Posts by willallen@blacksun.social
(DIR) Post #AQwFO4TBN13hwQgfbM by willallen@blacksun.social
2022-12-24T17:12:13Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@sean I don't understand the mechanics of this argument. I generally use my own words, and have never relied heavily on any quote feature. I came here to say only white people get to be expatriates. Everybody else is an immigrant. And that is a concern to me.
(DIR) Post #AS4XvLWOv9nLxS4jQ0 by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-01-27T15:07:49Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
I'm just over here trying to process the fact that the guy who leaked damaging news about Hillary Clinton was literally being paid by Russia, and was instrumental in burying the evidence that he, and many other Republicans, were directly working for Putin. And we're just... I dunno. Going to work and having bagels and shit.Russia. Owns. The. Republican. Party. Russia had spies in the highest levels of the FBI. Russia had spies in the highest levels of the NRA. Russia owns US Congresspersons. But whatevs. It's just a literal takeover of the government by our sworn enemy.
(DIR) Post #ASL4OjMkeMQMNnpfPs by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-02-03T23:42:11Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
We're all very upset about Governor DeSantis basically turning Florida into Nazi Germany. He's banning books, rewriting history, controlling media narratives, suppressing votes...We all realize that if he gets elected president, that's his agenda for the whole country, right?If a Republican wins the next election, they'll also take back the Senate and retain the House. So...You know...This is life and death on a grand scale.
(DIR) Post #ASQlmqOfQcVaxTGxqC by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-02-02T18:02:02Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
Two things are simultaneously true, and we'd do well to stay aware of both:1) The Former Guy absolutely must be charged and convicted for staging a coup, defrauding the public, stealing classified documents, and about half a dozen other extraordinary crimes.2) Completing Step 1 won't save democracy in the US.A seldom discussed aspect of Hitler's leadership of Nazi Germany is that he was... to put it mildly... quite terrible at it. He was an absolutely rubbish military strategist. He did not understand how to inspire loyalty, only how to enforce it. He was egotistical to a fault, and seldom entertained ideas he didn't at least marginally believe were his own. For most of World War II, there were various plots against his life in various stages of conceptualization and execution. Lots of Nazis wanted him gone, but it was dangerous to say that aloud.There were several attempts that might have been successful. Most people have heard of the bomb that went off, but fewer know that he was also delivered booby trapped alcohol, but the mechanism malfunctioned. There was also an aborted attempt at a suicide bombing. Hitler could easily have died as World War II raged.Here's the thing. Almost everything the Nazis did was *NOT HITLER'S IDEA." Hitler, like The Former Guy, was not the originator of the Third Reich. He was the useful executor. Almost everything they did, from wolfpacks to death camps, were schemed up by other more competent Nazis. There's a strong argument that if Hitler had been killed, Germany might have done substantially better, for longer, and many, many more people would have died. If The Former Guy is removed from play by disqualification or incarceration, DeSantis is waiting in the wings. If he doesn't do it, Margorie Taylor Green will give it a try. If she doesn't do it, someone else will. While they have power, they are always an imminent threat. Convicting The Former Guy is the minimum for us to be able to say we're still a nation of laws. That's all. We live to fight another day if we win this battle. But somebody else will take charge of the Nazis, and there's a real danger they'll be more capable than TFG.Stay frosty.
(DIR) Post #ATLSaeXhf9LlxBpuPQ by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-03-06T16:42:11Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
During one genocidal episode in World War II, all of the residents of a village known for its anti-Nazi attitudes were forced to leave their homes. All of them. All the boys and men over age 15 were summarily executed. The girls and women were taken to a concentration camp. The young children? If they were pretty enough, and deemed to have a reasonable temperament, they were adopted to "good German families."I mention this because in Florida, there is a bill that would allow the state to take children away from parents if the parents support the children's gender affirming interventions. Also, there was that bit where a prominent Republican called for genocide against transgender people. To applause.So...When do you think it's time for you to... at the very least... completely ostracize anyone in your life who supports any Republican in any way?Is that maybe the least you could do to prevent a holocaust? Could you shake your life up a little and take the risk of your family disapproving of you?I think maybe that's the minimum an ally could do.#transgender #fascism #politics
(DIR) Post #ATLojYb1L4on6o2TCK by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-03-05T14:51:50Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
We all know that when there's a call for actual genocide at a political rally, and everybody cheers, that's the moment everybody talks about. Right?"What could the Germans have done to prevent the Holocaust?"That's the moment the United States is at, and if we mince words or sugar coat it, the US will follow that path. And when we point this out, people will say, "But the US would never engage in genocide!"But the US *has* engaged in genocide. More than once. The US has established concentration camps. More than once. The US has made entire groups of people "illegal." More than once. When people say, "that won't happen here," what they're saying is, "We don't accept that the same people who committed atrocity before would do it again." And that is a foolish, foolish position.We must not suffer foolish positions. I bring this to light today for a particular reason. Marianne Williamson, quadrennial quack and suspected Russian stooge, will be once again attempting to peel off just enough Democratic votes to sneak a few Republican wins in close battleground states. Whether she knows this is what she's doing is anybody's guess, but math is math. You may have noticed that control of the House and Senate are absolutely critical, so we mustn't let her plan succeed.First, don't you dare throw one bit of digital or analog communication into the universe in support for her. Don't you dare. Don't you dare suggest that anything she's saying would "help" Democrats. Don't you dare. Second, purge this rhetoric from your social environment with prejudice. Do not give the impression to anyone around you that fools are suffered.Finally, remember, and remind as many people as you can, what Germany could have done was figure out a way for the Socialists and Communists to unite for one goddamn election to keep Hitler out of power.#fascism #transgender #politics
(DIR) Post #ATM9SiTxQZd7stXvXs by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-02-18T01:07:22Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Mlobbes by any objective measure, there is one extreme party and one moderate party in the US.
