The line I'm seeing most clearly right now are people who think "I hope things can go back to normal" and those who know that there's no going back and also that back was not in fact "normal."
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Also, really want to stress, you can say "Just kidding" for waving a gun around in a crowded mall all you like, it's not getting the shoppers back. There's no *undoing* the tariffs.
i had the terrifying thought, oh so briefly, yesterday, that the american project may survive this. not unscathed, but mostly intact enough to recover… *shudder* i don’t believe it will, but it speaks to how unwell i’ve been feeling, how unsure everything is.
Going back to the previous status quo would be a tragedy. Yeah, I voted for Dems to try to stave off this catastrophe, but now that the catastrophe is here, I want us to go forward a build a new republic that is more democratic, more just, more fair, and more robust than the 1776-2024 period.
I just read a post from someone claiming that the continued critiques from the left (ex. Booker’s speech) are purity politics and I feel like I’m going crazy. As I mentioned before, we’re being conditioned to accept less than nothing bc “anything is better” than what’s happening now.
You know, I'm over all of it. All of the online discourse about things that don't matter. In the end, I want to actually DO things with other people. I want to try stuff out and see what works. That's where the bulk of my energy is devoted. The rest is noise.
I feel this. For all the yelling about a different way and a different world, you gotta *do* the different things to see if they work. Play around with actions, habits, behaviors. And folks may shy from that because it's not INSTANT RESULTS!
Yes. I need to be more careful about conserving my energy for what matters. I already deleted instagram, and I feel like that's been a huge help. Gonna keep DOING and TRYING things. Less talk, more action.
My job is my action. I help my local community with getting support and resources.
My other time is occasionally dipping into discourse to learn more, and I try to limit it to just a little bit so it doesn’t destroy my mental health.
I don't think that's the project. People need actual ideas and examples of what can be built and how that can be better than what was. And I'm afraid that those ideas and examples are in short supply across the political spectrum. Lots of *analysis* and very little that is actionable.
I am reserving my energy for the idea that says: "we got into this mess b/c white supremacy is baked into the foundations of everything in this country (which is why Korea can oust its president while 'our' democracy failed after TWO impeachments)
mostly agree! But I think another big issue is that many people distrust that change is possible. Using Trump as an example, the man attempted a coup and faced zero consequences. Dems took control of congress and the presidency and then still did nothing to stop a second attempt. People tried
to do what's right and enable change but still nothing happened. it's disheartening, and makes it hard to believe that change is possible without massive fundamental change in how the US works. Which is hard to envision given the failures in the recent past.
Many people have yet to expand their political engagement beyond voting. If you think that getting Democratic Party candidates into office is the alpha and omega of politics, you'll even fight against reforms needed for an actual competitive, representative democracy. Ask any third party advocate.
We know Trump has and will continue to damage America permanently. It’s sad but the price of democracy. Only Congress can stop this debacle and, well, we all know how useless they are! @democrats.senate.gov @republicans.senate.gov
What was normal was not okay. Inability to own a home or rent an affordable one, astronomical college loan & medical debt, being at the mercy of exploitative employers in order to maintain access to a labyrinthine, miserly healthcare system...
I won't settle for that. We have to do SO much better.
I’ve said before that the dividing line in the Democratic Party is people who thought things were basically great in 2015, and those who thought we still needed dramatic improvement
I seriously believed that Covid so quickly & obviously exposed all the flaws in all the systems & that finally everyone would see it & real change would come. I still believed in people even then. I’m struggling now
People still think that over here in the UK.. but normal after Brexit doesn't exist.. just higher prices for everything and some products you cant buy anymore
Really long normal: stopped ca. 2k yrs ago as patriarchal religions began domination;
Longer normal: stopped ca. 1492-1619 as colonialism mutates from patriarchy;
Long normal: stopped for grandparents;
Normal: stopped in your formative years;
New normal: Just stopped.
Cognitive Dissonance.
The ability to know you've made a horrible choice.
The stoopidity to stand by that choice & justify it to the bitter end.
Political Scientists have spent decades studying CogDis
The past is gone. Elon, another self proclaimed genius at everything, tore a functioning government apart, losing pieces, destroying others.
But new possibilities for positive growth will emerge, if we can get the most corrupt bunch of wealthy scum out of the government works.
Even if America could go back to ‘normal’, it would take decades to unpick all the harm that Trump, Musk, and the Republicans/Democrats have done, or allowed to happen.
