Joe Biden announces Kamala Harris as running mate.

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crimson5pheonix

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Do people on the forum in general seem more concerned about an argument getting likes than having a solid argument? This isn't the only time I've seen someone complain about how many upvotes they're getting compared to the person they're arguing against
I know there's been some fragile egos about the response system in general. Everything but the like button got taken away over it.
 

MrCalavera

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Their rhetoric is a sham but it still gives a shield under which actual marxists grow stronger.
And here's a perfect example why progressives conceding to centrists is a true sham.
No matter how "conciliatory" their pick is, the right will find a way to paint them as crypto-marxists, bent on building secret GULAGs.
 

Specter Von Baren

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If "Marxists" grow stronger from the mere mention of income inequality and public healthcare, then there must be something very appealing about Marxism.
It's always been like that. Real problems make people turn to it but we've seen how that goes, people that just want power co-opt the movement by making promises they have no intention of keeping.

And here's a perfect example why progressives conceding to centrists is a true sham.
No matter how "conciliatory" their pick is, the right will find a way to paint them as crypto-marxists, bent on building secret GULAGs.
You assume that they're actually progressives conceding. As I said, I can respect Escaraxe for staying true to their philosophy, I don't have any such respect for people I see as just giving out platitudes but no actual interest in implementing them.
 
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MrCalavera

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You assume that they're actually progressives conceding. As I said, I can respect Escaraxe for staying true to their philosophy, I don't have any such respect for people I see as just giving out platitudes but no actual interest in implementing them.
The left progressives ARE conceding, by picking a centre-rightwing Biden and his prosecutor running mate.

I'm not saying that they have much choice now, sadly, but it is a concession.
 
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SupahEwok

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It's appealing to be unemployed and get stimulus checks.
Ah, the conservative by-word, people just want to laze around all day if given the chance. Which is false. Personally, I've been fairly miserable all summer just sitting around and collecting unemployment. Having nothing but free time is boring. Horribly boring. People in general want to work and have something to do and have a feeling of accomplishment.

When people prefer staying home and collecting bucks for no work, it's because their job is incredibly shitty. I've worked that kind of job before. The kind that kills your spirit. Bottom rung, no skill labor, under bad/abusive management.

So far as this pandemic is concerned, a lot of people either can't get employment right now, or they have health concerns that would make contracting Covid-19 a death sentence for them. Unemployment bucks isn't rewarding laziness, it's giving people a means to not have their lives ruined over a pandemic that they had no control over. Many are still actively looking for work; I certainly have been.
 

Iron

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Ah, the conservative by-word, people just want to laze around all day if given the chance. Which is false. Personally, I've been fairly miserable all summer just sitting around and collecting unemployment. Having nothing but free time is boring. Horribly boring. People in general want to work and have something to do and have a feeling of accomplishment.

When people prefer staying home and collecting bucks for no work, it's because their job is incredibly shitty. I've worked that kind of job before. The kind that kills your spirit. Bottom rung, no skill labor, under bad/abusive management.

So far as this pandemic is concerned, a lot of people either can't get employment right now, or they have health concerns that would make contracting Covid-19 a death sentence for them. Unemployment bucks isn't rewarding laziness, it's giving people a means to not have their lives ruined over a pandemic that they had no control over. Many are still actively looking for work; I certainly have been.
Someone needs to do the incredibly shitty jobs, though. Current gibs are there to suspend the impending collapse of the economy, not to reward laziness, true. Same as with actual commie states, laziness is seen as a vice. The commie system does breed laziness.
The left progressives ARE conceding, by picking a centre-rightwing Biden and his prosecutor running mate.

I'm not saying that they have much choice now, sadly, but it is a concession.
What's a left progressive anyway. What are they progressing towards.
DNC had been pissing on that faction of the left in 2020 and in 2016, they make little to no actual difference over their decision making.
 

tstorm823

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What's a left progressive anyway. What are they progressing towards.
Nothing. Being progressive means you aren't aiming at an end goal, or else you'd be named after that end goal. Any ideology with a defined desired end state is named by that end state. You're a progressive if your only goal is give people a better experience in the future than we do in the present.

