As an aging boomer, I can confirm you are right! I find my peer group is in a silo only listening to cable news and only talking to each other. That’s why I purposely follow Gen Z , Gen Y UA-camrs on the left . I want to listen more than talk at this age.
@@anyalazor7978 It's less likely to find a leftist Boomer who is a UA-camr. Please don't take that as anything negative so much as generational. I notice millennials and younger increasingly engaging on places like UA-cam. But Boomer leftists, in general, aren't on UA-cam so much, aside for maybe recorded talks and lectures and the like. I'm in teacher education (so a name you might like to look up is Peter McLaren in my field, see also Michael Apple, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Carol Lee), but again, the UA-camr-type commentary is something I see more in Gen Z and Millennials than in Gen X (my generation) and Boomer. Someone like McLaren is basically going to be recordings of lectures or recordings of interviews. The reasons are complex. For example, I record lots of videos for my students and sometimes think of starting a channel but the risk involved to a career is real. And being a UA-camr is time-consuming. It takes a type of skill that needs to be cultivated and honed over time. If UA-cam had been around during the heyday of Carl Sagan I can picture him doing UA-cam along with so many other things, but he also paid a price for his public outreach efforts. By the time UA-cam became what it is now, many Gen X and Boomer left leaning types were so set in a career path that UA-cam represents something that is a major career risk, plus the skills just had not been cultivated. I know for instance there are certain skills Jessie has that I would not possess, it would have taken a skilled UA-camr like Jessie years to hone practices that I would have to learn from scratch.
@@anyalazor7978 There are tons of millennials. Sara (TheFatCultureCritic) I *think* is GenX? She is certainly *not* on the right or middle (she did a video explaining why she doesn't use the label anymore despite still putting in work for "The Left™" so I'm trying to explain using her preferences as much as possible.) She has some amazing insights on body image - currently and through history - and a *very* unique, personal experience that gives her perspectives about what's happening in the Middle East *incredibly* enlightening. While I personally don't consider her "older" there's definitely a gap between alpha and z so you might find that appealing. Regardless of her age, I still think she's worth checking out for the other reasons I listed.
@Trekfanwanda well if you are tired of listening to people just talk and do absolutely nothing then leftists are just as useless as MAGAts. I compare those two extremes to flat earthers since they’re so detached from reality and refuse to accept that all they do is talk/lie and push propaganda with one side stating America bad no matter what and the other side saying America is great no matter what but was once paradise that it never was.
I've always had criticisms about Biden, but his stubbornness in refusing to step aside and let a younger candidate run, while shrugging in indifference at the possibility of losing, has made me ACTUALLY ANGRY. Biden has no skin in the game. He's one of the few who doesn't feel the Sword of Damocles that is the far-right hanging over his head. And why should he? He's not a woman. He's not an immigrant. He's not BIPOC. He's not gay. He's not trans. He's not doing this "For the Future of America", the man's 81 years old, he doesn't CARE about the future. You can't convince me he's doing this out of empathy, because if he could empathize he'd get out of everyone else's way! So yeah, I'm going to vote for Biden, and he's going to lose anyway, and he'll lose nothing and we'll lose everything.
An issue that makes that conversation difficult is that in 2016, the center of the Democratic party pushed him aside saying that he got no chance to win, and favored Hilary Clinton by pointing at some polls where she was scoring 9% higher than Biden. You know how that one turned out! So a lot of the people who are asking him to step aside within the DNC? Like not you or me, but Pelosi and a few others... Well, Biden already has beef with a lot of these people due to 2016. He might see how they act as the same kind of thinking errors that brought Trump. Than there are some IR issues where Netanyahu (or is it another world leader) is in the USA. So he might want to delay for that alone. As far as I'm concerned, I also have anger towards that party. They are in an election, important elements of a democracy are at play, and they are having tea in the dinning room and discussions about if Joe Clark can win the election. (No he can't...) What I want to see is some strong commitments against Trump and an all-hand on deck approach. Right now, the commitment seems more toward an internal party war going nowhere. I don't really care who is the leader, but a choice needs to be made and some commitment needs to follow.
Putting politics aside, why would anyone want a President on the political spectrum that cannot be held accountable for their actions? That's a dictatorship waiting to happen.
It's the same people who think they'd do well during an apocalypse. They watch things like the Walking Dead and think "I'd do so much better than those losers." Or think that, if they'd only been born 500 years ago, they'd definitely be one of the very, very few aristocratic people and not one of the many, many downtrodden serfs. They want the dictatorship to happen because they think he'll be on their side. What they don't realise, of course, is that dictators are almost never on the side of anyone but themselves. (I say "almost" because there is the theoretical concept of a benevolent dictator which I think might have happened once.) For the record, I think I probably would do alright, initially, in a disaster situation, mostly trying to help others, but I doubt I'd make it very long without support of everyone else.
That’s not “putting politics aside.” It seems like you’re assuming that everyone is in agreement that dictatorship is inherently bad at the conceptual level. But if there’s any lesson to learn from the past several years, it’s that a huge contingent of people do not care how they get what they want, as long as they get it. They act like they have serious principles, but it’s just a pretense. Bad things are only bad when the other guy does them - when our guy does them, they’re fine. Their only real principle is power. So they don’t see a dictatorship as a bad thing. It’d only be bad if their opponents were the dictators.
@@StarkRGironically, the man who popularized the term Dictator, Julius Caesar, was one of the few benevolent dictators in history. Popular land reforms that benefits the people, kept his soldiers well fed and loyal through praise, was relatively good to the outlier provinces, and even forgave his enemies who had revolted from rome and granted them amnesty. Did he lie, cheat, and bribe his way into that position? Oh most definitely. But he was a wise and even handed, if ego centric, ruler. Then his 'friends' killed him for being a dictator. And then they got Octavian the murder tyrant. Who one could argue became a benevolent dictator.... Buuuut he did slaughter way too many people to get there
"The Liberal is a curious creature: ten degrees to the left of center on a good day, and ten degrees to the right of center when it affects them personally." -Phil Ochs.
Yeah, this, people should be more comfortable criticizing their candidates, even if they were good ones, because that also helps presidents to know what the people ask and want from them. Otherwise they’ll think that they’re doing everything right or won’t know what to do to make things better (in the improbable case that they cared one bit, that is)
No one is saying that. Just postpone the negativity until after the damn election. That's all we're asking for. Calling him "Genocide Joe" when he is only doing what every President since the founding of modern Israel has done only gets Trump elected again. Don't worry though, you and Jessie can criticize Joe all you want at one of Trump's gender affirmation camps. This is the shit that 2025 and beyond will look like if Biden doesn't win. Save it until Biden wins.
Im autistic too. I can totally relate to the fear of being misunderstood. I tend to speak in a very verbose way as a coping method to prevent misunderstanding.
@@NatalieRath Its a thing for me. I don't necessarily think its something every autistic person does. I just personally related to the sentiment that Jessie was expressing. Ive also noticed that when I write, I tend to over-explain things, which is why a lot of my YT comments are paragraphs long. There are pros and cons to this approach to communication. Ive been told that I sometimes come off as patronizing when that is not my intention. However, I think the benefits of accurately expressing myself outlay they downside of being perceived negatively in some circumstances. As a kid, I was misunderstood a lot. I learned most of what I know about social skills through trial and error. I sometimes still cringe about dumb or weird things I said as a kid that I didn't understand were seen as odd. Embarrassment is a form of social incentive which generally affects how people act. Most people don't enjoy being seen as embarrassing so once they become aware that others look down at them for acting weird they change their behavior. In some ways this is beneficial since this prevents people from acting in some genuinely harmful ways. However, I do think there are many social norms which are arbitrary and unnecessary. Last month I went to a local Pride event. While there I was able to hang out with a couple people who were both queer and neurodivergent like me. I rather enjoyed the experience because I wasn't required to perform some of the unnecessary social roles that neurotypical people often require. If possible, I would recommend other neurodivergent people should seek out people like them. I found the experience... refreshing.
I have a difficult time finding the correct format for sharing information verbally. I either make brief factual statements without enough context or long informational reports that provide too much information. Then the information recipient either thinks I am being a snippy jerk or a know-it-all jerk because my speech pattern is rather monotonal. And somehow, people still manage to think I am saying something different from what was just stated. It's exhausting. I prefer the typed message for information delivery as I can read the message, decide if it needs more or less information, then adjust several times before conveying.
"Your not being an adult about this" is such a childish thing to say to someone criticising a politician. Apparently, being an adult is taking everything lying down and never calling shit out. Very telling
I'm Australian and our local conservative party is called the Liberal party, which confuses a lot of people. Abigail's video series on what was liberalilsm really helped me understand a lot of this. Liberalism was a political response by conservatives to the Left and to Socialism. Its modern decendants in Neo-Liberalism are a conservative political economy framework which was introduced by Thatcher and, Reagan. In New Zealand and Australia the economic transformation to Neo-Liberalism was led by our Labour parties, it was a much saner and kinder set of policies but it was economics inspired by liberalism all the same. The modern Democrat party are Neo-Liberals who pay lip service to some leftist causes and throw some progressive social policy crumbs to voters but mostly all the do is just be less evil than their opponents. The political center in the english speaking world is Neo-Liberalism, ignoring the left is its primary job. Our media spends a lot of effort keeping the Overton window in a place where it looks like modern Democrats / Labour parties are the left when they are really the centre so that's all the choice we are allowed to have.
I only (comparatively) recently learnt that there was a difference between a leftist and a liberal, and it's completely explained why I've had so many issues talking to certain folks about politics. I thought we were on the same page, but they were liberals and I'm apparently actually a leftist.
@@kashiichan Abigail Thorn's youtube channel is Philosophy Tube. The series on "what was liberalism?" is older work and she looked very different back then but its still great stuff. You can also find her work on Nebula.
@@susanleslie6178 yeah, I grew up in NZ. Labour were pretty bad with some hope they might get better, I expect losing the election will shift them right again.
As an autistic bro I know what its like the compulsive need to be understood and considered valid. It hurts especially when people dismiss your opinion as too complex as though the amount of thought you put into it somehow made it less valid.
omg i feel that second part. I specifically get asked a question at family get togethers and three words in my parents or sisters will tell me to shut up, spout an egregiously wrong but snappy soundbite, and then glare at me as if im the one who fucked up.
This happens to me too. It's so extremely stressful for people to not listen or understand us, then accuse us of being confused or lesser because they don't get it. They will admit their confusion, then get angry at us for being honest in ways they just bottle up but we're forced to process.
I like to watch their heads explode when they accuse me of being a Trump supporter so I say “yeah you’re probably right- I mean Biden won’t shift policy to court my vote anyway, so I guess you have no choice but to hold hands with Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney instead- really stick it to those Leftists for trying to have standards when we elect someone”
You aren't alone in this. Not in the exhaustion, the frustration, rage, helplessness, irritation or despair. You were perfectly clear, and you were understood. Probably even by many of the people using thought-stopping phrases in a bad faith attempt to compel your enthusiastic consent to the current gerontological catastrophe. High-control groups don't like dissenting voices, as you know. Keep up the endless awesome that is you.
