Ok so you join a leftist org. What makes you admirable to other people?
-Risking jail time and loss of job -Getting thrown in jail -Successfully lobbying Democrats
fuck that shit. I'm not going to lose my job for ideology or spend time on my knees in front of Democrats. GOOD JOB if you can.
This isn't meant to say that rightists are better, I spent many years growing up around rich, right intelligentsia, and they are a miserable bunch. Nor is this meant to insult people who sacrifice their life for political causes,
…but the standards for being a "good leftist" or a "real leftist" are insane.
I can't even get my own place or get off of drugs! I'm not going to make my life more miserable.
Daniel Parker
These things are a reality in most of the world not for being a leftist or a fighter, but simply not being enough of a slave. Ah, I guess being an American you haven't felt what a short leash feels like.
When it becomes organize or die, it will be too late to organize
Michael Brown
I've organized, and the standards are ridiculous and too high. I'm out.
Also, I've come quite close to death a few times thank you.
Adam Campbell
I know exactly what you mean op. I don't think I'd ever risk my ass unless I was sure whatever I was doing would have an actual impact. I refuse to go to jail for meaningless riots
Austin Lee
thank you :)
There's millionaires and celebrity figures out there in leftist land who are fine risking jail time and telling their supporters to do so, because they have good lawyers and they are in good health.
If I get thrown in jail I go through possibly life threatening and horrible drug withdrawal, no thank you. Guess that makes me a "lumpen" or whatever.
Angel Wright
OP lists 3 non sequiturs and all of the above posters just caught that bait.
1 and 2 are same point. As far as I know political activity is still not illegal in this country. 3 does not even fly with majority of those on this board.
Congrats to all of the critical thinkers above me.
Gavin Diaz
Frankly you don't have to be in a party/reading group or whatever to be a 'good' leftist. Activism has its limits and you can do just as much agitating in an organisation as you can out of it. Organising is another matter and that will never be easy.
what did he mean by this?
Angel Moore
There is only one way OP, become the Doomed Man.
Remember, entryism is key. The wall is the last part.
Daniel Rodriguez
3 is the main tactic of the left don't kid yourself
Most Marxists are Trotskyists, not violent revolutionaries or people that win political office
Aaron Lopez
Hey OP most leftist orgs on the first world are not doing much anyway.
spread class consciousness and the worst you will get is bad reputation , maybe a few punches if you talk to the wrong people.
Joshua Parker
Organising is another matter and that will never be easy.
Organizing is the easy part! I have like 30 people on call to join me in whatever I want to do! But the getting stuff done is too much now. Too much.
Kshama Sawant Jill Stein Chris Hedges Mimi Soltysik Angela Davis Noam Chomsky etc
By celebrity, just read "people famous within left circles who are alive and live in the U.S."
Carson White
or lose your job I got a lot of evil eyes after using the phrase "wage slavery" at work.
Joseph Moore
Right? And these people think that sacrificing everything for a meaningless cause is so fucking noble..
Used to be part of this trot org. All its members were senior citizens and "lifelong revolutionaries". They work full time in terribly conditions with some naive hope that they could start some resistance from the inside. It was fucking tragic. Being so educated and wasting your life on a cause that you won't live to see it bear fruit. I'd hate to be that guy
Grayson Johnson
I don't know man, maybe those two might be related.
Samuel Morris
Considering I got on drugs while I had my own place. No.
Another thing about the left and right that is dumb, shaming
Ayden Nguyen
It's not shaming, it's the reality of drug use. Drugs are expensive. You don't really seem to be able to afford them, so the obvious solution is to try and cut down your use, with the end-goal being either sobriety, or at least a more sustainable lifestyle.
I'm not going to sit here and say that I've never had anything resembling a substance issue. I know it's hard to kick these habits. But if it's causing problems in your life, you're going to have to break the cycle sometime. It won't solve all of your problems, but it will free up a lot of resources.
Michael Reyes
They cost me $0, cuz insurance from work
Hudson Carter
And I am cutting down on my use, it's just going to take 2 more years to get off completely and at least another 2 years after that to function normally
Brody Hill
this exactly. it just irks me seeing celebrities like michael moore out there co-opting the anti-trump sentiment as well. like, shut the fuck up and give your money away to the poor and sick if you care so much, i mean, its one thing if its someone who is slightly middle class or whatever, but moore and others like him have millions in the bank, that's not fucking middle class, that's more money than I'll see in my entire working life
Landon Ward
That's an amazing quote. I honestly feel like the man in the quote more often than not. Might I ask where it is from?
Colton Hughes
that doesn't bother me, because Moore doesn't (to my knowledge, I don't really follow him) tell his supporters that the only way to have an impact is to risk your job like Chris Hedges and others
Ok, sure, I'll give you that. Hedges definitely comes off as a dogmatist, I can confirm this. In talks he will often tell other people that they aren't doing enough for the movement and stuff, when he himself is mostly an armchair revolutionary (e.g. wants to see results from organizing but never is willing to put in the required work himself).
In general, someone listed tons of others with this same mentality though. They get hooked into the NGO / Democratic Party front organizations that do absolutely nothing other than serve the careerist / lifelong "activist" types. These people are utterly worthless.
I'll admit Hedges and Naomi Klein types have good books, but sometimes their ego is too much, they just soak up all the attention at rallies and it becomes a major distraction from say, smashing up the banks and stuff. That shit gets annoying
Sebastian Lopez
There were tens of thousands of protesters at that Trump inauguration and only like 50 black bloc people. The peaceful leftists aren't soaking up anything, they are just larger in number
Jack Jones
Translation: I don't want to take any actions or think about what I need to do to change society for the better. I'm comfortable, fuck the rest of society.
Jason Brown
This. From what I can tell, most people on this site including us are here because they were too hot for someplace else.
seriously underrated post
Angel Carter
Now you're saying I'm comfortable after I just told you I'm going through serious drug withdrawal
Jace Reed
No one told you to take drugs faguette
Cooper Clark
The goal of speaking the truth is not to be admirable.
Christopher Brooks
And yes I was told by multiple people to take drugs.
Nicholas White
Just do as much as you're able then.
Samuel Murphy
Same user, by the way I was also a drug addict living in my mom's house a year ago (and now a year clean from heroin). If you feel you can't do anything for leftism because of your addiction, maybe the best thing to do would be to get clean first.