(DIR) Post #ATNNQof54hGazEhHFo by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-03-07T15:03:29Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
The GOP really hit the jackpot with transgender people as their latest target. But let's begin with the observation that it has nothing to do with being transgender, or drag shows, or anything else. Fascists do not care who they hate. They only care *that* they hate. When I was a kid, they hated Dungeons and Dragons, and did their level best to bring back the Witch Trials. Who they hate is arbitrary.But let's look at why this current target demographic is such a gold mine for them, and let's say it plainly: Leftists are not united in their feelings. Many of the previous targets of hate have been normalized to the point that there's almost nobody to peel off of the Democratic side owing to disagreement or disinterest. There's no traction for openly banning Jewish, or black, or homosexual identity. With transgender identity, it's different. In a June 2022 poll, around 60% of Democratic respondents agreed that a person's gender can be different than their biological sex. That's worlds better than GOP respondents (13%), but it's got a long, long way to go. As you go up the age brackets on the Left, support dwindles. And despite a good showing in 2022, the youngest potential voters -- the ones who most support transgender rights -- are the least likely to vote. And can we be honest with ourselves about this? A lot of Left Leaning voters are fine with saying the words, and maybe they'll go to a drag show to offer their support, but in their private life and mind, they really don't understand all of this, and it makes them uncomfortable.That's the kind of wedge the GOP has become expert at exploiting. Find an issue where the Right is united and the Left is wishy washy. Run that up every flagpole in every town, and hope a few people on the Left "forget" to vote. In short, if you, Dear Leftist, are even a smidge less enthusiastic, less engaged, less outspoken, less demonstrative, less giving out of the depths of your checkbook in support of Transgender Rights than you were of Black Lives Matter, or women's reproductive rights, then you are playing into the GOP plan. You are an unwitting dupe.Do whatever soul searching you must do, and consider this: It is inevitable that this effect will play out. It's not inevitable that it will work -- there's a lot of anger toward the GOP right now -- but it's inevitable that it will play out. The GOP chose their target well.Perhaps this is one of those times where we could up our game, maybe even out of our own comfort zone. Maybe we could show up for *more* events, give more money, canvas more neighborhoods in the leadup to the 2024 elections. Because there is still more prejudice on the Left against transgender identity than we would hope. And... just to emphasize the point, let's cast our mind back to the 2016 election, in which historically Democratic men voters lagged behind historically Democratic women voters in support of Hillary Clinton from start to finish. Even with all the GOP shenanigans, a Democratic voting bloc *without* latent sexism would have kept the Former Guy out of office, and the Supreme Court would be majority Liberal, and women would have the right to abortions.Our prejudices on the Left matter, and we need to be proactive to stop playing into the GOP plan. Give it some thought.#transgender #politics #humanrights #Democrats #progressive
(DIR) Post #ATO8ItvuHtkKrfILom by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-03-07T23:43:16Z
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All the Russian Bots are saying the same thing: "It's not about drag. It's about protecting kids from an adult activity."Okay. Explain this to me like I'm not a social scientist. Explain it to me like I'm in kindergarten.Exactly how is wearing a dress an adult activity?#transgender #progressive #fascism
(DIR) Post #ATO8oWoFnNogPnnQe0 by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-03-08T00:05:31Z
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@BarrenPlanet you could try Googling "Russian disinformation efforts on social media."I don't know how to help you follow the news.Beyond that, I don't know how to help you if your takeaway is that maybe I misattributed an absolutely poisonous message to one fascist regime as opposed to the one it supports.
