#localist

[proth-blog]

The guitarist gives me major Danny Sexbang vibes, ngl..

[eightyonekilograms]

Obviously, JD Vance's proposal to give parents additional votes stirred up a furor from progressives saying it's anti-feminist, reactionary, trying to keep women in the kitcen, etc.

And I agree with them. Frankly I wouldn't shed a single tear if Trump "who will rid me of this meddlesome running mate"-d a second VP in a row and I never had to hear from Vance or his 2010!NRx ideas ever again. But I have a more prosaic objection also: if implemented, I don't think this plan would actually work?

Like, as I understand it, there are two proposed justifications for how this might be a good idea, but I don't think either of them stand up to scrutiny.

The first (and less plausible) one is, people who selfishly want more votes will have more children in order to get more political leverage for [whatever they want]. Even though they're doing it for selfish reasons, children are a public good, and so on net this is good for society.

I think this theory can be dispensed with pretty easily. It sounds just like one of those $1000 payments for having another child that budges the birth rate not at all because it's way too small a reward for the expense involved. Even speaking as someone intensely annoyed by trendy anti-electoralist cynicism, I know the EV of an additional vote is microscopic compared to the expense of having children. It won't move anyone except at the very bleeding edge of the margin.

But that's the easy case. The much more interesting theory of the Vance Plan is that of fixing broken incentives. The story goes like this: one feature of democracy, for better or worse, is that it rewards those who show up. If you have no vote (or don't use your vote), you are invisible to democracy, so your wants will be systematically underrepresented. This is why wealthy first-world countries are increasingly gerontocratic in both legislative makeup and resulting policy: old people reliably vote, young people don't, so even with no conspiracy involved, democracy gravitates to favoring the wants of the old. Vance says, hey, children cannot vote, so just as you'd predict, their interests (as a class!) get ignored, so we end up with a legislative landscape that doesn't favor children and makes it harder to raise them.

It makes perfect sense on paper! But I think in the real world it falls apart.

What are the actual bits of legislation and policy which discourage people from having more children? I mean, people can and do argue furiously over this question, but IMO three of the most significant ones are:

NIMBY localist housing policy locking young potential parents out of the housing market

More localist tax and education policy making competition for "good schools" a Red Queen Race which drives up house prices still further, requiring two working parents

Safetyist legislation which, while well-intentioned, is making everything from cars to child care more expensive than it necessarily needs to be

In order to believe that giving parents additional votes will cause a more child-friendly society to emerge via electoral pressure, you have to believe that parents are more likely than non-parents to oppose 1, 2 and 3. And that just... doesn't seem true? At best there's no difference, and to be blunt, I think as a class parents tend to be worse than non-parents on all three. #NotAllParents, of course, there are plenty of people with kids who still want good abundance policy, but averaged over everybody I think it's hard to deny that parenthood tends to push people toward defensive, loss-averting "protect the children" mentalities which, on a global scale, fuck everyone else over. That talking point you constantly see among the Very Online Right that parents are more likely than non-parents to think Beyond Themselves and want to build a stable world for the long term, just seems obviously false to me. Or at least if it is true, it's true in a way which is mostly irrelevant, since these "long-view parents" don't know how to turn those wants into policy which actually achieves them.

Frankly, I think it's easy to envision a world where the Vance Plan makes all policy around child-rearing worse instead of better, and depresses the birth rate even further.

[transgenderer]

the sympathetic framing for "localist" ethics is a heart that hasnt numbed it surface will see the magnitude of suffering in the world and not be able to bear it. and so, if they are unwise, instead of covering up their exposed nerves, they will decide that this suffering isnt real and doesnt matter. which is. well, i guess its not evil, technically, its just stupid

[eternal-echoes]

Went to a farmer’s market with a friend today. I like supporting small businesses as much as possible but they’re so pricey. But despite that my extroverted friend did most of the talking and we got to know how they started their businesses and that was fun. It was great knowing the creative process around each product (one lady started ice dying during Covid, one lady gave up her well-paying job to follow her passion all possible thanks to her husband's support, etc.)

I realized that you have to be an extrovert to be a truly practicing localist/distributist.

