#Parasite Thatcher

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

mantis thatcher is so funny to me. you know how horrified some mantis look. thats him

He’s just a tad silly that’s all.

[zombified-queer]

I've been writing holiday based fanfics all year, only hitting the shit that's really important, y'know? Ides of March, April Fools, Homestuck-and-JUICE-Launch-Day. Only the major holidays.

[sataniccapitalist]

Joe Biden was discarded by the same billionaire class he assiduously served throughout his political career. Barely able to stumble his way through the words on a Teleprompter and not always cognizant of what is happening around him, his billionaire supporters pulled the plug. He was their creature – he has been in federal office for 47 years - from start to finish. He was used as a foil to defeat Bernie Sanders in the 2020 primaries and was anointed as the candidate in 2024 in a Soviet-style primary campaign. The billionaire class will now anoint someone else. Democratic Party voters are stage props in this political farce. Donald Trump, unlike Kamala Harris or any other apparatchik the billionaire class selects as a presidential candidate, has a genuine and committed base, however fascistic.

In Hitler and the Germans, the political philosopher Eric Vogelin dismisses the idea that Hitler — gifted in oratory and political opportunism but poorly educated and vulgar — mesmerized and seduced the German people. The Germans, he writes, supported Hitler and the “grotesque, marginal figures” surrounding him because he embodied the pathologies of a diseased society, one beset by economic collapse and hopelessness. Voegelin defines stupidity as a “loss of reality.” The loss of reality means a “stupid” person cannot “rightly orient his action in the world, in which he lives.” The demagogue, who is always an idiote, is not a freak or social mutation. The demagogue expresses the society’s zeitgeist.

Biden and the Democratic Party are responsible for this zeitgeist. They orchestrated the deindustrialization of the United States, ensuring that 30 million workers lost their jobs in mass layoffs. As I write in America, The Farewell Tour, this assault on the working class created a crisis that forced the ruling elites to devise a new political paradigm. Trumpeted by a compliant media, this paradigm shifted its focus from the common good to race, crime and law and order. Biden was at the epicenter of this paradigm shift. Those undergoing profound economic and political change were told that their suffering stemmed not from rampant militarism and corporate greed but from a threat to national integrity. The old consensus that buttressed New Deal programs and the welfare state was attacked as enabling criminal Black youth, “welfare queens” and other alleged social parasites. This opened the door to a faux populism, begun by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, which supposedly championed family values, traditional morality, individual autonomy, law and order, the Christian faith and the return to a mythical past, at least for white Americans. The Democratic Party, especially under Bill Clinton and Biden, became largely indistinguishable from the establishment Republican Party to which it is now allied.

The Democratic Party refuses to accept its responsibility for the capture of democratic institutions by a rapacious oligarchy, the grotesque social inequality, the cruelty of predatory corporations and an unchecked militarism. The Democrats will anoint another amoral politician, probably Harris, to use as a mask for outsized corporate greed, the folly of endless war, the facilitation of genocide and the assault on our most basic civil liberties. The Democrats, tools of Wall Street, gave us Trump, and the 74 million people who voted for him in 2020. They look set to give us Trump again. God help us.

[jupitermelichios]

so this is, as far as anyone can tell, not a joke. this is an actual list an alt right dipshit gamerTM made of 'conservative core' games and posted on a 4chan clone, and it's the greatest self own I've seen online in a while. guy is just out here boasting about his own lack of media literacy

I'll put the full list below a cut for anyone who wants it, but i just want to highlight a extra few special entries here first (minor content warning for mention of forced pregnancy, nothing explicit):

Toho Project: it's almost certainly on here because it contains anime waifus, but I've literally never met a toho fan who wasn't trans. technically i guess cis toho fans exist, but they're definitely not the ones keeping the franchise afloat

The 3 different Warhammer 40k games: 40k was created as a critique of reactionary conservatism generally, and margaret thatcher specifically.

Doom: just gonna quote the creator of doom here. "Trans rights are human rights, important rights, critical rights and society needs to do more to make this the case for everyone."

