Wxnzxn
@Wxnzxn@lemmy.ml
- Comment on Imperialism, authoritarianism and oppression is bad all around m'kay 1 week ago:
Even just as a technicality, the 1% have not always existed, most tribal societies did not have class divisions like that. Both anthropological studies of existing tribal societies show examples of that, and the archaeological record, too, lays out it was common.
And I understand feeling like that, but it is a pretty weak argument, tbh. It is even hard to engage with, because it’s basically starting at a completely different outset of concepts and understanding. Firstly, it reduces socialism to only systems of perfect equality of power - when even Marx acknowledged that this is not only impossible but also undesirable.
Then it just packs all kinds of class arrangements into “The 1%” and “the worker class”. Was European feudalism like that? Ancient palace economies? Tribal gift economies? Pre-historic tribal arrangements? The Incan/Andean planned economy? Each with their own complexities, class relations and all showing that the basic idea - humanity evolving along it’s material capabilities and necessities - hold true.
Lastly, related to the idea that proper socialism would mean perfect equality of power - sure, corruption in some way has probably always existed. People will also always murder each other in some way. Using that as an argument to say it is impossible to establish a system that minimises murders is how your reasoning sounds to me.
And the system is always what limits or enables the way this corruption and gaming the system plays out. How much property and/or power can be concentrated? Capitalism concentrates vastly more wealth and capital than the systems before it, both for good (e.g. the development of productive forces has enabled many things) and ill. Just because perfection may not be possible, does not mean a system without exchange of value and capital accumulation is impossible (has existed before for sure, yes, even for more complex economies than a small tribe), and it does not mean it has to exist in a way that is more barbarous than the current state of affairs.
- Comment on Imperialism, authoritarianism and oppression is bad all around m'kay 1 week ago:
That notional aspiration to socialism is basically the ideological smokescreen. It was much more effective in the Cold War era, but it condenses down to: “Suffer through our version of (state) capitalism and exploitative labour for our capital accumulation” - be it by state institutions or even state-sponsored billionaires - “and at the end of it, we promise, there will be communism.”
But that “communism” then tends to be like nuclear fusion - always 20 years away.
- Comment on CEO brains go brrrrr 2 weeks ago:
Personally, I handle it like this: Killing people is never right, but it isn’t always the best decision to do “the right” thing. The right thing, morally, would have been, to collectively not create a system that has CEOs and billionaires. Just like, the ideal revolution would only depose and take the power from the ruling classes and would have no need for terror. But it’s usually impossible to follow a completely ideal situation.
I think the distinction is important, mainly because the enjoyment of revenge for revenge’s sake and violence for violence’s sake is pretty real and can become very dangerous to the success of revolutionary action. So it is good to remind yourself of the ideal situation (no killing), as to curb any excesses if at all possible. It does not mean you cannot go against those ideals - in the end, ideals are trumped by material reality and its necessities.
- Submitted 1 month ago to videos@lemmy.world | 1 comment
- Comment on shark trash 1 month ago:
- Comment on Ah sweet! 4 months ago:
Which I would classify as pretty weird, but not really unethical. Besides, I think the comparison doesn’t fully work - it’s more like, growing a lump on your body somewhere, having it removed, and saying “hey, can I eat that?”. Which I would also classify as weird, but not unethical.
- Comment on Venomous 4 months ago:
- Comment on ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) The Sims 4 just got surprise incest, and it's not even the first time 4 months ago:
Just another case of a small, unknown competitor trying to gain market share with the supreme life simulator sandbox CK3, smh frfr
- Comment on Good point 4 months ago:
Yeah, I never understood it either. Either have an open relationship with consent, or communicate whatever needs you have that you want to fulfill by cheating properly, and accept that it may not work out if there is truly no way to meet them. I guess I can at least abstractly understand when it happens spur-of-the moment and under the influence of drugs/alcohol, but I still can’t properly put myself in those shoes.
