A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 1:31 am

DaveA wrote: Mon Oct 14, 2024 8:32 pm Have to admit that I've never bought into the indie-punk ethos of guilt-tripping others into activism, civic outreach, bearing the weight of this or that cause, voting for this or that candidate, and so on. If others care to take all of this on, that's fine, but it's too much monkey business, not my bag, and not even necessarily that effective.

Poor lamb.

We'll get the result we collectively deserve, so let's hope you're a minority.

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote:Go fuck yourself Dave.

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 9:20 am Go fuck yourself Dave.

eephus wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 1:24 pm Yeah, that'll work. Very convincing.

DaveA wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 12:04 pm

losthighway wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 11:16 am We are the worst.

Speak for yourself, I guess. I don't regret a single word above. Nor do I think I was/am being unreasonable. That initial post might seem like some doom-y prognostic shit from someone who's resolved to "merely vote," but it's not out of line as far as I can tell. The ensuing spat wasn't initiated by me, but I am guilty of adding to it, sure.

This message board used to be swarmed with people getting up in others' business about all things political. Trolling, guilt-tripping, short fuses leading to ad hominems, pissing contests, and performative pleading as some armchair form of praxis. I don't have a lot of use for Adam Curtis's movies but he was right when he said that when people voted for Trump in 2016, it was essentially their mode of pressing the "fuck you" button. Nevermind whether this was a terrible decision (spoiler alert: it was); a lot of people were reacting to a general maelstrom of holier-than-thou self-righteousness they'd come into contact with, in the wild as well as online. Yes, racism, misogyny, and class and generational divides were in the mix, and a certain skepticism and contempt for institutions, and--it should be said--a lack of mental acuity, among many, but a lot "politically disaffected" people had their moment, and that moment has yet to fade. I'm not an apologist for Trumpism--hate the guy and what he stands for--but until the left/vulgar left is willing to confront its own ugly behavior, the right will hold an advantage. The answer isn't necessarily to treat everyone abound with kid gloves, but a whole lot of people need to learn to pick their battles. As you can see above. The biggest fault I've found among lefties is a general impulse toward pettiness. This might be excusable among culture jammers, socialites, certain thinkers or artists, I guess, but if you actually want to get shit done IN THE REAL WORLD then you (collectively) need to clean up your act and find better targets.

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 1:33 pm

eephus wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 1:24 pm Yeah, that'll work. Very convincing.

I'm not even that side of the pond and have over 100 PA Dem votes in.

zorg wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 2:11 pm What does this mean? What do you have in what, and isn't this illegal?

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 2:19 pm

zorg wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 2:11 pm What does this mean? What do you have in what, and isn't this illegal?

Is it fuck. You're allowed to talk to the undecided (or the decided, though there's little point in that). It's been my 'hobby' for the past six months, focused on the one swing state.

Fucking exhausting I grant you, but necessary.

losthighway wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 11:16 am And this is why the left is thought to be tedious.

zorg wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2024 2:29 pm You'd make a great JW.