matte
George Takei 
🏳️🌈🖖🏽Rep. Ted Lieu isn't backing down.
Colin B.🇨🇦@georgetakei "The next administration..."
Good luck with that.
ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIEScould we please stop with the cowardly spineless cynicism?
we want the usa to improve, yes?
so we don't speak in mindless capitulation that is not wise, is not useful, and just boils down to useless whiny "everything sucks forever, waah"
we speak of how we can improve things and work towards that
cynicism is acceptance of fascism
the cynic is MAGA's best friend
Jakenke@benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei
I’m becoming more and more convinced that cynical defeatism is being intentionally astroturfed and amplified in left-leaning online communities all over the internet by malign actors.
@Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei
some is troll psyop from MAGA and geopolitical actors. maybe not paid troll farm, just random edgelords enjoying a game
but entitled, lazy detached people who consider themselves on the left is also real
a mirror image of MAGA in terms of a rotten society. these fake leftists are as bad as MAGA
fake leftists because they do not have an ideological position, they have a psychological position
they don't care about improving society, they care about whining
@benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei
You’re right but IMO they mesh together. The most effective astroturfing takes a real phenomenon/sentiment and amplifies it. That could be as simple as vote and engagement manipulation to boost ‘real’ comments.
E.g. after the last two No Kings protests Reddit was flooded with “it doesn’t matter/waste of time/these protests are useless” comments. Many were probably ‘real’ but astroturfers likely seized the opportunity to upvote them.
@Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei
well said
and we can go further and say that the entire effort at discerning if someone is a troll working the learned helplessness psyop, or if they are genuinely this sort of whiny entitled useless cynic, it doesn't matter
cynical voices are capitulation to fascism
whether as an organic aspect of a weak person
or as a purposeful astroturfed agenda
the results are the same, so we treat both voices the same:
reject them
mindless cynicism helps fascism
AnnieBuddy@benroyce @Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei
I hope that we can all find a way to respect each others' emotions and views through this. What might appear on the surface as mindless cynicism to some may also be a coping mechanism for acceptance for others. We are all on different paths in our lives and we all come with different life experiences which have led to this moment in time.
Love, peace and respect are needed now more than ever.
@AnnieBuddy @Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei
no
what you're suggesting is codependent enabling
we castigate and reject the whiny useless cynic
that their whiny useless cynicism might come from a sincere place is besides the point
the point is recovering our country
not coddling people who by their weak rationale are signaling their acceptance of fascism
what are we going to do? defeat MAGA? or play therapist for people who lack a backbone while MAGA consumes us?
which is more important?
You S Blues
Chaucerburnt@AnnieBuddy @benroyce @Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei A coping mechanism that makes the situation worse for others is a bad coping mechanism.
Brad Macpherson@Jakenke @benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei If it didn't work, they wouldn't try to ban it. Protesting, voting, it all matters.
@brad @benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei
Yep. More than most people realize. If I could get everyone to read one thing it would be this: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/CANVAS-Core-Curriculum_EN4.pdf
Organized civil resistance erodes the pillars of support that uphold an authoritarian regime. They know that, and so they will do anything to mythologize their power and make themselves seem invincible when they are anything but.
🇩🇪 🇺🇦 🇨🇦
@Jakenke @benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei Have you considered not playing their game? So long as people drink the cool-aid (left or right) they retain control. Here's a great example of Trump ( #Taco ) blinking...
@ManyRoads @Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei
well we feel a need to call it out
george writes a hopeful post and you can see under george's top post above many comments exhibiting this sort of dissipated, ineffectual impotent mindless cynicism that is all too common in the world
and only serves to help MAGA
so we'll call it out
it may be pointless for the person we are responding to, these whiners often seem too far gone and insincere
it's for the sake of everyone else reading along
@benroyce @Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei Here's an example of not wrapping things around a label. This person has a valuable position no matter he's in a right-wing government... Amplify thoughts worth sharing, de-emphasize the labels."