It's like you said, the cult of personality in US politics is insane. Legit they feel their candidate is untouchable, cannot be criticized and that is scary when it comes to politicians.
Comments like this have got me thinking, and I'm wondering how much of this is an exposure thing. I see this kind of comment online occasionally, but mostly from Democratic pundits like the Pod Save America crowd. In person, I have literally never spoken to anyone who acts like Biden is a perfect person or candidate. I definitely preferred other candidates in 2020. It's just like...most would happily take him over the guy who tried to soft launch his own unconstitutional dictatorship. It's just not an equivalent comparison. And like, politically, I kind of get that approach, and with the PSA people, they created their whole thing to try to rival the media cult created on the right and/or conservatives over the past several decades. Right-wing media is really powerful, and Dems don't have much to counter it. Matching those tactics, I think, feels repugnant for leftists who don't want to just switch to "oligarchy, but with a blue tie." But I literally don't know how to elect leaders without that apparatus. Find the best most principled left-wing candidate, and they just don't get elected. The vast majority of voters tend to vote on vibes or else are single-issue, and I think campaigns have made the calculation that they're safer trying to win over lots of moderates than worry about offending a smaller number of principled voters. It's gross, but I don't know what the alternative is either. 🤷
I'm with you 100% on this. I am no fan of Joe Biden either, but I'm less of a fan of the 2025 Project. I look at it like this, I can count on one hand the number of times my vote was not damage control. It always comes down to a choice between the lesser of two evils. I'm sorry that too many people can't see how reasonable your position is. We neither want nor need a Trump Blue. What we want, what we need, is hope that this darkness won't be the last thing we see.
And of course there's always willfull ignorance when they need it. It's easier that way, especially when the problems haven't made it to your door yet.
@@ed6705 Terry will be vindicated! No, wait, the opposite of that. Dude got pissed off in 4th grade, presumably because his math teacher was probably really bad at teaching math, and he based his entire personality off of that one interaction.
@@StarkRGgive a sneak peak of geometry to give someone a clear understanding of how 1 • 1 = 1 1 is just one 1• 1 is 1 square bit 1• 1 • 1 is one cube unit it's still the same product value each time, but at different dimensions
@@wilywonkyYou're not misunderstood, you're contributing to the problem. The ideals you believe in exist to make sure nothing fundamentally changes. I'm sorry, but we're not gonna coddle you about this. Too much has been lost already in the name of this cult. Be better.
I watched yesterday's video in its entirety and thought you were completely clear, I wonder how many comments were made by bots triggered by keyword; likewise, too many people mimic the language they see made from the bots... You're clearly deeply emotionally invested; and as such sharing what you did is good for others to relate with. For those that didn't watch yesterday's video then it is their loss.
There is so much justifiable anger and fear right now and it is not conducive to listening to each other. I'm so tired of liberals telling me I'm helping Trump by criticizing Biden, and I'm so tired of leftists telling me that I'm a boot-licking shill (or worse) for still wanting people to vote for Biden.
This title and your sentiments are everything I feel whenever I talk to my dad about politics and how he damns leftists for the all the problem is the US. And we're Canadians. On a positive note, I finally saw IDENTITEAZE. Loved it 👍💙
Nuance has been lost in the age of quick information. No one wants to listen long enough to understand that most situations aren't black and white. I commend you for having the strength to keep trying to get through to people.
And yet they'll still tell _us_ that "nothing's black and white" and to "always listen to both sides"... Then again, they also love the old cliche about "you made this bed, now lie in it", so... 🤷♂️
I would say that in team sports there's actually more charitability to be found. Among supporters of a team, it's understood that criticism of the team is given with the intent of making the team better. For example, Arsenal just finished second in the English Premier League for the second year in a row. If I go into an Arsenal online space and grouse about our tactics or lineup or coach or any other problem within the club, no one in that space is going to accuse me of being a Tottenham supporter (Tottenham being Arsenal's main rival). Honestly, it's more like pro wrestling fans that fully believe kayfabe (the "story" being told by the performers) than anything else. The exhortation to "vote harder" is exactly analogous to the idea that, if the fans cheer loudly enough for the Face (the "good guy" wrestler) then he will be able to withstand the attacks of the Heel (the "bad guy" wrestler) and retaliate with a flurry of attacks, culminating in his finishing move and pin for the 1-2-3. I completely identify with your frustration. Nice clip.
@@CaseyBlase yep, it's a good way to put it. Politics has really spiraled into this incoherent mess and this is what we're left with, it leads people to absolutely incoherent places in their politics
I've always been like "I get the point of bluemaga, but I don't know if it's quite equivalent" but this year I have to say, they are 100% bluemaga at this point.
I’m unfortunate enough to be in the U.K., and dealing with a very similar situation as someone who hates Keir Starmer. Like, the “moderates” of his wing will completely ignore that I was delivering leaflets for Labour, have only ever voted Labour, have run as a councillor for Labour! Soon as I mention I hate his reactionary lurch, I instantly get crap about supporting the Tories, how I should basically shut up and get in my lane etc..
You presented the same frustrations I have in an ordered and nuanced argument. While I can believe people would give a knee jerk response, I'm just disappointed they did.
I'm autistic too Jessie. The Anxieties of everything is real. I think at least all of us will vote for Biden. I still think while not the greatest president of all time, he's still better than the tangerine manbaby. Anyone is better than the Tangerine manbaby. Keep strong my friend. I agree with you about neoliberals as well.
Im sry but I think it's just wishful thinking to believe that Biden has a shot to win. The president isn't elected by popular vote, so due to the electoral college, only a handful of undecided voters inside specific swing states will determine the outcome. Unfortunately, with those demographics, things are looking really bad for Biden in the polls. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think he'll step aside & I also don't think he can win. I'm still voting for Biden. But I live in a heavily blue state, so my vote for president doesn't matter.
@@aaronkelly1762Register to vote! Please! As somebody who's not American but still has to live in a society impacted by this election result, I envy your ability to actually have a say at all. Do _not_ waste this opportunity!
I got you Jessie. I’m sorry you have to put up with this BS. Like I said before, liberals are just as relentless as Trump supporters. You’d think because they don’t like Trump, they wouldn’t want to act like his fans do. But no. In a capitalist system, everyone has to be assholes to each other and stand by their man, despite their major flaws! *Sighs* You’re not alone on this. *Hugs* 🫶🩷🩷
I've been reading about the French election and it seems the members of Macron's alliance are favouring allying with LR and the right instead of actually addressing underlying issues France is facing that has led to the rise of the far-right (which would require them to ally with the left). It is a damning condemnation of centrism & liberalism. Here in the UK I recently saw an article where Blair is trying to inject himself into this new Labour government by claiming "Starmer needs to tackle immigration to prevent Farage and the right" but that again totally misunderstands the issues and plays into the right.
Ratchet system in the US. :( I'm glad France managed to get out of it. We didn't in the UK, so even the 400% Green MPs and less votes overall for Starmer than Jeremy's 'massive loss' (according to the Thatcherite centre-right) in 2019 feels like such a minor thing.
Is France "out of it?" I'm not exactly an expert in what's going on, but the latest I saw is that Macron is essentially refusing to acknowledge that the center _lost,_ and the only thing that saved the country from falling to Le Pen and Bardella was the left and center-left working together.
We absolutely are not out of it. There's no majority powerful enough to have a government, the far right is far from weak and the election strengthened the right wing of the reformists who will definitely side with macron because of republicanism while having being elected on a anti macron platform. This is not the end, far from it.
What’s even worse is the folks who insist we can push Biden left (Natalie 😒) well how well did that work in 2020? My cynical self is I’m voting for lack of good options but I’m pretty much going to behave like I didn’t vote for him and bully the hell out of Biden and whoever answers the phones for comments (there’s usually nobody answering the phones just an answering machine). I vote for Biden while saying “fuck him”
It's worked pretty well, actually. Biden is far more progressive than anyone thought he would be. And he was very obviously pushed to the left on the Gaza situation. Everyone goes off about how he initially seemed to support Israel, but ignores what went on since. They ignore that Biden is the president who is the most anti-Israel of any other president we've ever had. He's for a two state solution. He has gone against Netanyahu many times, doing his best to stop him from continued attacks and working on a cease fire and peace. I count myself as at least a progressive. And honestly probably further left, as I hate capitalism. I am anti-corporate. I'm pro-union. I'm not for a socialist revolution, but I am for Democratic Socialism. I think greed is literally evil, and would love it if we passed laws limiting how much money any person could make. But I can't help but notice that a lot of people on my side seem unwilling to acknowledge the wins. They seem to only focus on the bad, and never the good. Incremental change--the only way we can affect change--gets ignored. They fall so much for the "perfect is the enemy of the good." They freak out at the idea of picking the lesser of two evils, when that's *always* what we've had to do. And will continue to be unless we can change the populace. We're in a democracy. There are racists and bigots and capitalists voting. Anyone who wins an election will have to compromise to some degree with them. They will have to take the US where it currently is on foreign policy, and militarism. There will always be evil, and we will always be picking the lesser of two evils. ----- So, anyways, Biden has been much better than any progressive predicted. He ran more centrist, but then moved to the left. Student loan forgiveness--which he has still done a lot of. The idea that we can push Biden to the left is entirely what happened. But you have to actually look at how he is different from past presidents, not compare him only to an actual progressive. The guy literally wants to make his own New Deal.
This is the furthest left Biden has ever been and it's still not enough because we live in hell. Like you, I'll vote and also keep yelling at them. My vote is not the end of the story. In fact, it makes them directly accountable to me. They SHOULD worry about keeping my vote. The fact that the Dem playbook relies on the GOP being unthinkably awful is itself horrifying. We're in an abusive relationship with Nice Cop & Fascist Cop: you can't actually trust either of them.
This reminds me of something ProZD once did, where he made a joke video about Biden. He’s not anti Biden, hell I’m sure he’ll vote for him, but like…it’s an example of a guy being willing to call someone out while still voting for them. He’s not blindly loyal, but he will almost certainly vote I think.
What was the joke? Because the issue is not about loyalty or whether ProZD would vote for Biden. The issue is whether or not the video would discourage other people from voting for him. Everyone is terrified because Trump is somehow doing very well in the polls. They are afraid of anything that could decrease turnout. They're afraid that younger people will once again sit out. That fewer people will vote than in 2020, when Biden barely won by the numbers. I have no general problems with jokes on Biden. But if you make a joke that aligns with Republican talking points, I'm going to be concerned. That's why Jon Stewart's debut bothered me. It's why his bothsides stuff bothers me. I worry any "both sides" stuff discourages people from showing up to vote against Trump and fascism. I worry it discourages them from voting against project 2025. And I'm very much a progressive. I'm not pro-Biden in the sense of agreeing with him. I'm pro-Biden in the sense of "he's the best of the choices we have" and the belief that it's generally too late for him to drop out. And that I'm anti-Trump and anti-fascist. That means voting for harm reduction--voting in self-defense. And I hope I can use that to inspire people.
