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Val

@Val@lemm.ee

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Val OP ,

One needs to listen to a neo-nazi to understand them, help them. The problem is that they won't listen to us because being angry is easier.

Val OP ,

I should post a follow-up saying "You don't have to listen to people that have no intention of listening to you".

Val OP ,

If this is sarcasm, then this is a conflict of terms that I thought about including in the meme but decided against for a snappier message. Listening can be read as either "obeying" or "hearing out". This meme was made with the "hearing out" meaning in mind.

If its not and you use that meaning of listen then Yeah, Ain't that great.

Val OP ,

Anarchists argue that capitalism is an oppressive hierarchy that should be dismantled. That the ruling class is using money as a tool to oppress the poor and restrict their freedom.

Anarchism is a leftist/socialist way of thought. It does not protect the rich.
Any anarchist who protects the rich is an oxymoron. Like the "anarcho-capitalists".

For further reading: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/the-anarchist-faq-editorial-collective-an-anarchist-faq-full#text-amuse-label-secf1

Val OP ,

Sorry! I over-reacted. You are absolutely right. I am just used to the communist/syndicalist side and so when seeing someone talk about anarchism being against taxes the mind immediately jumps to the an-cap conclusion.

However I wonder how does individualist anarchism deal with wealth inequality? And the above mentioned economic freedoms limiting political freedom?

Val OP ,

I needed a small and quippy option for the meme, but I agree, in this context that would qualify as a "fix".

Val OP ,

Yeah. I made It in inkscape. Happy you like it.

Val OP ,

Really? a typo and a spelling mistake is your bar for bad content? That seems a bit harsh.

Also this video sums up my feelings about english spelling.
https://youtu.be/TEsqY4MH40s?si=Y2CnBLoYCcCPLOj0&t=660

Val OP ,

Anarchism. But it is meant to signify any kind of leftist ideology. I just chose anarchism.

Val OP ,

That is a fair point. Although there is a point to be made that "the system" is democracy and overthrowing a government that doesn't represent the population is a part of the system. But I agree that most people probably don't think that way.

If you can think of any improvements feel free to make changes and upload your own version.

Val OP ,

"polictics" was a typo. the spelling part was for whatever mistake you found in the title. I should have probably been clearer about that, but I thought the distinction was obvious.

I may have responded a bit too harshly. For me a downvote means "This post is completely trash and should not exist", so to hear that a single typo is enough to invalidate it made me a bit defensive. You are absolutely correct to point it out but I think a downvote is a bit too harsh.

Also I know that's probably not what downvotes mean to you but considering how they affect rankings I see them this way because downvote=less score=less people see=should not be seen.

Val OP ,

personally I generally favour blunt and to the point lol

Me too!

I think having these conversations in the comments can be more helpful than posting an alternative, because the people your meme speaks to can read on and hopefully broaden their views!

This should be the goal of this community. To share memes that invite people to discuss them, so the comments can make them think. The meme acts as a gateway to deeper leftist thought in the comments.

Val OP ,

If you don't mind reading there is a lot of more specific questions and answers in this FAQ:
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/the-anarchist-faq-editorial-collective-an-anarchist-faq-full

Val OP ,

Not my fault USA decided to use red for the conservatives, even though red as been the socialists' color since we began.

Val OP ,

The third box is smaller to reflect that it isn't a "real" option. I only added it because I thought only the two wouldn't be fitting for this community (and also complaining without providing an alternative is not useful). It's more of an open question. eg "You need to do something else because voting will not stop fascism."

In the FAQ there are questions like J.2.9 "What do anarchist do instead of voting?" and J.7.4 "What would a social revolution involve?". These might help answer your questions.

In general there is no easy solution. For Americans to fix their system they need to fight for real democracy. I think trying to get rid of FPTP is a good start. However I do not put much faith in any election reform succeeding. My personal (european (although it shouldn't matter)) opinion is that americans should try do build communities outside of government control so when things go bad they have someone to rely on.

I made this meme to just point out something I thought a lot about when scrolling through lemmy and that's that voting isn't enough because the best you can do is delay the inevitable. You can vote, but that won't make a meaningful change.

Val OP ,

So this was an undercurrent I wanted to address: are you suggesting that Americans not vote in the 2024 general election?

As the meme says voting blue means a 4 year snooze. I am not telling anyone whether they should vote or not. Just pointing out how I see the current election. The points you make are sensible and I think if I were in the USA I would vote because of the reasons you listed.

I'm copying some quotes from the FAQ that I think fit in this conversation.
But considering the state of the US I think that at the moment voting is a useful tactic to buy time for organizing, not a solution.

J.2.8: anarchists don’t just say “don’t vote”, we say “organise” as well.

J2.5 last paragraph: [...] anarchists urge abstentionism in order to encourage activity, not apathy. Not voting is not enough, and anarchists urge people to organise and resist as well.

And when it comes to the last paragraph I must admit I am short of ideas. All of the groups you listed have a chance of helping, organization doesn't need to start with a political group, once you have a group together you can start talking about anarchist organization and see how people react.

As an anarchist I believe that revolution starts with the people. Get enough people together with a common goal (or a shared dream if you want to be poetic) and you will have a revolution. This might seem pointless since you're so small, but every revolution needs to start somewhere. And I believe only a revolution can fix the USA right now.

There are also some anarchist orgs like http://iww.org. I wish I knew more.

They will seize control of everything and make illegal anything they don't control.

That's why it's important to create these groups now. Once the fascist are in power it's too late.

Val OP ,

I probably should have put a check on the blue and remove the third option. That would have made it clearer.

Nothing wrong with snoozing. Just don't expect it to fix anything.

Val OP ,

This is in the context of voting. Voting blue will achieve nothing other than delaying. The point of the meme is to encourage people to not just vote, but to actively engage in politics in order to make things better. Basically the same thing you said.

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