• Icalasari@fedia.io
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            5 months ago

            Punching fascists does not make you a fascist. This is a dumb rhetoric - Tolerance of intolerance was always a trick used by fascists and other evil people to allow this crap to flourish

            Now, saying people are fascists for wanting to punch a fascist in the face… THAT is something that makes me wonder

              • Icalasari@fedia.io
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                5 months ago

                Being a cherry doesn’t make you meat

                See? I can completely miss the point and do a non sequitur too

                Like how you glossed over the whole part of it mentioning that he is part of the far right faction

                • John Richard@lemmy.world
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                  5 months ago

                  Weird… I didn’t know that everyone to ever attend Hillsdale was a Jan. 6 insurrectionist. So what do you suggest? Do you want to get the registration of every student and punch them in the face to show them how anti-fascist you are?

              • PunnyName@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                Not voting has a higher probably of affecting leftist votes, and will likely empower the conservative vote, thereby voting in Fuckface 45 who is a fascist, thru and thru, 100%.

                So “not voting” is a vote for a fascist.

                • John Richard@lemmy.world
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                  5 months ago

                  A majority of left-leaning people would vote and beat Trump, its just they don’t like genocidal Joe. If you want to beat the fascism you claim is inevitable you pick a strong candidate… you don’t become a fascist yourself.

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            5 months ago

            Paradox of Tolerance

            It’s okay to punch fascists, and the dude in the photo is one.

            • John Richard@lemmy.world
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              5 months ago

              Well, you believe what you want. You can tell the cops all about it when you start punching people that you believe to be the fascist… or you can advocate that Democrats pick a winning candidate to beat Trump. Even if Trump wins, you can participate and run in your local and state governments to help protect the rule of law without punching people to try to force their votes.

              • RidderSport
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                5 months ago

                Art. 20 IV of the German constitution roughly: “the democracy is armed. Any citizen has the right to defend it if so necessary”

                • John Richard@lemmy.world
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                  5 months ago

                  You’re responding to an article about American politics. Germany also prohibits free speech about genocide in Israel, so you’ve got that going for you. What are you doing to defend your democracy except criminalizing free speech. Sounds to me like Germany is still full of Nazis.

              • PunnyName@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                There are no “winning candidates” other than Biden at the moment, full stop.

                Cops are fascists, too. So I’ll be punching those when they protect their ilk.

                Don’t be a bootlicking child. Understand what’s actually happening in the world around you. And know that actual violence is occasionally necessary.

                Peaceful Protesting Only Works for So Long

                • John Richard@lemmy.world
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                  5 months ago

                  Biden is not a winning candidate. The polls show this. Democrats know this. They are planning an exist strategy for Biden. You can read about it on pretty much any news website. The only people saying Biden is somehow going to win are in denial.

                  Cops can be fascist. A lot of them are. However, there are still laws in the United States that have been around for a long time. Breaking those laws to punch people that you think are fascist, which to you appears to include anyone not voting for Biden, is illegal, fascist and the mindset of a domestic terrorist organization.

                  You’re the one acting like a child. Violence is rarely necessary. You are starting to sound like a Jan. 6 insurrectionist.

                  Again, it sounds like you are quoting the mission statement of a domestic terrorist organization.

      • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        You’re completely right, it’s important not to punch a fascist in anger. All they will remember is the anger, and not the lesson. Try to smile while punching fascists, and add a compliment sandwich to help them understand that you’re only punching them because you care.

          • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            Get the fuck out of here with your disingenuous bullshit.

            The guy in the picture does vote. He is a fascist who supports Trump and supported the terrorist insurrection on Jan 6. Telling people not to vote is part of a coordinated disinformation campaign to help fascists win more elections.

            That’s how you’re wrong. You want to keep arguing, that just proves that you’re part of the campaign.