That being said, the people who are actually progressive aren't often the people who declare themselves progressive, because progressive is one of the many, many words that's been sucked into the euphemism vortex that is the far left.
 
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Iron

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Nothing. Being progressive means you aren't aiming at an end goal, or else you'd be named after that end goal. Any ideology with a defined desired end state is named by that end state. You're a progressive if your only goal is give people a better experience in the future than we do in the present.

That being said, the people who are actually progressive aren't often the people who declare themselves progressive, because progressive is one of the many, many words that's been sucked into the euphemism vortex that is the far left.
I can progress towards fascism and towards monarchy. I don't understand the meaning of this word. Progress is the opposite of tradition, but so is fascism, ancaps and the rest of the liberalism wavelength.
 

Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Do people on the forum in general seem more concerned about an argument getting likes than having a solid argument? This isn't the only time I've seen someone complain about how many upvotes they're getting compared to the person they're arguing against
You're talking to the person, crimson, who made them have to remove emotes since he would just do the 'haha' emote to every single post he didn't like.
 

Silvanus

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At this point I'm just jacking up your likes by letting you get "gotcha" moments your fanboys will slobber over.
I love the idea that you think Seanchaidh, crimson5pheonix, & Revnak are my fanboys. I wish I had fanboys.

Replying to our conversation from earlier, oh how so very personal of you to tell me how you'd pay in the restaurant you visit in Mallorca. Absolute state of commies, you can't even connect marxist theory to reality, which is why you can't even understand why I'm asking you these questions. What worth is your materialist philosophy if you don't follow it yourself, and refuse to defend your actions.
It's less about it being deeply personal information, and more about how utterly unnecessary and pointless it is for you to know about my holiday habits. If you've got a principled argument to make, you should be able to make it by talking about the principles under discussion.

I'm not a communist, so the idea that I should need to "connect Marxist theory to reality" in order to make my case is completely off-target. Everything I've been saying is well accepted in pretty much any developed Western nation, and any mainstream economic doctrine. Employers set wages. The responsibility for something lies with the person who... has the power over it. This is obvious, self-evident stuff, hardly fringe theory.

You think it's "communism" to suggest that we consider employers responsible for setting wages, and that we consider it callous to intentionally underpay workers? Requesting employers act with basic humanity is communism, now?
 

tstorm823

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I can progress towards fascism and towards monarchy. I don't understand the meaning of this word. Progress is the opposite of tradition, but so is fascism, ancaps and the rest of the liberalism wavelength.
Progress means progress. It's exactly how people use the word. When someone says "we made progress", it means that they accomplished something but they aren't done. That is what it means to be progressive: the work is never done. Because we name ideologies based on their goals. If you want to progress towards fascism, you're not a progressive, you're a fascist. If you want communism, you're not a progressive, you're a communist. To be a progressive, the goal is just to do better, forever. There is no end state, there is no win condition. It's not moving towards something, it's just moving. That's it.

And that is sort of the opposite of tradition, but it's also the complement to tradition. People have done things uncountable different ways, and a select few have survived the test of time. All the old ways that have fallen by the wayside and been replaced by something better are instances of progress. If nothing ever got replaced, there would be no value in tradition. We can be assured of the value of traditions by the fact that they haven't been progressed beyond. Similarly, we can only be assured of the value in progress if we conserve the things that end up working. Without both tradition and progress, both become arbitrary systems devoid of value.
 
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Silvanus

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That is what it means to be progressive: the work is never done. Because we name ideologies based on their goals. If you want to progress towards fascism, you're not a progressive, you're a fascist. If you want communism, you're not a progressive, you're a communist. To be a progressive, the goal is just to do better, forever. There is no end state, there is no win condition. It's not moving towards something, it's just moving. That's it.
I agree that the term "progressive" isn't very useful or descriptive about what exactly the person in question wants. But there's nothing in the term that implies an end goal doesn't exist; you can progress towards a definite goal.

