• skisnow@lemmy.ca
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    11 hours ago

    Fifteen years ago trans rights was barely a topic at all. The Christian Right’s adoption of it as a suddenly important social issue (after losing the gay marriage debate) was a cynical and deliberate piece of political manipulation, based on careful research into what topics various factions of liberals were divided on.

    They realized that there was a big enough subset of feminists that could be persuaded that trans rights were an attack on feminism, to be able to turn them against mainstream liberal thought and thus get their votes, and all they had to do was destroy the lives of a few hundred thousand people who they’d previously never given a second thought to.

    Worst of all, it seems to have worked.

    • spooky2092
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      10 hours ago

      It’s also a play by play of what the Christian right did in the 60s/70s on abortion. Went from being a non-issue for most people to people firebombing abortion clinics within like a decade or two.

  • ameancow@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    It’s more like the wealthy leveraged the poorly educated and mentally deficient segment of society and pit them against everyone else.

    It’s not like the left was getting provoked to pass legislation to like, “end redneck culture” or anything (not counting the places they fell for bait like the southern flag and statue distractions) But the the left broadly has been pushing back against capital for decades and making progress, why should we be at all surprised they raised an army in self-defense?

    The conservative right is not an even split in this country, there are far less of them than leftists or liberals. They do NOT represent the majority, but again, they leveraged the decency, complacency and naivety of the left to get a foothold into american discourse that will never dislodged because now most people do think the right is some giant monolith. They’re like, less than 20% of the population, and out of that 20% most of them are literally so dim that they would change flags and banners to some new issue tomorrow if led properly. They’re a small band of orcs and we’ve been treating them like a mighty empire of intellectual elves.

    • TheTechnician27@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      not counting the places they fell for bait like the southern flag and statue distractions

      Fell for the bait? Jesus actual christ, we had and still have statues in our parks and town squares erected by the KKK that exist solely to intimidate PoC and venerate men whose only notable “accomplishment” was being on the losing side in a war to own and brutally exploit human beings – black people who they saw as subhumans – and getting those out is “taking the bait”?? Absolutely lost your goddamn mind, like sensible people who want those removed are falling into a trap set by the elite to distract them from class consciousness. Racist dipshits were baited into responding vehemently against that. In much the same way that sensible people didn’t “fall for the bait” when they started supporting trans rights and MAGA made that a wedge issue (although I know some tankies actually fall for that transphobic garbage).

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
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        12 hours ago

        While I hate the statues and flags and everything they stand for, how well did that fight help us? Where are we now?

        The nation is falling because people can’t figure out where to focus efforts because you all get distracted by emotional appeals and straw tigers and little fiddly bullshit while in the background corporations empowered an army of ravaging orcs who are now in control of the mightiest nation on Earth, laughing at our failed efforts to mobilize towards policy, community and representation, the things that would have prevented this.

        I mean, it doesn’t matter now. The whole thing is a footnote in America’s slide into fascism and eventual fall of democracy. But sure, at least we successfully fought a few symbols.

        Any amount of time I spend arguing with hysterical leftists about this point just fuels the machine, so I’m not replying nor will I see replies.

        This is all so stupid and tragic and you all need to actually do something instead of attacking some rando on Lemmy who thinks we’re not fighting the right fights. I mean, it’s pretty evident we’re not fighting the right fights BECAUSE WE FUCKING LOST EVERYTHING AND ARE STILL BICKERING ON SAFESPACE BUBBLES LIKE THIS.

  • Wilco@lemm.ee
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    18 hours ago

    This is exactly what is going on. Sadly, we have no other real option besides fighting MAGA … it’s not longer a culture war, but an actual war.

    The oligarchs may actually have just realized MAGA is getting out of hand. Thier lap dog Trump is starting to bite them.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      it’s not longer a culture war, but an actual war.

      Literally how every war ever started.

    • ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com
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      16 hours ago

      Sadly, we have no other real option besides fighting MAGA … it’s not longer a culture war, but an actual war.

      And how is that done other than being a keyboard warrior? Protesting doesn’t seem to do anything.

      • Wilco@lemm.ee
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        7 hours ago

        You can be a keyboard warrior and meme their business. Elon is taking things pretty bad. Just hate these people so much that you stop doing business with them and actively insult people that still do.

  • Gobo@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    I was at Robben Island in Capetown a few months ago and the guide there basically said this was Apartheid. Pit groups against each other so they don’t fight against the authority. Race, culture, etc.

    I’m just repeating what he said.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      Apartheidist regimes make a special point of inventing more racial and ethnic cohorts within the law, so that there is this broad spectrum of oppression - everyone had an opportunity to benefit from the oppression of someone slightly below them, there’s always another stair you can get pushed down if the government doesn’t like you.

      Since your status is derived from the apartheidist regime and you’re always standing on someone else’s shoulders, there’s this prevailing fear that you’ll be targeted by the people behind you if the people at the top ever fail.

      Tends to work best during periods of economic expansion, because there’s a surplus to spread around. Even the lower tiers of society can feel like life is improving. But once you start running into a recessionary headwind - because you’ve depleted the soil with industrial farming or you’ve mined out the easily accessible precious minerals or malinvestment in education and technology leaves you trailing the rest of the world - the bottom falls out, crime skyrockets, and plutocrats start turning on one another to stay ahead.

      Good thing we’re not in a country that’s cracked its head on a glass ceiling.

  • RushLana
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    18 hours ago

    Ah yes another version of “let’s do socialism only for me and my peers”.