#send a message to trump

[geezerwench]

Women are going to send a loud and clear message to donald trump next Tuesday, November 5th, whether he likes it or not.

[pupuseriazag]

Hey just a small reminder that saying "we should send elon to el salvador!" "we should send this other group to el salvador!" ITS NOT the view NEITHER of you gringos should have about this whole thing.

Because guess what? Before trump made the deal with bukele, we salvadoreans have been suffering this regime for THREE. FUCKING. YEARS. Women have been incarcerated for not accepting the advances of a cop, young people being arrested bc a neighborgh falsely accused them of belonging to a gang, community leaders who are fighting for their land have been arrested and placed with false war crimes from the civil war.

So any time I see any of yall say that "oh we should instead send XY and Z to El Salvador!" I see you minimizing this problem and, again, treating my people as not important. Hell I dont see any of you talk about how this is also GENOCIDE TO US SALVADOREANS.

I'm glad a lot of you care for the inmigrants being wrongfully detained and sent here, but I fucking despise how you all ignore my people and willfully ignore how this is much bigger than just your government capturing innocents and how once they get back its done and everything's nice again.

[brothersonahotelbed]

you guys with your cool liberal parents will never understand what us folks who live at home with our catholic conservative parents are gonna have to go through for the next several months

[plxviophile]

I need Chappell Roan to use critical thinking and be able to handle valid criticism especially from queer POC

[tamaruaart]

Islamophobia is so stupid, especially when it's by Europeans. Because, history lesson time! In the middle/dark ages, Europe lost almost ALL of it's knowledge. The countless wars destroyed all the remaining information from ancient Greece and so on. It was the ARABS, the MUSLIMS, who kept the old European works and traded it back to Europe. It was the MUSLIMS who traded with Europeans and introduced them to Asian inventions. And because of this, Europe was able to get ahold of their old knowledge, and so they got introduced to medicine again, which, wouldn't you have guessed it, came in handy because they were also suffering from many illnesses and plagues!

If it weren't for the Arabs, it's most likely modern day Europe would've been an extremely poor and uninhabited place. I'm not saying Muslims were faultless in history (No nation/religion was.), but if we're going to judge Arabs and Muslims for their history and for stereotypes (that other races made up about them), might as well mention the fact they're kinda the reason most Europeans nowadays are alive and educated :)

[cervinelich]

U.S. Americans: Vote Locally. Do it.

There seems to be a common misconception that the presidential election is the most important one not just for the USA, but for the world - WRONG!

Let me be clear: You should vote in the Presidential election.

Historically, young people don't vote. Even though young voter turnout has increased drastically since Trump, local voting is still largely being determined by conservative older generations.

Importantly, you should be voting locally in part because this is the largest influence over who gets nominated in the Primary and how your opinion is vocalized on a national scale. Also:

voter restriction/suppression

climate change efforts/issues (such as pipelines getting built)

policing, law enforcement and mass incarceration

availability of affordable housing, public transport, disability relief

education - as in, whether or not PragerU gets taught in schools

If you are worried about "being selfish" for focusing smaller local issues instead of global ones (such as the current genocide), I understand. However, this is a more effective way to pressure the current President - local legislators have more voice than we do. This is also setting up a less racist, genocidal future for global politics because Presidential nominees are almost always picked from State level positions.

The Presidential election helps people to feel good/bad about an "immediate" measurable result from a single action. But the truth is that the Bidens of the US will keep being the only rival to "I want to be a dictator" Trumps if we don't start investing our votes from the ground up.

Here is a guide (mostly from this website https://tminstituteldf.org/local-elections/ ):

CITY GOVERNMENT

School Boards:

Have the power to set policy and budgets for local schools, such as whether or not you can protest without losing your job or getting expelled.

Sherrifs:

Generally speaking, Sherrifs are fucked up. It's too much for me to go into here. They have way too much unilateral power with no oversight at all.

Prosecutors:

The largest contributor to mass incarceration

They set the terms on whether someone is charged with a misdemeanor or felony and being convicted of a felony will strip your right to vote in many states - some permanently.

