what the hell is there to say

[solarbird]

Republicans in Wisconsin are talking about impeaching the newly-elected Supreme Court justice, which they can do if they decide to because they’ve so gerrymandered the state that they can’t be voted out and always have a supermajority. Wisconsin is not a republic, but Wisconsin is their model.

Republicans in Tennessee in a similar position of power just expelled two Democrats (and nearly a third, but she was spared because she’s white; the racism is plain and blatant) for supporting protesters demanding gun control. For getting a little too uppity and for not knowing their place.

Republicans aren’t even pretending to respect elections any more. It’s not even about gun control – gun control has no chance in hell of passing in Tennessee. It’s about power.

The Republican Party is a fascist party. Musk Twitter is a fash propaganda organ. That’s why he bought the goddamn thing. If you do anything to help a Republican into power, you’re helping them do this. If you stay on Musk Twitter, you’re helping him help them.

People can either start fucking admitting that’s where we are and fight back, or line up for the goddamn camps. And I don’t know what else to do because it doesn’t matter how much I lay it out for people, how many facts I present, how many dots I connect, not a goddamn thing I say seems to get anybody to move.

I’ve been saying it a lot: If we fight this, we will win. But that means actually doing shit. Not pretending it’ll happen by itself, not carrying on as fucking usual, not helping the fash propagandist keep the social media network he bought stay online, not continuing to buy those oh-so-tasty-I-guess chicken sandwiches.

It means not pretending it’s just more politics and business as usual. Because it is not.

The only way they can win is if people let them. But right now, a disgusting – an absolutely grotesque – number of people who say they’re against this shit are clearly willing to just let them do whatever the hell they want to whoever the hell they want if it means the most fleeting of deprivations or the shortest moment’s inconvenience.

And that’s where we are, too.

And frankly – gods, it just makes me sick.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Comments

[vostoklake]

I've been told: "the fascists want to drive me off Twitter. Why should I bow to their demands?"

Twitter is also where Ukrainians, Palestinians and other people organising outside the privileged First World bubble are making their voices heard still.

Meanwhile, the "vibe" of Mastodon discussions is hand-wringing despair, without humour or practical action.

[solarbird]

To "the fascists want to drive me off Twitter. Why should I bow to their demands?" my response is:

Elon Musk also wants to demonstrate that he can make Twitter profitable by turning it into a fascist propaganda machine.

If he succeeds, his plan will be repeated by others.

His plan needs to fail.

Lots of marginalised people have done lots and lots of things on Twitter. I know. I was one of them. A lot still are. I actually do have room for that when no other option is available.

But I look at all the Americans on there doing their old usual shit, not one whit of which has anything to do with marginalised voices, and all I can see are people queued up outside a motherfucking Chick-Fil-A ordering those fucking chicken burgers knowing full damn well that the profits go straight to attacking me, and everyone like me, and I just want to start throwing fists.

[solarbird]

Also:

the "vibe" of Mastodon discussions is hand-wringing despair, without humour or practical action.

Have you met the American left?

In my experience, it's mostly like that. Particularly the white American left, and the more cishet they are, the worse it is. I mean, we've talked about this before and it's very much entirely my opinion that they're in love with failure. It's not specific to Mastodon.

(That is why I keep going in swinging with the whole "we did it before and we can do it again" thing. I am actually trying to get them to change.)

[arethinn]

Republicans in Tennessee in a similar position of power just expelled two Democrats

enotsola tells me that local laws allow those districts to appoint someone to fill out the term, and that there's apparently nothing preventing them from re-appointing the people who were just expelled. Don't have a cite for that though.

[solarbird]

Indeed, and Republicans have threatened to retaliate against them if they do so. So that'll be fun.

[mme_n_b]

Not being on Twitter and not buying sandwiches is not actually doing things. It's not doing things. Are there specific actions the rest of us can take (besides giving money to Wisconsin Democrats, which is a base level) that will help you feel supported now?

[solarbird]

Not being on Twitter and not buying sandwiches is not actually doing things.

Participating in boycotts is doing something. Just as refusing to do so is also doing something.

Rosa Parks's arrest wasn't what got Montgomery's bus system desegregated. What got it desegregated was the long boycott that her arrest tipped off.

Elon's experiment needs to fail. It is extremely important that it fail. We won't drive Twitter to bankruptcy, but if we get people to leave it - to boycott it - then that makes his purpose worthless even to his actual goal of using it as a propaganda machine.

Mind you, that means not just boycotting it quietly yourself, but doing it visibly, and getting other people to do it too. Just like with the Chick-Fil-A moments. Speaking up when those happened, as they always did, sucked. And yet, I did it. I didn't keep my mouth shut, I didn't just go along.

Just like I'm not doing any of that now.

That aside, I mean, I've thrown a bunch of stuff out there, often in these updates. What you in particular can do whereever you are specifically, that, I can't tell you because I don't know enough. Do you have fash showing up at LGBT-friendly events? Can you throw personal and/or moral and/or monetary support to those events that are under fire? Do you have local-to-you governments doing stupid things? Push back. Do you have local-to-you governments pretending everything is normal? Tell them shit ain't normal, do stuff.

For example, I told my state Senator that we need to be setting up as much as we can for not just abortion refugees, but trans and other LGBT refugees. That's a thing. State reps and senators, those might listen to you. And they matter.

But if you want to talk just throwing money beyond WisDems, now is a pretty good time to follow through on the early-money donations I've talked about before. You won't have primaries, almost certainly, until next year - but you can throw tremendously important money at candidacies just starting to come together now.

Like, okay, Adam Frisch came within a whisper of a tremendous upset over Lauren Boebert last November, under the worst possible circumstances. I know for a fact he's running again and is raising earliest seed money now. 2024 will be a much better environment for him, too.

All of this is stuff I've said before. Here it is again. Do with it what you will.

[mme_n_b]

I live in the SF Bay Area. We don't really have fash showing anywhere, our government is very LGBTQ friendly, I voted for the woman that was at the flag raising with me, and I already contribute to the local gay-friendly events. That and boycotting seem pretty base level. What I was asking about is more things that would make you personally feel better. I suck at interpersonal stuff, so probably didn't express this well. In any case, I made a donation to Adam Frisch with you in mind, and I hope you take it as an acknowledgement that your pain is legitimate and clearly requires action from others.

[solarbird]

You need to pay more attention to your own state if you think you "don't really have fash showing anywhere." Look at, say, Shasta County, and figure out what you can do.

[mme_n_b]

Shasta is 5+ hours away from me under the best conditions, covered in deep snow, and populated by crazies as far as history goes. That's where people go to search for yetis and worship Hiawatha. The only thing I can do for them is give money to the sane side. I'm already doing that, but I gave extra to the News Cafe in your name.