#mass politics

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Among present-day political parties, the Socialists, and notably the German Social Democratic Party, especially in its early years and around the end of the last century, made extensive use of symbols as a means of recruitment and of encouragement to active membership. The Red Flag, the carnation in the buttonhole, and the term ‘‘comrade” are symbols that have played an important part in the history of the Socialist movement. It is true that as time passed the Social Democratic Party, and especially its leaders, became more and more respectable; it grew ashamed of its earlier sentimental explosions, and considered symbolism a game for children; its leaders no longer let themselves go except in the accumulation of evidence and statistics and in economic theory and history and the like. If ever they returned for a moment to their old emotional propaganda, once used with such skill, they made such tame and ineffective use of it that it was robbed of its appeal. 

The new style was in conformity with the new theory: it was believed that the whole mechanism of the world was simply a series of economic operations, and that men were simply the pieces in a game of chess, identical automata, furnished with digestive apparatus and not much else that mattered, and reacting only to economic agents. It was said that everything followed a natural and inevitable course: the whole world was becoming industrialized; overproduction and unemployment, the inevitable consequences of the capitalist chaos, produced a crisis; the “fuel” for the “automata” ran short; the automata “rebelled”; and every four years, when a button was pressed that sent them to the ballot-box, they voted in increasing numbers for the advanced parties. At last the end so patiently awaited, the 51 per cent, of the total vote, would be attained, the era of Socialism would begin, and then the jugglers with statistics, having completed the necessary democratic formalities, would proceed to give the automata a happy existence.

The practical conclusion to be drawn from this theory was : “Discipline! Keep cool! We shall reply to our opponents with our votes, ten days after they have slapped our faces!” This was the classic reply given by the leaders of the German Social Democratic Party in Berlin on July 20, 1932, the fatal day on which that party signed its own death sentence by tamely submitting to von Papen’s bluff. On that day von Papen, Chancellor of a "national Government” about to go to the polls, forcibly removed the Socialist Government of Prussia.

For this ignorance of modem physiological data concerning the science of life and of man, this habit of considering man as an automaton, reacting only to the agency of economic factors, this persistent failure to take account of the realities of human nature and its nervous mechanisms, this stubborn fidelity to manifestly inadequate dogmas, a bitter price has had to be paid. In spite of all the prophecies concerning the securing of the famous 51 per cent, of the votes, prophecies which were not so far from fulfillment, the Socialist parties of the whole world, in spite of the important trump cards in their hands, have suffered defeat after defeat. Their Fascist opponents, the last descendants of capitalism in its death throes, men without human ideals and without any well-defined economic programme, found means of setting the masses in motion and of administering shocks to the great democracies, frequently even wresting power from them.

How has this sort of thing become possible? The reply is plain: the opponents of the democratic governments were not wedded to mistaken dogmas; they had an intuitive comprehension of the true nature of man, and acted upon it in politics. It is true that their political aims are absurd and actually anti-human; but they met with success because the Socialists were incapable of making use of the only weapon that was of any real use at the time, that of propaganda; or, if they made any use of it, did so unwillingly and half-heartedly.”

- Serge Chakotin, The Rape of the Masses: The Psychology of Totalitarian Political Propaganda. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1940. p. 94-96.

[nyxi-pixie]

'wah wah everywhere is falling to the right wing the whole world is doomed' literally like 6 months ago we were talking about how there was a trend in countries getting rid of their right wing governments. poland at the end of last year, france voted in a unified centre left/left alliance, even the UK finally got rid of the tories after 15 years (right wing splitting be damned, it still happened). outside of europe, bangladesh removed a dictator in like 2 seconds, india may have reelected their Evil Guy but on a DISTINCTLY reduced majority, theres been queer rights successes in thailand, with gay marriage set to be legal by 2025, and thereve been positive court cases on it in japan. and this is just stuff i vaguely remember hearing about. im sure theres more if you care to look for anything aside from more reasons to make yourself miserable

the US has a distinct effect on everyone, so this won't be fun for anyone (least of all its population. sorry guys), and there ARE a lot of people sliding into right wing extremism, but presenting this like its an unchallenged worldwide phenomenon is inaccurate, its damagingly bleak, and all it does is encourage despair and apathy. you DO have political power, and you shouldnt forget that just because of bad election results and the media's desperation to make you lose hope

[politijohn]

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[hussyknee]

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[taviamoth]

Irish MP: 'I hope benjamin netanyahu burns in hell'

Irish Member of Parliament, Thomas Gould, became emotional over the death of children in Gaza following israel's attacks on Rafah last weekend. 'I hope [israeli Prime Minister] benjamin netanyahu burns in hell in the same way those children burned', he told Parliament.