City Council:

City Council approve things like city budgets and implement criminal and civil laws and regulations

Also the voice of their City at a State and Federal level. Generally, these are some of the people you should be shouting at to bring your voice higher up the food chain.

This includes the Mayor who often decides where budgets go (like schools or cops), and they also determine the level of enforcement of local laws.

County Board of Supervisors (County Commissioners):

Represent county issues in front of state and federal legislative bodies. Counties are also responsible for registering voters and administrating elections. i.e., another group of people who have a stronger voice against the elected Democrat when it comes to larger issues.

Planning and Zoning Commission:

Determines how and where affordable housing is zoned in your area. Has a huge effect on housing segregation.

Comptroller:

The City's accountant and budget manager - this is the person who audits the City Council and makes sure they aren't basically stealing money. They also approve city contracts such as those for affordable public transportation and shelters.

STATE GOVERNMENT

Judges:

This one is crucial. Your state judges act as the Supreme Court of your given state. The cases that they weigh on when it comes to state laws (such as abortion, medical autonomy, immigration, right to protest/free speech, etc.) these are binding and final.

Superintendent of Education:

This is the person who decides if PragerU gets to teach classes on why Zionism and Evangelical teachings are "ok and good, actually".

Secretary of State:

The person who certifies elections in your state - for the Presidency, but also for all of these other positions mentioned. It is so, so important that this person cannot be bought or pressured.

Attorney General:

Has influence over law enforcement agencies and represents the state in legal disputes - such as those where someone is disputing their rights are being infringed by the state. (abortion, medical autonomy, immigration, right to protest/free speech, etc.)

Governor:

Is basically the president of your state. They sign in laws, have veto power and oversee all of the other departments. They also can appoint Justices and State Senate seats if they are empty.

Not only does this person have a lot of state power, they also have a ton of influence over the broader federal climate and are one of the positions that fast-tracks to Presidency (see: Ron Desantis).

State Comptroller (or Controller):

Same as City Comptroller except extremely importantly they manage disaster relief/preparation funding - which is especially important amidst climate change.

Also oversee fraud investigations.

Public Service Commissioner:

Determines rates for things like energy, water, internet in your state.

Also deals with the gas and oil industry in your state, often being in charge of approval/rejection of the building of oil pipelines.

They can be appointed by the Governor.

State Senators:

Has just about the most authority in a state, with the ability to impeach Governors and deny someone the Governor tries to appoint

Another position that fast-tracks to Presidency

Draft and introduce/pass state laws and amend the state constitution

State House of Reps:

Can call for the removal of another legislator

Draft and introduce/pass state laws

All Right. I'm running out of steam on this post. Please, please, please, PLEASE register to vote *right now* and look over the website when you do to see if it can set up email alerts when an election is coming up.

Buy a calendar and mark voting days and stick it to your wall TODAY. Set aside an hour of your time, TODAY, to make a plan for voting.

Go to this website, enter your state. It will tell you exactly what to do. Register.

Lastly, if you don't like Biden and it makes you feel like shit to vote for him (understandably), then YOU NEED TO VOTE IN THE PRIMARY.

[the0ther-side0f-dawn]

I just really didn't think that America as a whole would be dumb enough to go back for round 2. like did the trump voters actually have a good time during his last term?? i thought everyone was just humouring him by letting him get this far

[noisepartythumpingmusic]

You can't boycott voting.

[satans-codpiece]

“you are actively indicating to the Democrats that they can in fact get away with…”

Isreal’s own national security minister has stated Trump would be giving them more leeway in their assault on Gaza.

and that dumb fuck thinks Sending A Message to the DMC is more important than the ACTUAL consequences of electing Republicans.

[lemondoddle]

the pure gut-wrenching dread of a straight guy texting you

[aloeverawrites]

If you’re not voting blue because of Palestine tell Biden that.

They need to know that while they still have the power to do better, it will be too late for Palestine after the election.

