Just wondering if anything good is happening somewhere. Maybe some local organizing wins? Would be nice to see something positive happening.
The Zionist entity has lost hundreds of thousands of settlers since Oct 7, most of whom are never coming back. This is the worst thing that could possibly happen to Zionism outside of “from the the river to the sea” actually happening. Which is not off the table rn, btw.
You have to get inside the minds of the Zionists to understand why. For years, they have been obsessed with birth rates and attracting the right kinds of immigrants. There’s a reason why the Zionist entity treats losers from Brooklyn like a DI school treats a 5 star recruit. They’re basically “we’ll give you a house, a spouse, whatever you want just come here”.
So… why? The answer is that the Arab population of “israel” and in the occupied territories is growing faster than the Jewish population of Israel. The Zionists think - as racist fascists are wont to do - that if they are “outbred” then eventually they will be conquered.
They are obsessed with this. It’s the real reason they have semen extraction units. They put years of hard work into getting the Jewish population as high as possible and in a relative moment, all that work was washed away (and then some). Not to mention, their efforts of recruiting settlers in the future have no doubt been destroyed. No one is going to want to move there now. No one will be coming, and lots more will be leaving.
This, along with the major military losses, have weakened the Zionist entity tremendously. I wouldn’t say fatally weakened yet but that is where it’s trending.
It’s really hard to live under the delusion at this point that Israel is making Jews safer, either domestically or abroad.
Again, ladies, the Jewish lineage runs through the mother - just DM me.
Can’t do local organizing wins for opsec reasons but they do exist!
There’s good news internationally despite the ethnic cleansing. We are seeing the birthing pains of the downfall of empire. Countries increasingly feel comfortable rejecting the US’ projects, SocDems are doing okay in LatAm again, Burkina Faso and its neighbors are giving France the boot, China is pushing ahead relentlessly, Russia is not just surviving, but is actually doing better under a sanctions regime…
Despite the fact that we are still a small minority, there are more cool lefties in the US than there have been in 50 years. More cool ancoms, more cool communists, even the occasional cool DemSoc. Previously this space was dominated by NATO leftists that told you the best way to be communist was too shout, “neither Washington nor Moscow”, hand out incomprehensible zines, and be extremely condescending while also wrong about most things. We have a real foundation to build from now and a population of younger people that we can radicalize when we put in the effort and let them call us libs so they can do their own cool projects.
Hey, genuine question here. Why include Russia in this? They are, to my understanding, a capitalist oligarch hellscape. Where queer folk are criminalized and hunted from public life. A different imperial power currently engaged in killing folk. Why is Russia doing good a good thing at all? Just in the fact its showing a country can exist outside the NATO sphere at all? Is it in any way support of Russian policies?
Once again, none of the above is intended to be read as aggressive or trick questions. They are just what’s on my mind.
A lot of us have extremely extremely critical support for Russia for exactly one reason - Russia weakens US hegemony, and weakening US hegemony creates more spaces where revolutionary politics can be nurtured and grown. It’s not support for Russia, it’s support for the role Russia plays in breaking the US’s death grip on the world. I don’t think there’s anyone here who wouldn’t cheer if Putin “fell off a balcony” tomorrow. Russia is, as you said, a ruthlessly capitalist country just like America is, but America is too foolish and brutal to have accepted Russia in to the fold back in the 2000s, so now the war between the two nations is serving to bleed capitalism at a time when it is very vulnerable.
What we’re hoping for is a Multi-polar world; A world where US hegemony is broken and countries can realistically align themselves against US interests without being utterly destroyed. That wouldn’t be any kind of guarantee that Socialism could flourish and begin a new period of revolutions, but it gives us much better odds than a world where the US can reach almost anywhere to crush communist and anarchist movements that begin to gain power.
Right now, the primary actors pushing circumstances towards multi-polarity are Russia, China, Iran, India, Brazil, and a few others. Russia is a capitalist state, and our enemy. China is weird and complicated and sometimes does good things, sometimes does bad things, often does nothing at times when something really needs to be done and they’re the only ones who can. Iran, obviously, is no friend to communists despite being an occasional ally due to shared interests, as in the Levant. India is totally fucked, with Hindutva fascists in control and things getting worse, but they’re still part of the equation. And Brazil is doing it’s thing with Lula and Bolsonaro, and it seems like everything is up in the air, there. But they’ve got the economic juice to be very important.
