Stuff aimed more towards lay readers:
Good point. I donāt get anything for example.
My personal experience is meaningless to the overall health of the forum, and Iām not sure that anyone else feels this way, but I can tell you that I feel less inclined to participate lately mostly because I am very angry at what is happening and I donāt take any enjoyment from arguing with Biden optimists (whether self identified or not) or even Biden pessimists who just donāt seem to care.
I like you guys, and I donāt think anyone here (with maybe a few exceptions) has any really unsavory beliefs or motives or anything. But itās genuinely hard for me to find an ounce of happiness or optimism about anything right now. With Trump, it was the same, but the anger and fear I felt from him was also kind of a uniting force, and would give me flickers of hope that if things are so fucking bad now and all of the stuff weāve been doing for decades has led us to this moment, maybe this can be a time where things change.
Right now Iām left feeling nearly as bad, but also much more isolated because a lot of the people that had that same righteous anger and fear and hope have now turned into people patting me on the head and telling me that actually $1400 is exactly what was promised and hey $15 minimum wage in 5 years and āman looking back on it, I think people were right and Biden was the right choiceā.
Honestly like, I get why a lot of people are put off by some of the aggressive lefty posters here, but for me personally it is very comforting to feel like Iām not the only person looking around and feeling that way. I donāt even know if Iām right about the things I believe, but I know for a fact that Iām in for 4-8 years of having those beliefs completely ignored, and then probably 4-8 years of a Republican who will make things 10x worse, before maybe getting my hopes up again for a few months that we can do better. Itās just fucking depressing, and Iāve got 50 more years of this if Iām lucky!
31 Likes
What if I told you you can feel that way (I do) and not be an aggressive jerk to others about it?
Youāre not wrong, I just disagree about that one point.
Join WAAF btw, itās got room for more
1 Like
to people saying this is dying, I have said it elsewhere but it may have been lost in the garbage threads, but in the last year we have doubled in size (daily active users).
I donāt think the place is dying, I think itās going through growing pains.
10 Likes
@BestOf for articulating how I feel much better than I can. I feel like Iāve disengaged from the political threads quite a bit and instead spend my time speculating about meme stocks because itās easier to just avoid everything than to feel frustrated.
I also think the drama that spills over into threads is another reason why I tune out. Everyone shitting on Victoar and watevs every time they enter a thread and those two trolling back, other stupid feuds that I donāt even know the genesis of, itās too much for me.
5 Likes
Lol, is that a joke? Heās got another good 20 years till he hits the median age.
5 Likes
Iām kind of on board with this.
I woke up this morning, read this thread, and a thought popped in my head that if the Dems canāt manage to pass some super popular legislation while they hold all 3 branches of government, I might just throw in the towel and start voting for republicans because at least I might get a fucking tax cut out of it.
Fuck you Dems. Iām willing to pay more tax to make the country a better place and you guys canāt manage to pass legislation that like 70% of the population thinks is good? Fuck you!
1 Like
This senator was born 14 years before the first tv network! Before antibiotics were invented! Let that sink in.
Itās also super irritating that itās going to be over 2 months between Democrats taking control and delivering ANY economic help.
I know there are reasons, but man, just imagine if the GOP was in charge. Say what you want, they actually do what they say they will.
Iāve been tired of ālosingā, even when we āwinā, for decades.
I can see the appeal of the Trump train, at least from a āsigning a bunch of EOs and (maybe) getting shit doneā, and also judges and tax cuts and shit.
With the Dems I feel like I might, maybe, get some relief money (not that important to me), and definitely wonāt get M4A. Maybe, might, get some help on the social front for minority groups. But not too much.
It all just sucks.
I think I posted something like this a year or two ago about getting tired of being on the losing team for so fucking long.
Hoooooooollllllllllllllllllllll up, is that MITT ROMNEYāS MUSIC?
13 Likes
As I said before this is a big reason I really liked the vaccine money and checks idea. Get it out the door asap and free up a ton of room to do more stuff in the reconciliation bill. If not then you have Republicans voting no on two super, super popular things in a clean bill.
