solarbird | kind of a version 0.9 beta rant

I keep working on variations of something. The reaction the last two days has really shown it all again.

I don't think I have it yet, but I think I'm in the neighbourhood.

Republicans get mad about shit they make up to get mad about, then hurt people.

Democrats get mad about things Republicans do. Sometimes they fix it.

Leftists get mad about things Republicans do, blame Democrats, and oppose voting because Democrats didn't stop the Republicans.

I got some fuckin' news, Twitter Left.

The only "glorious revolution" this country might see is fascist. Your de facto accelerationist takes help them get there.

Yeah. Some of the left have guns. The right have more guns, the cops, and the military.

What does that leave as actual working options on the ground?

(Or doesn't that matter?)

1. The fascists of the GOP
2. Literally the only other party that can win elections under our system at the moment.

That's it.

Yeah, some of you are all "fuck voting, opt out, work on the ground, anarchy is now"

The people the GOP want dead? We don't have that option. You don't get to opt out of being criminalised for existing. You don't get to opt out of beatdowns.

ASK ME HOW I KNOW.

You want actual options?

You either

1. Work as an insurgency within the Democratic Party - it's worked quite well for the fascists taking over the GOP, and yet you continue to reject it

OR

2. You make ranked-choice voting happen at the state level.

WHILE

working your ass off to beat the existing Democrats into action

BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE ONLY TOOLS ACTUALLY AVAILABLE.

Conveniently, that WHILE? That's part of Actual Option 1.

I don't care if you don't like it, I don't care if you don't think it's fair, or good enough.

Because the other options are LITERAL FANTASYLAND.

These are the actually existing options.

I don't like it either. I really don't. I really don't.

I also know that shit doesn't matter. "What I like" doesn't define "What is real," and if you can't deal with something you hate being real nonetheless being real, then you're just COVID-deniers with a different jam.

And that is the actual reality on the ground.

You can either acknowledge the actual reality and try to deal with it

Or you can pretend there are other options that don't actually exist and demand people do nothing else.

In which case all I can say is enjoy that ivermectin.

(Honestly I think "Can you name one thing that you hate being real and yet which you acknowledge is still real" should be some kind of qualifier for politics. If you can't acknowledge the problem, you can't bloody well fix it.)