maclarke999.bsky.social
Software engineer, loves classical music, reading, cats, tea, politics. South Australia
255 posts
158 followers
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This comes complete with Star Wars analogy
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I'm an Australian, btw, but have been following this stuff closely for a long time. It affects the rest of the world too
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My thoughts, not trying 2 lecture: Dems must try win elections. They also have very large tent. So pinning down 'who they are' is tricky. Need to focus on getting MAGA out of power (White House, Congress, state etc). The only way is to vote strategically, even if the Dems are far from perfect
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and these examples of 'should have been toast after' are just a few of thousands. I was keeping a document on it at one stage, but keeping up with all his shit became too exhausting
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It's because Dems get held to a MUCH higher bar than Trump/MAGA. Why? Dunno! Trump 'should' have been toast after Hollywood Access tapes, but no. After comments re John McCain: nope. Fast forward. Remember the disgusting act with the mic last yr? Convicted felon gets elected anyway. Go figure
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There are many, many protests being organised in other cities with the fantastic headline of 'No Kings'. If they can remain disciplined & non-violent, this could well be a good thing. There is hope
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Look, I hope ur right & these protests end up being effective. But I'm worried that immigrants will get dragged off to Gulags anyway, in which case community support won't be much comfort, while the rest of yr country lurches further into the Trumpocene. Having said that...
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It's not just MAGA. It's gzillions of low-info swing voters. The pic of someone toting a Mexican flag in front of burning vehicle was an absolute gift to Trump.
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It is possible to organise large-scale, disciplined, peaceful protests that are therefore effective (civil-rights movement, Maidan etc) but not exactly easy. In the case of LA stuff happened so fast it wouldn't have been possible. Now it has got to this stage, it's just too late & the damage is done
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Disagree that discussing optics means 'not supporting the community'. But you've provided a goal - thanks. Trouble is, how does that lead to no more raids, no more deportations? Shouldn't you be trying to gain public sympathy, to put pressure on Trump (aka TACO)?
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If someone sees these images and decides not to join the march, is that the only evidence you need to call them racist? That's really gonna get them on your side. 🙄
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Or they were thinking about millions of low-info voters who see pics of someone waving a non-US flag in front of a burning car, & then thinking, 'Wow, Trump's right.' Those on here who worry re optics are anti-Trump, & do not want folks to be dragged out of their homes, dehumanised, deported...
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Is the purpose of the protests to scream out your emotions and get some catharsis? Then go ahead.
But if the purpose of the protests is to convince others to march alongside you, then optics DO matter. You don't currently have 200m Americans on your side, but that's how many you need.
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There are plenty of racists and anti-racists in America, but there are also plenty of ambivalent people. They like their immigrant neighbors who share tamales with them, but seeing images of burning cars and Mexican flags waving isn't going to convince them to come march beside you.
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Flying Mexican flag in normal circs expresses ethnic pride. Great. We get it. A protest is different context. What's it for? If no goal, why bother to do it? Or is it to achieve political ends, to deflate popularity for ICE, help ultimately defeat Trump? If the latter, what's yr strategy? (2/2)
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Not about what Trump will do. It's about how he'll use imagery to prop up previously flagging support among other Americans, espec. in swing states, feeding his power. He set a trap. Why not see the trap & outsmart him? (1/2)
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I see 👀 a fuck-ton of ya-buts today.
Ya-but they should fly their flag.
Ya-but ICE started it.
Ya-but burning 🔥 cars is cool.
Ya-but we should fight.
Helping the regime by flying Mexican flags, throwing things, burning 🔥 cars, etc, gives them justification to escalate.
Don't help them.
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And the other tragedy is that this is all such excellent distraction from Trump's economic chaos, corruption, and government overreach
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I think it was right to voice yr concerns. The (few) vandals among the protesters, Mexican flags against backdrop of violence, all plays right into Trump's hands. What do the protesters want/need? Win over the majority of voters, or just vent? If vent, what the hell does that achieve for migrants?
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But to be effective, we have to engage with the world as it is and not as we want it to be.
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California is telling me I don’t understand California. The problem here is some Californians not understanding the rest of America.
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As someone who has attended protests around the world, not for participating but observing, I have to agree about the flags. It does make the situation worse. Optics and perception matter, unfortunately.
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…as Russia typically employs 7 to 11 bombers per salvo, it does have longer-term implications.
The loss of even a portion of these asset especially ones that are almost impossible to replace reduces Russia’s capacity for long-range force projection and its overall geostrategic flexibility.