@ManyRoads @Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei
well i mean:
fuck fake left wingers who are just useless cynics coping
but also fuck right wingers
but you have your approach. i appreciate it
@benroyce @Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei Good ideas are good ideas. Good people are good people. Anything else is pretty much bias or deafness.
Patrick Loftus 🖖
@benroyce @ManyRoads @Jakenke @swordgeek @georgetakei I agree with Ben here and personally happy he’s constantly calling these things out.
The cynicism and despair flooding the zone seems intended, to me, to reduce participation in the non-violent means we have of change.
Muro deGrizecoScene in movie, "The Lives of Others", where a DDR Stasi officer proudly describes secret process of Zersetzung, a method for covertly discouraging and disorienting a member of the opposition.
He describes arranging quiet interventions, job loss, relationship failure, resulting in a targeted dissident writer just giving up and never writing again.
Imagine: updated Zersetzung, labor costs removed, applied to whole populus!
Everyone gets little pushes, spin them up, shut them down.
Maybe a decade ago, saw a diagram for evil GOP political op planning. Psychographic diagram.
Quadrants for American population:
"Will reliably crawl over broken glass to vote Trump; don't worry about them."
"Never going to vote for Trump; don't bother with persuasion."
"These people, will vote Trump if they are scared and angry. Make them so. Spray agitprop."
"Will vote against Trump. Sour them on opposition. Distract them. Turn them off."
OtterCynical
Patrick@benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei you’re right. I still observe myself being being sarcastic or cynical to cope with all that shit, but I also realize that this won’t improve anything. There’s still hope.
@lordkhan @swordgeek @georgetakei
self-awareness
you have it, to your credit
and i as well can feel bleak. we all do at times
but it seems to be a dying artform in this world where some can pull themselves out of it, and others wallow in it and make it their entire identity
defeated people. learned helplessness
they only serve as an aid to MAGA
@benroyce @georgetakei I think you misunderstand. This is not passive cynicism, it's a call for IMMEDIATE action! The US needs to put this shite down RIGHT NOW, not just keep threatening future consequences.
If you don't act now, if you wait until the GOP is out of power, it's far less likeky to happen.
Due procedure, measured response, and waiting your turn are the biggest allies of a despot like Trump.
And frankly, the rest of the world is fsirly unconcerned with the US collapsing into anarchy except for the damage it's doing to the rest of us.
no argument and well said
my only criticism is you should be explicit with this important caveat
otherwise you get these indolent entitled americans functioning on cynical negativity who just don't do anything at all, nevermind waiting for something
EQ@benroyce @swordgeek @georgetakei
War crimes can be prosecuted by many nations, not just USA. They might want to keep that list in mind next time they plan overseas vacation.
Reboot Robotnik
JorisBohnsonPM🇬🇧🇺🇦🇪🇺🇵🇸Call it what it is - The #EpsteinWar
J$@georgetakei this tells us that military complicity now is likely to result in military support when Trump takes care of the coming elections.
tacnextgenThe franchise Star Trek has always been an effective mirror to discuss issues with our society in a re framed narrative. In one of these stories, they address the topic of sacrificing the freedom of a small group in order to better serve the greater good.
ADMIRAL DOUGHERTY: Jean-Luc, we are only moving six hundred people.
PICARD: How many people does it take, Admiral, before it becomes wrong? A thousand? Fifty thousand? A million? How many people does it take, Admiral?
The country of Iran has 93 million people. The current sitting US president is talking about eradicating them. The estimated number of civilian deaths during World War 2 was approximately 55 million. The people with the power to prevent this are choosing to stand by and watch.
How many people does it take before it becomes wrong?
Tofu Golem@tacnextgen @georgetakei
We're talking about conservative Christians. No amount of bloodshed is ever enough with those people.
Their lust for blood is as endless as their desire for human suffering.
Because Jesus.
Tom DB 🦣@georgetakei Still too few are doing that.
