I remember constant complaints of “The Dems didn’t even TRY anything, they should have proposed bills even if they knew it would fail!” before the second Trump presidency.
Now it seems the chorus has changed to “I can’t believe they’re trying something they know will fail!”
The problem is that when they decide to grow a tiny bit of spine this is what they use it for. Like, even if this bill passed it’d mean nothing in two months as the rest of democracy is dismantled around it. It’s like seeing a serial killer break into your home and deciding it’s a good time to wash the dishes. I mean don’t get me wrong, pushing bills alone is very inadequate for supposed opposition leaders during a fascist takeover either way, but pushing LGBT rights bills? They’re not even at the starting line with that.
Like, even if this bill passed it’d mean nothing in two months as the rest of democracy is dismantled around it
Okay. There are two core problems with this:
Even fascist regimes are reliant on a highly procedural state bureaucracy in which law can still be used to delay and frustrate fascist aims - this was true even in Nazi Germany at the height of WW2, wherein lawyers associated with the resistance used legal and procedural methods that predated the Nazi takeover, and some that post-dated it, to buy time and save lives. If the fascist regime is intent on killing an individual it singles out for whatever reason, it will kill them regardless of the bureaucracy; but for the vast machinations of killing or imprisoning large amounts of people, procedural methods still have validity as tools in reducing, delaying, and even reversing individual cases. If this bill passed, and for the record I think it has a snowball’s chance in hell of doing so, it would be amongst the tools which would reduce the damage the fascist regime is capable of inflicting going forward, even if not in any way a replacement for real action by society against the fascist regime.
What the fuck are they supposed to be doing, as legislators, if not shit like this? There’s no fillibuster in the House, no major delaying tactics. You could advocate for starting brawls, like another commenter did, but other than achieving the expulsion of remaining Dems with spine from the legislature, which would seem to me a negative consequence rather than a positive, I don’t really know what that’s supposed to accomplish more than you or me going down to the Capitol and throwing hands with Generic McFascist (R-Iowa).
pushing LGBT rights bills? They’re not even at the starting line with that.
Considering that LGBT folk are at the forefront of who this fascist regime is intent on persecuting? Would beg to fucking differ.
If this bill passed, and for the record I think it has a snowball’s chance in hell of doing so, it would be amongst the tools which would reduce the damage the fascist regime is capable of inflicting going forward, even if not in any way a replacement for real action by society against the fascist regime.
According to the article:
The legislation would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, education, public accommodations, jury service, and federally funded programs.
This doesn’t sound like a procedural method that can frustrate fascist aims; it’s just a sentence on a piece of paper saying “you can’t do this one thing”. If the Trump admin wants to do that thing they’ll either pass a bill or issue an executive order saying they can. This bill is too obvious to be a meaningful tool of damage reduction; to invoke it you’d have to come out and say “you’re not allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation”, which would prompt the administration to say “now we can”.
What the fuck are they supposed to be doing, as legislators, if not shit like this?
Step down so people with spine can take the position and use it to do things that actually matter. What I expect from a legislator in 2025 (and to be fair my expectations are irrelevant as I’m not American) is to use their position as a podium from which they can tell the people to protest, strike, practice mutual aid and otherwise resist the administration in ways that matter. Legislation would be nice in addition to that, but representatives whose whole “contribution” to anti-fascist resistance is to write a bill and call it a day? They can fucking get lost.
Considering that LGBT folk are at the forefront of who this fascist regime is intent on persecuting? Would beg to fucking differ.
LGBT people are near the top of the regime’s shitlist, but look at who is being actively persecuted right now. It’s not LGBT people; it’s immigrants and from there Latino people as a whole and “criminals”. Of course LGBT people are going to be added to that list sooner or later, but for now the front line is still immigrants, so if the goal is to protect people the administration is persecuting they should be pushing immigrant rights bills to at least challenge the narrative Trump and co are trying to create. Pushing a pro-LGBT bill at this stage of the fascist takeover is empty grandstanding with no benefit whatsoever.
Turns out that when they actually get a majority, they need to reintroduce and actually vote for bills, or they lose credibility.