Trump promised healthcare, cheaper drug prices, a wall and a ton of other crap. He delivered a tax cut to the wealthy and a few 100 miles of wall.
1 Like
This thread is some hellacious doom and gloom. Itās been 2 weeks, including a lot of Mitchās stalling BS due to 50/50.
IMO everyone should just take a deep breath and see what actually gets passed before totally freaking out.
Weāre in the phase now where the star player and team are negotiating through the media and scaring the crap out of everyone.
7 Likes
lol thatās real!
1 Like
This is a great post and helps me understand where some of you are coming from a little better. Letās see if I can pull this off as tactfully as you just did w/o turning this into a giant mess.
3 things:
-
My biggest general sticking point with some of the lefties here is when it seems pretty obvious to me that my character is under attack as some kind of morally defective human being. Like pretty thinly veiled, āOh I guess we see your true colors nowā stuff.
Often this comes for holding positions that even AOC or Bernie would espouse - like we need some kind of police presence, and all landlords donāt deserve to die. But also for stupid blind spots like not thinking Reagan was as bad - which is fine I deserved that.
I get that the lefties here think theyāre in the persecuted minority, and maybe they are. But I think in some ways that blinds them to realizing how often their arguments take on the form of claiming the moral high ground, sometimes with a healthy dose of arrogance and snark (not saying you personally do that, you donāt) - which in turn leads to more vitriol back at them - which perpetuates the cycle. -
If youāre disappointed with Biden so far, I donāt know what you were expecting, and it seems like youāre just setting yourself up for massive disappointment and heartache. No one ever lives up to every single campaign promise. And obviously Bidenās campaign promises wouldnāt have made you happy anyway. But so far it seems to me like heās done a ton.
$1400 vs. $2000 kinda sucks - but thatās not all on Biden. Dropping Saudi support for Yemen is on Biden. Reuniting the kids at the border with their parents is on Biden. $15 national min. wage over 5 years seems pretty awesome to me - considering itās been stuck at $7.25 since Clinton. Elections do matter.
I voted for Bernie in the primary. Iām far from a centrist. Iāve been crystal clear that I think the US should just be like Scandinavia. Iād love for that to happen overnight. But I canāt set myself up for infinite heartache when it takes a lot longer. We live in a democracy, for better or worse, where people are easily tricked into voting against their own self-interests. I have a lot less years left than you. I donāt want to live them entirely in a state of pain. I donāt think that helps anyone. -
I have a feeling that for some here - just going the Scandinavia route isnāt nearly far enough. And that may be some of the real underlying source of conflict. Iām not down for an anarcho-marxist revolution or whatever weāre calling it. That would suck for me personally and for the country as a whole imo. I am absolutely willing to pay a lot more in taxes and give a ton back. But I also want to semi-retire early and enjoy my remaining good years as much as possible. All things considered Iād really rather not lose everything, including possibly my head, as the infernal bourgeoisie.
15 Likes
Iām honestly not even that mad about policy. The means testing wonāt change my life, as stupid as it is.
Iām mad about the political incompetence. They just donāt get that this is their last chance.
Refusing to pass a voting rights act to save the filibuster is comically stupid, and reflects the asymmetrical warfare dynamic (which is on top of the structural problems with the lol senate). Youāll never have 60 votes, ever, so youāre just conceding youāll only legislate things that can go through reconciliation. Thatās such a horrible self-own the audience can be forgiven for wondering if they actually give a shit.
2 Likes
I mean Iām fully on board with team WAAF, but yeah I agree here. Biden has been WAY better than I expected, and Iām sure that goes for almost anyone on the left who wasnāt a Biden stan.
And the means tested shit isnāt even locked in yet, just something being floated. Itās a trial balloon and if public backlash is enough I think they probably donāt do it.
Schumer at least seems to understand how important this moment is for democrats, even if he has to still fight with idiots like Manchin.
2-3 big reconciliation bills still leaves us in decent position for 2022. Thatāll have been more than either party has done for people in 30+ years.
2 Likes