@@ZipplyZaneThe fact that you're leaving this comment despite having no idea about the video in question is a big part of the problem. People are very unlikely to find your points "inspiring" when you're not even starting on the same page. /nm
@@ZipplyZaneThe joke was about the presidents response to tragedies being the one, the only, the infamous: “thoughts and prayers” and doing Jack all to fix the underlying issues
@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 That's entirely fair game. That's a policy criticism. Granted, a possible response would be to show he didn't do nothing, or was restricted from acting. But he could still advocate for change. Hence a policy criticism. An example of something not legit: joking about Biden being a pedo. That's a false narrative that some people legitimately believe based on misleading photos and disinformation. Not that I think ProZD would do that. I just wanted an unambiguously negative example.
Another autistic queer woman over here. Listen, hun. It's not you. I've learned this year through family trauma that no matter how clear you are, you cannot reason with the unreasonable. You are always clear. I have watched a ton of your videos. I realize I'm autistic, too, but I've had miscommunication with other neurodivergent people. It's not you. It's that your recipients will always twist the information in their minds and center it around their experiences and comprehension. Quite frankly, it's exhausting to deal with those kinds of people. You can't win or reason with them. I have written 8,000 to 10,000 words trying to reason with a family member and they STILL twisted the truth and reality of events. Don't waste your time. Keep being you and keep being as clear as possible; it will resonate with those who can think beyond themselves.
The title change was already in place before I watched your previous video, but even if it hadn't been, I would have watched before commenting. Also I 100% agree with your statements yesterday. I too am disappointed in Binden (was in 2020, am again in 2024), but will be voting for him because the alternative is so much worse.
2016 happened BECAUSE of years of voting lesser evils. Enough people were willing to roll the dice on Trump - the establishment clearly wasn't doing all they could for the working class, especially after watching Obama fumble the ball on universal health care with a full majority.
Life is about the lesser of two evils. There are no perfect choices. We need to push for better choices. I'm no fan of Biden, but out of the two, he's the better choice. Also, it's not just one vote and it's all good. It's more than that. Videos like this are one way to help push things in a better direction.
@@cambriaofthevastoceans6721 Ok so if they stop funding a war then it's all good? They can do anything else they want and now it's not evil? I agree that needs to be defunded, but other evils can and do happen, so it's still voting for the lesser of two evils, even if that happens.
if it's any comfort, I listened! I was raised ultra-conservative, but slowly meandered left as I listened to the people whose opinions were different (but not too different... scary), and found that actually, my values and ethics aligned with... more and more left. so at a certain point about a year and a half ago I'd be classified as a liberal listening to leftists. now I'm one of us. :) afraid by the time I found you I was already pretty leftist, so I guess I have to say I listened to Abigail Thorn and to leftist activists in my country.
This is exactly how my dad is. He doesn't see anything but his blinding hatred for trump and Republicans and therefore his team is infallible. Shared so many posts and memes about moderate policies and not a single word about Palestine.
If only the US could get MORE THAN TWO PARTIES. I was raised in Texas, it was miserable on like 20 levels, politically, morally, physically, everything. It's frustrating to watch every adult you look up to take a moral stand and FAIL over and over in the face of the awful systems we have in both Texas and the US. I moved north over the course of years and ended up in Canada, and it is so much more relaxing and calm here. The politics are kinda boring and there's no Fox news. Fox News is literally illegal here, there's no "free speech" whining they would get charged for provably lying from a public platform. It's not like there's not problems up here in Canada - racism and housing and everything - but it's the same issues the US has with those. Minus the guns and active lies on TV and media, minus (since I'm in Victoria) almost all the homophobia an transphobia that the South has in such poisonous forms. When I go back to the US I feel this background radiation of anxiety that I realized is and always was there, and all Americans have it, like a trauma. I couldn't even see it or feel it until I left. Like an odor you live with then leave and come back and suddenly become aware of. Honestly I just really like not hearing about gunshots or having to see friends who get sick start Go-Fund-Mes for help. I really wish we could get past capitalism as a species. I love your long-form content btw. Really all your content. I'm so worried for my family and friends back in the US - but I'm not sure you could pay me to move back there after the sweet taste of Canadian relaxation lol
@@seand.g423 Oh I'm in debt and half my current position was pure luck, I admit. I empathize so hard it hurts. It took me having a work from home tech support job that let me move from state to state maintaining employment, having a house-mate to split costs with willing to do this TX-CO-WA series of jumps over the course of 5 years, and the willingness to leave the places where I was comfortable and called home and knew best. I'm so aware it's not a path others can just easily follow. I wish I could make it easier somehow.
@@seand.g423 Also, opinion after living in BC of Alberta - they wish they could be the "Texas" of Canada, but they're a lot more like Montana. The bad infrastructure, open distant spaces, lifestyle and attitudes etc - I had grandparents in Montana. Not really much in common with Texas other than they have a little bit of oil and a lot of racism. It's funny in Victoria when you're following an aggressive truck often you find they have Alberta plates.
I rly appreciate your videos being longer & understandable. Im also on the autistic & adhd spectrum, so i get unfathomably stressed when people don’t understand me. & i CONSTANTLY experience exactly this! Liberals or people who identify with the democratic party (which i used to bc i too was uneducated about politics) DO NOT LISTEN to anything leftists say. I myself a leftist am so angry at this. The institution of government in america conditions these people to filter what we say in one ear & right out the other. I was trying to explain why project 2025 banning gay porn is a bad thing to 1 of my liberal friends who doesnt seem to understand the systematic oppression & government sabotage of the lgbt+ community. I felt so frustrated & i typed a long paragraph to which she didnt respond & i fear she may be upset with me or think i’m overreacting, but i’m genuinly afraid for my right to exist as a queer person!!
I have seen liberals genuinely burn entire friend circles because they couldn't be bothered to listen to others explain that just voting once every four years is not enough at this point, even when it's reiterated time and time again by the people around them that they are still advocating TO VOTE while rightfully criticizing the landscape we are in right now. It is genuinely scary how many people in this country will just follow unwavering behind whatever random person they are pointed at by their team
I feel you in my soul, Jessie. Thank you for speaking out. I haven’t watched the video, but I’ve been struggling with voting for him as a progressive/leftist, too.
People who actually watch your videos know you are not just passionate and empathetic, but also very pragmatic and logical. A couple people with their own anxieties won't change that, and maybe they'll even come back around some day. Thank you for being such an honest and open creator who helps so many feel like we are not idealogically or mentally alone, especially when it comes to just trying to enjoy life and art in the face of all the isms.
Jessie! You are doing good work putting your well-articulated and heartfelt arguments out there. You are being honest and vulnerable and brave. Don't listen to those bad-faith commentors. They are just trolls. They're losers.
For what it's worth, I'm watching the longer video now and the top comments by default all seem to be supportive of your message. I understand that it's different being the creator, because you see ALL the comments, but I hope it helps to know that they seemed to be drowned out - at least to those of us who didn't jump in the comments early.
I liked the video you made yesterday. You laid out your points very well. I was going to comment... but made the mistake of reading the comments first, and the ones near the top completely missed the point. I'm sorry you had to deal with so many people being ignorant and hurtful.
Got into an argument recently with a Biden supporter wherein I had to state EXPLICITLY like 3+ times that I WAS going to vote for him despite my numerous ethical and strategic problems with him. I was expressing a similar sentiment to Jessie - Biden is the lesser evil, but he's the figurehead of a cruel institution and his administration has made several strategic blunders that I think are going to hurt our chances of beating Trump in November. The other commenter just... pretended I wasn't going to vote for him. Straight up did not read a damn thing I said, wasted their fucking time yelling at someone to vote for the candidate they were already going to vote for.
"Team sports mindset" is pretty much my biggest problem with all strains of liberals. Even the way they discuss politics, like it's a horse race or a football game, utterly bewilders me. I can point to bigger specific moral failings, sure, but I think it all stems from that.
This is why we call it Blue MAGA. You can say you're going to vote Biden, scream it from the top of the mountains, even, but if you're not going out of your way to cheerlead and endorse, somehow that makes you a Trump supporter. Voting is a tool. To expect voters to cheerlead and do the campaigning for your guy is ludicrous. Having volunteered in presidential campaigns myself, I can say there's a world of difference between a vote and a concerted effort to convince others to vote. I could never campaign for Biden. My conscience and my own personal ethics would not stand for it. I will vote for him (presuming he's alive by then and the nominee), but do not ever ask me to do his job, which is to convince the American people of his fitness for President. That shit is his job. If you support him wholeheartedly, then volunteer for his campaign and make that shit YOUR job. But I will tell you. I didn't help Obama get re-elected in 2012 by browbeating my neighbors whenever I canvassed. I made the case for him. I told them of his policies. His record. I can't do that convincingly for Biden. That in no way means I'm carrying water for Trump or causing some kind of "Ooops! All Fascists!" in November.
I’m with you on this. I’m looking forward to watching your other video. I’m pleased that you are voting for Joe, even if you’re not thrilled. Every POTUS election I remember people have complained about the choices - going back to Humphrey-Nixon for me. And every election since. Sometimes it’s a very tough call.
I have the exact same anxiety around being misunderstood and would talk for longer and longer in arguments with my partner (also autistic) because of it. We eventually found out that the less I spoke the more understood I was generally because I wasnt overloading them with information. But that requires the listener to be doing so in good faith in the 1st place! Still, if they dont care either way there's no point going on for longer
3:40 also, there’s literally a study out showing that centrist trying to appease fascists in Europe just got them more fascist and the fascists gained power
Yep. ‘Centrists’ ultimately support fascism. Centrism cannot exist, not truly - e.g. “let’s compromise” is not a reasonable solution when it comes to human rights
You have to also consider how many of those comments are probably bots. A lot of the internet since LLMs are just flat out bots, but better now because they are better at language.
You're exactly right. And furthermore I think it hurts our chances every time we try to pretend that his flaws aren't there. The people who are, for some incomprehensible reason, undecided, notice when people on our side are disingenuously ignoring his flaws. That creates distrust that could cost us everything. My husband and I are moving to Canada as soon as possible. We've been working on that process for a while and it just seems to be taking forever, but we'll get there. It's pretty clear where this is all going. Just look at Germany in the mid 1930s and the parallels are undeniable.
@seand.g423 My husband is from there and his family is all still there, so it's probably going to be easier for us than most people. And it will be nice to be closer to them. The only reason we aren't there already is we're still working on his dual citizenship. Mine was a breeze - Canadian immigration process and policy is just way, way easier. Our original plan was to live in the US since that's where it made sense for both of us to be career-wise. But I decided to ditch than plan because of the 1300+ anti-LGBTQ bills just in the past 3 years. And America becoming a Christian theocracy. And the disproportionately skyrocketing cost of living. And the fact that in January, we will probably end up with a fascist president with the powers of a king. Canada has its own problems, but they are nothing compared to the right wing shit show going on here.