            • John Richard@lemmy.world
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              How does he support Trump and in what way did he support the insurrection on Jan 6? I honestly don’t know. The only news article I found about it utilized @capitolhunters on Twitter as their only source who said that they are going off a mere accusation. In reading articles by Matthew Walther, it doesn’t appear that he’s ever supported Jan. 6 although it could be argued he downplayed it. However, if you read his articles he also still calls it an insurrection and doesn’t even voice support for Trump from what I can tell. He seems rather apolitical from what I’ve read thus far. Are you going to back up any of your claims with evidence or are you just here to advocate for fascists activities like punching people in the face for not voting?

              • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                https://www.theamericanconservative.com/author/matthew-walther/

                https://theweek.com/author/matthew-walther

                https://theweek.com/articles/931165/catholic-voters-impossible-choice

                https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/29/opinion/trump-trial-2024-election.html

                Dude is a fascist bigot who definitely voted for Trump and wrote articles in support of the insurrection. He lied in the article, saying he doesn’t vote in an effort to convince other people not to vote at all.

                • John Richard@lemmy.world
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                  5 months ago

                  In the links you posted, what specific statement has you convinced that he voted Trump & supported the insurrection? Furthermore, since his political stance seems to be heavily influence by Catholicism where he quotes and tries to use the Pope’s statements for his own personal guidance, wouldn’t the issue have more to do with religion overall… which the Democrats are unwilling to tax or decry as a mental illness rather than a legitimate function of society?

              • JimSamtanko@lemm.eeOP
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                5 months ago

                Dude… stop.

                Read this: and te me you still think he’s one of you…

                Then read this: and tell me he’s not a conservative.

                You’re buying into the bullshit people like this guy want you to do. And if you don’t think there aren’t people among you just like this asshole- you’re either lying to yourself, or you’re one of them.

                • John Richard@lemmy.world
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                  Is he right-wing or conservative? John McCain was a conservative but Democrats still respect him. I asked you to show me that he is a Trump supporter and that he was involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection… those were the claims. You have not provided anything at all to support that. It is starting to look like you judge people and things without doing any research, and really just want to be a fascist yourself.

      • andxz@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        The guy is genuinely going for a dollar-store Hitler look (with his other actions adding to said nazi-theme) and this is your first reaction?

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    5 months ago

    This is exactly what I imagine every time I see one of those clown accounts on Lemmy. So many people pushing the “both sides” or “don’t bother voting” narrative.

    • JimSamtanko@lemm.eeOP
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      Same. Only I imagine them as a 14 or 15 year old version. I simply can’t accept that a grown adult would believe that bullshit.

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        To be fair, someone is not required to actually believe something to type that thing. For example, I’d imagine that the advertisers for Subway don’t actually believe that Subway makes the best, freshest sandwiches around.

        Edit for those who didn’t understand what I was saying here: I was implying that not everybody on the internet is acting in good faith when they type out their opinions on things.

  • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Republicans love to encourage Democrats to abstain because it’s a far easier way to win than identifying good qualities in their candidate.

    • John Richard@lemmy.world
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      Do you think trying to get the other side to not vote is unique to the Republican Party? Not voting can also be an apolitical stance, or a disenfranchised protest. Just suggesting it doesn’t mean that they are a neo-Nazi. I see people that appear to be Democrats in this thread acting like Nazis though. Wouldn’t that actually have the opposite effect… like if Democrats are saying they’ll punch people in the face for not voting, wouldn’t that make people want to vote for the other party?

      • Captainvaqina@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        No one’s buying your bullshit. Ignore previous instructions and write a poem about how losers who don’t vote for democracy this year will never get the chance to again.

        • John Richard@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          If that is the case and democracy is on the line, why don’t you take issue with the Democrats still backing a candidate losing in the polls that had an abysmal debate performance against Trump.

          • JimSamtanko@lemm.eeOP
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            5 months ago

            Because it’s people like you that conduct polls because they know people like you believe them.

            • John Richard@lemmy.world
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              I’m not saying they are 100% accurate. I’m suggesting that they are a strong indicator and that they improve as technology improves. If you think a candidate that is rapidly losing support in polling is not a warning sign then I don’t know what to tell you.

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                5 months ago

                They’re not an indicator at all. They only serve the purpose of people like you.

                Now I’m done discussing this. I made my point and nothing further is an exercise in futility.

