Brilliantly put (although I'm not quite as contemptuous of Obama as you are, and I still believe that the DNC is a better option that the alternative, especially as I support a woman's right to abortion and gay marriage).
What I find sad is how many younger 'progressives' have fallen hook, line and sinker for corporatism (maybe because it's the only type of 'socialism' they've ever known), and will go staunchly to bat for corporations, like Disney, because they do throw them a few crumbs when it comes to issues like diversity and so on, in contrast to smaller businesses that don't have such unified policies, and don't have the same resources to both guarantee these liberal 'niceties' whilst competing with the corporate 'big boys'.
The Third Way has also atomised rights to the extent that a lot of 'liberal'/'left-wing' rhetoric, coming from people who identify as 'feminists' and 'Black rights' activists, is very contemptuous of the poor. Wealth and celebrity is worshipped, and the common man/woman is regarded as an obstacle to progress, rather than a natural ally of *other* marginalised and economically disadfranchised groups.
The implication seems to be, and unfortunate it's a recurrent narrative, particularly within the US, way before Clinton/The Third Way, is that one has to choose between [white] workers (i.e. socioeconomic justice), and women and POC (i.e. social and cultural justice). After all, it was the Democratic Party in the pre-Civil Rights Act South that was both defining itself against big business, whilst, sadly, defining itself *against* Black rights.
And many Republicans who opposed the Confederacy during the Civil War, were not simply motivated in quashing slavery for moral reasons (although, in all fairness, many, like Lincoln, were). Some believed that the South was holding the US back, from an *economic* perspective with its antiquated industrial practices. Obviously, they ended up fighting the right cause for the 'wrong' reasons.
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InquiringMind (2272)
2 years ago
All great points as per usual my friend.
Since we have a slight disagreement about Obama, let me try to persuade you that he is indeed a contemptuous piece of shit.
Even though he ran as a progressive champion of the people, he was a straight up corporatist whose entire cabinet was literally chosen by Citibank (the memo sent by Citibank was leaked to Wikileaks).
He kicked over 5 million families out of their homes while bailing out the big banks and corporations.
He implemented a drone program that killed 90% civilians.
He expanded 2 wars (which he promised to end) into 7 wars, setting the Middle East on fire (for which he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, WTF???).
Instead of implementing something like Med4All, or at least a public option, like he promised, he implemented a right wing plan straight from the Heritage foundation (previously know as Romney Care). And he did this while the Democrats had complete control over congress. He could have implemented any left wing policy he wanted, but instead he chose to do the bidding of the corporations at the expense of the American people.
Obama is a Charlatan and a war criminal. I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire.
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InquiringMind (2272)
2 years ago
Hey this is apropos of nothing but someone is libeling you in this thread:
https://moviechat.org/bd0000082/Politics/640bb1aab6f11e1dde702aed/HarveyManFredSin-you-can-run-but-you-cant-hide-
I don't mean to be like that guy in high school who eggs on people to fight, but I though you should know. I think they should be called out on their bullshit.
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HarveyManFredSin (4877)
2 years ago
Thanks. I'm aware of that guy. I'll just try to ignore them.
What annoys me, isn't the attacks of 'trolling' or 'disinfo', but this idea that I vascillate between two complete opposite extremes (i.e. 'I'm a feminist who hates feiminists') when the truth is, my views are nuanced and complex, which is why I can criticise *some extremists* on the left *without* bad-mouthing feminism or progressivism entirely as a concept.
As I said elsewhere, I have OCD so I struggle with cognitive dissonance. When I disagree with a fellow leftist, it bothers me more from a cognitive POV than when I disagree with a misogynist or a racist (although there seem to be a lot of the latter on this site). So, for instance, I support feminism, but if I see a 'feminist' say "All men are rapists" or "Women are superior to men" it *does* bother me, because I don't accept the former statement (suffice to say, I am not a rapist), and the latter statement isn't in the spirit of the egalitarian feminism that I support.
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InquiringMind (2272)
2 years ago
This is why we vibe. My views are also rather nuanced, which tends to catch people off guard. As a socialist with conservative leanings, I often find myself in the curious position of supporting some conservative ideas while flatly rejecting others. Sadly, many people are hopelessly entrenched in tribalistic partisanship, demanding rigid adherence to orthodoxy and a tidy compartmentalization of individuals into neat little boxes. That's simply not my way. I resist such labels and refuse to be constrained by any particular ideology.
And I also have OCD. It can be a real bitch sometimes. My condolences.
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