Once society has reached that goal, presumably they could stop referring to themselves as progressives after a few electoral cycles. But we're so far away from any ideal point that that's largely academic.
 

Tireseas

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The left progressives ARE conceding, by picking a centre-rightwing Biden and his prosecutor running mate.

I'm not saying that they have much choice now, sadly, but it is a concession.
I would frame it more as a compromise than a concession. Harris is one of the most progressive Senators in the Democratic Party based on her voting record. The one thing she isn't is anti-establishment, as she's very much a "work within the system" kind of workhorse politician as opposed to someone who tries to make a big splash and get a lot of attention (often while going nowhere or attracting more opposition than getting anything done).

I think a lot of progressives (and populist activists in general across the political spectrum) seem to confuse or conflate combative rhetoric (ala Sanders, Warren, and the Squad) with progressive policies, and, in turn, miss the forest for the trees in terms of why we're actually having an election. Biden and Harris for better or ill, are politicians who are interested in uniting the party, which means embracing progressive politics overall but not every single demand of a group that remains a minority within the party.
 
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Iron

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I love the idea that you think Seanchaidh, crimson5pheonix, & Revnak are my fanboys. I wish I had fanboys.



It's less about it being deeply personal information, and more about how utterly unnecessary and pointless it is for you to know about my holiday habits. If you've got a principled argument to make, you should be able to make it by talking about the principles under discussion.

I'm not a communist, so the idea that I should need to "connect Marxist theory to reality" in order to make my case is completely off-target. Everything I've been saying is well accepted in pretty much any developed Western nation, and any mainstream economic doctrine. Employers set wages. The responsibility for something lies with the person who... has the power over it. This is obvious, self-evident stuff, hardly fringe theory.

You think it's "communism" to suggest that we consider employers responsible for setting wages, and that we consider it callous to intentionally underpay workers? Requesting employers act with basic humanity is communism, now?
It's necessary to my argument to try and put you in the position of an employer, and to try and show you the differences of living standards and wages, and how people with different living standards ask for different wages, and how it can cause employers in your country to prefer importing employees to lower universal wages and push the overall standard of living down. That's a terrible run-on sentence. sorry.

The argument I have is that importing labor from abroad is either because - a. the locals can't make this specialized work b. the foreigners make it for cheaper.

Example - pensioner care. It's a demanding job, but it's also low-skilled. Often local young workers wouldn't want to work it because the pay is too low for them to take the job. The employers would need to increase the wages so that there will be people willing to work there. Alternatively, they'd lobby the government to import philipinas and foreign workers to do the job in the asking wage. Had the government not imported foreign workers, the wages would have been increased for ordinary working people.
 

Specter Von Baren

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I agree that the term "progressive" isn't very useful or descriptive about what exactly the person in question wants. But there's nothing in the term that implies an end goal doesn't exist; you can progress towards a definite goal.

Once society has reached that goal, presumably they could stop referring to themselves as progressives after a few electoral cycles. But we're so far away from any ideal point that that's largely academic.
A rather naive view that a group that has gained power will just give it up when its end point is so ill-defined that it can be continued on in perpetuity.
 

crimson5pheonix

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I've got way more likes per comment than most of you lot, but I don't let it go to my head.

Ah, who I am kidding? MWAHAHAHAHAHA ALL BOW DOWN BEFORE MY GREATNESS, LOSERS!
NANI?!

There was more than a like button? Man I have not been paying attention...
Some people couldn't handle opinions being expressed by reaction, so they complained. One thing that never changes is that passive-aggressive posting has to be maintained as an institution.

Someone needs to do the incredibly shitty jobs, though.
I thought everyone could be self-employed and escape that drudgery?
 
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