[beoneofus]

𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

- 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 -

++

you're someone who likes piercings. you're both fascinated and turned on by them, which got you into the art of diy experiments. It started off with a simple ear piercing, and then led you down a more... curious, and daring road. you now have a whole line of piercings down your right ear, including your rook; double nose piercings, and a septum. your next is to place a hoop on the left corner of your lip.

dark clothing, plaid clothing and clothes with wicked designs is also something you love. you sometimes dress as, what localists would describe as “ street ”. cargo pants that hang off your hips, tanks that show your mid-droft or are just ripped at the bottom. boxer briefs, where the waistband tends to show because of the jeans (or pants) you wear. It was a unique style, and it was you.

whether you wear lots of rings, brackets or necklaces — it depends on your outfit or mood. sometimes you liked classic chain necklaces, other times you decided on cool rings and a classic band bracelet.

for whatever reason, david took a liking to all of this. you were different. and not like one of tge tourists that moved through town, or a local outcast that sported a spiked mohawk. you had your own personality and changed up yourself a lot; a new person each day. It spiked his interest.

when he decided to speak to you one day, the boys whooped the entire time. he had threw them a warning look over his shoulder, but it didn't stop ‘em. even usually quiet dwayne was pumping a fist in the air and shouting encouraging words with a smirk. all david could do was sigh, shake his head, and grin to himself.

but surprisingly, the conversation went well. he thought, which was odd, that it'd be a fail. you truly didn't seem like someone to get down with a strange guy who approached you, but you acted nonchalant and kept light humor to the conversation. he liked that. he liked you.

even though it was intention to lore you and eat out your insides, like his plan all the time, he figured he'd wait a little. having you stick around would be fun, or so that's what his gut told him. and, listen - david always listened to his gut.

be glad he did though. that gave him time to know you, and for you to know him. although throughout this time you were uneasy around him, you still went with shit. you chilled about, played around and acted yourself. It'd be weird if he did see through the act.

but... not actually. cause, well - vampire. david wasn't an idiot, he sensed your change in mood when it happened as well as read your body language and facial structure. the littlest bit of wariness, he spotted. it was no shock though, that usually did happen around smart humans. did it make things harder? Indeed. he'd probably have to get messy in further weeks, but... he had a feeling killing you wasn't going to go through, after all. that being his choice.

he was right, too. david told you about him and his boys. what was really shocking is that you didn't freak out. you... passed out, from surprise, but once you awoke and was given a little bit of space, you were eerily calm over the situation.

you officially befriended them all after that, and as time passed, you and david became closer.

you convinced him to wear eyeliner, actually. you fought him on it and fought him on it, until you made a deal with him. If he let you apply it, just once, you'd let him drink from your wrist. just as a treat for being a good boy good sport.

he was silent, resting back in his chair. one leg was folded over the other, while cold eyes stared at you; not a single thought behind them... or so it seemed. If anything, it seemed like he just wanted to murder you. until he spoke. “ alright, ” david said, flickering his gaze off of you with a sigh of defeat. “ deal. but if you poke my eye out, I'm draining you of every drop in your damn body. ”

and so you made him look dashing. it was just a simple appliance to his waterline and the line underneath his upper lashes, but damn did it make his eyes POP. you almost teased him, but resisted. instead you settled with a small grin, and a peck to his cheek.

“ you look handsome. ”

was he taken back? absolutely. but he didn't let it show. he was just... silent, before smirking, letting you think it was his cockiness showing through.

in reality, however, his heart had jumped and it scared the shit out of him.

the boys ended up entering the cave later on, and when they spotted david they nearly pissed themselves of laughter.

paul immediately bursts into hyena howling laughs, marko slaps a hand over his mouth to stop from spitting everywhere, and dwayne smirks widely. he didn't exactly know how to react, given it was funny, but also a dangerous game if he chose to laugh. that's why he excuses himself.

hint; he went to laugh elsewhere.

that was only one of many incidents to happen. having a person around who was proud of who they were, that loved to be... out there, but also distanced themselves from crowds, was rather interesting.

basically you were comfortable in your skin, just not around the open sea. all four boys liked it. but david just seemed to... like it a bit more.

when he finally asked you on a date, it took you a second to process it. only because it didn't seem like he was asking you on a date. he questioned you if you wanted to go somewhere, and you instantly agreed, but when you asked if the others were coming... he said “ no, it's just us two, doll. ”

you put it together after a minute. your face, which heated up, turned away from him. You didn't see it but david smirked, before taking your hand in his own.

