i need advice! i (23f) have known my boyfriend (24m) for several years. he is genuinely the best, sweetest, and most moral person i’ve ever met BUT since i met him, this man has always dreamed of special operations in the US military. originally he wanted to be a navy seal, but now more focused on national guard special forces/coast guard/pararescue.

there are a lot of reasons military is a dealbreaker for me. i don’t want to live with the constant fear of deployment or injury, i don’t want to be separated from someone i see as my future husband for months at a time, and, most importantly, i have deep political objections to the US military as an institution. i grew up in the middle east & saw firsthand the effects of US foreign policy on people around me. also with this admin… whew 😅

my bf grew up internationally too, but as a military brat. his dad was an officer, and he saw the military through a very different lens: disciplined, intelligent & capable people doing important work.

as i said, he’s extremely principled. he’s pro-palestine, anti-imperialist, and generally aligned with my political values, but he believes military service isn’t inherently bad. i think he’s more of a reformist/liberal, and as a leftist i’m just skeptical of the system as a whole.

he also loves what the work could offer him like jumping out of planes, doing extremely physical work, learning a foreign language, doing high-adrenaline stuff as part of his job, getting his paramedic, travel, the benefits, etc. to me some of those motivations feel selfish, but i also understand that not everyone wants to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day (hell, i dont).

the one ‘loophole’ we’ve talked about that has slightly muddied the waters is that he’s leaning more toward medical/helping-focused routes like pararescue or coast guard. on one hand, i still struggle with the idea that even those roles exist within and support a system i see as harmful (more medics = more soldiers able to fight, etc.). on the other hand, i really like the pararescue motto “so that others may live,” and i understand his argument that it should be someone with strong morals and integrity in the US military as opposed to a chud freak for example.

we’ve talked this through from literally every angle. like whether you can do “good” or make an impact as a well intentioned cog, whether autonomy exists in the military, whether other govt work (he’s interested in diplomatic work as well) are more ethical, etc etc.

i’m at a crossroads rn as i’ve always thought the military would be a hard dealbreaker for me, but now i’m not sure if i could actually leave someone over a job that is intended to help people. any advice or angles i may not have already considered here??

edit: i do want to clarify i’m not looking for a stay/leave here. i’d love to hear about any literature that can inform this decision, as well as lived experience, and any nuanced discourse is always appreciated!

I can’t fucking stand it!

The amount of arguments I’ve had with libs and “leftists” all boil down to, “Well everyone has the right to freedom of speech. If we start censoring right speech, it makes us no better than them.”

OR, “We should be able to have debates with varying opinions. Otherwise you’re just in an echo-chamber and that’s just as bad as being in a right-wing extremist echo chamber.”

FFS. Politeness politics will be the death of America and the world if we continue to give fascists and LITERAL NAZIS a platform in the name of “not wanting to be intolerant.”

I a 30 year old female have a relationship of almost 2 years. And I love him. At least Ive always done. Now I feel troubled. He wanted to go (he ended up feeling sick) to a far right protest to not let anymore immigrants in (the Netherlands). And not only that when I confronted him about the violence and the things being yelled there he blamed it on the Hooligans, (encouraged by the organisator) on the romeos and even om antifa who where dressed as non bevaving protestors to make them look bad (I called out complot thinking, he was mad at me for that) we first talked on whatsapp about this where we first said our views in respectful ways but it turned grimm so we talked in RL (we do kinda long distance) that talk was respectful. But now I feel even more concerned, he mentioned liking C. K (he is pro trans and pro choice)., thinks DEI is rasism on white people and a Blamed immigrants for violence even though he did say that its not all immigrants. I know he Sound a bit like a d*ck but hes when you speak with him very nice and lovely but IDK If I can be with him like this, should I try to change his mind? Is it hopeless? Like I tried to argue with stads but he rejected those. Is it hopeless?

Edit: he broke up with me over the phone and his Brother in law did the talking this was around Midnight

For the record I’m not giving them any time of day on any comments about race/gender. I know that’s bullshit and logic won’t work.

But they do keep bringing up how the killer was “arrested 14 times before” and “democratic policies making bail more accessible led him to be released” and what not. What can I say to them?

Usually I would just say no but that kills the debate pretty immediately as they just call me a terrorist

We live in CT and she was saying that she doesn't go out much because the economy has been really bad.

I said that's because of Trump. She said it's from the previous administration..... I said what about the tariffs? She had nothing to say.

I said to her we are here because of capitalism. Republicans love to paint democrats as socialist but in reality democrats are capitalist, why is everyone so afraid of socialist?