[adragonsoulart-blog]

Hey, the ACLU is getting people to send letters to your Reps to have Congress pass the No Kings Act.

This bill is to ensure that even sitting presidents are held liable for their actions. That NOBODY is above the law.

Their goal is 150k messages sent and at the time of writing this they're about 2.1k off from that goal!

ACLU gives you a prefilled message that you can edit to send to make the process easier, and will send it out for you.

This only takes a few minutes!

[radgeorgie]

my aunt is like "miss you sooooo much girlie you need to come and hang and see our new place!!!!!!" and she's a mega trumpie and sees nothing wrong with that

[kotoneshiomiofficial]

im not saying this to be mean: not buying from amazon or walmart or whatever for one day or one week or two weeks isnt going to change anything because 1. you're just moving your purchases out to a later date instead of never until they change so you cant use the lack of profit as leverage to get them to change and 2. there's no actual demands being made directly to these companies, the only goal is to "send a message", so even if the boycott were effective, what would happen as a result? what are we expecting to happen?

there's a reason the economic blackouts for palestine (which did have a concrete goal and purpose) also didnt work but the BDS boycotts have been incredibly effective and economically disruptive. the BDS boycott website even explains the reason why they only target about a dozen brands/businesses specifically for supporting genocide: because an un-targeted boycott of like 70 different brands is not feasible or effective (and also they're not putting an arbitrary time limit on it, it's going until they get the change they want). if you want to make real change with your boycotts i would highly encourage you to read the BDS website and participate

[overclockedopossum]

OK fuck it. I've seen this post cross my dash twice already and left it but I'm sick of it. Truth is always your ally when you're in the right, and this post is lacking in truth.

Firstly, let me point out what the OP is doing. This is a style of argument called a "gish gallop" - but I've also seen it called a "trump tirade". You make a series of shaky assertions in quick succession. Since it takes a lot longer to demonstrate the truth than it does to assert a half-truth, this is a way to mislead people while being difficult and time-consuming to fact-check (see the length of what follows...).

Since the advised way to deal with this is to focus on the shakiest claim, let's do that. I'll get to Israel as well, because that's relevant. But the absolute worst part is an X in the Trump column for "vaccines and public health". Sure, pick a random antivaxxer and odds are they'll be a trump supporter. However the reality is that the Trump administration were responsible for starting "operation warp speed" and delivering covid-19 vaccines in the USA (and across the world). You cannot sum up a presidency that put tens of billions of dollars into vaccine development with "vaccines and public health: X". That is not truthful.

I do want to briefly mention that some of the items on the list are empty non-items. What's "advocating racial equality"? Is it doing anything, or is it saying words? The number of police killings has gone up under Biden, who opened his presidency by using federal agents in much the way Trump did. His 2022 budget was criticised for increasing the amount of money given to US police. But those are actions, not words. He may advocate racial equality but that doesn't do much.

Anyway, Israel. This is the big one. I'm going to focus on gojira007's addition, as there's more of an argument to engage with, and that will in passing cover the claims made by the OP.

With that said, gojira007's argument is really misleading. Saying that trump's stated goal is to "finish the job" implies continuing forever, but even just clicking through to the article will tell you "he would advise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to swiftly conclude Israel's war in Gaza". Read more into it and you'll find he's said “We’ve got to get to peace. You can’t have this going on, and I will say Israel has to be very careful because you are losing a lot of the world. You are losing a lot of support.” Looks a lot like support for a ceasefire to me! I have encountered people who genuinely read Trump's stance as "nuke gaza" in order to finish the job, but that's obviously completely at odds with his stated concern about international support.

To the other claim - "Biden is one of the only American Presidents in my lifetime to threaten limiting Military Aid to Israel" - that article is from May. Click through to read and it related to an invasion of Rafah, which was carried out. Was the threat carried out? Not according to the guardian:

Biden has not delivered on his threat to curb arms deliveries, which would have triggered outrage from not just Republicans but pro-Israel Democrats. Administration officials have instead sought to parse what “going into Rafah” means. When he issued his ultimatum a month ago, Biden had suggested it meant the IDF advancing to the city’s “population centres”. That has clearly already happened, but US officials are now arguing the forays so far have not been “major operations”.