@@seand.g423 There is a lot we're going to miss, like living in the Rocky Mountains and being a short walk from some of the most beautiful places on Earth. But nothing that's worth dying for. At least, not to me. To me, the only things worth dying for are the people (and dogs) that I love. Those who are brave enough to stay and face what is probably coming....they have my respect and admiration.
I've had multiple conversations with liberals just this week where my remark that I'll be voting for Biden (even though he's so far to my right) is met with "you're supporting Trump because you're not voting for Biden." Or worse. It's beyond exhausting. (Flashes of the BBC editing letters of complaint regarding their transphobic reporting to make it look like the complaint was something it explicitly was not.)
Very relatable, as a marginal autist with severe PTSD, it’s hard to advocate or even express anything when getting dragged by scared people who don’t listen. I’ve been pilloried by some liberal groups over their projections upon me of positions that bear little resemblance to my actual ones. There’s a lot of “horseshoe logic” that anything too far left scares them so rather than examine it they instead lump it in with far right ideas where there is no real equivalency. As famous liberal George W. Bush (lol) so eloquently put it - you’re either with us, or with the terrorists. Nuance!
People reacting only to the headline is one of my biggest frustrations with online culture. I understand the emotional reaction that can happen when you see something you may disagree with but a title only tells you so much, and often the rest of the story or video will diffuse that first emotional reaction when you get the nuance of the full story. There unfortunately seems to be a large contingent of people who refuse to move beyond that first impulse. Even when others provide them with the rest of the story in the comments, some people will refuse to accept new information, and they defend their refusal to read or watch the full story because they believe everything should be able to be condensed into a few words in a headline. It’s maddening.
I’m autistic and gender fluid and pansexual with an autistic trans daughter and 2 autistic toddlers… I want desperately to be able to stick it out and wait for voting helps things to get better, but I’m pretty sure that it’s gonna get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better… and most countries won’t let autistic people immigrate because we’re seen as a burden. And the countries who are ok with autistic people will still jail you for speaking out against assorted genocides.
I never thought for a second that you would not vote for Biden. At the same time I couldn’t watch that video, nor could I watch the “We’re Screwed” Legal Eagle video after the SCOTUS ruling. The prospect of a Trump win is just too scary and painful. I need to focus on hope and actions (and long-stretch expatriation contingency plans or I will go crazy and not be able to function in my day-to-day.
The feeling that I get more and more is that a certain degree of „avoid dictatorship at all cost“ and just looking at totalitarianism as problem glosses over so many (more nuanced problems. That come from demoratically legitimate, elected governments making decisions that are oppressive, that are racist, that are abelist, etc. can’t be bad because it comes from a democratically elected govt. Just for one example, the anti abortion politics happenening in the US. Because if this would be in *put strawman country here* just think about the fingerprinting that would be happening. Other example from here in Germany. Yes they are totally right to point out the alt rightness of AFD. But when our chancellor then begins to repeat their rhetorics about migration and „re migration“ that is a red flag
I imagine it was before the title change (that I didn't know happened before I watched it last night)? The most common complaint I saw was people questioning if it really is harm reduction. Which if we were talking 2016 Trump I could understand the question. It'd still be worse, as for all the things Biden has done wrong that are bad, with the passiveness on g e n o c i d e being the worst, many, many policy positions have been good. We aren't talking about 2016 Trump though, and we aren't talking about pre-Trump republicans. The Idea of him getting a second shot is insane and terrifying. My household has at least two people who are about to have thier existence legislated against if Trump wins. To broaden the topic, if you think Biden has been bad on Gaza, then wait till Trump gets in. So I'm glad you made the video, and it's disappointing some people weren't actually watching it. At least it seems most of the people not watching it were gonna vote for him anyway, and the people who are gonna unsub clearly don't watch either, so F them.
I am sorry that you have had that experience. Of course you are 100% correct. I wish I knew of a way to explain it to someone who hasn't experienced it. But I don't think they would believe me. It is the "Outside Context" problem, yeah? Except also it isn't. Not for everybody. There are some who *do* know that it is wrong and resist. And then there are others who *do* know that it is wrong-- and yet they carry on with it anyway. Now that you know how it is, let's agree: we shouldn't let it stay that way.
Watched your video last night and thought it was great. You made your points clearly and passionately and I feel like I got a better understanding of where you stand on all this election. Without wanting to excuse the people who clearly did not watch the video and assumed you were not voting for Biden, I think it's worth considering that there are a lot of people who are deathly scared at what a second Trump presidency will do not only to America but internationally. And those people (myself included) have seen a lot of people choosing not to vote or voting for a third party which frustratingly under the electoral system actively helps the worse side. I also hold the view of harm reduction, rather strongly and it is deeply frustrating to see a growing sentiment of fellow left-leaning voters choosing not to place their vote where it can have the most impact at reducing said harm even if their position is somewhat understandable. I think it is probably wrong for people to assume anyone's views and voting intentions based on patterns of traits of how other people plan to vote, but it's an understandable one that we are all probably guilty of. I am glad that you changed the title of your video because I think being clear and concise is important, and I think stating that you will vote for Biden in your video will make more people want to hear your thoughts and reasoning on both sides of the argument. I think ultimately it's good to remember that people are genuinely scared about this impending future and that makes people emotionally charged in how they write and what they say to others but also that being misunderstood and accused of holding views and values that you do not really hurts.
Yeah, I'm just straight up terrified about what's going to happen in November; it's hard not to be bitter about what's going on and scared that all this talk (as true as it is, I can't stand Biden and think he should drop out) is going to pave the way for undecided voters to just let fascism in the door.
Sorry to hear about that, wish I eas surprised. I will admit that I started writing my response to that video before it finished (as I often do, I feel the compulsion to get my thoughts out, lest I lose them), but I did get your point and did watch through the whole thing. Again, sorry this happens.
the team sports mindset is exactly it. you have to be all-in on the two-party system or else you might realize there are other political possibilities! lmao
I’m glad you make this point. However I’m seeing leftists like Luxander going “my vote doesn’t matter cause I’m in a red state, so why would I vote for someone I don’t like?” It’s not about approval of the guy. It’s about harm reduction like you say in this video. I hate the current two party system caused by the first past the post system of electoral politics. I hope that Biden stays in office just so that we don’t have Trump can’t make the US a one party dictatorship after that we can focus our attention on fixing this country until the next election. We have to do so in a pragmatic way instead of throwing our arms in the air saying “our vote doesn’t matter so why perpetuate this system this year?” I’m gonna hold my nose while I vote for the prevention of a dictatorship so that we can get better people on the bench in SCOTUS
@Lady_Merlin_ but, that hasn't helped us in the past has it? I mean, who gave us thomas? The current pres, did that by blocking victim testimony against him
@@cambriaofthevastoceans6721 I agree but this is the hand we have been dealt. We need to get through this election so we can continue to push for change and to see Thomas removed.
@@cambriaofthevastoceans6721 the system is flawed but a full revolution isn’t feasible at this moment. We lack popularity and would be fighting a losing battle. I hate the current electoral system but we don’t have the power to overhaul it let alone remove it. It sucks. I want change. But there is only so much we can do right now.
"If you want to vote for Bad Things, that's a Unquie Viewpoint and should be respected. If you want to vote for Good Things, you should know better! And vote for bad things in the hope it with even out into just mediocre things."
As an aging boomer, I can confirm you are right! I find my peer group is in a silo only listening to cable news and only talking to each other. That’s why I purposely follow Gen Z , Gen Y UA-camrs on the left . I want to listen more than talk at this age.
There's definitely a lot of leftists in your generations. I actually would love to find older leftist UA-camrs to follow
@@anyalazor7978 It's less likely to find a leftist Boomer who is a UA-camr. Please don't take that as anything negative so much as generational. I notice millennials and younger increasingly engaging on places like UA-cam. But Boomer leftists, in general, aren't on UA-cam so much, aside for maybe recorded talks and lectures and the like. I'm in teacher education (so a name you might like to look up is Peter McLaren in my field, see also Michael Apple, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Carol Lee), but again, the UA-camr-type commentary is something I see more in Gen Z and Millennials than in Gen X (my generation) and Boomer. Someone like McLaren is basically going to be recordings of lectures or recordings of interviews. The reasons are complex. For example, I record lots of videos for my students and sometimes think of starting a channel but the risk involved to a career is real. And being a UA-camr is time-consuming. It takes a type of skill that needs to be cultivated and honed over time. If UA-cam had been around during the heyday of Carl Sagan I can picture him doing UA-cam along with so many other things, but he also paid a price for his public outreach efforts. By the time UA-cam became what it is now, many Gen X and Boomer left leaning types were so set in a career path that UA-cam represents something that is a major career risk, plus the skills just had not been cultivated. I know for instance there are certain skills Jessie has that I would not possess, it would have taken a skilled UA-camr like Jessie years to hone practices that I would have to learn from scratch.
@@anyalazor7978 There are tons of millennials. Sara (TheFatCultureCritic) I *think* is GenX?
She is certainly *not* on the right or middle (she did a video explaining why she doesn't use the label anymore despite still putting in work for "The Left™" so I'm trying to explain using her preferences as much as possible.)
She has some amazing insights on body image - currently and through history - and a *very* unique, personal experience that gives her perspectives about what's happening in the Middle East *incredibly* enlightening.
While I personally don't consider her "older" there's definitely a gap between alpha and z so you might find that appealing.
Regardless of her age, I still think she's worth checking out for the other reasons I listed.
@Trekfanwanda well if you are tired of listening to people just talk and do absolutely nothing then leftists are just as useless as MAGAts. I compare those two extremes to flat earthers since they’re so detached from reality and refuse to accept that all they do is talk/lie and push propaganda with one side stating America bad no matter what and the other side saying America is great no matter what but was once paradise that it never was.
Oh that's cool. Good job mate!
I've always had criticisms about Biden, but his stubbornness in refusing to step aside and let a younger candidate run, while shrugging in indifference at the possibility of losing, has made me ACTUALLY ANGRY.
Biden has no skin in the game. He's one of the few who doesn't feel the Sword of Damocles that is the far-right hanging over his head.
And why should he? He's not a woman. He's not an immigrant. He's not BIPOC. He's not gay. He's not trans. He's not doing this "For the Future of America", the man's 81 years old, he doesn't CARE about the future.
You can't convince me he's doing this out of empathy, because if he could empathize he'd get out of everyone else's way!
So yeah, I'm going to vote for Biden, and he's going to lose anyway, and he'll lose nothing and we'll lose everything.
If Joe Biden loses and Trump becomes a dictator he’d be the first person he sends to jail, what do you mean he “has no skin in the game”
An issue that makes that conversation difficult is that in 2016, the center of the Democratic party pushed him aside saying that he got no chance to win, and favored Hilary Clinton by pointing at some polls where she was scoring 9% higher than Biden. You know how that one turned out!