[reasonsforhope]

Article | Paywall Free

"Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued a mass pardon of more than 175,000 marijuana convictions Monday morning [June 17, 2024], one of the nation’s most sweeping acts of clemency involving a drug now in widespread recreational use.

The pardons forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people in what the Democratic governor said is a step to heal decades of social and economic injustice that disproportionately harms Black and Brown people. Moore noted criminal records have been used to deny housing, employment and education, holding people and their families back long after their sentences have been served.

[Note: If you're wondering how 175,000 convictions were pardoned but only 100,000 people are benefiting, it's because there are often multiple convictions per person.]

A Sweeping Act

“We aren’t nibbling around the edges. We are taking actions that are intentional, that are sweeping and unapologetic,” Moore said at an Annapolis event interrupted three times by standing ovations. “Policymaking is powerful. And if you look at the past, you see how policies have been intentionally deployed to hold back entire communities.”

Moore called the scope of his pardons “the most far-reaching and aggressive” executive action among officials nationwide who have sought to unwind criminal justice inequities with the growing legalization of marijuana. Nine other states and multiple cities have pardoned hundreds of thousands of old marijuana convictions in recent years, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Legalized marijuana markets reap billions in revenue for state governments each year, and polls show public sentiment on the drug has also turned — with more people both embracing cannabis use and repudiating racial disparities exacerbated by the War on Drugs.

The pardons, timed to coincide with Wednesday’s Juneteenth holiday, a day that has come to symbolize the end of slavery in the United States, come from a rising star in the Democratic Party and the lone Black governor of a U.S. state whose ascent is built on the promise to “leave no one behind.”

The Pardons and Demographics

Derek Liggins, 57, will be among those pardoned Monday, more than 16 years after his last day in prison for possessing and dealing marijuana in the late 1990s. Despite working hard to build a new life after serving time, Liggins said he still loses out on job opportunities and potential income.

“You can’t hold people accountable for possession of marijuana when you’ve got a dispensary on almost every corner,” he said.

Nationwide, according to the ACLU, Black people were more than three times more likely than White people to be arrested for marijuana possession. President Biden in 2022 issued a mass pardon of federal marijuana convictions — a reprieve for roughly 6,500 people — and urged governors to follow suit in states, where the vast majority of marijuana prosecutions take place.

Maryland’s pardon action rivals only Massachusetts, where the governor and an executive council together issued a blanket pardon in March expected to affect hundreds of thousands of people.

But Moore’s pardons appear to stand alone in the impact to communities of color in a state known for having one of the nation’s worst records for disproportionately incarcerating Black people for any crimes. More than 70 percent of the state’s male incarcerated population is Black, according to state data, more than double their proportion in society.

In announcing the pardons, he directly addressed how policies in Maryland and nationwide have systematically held back people of color — through incarceration and restricted access to jobs and housing...

Maryland, the most diverse state on the East Coast, has a dramatically higher concentration of Black people compared with other states that have issued broad pardons for marijuana: 33 percent of Maryland’s population is Black, while the next highest is Illinois, with 15 percent...

Reducing the state’s mass incarceration disparity has been a chief goal of Moore, Brown and Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue, who are all the first Black people to hold their offices in the state. Brown and Dartigue have launched a prosecutor-defender partnership to study the “the entire continuum of the criminal system,” from stops with law enforcement to reentry, trying to detect all junctures where discretion or bias could influence how justice is applied, and ultimately reform it.

How It Will Work

Maryland officials said the pardons, which would also apply to people who are dead, will not result in releasing anyone from incarceration because none are imprisoned. Misdemeanor cannabis charges yield short sentences and prosecutions for misdemeanor criminal possession have stopped, as possessing small amounts of the drug is legal statewide.

