this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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I am not a new leftist. I have been an ansoc since before I could drink, which was almost 20 years ago at this point. What I am is a desperate leftist. I see that we have gone off the political cliff. That the purity politics of yesteryear are exactly why we ended up with outright fascism. Which I guess is good if you subscribe to accelerationism, but bad it you care about the actual well being of people today. So while the idea of the perfect leftist with ideal and consistent history of working class experience and community organizing is a wonderful ideal to strive for, it's not the reality of the political situation we live in today. There are going to be some people (I have seen it in my conservative leaning parents for example) that have very recently awoken to the realities of oligarchy and fascism that we currently live under, and who should be welcomed to the fold, rather than cast aside.
Sounds a lot like
We don't need to invite the fascist base into the big tent party. We have a model now, DSA has been a rising force for 8 years, and they recently had one of their people (someone with a career at a housing advocacy nonprofit) upset a political insider to win the election in a major US city. There is no need to backtrack from that.
You don't win elections by taking stances in the middle of the pack, you win them by galvanizing people and offering something worth striving for. You mobilize the disenfranchised people, and you don't pander to your enemies who are going to call you a communist amd oppose you no matter what you do. Otherwise, you're effectively no different from a Third Way Democrat.
Sucks that you're desperate. You'll find an antidote to this in building tangible pieces of local power with people who are committed to egalitarian anti-capitalism. Half my city council is people I campaigned for, I'm part of multiple anarchist networks, and they have tons of lands and urban spaces that can accommodate people to build a real movement where we can contest political questions instead of begging for them.
What stance has Platner taken that is "in the middle of the pack" exactly? This is where I think the disconnect is. You are convinced he is a sheep dog, and I am not. Neither of us can prove our points one way or another, so I'm really not sure why this conversation is continuing.
Do you really read the "Issues" page of a campaign and say "wow, I'm sire they will do everything they say they will"?
Congratulations, you're a liberal.
Lmao, there it is. The one two punch of the liberal slur and terminally online meme. Thanks for letting me know I can no longer take anything you say seriously.
I hope platner proves you right, and if he does I will be happy to admit I'm wrong. I hope you'll do the same if he proves you wrong. Not sure what more there is to say here.
A "20-year anarchist" who is fully invested in incremental electoralism and takes politicians' words at face value is not serious to begin with.
Honestly it's sad to hear you talk about your own desperation; comic relief is a natural response. Read Inhabit (or some Goldman or Kropotkin or even some Crimethinc), take some agency in your own life, and organize against the capitalist hydra instead of cheering for which of its heads you find the most soothing.
I actually don't think electoralism is the be all end all of social change, which is why I don't really give that much of a shit about whether Platner is a sheep dog or not. I care that he is getting the support at the level he is getting, which points to the current state of social consciousness, and shows that we are moving in the right direction. He may be an imperfect messenger, but I'm excited the he is getting the message out there that he is.
I choose a form of relief that doesn't attack my fellow comrades, but rather embraces them. Whether platner is a true comrade or not, we will see, but your psychoanalyzing and punching left has gone far enough, so I'm going to disengage from this conversation now. Have a good one.