u/le256

My thoughts on this /r/AskConservatives discussion:

• when our memes promote good nuanced ideas using left-wing language, the right accuses us of being "too wordy"

• when our memes promote good nuanced ideas using right-wing language, the right accuses us of "stealing their jokes"

• you can't win with these f*ckers. They just don't wanna hear your message, no matter how you phrase it. It's not that you can't meme, it's that they get offended at any facts that contradict their hateful worldview.

  • note: I'm not talking about all right-wingers. There might be a few who listen and ask questions in good faith. But the ones who shout "the left can't meme" are just trying to gaslight us, make us think we're "out of touch with the people", and get us doubting our ability to communicate. We can in fact communicate just fine. Telling you you can't meme is just another form of tone policing.

As leftists we try to design our memes so they actually do some good in the world. Because a message can reach more people if it's at least kind of funny.

Right-wing trolls make memes to crack jokes at people's expense (usually at innocent people's expense, or if it's making fun of an actual bad person, it's to paint their entire group with the same brush). P.S. If you don't know how to be funny without being hateful, it's you who can't meme.

One last thing: There are some genuinely sh*tty memes from rich liberal democrat politicians who are actually out of touch with the people. But that doesn't represent the rest of us on the left.

My thoughts on this /r/AskConservatives discussion:

• when our memes promote good nuanced ideas using left-wing language, the right accuses us of being "too wordy"

• when our memes promote good nuanced ideas using right-wing language, the right accuses us of "stealing their jokes"

• you can't win with these f*ckers. They just don't wanna hear your message, no matter how you phrase it. It's not that you can't meme, it's that they get offended at any facts that contradict their hateful worldview.

  • note: I'm not talking about all right-wingers. Maybe there are a few who listen and ask questions in good faith. But the ones who shout "the left can't meme" are just trying to gaslight us, make us think we're "out of touch with the people", and get us doubting our ability to communicate. We can in fact communicate just fine. Telling you you can't meme is just another form of tone policing.

As leftists we try to design our memes so they actually do some good in the world. Because a message can reach more people if it's at least kind of funny.

Right-wing trolls make memes to crack jokes at people's expense (usually at innocent people's expense, or if it's making fun of an actual bad person, it's to paint their entire group with the same brush). P.S. If you don't know how to be funny without being hateful, it's you who can't meme.

One last thing: There are some genuinely sh*tty memes from rich liberal democrat politicians who are actually out of touch with the people. But that doesn't represent the rest of us on the left.

My main takeaways from this /r/AskConservatives discussion:

• when our memes promote good nuanced ideas using left-wing language, the right accuses us of being "too wordy"

• when our memes promote good nuanced ideas using right-wing language, the right accuses us of "stealing their jokes"

• you can't win with these f*ckers. They just don't wanna hear your message, no matter how you phrase it. It's not that you can't meme, it's that they get offended at any facts that contradict their hateful worldview.

  • note: I'm not talking about all right-wingers. There might be a few who listen and ask questions in good faith. But the ones who shout "the left can't meme" are just trying to gaslight us, make us think we're "out of touch with the people", and get us doubting our ability to communicate. We can in fact communicate just fine. Telling you you can't meme is just another form of tone policing.

As leftists we try to design our memes so they actually do some good in the world. Because a message can reach more people if it's at least kind of funny.

Right-wing trolls make memes to crack jokes at people's expense (usually at innocent people's expense, or if it's making fun of an actual bad person, it's to paint their entire group with the same brush). P.S. If you don't know how to be funny without being hateful, it's you who can't meme.

One last thing: There are some genuinely sh*tty memes from rich liberal democrat politicians who are actually out of touch with the people. But that doesn't represent the rest of us on the left.

You're working-class. You get to have a say. What should all the industries do differently, compared to how it is under capitalism?

I'll start:

• Feed everyone for free. Make sure it's foods that can be produced sustainably for 8 billion people.

• Not waste leftover food or other products.

• Give vacant housing to homeless people and to anyone else who needs it (such as people who previously couldn't afford to move away from an abusive partner).

• If we still need more housing, build it as eco-friendlily as possible. Build a lot of it. We want a society where everyone can have their own space, and not have to live with housemates if they don't want to. But also build some common spaces, so people can gather with neighbors if they want to.

• Make neighborhoods walkable, and fix public transit.

• Redesign factories to be ergonomic for workers.

• Same with other workplaces. For example, service workers should be allowed to sit on chairs instead of stand around. None of the "if you got time to lean, you got time to clean" bullsh-t.

• Longer breaks, and less pressure to be formal.

• No more enshittification of technology. Stop the planned obsolescence.

• Discourage mindless consumerism in general. Then we don't need to produce as much stuff in the first place. Better for the planet, and less work for workers.

• A lot of jobs could probably be phased out, tbh (see David Graeber's book about bullshit jobs). We could all be working less.

Seriously, we should start drafting up an open-source blueprint for a better world now, before it's too late.