Sniper Elite: this is a game about shooting nazis in the balls. literally, that is the game. there are nazis, you shoot them. usually in the balls. that feels like a pretty firmly anti-nazi stance to me, idk

Persona 4: this game is about how conservative japanese society mistreats teenagers and denies them physical and emotional agency. gonna go out on a limb and guess it's on here because dipshit fancies one of the female characters

Silent Hill 3: silent hill three is about a teenage girl who is impregnated against her will and desperately wants to not be pregnant but a powerful religious organisation tries to force her to carry the baby to term and as a direct result the world nearly ends. in one of the endings, it does end. because of the lack of an abortion. i cannot believe the game about the importance of reproductive rights isn't even the stupidest entry on this list

Fallout 3: it is, granted,one of the less political fallouts. it's still a game about how the U.S. gonvernment destroyed the entire world by declaring war on china and then nuking the planet, and also about how unchecked capitalism and the replacing the social safety net with corporations will inevitably lead to those corporations abusing people, and how that is very bad actually.

Bioshock: literally the first thing that happens in this game is you are told libertarianism is a stupid ideology that will always fail and ayn rand was a moron. and then the game goes on telling you that. at length. in a variety of creative ways. for the next 15 hours.

Metro Last Light: see fallout, this is a game about war-hungry governments who don't give a shit about their people end up nuking the planet and nearly wiping out all life.

and finally, to end on the highest possible note:

Metal Gear Rising Revengence: not only is this an entry in a franchise which is entirely and exclusively about how awful the military industrial complex is, this game specifically is about a soldier who was abused by the military killing the president of the united states because his use of private military corporations to fight wars is morally indefensible. literally. that's the plot. it's entirely possible raiden just says those words in that order out loud in the game because hideo kojima knows writers who use subtext and they're all cowards.

anyway, the alt right are fucking morons and media studies needs to be a compulsory subject in every school on the planet.

full list below the cut:

Toho Project

Warhammer 40k: Darktide

Doom

Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Sniper Elite

Mortal Kombat

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Persona 4

Rimworld

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Quake

Silent Hill 3

Resident Evil: Parasite Eve

007: Goldeneye

Perfect Dark

Battlefield 4

Dino Crisis

Fallout 3

Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Arma III

Squad (no, I don't know what this one is either, it appears to just be called squad? it looks like a rainbox six knock off)

Ready or Not (disappointingly, this looks like a Call of Duty knockoff and not a game based on the film ready or not, which is about killing the 1% with a machete)

Company of Heroes

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Devil May Cry 2

Fire Emblem: the Three Houses

Megaman Zero

STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl

Bioshock

Halo 2

Battlefield 3

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War

Ninja Gaiden II

Metro: Last Light

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine (fun fact, at the end of this game your character gets executed for heresy because they saved lives, but i'm sure that's not commentary on anything at all)

Killzone 2

Dead or Alive: X-Treme Beach Volleyball 2

God of War (the original, not the Dad of Boy reboot)

Metal Gear Rising Revengence

[thealternateinfectionau]

Chapters and info (Again)!

T.H.I.N.K principal (the podcast telling you about the infection)

Ruth's Medicine (Year 2004, Thatcher Gives Ruth her medicine and they watch a movie together)

One terrible night (year 2009, After Jonah left Adam Behind he gets infected by mark and has to survive on his own)

Better stay brave (Year 1992, Cesar gets infected by Parasite! Cesar after discovering his mom ripped apart and cuts off his own ear.)

I have no mouth but I must eat (Year 1992, Mark gets infected by Parasite! Cesar and loses his mouth due to the infection. His new mouth is on his neck and abdomen)

6. The man's mistake (Year 1992, Thatcher gets infected by Parasite! Thatcher, forced himself to amputate his arm, goes back to Ruth after gaining enough bravery)

7. Such a fool (Year 2009, Dave sees Gabriel and gets infected)

8. Let's get you inside (Year 2009, Cesar finally finds Jonah after 4 days, takes him in.)

9. You're just a kid. (Year 2009 3 days after Jonah got infected, Thatcher finds Adam and takes him in as well.)

10. Dear Guardian angel. (Year 2009, Evelin gets chased by an infected deer but Dave saves her.)

11. One big happy family. (year 1992, after Jude gets infected he wonders through the forest and find Lynn and 'Baby Adam')

12. Pathetic little doctor. (Year 1993, Dr Williams isolates himself from outside with Jude haunting him every now and then)

13. Not-So-Sweet-Reunion. (Year 2008, Sarah gets scratched by Mark on Accident and had to cut it off.)

Updating more soon!

