• Feathercrown@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    9 months ago

    Republicans are horrible because of their core beliefs. That there is not good and bad, but strong and weak. That (paraphrasing a wise internet man here) “there are in-groups that the law must protect but not bind, and out-groups that the law must bind but not protect.” That they’re always right, and that others are always wrong. Rich people use this, but they cannot create it alone.

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        Right, but I feel like you’re not getting my point here. They couldn’t do that if their supporters didn’t already believe in hurting people.

        • hypnoton@discuss.online
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          9 months ago

          I get that the billionaires can’t do it alone, but my point is, without the elites the fascist/capitalist base by itself isn’t sufficiently organized or motivated to run an oligarchy.

          The billionaires are the brain of that organism.

          • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            edit-2
            9 months ago

            My point is informed by hundreds of hours of discussion with republican individuals. If you think it’s stupid and ignorant then tell me with a straight face that republicans aren’t more hateful than democrats.

            • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              3
              ·
              9 months ago

              Republicans aren’t more hateful than Democrats. On a macro scale, the political party you most identify with says very little about your capacity to hate “others”. That capacity is instead part of human nature. If you think your party is above that, then you are deluding yourself or are not recognizing hate when it’s directed at the opposition. Either not recognizing it, or justifying it by first vilifying and demonizing the opposition.

              • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                4
                ·
                9 months ago

                It is true that many democrats also hate republicans, but that’s a paradox of tolerance. If you look at the policies each party supports, it’s pretty clear which one is more hateful.

                • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  2
                  arrow-down
                  3
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  9 months ago

                  Right, so hatred of Republicans is justified in your mind.

                  Edit: The paradox of intolerance can be used to justify intolerance just as easily as it can be used to justify not being tolerant of intolerance. So which is it? Most people who refer to the paradox of intolerance aren’t spending much time reflecting on that, and instead jump right to using it to feel good about demonizing their opposition.

                  • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    3
                    ·
                    9 months ago

                    I believe it is, but I haven’t jumped to anything. I got into politics a few years ago and have only started to truly hate them about a year ago-- after Covid, really. As I said, my opinions have formed through simple conversation with members of each group. I have found republicans’ actions to be fueled by selfishness, fear, anger, hatred, unjustified authority, and inequality far, far, FAR more often than I have with democrats. I should really start keeping a list of evidence or something but since I haven’t, I only have my experiences (or, you know, the news, if you trust that) to point to about this stuff. I’m a pretty reflective guy, I’ve thought about the ethics and justification here, and I simply cannot bring myself to care about people who only care for themselves, or worse, actively enjoy watching others suffer. Yes, that includes democrats who enjoy watching the average republican (excluding politicians here) suffer. But at some point my empathy for the average republican runs out. It’s been about 10 years since the republican party has gone completely to shit and anyone who still supports them is beyond my ability to help.

    • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      When you say “Republicans”, are you referring to politicians or to the roughly half of the country that votes Republican? Because I kind of agree with your take if it’s regarding politicians, but even then it should apply to all of them. If you are referring to everyone who votes Republican, then you are so far off base that I don’t even know where to start.

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        I’m referring to a large number of both politicians and voters who hold these sentiments, whether consciously or unconsciously. People who vote republican because of habit or whatever instead of ideology don’t count although I do think that’s shortsighted, and there are some republicans who genuinely believe in the fiscal or deregulation sides of things etc.

      • FreakinSteve@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        9 months ago

        If they vote Republican, they condone the violence associated with it. There is no separation between the two.

          • FreakinSteve@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            9 months ago

            All of it. State violence against the poor and minority groups; corporate violence against the wage-earner; radicalized lone wolf violence against the public.

            • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              9 months ago

              And you place the blame for all of that on Republicans? What a good little for soldier you are.

              • FreakinSteve@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                9 months ago

                Why yes…yes I do. The Republican Party is the home of conservatism now. Conservatism’s goal is to destroy our country and create an oligarchy. This is done through both active and passive violence.

                • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  9 months ago

                  The goal of any conservative movement is to resist change. It’s in the name, and it’s the nature of people who are conservative. There’s nothing about “destroy” or “create an oligarchy” in it. Conservative is closer to the opposite of those. Also, there is very little active violence coming from conservatives, especially compared to progressive movements, and passive violence is a vague term that means whatever you want it to mean, according to your favorite niche cultural movement.

                  I feel like you are just throwing around terms without even understanding them or applying any critical thought to them.

                  • FreakinSteve@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    9 months ago

                    Beginning with Reagan declaring war on higher education by forcing debt to be incurred by it so that only upper classes could be educated and protect their wealth up to now; " think tanks" pushing public policy to ONLY serve the wealthiest while shitting all over the middle and lower class; to using religion to control women and doom them to being nothing more than incubators; to militarizing the police and cheering for every murder they committed, ALL THE VIOLENCE IS FROM THE RIGHT. NONE AT ALL IS FROM THE LEFT. NONE. ZERO. ZILCH.

                    And now I know that you are part of the fascist brigade here.