“All the right people hate him” really set off something in my mind about how performative politics really is. There’s nothing of substance here. Anybody mad that this guy is the democratic nominee might be annoyed it’s not their guy, but this decorum shit has always been lib meat & potatoes bullshit, there’s… acceptance here. he’s being given space as a contemptible extremist, kinda like AOC tbqh
Like “All the right people hate him… but something is really off here.” is how I articulate my feelings right before I remember that yes, even this bullshit is meaningless entertainment
which makes me feel like Zohran is for sure a political dead end, with no silver lining beyond a kind of nihilistic resignation to cackling at something that still has life and death consequences just because it really is this farcical and detached from reality
I totally get this, and we shouldn’t forget how politics is not the be all end all.
However, the “entertainment” isn’t nothing – it also does serve as propaganda for our side (especially if Zohran delivers some of those things in his platform). Is he perfect? Hell no. But say he manages to implement free buses or something – it will be good for socialists more generally.
Hell no. But say he manages to implement free buses or something – it will be good for socialists more generally.
Estonia has free buses. Most of europe had free buses for Ukrainian refugees, how is this translating into support for socialism? I guess magically wishing socialism (I guess communism is too radical now) into existence, by calling cuba and Venezuela evil dictatorships when the us is closing in to invade them? By wanting to appoint Zionists into the city government, by not abolishing the NYPD??
If our enemies hate him, it’s an indication that he’s not their guy and will frustrate their plans and interests. That has real implications beyond just politics being a spectacular team sport.
That doesn’t make him our guy, I wouldn’t waste any time organizing for him or donating to him, but it’s not nothing.
If you’re on the left, your list of enemies is inclusive of everybody in this little circle, and if Zohran was a true outsider that was any kind of threat to the system instead of yet another sheep-dog liberal, he wouldn’t even be getting cast as the villain. That’s the thing I think people don’t realize. If you’re truly a threat to this system, you dont become a spectacle to root for. you dont become an underdog. Or, if you do, it won’t be on the backs of mainstream discourse. You won’t be allowed to actually be dangerous using their platforms. that villain shit is actually a valued role in society-as-theater lol.
Him being allowed more or less the same position AOC had tells me his job is just to keep leftist political momentum as diffuse as possible and still attached to the system electorally and monetarily as much as possible.
things dont start getting better until we divest ourselves from this system and its circuses. there’s no way through this that isn’t capitulation or assimilation/commodification otherwise.
Again, I wouldn’t waste time organizing for him or donating to him.
But, they don’t want sheepdogs in any executive positions because they will raise the contradictions within electoralism. AOC and Bernie can pretend to be socialist while doing literally nothing in the legislature, but the mayor of New York actually has access to levers of power and that comes with expectations. He had to make a lot of promises to get this popular, and every single promise he breaks or otherwise fails to fulfill is a demonstration of the limitations of electing Democrats
The only way Mamdani will be able to keep his supporters attached to the system is if he fulfills his promises after being elected, and this ruling class has not shown me that it is willing to actually give concessions to workers to maintain class peace. I’ll be legitimately shocked if they actually let him freeze the rent or establish public grocers or free child care, because the material base for social democracy does not exist in a declining empire. He will certainly be stopped from most or all his promises, and when he is, we need to be ready to lead disillusioned supporters away from the Democrat busybox and into real politics.
“All the right people hate him” really set off something in my mind about how performative politics really is. There’s nothing of substance here. Anybody mad that this guy is the democratic nominee might be annoyed it’s not their guy, but this decorum shit has always been lib meat & potatoes bullshit, there’s… acceptance here. he’s being given space as a contemptible extremist, kinda like AOC tbqh
Like “All the right people hate him… but something is really off here.” is how I articulate my feelings right before I remember that yes, even this bullshit is meaningless entertainment
which makes me feel like Zohran is for sure a political dead end, with no silver lining beyond a kind of nihilistic resignation to cackling at something that still has life and death consequences just because it really is this farcical and detached from reality
I totally get this, and we shouldn’t forget how politics is not the be all end all.
However, the “entertainment” isn’t nothing – it also does serve as propaganda for our side (especially if Zohran delivers some of those things in his platform). Is he perfect? Hell no. But say he manages to implement free buses or something – it will be good for socialists more generally.
Estonia has free buses. Most of europe had free buses for Ukrainian refugees, how is this translating into support for socialism? I guess magically wishing socialism (I guess communism is too radical now) into existence, by calling cuba and Venezuela evil dictatorships when the us is closing in to invade them? By wanting to appoint Zionists into the city government, by not abolishing the NYPD??
If our enemies hate him, it’s an indication that he’s not their guy and will frustrate their plans and interests. That has real implications beyond just politics being a spectacular team sport.
That doesn’t make him our guy, I wouldn’t waste any time organizing for him or donating to him, but it’s not nothing.
If you’re on the left, your list of enemies is inclusive of everybody in this little circle, and if Zohran was a true outsider that was any kind of threat to the system instead of yet another sheep-dog liberal, he wouldn’t even be getting cast as the villain. That’s the thing I think people don’t realize. If you’re truly a threat to this system, you dont become a spectacle to root for. you dont become an underdog. Or, if you do, it won’t be on the backs of mainstream discourse. You won’t be allowed to actually be dangerous using their platforms. that villain shit is actually a valued role in society-as-theater lol.
Him being allowed more or less the same position AOC had tells me his job is just to keep leftist political momentum as diffuse as possible and still attached to the system electorally and monetarily as much as possible.
things dont start getting better until we divest ourselves from this system and its circuses. there’s no way through this that isn’t capitulation or assimilation/commodification otherwise.
Again, I wouldn’t waste time organizing for him or donating to him.
But, they don’t want sheepdogs in any executive positions because they will raise the contradictions within electoralism. AOC and Bernie can pretend to be socialist while doing literally nothing in the legislature, but the mayor of New York actually has access to levers of power and that comes with expectations. He had to make a lot of promises to get this popular, and every single promise he breaks or otherwise fails to fulfill is a demonstration of the limitations of electing Democrats
The only way Mamdani will be able to keep his supporters attached to the system is if he fulfills his promises after being elected, and this ruling class has not shown me that it is willing to actually give concessions to workers to maintain class peace. I’ll be legitimately shocked if they actually let him freeze the rent or establish public grocers or free child care, because the material base for social democracy does not exist in a declining empire. He will certainly be stopped from most or all his promises, and when he is, we need to be ready to lead disillusioned supporters away from the Democrat busybox and into real politics.