#leftist coalition

[trendynewsnow]

Sri Lanka's Leftist Coalition Achieves Parliamentary Majority After Economic Crisis

Sri Lanka’s Leftist Coalition Secures Parliamentary Victory The leftist coalition supporting Sri Lanka’s newly elected president has emerged victorious in the recent parliamentary elections, providing him with a stronger mandate to expand welfare initiatives following years marked by austerity measures and economic turmoil. In the final results announced on Friday, a day after the election, the…

[iasirene]

Missing Fred Hampton extra 🙏🏼🙏🏼 now that was a man who could truly unite the people

[is-the-fire-real]

'Reminder that "punch a nazi uwu" leftists utilize Nazi rhetoric to justify punching Jews.

It was never about punching Nazis; it was about getting social permission to punch.'

It was this very mentality that drove me away from considering myself a liberal anymore (I AM VERY MUCH LEFT LEANING, I DIDN'T DECIDE TO BECOME CONSERVATIVE JUST TO BE CLEAR. I just don't feel like those spaces have any intrinsic safety any longer). It feels like so much of western leftism has become about "punching up". I don't think it's about compassion or concern anymore, it's about finding the "right" targets. And so often that was just used as a way to excuse bigotry. I'm a goy but I noticed this on a personal level plenty with people identifying as feminists, they'd be perfectly okay saying something unquestionably sexist, as long as "white women" was attached onto the front. It's very much the same with shaming people over physical features that others may have, as long as the individual person is "bad enough" it doesn't matter if wide foreheads or big noses or acne are features many people have and would feel hurt by seeing them used as an insult, because they're only "really" directing it at "one of the bad ones"

So, I'm going to link to this piece again because it's been embarrassingly useful, and explains why I say things like "pretending to believe" despite their clunkiness. For new material, I hope you don't mind that you have accidentally triggered a massive unskippable cutscene, but you tapped into a few things I have been pondering and I'd like to take advantage of your observances to add my own.

Part of what you're discussing here, which I agree with, is that toxic slacktivists pretend to believe that they are Good People Doing Good Work. They are Bad People and their work is Bad Work, but if they all get in a group and pretend together that it's Good, then that's almost the same as being Good, right?

Another worthwhile aspect of what you're discussing is something I became aware of in the aftermath of the collapse of Occupy Wall Street. One commenter on a liberal blog I still follow lamented that mass protest never seems to accomplish anything, and how the millions of people who turned out for OWS protests should have affected more political change. Considering most of them could also vote, write to representatives, etc., something other than littering and arrests could've been done.

Another commenter pointed out that he had personally been at most of the anti-Iraq War protests, including the largest worldwide protest on 15 February 2003 (6-10 million estimated participants). But most of those protesters did not agree with each other. There were at least four major coalitions of antiwar protesters showing up then and thereafter. The ones he listed were:

"Just war" advocates who believed the Iraq War was unjust.

Total pacifists who believed all armed conflicts are unjust, and therefore the Iraq War is as well.

Right-wing bigots who believed a war might potentially benefit those they thought of as religiously or ethnically inferior and subhuman.

Xenophobes, both left- and right-wing, who believed "the US can't be the police of the world" and that any action taken outside USian borders was immoral.

Imagine four people with these beliefs in a room talking about the Iraq War... then bring up the war in Ukraine to them and see how fast the coalition falls apart.

"Well, the war for Ukrainian liberation is a just war," says the just-war advocate. The pacifist starts to scream "HOW COULD YOU DEFEND ANY ACTION THAT MIGHT LEAD TO CHILDREN DYING, YOU MONSTER!". The right-wing bigot says they support the war, too--on the side of the ethnically and religiously superior Russians. And then a left-wing xenophobe says we're wasting money that should be supporting American workers and uplifting Americans out of poverty instead of buying new bombs for Ukraine.

And your "antiwar" coalition collapses, with the pacifist wandering off to agree with the xenophobe while the just-war liberal and the right-wing bigot scream at each other pointlessly and without resolution.