Moore’s pardon action will automatically forgive every misdemeanor marijuana possession charge the Maryland judiciary could locate in the state’s electronic court records system, along with every misdemeanor paraphernalia charge tied to use or possession of marijuana. Maryland is the only state to pardon such paraphernalia charges, state officials said...

People who benefit from the mass pardon will see the charges marked in state court records within two weeks, and they will be eliminated from criminal background check databases within 10 months."

-via The Washington Post, June 17, 2024. Headings added by me.

[ceilidhtransing]

If you hear Republicans speak to other Republicans, you'll hear a lot of them say that they really don't like Trump for whatever reason (many of them aren't fans of the felony convictions, his personal manner, his business dealings, his family life, or whatever else) but that they'll still be voting for him because he'll get them closer to what they ultimately want. They're pragmatic; they don't demand purity in their candidate. They recognise him as their strategic choice so they'll set aside the issues they have with him and vote as a bloc. That's what makes them effective at getting their way. That's how they win elections.

And boy I wish we had more of that attitude on the left. Imagine what we could get done.

[rotzaprachim]

feels worth mentioning as a long time opponent of the 21st century hawkish nature of Israeli politics that… we’ve seen a lot of comparisons between the U.S. and Israel when it comes to politics, and many are worth pondering, but the U.S. has simply never ever had anything like the second intifada to push the civilian populace into hard right hawkish politics. (Yes there was 9/11 and I recognize that was awful. I’m talking about a years long protracted campaign from terror groups kilometers away from where middle class Americans raise their children. There’s simply no comparison.) the U.S. got here on their own with the vague image of a violent criminal invader, not an actual reality of hundreds of civilian deaths from targeted bombings on buses and in pizza shops and public arenas. This is not to let either the government of the state of Israel NOR the U.S. off the hook but it IS to say that I don’t think there’s a single thing inherently more peaceful about Americans than Israelis (or any other country that’s had a sharp right wing political swing) and I cannot imagine the kind of fascist hellhole the U.S. would be with even a quarter of the targeted political violence experienced in IL

[snizabelle]

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

*tries to organize my thoughts*

*remembers i'm not in school and therefore beholden to neither heaven nor hell nor any man's grading system*

*joyously shredding & tossing all my carefully arranged 3x5 mental notecards into the air like so much beige confetti. raising my arms in victory, cheering raucously until i accidentally inhale bits of homemade confetti*

(*coughing up itty bits of paper like a cat evicting a hairball with a firm understanding of tenants' rights*) wait wat happens next

[odinsblog]

IN THE FALL OF 2020, GIG WORKERS IN VENEZUELA POSTED A SERIES OF images to online forums where they gathered to talk shop. The photos were mundane, if sometimes intimate, household scenes captured from low angles—including some you really wouldn’t want shared on the Internet.

In one particularly revealing shot, a young woman in a lavender T-shirt sits on the toilet, her shorts pulled down to mid-thigh.

The images were not taken by a person, but by development versions of iRobot’s Roomba J7 series robot vacuum. They were then sent to Scale AI, a startup that contracts workers around the world to label audio, photo, and video data used to train artificial intelligence.

They were the sorts of scenes that internet-connected devices regularly capture and send back to the cloud—though usually with stricter storage and access controls. Yet earlier this year, MIT Technology Review obtained 15 screenshots of these private photos, which had been posted to closed social media groups.

The photos vary in type and in sensitivity. The most intimate image we saw was the series of video stills featuring the young woman on the toilet, her face blocked in the lead image but unobscured in the grainy scroll of shots below. In another image, a boy who appears to be eight or nine years old, and whose face is clearly visible, is sprawled on his stomach across a hallway floor. A triangular flop of hair spills across his forehead as he stares, with apparent amusement, at the object recording him from just below eye level.

iRobot—the world’s largest vendor of robotic vacuums, which Amazon recently acquired for $1.7 billion in a pending deal—confirmed that these images were captured by its Roombas in 2020.

Ultimately, though, this set of images represents something bigger than any one individual company’s actions. They speak to the widespread, and growing, practice of sharing potentially sensitive data to train algorithms, as well as the surprising, globe-spanning journey that a single image can take—in this case, from homes in North America, Europe, and Asia to the servers of Massachusetts-based iRobot, from there to San Francisco–based Scale AI, and finally to Scale’s contracted data workers around the world (including, in this instance, Venezuelan gig workers who posted the images to private groups on Facebook, Discord, and elsewhere).