[mikeo56]

As if the sewage on our beaches and the E. Coli in our rivers and the Thérèse Coffey in our government weren’t exciting enough, neoliberalism has elevated customer service to the next level by putting parasites in our drinking water! Excitingly, hundreds of people are believed to have been infected by cryptosporidiosis and that could be the tip of the iceberg.

It’s understood a damaged air valve allowed animal waste into the water supply because it’s more profitable to not maintain these things, and a system where essential utilities are run for profit, rather than human need, makes much more sense. Only a natural monopoly could allow corporations to get away with this level of exploitation.

A spokesperson for neoliberalism gushed: “Things are going brilliantly! We are slowly but surely destroying the idea of public service and creating a system where people have no choice but to give us money, no matter how much we rip them off. God bless Margaret Thatcher!”

Indeed.

Following numerous reports of stomach pains and an unpleasant taste in tap water, authorities sensibly told the public the water was safe to drink for weeks. When the problem was finally identified, they didn’t bother notifying many of the people in the catchment area because who could be bothered? It’s understood the water company took inspiration from the lead contamination in Flint, Michigan because all the best ideas come from the US.

South West Water has been so on top of the situation that its staff were telling the public the water was safe to drink, even as official advice was to boil before drinking. Obviously, boiled water will definitely not burn your insides and anyone who doesn’t want to bathe in animal waste is a stupid socialist. Poor water quality is the price we all have to pay for executive salaries and shareholder dividends.

South West Water initially claimed its treatment facilities were not to blame for the parasites, but now it’s taking full credit for its successes and looks forward to announcing record annual profits. I’m unclear if the company has done a Boeing on any whistle blowers yet, but there is still time…

It looks like the projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhoea might only be the start because scientists say the parasite could still be in the incubation period. Excitingly, it’s hoped it could take control of its host’s motor-functions, turning them into Last of Us zombies. It remains unclear whether this hope is well-founded or just wishful thinking, but a zombie apocalypse is the only way neoliberalism could get better at this point.

Among the first people infected by the zombie parasite were attendees at the Brixham Pirate Festival who only had themselves to blame for opting against drinking gin. Experts say more affordable options for the safety conscious than gin include drinking your own urine and drinking nothing at all.

Shops are already running out of bottled water as the sensible British people do what they do best - panic buy. We’ve not seen this level of forward planning since toilet roll ran out during the Covid-19 outbreak. Good luck trying to get zombies to adhere to a lockdown though.

If you thought the cryptosporidium parasites weren’t enough, another exciting upgrade South West Water has introduced to our water system is flooding! The company was responsible for an impressive 58,249 overflow incidents last year and is being sued for turning the sea into a brown sludge that is definitely safe for swimmers. One of the water company’s most spectacular achievements was when sewage pipes burst in Exeter, resulting in a whopping 240 tanker loads of sewage each day. No wonder it has been awarded the Thérèse Coffey Prize for Indifference to Human Health.

Reassuringly, bosses are understood to be working on a tiered system with water quality that used to be free set to become Premium Water (AKA drinkable water) with a monthly subscription fee of £450. If you’re not willing to pay your fair share, you’ll have the option of the cheaper Cryptosporidium Water at only £300 a month. Personally, I think you should opt for the latter to help advance medical science.

As you can see, neoliberalism is brilliant at taking every good thing we had in the last century and making it much more expensive, and of much lower quality, while screaming that everyone who opposes neoliberalism is a lunatic who doesn’t understand economics!

Don’t you love neoliberalism’s ability to make you pay for things you never needed before neoliberalism, like bottled water or filters? Don’t you love… progress?