Not going back to “normal”
is honestly the thing that gives me hope. We may get a chance to actually make things better sine we’ll be starting from scratch. It’s a small sliver of hope, but it’s there.
At the very least this should be a wake up call to everyone. I hope this will be the end of complacency for a few generations. But, the cycle will repeat again,…
We can’t seem to help ourselves.
This was the post right above yours in my feed, and it felt indicative. I read it and immediately thought “you might as well threaten to slap them with a wet noodle”.
I think that most Democrats are looking to Nov 2026 midterms. And who can blame them? It's what's on offer and it's what people know. If alternative paths were clearly visible and people had points of entry, they might do something else.
Fair. I was yelling at my reps in that vein, but that is bc I am so frustrated that I am willing to try ANY tactic just to get them to DO something, but it also feels super hollow, given the pace at which they are moving vs the pace at which the admin is dismantling things.
Side note: my most effective form of evangelism at the moment is still spreading the word about LTRY at progressive education workshops all over the state. This week, it was a restorative justice workshop and people demanded links so they could buy it ASAP. “Refusal to abandon” is an instant draw.
I thought this about the last campaign. Dems and their slogan “we won’t go back,” but that’s what they were promising, going back to some stable neoliberal era, and not “we will go forward!” They did not campaign on going forward. At least to me.
The normal of killing Americans in drone strikes, or the normal of starting wars based on lies? Or are we going all the way back to the normal of getting head from your intern?
“This is a global attack by the rich on everybody who came out of the 20th Century with a bit of wealth and/or security”
.. a few weeks ago, about 10% would agree, and the rest tell me I’m a conspiracy theorist who should be ashamed and vote for Starmer to stop the fascists
I call it out every time someone says they want to go back to normal. I don't. I don't want this, but it's not THAT different than a lifetime of daily life for someone like me.
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My other time is occasionally dipping into discourse to learn more, and I try to limit it to just a little bit so it doesn’t destroy my mental health.
Whatever you feel about it, “loyal Dems” represent like 30 percent of their own party at the moment and no one else.
They are literally being reduced to noise.
Now it’s end-stage capitalism’s bayonet in our backs and its shackles on our wrists and ankles.
“It’s OK to have slaves again!” cry the oligarchs celebrating their “new normal.”
Reverting back to our "normal" of end stage capitalism merely resets the clock for more fascism
End stage capitalism drives fascism, that's a big part of why we see it on the rise globally FFS
Capitalism is inherently anti-democratic, we need to get rid of it
" #normal " #corporate - driven #plutocracy:
I am reserving my energy for the idea that says: "we got into this mess b/c white supremacy is baked into the foundations of everything in this country (which is why Korea can oust its president while 'our' democracy failed after TWO impeachments)
Let's attack that first"
“Normal” wasn’t honorable or just.
“Normal “ had never accounted for the sins of the past.
I won't settle for that. We have to do SO much better.
Change is the only constant, and forward is the only way we will go
I want to get back to the work of righting past injustices and getting us all on a level playing field
“Normal” is a subjective delusion we tell ourselves to feel safe and included.
The world is every kind of nuts.
Accept and learn to love the chaos.
Really long normal: stopped ca. 2k yrs ago as patriarchal religions began domination;
Longer normal: stopped ca. 1492-1619 as colonialism mutates from patriarchy;
Long normal: stopped for grandparents;
Normal: stopped in your formative years;
New normal: Just stopped.
The ability to know you've made a horrible choice.
The stoopidity to stand by that choice & justify it to the bitter end.
Political Scientists have spent decades studying CogDis
And destruction of the current government leaves space for something new to grow. The fascists already have their plans for that day, do we?
We will have the same opportunity to fill the vacuum as they will.
But new possibilities for positive growth will emerge, if we can get the most corrupt bunch of wealthy scum out of the government works.
is honestly the thing that gives me hope. We may get a chance to actually make things better sine we’ll be starting from scratch. It’s a small sliver of hope, but it’s there.
We can’t seem to help ourselves.
1. They never actually felt any of the oppression of being a minority or a woman
2. They did feel it but are complacent and accepting of oppression
Neither are anything I support.
“This is a global attack by the rich on everybody who came out of the 20th Century with a bit of wealth and/or security”
.. a few weeks ago, about 10% would agree, and the rest tell me I’m a conspiracy theorist who should be ashamed and vote for Starmer to stop the fascists
Now ~50%