We're about a decade in to this weird narrative where apparently centrists will always be driven right by us on the left but are somehow magically never driven left by the far-right.
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I think a big reason for that is that it's easy to be right wing, as it takes no actual effort and introspection
Being left wing though actually take some effort and self retrospection, and therefore is a lot harder to understand and agree with
Just because the Overton window moves for some doesn't mean it moves for everyone, but everyone judges where everyone else is based on where their window is. Being a moderate means saying no to both extremes. Not some asinine compromise.
Ah no the thing is you see - the far left push centrists away because we're not serious politically, and the far right pulls the centre towards them because they're very serious and acceptable.
Also, these terms are all defined by the centre, who we *insist* on pushing away, so that's on us
In theory Dems are "driven right" by the voters who are repelled by your bullshit.
In fact, the policies Biden implemented were extremely progressive and you never stopped shitting on him.
It’s a false narrative. Anecdotal I know…but I watched my centrist, split ticket in-laws & family members actually stay put in their beliefs and vote straight ticket Dem when the 🍊🤡 got the nomination in ‘16
For most of my adult life, I thought I was the most boring centrist in the world, haven’t moved an inch from that position, and suddenly my views are being called leftist extremism. It’s ridiculous.
Centrists are just lazy and ignorant but want to hold onto power and feel like they’re morally superior. They want to whine about Trump but don’t bother them with anything that’s going make them late for brunch.
Decades ago I was a centrist, and I've been driven left. It was a little bit because the right is so toxic, but also because the center-right foot drags so much (like the famous "white moderate" from MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail).
It’s always the fault of the Left.. we’re too this, too opinionated, too exclusive, I’ve even been told it’s because we’re too intelligent and don’t appeal to the working class.. ffs 🤦♀️
I guess I’m the opposite of that trend, though I don’t feel like I’ve shifted to the left, though I’m certainly voting like it. For me it’s more important for the center and left to unite to counter and out vote the alt-right.
Have you considered that the reason you keep losing moderates to your “side” is that you are incorrect in your assessment of who they are and what they believe?
It's crazy how certain media outlets are fucking experts on this and have somehow never worked out if it's possible to go in the other direction. Only right for some reason while they scream about how sandwiches have woke fillings
I always thought I was the center left. Now, finding the left (speaking of the extreme here) I more accurately fall center - center. My previously right wing spousal unit is now center left. How that happened....🤔
Yup. I've always been a history nerd. This is a story as old as time. Spouse doesn't read much and thinks things will blow over. It'll pass. It won't. I truly fear for the young. It's going to be hard.
100% fear for the young too, and feel for the parents that must worry about them. Never had kids myself, kind of wish I had but on the other hand at least there's no one to worry about
"Stop being so obsessed with left things, the left, you're making the centrists go right wing!" Meanwhile literal nazis have seats in parliament, are running countries and appearing on our tellies but WEIRDLY that doesn't drive the centre to the left. All very 1933 coded.
"The Left PUSHED me into being rightwing by being too woke!" is very "Look what you made me do" abuser-brained logic where they conveniently get to deflect any personal responsibility for their own choices.
If all the right start nazi saluting it will be a minority. Their father's will slap the backs of their heads. The left will go meh and let them have a power wank. What do they want ? Gilead ?
it’s way more 1918 coded imo. 33 only happened bc they killed rosa when the social democrats wanted to keep power and parliament seats rather than change in the revolution.
The centre is forever telling the left that, whilst our ideas might be nice, nobody will vote for them, while also saying that whilst the ideas from the right are horrible, they may prove popular, so they better just copy them.
I’ve had some centrists spitting with rage in my replies over this. Weird coz I’m clearly mugging off the narrative I describe, not the individuals. But cool, lads, you continue to call me a bullying extremist who has ruined society while you got the exact government you wanted.
A lot of “centrists” prefer fascism over social democracy. I’m not even going to say they prefer it over socialism because lord knows they draw the line way before socialism.
Nah. That just an illusion. If the far left moves farther left that doesn’t mean we centrists moved right. No more than MAGA has moved never Trumpers to the left.
Obama captured the centrists just fine. Maybe the left should remember that. The DNC, the media, and over 15 million people who normally vote Democrat....all refused to support a Black Woman. WE fucked ourselves!
Obama himself was & is a centrist. To the point that during his presidency he repeatedly made it a bragging point that his econ policies were no different than a Reagan-era Republican's. Centrist voters voting for a centrist politician isn't some kind of "gotcha" here.
They are driven left by the far right though. That's supposedly one of the drivers of the increased vote share for the lib dems. The Tory party have to be careful when countering Reform as they can push voters away.
When every news outlet is pushing hate it's easy to get sucked right. Still wild that wanting the best for EVERYONE is considered a crazy leftist ideal.
It’s pretty much a daily ritual, getting annoyed by my fellow travelers on the left, but never once did the right seem more appealing. Like chronically online theory bros just get blocked but it won’t make me go “yeah, maybe I should give opposing healthcare for trans folks a try”.