Skim Shady@georgetakei what a deeply flawed system we keep ingratiating. I knew there was rot but it’s black and white that we were lied to all along. Just polishing a fairytale
The constitution is a weapon for the elite, just as the slave masters intended. We occasionally get crumbs to pacify us, but the planter class is no longer afraid of the slaves and sharecroppers. There is no justice without accountability #generalstrike #classwar #revolt #israel
Urwumpe@georgetakei I doubt the next admin will persecute anything too high up the chain of command. Too political, they'll get some small fishes and a few middle guys, but pretend to be blind and deaf on anything so high up that it could come back on them.
The Democratic Party of the USA were never the good guys - they were just the lesser of two evils. For a real change in politics, the whole system would need to reform itself - against the will of the rich=powerful elites.
LevkaDemocrats? Feh. Good cop, bad cop, both cops.
Infoseepage@georgetakei Hope he's got a long legal pad of names already, because the US Military has been working overtime to commit war crimes under this regime. I'd like to see a clear plank of the Democratic party be a commitment to prosecute the crimes committed during this error (sic), with specific reference to things like the Venezuela boat murders.
Eric BonoTed LIeu NEVER backs down. He's had our back for a decade of this bullshit.
diesch@georgetakei Has any U.S. administration ever prosecuted American war criminals?
Ruby@diesch @georgetakei Kissinger won the Nobel
CrowjaneKinda sorta,
The Mỹ Lai Massacre, but they found a fall guy in Calley and he claimed he was “only following orders” he was found guilty but did not have to serve the life sentence.
There’s a whole lot to the story if you’re interested in looking any further. It’s a very ugly story,
So if you’re not in a place where you want to read about horrible atrocities committed by our troops, don’t look.
Lily Star
arceuthobium@diesch @georgetakei Trump pardoned a couple who had been prosecuted under Obama.
xs4me2Could not be more clear than this…
Some Kind Of Garf@georgetakei I god damn hope there is a next administration, in several ways.
sea@georgetakei Bold of him to assume there will be a "next administration."
could we please stop with the cowardly spineless cynicism?
we want the usa to improve, yes?
so we don't speak in mindless capitulation that is not wise, is not useful, and just boils down to useless whiny "everything sucks forever, waah"
we speak of how we can improve things and work towards that
cynicism is acceptance of fascism
the cynic is MAGA's best friend
@benroyce This is not cowardly spineless cynicism. It's realism. We need to do something now and not wait for elections. Waiting for elections that are very unlikely to happen fairly is what is spineless.
nobody said "wait for elections"
so don't speak of realism when you feel a need to insert a lie into what someone else wrote, and in fact stands in contrast to what they wrote
showing you don't have much grasp on reality and realism
the cynic very much blocks reality with their empty spineless hopelessness
that is the problem
@benroyce I said "bold of you to assume there will be elections." and you are having an extreme emotional response to that and attacking me as a person because I said we have to do things now, before the elections, when you responded angrily to a comment I made that had only to do with elections.
oh i'm sorry for commenting topically on your ignorant lie about my words and changing the topic to some inaccurate bullshit about "realism"
please excuse my terrible transgression
but thanks for changing the topic and avoiding my point, which means you get it and aren't honest enough to admit it, or you can't read at all
oh wait, we already established that
hi and welcome to mastodon, where people post things and others respond to them
i thank you very kindly for responding to my post with your whiny inaccurate bullshit about "realism"
@benroyce I am not the one whining, guy. I'm not upset that you replied to me. I am not upset. You, however, seem VERY upset about a comment I made in reply to a celebrity. Again, I hope you get help.
unread
uninterested
please read george's top post again, and think about how you can contribute meaningfully and positively to fix the usa, rather than whining empty mindless cynicism
thank you oh so very much my good friend
Hot Dog Water, will not complyAnd now each of those boys will choose 'no next administration'.
VolineThis threat would be more believable if Obama had prosecuted the Bush war crimes.