… what the ever-loving fuck do you think laws and procedures are
Well they’re many things, but laws and procedures that will be useful in the sense you described need to be ones the regime either wants to stay in place or doesn’t care enough to notice. The bill in the article is neither.
This loops back around to “My choice of practically pointless symbolic action will Rile The Masses™ and their choice will not!”
Telling the people to resist isn’t a pointless symbolic action, and the point isn’t to Rile The Masses™. The masses are already (to an extent) riled; what they need now is leadership so their energy can be spent on productive acts of resistance rather than a weekend protest every two weeks. The people’s sense of normalcy needs to be completely shattered so they even entertain anything more radical than calling their representatives, and that’s where a half-decent opposition party would come in.
It’s what they’re uniquely empowered to do by their office.
And there the question becomes: Who cares? Their office is now meaningless except, as I said, as a microphone to amplify whatever message they want to deliver to the masses. The power bestowed upon them by their office doesn’t mean the bill in the article was more beneficial to the resistance than if the reps pushing it had been playing a game of backgammon.
You’re right, let’s wait for the horses to bolt to bar the barn doors. Luckily, passing legislature is a super quick and easy thing, so once the crisis is in full swing and not just the extensive rollbacks of LGBT protections current happening, we’ll be able to comfortably slot the bill.
No legislation for LGBT rights is gonna pass either way, so the timing for pushing it is a moot point.
Settle in for the long fucking haul. Build plans. Build the basis for plans. Build the basis for the fucking basis.
Can I have that while defending the people currently being kidnapped and sent to God knows where (or to God directly)? The basis for the basis should be defending the people being persecuted now, not drawing a line in the sand that the administration is going to sprint over. Challenge what the fascists are doing now rather than hppe you’ll be able to challenge them later. I hope I don’t need to quote the poem.
Well they’re many things, but laws and procedures that will be useful in the sense you described need to be ones the regime either wants to stay in place or doesn’t care enough to notice. The bill in the article is neither.
That’s not how government procedures in totalitarian states work.
The masses are already (to an extent) riled; what they need now is leadership so their energy can be spent on productive acts of resistance rather than a weekend protest every two weeks.
That you think the issue is a lack of leadership is… not realistic.
And there the question becomes: Who cares? Their office is now meaningless
Not even close. “The legislative branch won’t save us from fascism” and “The legislative branch retains influence to hinder fascism” are not mutually exclusive positions.
No legislation for LGBT rights is gonna pass either way, so the timing for pushing it is a moot point.
Then why the fuck did you bring up the timing of pushing it?
Can I have that while defending the people currently being kidnapped and sent to God knows where (or to God directly)?
You can. But there might be symbolic legislative action being put forward while you do it, horror of horrors.
The basis for the basis should be defending the people being persecuted now, not drawing a line in the sand that the administration is going to sprint over. Challenge what the fascists are doing now rather than hppe you’ll be able to challenge them later. I hope I don’t need to quote the poem.
No, the basis for the basis is getting fucking organized. You may notice that there are people standing up and speaking, quite prominently. The issue is not that no one is speaking for the people who are being fucking disappeared by the secret police; the issue is that there is currently no serious power base or appetite for serious action in the general population with which to fucking stop them, in large part because left-purists decided to sign over all levers of government to the fascist regime without any fucking ground game to challenge it when it rolled into possession of one of the most powerful states in the fucking world.
Not even close. “The legislative branch won’t save us from fascism” and “The legislative branch retains influence to hinder fascism” are not mutually exclusive positions.
Influence like? Without Republican defectors I mean.
Then why the fuck did you bring up the timing of pushing it?
Because now it’s not making even a statement. You can prepare ahead of time, but you can’t make a statement ahead of time that’s not how that works. Pro-LGBT bill later = pro-immigrant bill now = at least making a statement. Pro-LGBT bill now = not even making a statement.
You can. But there might be symbolic legislative action being put forward while you do it, horror of horrors.
