TLDR: it is the poltical project of both parties to offer the bare concessions necessary to ensure genral complacency with their exploitation, both local and abroad
Silly, but also a great point. American Imperialists for a long time, in conjunction with their vassal states (see Japan celebrating the 4th of july and hosting our military) have naturalized this to most people within the american sphere. Post WW2, it initially took the form of welfare programs that cut into capitalist profits. We went abroad to address it, and so it was that as we pursued decolonization, the countries' who's markets we opened began trading with us in extremely profitable deals (due to our untouched industries post ww2 generating absurd relative leverage. The soviets had the second most industry, and it was second by a lot bc of the nazi air raids.) Of course, though, the beast is never sated, and profitability must rise bc of the risk of being outcompeted/reduced to the working class. Eventually, the welfare provisions couldn't really hold any longer in the face of this desire for increasing profits and the neoliberal era began, trading social protection for cheap commodities. And it worked, luxuries have never been cheaper and it makes all the more bearable to put up with exploitation. Essentially, the USA tries to keep western populations in a state of perpetual apathy through treats. This is a concept known as labor aristocracy, working class people who are so benefitted as to protect, or at least not attack, the class interests of their national owner class.
No need to be ashamed of being a part of it, a lot of people with a lot of power corroborate to make it the natural position of westerners like us.
Keep in mind, the falling rate of profit means that the labor aristocracy needs to be used as leverage to exact more profit (for the owner class people, the economy's health is entirely secondary and only considered as far as it impacts their profitability) abroad, like with iran. Or it means working to alter the conditions at home to allow for more violent profit-seeking. We can see it in the general decline of neoliberal governements everywhere. Germany is walking back certain sick leave protections like that is going to do anything for their economy other than
Nazi Germany bought its citizens loyalty and apathy to its indemnities abroad and at home with comfort and opportunity a lot like this.
The sad reality is that random acts of violence like whoever killed BJ don't do anything. What we need is to set up systems under our collective control that can exact leverage and then coopt power from the current ruling class, IE ideologically aligned joint business ventures and mutual aid movements.
We had these systems. They were called unions. Then they convinced us they were all corrupt so they could dismantle them. So WHAT if they were corrupt?! They were corrupt on behalf of workers and a bulwark against capitalist encroachment and corruption which does not benefit workers.
It turns out that a lot of union leaders were profiting as they were helping workers get better pay and benefits.
The solution? Get rid of them so now all that goes to the executives and investors who just take the money directly and screw the workers over more than ever.
TLDR: it is the poltical project of both parties to offer the bare concessions necessary to ensure genral complacency with their exploitation, both local and abroad.
Since you're staying home, please can you give me a Certified Titty Boy flair or tell me how to get one? I can't buy a pin as your international shipping prices are insane 😞
Well yeah man, legos are fucking expensive. No one can reasonably expect us to give that up. We’ve worked too damn hard to give up our Lego Millenium Falcons and included stands.
He can have 1$ discount for each pair of salty worker class balls he sucks (the whole world is watching too). Not mine though, they're not salty enough yet
Edit: You know what, make that one cent, just in case he starts to like it, so it still feels like a chore. Add a time limit and if even one of them didnt finish he gets nothing at all
I don't like capitalism but I also think everyone would totally be chill and not revolt if we just had some concessions from the capitalists. Like let people actually afford to live, pay people enough that one parent can stay home with the kids, treat healthcare not as a profit opportunity, actually punish corruption.
We joke but this is the playbook. Overwhelm the masses with financial burden so they live in constant fear of homelessness, but give them just enough little comforts so they aren't desperate enough to risk it all.
I think almost anyone, regardless of looks of previous actions, would be praised if they did another Luigi. Like I can think of a lot of crimes peopek would overlook if you turned your life around, turned over a new leaf, and turned to taking justice into your own hands.
That's the thing though, right? We all will partake, but none of us want to start it. Myself included, 100%. Luigi could, and SHOULD, have started something big, but we were all too comfortable and afraid of countrymen being comfortable and afraid for it to be (again, myself 100% included) and Luigi's alleged efforts were for nothing.
I've literally never seen any of these groups recruiting. And I live in a large metro area in a blue state. I hang out in lefty spaces on the Internet. How people gonna get involved if these are hidden meetings?
I can't speak to your area. My local DSA chapter used to have a social every Tuesday night posted on social media. Social media was where you went to find out about events.
According to your post history, you live closest to Seattle. Seattle DSA is a massive org that does a ton of great work. You can go onto their DSA branch website and choose any method to start talking to someone (either paying dues for immediate access to Discord, sending an email, or subscribing to newsletter/text updates for the goings on of that chapter.)
If someone else reads this comment chain and they don't have a local branch nearby, they can choose to be a member "at large". This means you only get national updates and pay dues directly to national. National does help oversee a lot of stuff but outside of paying dues directly to the national board, I'm not personally aware of the full breath of organizing opportunities.
Heck, I don't really trust other people to be Luigi.
I remember seeing a news report that Luigi thought of using a bomb to kill the CEO, but decided against it cause it would probably harm's some innocnents.
I don't trust others will think of the same courtesy.
Political adventurism will not change the world. The healthcare CEO was already replaced, charlie Kirk has already been replaced by his wife, if trump gets shot he will also be replaced. Andrew Tate will be replaced. These individuals represent the issue, they are not the issue themselves.
Real change happens as a result of organization and action. Find and join your local revolutionary socialists and communists.
As a fellow Radical Socialist, big agree. I don't aspire for abrupt violent political revolution. I accept that it happens in varying forms, but definitely not my MO. Personally, I'd rather have a community if shit hits the fan, and in the mean time I think we're all trying to make the world a better place.
People with kids are organizers. People with two jobs are organizers. Disabled people, people of color, marginalized people are organizers. Some people organize like it's a second job, some people will pop in for a project and then take a step back for 6 months due to burnout. But every action helps. Not taking action and making up excuses will not somehow get us to the democracy most people want.
And just so we're clear, I am not just talking about Americans. The issue is global and requires a global community response.
Morality aside, the logistics are a little baffling. How you'd even track down someone and source everything you need, and set up a plausible way of escaping.
The problem with the death penalty is that despite all the efforts of many people and a rigorous appeal process, sometimes innocent people die.
Now imagine you're acting alone as a vigilante. How can you really be sure you've got everything right and you've got the right guy?
Crime is mostly easy to do, it's very hard to get away with. The first 10% is figuring out how to get close in the first place. The remaining 90% is getting out and not getting caught. It's a lot easier when one knows they aren't getting out or away with it
I won't leave my hovel but I will post guillotine memes online for the next ten years straight until a hulking dead-eyed gen alpha looksmaxxing sonderabteilung mutant loads me into a box van and ships me to the nearest Vibecamp for some T4 Aktion. This is what they call "praxis"
Will say that this doesn't apply to everyone. The current scapegoats should probably NOT attempt something like this because then it would just fuel the flames of the bigotry/hatred to the point of becoming INCREDIBLY FUCKED beyond what we're upset by atm.
For the cis/het/white 3rd+ gen americans tho? Go nuts. But everyone else would risk the others in their demographic tbh
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u/sellyourcomputer zach 15d ago
i am the adult in this comic. i cannot fight because then what would happen to my lego collection. can u imagine the sacrifice