This is one of the wisest breakdowns of human behavior I have ever discovered:

Any coalition of people is made up of many sub-coalitions who only temporarily agree on a single aspect of a single issue. Making sure the group does not collapse prematurely is the true, unsung labor of movement maintenance.

To be real, it's much easier to let one's coalition collapse and scream about how The Menz, or The CIA, or Greedy Capitalists, or The Jews artificially forced your group's collapse than it is to admit that one might just suck a big one at coalition building. This is especially true among leftists, who are sometimes anti-hierarchy and frequently fall for populist, anti-expert nonsense. Having a leader means you're suggesting someone should have authority, and a lot of leftists are allergic to that suggestion.

Moreover, though, a lot of "leftists" are "leftists" but only agree with one or two aspects of leftism.

To use your feminism example: I have absolutely seen feminists who think they can be misogynists so long as they say "white" before they say "woman". I mean, who can even argue? I have also seen feminists who think they can be gender bioessentialists so long as they're doing it towards "men" (a category which includes a lot of people who neither look like men, nor live as men, nor benefit from male privilege). I have seen feminists who think they can call themselves "trans allies" while consistently ignoring, degrading, and dismissing the concerns of anyone who isn't a binary trans woman. Etc.

The thing is, they are all feminists. What makes someone a feminist, at bottom, is the acceptance of and opposition to patriarchy. That's it. It's similar to how what makes a person a Protestant Christian is the acceptance of Jesus as their Lord and Savior--you might need to do one or two things to be considered a part of a specific branch of Christianity, but all you need is that one specific belief about that one specific idea. There's a lot of bunk about how "you can't be a REAL Christian unless you do X" just like there's bunk about how "you can't be a REAL feminist unless you do Y", and it's all bunk.

There are people who might be really bad feminists or Christians, but that's not the same as not being feminists or Christians.

So, the coalition of leftism has several sub-coalitions who actually despise each other. Here is my proposal for the sub-coalitions. (Please keep in mind that I am not defining groups by how they define themselves, but by the far more useful metric of their actions.)

Liberals who agree with leftist economic thought, but strongly disagree with leftist conclusions regarding violent revolution. Liberals do not have time for online arguments and superficial action. They are generally participating in protests, running for office, writing postcards to advocate for candidates, informing voters, and working within the system for positive change that alleviates suffering. They are pro-expert but opposed to a vanguard party due to its inherent authoritarianism.

Tankies, whose primary interest in leftism is authoritarian. They oppose capitalism and support violent revolution because they imagine themselves as the vanguard party who gets to control everything when the revolution comes.

Anarchists, whose primary interest is opposing hierarchy. They want to burn down the system because it is a system, and frequently become angry and defensive if you try to ask them any questions about what would be built out of the ashes.

Progressives, whose primary interest is opposing liberals. They also oppose capitalism; they are, like tankies, positioning themselves as the vanguard party because they are already in political power. What makes them Not Tankies is that they care more about sticking it to "the Dems" than they do about actually being the vanguard, opposing capitalism, or achieving anything of worth or meaning politically.

"Red fash", who used to be called "beefsteak Nazis". They say all the right things regarding violent revolution and economics/capitalism, but they only believe what they believe for the sake of their specific ethnic group and nation (frequently, white and USian, but this is extremely popular in Europe too). IOW a red fash wants the vanguard party to only have whites of a specific ethnicity in control of the revolution; they only want universal health care for "their" people, that sort of thing. Some red fash are actual Nazis cosplaying as leftists, but some are just really, really, REALLY bigoted leftists.

Whether we like it or note, the acceptance of armed, violent revolution as a Good Thing means that leftism has always regarded punching up and violence as a necessary component of leftist thought. This is not a perversion of Real Leftism. This is leftism. If you think revolution is good and necessary instead of a terrifying possibility, then you also think punching up is okay; it's just a matter of who is Up and who gets to punch.

Of the five sub-coalitions I described, only one has rejected violent revolution--and it's the one all the other leftists accuse of being right-wing. And interestingly enough, only liberals are habitually accused of secretly colluding with the right... when red fash are natural allies to the right, and when all other forms of leftists openly ally with right-wingers so long as they say the right things about economics. (See under: "After Hitler, us" leftists, left-wing Trumpistas who think they'll rule the ashes after Trump burns down the current system.)