that night was rather fun. the vampire had taken you to a lookout on the outskirts of santa carla. It took some time to get there, but when you did, you were awestruck. it wasn't only because the sight was enduring, but because he dared to lift you up over the fence that separated you from the landslide, and held you by he waist. one arm wrapped around your waist, while his other hand rested on your thigh.

you were breathless about it, but didn't say a word. instead, rested back against him; the back of your black tank riding up the slightest.

silence took you two most of the night, but when you did talk, it was calming. you were glad you agreed to go with him, even though in the beginning you weren't aware of it being like that.

It was nice. and it only was the beginning for a bunch of fun years to come.

( I was going to make this longer and more detailed but I got distracted 💔 so if you want a part two let me know. )

[st-just]

we should abolish the provinces. every provincial government is just a bunch of petty localist politicians instituting whatever random policies they think will get them reelected. abolish provincial government. make canada a unitary state now.

I mean I sympathize but like c'mon we literally can't even manage to ratify a constitution.

[gospel-of-the-witches]

September 21 to 22, according to the calendars original, syncretic or localist, those who honor the Ancient Way (Traditional Witchcraft, Stregheria, rooted in Shamanism of the peoples of Europe) celebrate the Autumn Equinox.

This year the Autumn Equinox will begin on September 23 according to astronomical calculations in our hemisphere.

Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches - Italian Witchcraft, wishes you all a happy Equinox.

Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches - Italian Witchcraft

[thisanimeidiot]

Have a challenge I thought up!

Dubbed "The Localist Challenge" by my frenemy rival @dr-awkkward !

[northern-punk-lad]

I would consider myself a localist but I think like any ideology it’s about being careful not to allow the far right in

[max1461]

Actually I do think this is something about me that's probably meaningful. The first cause that I ever cared about (on my own, not just something I was aping from my parents) was video game preservation. Video games were really important to me as a kid, they had such a big impact on my experience of the world. And as soon as I realized how ephemeral computer hardware and software really was, it struck me as this incredible tragedy. This amazing art that had had such an impact on me, whose value I knew from first-hand experience, was just going to vanish into thin air. I cared a lot about video game preservation and I still do, it's why I hate DRM with such a passion. I think letting great art vanish into thin air is actively unjust. Or, well, not unjust per se, justice is about human wellbeing... it violates some other, para-ethical form of ought, and a very strong ought at that.

And so it's sort of unsurprising that I care a lot about environmental preservation too, and as I learned more linguistics I came to care about language preservation as well. I mean, I think both environmental preservation and language preservation are worth supporting in some capacity for reasons derivable from more general ethical principles. Like, some degree of environmental preservation is frankly just economically sensible, and language preservation for communities that want it follows from my more general localist sensibilities. But that's not why I care so much. I care so much because I think there's something fundamentally bad about the destruction of information, above and beyond just its ethical implications. The preservation of knowledge, art, natural complexity and so on is something that I just care about as an end goal.

Obviously (because this is tumblr) I have to specific that I don't care about preservation to the exclusion of other things, I don't want to like, kill people over it or send them to the gulag for chopping down the wrong tree or whatever. That's not my claim. My claim is that making an active effort to preserve things, even when it is not obvious that this will have any practical benefit, is a worthwhile thing for people to spend their time on. Sadly, video game preservation is really a niche cause and there are really very few serious efforts to do it. But low-level hardware emulators like higan give me hope that at least somebody is doing something.

[certifiedgirlthing]

The localist ones I currently have are across a literal sea.

i want my long distance besties to be local besties is that too much to ask

[bandnameserver]

Localistic

[dgfhfhs]