Which is how you get people who realized in 2021 that your party is run by useless bums who only effectively represent the businesses exploiting us and of course netanyahu.
I remember constant complaints of “The Dems didn’t even TRY anything, they should have proposed bills even if they knew it would fail!” before the second Trump presidency.
Now it seems the chorus has changed to “I can’t believe they’re trying something they know will fail!”
Curious.
The problem is that when they decide to grow a tiny bit of spine this is what they use it for. Like, even if this bill passed it’d mean nothing in two months as the rest of democracy is dismantled around it. It’s like seeing a serial killer break into your home and deciding it’s a good time to wash the dishes. I mean don’t get me wrong, pushing bills alone is very inadequate for supposed opposition leaders during a fascist takeover either way, but pushing LGBT rights bills? They’re not even at the starting line with that.
Okay. There are two core problems with this:
Even fascist regimes are reliant on a highly procedural state bureaucracy in which law can still be used to delay and frustrate fascist aims - this was true even in Nazi Germany at the height of WW2, wherein lawyers associated with the resistance used legal and procedural methods that predated the Nazi takeover, and some that post-dated it, to buy time and save lives. If the fascist regime is intent on killing an individual it singles out for whatever reason, it will kill them regardless of the bureaucracy; but for the vast machinations of killing or imprisoning large amounts of people, procedural methods still have validity as tools in reducing, delaying, and even reversing individual cases. If this bill passed, and for the record I think it has a snowball’s chance in hell of doing so, it would be amongst the tools which would reduce the damage the fascist regime is capable of inflicting going forward, even if not in any way a replacement for real action by society against the fascist regime.
What the fuck are they supposed to be doing, as legislators, if not shit like this? There’s no fillibuster in the House, no major delaying tactics. You could advocate for starting brawls, like another commenter did, but other than achieving the expulsion of remaining Dems with spine from the legislature, which would seem to me a negative consequence rather than a positive, I don’t really know what that’s supposed to accomplish more than you or me going down to the Capitol and throwing hands with Generic McFascist (R-Iowa).
Considering that LGBT folk are at the forefront of who this fascist regime is intent on persecuting? Would beg to fucking differ.
According to the article:
This doesn’t sound like a procedural method that can frustrate fascist aims; it’s just a sentence on a piece of paper saying “you can’t do this one thing”. If the Trump admin wants to do that thing they’ll either pass a bill or issue an executive order saying they can. This bill is too obvious to be a meaningful tool of damage reduction; to invoke it you’d have to come out and say “you’re not allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation”, which would prompt the administration to say “now we can”.
Step down so people with spine can take the position and use it to do things that actually matter. What I expect from a legislator in 2025 (and to be fair my expectations are irrelevant as I’m not American) is to use their position as a podium from which they can tell the people to protest, strike, practice mutual aid and otherwise resist the administration in ways that matter. Legislation would be nice in addition to that, but representatives whose whole “contribution” to anti-fascist resistance is to write a bill and call it a day? They can fucking get lost.
LGBT people are near the top of the regime’s shitlist, but look at who is being actively persecuted right now. It’s not LGBT people; it’s immigrants and from there Latino people as a whole and “criminals”. Of course LGBT people are going to be added to that list sooner or later, but for now the front line is still immigrants, so if the goal is to protect people the administration is persecuting they should be pushing immigrant rights bills to at least challenge the narrative Trump and co are trying to create. Pushing a pro-LGBT bill at this stage of the fascist takeover is empty grandstanding with no benefit whatsoever.
its more like senator warren introducing the flag legislation which was meaniningless.
Turns out that when they actually get a majority, they need to reintroduce and actually vote for bills, or they lose credibility.
Which is how you get people who realized in 2021 that your party is run by useless bums who only effectively represent the businesses exploiting us and of course netanyahu.
You want less cynicism, inspire less cynicism.
who the fuck was saying that other than your fellow coward-ass liberals?
The same kinds of Very Serious Leftists who are now saying spontaneous revolutionary action is the only solution that is acceptable.
no lmao