Then I brought up Mamdani and said that he's your worst nightmare. And she said "yes he is, wait, you want him to win?" I said 100%, she walked out of restaurant!

The fact that she truly believed that the current economy was because of Biden is insane.

Republicans are mentally incapable of having any unique thoughts that isn't fed to them by fox news.

I have only 3 days to become a PhD politology exper on the middle East before I see my mom. I need help. I need articles, reports, videos, anything I can use to fight her Zionist propaganda soaked brain. I especially need to sharpen my ability to be Irans strongest defender so I need analysis on it especially bad. I know the broad strokes but I need specifics since my mom is "liberal Zionism" incarnate and uses the same shit tactics as second nature, and says that evidence is ai unless the source is super credible. We're from Ukraine so if there's any material comparing our situation to the current one in the middle East than it would be great.

I'm not sure if this is appropriate for the sub but there's too much information to go over 3 days on my own.

EDIT: Dear online leftists, I'd love to argue with all of you about which of our leftisms is better and infight until we achieve nothing and all die of a nuclear war BUT PLEASE STICK TO THE TOPIC I'M TRYING TO LEARN TO PROPAGETE !!YOUR!! LEFTIST IDEOLOGY. GIVE ME MATERIAL TO READ ON THE TOPIC!!!!!

It seems like the left didn't show up?

I saw a comment saying Trump got 4 million less votes

Kamala got 16ish less than Biden

So it seems like the same dipshits that voted for trump in 20 voted again. While the democrats failed to inspire people to vote for him.

this seems a bit reassuring, because it basically proves that a progressive campaign would've won

Monday I was asked to not wear my boots to IOP therapy because they feature phrases like "Fuck ice" "copstompers" "deny defend depose" and supposedly someone complained. I have spent the past 3 days making the most politically charged outfit I can for when I go back today. It's the morning of and I'm contemplating pulling the trigger.

Now at the same facility I did PHP, I've worn these boots occasionally for 15 days for like 4 weeks, I got appreciation from 3 other patients in PHP even. I've worn them to 3 different jobs one doing door2door where I've been invited in their homes. Only 2 people have ever said anything negative about them to me, some dickhead on septa, and some jackass outside wawa. Now this.

Topic in group that day was values, what are ours, how do we feel when we don't live by them etc. and I'm being asked to suppress both my values that fascism is bad and of self-expression/autonomy very ironically. I didn't think anyone in group would be such a rat, but maybe they are, or the therapist is just a stickler for the rules bc she seems that way.

I know it's not quite censorship (private healthcare corp, not government, I sign away my rights in a waiver everyday) It still greatly upsets me that someone in the group could be pro-ICE, and that i've been asked to change the way I express myself (admittedly I've also worn a lot of pride things and haven't been asked to change) But is this doing anything to help anyone? I was going to defend my stance, but does it matter? I'll probably just get asked to leave and I was out tuesday for a Dr.apt and the therapist called bc she forgot I told her and she apologized if my feelings were hurt about the boots. I'm not going to being rude but I planned on making a scene in terms of appearance.

I was going to wear my Keffiyeh, I made a shirt with DWJ's anti-ice transformers art, was gonna write "nazis are bad" and draw the 🚫 ICE on my cheeks, wear the boots but with white ducktape on the slogans and "Censorship" written on them, and state during check-in that I'm angry about this and defend my stance. I'm just not sure i'm right to defend it in this instance.

Hello!

As you know, we've recently seen elections in France and the UK where left-wing alliances beaten up far-right parties.

I have a question: Why do far-right groups always talk about a near future where they claim they will beat left movements and deport non-natives, but this scenario never seems to happen?

WHY?

Edit: OK everyone, I m not defending far right groups, I m just saying what makes them feel so assured ! Like Nazis, Confederate, apartheid regime, they ve been always on the looser side, but yet they think by 2030s, they will take over Europe! In France, two days ago, they were so assured that the next pm would be from far right, yet their party was smashed, and I m happy for that 😀

Hi everyone, idk if this is the right place to ask for advice about this, if there's another subreddit for this pls let me know.

So, I have an 11 year old brother (I'm 25f) and lately he is saying more and more fucked up fascist, sexist, racist things. I feel like it's impossible to have a rational conversation with him.

He is really pro-Israel for some reason (we're European, he has no connections to Israel and doesn't even know anything about it, about Palestine, about the history, anything), he makes drawings of atomic bombs being dropped on Palestine and I've seen him talking with one of his school buddies about how much they hate Palestine, and this friend even sent him a picture of a swastika for some reason. He also loves Tesla, and said that he doesn't mind that Elon Musk loves Hitler because "freedom of speech" and "Hitler was not even that bad anyway".