So a lot of the people who are asking him to step aside within the DNC? Like not you or me, but Pelosi and a few others... Well, Biden already has beef with a lot of these people due to 2016. He might see how they act as the same kind of thinking errors that brought Trump.
Than there are some IR issues where Netanyahu (or is it another world leader) is in the USA. So he might want to delay for that alone.
As far as I'm concerned, I also have anger towards that party. They are in an election, important elements of a democracy are at play, and they are having tea in the dinning room and discussions about if Joe Clark can win the election. (No he can't...)
What I want to see is some strong commitments against Trump and an all-hand on deck approach. Right now, the commitment seems more toward an internal party war going nowhere.
I don't really care who is the leader, but a choice needs to be made and some commitment needs to follow.
Here from the future to say WELLLLLLLLLLP
Putting politics aside, why would anyone want a President on the political spectrum that cannot be held accountable for their actions? That's a dictatorship waiting to happen.
It's the same people who think they'd do well during an apocalypse. They watch things like the Walking Dead and think "I'd do so much better than those losers." Or think that, if they'd only been born 500 years ago, they'd definitely be one of the very, very few aristocratic people and not one of the many, many downtrodden serfs. They want the dictatorship to happen because they think he'll be on their side. What they don't realise, of course, is that dictators are almost never on the side of anyone but themselves. (I say "almost" because there is the theoretical concept of a benevolent dictator which I think might have happened once.)
For the record, I think I probably would do alright, initially, in a disaster situation, mostly trying to help others, but I doubt I'd make it very long without support of everyone else.
That’s not “putting politics aside.” It seems like you’re assuming that everyone is in agreement that dictatorship is inherently bad at the conceptual level. But if there’s any lesson to learn from the past several years, it’s that a huge contingent of people do not care how they get what they want, as long as they get it. They act like they have serious principles, but it’s just a pretense. Bad things are only bad when the other guy does them - when our guy does them, they’re fine. Their only real principle is power.
So they don’t see a dictatorship as a bad thing. It’d only be bad if their opponents were the dictators.
(Insert comment on the great man theory of history)
@@StarkRGironically, the man who popularized the term Dictator, Julius Caesar, was one of the few benevolent dictators in history.
Popular land reforms that benefits the people, kept his soldiers well fed and loyal through praise, was relatively good to the outlier provinces, and even forgave his enemies who had revolted from rome and granted them amnesty.
Did he lie, cheat, and bribe his way into that position? Oh most definitely. But he was a wise and even handed, if ego centric, ruler. Then his 'friends' killed him for being a dictator.
And then they got Octavian the murder tyrant. Who one could argue became a benevolent dictator.... Buuuut he did slaughter way too many people to get there
The Right supports dictatorship
"The Liberal is a curious creature: ten degrees to the left of center on a good day, and ten degrees to the right of center when it affects them personally."
-Phil Ochs.
What do we want?
_Incremental change_
When do we want it?
_In due course_
PHIL OCHS PHIL OCHS PHIL OCHS PHIL OCHS PHIL OCHS
It is depressing how accurate Love Me, I'm a Liberal still is
@@GSBarlev "Everything within the fullness of time," which is another way of saying, "Never."
Liberals are not left of center. That is just how Americans think of them.
A lack of criticism of the powerful isn't good for anyone. Like them or not, but no one is above criticism.
Yeah, this, people should be more comfortable criticizing their candidates, even if they were good ones, because that also helps presidents to know what the people ask and want from them.
Otherwise they’ll think that they’re doing everything right or won’t know what to do to make things better (in the improbable case that they cared one bit, that is)
Nooooooo, we can't criticize the candidates. What if that leads us to the realisation that the system is rife with protections _against_ democracy.
No one is saying that. Just postpone the negativity until after the damn election. That's all we're asking for. Calling him "Genocide Joe" when he is only doing what every President since the founding of modern Israel has done only gets Trump elected again. Don't worry though, you and Jessie can criticize Joe all you want at one of Trump's gender affirmation camps. This is the shit that 2025 and beyond will look like if Biden doesn't win. Save it until Biden wins.
"We're not rooting for Vegeta, we're rooting against Cell."
~Piccolo
Liberals: "Politics is about compromise!"
Leftists: "Then compromise with the left wing."
Liberals: "Heavens, no! We meant compromise with bigots!"
Well said
Im autistic too. I can totally relate to the fear of being misunderstood. I tend to speak in a very verbose way as a coping method to prevent misunderstanding.
Same. And people still misunderstand me quite often...
WAIT HELLO THAT IS A THING? I THOUGHT I JUST DO IT ALL THE TIME BECAUSE I'M SO SICK OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD
@@NatalieRath Its a thing for me. I don't necessarily think its something every autistic person does. I just personally related to the sentiment that Jessie was expressing. Ive also noticed that when I write, I tend to over-explain things, which is why a lot of my YT comments are paragraphs long.
There are pros and cons to this approach to communication. Ive been told that I sometimes come off as patronizing when that is not my intention. However, I think the benefits of accurately expressing myself outlay they downside of being perceived negatively in some circumstances.
As a kid, I was misunderstood a lot. I learned most of what I know about social skills through trial and error. I sometimes still cringe about dumb or weird things I said as a kid that I didn't understand were seen as odd. Embarrassment is a form of social incentive which generally affects how people act. Most people don't enjoy being seen as embarrassing so once they become aware that others look down at them for acting weird they change their behavior. In some ways this is beneficial since this prevents people from acting in some genuinely harmful ways. However, I do think there are many social norms which are arbitrary and unnecessary.
Last month I went to a local Pride event. While there I was able to hang out with a couple people who were both queer and neurodivergent like me. I rather enjoyed the experience because I wasn't required to perform some of the unnecessary social roles that neurotypical people often require. If possible, I would recommend other neurodivergent people should seek out people like them. I found the experience... refreshing.
I don't think it's an autistic thing. I think it's a 'other people being ignorant' thing
I have a difficult time finding the correct format for sharing information verbally. I either make brief factual statements without enough context or long informational reports that provide too much information. Then the information recipient either thinks I am being a snippy jerk or a know-it-all jerk because my speech pattern is rather monotonal. And somehow, people still manage to think I am saying something different from what was just stated. It's exhausting. I prefer the typed message for information delivery as I can read the message, decide if it needs more or less information, then adjust several times before conveying.
We've gotten to the point where the bar is so low, "not actively working to dismantle society" is considered an acceptable level for a president.
"Your not being an adult about this" is such a childish thing to say to someone criticising a politician. Apparently, being an adult is taking everything lying down and never calling shit out. Very telling
I'm Australian and our local conservative party is called the Liberal party, which confuses a lot of people. Abigail's video series on what was liberalilsm really helped me understand a lot of this. Liberalism was a political response by conservatives to the Left and to Socialism. Its modern decendants in Neo-Liberalism are a conservative political economy framework which was introduced by Thatcher and, Reagan. In New Zealand and Australia the economic transformation to Neo-Liberalism was led by our Labour parties, it was a much saner and kinder set of policies but it was economics inspired by liberalism all the same.
The modern Democrat party are Neo-Liberals who pay lip service to some leftist causes and throw some progressive social policy crumbs to voters but mostly all the do is just be less evil than their opponents. The political center in the english speaking world is Neo-Liberalism, ignoring the left is its primary job. Our media spends a lot of effort keeping the Overton window in a place where it looks like modern Democrats / Labour parties are the left when they are really the centre so that's all the choice we are allowed to have.
I only (comparatively) recently learnt that there was a difference between a leftist and a liberal, and it's completely explained why I've had so many issues talking to certain folks about politics. I thought we were on the same page, but they were liberals and I'm apparently actually a leftist.
Relatedly: What is this video series by "Abigail"? I tried searching, but a video title or their specific username would be really helpful!
@@kashiichan Abigail Thorn's youtube channel is Philosophy Tube. The series on "what was liberalism?" is older work and she looked very different back then but its still great stuff. You can also find her work on Nebula.
Well said. I'm gutted that my country (NZ) voted right-wing last year. Labour wasn't great, but every decent decision they did make is being undone.
@@susanleslie6178 yeah, I grew up in NZ. Labour were pretty bad with some hope they might get better, I expect losing the election will shift them right again.
Them acting like the primary was meaningful is also pissing me off.
As an autistic bro I know what its like the compulsive need to be understood and considered valid. It hurts especially when people dismiss your opinion as too complex as though the amount of thought you put into it somehow made it less valid.
omg i feel that second part. I specifically get asked a question at family get togethers and three words in my parents or sisters will tell me to shut up, spout an egregiously wrong but snappy soundbite, and then glare at me as if im the one who fucked up.
This happens to me too. It's so extremely stressful for people to not listen or understand us, then accuse us of being confused or lesser because they don't get it. They will admit their confusion, then get angry at us for being honest in ways they just bottle up but we're forced to process.
Blue-Anon were out in full force in that comment section.
I like to watch their heads explode when they accuse me of being a Trump supporter so I say “yeah you’re probably right- I mean Biden won’t shift policy to court my vote anyway, so I guess you have no choice but to hold hands with Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney instead- really stick it to those Leftists for trying to have standards when we elect someone”
Vote Blue No Matter Who (except Bernie, never Bernie, we only want to make sure Leftists fall in line)
"Blue-Anon" is such a perfect term.
phantasm
@@peraltarockets Blue-Maga is better.
You aren't alone in this. Not in the exhaustion, the frustration, rage, helplessness, irritation or despair. You were perfectly clear, and you were understood.
Probably even by many of the people using thought-stopping phrases in a bad faith attempt to compel your enthusiastic consent to the current gerontological catastrophe. High-control groups don't like dissenting voices, as you know.
Keep up the endless awesome that is you.
It's like you said, the cult of personality in US politics is insane. Legit they feel their candidate is untouchable, cannot be criticized and that is scary when it comes to politicians.
Comments like this have got me thinking, and I'm wondering how much of this is an exposure thing. I see this kind of comment online occasionally, but mostly from Democratic pundits like the Pod Save America crowd. In person, I have literally never spoken to anyone who acts like Biden is a perfect person or candidate. I definitely preferred other candidates in 2020. It's just like...most would happily take him over the guy who tried to soft launch his own unconstitutional dictatorship. It's just not an equivalent comparison.
And like, politically, I kind of get that approach, and with the PSA people, they created their whole thing to try to rival the media cult created on the right and/or conservatives over the past several decades. Right-wing media is really powerful, and Dems don't have much to counter it. Matching those tactics, I think, feels repugnant for leftists who don't want to just switch to "oligarchy, but with a blue tie." But I literally don't know how to elect leaders without that apparatus. Find the best most principled left-wing candidate, and they just don't get elected. The vast majority of voters tend to vote on vibes or else are single-issue, and I think campaigns have made the calculation that they're safer trying to win over lots of moderates than worry about offending a smaller number of principled voters. It's gross, but I don't know what the alternative is either. 🤷
I'm with you 100% on this. I am no fan of Joe Biden either, but I'm less of a fan of the 2025 Project. I look at it like this, I can count on one hand the number of times my vote was not damage control. It always comes down to a choice between the lesser of two evils.