[backstagecurtain]

MY FAVOURITE RELEASES OF 2023:

TOP THREE: enzyme - golden dystopian age / punter - S/T / thatcher's snatch - white collar man

dracula/b.o.r.n. - split / black dog - overthrow / kicked in the head by a horse - sporadic dystrophy / physique - again / svaveldioxid/parasit - split / violent way - this is for us / krigssystem - war profit? / rat bait - come get some / cryptid - i exist demo

[rowanhoney]

hey! how are you? i want to know your answer to 44 so badly :)

Hi hi hiii! 🫶🫶💓💓

you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

The parasite in chief in his idiot hat and hope my crush is impressed in the process thank you. Andrew too obvs

Would also raise Maggie thatcher from her grave to kill her dead again cos the U.K. is still suffering from her bs policies😤

I also think Ed Sheeran’s time is up but I don’t want him to die cos then all we’d hear is more Ed Sheeran than already and it’s already inescapable. Can I kill his discography? Thank u

Fifth and final……

Woody Allen ofc . I would kill him , kill him dead

Thank you!!!

Who would YOU kill?

[down-thedrain]

!!! OH. OH IDEA. THEY'RE LIKE. SHAPESHIFTING/PARASITIC ENTITIES. take control of people use them to kill others and that makes them powerful enough to get forms of their own. that would even tie into the thatcher thing cause theres still a demon latched onto him. what am i talking biout

NONONONOONON I GET IT I'M PICKING UP WHAT YOU'RE PUTTING DOWN AGRUHRJDHFJHDVJHDFBVJHDFVJH the more ppl they kill the stronger they get UASUUASUUAUASUD

[bumsnacker]

Thatcher’s legacy intertwined with the generational parasitism of the monarchy.

This expresses my feelings precisely.

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

HI SHMORP [HITS YOU WITH MY FANFIC BEAM ATTACK]

Uhhhh CW graphic body horror, gore, general horror themes, bugs. If I forgot any sorry-

I fell asleep but woke up an hour later and I took that as fate yelling at me to finish this 5 day old wip. This is my LITERAL longest writing ever.

-------------------

Turning Point

(Later i realized. I accidentally yoinked ur fic name but it fits here Please understand- /LHJ)

-----

Burning.

That was the sensation Thatcher Davis awoke to at 3:33 in the morning.

Burning. Scratching. Peeling.

He didn't want to move. Movement felt vile. Movement felt like a starved stomach, but the stomach was his entire chest.

Carved and gutted like a jack-o'-lantern. What a fate.

He grimaced. God, why this. Why again. Two times was enough. One time was enough. Hell, none was the "enough" marker for the average person.

Swallowing the spit gathering in the back of his throat as he pushed himself off the cold bed, the parasite's hooked, jointed appendages scraped his insides as they cowered away from the saliva.

The scent of blood caught his attention as he leaned into himself, craning his neck to tuck it into his hands. His mouth slightly agape, blood dripped from the depths of his throat into his nose and mouth, out onto his hands and sheets.

Restless.

That was the sensation the parasite had been feeling since it stirred from its slumber, though it had no idea what that feeling was.

It wanted out and by God it was going to make that clear to its host, its body, as it saw it. Thatcher was nothing more than a layer of skin to it.

Snap.

Thatcher winced at the feeling tendons shifting under his skin.

Snap.

Sharp claws peered out of the crooks of his elbows, stabbing into his skin, pulling itself out from underneath.

His mind in a daze already, he could feel the hands prying and tearing at his skin in his back, its nails getting blood and tissue stuck under it. The senses in his arms fired off, letting him feel his internals the way he would with his own two hands.

The worst part was the nerves. Oh god, the nerves.

It would start with twitching. Then pinpricks, dotting the insides of his body. The horrible static fog of a limb waking up deep within his chest and it wouldn't cease until it left the body.

Part of him wanted it over with. Part of him didn't care what it did after. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to sleep and not wake u—

CRACK.

The sheer pain startled him out of a mindset he once thought he had escaped.