(DIR) Post #ATOAEfjxJWaNb2ofB2 by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-03-08T00:21:27Z
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@BarrenPlanet then why are we talking? You’ve decided who I am and decided what’s happening. Sleep well in the knowledge that i am whatever you think I am, and I will sleep well knowing that you dodged my primary point, that it barely matters whether this is Russians or the regime they’re supporting originating the message.
(DIR) Post #AUYtAMui1mDuv58jei by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-04-08T16:20:38Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
I'm going to risk heresy here, and I'm not sorry.I'm enjoying the MAGA tears over Bud Lite as much as anybody. But I'm noticing a lot of opinions about how terrible Bud Lite is. It reminds me of the people who, every time there's a big sporting event, have to come on the interwebZ to tell everybody how much they don't know anything about sportsball.Fact: Bud and Bud Lite together are the best selling beers in the known universe. Billions of people like them.Maybe a few people are getting caught up in a bit of nose gazing down at things to make themselves feel better about... whatever it is they don't feel good about.This can just be funny, and we don't have to make sure everybody knows we have elevated tastes, or whatever.#Budlite #progressive
(DIR) Post #AVaNSiMVsMIFkm3pDc by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-05-12T00:54:48Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I don't have a lot to say about the Nazi Rally hosted by CNN.Just...Call it what it was.
(DIR) Post #AVc9qNlv4TPVnmFutc by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-05-12T16:45:31Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I notice that the man who killed Jordan Neely is advancing the narrative that he had to protect the subway riders from a person with mental health problems.He's saying he was justified in killing a man with mental health problems on the subway. He's saying it's okay to kill people with mental health problems.I notice that.I also notice that one of the first exterminations in Germany took place in the psychiatric hospitals.Let's not forget that, shall we?#fascism #lynching #JordanNeely
(DIR) Post #AWMHo8jv89gMdmH8Ns by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-06-04T20:02:41Z
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A lot of people get focused on “the way things are supposed to be.” Read any interview with a Big Single Band. Half the audience gets pissy if they play a different version of their Big Single in concert twenty years after they released it. But the truth is, most songs you know aren’t the songs they began as. Sure, some people compose as they record, but much more commonly, a song is written, passed around, rearranged, gender swapped, and sold before it’s produced into the thing that sounds like “what it’s supposed to be.”Especially in the 70s, songwriters sold songs to singers. It wasn’t particularly strange for superstars to have never performed “their own songs.” (Think Olivia Newton John or Anne Murray.) It was a normal thing for the original to change to fit the style and even genre of the singer. (Is “Islands in the Stream” a country song or a disco ballad?)I might be talking about gender identity. #pride #progressive #lgbtq
(DIR) Post #AWV6hhTEFmmZFvplxY by willallen@blacksun.social
2022-12-25T19:31:33Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@rodhilton we don't talk enough about how robust a lot of systems are. I worked at the state level in an essential system for most of five years, and the normal, everyday story was making it work in spite of idiots in charge. And we did. We got people in the door and back out the door, mostly with what they needed. During my stay, as a team, our metrics even improved even though the new CFO came in and implemented the exact same program that had failed before this one.It's actually not super hard to be in charge of a good company while being a raging boor and an idiot. I'm not suggesting you buy a Tesla or join SpaceX. I know fuck all about rockets or cars. I'm saying we really need to get rid of this "successful company = genius" nonsense.
(DIR) Post #AWnAYRhwYEqPI6q70a by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-06-17T16:10:04Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
"My parents are bigots."Did your parents vote for Republicans? If they did, then they are bigots. But a lot of people don't want to say those words aloud."My parents are Nazis."Ooof. We really don't want to say that, do we? But... Have you noticed that the Republican Agenda is almost a word for word copy of the Nazi agenda?Do some math on this. How many parents have voted Republican? Okay, now, how many of those parents' children get weird about saying, "My parents are bigots. My parents are Nazis?"It's not about you and your parents. It's about the system of emotional manipulation that makes sure you, and everybody like you who has bigots for parents, provides a first line of defense for them and allows them to maintain the belief that what they are is okay.It is not okay. Don't protect your bigoted parents. Don't protect Nazis. No matter who they are.
(DIR) Post #AbV85GM7CSQ3ZFwLHE by willallen@blacksun.social
2023-09-29T16:03:45Z
3 likes, 2 repeats
You know that "parents rights" is a dogwhistle, right?Anytime someone is pushing parents rights, it's part of the fascist agenda. "Parents rights" means "control over children's autonomy." Autonomy is the one thing we must never try to control if we want to raise healthy children.Remember this, and try to reframe every conversation about parenting into these terms. Parents do not have rights. They have obligations. Children have rights, and parents have the power to deny them, and that's horrifying. Parents who do not honor their children's autonomy are failing in their obligation.