I'm sorry that too many people can't see how reasonable your position is. We neither want nor need a Trump Blue. What we want, what we need, is hope that this darkness won't be the last thing we see.
Yep, just as there is "reading comprehension," there's "watching comprehension," which doesn't work at all if people don't watch the video!
I honestly wonder if this isn't due to youtube shorts, at least in part. Even ten-minute videos are treated like long-form content now
You can put it on red neon lights and you will still misinterpret you. There will always be someone out there who will be convinced that 1 x 1 = 2
And of course there's always willfull ignorance when they need it. It's easier that way, especially when the problems haven't made it to your door yet.
1x1=2. I know my Terryology.
@@ed6705 Terry will be vindicated! No, wait, the opposite of that. Dude got pissed off in 4th grade, presumably because his math teacher was probably really bad at teaching math, and he based his entire personality off of that one interaction.
@@StarkRGgive a sneak peak of geometry to give someone a clear understanding of how 1 • 1 = 1
1 is just one
1• 1 is 1 square bit
1• 1 • 1 is one cube unit
it's still the same product value each time, but at different dimensions
If liberals could listen they wouldn't be liberals.
As a liberal, I feel greatly misunderstood when I read comments like this.
So what do we do about them?
@@wilywonkyYou're not misunderstood, you're contributing to the problem. The ideals you believe in exist to make sure nothing fundamentally changes. I'm sorry, but we're not gonna coddle you about this. Too much has been lost already in the name of this cult. Be better.
@@juliagoetia Which cult? And which problem am I contributing to? And what are my ideals?
@@wilywonkycapitalism.
I watched yesterday's video in its entirety and thought you were completely clear, I wonder how many comments were made by bots triggered by keyword; likewise, too many people mimic the language they see made from the bots... You're clearly deeply emotionally invested; and as such sharing what you did is good for others to relate with. For those that didn't watch yesterday's video then it is their loss.
There is so much justifiable anger and fear right now and it is not conducive to listening to each other. I'm so tired of liberals telling me I'm helping Trump by criticizing Biden, and I'm so tired of leftists telling me that I'm a boot-licking shill (or worse) for still wanting people to vote for Biden.
What leftists aren't grudgingly voting for biden?
Blue MAGA is so much more frustrating to me than red MAGA...at least red MAGA is upfront about their bigotry.
This is such an unserious position.
Who is MAGA being bigots to?
This title and your sentiments are everything I feel whenever I talk to my dad about politics and how he damns leftists for the all the problem is the US. And we're Canadians.
On a positive note, I finally saw IDENTITEAZE. Loved it 👍💙
A tale as old as time.
Song as old as rhyme. Libs feed us to beasts.
@CasualFox12495 Scrath a lib and a 17th century prince who was turned into a beast by a witch bleeds
Nuance has been lost in the age of quick information. No one wants to listen long enough to understand that most situations aren't black and white. I commend you for having the strength to keep trying to get through to people.
And yet they'll still tell _us_ that "nothing's black and white" and to "always listen to both sides"...
Then again, they also love the old cliche about "you made this bed, now lie in it", so... 🤷♂️
I would say that in team sports there's actually more charitability to be found. Among supporters of a team, it's understood that criticism of the team is given with the intent of making the team better. For example, Arsenal just finished second in the English Premier League for the second year in a row. If I go into an Arsenal online space and grouse about our tactics or lineup or coach or any other problem within the club, no one in that space is going to accuse me of being a Tottenham supporter (Tottenham being Arsenal's main rival).
Honestly, it's more like pro wrestling fans that fully believe kayfabe (the "story" being told by the performers) than anything else. The exhortation to "vote harder" is exactly analogous to the idea that, if the fans cheer loudly enough for the Face (the "good guy" wrestler) then he will be able to withstand the attacks of the Heel (the "bad guy" wrestler) and retaliate with a flurry of attacks, culminating in his finishing move and pin for the 1-2-3.
I completely identify with your frustration. Nice clip.
I WATCHED IT!!! AND AGREE..... THERE IS A BLUE MAGA CAMP NOW.
You mean Libertarians? They never were left, just selfish.
Always has been (at least since 2016)
I've been going with BlueAnon.
@@CaseyBlase yep, it's a good way to put it. Politics has really spiraled into this incoherent mess and this is what we're left with, it leads people to absolutely incoherent places in their politics
I've always been like "I get the point of bluemaga, but I don't know if it's quite equivalent" but this year I have to say, they are 100% bluemaga at this point.
And you live in a blue state!!!! You don’t even need to vote for Biden!!! Strategically.
I’m unfortunate enough to be in the U.K., and dealing with a very similar situation as someone who hates Keir Starmer. Like, the “moderates” of his wing will completely ignore that I was delivering leaflets for Labour, have only ever voted Labour, have run as a councillor for Labour! Soon as I mention I hate his reactionary lurch, I instantly get crap about supporting the Tories, how I should basically shut up and get in my lane etc..
You presented the same frustrations I have in an ordered and nuanced argument. While I can believe people would give a knee jerk response, I'm just disappointed they did.
I'm autistic too Jessie. The Anxieties of everything is real. I think at least all of us will vote for Biden. I still think while not the greatest president of all time, he's still better than the tangerine manbaby. Anyone is better than the Tangerine manbaby. Keep strong my friend. I agree with you about neoliberals as well.
Im sry but I think it's just wishful thinking to believe that Biden has a shot to win. The president isn't elected by popular vote, so due to the electoral college, only a handful of undecided voters inside specific swing states will determine the outcome. Unfortunately, with those demographics, things are looking really bad for Biden in the polls. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think he'll step aside & I also don't think he can win. I'm still voting for Biden. But I live in a heavily blue state, so my vote for president doesn't matter.
I’m not voting in general. I’m not registered to vote. Though if I would vote, it would be 3rd party.
@@aaronkelly1762Register to vote! Please! As somebody who's not American but still has to live in a society impacted by this election result, I envy your ability to actually have a say at all. Do _not_ waste this opportunity!
I got you Jessie. I’m sorry you have to put up with this BS. Like I said before, liberals are just as relentless as Trump supporters. You’d think because they don’t like Trump, they wouldn’t want to act like his fans do. But no. In a capitalist system, everyone has to be assholes to each other and stand by their man, despite their major flaws! *Sighs* You’re not alone on this. *Hugs* 🫶🩷🩷
I think many are scared shitless and worried there will be another 2016 debacle.
I've been reading about the French election and it seems the members of Macron's alliance are favouring allying with LR and the right instead of actually addressing underlying issues France is facing that has led to the rise of the far-right (which would require them to ally with the left). It is a damning condemnation of centrism & liberalism.
Here in the UK I recently saw an article where Blair is trying to inject himself into this new Labour government by claiming "Starmer needs to tackle immigration to prevent Farage and the right" but that again totally misunderstands the issues and plays into the right.
Honestly, liberals I feel like are increasingly as dogmatic about Biden as Trumpers are about Trump, and it's scary.
Problem is, they've declared the monopoly on _reason,_ while the proto-Trumpers were declaring the monopoly on the _country..._
Ratchet system in the US. :(
I'm glad France managed to get out of it. We didn't in the UK, so even the 400% Green MPs and less votes overall for Starmer than Jeremy's 'massive loss' (according to the Thatcherite centre-right) in 2019 feels like such a minor thing.
Is France "out of it?" I'm not exactly an expert in what's going on, but the latest I saw is that Macron is essentially refusing to acknowledge that the center _lost,_ and the only thing that saved the country from falling to Le Pen and Bardella was the left and center-left working together.
We absolutely are not out of it. There's no majority powerful enough to have a government, the far right is far from weak and the election strengthened the right wing of the reformists who will definitely side with macron because of republicanism while having being elected on a anti macron platform.
This is not the end, far from it.
What’s even worse is the folks who insist we can push Biden left (Natalie 😒) well how well did that work in 2020?
My cynical self is I’m voting for lack of good options but I’m pretty much going to behave like I didn’t vote for him and bully the hell out of Biden and whoever answers the phones for comments (there’s usually nobody answering the phones just an answering machine). I vote for Biden while saying “fuck him”
It's worked pretty well, actually. Biden is far more progressive than anyone thought he would be. And he was very obviously pushed to the left on the Gaza situation. Everyone goes off about how he initially seemed to support Israel, but ignores what went on since. They ignore that Biden is the president who is the most anti-Israel of any other president we've ever had. He's for a two state solution. He has gone against Netanyahu many times, doing his best to stop him from continued attacks and working on a cease fire and peace.
I count myself as at least a progressive. And honestly probably further left, as I hate capitalism. I am anti-corporate. I'm pro-union. I'm not for a socialist revolution, but I am for Democratic Socialism. I think greed is literally evil, and would love it if we passed laws limiting how much money any person could make.
But I can't help but notice that a lot of people on my side seem unwilling to acknowledge the wins. They seem to only focus on the bad, and never the good. Incremental change--the only way we can affect change--gets ignored. They fall so much for the "perfect is the enemy of the good."
They freak out at the idea of picking the lesser of two evils, when that's *always* what we've had to do. And will continue to be unless we can change the populace. We're in a democracy. There are racists and bigots and capitalists voting. Anyone who wins an election will have to compromise to some degree with them. They will have to take the US where it currently is on foreign policy, and militarism.
There will always be evil, and we will always be picking the lesser of two evils.
-----
So, anyways, Biden has been much better than any progressive predicted. He ran more centrist, but then moved to the left. Student loan forgiveness--which he has still done a lot of.
The idea that we can push Biden to the left is entirely what happened. But you have to actually look at how he is different from past presidents, not compare him only to an actual progressive.
The guy literally wants to make his own New Deal.
This is the furthest left Biden has ever been and it's still not enough because we live in hell. Like you, I'll vote and also keep yelling at them. My vote is not the end of the story. In fact, it makes them directly accountable to me. They SHOULD worry about keeping my vote. The fact that the Dem playbook relies on the GOP being unthinkably awful is itself horrifying. We're in an abusive relationship with Nice Cop & Fascist Cop: you can't actually trust either of them.
This reminds me of something ProZD once did, where he made a joke video about Biden. He’s not anti Biden, hell I’m sure he’ll vote for him, but like…it’s an example of a guy being willing to call someone out while still voting for them.
He’s not blindly loyal, but he will almost certainly vote I think.
What was the joke? Because the issue is not about loyalty or whether ProZD would vote for Biden. The issue is whether or not the video would discourage other people from voting for him.
Everyone is terrified because Trump is somehow doing very well in the polls. They are afraid of anything that could decrease turnout. They're afraid that younger people will once again sit out. That fewer people will vote than in 2020, when Biden barely won by the numbers.
