: "The Bellagio is the BEST, I always win when I'm there! You're an idiot if you go to the Luxor! Their decks don't have any sevens!" OK, sure - both owned by MGM Group, so your money still goes to the same place. Still hangs with friends while understanding the context. Still gambles with money I expect to lose on solid bets or when the feeling is good. Occasionally wins and occasionally doesn't. Occasionally, rarely, even gets comped a drink. Doesn't NOT gamble like a prude.
Meanwhile, you're down $5K and still making the case about why only fools gamble at the Luxor, why it's hotel points and perks are the worst, something about the worst of capitalism, etc. etc. and talking up how much money you spend at the Bellagio because it's hotel's points system makes the most sense, why you buy expensive shit from the Bellagio mall as a slam on the Luxor, and something something free bottles of water in the room when you get to diamond silver medallion status! Yeah, buddy. Sure. OK, whatever you say. It's your right to spend your money how you want to spend your money, but maybe telling me how to spend mine isn't going over well.
To me, this is how you sound.
Your genuine inability to understand that is why Dems will always abuse you, guilt you for your for money, and field, at best, plastic centrist candidates that are stuffed suits kept alive by tubes full of money pumped into them by lobbyists. If everyone in the country registered to vote outside of a party and either of them had to earn votes, things would change. But your fear prevents you from seeing that.
I appreciate your attention to detail - but it's a metaphor, my friend. It's not meant to be literal.
Yes, the house always wins. But we are stuck in this casino. We can't leave this casino. So we pick the game that gives us the best odds at winning and we try.
If you're not even willing to vote against the fascists your laziness is hampering your ability to contribute to a real revolution.
If you can't tell the difference between the greater evil and the lesser evil then your lack of nuance is hampering your ability to contribute to a real revolution.
If you don't understand that our voting system is designed to ensure that there are only two viable parties then your lack of education is hampering your ability to contribute to a real revolution.
If you vote, and do nothing else to contribute to positive change, then your laziness and cowardice is hampering your ability to contribute to a real revolution.
Fortunately, these are all fixable issues. You can grow into a more capable person. If enough of us do that we CAN make positive changes to the country, and the world at large.
We CAN oust the fascists. We CAN build a voting system that actually allows for a reasonable bredth of choice. We CAN fix this country. I'm not asking you to give up your opinions or your free will. I'm not asking you to worship the Democrats, or even like them. I'm not asking you to turn a blind eye to all the harmful things democrats have done.
I'm asking you to use your brain and actually steer your actions towards actually making a difference. Part of that is using the resources at your disposal strategically. Closing your eyes to reality and refusing to vote against the fascist isn't going to change the democrats, nor will it replace them with something better. All it does is pointlessly give up ground to the fascists.
Saying I want more options than fascists and fascist-enablers isn't not being willing to vote. Tell me which party our old friend Bernie Sanders is part of and maybe you'll see what's possible.
However, it's insulting to dictate my actions and force me to accept the Democratic party as anything remotely resembling scavengers who enable Republicans to do whatever they want in hopes they fuck up so they can pick up seats as the "other guys." Which is what they do when they're not fucking up and just whiffing reasonable opportunities because they are driven by money and billionaires just as much as the Republicans.
My friend, look at how brainwashed you are to lick Dem boots because you think they're tastier than some oversized Florsheim shoes. I'm asking you to get off your knees and get everyone's boots out of your mouth.
Well, I'm not dictating your actions or forcing you to do anything, nor am I licking anyone's boots.
And yeah, the dems are scavengers. That's still not the same thing as predators. Just because I'm willing to recognize some level of nuance doesn't make me a boot licker. But yeah, stuff your thumbs in your ears and hope the world magically rearranges itself without our input, if that's what helps you cope. Hopefully there will be enough people unwilling to emulate your flaccid passivity for us to actually fix things.
Here's two real world examples that show you how accepting Evil Lite^tm^ is still accepting something evil, and is a foolish trap in which to get caught.
During the Vietnam war, many Buddhist monasteries declared neutrality and just wanted to be left alone to engage in a non-violent spiritual practice. The Americans, naturally, assumed the monks were part of the Vietcong. The Vietcong, naturally, assumed they were passing intel to the Americans. Both of those warring sides were 100% wrong.
When the Americans bombed some of those Buddhist monasteries, they simply got around to attacking the monks first. What you're saying is that those monks who declared their own morals to center on non-violence should have given up their morals and dignity to take up a side and actively engage with that side. You would prefer they debase themselves before dying, rather than stand up for themselves before the same eventual end.
There is a saying associated with the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide: I yo uza kwimenya nanje ukamenya ntuba waranyishe. It translates to "If you knew me, and knew yourself, you would not have killed me." It's a phrase of forgiveness, which highlights the fact of the genocide that many people killed friends, neighbors, even relatives and spouses, because of the fervor of non-thinking and being swept up in the brutality. Not because it's something they felt like doing for years.
It seems like you think you're better than other people because you've been lured to stand on lies and BS that others have piled up for you. And from which they will let you fall and be replaced by someone else when you're no longer useful. Like how Trump views his base. If you really knew who you are, you would see how easily these groups want to manipulate you into fighting your friends, neighbors, and relatives for their benefit. You would see how being forced, and pressuring people to change who they are to choose a side, is not the moral equivalency of "yeah, but they're [label], tho." The MAGA folks have their labels for you and me, too - baby killers and whatever for supporting womens' rights. They genuinely think we are trying to institutionalize infanticide. Look at how deep the wedge goes.
I'm talking to you and only you right now onewomancareteam@sh.itjust.works - this isn't some "who wins the internet" argument. Downvote this, I don't care. I'm taking time and asking you to consider what you're giving up, how much stress you absorb, how many relationships you've seen fizzle, because someone else is telling you you can only be one thing or another. Be something else. Be whatever you want. Be you. Fight fascists all day long without care for their labels, follow their actions without labels. FWIW, when push comes to shove, I'm this kind of out there weirdo politically, which makes me a shitty Buddhist. But I know who I am, and when people try and take that away from me, it riles me up.
Have a good day, and sorry my earlier comment was probably extra spicy. I was probably being a dick.
Gurl...what you're not understanding is: liberals and the Democratic Party are the fascists, too. Notice how Dems in office are still voting to fund ICE and fund the Israeli genocide and how they're still voting in Trump's nominees and still giving Trump standing ovations at his State of the Union (yeah Elizabeth Warren and John Ossoff did that). The reason: all of these Dem politicians are funded by the same billionaires and foreign lobbies that fund Republican politicians. Who funds you controls you.
Vote who you want. More power to you. But if you vote independent in a presidential election, you're a goddamn idiot. Full stop. Because you are voting for someone who literally cannot win.
Fun fact: "Interdependent" isn't a political party. It's the lack thereof. I'm not beholden to vote for an independent any more than I am anyone else.
It seems like you missed the point of not registering with a political party.