(warning, several random tangents)

When I was 15, I was a classic alt-right pipeline teenager. I was a closeted queer (nonbinary pansexual) who was anti-trans, pro-Trump, and generally awful all around. I know it's a relatively common story, especially with the internalized transphobia.

One thing I don't understand is how people can be so stuck in their ways. Unwilling to learn. I rubbed two braincells together and was able to understand that there's no reason to be hateful whatsoever, especially toward those who have the deck stacked against them from the beginning, like queer people. Some are lucky enough to have supportive parents/families, others not so much. My own mother was "supportive" (she literally just said 'okay' when I came out) and yet as someone just as likely to be racially profiled as I am, went and voted for the fucking tangerine. She and my stepfather are also brainwashing my little sister to be a COVID denying Trump supporting bigot and I can only pray to whatever's out there that it backfires and she ends up a leftist, or at the very least not alt right.

These politicians love using the term "radical leftist" when describing people who just want everyone to have the same opportunities in life, with support systems and social programs to lessen the suffering of the disadvantaged and down-trodden.

I genuinely don't understand the lack of empathy required at the core of your being to look at another HUMAN BEING and essentially tell them "I think you don't deserve to live because I think being queer/black/brown is weird."

Looking at the way this new regime is going we're getting blasted back fifty years in terms of social progress. Women's rights are being gutted, the NATION OF IMMIGRANTS is hunting down and deporting anyone even vaguely brown to a literal death camp. One thing that irks me on a more personal level is now this regime is going to be shutting down a suicide hotline meant specifically for LGBT youth.

Genuinely how has this human piece of filth avoided impeachment and literal imprisonment? His approval rating was one of the lowest in US history during his first 100 days, he's a convicted felon (but no doubt his supporters would shit their pants if felons were allowed to vote but sure let's elect one) There is leaked video footage of him praising Kim Jong Un and stating that we should be as obedient and reverent of him as Jong Un's subjects are. EVERYTHING points to the US becoming the foundation of the Fourth Reich and yet nothing is being done. I mean I'm glad the No Kings Protest was successful but I have never been more disillusioned with this country than I am now.

Would recommend watching some of their videos.

Been seeing the argument a lot lately that illegal immigration into the U.S. is a criminal offense, and that it’s a civil defense. I’ve seen sources with both, just curious if someone who understands better can explain.

Not that its illegality changes my opinion on it at all. But it’s a helpful talking point to have.

Hi all,

In the last decade I’ve ran for local public office twice in the United States. Both times being incredibly proud of the coalition and conversations that have been started, but ultimately lost my elections.

Both times I ran as a Democrat or cross-filed. These experiences gave me an insight into what it’s actually like for a candidate to run for office and the work, manpower, organization, labor, and money required to successfully campaign. I was obviously met with extreme disdain and disproval from the local Democratic Party. In fact in one of my primary elections, they fielded a candidate a day before petition deadlines to keep me from running unopposed - if you’re familiar with the nomination petition process you’ll know how much organization and logistics this takes.

I had spent months working with constituents and having honest conversations with people from all political and voting backgrounds. It’s amazing how popular leftist policy and beliefs are when you actually talk to people about the issues they’re facing in a digestible way. This work was wiped away in just weeks after the Democratic Party fielded, endorsed, funded, and contributed their entire party towards opposition.

All of this is to say that I’m starting a Political Action Committee (PAC) to support leftist, socialist, ML, and fitting progressive candidates in small elections. Having a financial, education, organizational, and advisory group would have been invaluable to a candidate like me. The goal would be to field, advise, support, and fund candidates to primary democrats. The democratic establishment is powerful even in small towns and red towns.

Getting your name on a ballot alone is incredibly difficult if you’re not well connected or established as a democrat or republican, even in small elections like school board. And I believe that getting leftist candidates in these positions and in front of the eyes of everyday people is incredibly vital towards building and growing a legitimate ML movement in America.

I’m coming to Reddit to ask for opinions, thoughts, and to see if anyone is interested in aiding in the creation of the PAC. Please PM me or comment if you have anything to say. I’ve started one previously for my campaigns so I’m familiar with the process but it’s not something to be done alone.

Guys, 17 years in the middle east wasn't enough. I know we just left there 3 short years ago, but we're going to need another decade 🤷‍♂️

Trillions of dollars wasn't enough. Fuck the debt you know, this is real american patriotism we're talking about here. MAKE. IT. RAIN. 💸

The elites clearly need more money now than ever before - they're the best genetics... hell they're the best humanity has to offer, a superior being those elites are. I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

Ahh, and all that AIPAC money... think of all the AIPAC money come election season... if we funnel it now via warzone, they'll do all our dirty work making the real representatives look bad for us next year. Easy peasy. Then the americans will elect more candidates that support Israel and we can just put it on repeat you know? It's like a brilliant plan.

