ProdigalFrog
A frog who wants the objective truth about anything and everything.
Admin of SLRPNK.net
XMPP: prodigalfrog@slrpnk.net
- 7 Posts
- 64 Comments
4·28 days agoThe average American reads below a 6th grade level.
Here’s a great example of how that compares to other adjacent grades.
20·1 month agoI was anticipating a negative take on Solarpunk based on the title, but it’s actually quite a well made video with good points. I do wish she had touched on the ideology behind solarpunk (Anarchism), but otherwise good stuff.
Over on the r/Solarpunk community on reddit, there’s often debates as to what constitutes solarpunk, with many arguing that AI and greenwashed buildings should count. I’ve even seen an argument for solarpunk being compatible with capitalism once or twice, and this video would make for a good rebuttal against that co-option.
The despair you feel toward the average person’s lack of interest or outright dismissal of these very real problems is unfortunately common. As others have said, the magnitude of the problems we face is often paralyzing. How to begin addressing these massive problems was a question asked by a mother to Noam Chomsky in 1992, and I think his answer still holds up quite well. One of his big points is that it’s pretty much impossible to tackle any of this alone, you need a group to brainstorm ideas on how to solve things and not feel so helpless as a single individual surrounded by a sea of uncaring people.
In a way, this community, slrpnk.net, and even the fediverse as a whole is acting as a place for people to come together and know that they’re not entirely alone, though finding a group in real life who shares your values would allow you to really start enacting change, even if on a small scale.
It can often take empathy to be able to even see or care beyond oneself and towards a bigger picture. An unemphatic person could, and often does, simply reject an ideology that may not place their own wants or desires above that of others, even if they are in the same class as those who would benefit from such an ideology.
An average right-wing libertarian is often not terribly wealthy and works for a living, putting them in the working class, but they may find Ayn Rand’s flavor of selfish ancap/libertarianism appealing due to a lack of empathy, even if practically it does not improve their circumstances.
There are other people doing things, too and you can find them.
Short guide for how to find those like-minded folk: https://infosec.exchange/@tinker/113589807117870451
Speaking for myself, I’d love to see a StorySeedLibrary community here on slrpnk, if it’s something you’d be interested in :)
Helluva good post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.
6·1 month ago9%, or nearly 200k votes.
1 million votes total.
Hell, switch to Impossible meat permanently.
Fucks with MAGA farmers and drastically lowers cattle based emissions with one stone.
As I said in my previous response, I’m not fan of the Kamala, nor the democratic party for the very reasons you mention. But to frame it as the Teamsters withholding their endorsement for the same reasons that leftists refused to vote for Kamala is disingenuous.
If the Democrats wanted to get the teamsters endorsement, why didn’t they do more to show that they would be a pro-labor, anti-capitol party
Democrats are neoliberals, they’ll never be anti-capital (hence their failure), but they certainly weren’t as anti-labor as the Republican party.
You keep trying to paint my views as a simplistic sports team analog, but it doesn’t hold up. I’m pointing out real gripes with Teamster leadership and the depressing state of the membership, which I wish weren’t the case. I am not randomly smack talking them because I’m on some other team (do you think I’m in the UAW? I’m not).
you want to blame “someone else”
I’m not blaming anyone. I doubt an official Teamster endorsement would’ve made a difference in the election. I’m pointing to it as a prime example that the base of the Teamsters is conservative enough that taking an overt leftist stance is likely political suicide for Teamster leadership.
You didn’t address any of my other points.
I’m basing my opinions on repeated examples of Teamster leadership failing to fight back against the establishment, not ‘sports-team’ reactions.
When asked about Chavez-DeRemer’s stance on the right-to-work section of the PRO Act, O’Brien said that he is working with senators such as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to come up with a version of the PRO Act that “may not include that.”
“That’s the beauty of having conversations with people from the other side, where you can collaborate and actually find out what works for that state, what doesn’t work for it—but more importantly, what’s going to work for the American worker,” O’Brien said.
In the same Fox News interview, O’Brien also said the Teamsters do not want to see anyone losing their job, but that “[Trump] thinks he’s within his right,” when asked about the personnel-slashing Department of Government Efficiency and the Trump administration’s widely decried deferred resignation program for nearly all federal employees. Multiple federal employees unions are currently battling the Trump administration in court over its actions targeting federal workers and federal agencies.
With those statements, O’Brian is publicly stating that he still thinks he can reason and plead with an out-and-out proven anti-labor party that just destroyed federal unions. That makes him either naive or an idiot, and for his sake I hope it’s the former.
We need all unions to come together as one movement to effectively fight this dictatorship from taking power, but based on previous evidence, a significant portion of the Teamster membership are unlikely to want to join that fight (obviously, some will, but they will be in the minority).
You’re ignoring that a majority (60%) of its membership are conservative, and not endorsing Trump doesn’t make it much better, since that lack of endorsement of Kamala (whom I don’t even like, but clearly was the harm reduction option) only speaks to the fact that they have so many right-wing members, the leadership had to fence-sit in fear of not getting elected again by their pro-Trump members.
If you’re a left-wing Teamster trying to steer your brothers and sisters away from MAGA, then more power to you. But don’t delude yourself that the Teamster leadership or right-wing members are going to be the ones leading the charge against this regime.
I would love to be proven wrong, but at best I could see them hopping on the bandwagon if the winds change and the regime begins to implode on itself.
I have this perception from:
- Sean O’Brian trying to cozy up to the republican party by speaking at the RNC
- The leadership choosing not to endorse Kamala during the election (since it would piss off their conservative members)
- the locals repeatedly endorsing local republican politicians this year, despite seeing the destruction of federal unions and anti-worker rhetoric from the republican party
- First hand account from many left-leaning teamsters that so many of their fellow members are self-procliamed MAGA or right wing Trump voters (according to a source from wikipedia, 60% of the membership voted for Trump) who are only in the union because it directly benefits them financially.
I’d love to see those right-wing members come to their senses and vote to join a general strike, but I just don’t see it happening. They even voted not to strike while negotiating their UPS contract, which resulted in (IMO) only modest improvements, and couldn’t even secure AC units to be retrofitted to their trucks to prevent people dying of heatstroke.
It was planned before the election, and they likely didn’t anticipate Trump would win again.
From what I’ve seen the UAW leader is fairly left leaning.
The UAW I could see getting onboard, but the Teamsters are so full of MAGA members and Trump loving leadership, I’d be astonished if they did.
It’s preferable to break that anti-labour red scare law if it means avoiding the country getting to the point where civil war happens instead.
The UAW was planning a general strike for May 1st 2028. I don’t know how willing they’d be to start a wildcat general strike, but they may join one.
Fragging in Vietnam did happen. Wikipedia lists at least three incidents, one of which was attempted multiple times.
A general strike. The country would be brought to its knees if suddenly deprived of profit and labor. That tactic was extremely effective in Chile in 2019, and had they not fallen for the trick of liberal reform, they would’ve had a successful revolution on their hands with virtually no bloodshed.
If you aren’t in a union (or even if you are, it’s worth dual-carding), please consider joining the IWW to unionize your workplace (bonus: you’ll get higher wages, better benefits, and more time off if you succeed!) to strengthen a general strike if we manage to enact one.
And for our international friends, you should join one as well, as fascism is gaining momentum globally. If your country isn’t listed below, just contact the IWW directly in the link above.
I think this post would be better suited for !climate@slrpnk.net than here, as it doesn’t really have any direct relation to solarpunk.
I was surprised to learn a year ago that window AC units with heatpump heating are now available. I imagine they’re a good option when combined with a good window seal.