This is hard-core, cold-blooded realpolitik that is entirely about goals instead of ideals. It’s doing what we can with the situation that exists, acknowledging that this is very much not what we want. And, of course, everyone here is mostly an observer to the horror, doing what we can at the local level where we can actually operate while we wait to see what happens with the struggle between the great powers.
If you’d like to know more you can go ask in the News Mega. The folks who hang out there are terminally online politics junkies and can explain better than I can. Just make it very clear that you’re asking in good faith and will seriously engage with the answers you’re given, whether you agree with them or not. We get a ton of bad-faith trolling, so people can be touchy about it.
That was an incredibly thought out and eye opening viewpoint. Compared to what I’m used to on Reddit anyways. Thank you.
The main point is that it’s an example of the US and international capital losing power. Russia’s ruling class wanted to be part of the international capitalist ruling class but were excluded, with that exclusion turned up to 11 after the invasion of Ukraine.
Almost by accident, Russia is now forced to adapt through domestic industry and alternative trading partnerships (and skirt sanctions because Europe isn’t really going without their fossil fuels). And it’s working. This demonstrates the extent to which multipolarity is emerging and viable, though it is still the early stages.
Re: Russia being capitalist and reactionary: of course that is the reality. What do you then do with that information? It describes nearly every country in different forms and degrees. The downfall of empire will happen through capitalist states and states in a transition that still, of course, have significant problems. If it weren’t for Russian influence in the ME it would be 100% Saudi Arabias by now, for example, and Palestinians would only be a diaspora. Oppressed peoples do not have the luxury of perfect allies or even “good” allies, they will take whatever they can get and the more they can get the better.
Thank you for the thought out reply. Very good at explaining the point. Especially compared to reddit. I’m new and still sussing out the culture here. I was worried i could possibly catch a ban for asking as well lol.
Of course! Always happy to have a chat, ask and answer questions, agree and disagree, and so on. Please feel free to share any thoughts you have even if they’re critical.
You won’t have to worry about bans so long as you’re here in good faith and don’t make the space itself unsafe with things like racism or homophobia or transphobia. The main site has a rule thing somewhere and each comm has some rules posted if you want to feel extra confident.
In Minneapolis Lakota activists in coalition with other Minnesota activist groups managed to legally wrest control of a contaminated depot near the Little Earth community. Instead of demolishing it to make a polluting city facility it will be converted in community use buildings and an urban farm.
Awesome!
mRNA vaccine technology has made incredible advancements in just a few years.
when covid happened i had a hope of a new golden age of vaccine development/appreciation as people remember they exist. I thought it was possible that money would be found all around the world to contribute to the general project.
Since then there have been approvals for vaccines against malaria and ebola. Both too long in the works faced with delays because the victims are not valued. (racism)
what else is going on?
ProleWiki is growing and doing really cool stuff these days so that’s good news I think
I gave my dog a belly rub yesterday.
I’m finally addressing my problems instead of drinking about them. Finally trying to be nice to myself after an entire lifetime of not doing that
When you gotta spend all day with someone it’s good to stay friendly with them
It’s funny now that you mention that. I always used that justification to try and keep on the good side of my coworkers, but never myself
I find myself sometimes thinking of my(past/future/criticism-receiving)self as a separate person because it reframes my treatment of that person. Sometimes I give the next guy a gift by cleaning shit up or otherwise preparing stuff to make his life easier, and thank the last one for his gift.
I have been doing that and it really helps! Self criticism becomes much more human and empathetic when I realize that I can accept the things that I find wrong in myself in other people
I found a loving home for my big, vibrant rubber plant, that I can’t take with me when I move soon.
Glad little Rubby has a good home 🌻
Well, Christ died for our sins… Oh, actual good news. Idk.
Ya my butt itch
Watch good news on means tv. Shit will make you cry with happiness.
The only good news for me are related to labor and political gains. Every other “positive news” is just someone saving a kitty from a tree or meemaw being able to afford surgery after her entire family sold their kidneys
It’s kind of nice seeing actual government and community support in Japan after the Noto Peninsula earthquake. Compared to the dystopian disaster responses in the US, it’s a little uplifting to know that not everyone has the rugged individualism brainworms.
A few local universities are going on strike for more pay. One already is striking, and the other might start next week
