Ditol@Quasit
I just don't see how guillotine is connected to this. I know, everybody thinks of it as a tool to behead a king. But.it was used to behead all kinds of revolutionaries during the reign of terror and after the French revolution it was in use until the 2nd half of the last century. As you can imagine, most of its victims came from the lower classes. A Capitalist regime would not behead a millionaire or billionaire for exploiting some working people. Putting it more relatable: a Luigi Mangione would have by far better chances of ending under a guillotine than the guy from the health insurance, were the guillotine still aroind today.
Quasit@ditol @violetmadder @artemis @javi
The guillotine has symbolic meaning unrelated to historical reality. There's a reason why the ruling class hates the symbol. Deep down, they know what they deserve.
But what symbol would you prefer?
Violet MadderWell, violence is not the best solution in general. A lot of innocent people got their heads chopped off back in the day, so the symbol is festive and all but problematic.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword-- and indeed, that's how people like that United Healthcare CEO are monstrous mass murderers just walking around in public acting like they're respectable human beings. Unfortunately, our pens are not backed up with billions of dollars... Or guns, really that's what's behind the insurance companies' pens at the end of the day, why their whims get enforced and ours don't. They bought a lot of guys with guns.
Self-defense in the face of planetwrecking and mass social murder can certainly be argued, but with those giant data centers analyzing everything we say, so much as a peep about it is an increasingly quick trip to some gulag. Which complicates things.
CyWell it's an interesting article but
Surely this can’t all be just an ironic sendup of lingering right-wing anxieties about the French Revolution.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS YOU POOT
A much more effective tool for positive social change through violence is a concealed weapon like a dagger, explosives, or maybe poison. Guillotines are way too visible, easy for the goons to seize and use to streamline their upstart peasant eradication campaign. Nobody seriously thinks the good guys will be the ones lopping off heads and putting people up against the wall.
CC: @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]
Surely this can’t all be just an ironic sendup of lingering right-wing anxieties about the French Revolution.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS YOU POOT
A much more effective tool for positive social change through violence is a concealed weapon like a dagger, explosives, or maybe poison. Guillotines are way too visible, easy for the goons to seize and use to streamline their upstart peasant eradication campaign. Nobody seriously thinks the good guys will be the ones lopping off heads and putting people up against the wall.
CC: @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]
Not to endorse any of those methods of violence. All I support is robust, resilient communities. Such communities could shelter people who go and do something like that, but they will successfully resist oppression regardless of whether or not some yahoo is committing performative justice on rich fucks.
What is dangerous is to reject murderers and thieves, and stand against their individual existence, rather than against the system of oppression. Because then your noble resistance gets murdered and robbed by the people who rich fucks do allow to exist (as slaves). I might make it harder to murder in general, but I won't make the murderers my enemy. A good friend helps you hide the body etc.
This is all pointless fantasizing anyway. My most violent friends are ones who play (gasp) board games.
CC: @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]
What is dangerous is to reject murderers and thieves, and stand against their individual existence, rather than against the system of oppression. Because then your noble resistance gets murdered and robbed by the people who rich fucks do allow to exist (as slaves). I might make it harder to murder in general, but I won't make the murderers my enemy. A good friend helps you hide the body etc.
This is all pointless fantasizing anyway. My most violent friends are ones who play (gasp) board games.
CC: @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]