So much of our modern political system is poised around vibes, because that’s all the older voters (seem to) really care about. If I had a dollar for every time I heard some variation of having a beer with George W, I’d have more dollars than I do now.

I think in contrast younger voters care about a vast array of issues very deeply, making engaging in politics a much more complex task that they probably don’t have time for. Given that so much of the coverage consists of no-meaning political lines with no coherent policy right now, engaging in traditional ways is pointless until they stop having vapid “debates” and “interviews” with no content, and start forcing real policy discussion.

I think Bernie was popular with younger voters because he brought so few vibes and so much policy. I went to a Hillary rally and a Bernie rally during the primary in 2015 and the difference was night and day. Hillary talked about the positive feeling of continuing the Democratic legacy, while Bernie talked about sustainable agriculture and straw polled the attendees about wind power.

To be clear I bet this held true 50 years ago when our old voters were young too, no hate on the olds here, priorities change, though I hope mine don’t. Also I wonder if this is all still true for the new young voters, most of my interactions are with millennials and gen z. My few interactions with the folks graduating now have been tainted by my old and out of touch self and by their (in my opinion) under-practiced interpersonal skills from covid years at home. Again, no hate intended.

It’s odd to me that the reasoning given here and in the article for this problem for the Democrats is that they aren’t acting Republican enough and they are too leftist. It is so clear that the Democrats have managed to do very few of the things they say, and what they do accomplish is either just what Republicans would do, or hamstrung by the Republicans and media blitzed. That’s why they lose ground. Becoming Republican will also lose them different ground. It doesn’t feel like the data should need an explanation in the first paragraph like that, it skews the interpretation of what is pitched as objective.

I think all these economic and business interests are just desperate for the old Republican party back and are trying to sculpt the Democrats into it because they were close enough already. Probably successfully. It’s pretty bleak all around.

Also I’m sorry I can’t leave it, but are you saying that the BLM “cohort” prefer trump in there? I’m not going to say that anyone is enthusiastic about Biden, but Trump encouraged beat downs across the country and threatened to march the military on these folks. (Would have done it too if it weren’t for the woke liberal adjenda of General Mark Milley).

I don’t think that the last part is true. Community justice (even) in our broken society doesn’t really favor the powerful. The gut reaction I see is to help the underdog in a situation, not the oppressor. Sometimes an individual read of a situation can be complicated, leading to mistaken outcomes, but the intent is to end the negative situation.

Tangentially that makes me think about the difference in intent. A group of people expelling a bigot from a train is that group trying to fix a bad situation, let the oppressed person know they are not alone, and to let the oppressor know that are not welcome there with that behavior. The police may also kick someone off the train but their actions are punative, they exist to enforce a heiarchy and punish, they aren’t there to help the oppressed feel like they aren’t alone, and they are only letting the oppressor know that they aren’t welcome there, but as long as the cops aren’t nearby it’s ok.

As for structuring a more just society, we could imagine one without the implicit power imbalances, one without an arbitrary heiarchy of authority figures dictating right vs wrong. I know it sounds like I’m describing anarchy (I am) but also kinda a democracy? Like everyone gets a say to make decisions, and a group of equals decide together how to live their lives. Breaking down our current heiarchies to get there is the hard part, obviously, and I think it’s a generations long societal struggle. Hopefully we all live more justly than our parents until we arrive somewhere better than where we left.

Sorry this was very stream of conciousness, I hope my thoughts came across somewhat effectively.

The Americas are, as a continent, the site of mass genocide at the hands of Europeans. The intent was to eliminate the native peoples and their cultures, and this intent is both clear and the genocide is ongoing.

This is the big stick philosophy you say you support, it commits atrocities on other human beings in the name of expansion, extraction, and recognition, and unfortunately the philosophy dominates many of our ways of life.

That doesn’t mean it’s good, or right, or that it is the only way. We should hold ourselves to the standard we want to live by so we can break the cycles of abuse, and we should talk to each other and educate one another so we can deliver the best version of ourselves.

Consider that not all people have always lived with modern ideas of property, nations, and hierarchy. These are, in the grand scheme of human history, pretty insignificant when faced with the vast array of societies and beliefs shared by people over thousands of years. All that is to say domination is not inevitable or necessary, we can choose to do otherwise and all be better off for it.

Or Jay Inslee from Washington State who isn’t running for reelection, or maybe JB Pritzker from Illinois, or (god forbid) another Democrat that doesn’t fit the white guy in government mold.

The only reason it feels like there’s no alternatives to Biden is that all the alternatives to Biden don’t want to spoil the election, there’s plenty of good and better choices out there. It’s very frustrating.

Among other things, I take issue with “men build social order, liberal democracy, nearly everything else…”. This is simply not true, social order has existed in many forms since people existed, liberal democracy has existed in many places run primarily by women or in mixed gender groups, and men do not exclusively build the world.

Yes, men are experiencing a mental health crisis (at least in the US where I am most familiar), and it has been largely ignored by government but not because women are deemed more important, but because we do not support mental health of anyone. To say no one cares and no one is doing anything about it is like saying no one cares about the lives of our children because we haven’t solved school shootings yet. People know it’s a problem, people want it to change and to fix it, but our system of government is not reflective of the people’s opinions. (This is part of what makes up poorly conceived rhetoric about men ruining things, “if men created our liberal democracy and society as you say, surely it’s obvious it is not working out too well”).

It’s normal to feel upset and defensive when you see a group you identify with suffering. It’s not okay to take those negative emotions and direct them towards other groups, be they gender, ethnic, social, or otherwise. Remember it’s in the best interests of those who oppress to keep the oppressed fighting amongst themselves.

Is they pay not being high enough really the barrier to entry for most people? I would imagine the barrier is upfront cost more than eventual salary. Paying the politicians more just encourages them to stay longer.

Give them free food, housing, and health care, and a stipend for recreational spending. They are serving the people, I’m cool to foot the bill for that much. Use the rest of our money to help less rich and powerful people run for office in the first place.

Why are elders deserving of more respect than anyone else? Other than reference to tradition, which was often formed by religion (“respect your elders” is from the bible, old, but not nearly ancient history) which was in turn used to cement power and money in a few old folks running the religion.

Surely the young deserve the same respect as the old, it isn’t like age makes you smarter or better able to handle new situations. It can mean you have wisdom but age alone has no bearing on that.

You can also respect someone but realize that they no longer understand what is going on in the world. I respect my grandfather who flew spy planes during the cold war, then came home and was an anti war activist. Do I think he should run for office today? Absolutely not. Vote? Honestly probably not. He’s certainly not able to make an informed decision anymore. But I will visit him when I can, take care of him as best I can, hear his stories, and learn from those stories as I can.

In this threads context young people don’t get to serve in office or vote but elders get to vote and serve until the day they die. This has directly and indirectly created a feeling of disenfranchisement with young (literally under 50 at this point) folks that shows itself in all aspects of politics.