• A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    yep. Don’t fuck with the mail.

    Especially in the times we are in right now.

    Which is why these carriers, as much as I sympathize with not wanting to deal with the hateful messages, need to be punished severely and swiftly.

    • ToastedPlanet
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      2 months ago

      We shouldn’t punish people for standing up to fascists. Fascists are acting in bad faith and bad faith actors will abuse any system no matter what. We should focus on defending our institutions from infiltration by bad actors and refuse to tolerate intolerance.

      • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        and part of defending those institutions is punishing bad behavior, regardless of how much you might agree with it or think its righteous.

        Because the carrier does not get to dictate who gets what mail. Their job, the entire basis of the institution, is to deliver the mail on their appointed route, regardless what it is, regardless to whom it is to.

        You arguing that each postal carrier has some intrinsic right to not deliver mail they find objectionable is arguing for the destruction, not the defense, of the US Postal Service.

        • ToastedPlanet
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          2 months ago

          regardless of how much you might agree with it or think its righteous.

          It’s got nothing to do with me or righteousness. This is about strategic decisions to defend life and liberty from bad faith actors such as fascists.

          regardless what it is

          Not if it’s dangerous to the people it’s being delivered to. We do not want dangerous substances or bombs sent in the mail.

          You arguing that each postal carrier has some intrinsic right to not deliver mail they find objectionable is arguing for the destruction, not the defense, of the US Postal Service.

          No, I am arguing that we as a society should refuse to tolerate intolerance. Gender affirming care is a collection of lifesaving medical treatments. A ban on gender affirming care would deny trans people the fundamental right to exist. The success of this targeted disinformation campaign would put trans people in a life-threatening situation. By refusing to spread this disinformation campaign, this Canadian woman made the strategic decision to defend life and liberty.

          Here in the US, the MAGA movement, a christo-fascist movement is attempting to takeover our democracy this November 5th. Depending on the outcome of the election we me all soon find ourselves in the position of this woman. Acts of civil disobedience might be the last line of defense to prevent the worst outcomes of fascist policies. We should not allow our institutions to be the instruments of our destruction. edit: typo

          • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            You can drown your post in as much honey sweetened words as you want.

            You are still, ultimately, arguing for the destruction of our institutions by trying to give the people you agree with special privilege to do wrong that you agree with.

            It is not the postal carriers job to censor or filter the mail. It is their job to deliver it.

            Flip the story around.

            Its now a right wing mailman refusing to deliver stuff that he doesn’t like.

            My argument would be the same, That they would need to be punished severely to protect the institution of the US Postal Service, in order to prevent other bad actors from doing more of the same and destroying it from the inside.

            I highly doubt you’d mount such stalwart and furious defense of a right wing mail carrier, as you are right now.

            You are as much a cancer and threat to our institutions as all the other bad actors.

            • ToastedPlanet
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              2 months ago

              Fascists subverting the mail for their own ends to the detriment of other groups’ liberties would be a form of intolerance which we should not tolerate. That is what the fascists were doing in Canada without evening needing to infiltrate the mail service. We should prevent them from doing this if it happened here in the US. To do otherwise would be to be complicit in our own destruction. We should not put our institutions above our liberties. Our institutions are meant to be for our benefit and not tools for fascists to destroy us. To put it another way, standing up to fascists does not make us fascists.

              Your argument gets into a common neoliberal talking point about our institutions. That they are infallible and that any attempt at systemic change would destroy them. So in my argument I’m going to talk about US institutions more broadly for a bit. My point is that our institutions are deeply flawed and without systemic change we will lose them.

              Our democracy, our market economy, and our mail service are all essential institutions. However our political, economic, and public institutions are flawed. Our democracy is comprised of anti-democratic institutions such as the Senate and the Electoral College. These allow for minority rule and routinely prevent popular legislation that is supported by the majority of the population. Our economy is in the death throes of late-stage capitalism. The owner class has extracted so much wealth from the worker class the only way from them to gain more wealth is to form an oligarchy around a christo-fascist dictator. And our mail system uncritically allows for the spread of life-threatening disinformation campaigns on well researched and understood topics. Not only do these disinformation campaigns threaten groups of people they threaten our democracy as well.

              Our society is a fundamentally useful tool that benefits around 340 million people. If we categorically refuse to improve upon it will eventually self-destruct. The way we are living is not sustainable or equitable. The MAGA movement is the direct result of the material conditions of late-stage capitalism that have been allowed to fester for 40 years thanks to neoliberalism. The fascist movement will only grow unless we are willing to introduce systemic change to the society that spawned it.

              • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                Your argument gets into a common neoliberal talking point about our institutions. That they are infallible and that any attempt at systemic change would destroy them.

                I dont know who’se fucking posts you’ve been reading, but they clearly werent mine if thats your conclusion you came to.

                But then again, given your general right wing argument style of “Its okay to do bad things as long as I agree with them, who gives a fuck about consequences down the road”, I’m not entirely surprised you are choosing to respond to a imaginary arguments instead of mine.

                • ToastedPlanet
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                  2 months ago

                  These were in your argument. I assessed them as part of a neoliberal argument.

                  You are still, ultimately, arguing for the destruction of our institutions by trying to give the people you agree with special privilege to do wrong that you agree with.

                  This gets at the paradox of tolerance. Essentially the paradox of tolerance is how should a tolerant society deal with intolerant people or groups. By reframing tolerance as a social contract or peace treaty, we can resolve the paradox. If a group of people, such as fascists, decided to be intolerant, they have broken the social contract of tolerance. Having broken the agreement, the fascists are no longer protected by the agreement. Thus their speech in the case of the targeted life-threatening disinformation campaign is not protected speech.

                  So denying the fascists the ability to use the mail in this way is not special treatment, but a refusal by society to tolerate intolerance. Ideally we would have systems in place to prevent disinformation campaigns, but we should rather have individuals exercising civil disobedience than nothing at all. There is no point in an institution such as the mail existing as it does now if it’s going to be used to deny people the fundamental right to exist.

                  My argument would be the same, That they would need to be punished severely to protect the institution of the US Postal Service, in order to prevent other bad actors from doing more of the same and destroying it from the inside.

                  Bad-faith actors do not care about being punished. The christo-fascist movement seeks to use our own institutions against us to destroy our way of life. We should not put institutions above the way of life that they are supposed to foster. To do so would defeat the purpose of the institutions.

                  You are as much a cancer and threat to our institutions as all the other bad actors.

                  The argument that sounds right wing is yours. edit: typo

                  • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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                    2 months ago

                    This gets at the paradox of tolerance

                    No, it doesnt. You’re again being disingenuous.

                    There is no paradox.

                    The mail carriers deliver the mail. They do not censor it based on personal feelings.

                    The christo-fascist movement seeks to use our own institutions against us to destroy our way of life

                    He says, literally trying to undermine the institutions by arguing to allow people to undermine them, as long as he agrees with their undermining

                    The argument that sounds right wing is yours

                    Yes yes, Gaslight, Obstruct, Project

                    Your entire argument boils down not in favor of justice, accountability and integrity, but in favor of “Let people undermine things as long as I agree with it”.