And if you believe in violent revolution, then (let me be facetious for a second) what's the problem with making fun of your political enemies for being ugly? If we believe Steve Bannon is a Nazi, aren't we obligated to stop him by any means necessary, and doesn't that include mocking him for his alcoholism? Isn't mocking someone for their appearance and intrinsic characteristics mild compared to, say, threatening them with exploding cars covered with hammers? Or retweeting pictures of pitchforks and guillotines?

If we believe Ben Shapiro is an opponent to the revolution we accept is necessary and vital to the movement, then what's a little antisemitism in the name of the people? Don't we have to be bigots to oppose bigots? And--

--oh. There's that horseshoe bending round to the right again.

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

Some really crucial observations from @badschoolbadschool on what is needed to grow and sustain a liberation movement that has a chance of succeeding:

“What petty shit do you (and I am pushing myself here, too) allow to get in the way of working with/building with people who are aligned with you in the most important ways? …I think for some people it’s easier to imagine their own death - dying some romantic sacrificial Hollywood death for the cause - than to find a way to build with people who don’t meet a long checklist of criteria they created.”

Repost from @badschoolbadschool:

•

I think most “organizers” or “political people” ren’t really down. I think most pour a lot of words out on the internet, and that’s it. Even if they engage in so-called radical action, they ain’t down to do the real radical work of movement building. Hate on me all you want, but be real.

[theartthatleavesthemark]

every time i go into the black sails tag or look at notes on my posts i very unsurprisingly come across many people whose opinions diverge from mine. now everyone is entitled to their own opinion but when i feel the urge to get on my high horse about these Wrong individuals really i have to remind myself that this is the 'every character is so convinced that they exclusively are right and everyone else is wrong that they cause untold tragedy because of it' show

[owlbelly]

showing up to anti-zionist community rosh hashanah services tonight like "hello i am ready to weep & maybe do some arson. does anybody want to burn anything down"

[needlesandnilbogs]

Every time I see people responding to less than perfect institutional responses to their demands by scrawling “I’M NOT READING THAT” over them (either on the paper or in photo edits) I want to shake them

[ardri-na-bpiteog]

We all know echo chambers exist and yet people on all parts of the political spectrum are still convinced that they represent the majority opinion because their highly tailored online circles agree with them.

[minglana]

wait i thought in eu elections you were supposed to vote for coalitions but i just remembered that you vote for the national parties.....

[yellow-yarrow]

i fucking hate hungarian politics, who am i supposed to vote for, the centrist liberal party, the other centrist liberal party, or the coalition of the social democrats and center-right party that used to be full of nazis (what a joke)

[humormehorny]

Hey, leftists. I need you to understand that when you are building communities and coalition, that who you voted for in the 2024 elections will be weaponized against you. Do not let this happen. If people are working together for a better future that’s what matters. If people understand or begin to understand the consequences of electing the president elect, thats what matter’s. If people are working together undo or mitigate this looming crisis that’s what matters

Do not let people weaponize voting because it will tare people apart, especially as people start to feel the effects of his candidacy.

[fatfemmefreaquency]

if you’re demonizing people who didn’t vote for the democrats i’m probably going to unfollow/ soft block you in the next bit

(that’s the closest i’ll come to my version of and a response to the “if you didn’t vote for Harris unfollow me RIGHT NOW” crowd)

I only have time for compassion & willingness to connect with others and try to understand & have dialogue in order to move towards solidarity, change, and justice