The cold flowed through his ribs and wounds as the insect in him breathed fresh air for the first time in weeks. Fingers met freezing air and then sheets as they pushed out of his shoulders, muscles alight with stinging pain as bone was bent and broken.

One part down. An agonizingly uncountable amount more to go.

Trigger hair thin legs creeped up his throat. His mouth ached as appendages pushed out of from the hinge of his jaw.

His mouth filled with the sickly taste of iron faster than he could spit it out. Out. His brain got caught on the word out, like it was the only thing it could say; it repeated. Over. And over. Out. Out.

The mandibles stretched out from his cheeks, scraping his face, breaking the skin as if it was holding on for its life.

Out. Snap out of it. Out. Shut up.

A wave pain followed by drowsiness washed over him, blurring the snapping and twisting he could faintly hear coming from within. As his breath faultered, Thatcher let himself go, drowning in a trench of the parasites "thoughts".

It'll over soon, he thought. It won't hurt anyone because I've barred the doors, he thought. Oh, how wrong he would wake up to be.

Bolting down the streets at record pace, it had one girl in mind, one target only. That pathetic excuse for a living thing in the parasite and its puppeteer's way; Sarah Heathcliff.

"S-R-H---" the walkie-talkie on her bedside flared to life snapping her out of a deep sleep. Thoughts of now incoherent things fresh in her mind, she drowsily picked up the device,

"SARAH- Y-OU THERE?!" Adams voice screeched over the static.

"..yeah, yeah what's up?" Sarah asked, her voice hoarse from sleeping with her mouth open.

"G-OD, man do--n't scare me like t-hat."

"I was asleep, darn it, now what's-"

"Davis isn--'t picki-ng up."

"..what?"

Adam continued on his rant, but his voice was drowned out by a thud.

"..hey-"

"--n't be the prophe-t ag--ain becaus---"

"HEY- HOLD ON— I just.. heard something."

"....-arah don't you dare-"

"I'M NOT, I'm not, I.."

Thud.

"I'm co-ming ov--er-"

"...Gh.. You don't have to-"

"--s I do- the one other person who's being controlled by an alternate---sn't picking up the phone, and yo--u're saying you're hearing things. I'm on my way, --st stay there--"

The slamming of something seemed to grow more frequent. Louder. Closer.

Scraping. She could hear scraping. Something raking its claws across the wall outside her bedroom door. It spoke, breathy and shaky as if talking took all of its energy.

"Let me in, Sarah...I have a gift for you."

Thatcher's voice. God, it made her want to vomit. Associating his voice with the murder of her brother made it so much worse.

Its claws scratched the underside of the door like a demented cat before deciding it, for once, had a better idea.

CRACK.

The door buckled.

CRACK.

It shook.

It was going to kick the door down.

Adrenaline flooding her system, Sarah could only hope Adam would follow through with checking on her before this thing got in. Gathering her courage, she took a breath and charged for the door, blocking it with her back.

CRACK.

The parasite kicked at the door with a hellish strength Sarah had never seen anyone exhibit. She swore she could hear bones cracking as it landed blows, but couldn't tell if it was his or her own.

CRACK.

Okay, it was definitely both-

Sarah heard the loudest snap she could possibly imagine; the cracking and groaning of wood. A blackened claw piercing the door, right next to her head.

The snap rang in her ears, hurting her head, the nausea getting to her knowing that what was on the other side of that door was horrifically mutilated—

The sound that came next was as unexpected as it was vile. A muffled creaking of wood, dampened by a claw and bone hitting its mark.

Sudden pain pulsed through her body.

Bullseye.

Searing pain flowed through Thatcher's body as he woke from a dreamless state in a cold sweat. he was propped on a couch in.. what looked to be a small worn down house. One he reconized as Adam's.

Oh god, what did he do.

He moved only to be locked in place by the crackling of bones and an increase of pain he thought couldn't get any worse in his right arm.

Burning.

That was the sensation Sarah Heathcliff awoke to at 1 pm in the afternoon.