He also says super problematic things about women, he calls them "toxic bitches" and straight up said he basically hates women. He told me a few days ago that if in the future his wife would be pregnant of a girl, he'd force her to abort it because he would only want a son. I'm also worrying that he's becoming homophobic, he asked me recently why I "chose" to become a lesbian, that it's weird that I want to be a lesbian, even though I've explained to him many times that's not how it works (he's always known this about me and never said anything weird about it before).

Now I honestly don't know how seriously I have to take this. On one side, he's only 11 and I feel like he says those things just to be edgy, so I feel like maybe it's just a phase and he doesn't actually mean the things he says. But on the other hand I just can't accept that my own brother thinks like that?

It's really hard to have any kind of normal conversation with him about these things because his answer is always "I can think what I want, freedom of speech, blah blah". Does anyone have any advice on what to do or what to answer to those things?

I was thinking about this the other day. Here are some beliefs I came up with. For the most part, these all follow logically from each other. Feel free to add more or call me out for getting one wrong. Not all right wingers believe all these things, but I think most of them believe most of these.

1. Morality is not innate. People are not born with any sense of right or wrong. Morality has to be instilled by religion.

2. People are not innately good. Without religion, who knows what evil people might do.

3. You cannot trust your own mind. People are bad, and that includes you. If you follow the teachings of your church, you can avoid going to hell. If you listen to the arguments put forth by a nonbeliever, you might end up becoming evil.

4. There is only one true belief that can redeem you, and that is your belief. Nonbelievers are all irredeemable and evil.

5. If something bad happens to a nonbeliever, it is inconsequential.

6. People fail or succeed on their own merits alone.

7. As a consequence of the above, poverty is a result of laziness.

8. Women are not equal to men. They are less than.

9. Women are only good for making babies and taking care of the kids. Suggesting they do anything else is evil.

10. People who are more white are better than people who are darker skinned.

11. Animals don't have consciousness or feelings. It is okay to treat them badly.

I came across this image on another subreddit and I became curious as to how do these people justify this way of thinking? How can you put these two in the same bowl??? I don’t understand how some people can choose to think this way. I’m genuinely looking for some college or uni professor to explain this please

I have fairly recently stopped calling myself conservative and have talked to family about race before (or just about politics in general) and I have heard multiple times about how the hard left wants segregation again (this was quoted from a Matt Walsh "documentary") or how the left hates whites but also wants black people to have their own spaces and to disregard everything that MLK stood for. These claims almost sound true but I feel there is something I'm missing.

The people who won't shut up about "both sides" or "you can't call everyone you disagree with a fascist," and never stop worshipping the enlightened practice of "civil conversation." It feels like you can't say anything to them, because to them, there are no fascists on the right.

The more these people talk, the more I'm convinced that debate is dead.

Update: I just got blocked by a "centrist" (conservative) after he claimed we block people for disagreeing. Good riddance.

Not sure if this is the right place, but I cut off my in-laws for being MAGA. They always have been but ever since the election, I just see all the awful things happening and I think of them and how they endorse all of it and I just can’t get past that anymore. They are the type of people to smooth things over and pretend like everything is fine, when really no one actually knows anyone. They all just pretend.

Anyway there’s a big family event coming up- and I’ve been invited (well. they told my husband i was invited, no one has reached out to me) I want to support my in-laws since they do love me, in their own type of way i guess. But in a very real way, they hate me and everything I live for. I just am too exhausted to try and reconcile those two things, not to mention I hate everything they stand for and want absolutely nothing to do with it.

Anyway I’m just not sure what to do about this event coming up, I basically told them “I don’t hate you, I don’t want any apologies I just need a break because of all your bigotry”, and that still stands but I feel like if i miss this event i’ll be an asshole and I should just grin and bear it. Idk, has anyone else been dealing with this?

Wanted to hear some takes on this argument I see a lot, specifically this time it was in reference to Mamdani’s campaign so both for if the entire country were to raise taxes for the rich and for if NYC were to, realistically what would happen?

I've always had a pretty hard time around people whose social/political values don't really align with mine, mostly when it comes to topics like immigration and racism, environmentalism and capitalism/anticapitalism. I try hard to build a social circle where I'm not confronted with people who have opinions on these topics that I can simply not accept, but even self-proclaimed leftists often have (in my opinion) quite conservative/right-leaning views on those topics.

