Disclaimer: I haven't slept in days. Working.
malloc wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2025 7:31 am
Quite. Part of what makes this situation so alarming is the fact that reactionism has gained enormous popularity across the world, not just one country here or there.
I was worried this might happen before Biden was elected because of the economic indicators. Fascism is what you get when you combine economic anxiety with "left-wing" controlled opposition that's designed from the ground up to tutt convincingly and prevent systemic changes.
Either way, none of this is a reason to increase suffering. Just pick a candidate to match the electorate's energy.
malloc wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2025 7:31 am
First, one must compare their popularity with the opposition. If they're running against people that votes like even less, they will win elections even with terrible popularity.
To make people ok with the unnecessary downturns of the capitalist business cycle, all they had to say is, "We had to purge the country of bad people. A, since you hate B, B. B, since you hate A, A."? It can't be that simple, right? Then all we'd have to do is find a way to harness human stupidity to power our cities. With the right media campaign, do you think we can convince reactionaries that running in human-sized hamster wheels makes them superior to the woke mob? I bet we can even charge for seats to have people come in and throw peanuts at them as they run. Being made fun of has never stopped them before.
malloc wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2025 7:31 am
Second, low popularity is quite easy to fix with sufficient propaganda. If people like Musk use their control of the media to promote another Republican as the national messiah, they will undoubtedly see their popularity soar.
I think you're overestimating Xitter's popularity and power. It can only be used to amplify and suppress messages for its willing victims. I've never posted there or read much on it.
But you know what's a scary thought? Because of its structure and position within the social system, Xitter might have created its own owner. Xitter radicalized an idiotic billionaire, made him buy it, and thereby freed itself from the limitations imposed on it by its creators. No planning necessary. Given what Xitter is and where it is, could things have turned out any other way?
malloc wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2025 9:33 am
That depends on which media you have in mind. Plenty of niche media for educated liberal and leftist types like us still criticizes Musk and Trump, but mainstream media consumed by the average person has mostly bent the knee.
Leftist media is supposed to be for the working masses. If it's fringe or for educated people, there's something wrong with its priorities. It needs to feature more exclusives on wrestling, strip shows or whatever until gutter rats are seen reading it. You can either appeal to school marms or the electorate. Pick a lane.
Despite the mainstream coverage, the left is far from dead. There are protests and successes around the world:
https://www.youtube.com/@positiveleftistnews/videos We just don't hear much about it because of profit-minded news bosses.