I don’t want to be harsh and I don’t want to be angry—this isn’t a hard boundary of the “unfollow me now” variety

but at the same time what the FUCK y’all

rather than building walls and being spiteful and angry maybe it’s time to build a better coalition & more solidarity

we need to reach out to people who you disagree with and genuinely connect around what their priorities and needs are. to make community. to take care of each other

if you’re saying fascist shit like “I’m glad that people who didn’t vote democrat are fucking around and finding out” maybe assess why you’re “glad arabs and latinos who didn’t vote democrat are going to be deported”

if you’re talking like that: where’s your head at? fucking take just a MOMENT to really think about your reaction, because it’s not an acceptable one

if you’re saying shit like “well trans people who didn’t vote for Harris deserve to suffer the consequences” THINK AGAIN

seriously: rethink. take a step back and process because the processing you’re doing right now is irrational, vindictive, violent and, yes, FASCIST

you don’t get to punish your own notion of an “enemy within” in the Left just because you don’t understand, or agree with their personal choices

if you’re out here screaming & yelling at and cyberbullying people who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for genocide, vote for a party & a candidate that courted the endorsements of war criminals, a law & order candidate (and a law and order establishment party in general), for pro-cop, pro-prison politics and at BEST weak and poorly outlined platforms around healthcare, the economy, and environmentalism:

it’s time to consider that maybe your vitriol and inability to engage compassionately (along with the same failings in the Democratic establishment) is the real thing that cost the Dems & Harris the election

it isn’t leftists & idealists that failed to make the Democratic platform tolerable for the people the Democrats are actively killing & committing genocide against (Latinos, Black americans, people in US occupied territories, Palestinians, trans people, and more)

it’s the shift of the Democratic party’s leadership that is becoming more fascist that has people refusing to vote for them

its the shift of some of the “vote blue no matter who” crowd towards fascism that is the issue, too. is some goddamn solidarity too much to ask for?

at the very least can you be generous? can you listen? stop making this about you if you’re not a direct target of the genocide & other violence that the Democrats perpetrate as part of the US empire

It cannot be said enough that your inability as liberal or as a so called “progressive” or “leftist” or “queer” to recognize that you need to build empathetic, compassionate, and genuine solidarity is a much bigger issue than people who didn’t “vote blue no matter who (even if they’re committing genocide)”

it’s on us to shift the needle by being tolerant and choosing to listen and respond to the victims of genocide with true care & compassion. we will only make change by building solidarity

It is not on the most vulnerable, marginal, and subaltern people living under the weight of US imperial & capitalist violence to hold their nose and vote for the slightly less violent and the more covertly fascist party

it is not the responsibility of a lamb to vote for the shepherd who will beat them into submission & a life of oppression rather than the wolf that devours

it’s on the safest & more privileged people to fight against all tyranny and to shelter, protect, and have solidarity with the most vulnerable among us

if your response is to say “maybe those lambs deserve to get eaten & beaten because they wouldn’t endorse one of their two oppressors” it’s time to sit with your thoughts & find a new way to be

i’ll be here to build a better future with you when you get there

or if you want to chat (genuinely) and work through your frustration & move towards solidarity: I’m here right now. let’s talk. i truly wish you the best. i wish the best for all of us

[lacewise-psas]

On Tumblr people are spreading the post about maybe not scaring centrists away from the left

On Twitter people are harassing Olivia Julianna for saying the same thing and publicizing her own experience with the classist far left

They apparently do not believe that’s actually a horrible look for your cause

Neat

[leninisms]

by political organizations i mean orgs like PSL, SJP, DSA, PYM, code pink, ANSWER, USPCN, black liberation alliance, CPUSA, JVP, etc.

when i say actively i don’t mean “i’ve been thinking about it.” i mean “i have spoken to someone in an org about joining” or “i have applied to join an org” or “i am in the process of onboarding.” if you have not taken any steps to join an organization, you are not actively in the process of joining.

[jackawful]

I want to want kamala to win, but if y'all libs phone it in and go back to brunch when it's kamala's administration giving red states the go ahead to imprison more people for abortion and transition and crossing the border...it will be the last fucking straw for me becoming an accelerationist

[certifieddudette]

It's very interesting to me how people from differing political standpoints can reach for miles to find the interpretation of the news they want to hear...

Mom: oh I heard that the formation of cabinet got a bit of a hiccup but that the coalition scout said that nothing is lost and theyll most likely form a cabinet soon

Mr Plasterk the coalition scout: bro wtf what a shitass formation it literally has been the hardest one in recorded history and now a key figure who made it possible to at least TRY to just dropped out. What a shitass situation Geert must be crying in the shower ongod poor thing this is not gonna be his term ongod nah man.