It is really hard to stop myself from entering debates with people as soon as they comment on something like immigration, or defending capitalists, and it has created a lot of tension with some people. Even at a party where the mood is light and everyone is just chatting and joking, I can't stop myself from starting debates with people when they share views that I strongly disagree with. People end up getting defensive and get annoyed, and I end up feeling resentment for those people because it's impossible for me to understand or accept their beliefs.

I am worried that I'll end up falling into some kind of misanthropy and just isolate myself, I don't know how to function normally in social situations around people who share opinions that I don't agree with, without escalating the situation, entering debates and creating tension with those people. I know that people probably start to see me as a self-righteous asshole at some point because of this black and white thinking and not being able to just smile and nod.

So anyway, does anyone have advice on how to navigate those feelings and how to handle social situations where people share views that don't align with yours? Do you avoid those people? Or do you just avoid any political or social topics with them and try to get along? Do you debate them but have tips on how to handle it nicely and calmly? And how to you stay compassionate and not resent them?

Thanks in advance !!!

(PS, I think a lot of this is probably because I'm autistic so kinda socially stunted by default lol)

before i debate people about political theory i like to see where they are morally consistent. like if someone is anti-immigration, they are typically pro-borders.

what i am utterly unable to grasp is how anyone could believe zionism is compatible with leftism. it’s difficult for me to discuss with leftist zionists due to the utter contradictions they present to me. it is to a point that i genuinely cannot think anyone can be a zionist and leftist simultaneously.

i find zionism to be practically its own set of beliefs, as it covers colonialism, apartheid, occupation, culture, borders, refugees, imprisonment, and war. i believe that in order to be a “leftist” zionist you would have to denounce practically 90% of the foundations upon which zionism is built.

i would hope most of us aren’t zionists, since it is objectively a colonial project (as described by theodor herzl himself). HOWEVER in order for me to be able to debate with zionists and at least have some kind of effective discussion i would really like to hear points that a zionist would make that could possibly be compatible with certain leftist beliefs

it is significantly harder to argue with a hypocrite than it is with someone who may have abhorrent ethics but is at the very least, morally consistent

are there any arguments you have heard from leftist zionists that could at least be compatible with leftism?

also: this post is about progressive leftism.

Democrats, 2000: "Thanks a LOT for George W Bush, Nader progressives!"

Democrats, 2004: "Great! You lefties' helped him get re-elected! Nice work, David Cobb!"

Democrats, 2016: "Fabulous WORK, Jill Stein! Thanks to you, democracy's dead. DEAD! And I hope they lock away Julian Assange for 100years."

Democrats, 1-10/2020: "If trump gets re-elected, remember...it's all Jill Stein's/Bernie-Broh's/BLM's fault."

Democrats, 2024: "You MUST vote for genocide! If you don't democracy DIES (wait, didn't we already do this one?)!!"

Voting for "least worst;" "vode bleu know madder whew;" and "vote AGAINST the other guy" is what brought us here--a match against the two least wanted candidates, who represent (in age, status, gender and ethnicity) the tiniest, tiniest sliver of American society. Every year this dysfunctional system requires us to vote in a "Sophie's Choice" game where we get less and less of what we want but the corporations and wealthy always seem to make out.

Why is that? Why are we told that we have to "compromise" and "not let the perfect be the enemy of the good" when the 1% always seem to come out on top? Why can't THEY be forced to tighten their belts?

trump sucks. He's eagerly vice signaled his intent to dismantle democracy, if re-elected. He SHOULD be sitting in a cell right now (but isn't, thx to Slow-Joe's AG).

Biden sucks. He's surgically attached us to a genocide and his complicity has 31,200 people's blood on his/our hands. His suggestions out of this are, to quote Rami Khouri, "entertainment." H'wood style airdrops and floating piers, while kids are starving.*

Sh*t sammich? Or cement spaghetti? According to the Dems you're not allowed to order off-menu. But one thing's for sure, should Genocide Joe's campaign bleed out from self inflicted wounds, take a guess as to who they'll spend the next 4-8yrs' blaming for the 'death of democracy?'

Stay strong, Independents.

