You know what was so refreshing about the early days of the fediverse? No fucking neoliberals. But, like a bad rash, they’re back.
@aral They're not sending their best people. We should build a wall.
@msbellows Like a bad rash.
@aral Bullying neoliberals is a moral obligation.
@sztucznechwasty @aral I don’t like calling it bullying, because bullying implies punching down, but yes
@aral I miss the CW’s for politics, and badly so
@aral On the contrary, I'm kind of here for that. I'm a bit of an energy vampire in that I get a good giggle out of these people. Desperation, lies, spreading misinformation, I love watching it unfold.
@aral Don't know about neoloberals, but I once heard Jerry Wiesner, then the president of M.I.T., describe how he was in some panel discussion. A far-right guy ranted about the @#()@#* liberals. Then a far-left guy ranted about the #)($#$ liberals. Jerry then sheepishly quipped, "I guess I'm the liberal." Everyone laughed.
@aral
True to form, they’re invisible most of the time when they might be doing some good, but come out in droves during elections to gaslight the public by painting themselves as progressive and blaming actual progressives for their predictable electoral losses.
The trouble I see in most on the left side of the line is that first part: rather than doing anything, they tend to stay home and mope.
When I was on a county board with a liberal majority, I ended up knowing scores of Republicans by name. That's because they came to every board meeting to speak, and every government outreach session to participate. They didn't let us run the government without them there.
Lefties? Never saw 'em. They didn't come.
What's that tell you?
@Professor_Stevens @aral
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that both conservatives and neoliberals are generously funded by the same corporate interests. It’s so much easier to “be involved“ when you’re getting paid to do so.
Well, that raises two points:
First, the people I saw were mostly just self-motivated individuals. Republicans are born angry and angry people like to come to meetings and make themselves heard. Liberals are born sulking.
Second, our side tends to vilify anyone who gets paid to do good. Their side doesn't, so they have more professionals advancing their agenda than we do. If we offered more paid work on behalf of liberalism, more of us would work for it.
@aral Hopefully they will lose interest after a couple of weeks when they realize they cannot hustle and monetize that much in here.