I don't have "the resistance" in the room with me right now to ask them what they do or don't know. But you seem to know, since you're being very critical that they're not doing the things you want them to do, without saying what they are — so I'm asking you what you personally think they should do rather than what they shouldn't.

IMO it's not that blue check equals credibility, but rather it equals that you are who you say you are. This is a good thing particularly when it comes to public figures/officials — not for their sake, mind you, but for the sake of other people who may see a tweet from them. If the checkmark is there, then it's them. If not, then it's an impersonator. Right now it's difficult to tell.

Tl;dr: it doesn't make what they say real, it just makes them real.

I think people can be proud of their actions while also improving. Not to mention, others might be inspired to follow their lead, people sitting on the fence one nudge away from joining.

But by all means. If you have any suggestions, how about provide them instead of berating people for standing up — especially when you yourself admitted it can be dangerous.

God forbid people feel something when they go to a protest. Don't be a dick, dude. That person is doing their best. They can't literally call every American out to action.

And don't get me wrong, I also respect your right to jerk off at America's FAFO moment (hey, who hasn't at least a little?) since a whole bunch of people there need a reality check, the hard way. But a lot of innocent people both in and out America are also suffering and dying because of the recent cuts, so let's reserve our hatred to those handing out the pain, and let's encourage fighting back in a constructive way, because I guarantee you nobody anywhere will be safe if this regime finds its footing and achieves long term stability.

Also, it's this nihilistic low-trust doomer mindset, induced by decades of neoliberalism, that brought this Joker-mode fascism in the first place, because people just gave up fighting for a future and just want to burn everything to the ground and jerkoff to watching others suffer so they can forget about their own misery. We all need to start believing in something good before it's too late, regardless how "cringe" that might sound to either of us.

Why make alternatives when these fantastic organizations already exist? It's not the first time they've come under fire and it definitely won't be the last.

You've answered your own question: because one day they might not take the fire and collapse. It's like saying it's not the first time your old HDD has been showing bad sectors and definitely won't be the last. That's all the more reason to make a backup!

I agree with you that we should donate to them and make them more people-funded, but ideally you want that taken care of through public funding coming out of taxes. You can't just sustain every single entity through individual donations.

Always has been.

Yeah, it's not the first time I see utter disdain (to the point of mods getting involved) in lefty spaces for suggesting the influence of Russian propaganda in certain kinds of talking points, or even the mere existence of it at all.

I remember on Reddit on r/GreenAndPleasant they banned me for pushing back to a conspiracy-brained guy who talked like a literal nazi bot, who said the only reason we hate Putin is that we've been primed by Western propaganda. So I showed him with primary sources from their own prime time TV, sidestepping Western propaganda altogether, how genocidal their attitude towards Ukraine (and other neighbors) really is. Turns out that was a no-no. I wonder if I had said Putin is good — something tells me they would have banned me all the same because direct defense of Putin is literally Russian propaganda, they just want to cultivate the idea that suspecting Russian propaganda is paranoia brought about by Western propaganda brainwashing.

So this is the first time this has happened to me since joining Lemmy but apparently my previous reply was removed for being... uncivil? I never would have guessed that's where the line was. Sigh.

True, true

That's a pipe dream, especially with current leadership. The Dem party needs a progressive takeover.

Not just through primaries. There needs to be public pressure for the corpo Dems to step down and make way for new leadership that is truly progressive. Trump took over the GOP by converting its base: first through the Tea Party and then MAGA.

No one is put into positions of power and influence within the party until they tow the party line.

That's such a defeatist worldview. Did Trump tow the party line when he took it over?

Look, change is hard but not impossible, and there's no better time for progressives to step up than this moment right now, when the Dems are at a historically low approval with the whole country. Everybody hates them for the spineless aristocratic piece of shit fascist collaborators they are.

They gotta go.

Now, whether this means the Dem party dissolves and a new one rises from the ashes, or it gets restructured but keeps the name and all the infrastructure, or it gets bullied into submission by the threat of a third party built by Bernie and AOC — all of that is abstract, procedural, immaterial. What's material is that neoliberals must lose their power to progressives decisively, and the only way that happens is if:

a) people become disillusioned enough with neoliberals,

b) progressives are there for people to transfer their hope/faith onto them.

Both of these are happening to various degrees, especially the first one, but there's still a long way to go for it to be decisive (polls still show Kamala Harris close to AOC in hypothetical presidential bid, but we need an enormous lead like Trump had in the GOP polls in 2022-2023, so the pressure needs to stay on).

Only when enough of the Democratic base becomes completely anti-establishment (populist messaging will get them there as long as they're willing to listen) and demands new leadership, only then will the Pelosis and the Schumers lose their power. They haven't actually feared their base in a long time, and that needs to change now.

So, sure — nobody from the party will put progressives in charge, the party's base of supporters needs to demand it first. Then they can just take the power without having to ask, the same way Trump did in the GOP.

I hear ya, but people make mistakes, ya know? We can't just persecute them forever... But having a brown sounding name, that's where we draw the line! /s

Mf is acting like whether or not you have a job isn't life and death for the majority of people. That's why people were upset with him — not because of an avatar but because their existence depends on their ability to find a job.

Horrifying headline, but please, just, anyone but Bad Empanada.

I did notice you put an article as well so I'll look into that.

Summarizing the relevant info from the sources you cited:

Wikipedia cites AP, and AP reports he indeed immigrated illegally in 2011 to escape gang violence, but doesn't give more details. (It could be an illegal border crossing or overstaying a visa, maybe another source mentions how.) Whatever the process, his brother went through it as well a few years ago and is now a citizen. That's who Garcia went to when initially arriving to the US. What cons don't mention is that, despite all this, a judge granted him protection from being deported all the way back in 2019. He's also married to a US citizen.

My 2c:

Keep speaking up against this and similar injustices, and don't let them get away with setting the narrative!

This "illegals" hysteria will never go away until we loudly reject the idea that people deserve punishment for being undocumented, or that being undocumented makes you "illegal" / part of an invasion or "great replacement" plot / less deserving of rights such as due process / deserving of deportation in particular as punishment. Remember that being undocumented is a civil offense, like a speeding ticket. Ironically, you speeding is more dangerous to society than you being undocumented.

Don't get bogged down on the details. Hammer them on the hard points. Whether or not he illegally immigrated doesn't make their actions any less atrocious — they know this, otherwise they wouldn't have to lie so much about it. Keep the pressure if you want to right this wrong. The more their abuses come to light and are fought publicly for all to see, the more people will realize how disgusting the "illegals" framing really is and how it's all just a modern witch hunt.

There have been countless stories of tourists trying to take them home followed by the bomb squad clearing part of an airport.

Jfc...

Oh, I'm happy for you!

I'm also in Europe but a little too far east for my liking. Thinking about leaving as well (not far, just a few countries over, somewhere nice).

Yeah, it looks like America will get much worse before it gets better.

Exactly, that's what I was getting at. I'd find it intolerable to live like that (which is what fuels their bigotry, no doubt).

I'm very sorry to hear about your experiences. I hope you're able to shield yourself from harm until this regrettable period can be overcome. Stay safe.