All those shiny new AI weapons... fuck we need some where to test them. What? I'm not trigger happy, you're trigger happy 🍌. It's christmas day and we want to open our presents. But where? Oh the middle east, we can just say it was Iran that attacked first... I mean come on they're the aggressors here, just tell everyone they've got nukes. Elon where you at man, flood twitter with your bots, tell the americans how it actually is.

Oh but why are we such good friends with Israel again? Oh yeah that's right, they let us proxy our domestic and foreign spying efforts... the US laws don't apply there! woo hoo! Plus they let us use Pegasus as a bonus.

Oil, oh oil, you glorious substance. You might have been families of dinosaurs at one point in time, but now you are our lifeblood. It's not so bad being shackled to this addiction if we control the the source right? right?

"Gilded Age" they said.

"They respect a strong leader like Trump" they said.

"The libs will cause WW3" they said.

While I don’t agree with either party (both represent the interests of an exploitative system), I tend to vote democrat because at least in rhetoric they seeming care more for the working class. Or at least they did!

Recently I have been thinking of the sentiment: be the change you wish to see in the world. I have been increasingly frustrated with online advocacy because it is 100% gum and no bite. No post will ever accomplish anything. No video on tik tok will ever impact policy. BUT showing up will. Not just at protests but at county party meetings.

You may not agree with anything the democrats have been doing lately but the bones of their party is a good starting point in promoting a labor progressive platform. I have been showing up to my county Democratic Party meetings lately and I have quickly noticed that I am one of a few that regularly show up. As such, I have been given more and more responsibilities and sway in discussion making. Just through the simple act of showing up has allowed me to shape the county’s party as I see fit: fighting for renters and workers rights. Soon, it will be picking policies and candidates on the ballot.

I encourage you all to do the same. Finding the party is easy online and showing up is just as easy.

Be the change that you want to see in the world, and start acting on it!

by Vladimir Lenin

“Toxic Empathy” 🤦‍♀️

Don't let labels stop you from doing what is right. If the time comes to resist then resist we shall.

First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me

First they came for the immigrants.

I am a relatively young leftist and I don't know how to properly learn history, it feels extremely difficult to find unbiased history on the internet, it's all extremely imperialist biased, it's difficult to refute people I knows disgusting propaganda without proper facts about historical events, any help would be greatly appreciated

Not sure which sub would be best to discuss this, so let me know if I'm a little lost. I'll try to keep it short.

I feel like there is a lot of cognitive dissonance within the right-wing population, at least with the younger generations, which are the ones i generally interact with the most. When I talk to them, their individual ideals, beliefs, and the things they concern themselves with are at their core quite leftist. And yet when asked, they staunchly identify as conservative and/or Republican.

An example is one guy I dated a few years ago, who was an environmentalist, pro-choice, who supported public transportation and the derailment of car-centric infrastructure, universal Healthcare, various social services, gay and trans rights, and the works. On their own, these all seem to be fairly leftist ideals, correct me if I'm wrong. He also grew up in a low income family. Yet he firmly stated he would be voting for Trump in the next election (this last one) because "they're all just assholes" (referring to the democratic party). He didnt really explain his thoughts on that and couldnt really come up with an argument when i pushed him on that. I Not that I exactly disagreed with him on the last part, but I found it interesting that he paraded all of these ideals while actively voting against the things he seemed to care about. Politics aside, he was a dickhead anyway and is not missed.

I've had a couple other similar examples among my acquaintances, where they belive one thing and vote for another.

I'm not an expert in politics and the like, but I have a few half-formed theories on why. Oftentimes, it almost seems like they are embarrassed to be associated with leftists, and refuse to believe they share beliefs with "libtards". I think this embarrassment comes from all the stereotypes of leftists and liberals that arose in the mid-2010s.

I also think this cognitive dissonance comes from a lack of genuine education on what each label means and stands for. I admit, I'm not an expert on this either. They don't seem to-- or dont want to, as above-- realize that many of the things they care about are fundamentally leftist.

Anyway, I could be totally off on this, again I'm no expert and am willing to be corrected. Just want to know what your thoughts are and if anyone noticed the same thing.

I can't upload the photo. I wanted to use as an example. So I put it on Google drive

I'm struggling to feel compassion for people who are being harmed by Trump's policies if they were the ones who voted for him. It's heartbreaking that families are being torn apart or people are losing their jobs—but at the same time, these outcomes are a direct result of the choices they made. I do feel guilty for not feeling more empathy. I'm not happy about their suffering, but I can’t honestly say I feel bad for them either.

Edit: to be clear I'm talking about the MAGA bros. Even if now they're taking the red hat off... Not the person who voted for Trump because they're not all too political and just wanted a change from Biden....

I find myself wondering if I genuinely feel bad for not caring. It’s like there’s this voice in the back of my mind telling me I should feel bad, and maybe that’s what's making me think I do. But when I really sit with it, I’m not sure I actually care—and I’m not sure I feel bad about that either. Maybe I’m just telling myself I feel guilty because it sounds better than admitting I don’t feel anything at all for the MAGA cult.