- Submitted 5 months ago to videos@lemmy.world | 0 comments
- Comment on Hes alive so this meme is OK right? 5 months ago:
That’s why you aim for the torso, center of mass, smh, frfr
- Comment on No problems here 5 months ago:
- Comment on Ok, sleep well now. 5 months ago:
Dog was working for the Prussian secret police, smh fr fr
- Comment on Ok, sleep well now. 5 months ago:
My favourite German fairy tale has to be this one.
The harrowing morality tale, teaching you that you better stay in your lane, peasant, especially if you are a Bratwurst!
- Comment on Stay Mad 5 months ago:
So, take this point of view as what it is: a view on the situation from an outsider, I am not American, I am a German communist. While I do probably look more closely at American politics than most likely the average American simply from being interested in politics to a pathological degree, I might not have the full picture of an American who is also as interested in politics.
I think in this particular moment, as much as the Democrats do their best to antagonise you, as much as you are correct that someone like Biden will continue with the same status quo bullshit that created the situation to begin with, as much as he won’t be helping the people suffering from (neo)-colonialism in a meaningful way overseas - I don’t think that this particular election is the time to vote third party. The chance may come, and best then to do it not as individuals based on your personal conscience, but as an organised group, with concrete messaging communicated. And even in other elections and outside this vote, organising for a third party - while I personally don’t have a lot of hope for electoral politics - is certainly better than investing energy into the Democratic party, whose supporters seem to have no problems spewing hatred towards you for not agreeing with their party line and view of reality.
But I think underestimating Trump could be genuinely dangerous. Not because he will “ruin America” or anything like that. Simply, because he will be in a position to dial up repression, potentially leaving you with a situation in 2-4 years, where the party you voted for has to move underground, either having gotten outlawed or further marginalised and infiltrated. The situation looks critical enough to me, that under a Trump presidency, unions and leftist orgs will face open persecution much more than under someone like Biden - who is admittedly bad enough. Persecution up to outright criminalising them, to encouraging right-wing militias to kill their members with a slap on the wrist as a consequence or no legal repercussions at all. Yes, I do think that is unfortinately a realisitic possibility. And at this point, I don’t think leftist orgs in the US have the resilience yet to efficiently organise in the underground.
That being said, I won’t tell you a vitriolic “you will be at fault” if you choose to vote and organise as you want to. I do also see advantages, like getting visibility for your issues and potentially by reaching certain threshholds getting public funding support and the likes (that exists in the US too, right?). But I’d still advise it in this election - as shitty and cynical as it is - to vote for the old fart that doesn’t swing the whip of the state as hard on your back as the one that might outright strangle you with it. Getting a proper communist, grassroots organisation running in the United States is important for the whole world, and I fear it will be impossible, or at least much, much harder under Trump (mostly, again, because there are no proper structures in place to move into illegality and organising underground, from everything I can tell.)
- Comment on Stay Mad 5 months ago:
Outside of voting, you have options. I’m not American, but I’d advise any communists to vote Biden simply because the repression under Trump could get really ugly, hindering any proper organisation. Just view it as what I think it also actually is: A cynical, pragmatic move to save you and other working people from more open repression, nothing more.
But before and after voting: Put your energy into unions like the IWW, into neighbourhood organisations for mutual aid, into community defense like the SRA or Redneck Revolt, into antifascist organisation, into refining your own position and presenting it to others. Create networks and connections. All preventing Trump is doing is buying time for now to do exactly that. Things will only get worse in the decades ahead, with no end in sight for the climate catastrophe and further decay of capitalism - and laying the groundwork of actually being able to do something is critically important right now, in my opinion.
Of course everyone is in the end their own master when it comes to decisions like this. Just - remember that by not voting in this specific election you also aren’t changing anything. And while I fully understand the desire to organise for a third party, they have been marginalised effectively, at least I personally don’t think electoral politics will bring any relevant changes, one way or the other. They are just about who carries the whip used against you, and in this case if the are openly and harshly, or covertly and less efficiently using it.