I’m sure as hell not gonna complain if they do both things, but they’re not. Setting aside a few exceptions I’m not hearing a goddamn peep.
No, the basis for the basis is getting fucking organized.
Of course; my point is that politicians in federal officr can (and therefore should) be prompting the people to organize. Right now they’re complicit in maintaining the wider population’s sense of normalcy (see: People being surprised that ICE is robbing citizens). The onus is still on the people themselves to get organized, but everyone with a literal or metaphorical microphone should be screaming that 24/7 so they get their heads out of the gutter. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t, but either way their silence accomplishes nothing.
You may notice that there are people standing up and speaking, quite prominently.
Yes, and there should be more of them. Again, the problem is the general sense of normalcy. Americans don’t understand that they’re in a time of crisis and think things will return to normal eventually, and everyone who can must take part in shattering that illusion. Even if it ultimately doesn’t work, that doesn’t excuse not trying.
Well they’re many things, but laws and procedures that will be useful in the sense you described need to be ones the regime either wants to stay in place or doesn’t care enough to notice. The bill in the article is neither.
Telling the people to resist isn’t a pointless symbolic action, and the point isn’t to Rile The Masses™. The masses are already (to an extent) riled; what they need now is leadership so their energy can be spent on productive acts of resistance rather than a weekend protest every two weeks. The people’s sense of normalcy needs to be completely shattered so they even entertain anything more radical than calling their representatives, and that’s where a half-decent opposition party would come in.
And there the question becomes: Who cares? Their office is now meaningless except, as I said, as a microphone to amplify whatever message they want to deliver to the masses. The power bestowed upon them by their office doesn’t mean the bill in the article was more beneficial to the resistance than if the reps pushing it had been playing a game of backgammon.
No legislation for LGBT rights is gonna pass either way, so the timing for pushing it is a moot point.
Can I have that while defending the people currently being kidnapped and sent to God knows where (or to God directly)? The basis for the basis should be defending the people being persecuted now, not drawing a line in the sand that the administration is going to sprint over. Challenge what the fascists are doing now rather than hppe you’ll be able to challenge them later. I hope I don’t need to quote the poem.
That’s not how government procedures in totalitarian states work.
That you think the issue is a lack of leadership is… not realistic.
Not even close. “The legislative branch won’t save us from fascism” and “The legislative branch retains influence to hinder fascism” are not mutually exclusive positions.
Then why the fuck did you bring up the timing of pushing it?
You can. But there might be symbolic legislative action being put forward while you do it, horror of horrors.
No, the basis for the basis is getting fucking organized. You may notice that there are people standing up and speaking, quite prominently. The issue is not that no one is speaking for the people who are being fucking disappeared by the secret police; the issue is that there is currently no serious power base or appetite for serious action in the general population with which to fucking stop them, in large part because left-purists decided to sign over all levers of government to the fascist regime without any fucking ground game to challenge it when it rolled into possession of one of the most powerful states in the fucking world.
Influence like? Without Republican defectors I mean.
Because now it’s not making even a statement. You can prepare ahead of time, but you can’t make a statement ahead of time that’s not how that works. Pro-LGBT bill later = pro-immigrant bill now = at least making a statement. Pro-LGBT bill now = not even making a statement.
I’m sure as hell not gonna complain if they do both things, but they’re not. Setting aside a few exceptions I’m not hearing a goddamn peep.
Of course; my point is that politicians in federal officr can (and therefore should) be prompting the people to organize. Right now they’re complicit in maintaining the wider population’s sense of normalcy (see: People being surprised that ICE is robbing citizens). The onus is still on the people themselves to get organized, but everyone with a literal or metaphorical microphone should be screaming that 24/7 so they get their heads out of the gutter. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t, but either way their silence accomplishes nothing.
Yes, and there should be more of them. Again, the problem is the general sense of normalcy. Americans don’t understand that they’re in a time of crisis and think things will return to normal eventually, and everyone who can must take part in shattering that illusion. Even if it ultimately doesn’t work, that doesn’t excuse not trying.