I have no general problems with jokes on Biden. But if you make a joke that aligns with Republican talking points, I'm going to be concerned. That's why Jon Stewart's debut bothered me. It's why his bothsides stuff bothers me. I worry any "both sides" stuff discourages people from showing up to vote against Trump and fascism. I worry it discourages them from voting against project 2025.
And I'm very much a progressive. I'm not pro-Biden in the sense of agreeing with him. I'm pro-Biden in the sense of "he's the best of the choices we have" and the belief that it's generally too late for him to drop out.
And that I'm anti-Trump and anti-fascist. That means voting for harm reduction--voting in self-defense. And I hope I can use that to inspire people.
@@ZipplyZaneThe fact that you're leaving this comment despite having no idea about the video in question is a big part of the problem. People are very unlikely to find your points "inspiring" when you're not even starting on the same page. /nm
@@ZipplyZaneThe joke was about the presidents response to tragedies being the one, the only, the infamous: “thoughts and prayers” and doing Jack all to fix the underlying issues
@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 That's entirely fair game. That's a policy criticism.
Granted, a possible response would be to show he didn't do nothing, or was restricted from acting. But he could still advocate for change. Hence a policy criticism.
An example of something not legit: joking about Biden being a pedo. That's a false narrative that some people legitimately believe based on misleading photos and disinformation.
Not that I think ProZD would do that. I just wanted an unambiguously negative example.
I'm sorry to hear that a bunch of Warmbos were in your comments.
SMN fan here? Beware the corn cream hehe
Hang in there, Jesse! Your message is not lost on everyone. ✊️❤️🔥
Another autistic queer woman over here. Listen, hun. It's not you. I've learned this year through family trauma that no matter how clear you are, you cannot reason with the unreasonable. You are always clear. I have watched a ton of your videos. I realize I'm autistic, too, but I've had miscommunication with other neurodivergent people. It's not you. It's that your recipients will always twist the information in their minds and center it around their experiences and comprehension.
Quite frankly, it's exhausting to deal with those kinds of people. You can't win or reason with them. I have written 8,000 to 10,000 words trying to reason with a family member and they STILL twisted the truth and reality of events. Don't waste your time. Keep being you and keep being as clear as possible; it will resonate with those who can think beyond themselves.
The title change was already in place before I watched your previous video, but even if it hadn't been, I would have watched before commenting. Also I 100% agree with your statements yesterday. I too am disappointed in Binden (was in 2020, am again in 2024), but will be voting for him because the alternative is so much worse.
I totally agree. I used to say "Lesser of two evils, is still evil" But then 2016 happened..
2016 happened BECAUSE of years of voting lesser evils. Enough people were willing to roll the dice on Trump - the establishment clearly wasn't doing all they could for the working class, especially after watching Obama fumble the ball on universal health care with a full majority.
Life is about the lesser of two evils. There are no perfect choices. We need to push for better choices. I'm no fan of Biden, but out of the two, he's the better choice.
Also, it's not just one vote and it's all good. It's more than that. Videos like this are one way to help push things in a better direction.
I mean, the lesser of two evils is now committing a g-cide. So maybe we should stop doing that and remove the evils, lesser and greater.
@@cambriaofthevastoceans6721 Ok so if they stop funding a war then it's all good? They can do anything else they want and now it's not evil?
I agree that needs to be defunded, but other evils can and do happen, so it's still voting for the lesser of two evils, even if that happens.
@macy1066 "if"? They have had almost a yeat now, and all they have done is obstruct international justice.
Thank you for having the good sense to still vote for harm reduction.
Thank you for making this video Jessie. This is so damn frustrating. Thanks for your great work once again.
The people united will never be defeated!
if it's any comfort, I listened!
I was raised ultra-conservative, but slowly meandered left as I listened to the people whose opinions were different (but not too different... scary), and found that actually, my values and ethics aligned with... more and more left. so at a certain point about a year and a half ago I'd be classified as a liberal listening to leftists. now I'm one of us. :)
afraid by the time I found you I was already pretty leftist, so I guess I have to say I listened to Abigail Thorn and to leftist activists in my country.
It is amazing that after I found out that I was autistic I'm now finding out that a lot of my favorite creators are too! ❤
This is exactly how my dad is. He doesn't see anything but his blinding hatred for trump and Republicans and therefore his team is infallible. Shared so many posts and memes about moderate policies and not a single word about Palestine.
If only the US could get MORE THAN TWO PARTIES. I was raised in Texas, it was miserable on like 20 levels, politically, morally, physically, everything. It's frustrating to watch every adult you look up to take a moral stand and FAIL over and over in the face of the awful systems we have in both Texas and the US. I moved north over the course of years and ended up in Canada, and it is so much more relaxing and calm here. The politics are kinda boring and there's no Fox news. Fox News is literally illegal here, there's no "free speech" whining they would get charged for provably lying from a public platform. It's not like there's not problems up here in Canada - racism and housing and everything - but it's the same issues the US has with those. Minus the guns and active lies on TV and media, minus (since I'm in Victoria) almost all the homophobia an transphobia that the South has in such poisonous forms. When I go back to the US I feel this background radiation of anxiety that I realized is and always was there, and all Americans have it, like a trauma. I couldn't even see it or feel it until I left. Like an odor you live with then leave and come back and suddenly become aware of.
Honestly I just really like not hearing about gunshots or having to see friends who get sick start Go-Fund-Mes for help. I really wish we could get past capitalism as a species.
I love your long-form content btw. Really all your content.
I'm so worried for my family and friends back in the US - but I'm not sure you could pay me to move back there after the sweet taste of Canadian relaxation lol
Unfortunately, most of us stuck down here couldn't even afford _simply the move itself_ to the diet Texas lite off Wish that is Alberta, so...
@@seand.g423 Oh I'm in debt and half my current position was pure luck, I admit. I empathize so hard it hurts. It took me having a work from home tech support job that let me move from state to state maintaining employment, having a house-mate to split costs with willing to do this TX-CO-WA series of jumps over the course of 5 years, and the willingness to leave the places where I was comfortable and called home and knew best. I'm so aware it's not a path others can just easily follow. I wish I could make it easier somehow.
@@seand.g423 Also, opinion after living in BC of Alberta - they wish they could be the "Texas" of Canada, but they're a lot more like Montana. The bad infrastructure, open distant spaces, lifestyle and attitudes etc - I had grandparents in Montana. Not really much in common with Texas other than they have a little bit of oil and a lot of racism. It's funny in Victoria when you're following an aggressive truck often you find they have Alberta plates.
@@ulytia and down here, it's usually _TX_ plates under a _GM_ logo...
I rly appreciate your videos being longer & understandable. Im also on the autistic & adhd spectrum, so i get unfathomably stressed when people don’t understand me. & i CONSTANTLY experience exactly this! Liberals or people who identify with the democratic party (which i used to bc i too was uneducated about politics) DO NOT LISTEN to anything leftists say. I myself a leftist am so angry at this. The institution of government in america conditions these people to filter what we say in one ear & right out the other. I was trying to explain why project 2025 banning gay porn is a bad thing to 1 of my liberal friends who doesnt seem to understand the systematic oppression & government sabotage of the lgbt+ community. I felt so frustrated & i typed a long paragraph to which she didnt respond & i fear she may be upset with me or think i’m overreacting, but i’m genuinly afraid for my right to exist as a queer person!!
I have seen liberals genuinely burn entire friend circles because they couldn't be bothered to listen to others explain that just voting once every four years is not enough at this point, even when it's reiterated time and time again by the people around them that they are still advocating TO VOTE while rightfully criticizing the landscape we are in right now. It is genuinely scary how many people in this country will just follow unwavering behind whatever random person they are pointed at by their team
Biden did seem to care more about his golf game than losing the ejection.
I feel you in my soul, Jessie. Thank you for speaking out. I haven’t watched the video, but I’ve been struggling with voting for him as a progressive/leftist, too.
You shouldn’t even have changed the title. Let them stew in their inanity. Love your work.
what was the original title?
It's not just liberals. Every time I go to a comments section on a video/article/etc. half the comments are responding to the title.
People who actually watch your videos know you are not just passionate and empathetic, but also very pragmatic and logical. A couple people with their own anxieties won't change that, and maybe they'll even come back around some day. Thank you for being such an honest and open creator who helps so many feel like we are not idealogically or mentally alone, especially when it comes to just trying to enjoy life and art in the face of all the isms.
Jessie! You are doing good work putting your well-articulated and heartfelt arguments out there. You are being honest and vulnerable and brave. Don't listen to those bad-faith commentors. They are just trolls. They're losers.
Love you, Jesse! There are so many people I want to send this to. But I am far too tired to do so.
For what it's worth, I'm watching the longer video now and the top comments by default all seem to be supportive of your message. I understand that it's different being the creator, because you see ALL the comments, but I hope it helps to know that they seemed to be drowned out - at least to those of us who didn't jump in the comments early.
I liked the video you made yesterday. You laid out your points very well. I was going to comment... but made the mistake of reading the comments first, and the ones near the top completely missed the point. I'm sorry you had to deal with so many people being ignorant and hurtful.
This was literally me throughout 2020. Trying to explain it to them is like bashing your head against the wall.
Got into an argument recently with a Biden supporter wherein I had to state EXPLICITLY like 3+ times that I WAS going to vote for him despite my numerous ethical and strategic problems with him. I was expressing a similar sentiment to Jessie - Biden is the lesser evil, but he's the figurehead of a cruel institution and his administration has made several strategic blunders that I think are going to hurt our chances of beating Trump in November.
The other commenter just... pretended I wasn't going to vote for him. Straight up did not read a damn thing I said, wasted their fucking time yelling at someone to vote for the candidate they were already going to vote for.
As someone who is autistic and a liberal, I listen and understand. Appreciate when you go over things again, helps out. I understand
"Team sports mindset" is pretty much my biggest problem with all strains of liberals. Even the way they discuss politics, like it's a horse race or a football game, utterly bewilders me. I can point to bigger specific moral failings, sure, but I think it all stems from that.
Blue MAGA is as frustrating as actual MAGA.
I totally relate. People don't listen and just decide for themselves what you said. I wish people would just make sense.
This is why we call it Blue MAGA. You can say you're going to vote Biden, scream it from the top of the mountains, even, but if you're not going out of your way to cheerlead and endorse, somehow that makes you a Trump supporter. Voting is a tool. To expect voters to cheerlead and do the campaigning for your guy is ludicrous. Having volunteered in presidential campaigns myself, I can say there's a world of difference between a vote and a concerted effort to convince others to vote. I could never campaign for Biden. My conscience and my own personal ethics would not stand for it. I will vote for him (presuming he's alive by then and the nominee), but do not ever ask me to do his job, which is to convince the American people of his fitness for President. That shit is his job. If you support him wholeheartedly, then volunteer for his campaign and make that shit YOUR job. But I will tell you. I didn't help Obama get re-elected in 2012 by browbeating my neighbors whenever I canvassed. I made the case for him. I told them of his policies. His record. I can't do that convincingly for Biden. That in no way means I'm carrying water for Trump or causing some kind of "Ooops! All Fascists!" in November.