It's because the far-right often has no shame in just making up facts that are persuasive at face value, and bombarding you with reasons this affects you directly without giving you a second to think critically.
Not sure I have ever met a centrist IRL. Plenty of people who don't know/care about politics but near everyone has an opinion if you chat a bit. Actual centrists must be a small minority and just happy with the status-quo (in other words, conservative)
WE FACE DEATH IN ALL FORMS: bombs, hunger, and lack of medicine💔
I’ve been struggling for a week to find flour for my family, but it’s scarce and now costs $150 per bag😔
I see myself as moderate, rather than centrist. But sure, labels make life easier.
I agree with certain elements of socialism, certain elements of capitalism.
So really, anybody who's moderate will end up eating shit from both sides. Absolutism just polarises.
Compromise on some things, sometimes.
From seeing the way that the right have alienated any and all moderate Republicans, pushing the consensus further right than Genghis Khan, I've seen plenty of them going Democrat.
The Lincoln Project are a case in point.
There's no fucking way I'd compromise now. They have eliminated that option.
My mom has always been a huge proponent of the "well it's the left's fault for being too weird and unrelatable," but this year was the first year she was like, "Yeah they saw what a bigot Trump was and ran to him, it has absolutely nothing to do with anything from the Left."
It's wild that they have just enough self awareness that airing rightwing beliefs makes someone look like a bad person, yet somehow not enough self awareness to realize that stubbornly holding onto those rightwing beliefs in the first place is what makes someone a bad person.
So how do you explain that I'm a centrist and I denounce everything the right stands for? So you consider me a right winger that hates what I stand for? I've heard of mental gymnastics, but wow.
I think the centrists are the apathetic. They don't care to pay attention, nor care to provoke change. They enable the loudest side because they will happily leave those that care do the work.
Like here's a picture of me last Tuesday standing outside City Hall after speaking to the City Council about designating our city as a sanctuary city for LGBTQ families in the wake of the Trump election. Everyone in the audience (most of whom were socialists ironically) applauded and cheered.
I mean, i think the only irony here is that you 'oppose *everything* the right stands for' and propose policy that has the left cheering and somehow think this puts you in the centre...
And I can't even begin to tell you how upset nonbinary people get when I refuse to accept being called "cis". They argue that I don't understand what "cis" means, then they start citing definitions to force that label on me without consent. Clearly I am not the left if I refuse their ideologies.
I can't tell you the number of trans people that have blocked me because I tell them that their definition of "woman" is just as fallacious as that of TERFs. That clearly puts me in the center. Nice try.
Strange, that I'm a centrist and I'm constantly working for change -- dare I say even moreso than many leftists who just sit online complaining like armchair activists whereas I actually go out and advocate for change and have successfully even made numerous advances in my city for LGBTQ rights.
Funny that isn't it? Almost like they are never centrist, just right-wing pricks in denial, because they are afraid of being attacked. The idea of centrist may have existed, but long ago it ceased being a thing and now it's just people who are afraid that they will be labelled. Serves them right.
Decade? This has been going on since McGovern lost in '72. The only thing that has changed since that election is that we haven't had a center-left nominee since then. But always, every defeat is why the establishment faction has to veer even further right.
That would be the logical take away to go to the left since going to the right didn’t work…and I think Harris did fantastic considering the circumstances but Palestine was an error dampening people’s enthusiasm.
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Being left wing though actually take some effort and self retrospection, and therefore is a lot harder to understand and agree with
Also, these terms are all defined by the centre, who we *insist* on pushing away, so that's on us
In fact, the policies Biden implemented were extremely progressive and you never stopped shitting on him.
I don't know if it's common, but it does happen.
We are in, at least, the 5th consecutive decade of this.
You know, like how a coward would behave.
“YoU mAdE mE dO It”.
“Umm, but they’re literally the norm in much of Europe.”
“Yes, but the UK is exceptional!”
“Exceptionally bad?”
“Stop being unpatriotic!”
“Umm, but you’re the one who said we can’t achieve things that the rest of Europe manages to.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window#:~:text=The%20Overton%20window%20is%20the,population%20at%20a%20given%20time.
I never dreamed that could happen, what happened to this country?!
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/137156-obama-says-hed-be-seen-as-moderate-republican-in-1980s/
They move right because that’s what they want to do and what their owners want them to do.
They don’t want what you want. They never have.
I’ve been struggling for a week to find flour for my family, but it’s scarce and now costs $150 per bag😔
Help as much as you can Please🙏
donate and RT🫂
https://chuffed.org/project/115127-help-abdalla-and-his-family-escape-from-gaza
I agree with certain elements of socialism, certain elements of capitalism.
So really, anybody who's moderate will end up eating shit from both sides. Absolutism just polarises.
Compromise on some things, sometimes.
The Lincoln Project are a case in point.
There's no fucking way I'd compromise now. They have eliminated that option.
I know more than a few centrists who've moved left because of Trump and the MAGA hatefulness.