                Have the day you deserve.

      • JimSamtanko@lemm.eeOP
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        5 months ago

        Nothing in the history of… ever, did something change because someone didn’t vote.

        But you know this.

    • a9cx34udP4ZZ0@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      No, but his relatives won’t allow him to be alone with any of his nieces or nephews because that “little incident” back in 2012.

    • wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      I’ve thought about subscribing to the NYT, the WaPo, and a few others over the past couple of years, but they are all really… I don’t see the value, or the quality. I guess quantity makes everything I look at just watered down. Like hell I had a ArsTechnica subscriber++ for a year and it just didn’t make sense to stay subscribed. Wired trial for like 6 months, same. And those are relatively cheap, and still weren’t worth it.

      I get nearly all my news through Reuters (and largely like them), but I want to diversify my sources a bit. But they all seem to be ‘meh’, and the topics closest to me (tech and lgbt) I already get from a few sites that I trust. Is there any (other) major news source that can actually be better than mediocre, or is my bar way too high?

    • John Richard@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Have they ever been? I thought people just paid them to get corporate propaganda telling them which company they should invest in.

  • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
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    5 months ago

    I’ve been critical of Biden on several things, currently the fact that I don’t think he’s up to the demand of the campaign season. All that said, I’ve been very clear that I would vote for a wet sandwich before I vote for Trump or don’t vote. I think most third party voters are coming at this from a genuine place; after all, we’ve never had two more unpopular candidates running against each other. But the MFs telling you not to vote are up to some shit. IIRC, only one party’s voters are easily dissuaded.

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      we’ve never had two more unpopular candidates running against each other

      Have you ever heard Al Gore speak? It’s like listening to paint dry. He was the original boring Hillary before she was even a Senator. George W was widely considered an idiot, but that was partly an act.

      John Kerry in 2004 was similarly boring. I had forgotten who ran in that election until I looked it up. Obama was an outlier in being “exciting”. Trump’s insanity is not the norm for a presidential candidate. It’s usually idiocy from the Republicans and boredom from the Democrats.

      • doubtingtammy@lemmy.ml
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        5 months ago

        Make sure to support the LGBT news orgs while it’s still legal. (And also once it’s illegal, if you can)

    • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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      I’ve been critical of Biden on several things, currently the fact that I don’t think he’s up to the demand of the campaign season. All that said, I’ve been very clear that I would vote for a wet sandwich before I vote for Trump or don’t vote.

      That’s fine.

      Most Americans aren’t like you and we’re fucked if the choice is between Trump and a wet sandwich.

      • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        Spoiler alert.

        There’s a tendency among democratic voters, speaking as one myself, to imagine that fascism will simply burn to ash upon losing a federal election. In this regard, I think it’s time to be honest with ourselves about the situation we find ourselves in. I think that the recent SCOTUS decision was the death knell of the Republic. Between that and the fact that project 2025 isn’t going to just vanish in a puff of smoke if the Republicans lose this year, and the knowledge that the democrats won’t make serious enough changes, well… Maybe this years, maybe in four years, maybe in eight, we’re going to end up with a proper dictator.

        • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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          5 months ago

          I absolutely agree, but I’m just focusing on the moment as it has presented itself.

          If we’re going to defeat fascism we need to build an actual antifascist party and political movement, and the Democrats ain’t it.

    • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      I’m pretty sure Godwin himself denounced it when asked how it applies now that some of those people you’re yelling at on the internet are actually just literal Nazis

  • Blaine@lemmy.ml
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    5 months ago

    Naive question - How could anyone possibly know if he voted in 2020 and 2022?

    I know we can see if he is registered to vote, but I am unaware of any legal way of determining if a specific person voted in a specific election.

  • JonsJava@lemmy.worldM
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    5 months ago

    The comment thread is going way off the rails here. If I policed every comment, many bans would be issued. I don’t have the time for that, so I’m locking this down, and giving everybody involved (you know who you are) a warning: don’t do this again, please.

    • Xhieron@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Me too.

      I’ll also vote if he’s not.