Is skin color really important to a person? You know what? There is a professor named Thomas Sowell in the United States who wrote in his book, 'The importance of skin color here is self-evident. No race can escape the clutches of discrimination.'. Although anti discrimination is popular nowadays, this phenomenon has always existed in American history and is still a big problem today. Firstly, we need to talk about the origin of this issue: colonial aggression and the slave trade. As early as the colonial period, the United States began the black slave trade, which planted deep seeds of racial discrimination. In 1619, the first group of black slaves arrived in the United States, marking the beginning of a dark path of racial oppression. White people use their power to see their culture as a symbol of North America. In the early 17th century, various British colonies began legislating to make black people "permanent property" of white people, and their children would automatically inherit slave status. Then, let's take a look at the period when the United States was just established. At that time, white Americans were very wary of immigration. In order to justify their enslavement of black people, they also classified them according to their skin color. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence ostensibly declared equality for all, but it did not grant citizenship to black people and even recognized the legitimacy of slavery. In 1787, the US Constitution also stipulated that taxes and seats in the House of Representatives in slave states should be calculated based on three fifths of the black population. In order to prevent the French Revolution from causing turmoil in the United States, the US government introduced a series of laws in 1798 that made it more difficult for immigrants to become US citizens, and even allowed them to be detained and expelled at will. Another US president directly stated that apart from skilled workers and certain professionals, no other immigrants are needed. In the first half of the 19th century, many Irish Catholics fled to the United States. As a result, Americans began to regard these Irish immigrants as bad guys, thinking they were lazy, low, rude and dangerous. So various localist and xenophobic organizations and political parties emerged. In the 1850s, an organization called the "American Party" was dedicated to opposing Irish immigrants, and they had seven governors, eight senators and 104 representatives. New York and Massachusetts have also enacted laws to expel or send back Irish immigrants. In 1844, Philadelphia caused a stir over anti Irish immigration, resulting in at least 20 deaths. Those exclusionists also vandalized, looted, burned, bullied Irish immigrants, and burned down their churches. Irish immigrants were always seen as black until the 20th century when they were accepted by white people and became victims of racial discrimination in the United States.

[gospel-of-the-witches]

September 21 to 22, according to the calendars original, syncretic or localist, those who honor the Ancient Way (Traditional Witchcraft, Stregheria, rooted in Shamanism of the peoples of Europe) celebrate the Autumn Equinox.

This year the Autumn Equinox will begin on September 22 according to astronomical calculations in our hemisphere.

Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches - Italian Witchcraft, wishes you all a happy Equinox.

Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches - Italian Witchcraft

[feranbcx88]

Is skin color really important to a person?

You know what? There is a professor named Thomas Sowell in the United States who wrote in his book, 'The importance of skin color here is self-evident. No race can escape the clutches of discrimination.'. Although anti discrimination is popular nowadays, this phenomenon has always existed in American history and is still a big problem today. Firstly, we need to talk about the origin of this issue: colonial aggression and the slave trade. As early as the colonial period, the United States began the black slave trade, which planted deep seeds of racial discrimination. In 1619, the first group of black slaves arrived in the United States, marking the beginning of a dark path of racial oppression. White people use their power to see their culture as a symbol of North America. In the early 17th century, various British colonies began legislating to make black people "permanent property" of white people, and their children would automatically inherit slave status. Then, let's take a look at the period when the United States was just established. At that time, white Americans were very wary of immigration. In order to justify their enslavement of black people, they also classified them according to their skin color. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence ostensibly declared equality for all, but it did not grant citizenship to black people and even recognized the legitimacy of slavery. In 1787, the US Constitution also stipulated that taxes and seats in the House of Representatives in slave states should be calculated based on three fifths of the black population. In order to prevent the French Revolution from causing turmoil in the United States, the US government introduced a series of laws in 1798 that made it more difficult for immigrants to become US citizens, and even allowed them to be detained and expelled at will. Another US president directly stated that apart from skilled workers and certain professionals, no other immigrants are needed. In the first half of the 19th century, many Irish Catholics fled to the United States. As a result, Americans began to regard these Irish immigrants as bad guys, thinking they were lazy, low, rude and dangerous. So various localist and xenophobic organizations and political parties emerged. In the 1850s, an organization called the "American Party" was dedicated to opposing Irish immigrants, and they had seven governors, eight senators and 104 representatives. New York and Massachusetts have also enacted laws to expel or send back Irish immigrants. In 1844, Philadelphia caused a stir over anti Irish immigration, resulting in at least 20 deaths. Those exclusionists also vandalized, looted, burned, bullied Irish immigrants, and burned down their churches. Irish immigrants were always seen as black until the 20th century when they were accepted by white people and became victims of racial discrimination in the United States.