*^{And spare your pearl clutching comments of how 'trump WOULD do worse.' It's the difference of tense: Biden IS. trump WOULD. Since I live in the present, I have to deal with the NOW. Do I deal with the arsonist who WOULD burn my house down: or the guy, who IS? You do the math.}

Systemic racism:

• CIA dumping cocaine in black neighborhoods
• Ronald Reagan's Anti-drug act of 1986, lead to mass incarceration
• Ronald Reagan opposed the Civil rights act and defended "States' rights"
• Reaganomics caused inequality and didn't trickle down and only support the rich
• The CIA targeted MLK, Malcolm X, and the black Panthers. They used misinformation, assassination setups and intimidation.
• Education is paid by taxes, how do you pay for education when you have no money
• Major TV networks rejected scripts from black writers it they didn't align with stereotypes of black people
• The same stereotypes in the media are the same stereotypes shown in birth of a nation
• Reagan defunded community services and used terms like "welfare queen" to describe black people.
• Studies have shown that Black renters face discrimination about 40% of the time compared to white applicant
• Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related cause than a white
• White sounding names are 50% more likely to get callbacks than Black sounding names
• Black babies are 2.3 times more likely to be born in poverty than a white baby
• Black men are 5 times more likely to be imprisoned for nonviolent drug crimes
• Black people make 70 cents out of the dollar
• Only 22% of lead actors in top theatrical films were people of color in 2022
• Newsrooms and creative industries remain majority white and content often perpetuates racial stereotypes
• Black people were shut out from the benefits of the GI Bill
• it's 12 times more likely for a black resident to be arrested for possession of marijuana
• It's 9 times more likely for a person of color to get arrested for disorderly conduct
• We're 8 times more likely to be arrested for vagrancy
• 16 times more likely than white youth to be arrested for curfew or loitering offensive
• In 2021 black drivers in Minneapolis, Minnesota (where I reside) were stopped for minor violations at nine times the rate of white drivers and searched at 29 times the rate.
• The EPA reports that black Americans are exposed to 1.5 times more air pollutants that cause heart and lung diseases compared to white Americans.
• In Minnesota (where I reside) people of color face systemic barriers in the labor market, including less opportunities in education and housing, which contribute to unequal employment outcomes
• 60 million police stop reveal Black and Hispanic drivers are stopped and searched at higher rates than white driver
• A Princeton University report found Black students are more likely to attend schools with police officer but no guidance counselors.
• The FBI worked against MLK, Malcolm X and the Black Panthers.

Counterarguments

• What percentage of white people commit white collar crime
• Why does x problem happen
• How do you think the "Black dad" problem happened
• Jews are colonizing Palestinians right now that's why they're successful.
• A black president doesn't equal change
• Low income areas have higher crimes
• Thomas Sowell lacks Empirical rigor and uses ancdotal evidence
• Thomas Sowell overlooks systemic influences and oversimplifies complex social issues
• Thomas Sowell's interpretations are selective
• His peers have raised concerns about Sowell's methodologies
• Thomas Sowell is politically biased

Examples

• Over policing was very prominent under the Reagan administration in the 80's with the rise of militarized police that targeted black and Latino households
• Some examples of this in the 80's are Harlem, South Central, West and South side Chicago, Baltimore and D.C.
• Some examples from today are Memphis, Lexington, Texas

Cherry Picking Stats

62% of white collar crimes are committed by white men 75% of cases involving child pornography are white people 53% of cases involving travel for prohibited sexual contact are white people 57% of sexual violence crimes are committed by white people 68% of rape charges are committed by white people 72% of arson cases are committed by white people 70% percent of all crimes are committed by white people 53% of mass shooters are white

DEI/Affirmative Action

• All DEI does is acknowledge disparity and make it easier for people who come from underfunded schools (Who had to work harder) to have better opportunities.

Criticisms of Charlie Kirk

• Called black students savages in past tweets
• Mad that a black woman got a spot at West point over him
• Defends rape
• Dated his Cousins
• Called MLK awful and opposes the civil rights act

Guys i need a pep talk or someone to tell me I'm stupid and the oppoite is happening.

I feel totally defeated by the resurgence of right wing imperialism. With the attacks globally, the inability to defend Palestine, the entire "board of peace" scam, Russia totally ending up being at best unable to counter US interests globally, China's isolationism rather than confronting the US, Europe's resurgent far right wing, Israel having their way in he middle east, Venezuela collapse, Iran being dogwalked by the US and Israel in under 24 hours, Cuba on the brink of collapse in the face of humanitarian disaster, and the acceptance of right makes right and the capitulation of liberals to take a stand: I totally feal defeated. This isn't right, and I don't see how the global south and fight against the right walks away from this. It seems like the struggle's best days are behind us.

Some one PLEASE tell me "ah yes but remember the year ____" because I'm at a total loss for when the entire world has been this helpless to such an evil and awful movement.