Yeah… I always find it funny how when a cool group that’s to form… that extremely cool, everyone likes them, “ex” intelligence officer shows up… weird… isn’t it? I have seen this movie before.

It is hard to get those labs just right.

So… I have been friends in a writing group with a guy who voted for Bush2… and I have conscientiously tried to be human and humane to him because we go on hikes and movies together and he shares some of that co service ugliness in ways that help me understand the “other” better.

We had a blow out 2016… and we came back from it 2019… and now we know how not to have blowouts.

Recently I shared with him Gloria Anzadua’s HOW TO TAME A WILD TONGUE.

To my amazement he read it. We just had a discussion on empathy. No one died.

Everything about your response here is why Lemmy is my first click in the morning: sober, clear thinking. What I keep wondering is can the rich be held accountable for the damage that they have done? They participated in this fiasco-coronation… they funded it. My head still spins about the loss of integrity in our entire system.

Last night I started reading Against The Machine by Paul Kingsforth… I always wanted to read Decline and Fall of the West by Spengler but this guy actually did — and a lot of other great thinkers that are making this transition feel much less tragic for me and more natural… and reminding me that empires fall but individuals can thrive. Do thrive — with acts of decency.

No one really believes that the vacancies from the deaths won’t be filled by yet another asshole, do they?

Entirely wrong as regards my feelings about Ukraine.

But that should not surprise that you cannot seem to understand that literally ignoring these fascists allowed their movement to strengthen under Biden to the point that all it took was Trump dog whistling just a few times to get them to fall in line.

I can’t understand why having some conscience about our role in this seems to reckless or wicked to you.

If I were a New Yorker I’d be team Mandani. I’m still smarting over Bernie.

My guess is that you and I have more in common than not.

So… the theocratic indoctrinated extremists” did NOT elect Trump.

Regular very arduously stupid people did.

Our neighbors.

They are the ones having picnics after church on the weekends.

Since you use the word extremist, allow me: we are the extremists.

At our peril.

We fostered and promoted a great deal of policy that normalized many situations that these relatively non-toxic strangers couldn’t stomach. Many pinched their noses while they voted for Trump and musk.

I’m not saying we progressives are entirely to blame, but I am saying that should our political system survive the present moment, we need to reach the reachable right, and if we don’t, we can suffer the boot and the gun.

We alienated all the Americans who voted for a fascist because we tried to rush programs and reforms faster than idiots can tolerate. We are surrounded by imbeciles. That was one key detail we absolutely failed to take into account. Our motto: we are the smug and the righteous, morons, you will evolve.

They said no.

Now we have fascism.

Obviously we are not entirely to blame as yes the foundational ground work was laid long ago. But there was a time when we might have worked harder to understand our opposition.

I’m not rising to your extremely uncivil bait.

If you do not think that the extremist pressure of well intended progressives have made idiot MAGAs lose their effing minds, you are not paying attention. btw… I lived through each of the fascists you mention. We progressives created the climate in which the Trump poison might propagate and thrive.

I have watched progressives create the perfect breeding ground for fascism in the USA.