Together, the images reveal a whole data supply chain—and new points where personal information could leak out—that few consumers are even aware of.

(continue reading)

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“The prime purpose of the uniform is, of course, the maintenance of discipline or physical organization; where it is desired to produce a powerful effect by the employment of the force of massed men, of a crowd, the first task of the leaders will be to render uniform the movements of this crowd, to discipline it in its muscular effort. It is easy to realize, moreover, the fascination produced by an ordered crowd executing identical movements under command, as at military parades or collective gymnastic drill of the type of the Czech sokols. This is also the best method of depriving the crowd of all will of its own, more or less hypnotizing it, and so leading it. That is why, in an army, marching in serried ranks plays so great a part. The Germans, who are masters of technical rationalzation—but are sometimes led into over-organization, making organization an end in itself—have always energetically practised this type of drill; as early as the time of Frederick II they had invented the famous “goose-step”, used on parade, giving them an aspect which seems at once formidable and comic to a spectator who can withstand its fascination; it gives them the appearance of perfect automata or machines. Before it became possible by mechanization and motorization to create mechanical soldiers, “robots”, German military thought had already worked to the same end by transforming living men into soulless machines of destruction. This military game, of mediaeval rather than modem inspiration, has, of course, little real value today for troops in the field, but it is true that it has a psychological value in time of peace, serving to impress crowds of spectators by its exhibition of brutal force. This is the principle of all the mechanisms of the psychical rape that is the true aim of dictators, by means of which they combat all the principles of human liberty and dignity and of intellectual and social progress.”

- Serge Chakotin, The Rape of the Masses: The Psychology of Totalitarian Political Propaganda. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1940. p. 79-81.

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[politijohn]

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[mindblowingscience]

Gun-free zones have often been blamed for making schools, malls and other public areas more attractive to shooters; however, there have been no quantitative studies examining those claims. Now, in a first of its kind study published in The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, researchers at UC Davis Health and other institutions have shown that gun-free zones may, in fact, reduce the risk of mass shootings. "Our most significant finding is that gun-free zones don't attract active shooters," said the study's first author, Paul Reeping, an injury epidemiologist and postdoctoral scholar at the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis. "The study actually shows that gun-free zones have a preventive effect. The biggest takeaway is that the claim that gun-free zones are more dangerous is simply not true."

Continue Reading.

[star-anise]

Fun upside of rats and spambots fleeing Twitter for Tumblr are all the new fucking, uh...

They're not TERFs this time, they're "not feminists" because "feminism is cancer", they're, uh...

"Violent Misandrists"?

Like, huge use of Judith killing Holofernes vibes. 15yos posting "Kill all men (except my male mutuals lol!)" and insinuating that banning pornography will end child abuse forever.

(deep breath)

Look.

If you are a teenager from the USA, and your parents are Republicans, please consider that EVERYTHING you were ever taught about media, politics, gender, sex, feminism, and the advisability of mass murder as a political tool

has been carefully tailored to make you feel enraged with the state of the world, which is full of Good People and Bad People (groups it is very easy to sort everyone you meet into) and the way to Fix Society is to criminalize, incarcerate, or brutally murder as many Bad People as possible. You have probably seen several different sorting systems proposed, and may not have seen much political discourse beyond debates about "Which PART of society are Bad People who should be punished?"

And yes, I realize you've also been taught that people like me insisting on bullshit like "nuance" and "tolerance" and "educating yourself" are literal Satan and probably in favour of ritualized child abuse and puppy-kicking.

We're not. I'm not. I'm like a lot of people you wouldn't think are Good People, who nevertheless work to make the world better in what we understand to be the best methods available.

I don't know why I'm saying this. I'll probably end up a target of vitriol and regret ever speaking up. Just.

You are not smart for coming to the conclusion that the world is full of Bad People who just need to be killed. You did not figure out (or find the true prophet of) The Secret Truth of the Entire Universe. You haven't figured out how to fix the world. You just followed the fucking breadcrumb trail laid down by people who want to recruit you to commit atrocities in their name.

The world is so much more complicated than you've been led to believe. Fixing its problems is so much more tedious and difficult. Cruelty is so much less useful. And you've got so much more learning to do.