That all being said - I think a few people here overestimate the amount of tankies and communists that won’t vote Biden. The group is marginal in the big scheme of things. If Biden loses, you can be certain, they were not responsible, they are most likely less than 1% of voters. Personally, I’d blame the corporate core of the Democratic party and middle class liberals for being out of touch with reality.
- Comment on Just $99? 5 months ago:
Isn’t this one really obvious? They are selling toupées for your butt and accidentally added a “W”. Not confusing in the slightest, really.
- Comment on To all you outside of the US... 5 months ago:
Too late, I watched it all. It would have been funny if it hadn’t been so sad.
- Comment on Rolls a Nat 20 5 months ago:
Fucking cognitohazards in this subreddit, and I lost the game too, great.
- Comment on "And the killer was never caught..." 5 months ago:
Strangely enough, this is often the exact other way around for me, but it heavily depends on the true crime documentary. Horror movies, for the most part, leave me apathetic. My brain has problems to suspend disbelief for them - especially when they rely on supernatural elements. So many horror movies are more enjoyable surreal films, while reading or hearing about truly horrible events in real life can disturb me quite a lot sometimes.
- Comment on I just cited myself. 5 months ago:
To everyone who might not have heard about that before: It was an attempt to introduce it as a bill in Indiana:
- Comment on Lol. Lmao, even. 5 months ago:
Oh, this brought me back when I was in a psychiatric clinic as a teenager and I reacted like that to something, and this one girl with borderline was just about ready to kill me…
- Comment on Gorgeous 5 months ago:
Could it be that you encountered a bug in Jerboa? I had images load cropped on top and bottom a few times now.
- Comment on Lol. Lmao, even. 5 months ago:
We must imagine Sisyphus in therapy
- Comment on Construction workers are dying from suicide at an alarming rate, with an estimated 6,000 construction workers dying as a result of suicide in 2022 5 months ago:
I can at least anecdotally confirm this isn’t just a US issue either. Here in Germany, I met a guy at a psychiatric clinic as a fellow patient with a very similar story (in this case working in logistics, not construction, but also in a position requiring hard manual labour).
His German wasn’t all that good, so that made exploiting him easier - and while his medical bills were covered and he in theory had the legal rights to have his de-facto disability from work recognized, his work environment and pressure had made him ignore his own health and rights out of fear of not being able to support his ex-wife and children, who were everything to him. He had also internalised that his self-worth stems from his superior work ethics. In the end, the bosses/owners of his medium-small employer downsized heavily and pocketed a lot of money, but with no way to prove any illegal stuff going on in the process easily. He was dropped because he couldn’t work as self-destructively any more with his chronic injuries/issues. That broke him.
This social dynamic is appaling and probably very universal in the majority of the world.
- Comment on I was explaining to my daughter about the differences between Gimp and Photoshop and saw that Adobe had a page that claimed to compare the two. It never compares the two. It barely mentions Gimp. 5 months ago:
I do wonder what differences in philosophy and development led to something like Blender to be pretty accepted even in pro circles?
For me, personally, the moment I found out you can easily install a version of gimp that doesn’t distribute it’s tools and canvas across a dozen windows was when it began to feel “right” for me. Granted, I am only using it as an amateur for meme and touching up on graphics for game dev, but it feels right to me at least.
- Submitted 5 months ago to [deleted] | 123 comments
- Comment on Always remember who you are 5 months ago:
It’s my favourite German insult: “Wixer” has such a nice sound to it, too
- Comment on Just saying 5 months ago:
Just remember to pirate them, and all’s well
- Comment on Check out the results of 🔥 Fuck Capitalism Jam 2024 🔥 for some great indie games and media projects 6 months ago:
Fun fact: The designer almost went with “Cool Centrist Clicker”, they have a devlog about it.
