Jesus Christ this is fucked.
The MAXIMUM estimates at the number of folks in the US illegally is below 20 million. So this bill is proposing that we spend over $4,000 per person and only to cover the next 4 years.
I’m curious about section 287(g) is of the immigration and nationalities act is - the fact that it’s not named is a bit concerning.
$20 million to “check minors for gang tattoos” is fucking gross… oh, wait it’s actually $40 million bc we have two departments doing it.
Definitely agree. Ideally you’d find people with your exact political opinions, but those folks will be few and far between.
We need a mass movement, and most folks don’t have correct politics. That means we need to work with people who don’t currently have correct politics, and educate them.
At this stage, that IS the work.
There is no revolution without mass organization, and building mass organization means bringing people on that don’t already agree with you.
Trump getting elected for the second time absolutely wrecked me, because (for me) it was the death of any last shreds of hope in the superstructure. It was my crossing of the Rubicon.
As one person, taking on the entire superstructure is not possible. The goal (for me) is to build a different superstructure, one dedicated to leftist values. I’m trying to devote energy almost exclusively to things that I can make a meaningful difference in, and that has meant finding and organizing like-minded people at a very small scale.
In that vein, I’ve been getting more plugged in to the DSA branch around here, and it has actually been super helpful for my misanthropy! There’s some stuff that I don’t necessarily think is a good use of time (e.g. electoralism, but tbf they focus on local stuff), but it is SO NICE to be around people who want to help and are doing something about it.
Unrelated to misanthropy, but regarding groups with mid politics:
There’s a spot in F.D. Signifier’s video on “hoteps” where he and a guest talk about their reluctance to condemn the movement as a whole, even though it has some bad politics, since they’re allies in organizing for black liberation. She says something like “if you don’t like their politics, just out-organize them!” And I think that’s the best attitude we can have on the left in general: don’t spend time talking bad about other orgs; work together where we can, set boundaries of acceptable behavior, and out-organize groups that have bad politics.
Honestly, having a combination of competency and indifference is perfect for a wage labor job.
If you’re competent, software engineering is the best wage labor in terms of dollars per amount of effort (though I’m very biased).
Most folks come in with a ton of passion, then burn out in a few years because they overwork themselves.
Something I’ve noticed is that it takes a bit of time to get your feet under you at a new job, but if you’re able to make a good impression and develop trust, you’ll generally be given a lot of liberty in your day to day.
Ideally, you’ll find an aspect of the work that you enjoy, and can devote your time to it. e.g. I’m a big fan of good data and monitoring, but needed to try a bunch of stuff to learn that.
Also hard agree with woodenghost’s reply - I think the market is starting to shift for SWEs to one where unions will be beneficial, and if you’re able to engage with that I’d recommend it.
And from experience… there’s a lot to be said for not making your passion into your job. All jobs will be tedious and frustrating at times, and they can suck the enjoyment out of something you enjoy.
This essay has stuck in my head regarding types of folks at a company (and looking at it now it maps pretty well onto Marxist class theory). If you’re working at any job at any company, you should have an idea of which camp you want to be in, and then play that role.
Deep sea: “Comrades, we need your help”
:doomjak:
Exactly!! People are exploited and they know it, they’re just often ignorant of the cause.
America is deeply racist, and fascists stoke those flames to explain why people are exploited.
I think the quote is still relevant because a ton of our work is explaining to people “no, treats aren’t more expensive because woke, it’s because capitalism.”
What distinguishes neoliberal capitalism from fascist capitalism? Not trying to make a “they’re the same picture” joke, just trying to understand.
In my head, they’re the same economic system (where markets tend to centralize), just with different techniques and messaging to the masses.
Neoliberalism: feel-good concessions, “you too can get rich if you work hard,” and directing discontent towards electoralism
Fascism: violence, “look what they took from us,” and directing discontent at demonization of out-groups
I don’t think Trump gets elected if the white dipshits are content with their material conditions, though?
I think there’s real discontent in America in 2025, even with how privileged Americans are globally. I think that discontent is ultimately a result of getting squeezed by capitalism, and that most folks aren’t aware of that. Trump won by acknowledging that “the system” is broken, which most people know- he just pointed them to bigotry instead to protect capitalism.
That’s not to say that American’s material struggles are comparable to Burkina Faso’s - I think white folks in America are soft as shit - but I don’t think people feel like they’re doing well, and that’s ultimately what drives their actions.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot, especially when we’re seeing these huge protests and rallies. These are people who agree that what’s happening is bad, and (importantly) are actually doing something about it. How do we reach those people, and start getting them involved in effective resistance?
My hypothesis is that it will take many small ideological steps, and that it will not happen in one conversation. It’s why I’m optimistic about Bernie’s rallies and think that we need to start small, by addressing people’s immediate needs.
I don’t think we build a mass movement by expecting people to hop from their current beliefs directly to ours. I think we need to get people taking small actions in the right (left?) direction to start developing and exercising collective power. That might start as small as a community garden, but that group of people is organizing and working together for their collective good, and I think that’s the muscle that the left needs to build.
Being embedded in those communities also allows you to provide answers to the questions that they’re having, and to steer them towards useful solutions.