It is true that Biden had prior to that threat already halted shipments of the very biggest bombs, but that doesn't seem to have changed anything. It's worth noting that both of the Bushes achieved actual changes in Israel's behaviour by threatening loan guarantees (this may or may not be outside gojira007's lifetime). Moreover, this should also be viewed in the context of how extreme Israel's current behaviour is - while there have absolutely been threats to Israel's aid before I'm not sure if there has ever been a period of sustained military action that has killed this many Palestinians. Incidentally, the current war isn't even the first Israeli atrocity during the Biden administration.

It's difficult to say what would be different under Trump when it comes to Palestine, because October 7th doesn't have an equivalent. However while he's clearly no friend to Palestinians, having recognised disputed and illegal Israeli claims, he has also pushed for peace (as long as it doesn't inconvinience Israel). When there was a pretext for bombings Trump did purport to "support Israel 100%", but the result was nowhere near as disproportionate as what's happening now.

Overall I don't think there's evidence that Trump would fail to clear the historically low bar that has been set by the Biden administration when it comes to avoiding killing in Gaza. While there are other aspects of his policy regarding Israel that you can criticise (at least some of which Biden has continued), it is not truthful to suggest he's worse than Biden on the matters of either military support or a ceasefire.

Right. I wish I was done, but one other thing.

if you want to vote for a third party, what you are going to do is vote for biden in november 2024 and then as soon as that’s done, start trying to get ranked choice voting in your state

I would argue this is something like the Nirvana Fallacy. If it's plausible to get ranked choice voting while continuing to vote blue across the board, then it would be a wonderful solution. Do you think it's plausible, reader? Or is it just being said to shut you up?

Personally, I'm old enough to remember the last three election cycles where leftists were told "first vote blue but after that you can try to push the person you already voted for left I guess" (the cycle before that Obama actually looked promising). At some point you have to draw a line.

Besides, I would suggest that ranked choice is far more likely to be adopted by the DNC if lack of it is perceived to be hurting them at the ballot box. That means a third-party vote high enough to swing the election, cast by people who will not be bullied back into voting DNC by pied piper tactics in place of policy improvements.

(Obligatory: obviously not voting at all is pointless, if you can it's worth going to the ballot boxes and voting Green. Furthermore, voting for congresspeople, on ballot measures etc is important - don't take out your dislike of Biden on DNC candidates for congress! Also, the more local stuff can often make a massive difference.)

(by all means take out your dislike of specific DNC candidates on those candidates at the ballot box if there's good reason to but control of congress is very important whoever is in the white house)

Look.

I have made you a chart. A very simple chart.

People say "You have to draw the line somewhere, and Biden has crossed it-" and my response is "Trump has crossed way more lines than Biden".

These categories are based off of actual policy enacted by both of these men while they were in office.

If the ONLY LINE YOU CARE ABOUT is line 12, you have an incredible amount of privilege, AND YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT PALESTINIANS. You obviously have nothing to fear from a Trump presidency, and you do not give a fuck if a ceasefire actually occurs. You are obviously fine if your queer, disabled, and marginalized loved ones are hurt. You clearly don't care about the status of American democracy, which Trump has openly stated he plans to destroy on day 1 he is in office.

[kickbutts-singsongs]

Y’allllll

I wanna mess with my dad so badly rn but idk if doing so would backfire terribly or not

But like

It would be sooooooooo funny if I texted him saying “omg dad did you see that the US Army Chorus sang Les Mis!!! 😄😄😄 I love Les Mis!!!!!! 😃😃😃”

And then he responded with smth like “oh yes trump loved it and they sounded so great didn’t they 😁”

CUZ I WOULD BE LAUGHING MY ASS OFF FOR THE NEXT WEEK ALSKLAKSLLAKS