I’m with you on this. I’m looking forward to watching your other video. I’m pleased that you are voting for Joe, even if you’re not thrilled. Every POTUS election I remember people have complained about the choices - going back to Humphrey-Nixon for me. And every election since. Sometimes it’s a very tough call.
I have the exact same anxiety around being misunderstood and would talk for longer and longer in arguments with my partner (also autistic) because of it. We eventually found out that the less I spoke the more understood I was generally because I wasnt overloading them with information. But that requires the listener to be doing so in good faith in the 1st place! Still, if they dont care either way there's no point going on for longer
3:40 also, there’s literally a study out showing that centrist trying to appease fascists in Europe just got them more fascist and the fascists gained power
Yep. ‘Centrists’ ultimately support fascism. Centrism cannot exist, not truly - e.g. “let’s compromise” is not a reasonable solution when it comes to human rights
Never trust a centrist, they have no ethos beyond static decay.
You have to also consider how many of those comments are probably bots. A lot of the internet since LLMs are just flat out bots, but better now because they are better at language.
You're exactly right. And furthermore I think it hurts our chances every time we try to pretend that his flaws aren't there. The people who are, for some incomprehensible reason, undecided, notice when people on our side are disingenuously ignoring his flaws. That creates distrust that could cost us everything.
My husband and I are moving to Canada as soon as possible. We've been working on that process for a while and it just seems to be taking forever, but we'll get there.
It's pretty clear where this is all going. Just look at Germany in the mid 1930s and the parallels are undeniable.
So... you're moving to Diet Texas Lite off Wish? Because let's be real: Alberta is basically the closest anyone down here has to an option.
@seand.g423 My husband is from there and his family is all still there, so it's probably going to be easier for us than most people. And it will be nice to be closer to them. The only reason we aren't there already is we're still working on his dual citizenship. Mine was a breeze - Canadian immigration process and policy is just way, way easier.
Our original plan was to live in the US since that's where it made sense for both of us to be career-wise. But I decided to ditch than plan because of the 1300+ anti-LGBTQ bills just in the past 3 years. And America becoming a Christian theocracy. And the disproportionately skyrocketing cost of living. And the fact that in January, we will probably end up with a fascist president with the powers of a king.
Canada has its own problems, but they are nothing compared to the right wing shit show going on here.
@@dermotfenster9980 I mean, I got family that were B&R in _Stettler,_ but okay...
@@seand.g423 There is a lot we're going to miss, like living in the Rocky Mountains and being a short walk from some of the most beautiful places on Earth. But nothing that's worth dying for. At least, not to me. To me, the only things worth dying for are the people (and dogs) that I love. Those who are brave enough to stay and face what is probably coming....they have my respect and admiration.
@@dermotfenster9980 believe you me, it's _a lot less_ wtfe has become of "bravery" than it is a simple lack of resources.
I've had multiple conversations with liberals just this week where my remark that I'll be voting for Biden (even though he's so far to my right) is met with "you're supporting Trump because you're not voting for Biden." Or worse. It's beyond exhausting. (Flashes of the BBC editing letters of complaint regarding their transphobic reporting to make it look like the complaint was something it explicitly was not.)
Very relatable, as a marginal autist with severe PTSD, it’s hard to advocate or even express anything when getting dragged by scared people who don’t listen. I’ve been pilloried by some liberal groups over their projections upon me of positions that bear little resemblance to my actual ones. There’s a lot of “horseshoe logic” that anything too far left scares them so rather than examine it they instead lump it in with far right ideas where there is no real equivalency.
As famous liberal George W. Bush (lol) so eloquently put it - you’re either with us, or with the terrorists. Nuance!
THE TRUTH HATH BEEN SPAKE
People reacting only to the headline is one of my biggest frustrations with online culture. I understand the emotional reaction that can happen when you see something you may disagree with but a title only tells you so much, and often the rest of the story or video will diffuse that first emotional reaction when you get the nuance of the full story. There unfortunately seems to be a large contingent of people who refuse to move beyond that first impulse.
Even when others provide them with the rest of the story in the comments, some people will refuse to accept new information, and they defend their refusal to read or watch the full story because they believe everything should be able to be condensed into a few words in a headline. It’s maddening.
I’m autistic and gender fluid and pansexual with an autistic trans daughter and 2 autistic toddlers… I want desperately to be able to stick it out and wait for voting helps things to get better, but I’m pretty sure that it’s gonna get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better… and most countries won’t let autistic people immigrate because we’re seen as a burden. And the countries who are ok with autistic people will still jail you for speaking out against assorted genocides.
The internet: Where nuance goes to die.
As a fellow resident of the autism spectrum, I *so* feel your pain. On hot
you aren’t alone Jessie and I feel the same way about both Biden and USA in general.
Most arguments online happen because people don't watch/didn't read what they're arguing with
We're approaching the 10 year anniversary of the Gamergate cannon event.
Ahh gamergate, maga 0.5 beta.
Some people have a listening impediment. The frustration is real. You were perfectly clear. Pay the fools no mind!
Wow that response from people 😵
Alternate Title: Liberals Actually Never Listen to Leftists
They never do and then wonder why we say politics are bs and screw of this!
Ugh, people are so frustrating.
I never thought for a second that you would not vote for Biden. At the same time I couldn’t watch that video, nor could I watch the “We’re Screwed” Legal Eagle video after the SCOTUS ruling. The prospect of a Trump win is just too scary and painful. I need to focus on hope and actions (and long-stretch expatriation contingency plans or I will go crazy and not be able to function in my day-to-day.
The feeling that I get more and more is that a certain degree of „avoid dictatorship at all cost“ and just looking at totalitarianism as problem glosses over so many (more nuanced problems. That come from demoratically legitimate, elected governments making decisions that are oppressive, that are racist, that are abelist, etc. can’t be bad because it comes from a democratically elected govt. Just for one example, the anti abortion politics happenening in the US. Because if this would be in *put strawman country here* just think about the fingerprinting that would be happening.
Other example from here in Germany. Yes they are totally right to point out the alt rightness of AFD. But when our chancellor then begins to repeat their rhetorics about migration and „re migration“ that is a red flag
I imagine it was before the title change (that I didn't know happened before I watched it last night)? The most common complaint I saw was people questioning if it really is harm reduction. Which if we were talking 2016 Trump I could understand the question. It'd still be worse, as for all the things Biden has done wrong that are bad, with the passiveness on g e n o c i d e being the worst, many, many policy positions have been good. We aren't talking about 2016 Trump though, and we aren't talking about pre-Trump republicans. The Idea of him getting a second shot is insane and terrifying.
My household has at least two people who are about to have thier existence legislated against if Trump wins. To broaden the topic, if you think Biden has been bad on Gaza, then wait till Trump gets in. So I'm glad you made the video, and it's disappointing some people weren't actually watching it. At least it seems most of the people not watching it were gonna vote for him anyway, and the people who are gonna unsub clearly don't watch either, so F them.
I am sorry that you have had that experience. Of course you are 100% correct.
I wish I knew of a way to explain it to someone who hasn't experienced it. But I don't think they would believe me.
It is the "Outside Context" problem, yeah?
Except also it isn't. Not for everybody. There are some who *do* know that it is wrong and resist. And then there are others who *do* know that it is wrong-- and yet they carry on with it anyway.
Now that you know how it is, let's agree: we shouldn't let it stay that way.
Watched your video last night and thought it was great. You made your points clearly and passionately and I feel like I got a better understanding of where you stand on all this election. Without wanting to excuse the people who clearly did not watch the video and assumed you were not voting for Biden, I think it's worth considering that there are a lot of people who are deathly scared at what a second Trump presidency will do not only to America but internationally. And those people (myself included) have seen a lot of people choosing not to vote or voting for a third party which frustratingly under the electoral system actively helps the worse side. I also hold the view of harm reduction, rather strongly and it is deeply frustrating to see a growing sentiment of fellow left-leaning voters choosing not to place their vote where it can have the most impact at reducing said harm even if their position is somewhat understandable. I think it is probably wrong for people to assume anyone's views and voting intentions based on patterns of traits of how other people plan to vote, but it's an understandable one that we are all probably guilty of.
I am glad that you changed the title of your video because I think being clear and concise is important, and I think stating that you will vote for Biden in your video will make more people want to hear your thoughts and reasoning on both sides of the argument.
I think ultimately it's good to remember that people are genuinely scared about this impending future and that makes people emotionally charged in how they write and what they say to others but also that being misunderstood and accused of holding views and values that you do not really hurts.
Yeah, I'm just straight up terrified about what's going to happen in November; it's hard not to be bitter about what's going on and scared that all this talk (as true as it is, I can't stand Biden and think he should drop out) is going to pave the way for undecided voters to just let fascism in the door.
Well their unsubs are their loss.
Incidentally you got a new sub today😊
I'm going to support you Jessie Gender.
Sorry to hear about that, wish I eas surprised. I will admit that I started writing my response to that video before it finished (as I often do, I feel the compulsion to get my thoughts out, lest I lose them), but I did get your point and did watch through the whole thing. Again, sorry this happens.
Agree that it's very frustrating.
the team sports mindset is exactly it. you have to be all-in on the two-party system or else you might realize there are other political possibilities! lmao
I’m glad you make this point. However I’m seeing leftists like Luxander going “my vote doesn’t matter cause I’m in a red state, so why would I vote for someone I don’t like?” It’s not about approval of the guy. It’s about harm reduction like you say in this video. I hate the current two party system caused by the first past the post system of electoral politics. I hope that Biden stays in office just so that we don’t have Trump can’t make the US a one party dictatorship after that we can focus our attention on fixing this country until the next election. We have to do so in a pragmatic way instead of throwing our arms in the air saying “our vote doesn’t matter so why perpetuate this system this year?” I’m gonna hold my nose while I vote for the prevention of a dictatorship so that we can get better people on the bench in SCOTUS
@Lady_Merlin_ but, that hasn't helped us in the past has it? I mean, who gave us thomas? The current pres, did that by blocking victim testimony against him
@@cambriaofthevastoceans6721 I agree but this is the hand we have been dealt. We need to get through this election so we can continue to push for change and to see Thomas removed.
@@cambriaofthevastoceans6721 the system is flawed but a full revolution isn’t feasible at this moment. We lack popularity and would be fighting a losing battle. I hate the current electoral system but we don’t have the power to overhaul it let alone remove it. It sucks. I want change. But there is only so much we can do right now.
@@Lady_Merlin_ you'll forgive me if i don't take you word on that
@@Lady_Merlin_ it only takes around 14% of the population to start a revolution.
"If you want to vote for Bad Things, that's a Unquie Viewpoint and should be respected. If you want to vote for Good Things, you should know better! And vote for bad things in the hope it with even out into just mediocre things."