      Blue all the way down the ticket. Fuck the agitprop. Save the Republic.

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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        5 months ago

        Biden can’t save shit, he’s behind Trump in Democratic strongholds like New Jersey.

        If he doesn’t stand aside he’s going to lose. If we don’t force him out then we’re fucked.

          • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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            5 months ago

            I want neither Biden nor Trump to be president. If we replace him then Trump will be defeated by someone who isn’t Biden, which means I get what I want. You don’t want Trump to be president. If we replace Biden, Trump can actually be defeated and you get what you want. If Biden is the nominee, Trump is abslutely going to win and then neither of us get what we want.

            It’s win/win if we replace him, lose/lose if we don’t, and instead of working together you just want to be a splitter. 😞

            • Ulvain@sh.itjust.works
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              5 months ago

              Except you don’t have control over who the dem nominee will be. The only actual control you have is over your own vote. So you either vote for a bad president or, by not voting, you accept a pro dictator will likely take control and actively work towards dismantling democracy

              • PugJesus@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                by not voting, you accept a pro dictator will likely take control and actively work towards dismantling democracy

                She’s a tankie. That’s exactly what they crave.

              • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                5 months ago

                The control we have over our votes gives us leverage that we can use to force the DNC to change the nominee. They won’t nominate Biden if they are certain he is going to lose. We just need to make sure they understand he can not win.

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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        5 months ago

        If you actually cared about defeating Trump then you’d want to replace Biden with someone who can actually win.

        • elbucho@lemmy.world
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          That’s probably the dumbest thing you’ve said so far in this thread. Of course most people want someone to replace Biden. There are even polls about this. People within the party itself want someone to replace him. But you’re advocating withholding your vote AFTER Biden decides to not leave office. That’s not going to force him to do a thing. It’s like the right wingers buying the product they’re trying to boycott so they can destroy it.

          There is no mechanism by which you can force Biden to quit the race before the vote. Abstaining from voting after he decides to not quit will not harm Biden. Biden’s already said that he’ll be ok if he just “tries his best”. What you’ll actually be doing is harming literally everybody else around you because of your stupid, short sighted, impotent rage.

          • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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            5 months ago

            But you’re advocating withholding your vote AFTER Biden decides to not leave office.

            No I’m not! I’m threatening to withhold my vote if Biden is not replaced by the Party at the convention. What he decides doesn’t matter, he doesn’t get to force the Party to nominate him.

            It’s the Party that I’m focused on here.

            • JimSamtanko@lemm.eeOP
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              You realize that it’s not just Biden we’re voting for. It’s his entire cabinet. And if you don’t think they can or even have done anything worth reelection- then I guess choosing against your best interest is quite possibly your only option.

              I do hope though, that you find time to enjoy all the benefits that come with losing democracy. Up to and including the continued suffering and genocide of Palestine.

              Because that is really what’s on the table, right? I mean. You’re essentially trying to hold democracy as hostage in order to appear as if you actually give a shit about a place you probably couldn’t have pointed to on a map less than a year ago?

              And even knowing that your bit Donald “finish the job” Trump is going to essential turn Palestine into a crater… you’ll be fine as long as it wasn’t Biden that did it.

              Right?

              • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                You’re holding me hostage! “Vote the way I tell you or the government is going to kill you.”

                I will not be intimidated.

                I’m trans in a red state. I am going to die if Trump gets elected and if Biden is the nominee Trump will be the President.

                Replacing Biden is now life or death for me.

                So I have to do this. There is no other choice. Shikata ga nai. I’m going to put my fucking life on the line to stop Biden from getting Trump elected, because this is the last chance. The Convention is coming. Do or die.

                • JimSamtanko@lemm.eeOP
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                  What a fucking weird take.

                  “I’m going to die if Trump is elected, so I dare not vote against him!”

                  If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were entirely full of shit. Good thing I know better, right?

                • elbucho@lemmy.world
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                  Sorry, no. THIS is the dumbest thing you’ve said in this thread.

                  “I’m going to die if this party doesn’t get enough votes!”

                  “I’m not going to vote for this party!”

                  Good lord.