WAAAAAAAAAA /POS

Whoops! All infected-

[uneasylisteningradio]

Transistor Sister #172 July 1, 2023

BIG BOY EDITION. 3 whole hours of transistoring sisters!

stream on Mixcloud

Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon - Transistor Sister NoMeansNo - Oh Canaduh Toxic Rites - Tied Hands Sweeping Promises - Petit Four Capital Scum - Clutch the Flag Neo - Tell Me the Truth The Creamers - Broken Record Barbara Dane - Working Class Woman

The Baby Sitters - Cape Cod Boys Gordon Bok, Ann Mayo Muir & Ed Trickett - The Final Trawl The International Submarine Band - Miller's Cave Phil Ochs - No More SongsChumbawamba - Revolution Bent - Bless You Yellowcake - Can You See the Future? Display Homes - Aufrutschen Spirito Di Lupo - I Miei Occhi Sono Chiusi

Cyanamid - Stop the World Gang of Four - Natural's Not In It Private Lives - Private Lives Soltatila - Vittupäiden Valtakunta / Näpit Irti Flower - Parasite Flower - American AlmsAu Pairs - You Voodoo Church - Live with the Dead CDG - Living Between Zounds - What Makes a Man a Man Today (Slight Return) Contempt - Semtex Solution

Thatcher on Acid - Our Gods Are Falling Down Thatcher on Acid - A Day in the Life Of Flower Travellin' Band - Satori Part IV

Dead Finks - My Life In Three Memes Ignorance - Evil Eyes The Feelies - Flag Days Houston We Have a Problem - Another Bottle of Wine Chickenhead - Everything Must Go Struggling Harsh Immortals (S.H.I.) - Doesn't Matter to me Siege - Conform

The Flowers - Life After Dark The English Beat - Save It For Later Desmond Simmons - The Gymnast Stuck - Fools IdolLa Milagrosa - Podrido Pink Section - Shopping Brief Weeds - (Its So Hard Not To) Say Hello Les Calamités - Toutes les nuits Michael Nesmith & The First National Band - Mama Nantucket

Chumbawamba - The Day the Nazi Died

[ultramaga]

But Leftists can't donate, because they are parasites, already living off other people's taxes.

You can't despise capitalism and actually be successful in business.

So h like Thatcher said - all their plans involve spending YOUR money on THEIR dreams.

And when that runs out - off to the gulag, kulak!

I don't give a shit as long as those in need benefit

[thealternateinfectionau]

Chapters and info!

T.H.I.N.K principal (the podcast telling you about the infection)

Ruth's Medicine (Year 2004, Thatcher Gives Ruth her medicine and they watch a movie together)

One terrible night (year 2009, After Jonah left Adam Behind he gets infected by mark and has to survive on his own)

Better stay brave (Year 1992, Cesar gets infected by Parasite! Cesar after discovering his mom ripped apart and cuts off his own ear.)

A scared boy with no mouth (Year 1992, Mark gets infected by Parasite! Cesar and loses his mouth due to the infection. His new mouth is on his neck and abdomen)

6. The man's mistake (Year 1992, Thatcher gets infected by Parasite! Thatcher, goes back to Ruth after gaining enough bravery)

7. Such a fool (Year 2009, Dave sees Gabriel and gets infected)

8. Let's get you inside (Year 2009, Cesar finally finds Jonah, takes him in.)

I'll be updating more soon!!

[red2ndguess]

The highs of Margaret thatchers death day to the lows of Easter in Midwestern America just north of the bible belt for a exevangelist.

On the upside I'm full of self righteous fury so I wrote some lyrics for y'all.Ope here you here. Cw.exreligious venting

You told us jesus toppled all the businesses in his house so why are you surprised by foreclosing churches to take back our innocence. You taught us to draw and quarter the guilty. Why are you surprised your next in line for the guillotine sunset. You taught us to love everyone equally. But you fear everything that isn't like yourselves.

You taught us to purge and flay the heretics alive and yet scream oppression if your not in complete control. You claim be lions in shining armor but feed on the poor as parasite to feed your greed.

More more more. That's all you ever think. More more more. "We must own everything."more more more lest we confront the holes we have created in our heads. More more more we don't want to wake up. More more more. We are addicted to playing the victim.

Your nothing but victims of a broken belief system to the black sheep who are wise enough to leave your sinking ark of bad ideas. Your theology isnt worth pissing on when it finally dies.

[liminal-librarian]

Alright, so the name of this man's philosophy is neo-liberalism. (He didn't invent it, a think tank sat for about 15 years putting all the pieces together and recruiting academics to champion their cause, Reagan and Thatcher are just the people who managed to implement the most. They were by no means the first or only.

And 99% of the times in the last 3 years that someone has complained about 'capitalism' in my presence, they were not complaining about capitalism per se, but about capitalism, as sabotaged by neo-liberalism to make it a better host for parasitic rent-seeking, by 'investors' etc.

Investors should be a good word, they are necessary enough to progress that capitalism was invented to ensnare them and reward them for actively participating in the economy. And yet here we are, with the dials of economic reward spun so far that Labour is hard-pressed to think of a reason to participate.

Capital isn't your enemy and neither is capitalism, neo-liberalism is all our enemy, claiming to hate communism, but turning up the heat in the capitalism pan until communism starts to look good by comparison.

the funny thing is that i don't think younger people - and i mean those under the age of 40 - really have a grasp on how many of today's issues can be tied back to a disastrous reagan policy:

war on drugs: reagan's aggressive escalation of the war on drugs was a catastrophic policy, primarily targeting minority communities and fueling mass incarceration. the crusade against drugs was more about controlling the Black, Latino and Native communities than addressing the actual problems of drug abuse, leading to a legacy of broken families and systemic racism within the criminal justice system.

deregulation and economic policies: reaganomics was an absolute disaster for the working class. reagan's policies of aggressive tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and slashing social programs were nothing less than class warfare, deepening income inequality and entrenching corporate greed. these types of policies were a clear message that reagan's america was only for the wealthy elite and a loud "fuck you" to working americans.

environmental policies: despite his reputation being whitewashed thanks to the recovery of the ozone layer, reagan's environmental record was an unmitigated disaster. his administration gutted critical environmental protections and institutions like the EPA, turning a blind eye to pollution and corporate exploitation of natural resources. this blatant disregard for the planet was a clear sign of prioritizing short-term corporate profits over the future of the environment.

AIDS crisis: reagan's gross neglect of the aids crisis was nothing short of criminal and this doesn't even begin to touch on his wife's involvement. his administration's indifference to the plight of the lgbtq+ community during this devastating epidemic revealed a deep-seated bigotry and a complete failure of moral leadership.

mental health: reagan's dismantling of mental health institutions under the guise of 'reform' led directly to a surge in homelessness and a lack of support for those with mental health issues. his policies were cruel and inhumane and showed a personality-defining callous disregard for the most vulnerable in society.

labor and unions: reagan's attack on labor unions, exemplified by his handling of the patco strike, was a blatant assault on workers' rights. his actions emboldened corporations to suppress union activities, leading to a significant erosion of workers' power and rights in the workplace. he was colloquially known as "Ronnie the Union Buster Reagan"

foreign policy and military interventions: reagan's foreign policy, particularly in latin america, was imperialist and ruthless. his administration's support for dictatorships and right-wing death squads under the guise of fighting "communism" showed a complete disregard for human rights and self-determination of other nations.

public health: yes, reagan's agricultural policies actually facilitated the rise of high fructose corn syrup, once again prioritizing corporate profits over public health. this shift in the food industry has had lasting negative impacts on health, contributing to the obesity epidemic and other health issues.

privatization: reagan's push for privatization was a systematic dismantling of public services, transferring wealth and power to private corporations and further eroding the public's access to essential services.

education policies: his approach to education was more of an attack on public education than anything else, gutting funding and promoting policies that undermined equal access to quality education. this was, again, part of a broader agenda to maintain a status quo where the privileged remain in power.

this is just what i could come up with in a relatively short time and i did not even live under this man's presidency. the level at which ronald reagan has broken the united states truly can't be overstated.