Jump to content
Existing user? Sign In

Sign In



Sign Up

The US Supreme Court


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 150
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

For those of you who have been following the recent decisions of the US supreme court, I thought it might be nice to have a topic where people could vent, post questions, or share concerns. I, fo

Based America Glad to see you are finally fixing your laws so they match the constitution. Maybe Biden should have thought twice about being racist to Clarence Thomas in the past.

I especially liked Reagan for selling crack in the inner cities to fund terrorism, along with everything else he did to try and end the LGBT menace before they started by no-selling aids as a fairy ta

Posted Images

Hey, I'm American too.

I know that the Dems will do nothing and just tell people to vote; which we did, and now the Dems are in power everywhere but the Supreme Court. They'll run on a platform of "vote for us, and we'll codify Roe into law!", but then they'll get elected and do nothing. The Republicans will continue to drift further and further to the right end of the spectrum.

It doesn't help that the US right-wing is more united, whereas the US left-wing is constantly either disenfranchised, ignored, or guilt-tripped. US liberals are blaming US lefties for not voting for Hillary right now; casting blame with the benefit of hindsight is a horrible way to approach a conflict.

 

I'm only 23, and the system seems irreparable to me. We're a country of mostly left-leaning people, being held hostage by geriatric far-right Christian fascists. Due to issues like gerrymandering, and others, the left-wing will just never win in certain states.

 

As time has moved on in the last few years, it's really begun to look more and more like we only have one option left. We've tried voting, and that hasn't worked. We've tried protesting and picketing, and those didn't work. It seems that our only choice left rhymes with evolution.

 

Link to comment

I don't I could comment much on this without getting angry or violent, I'm a political extremist and can't even think about these issues without thoughts of violence, I can't be civil over politics when my rights are being stripped away. For what it's worth I have been gotten Secret Service visits as a result of calling for the death President Trump on social media. When he took office I officially and publicly renounced allegiance to this country, which I honestly never loved and have wanted to leave since I was a teenager and would have if I were a more well functioning individual. I've never felt this country was my home or that it represented me. I don't respect a country where white nationalists have more rights to get guns than women do to get abortions.


If it comes down to it I think that the Supreme Court is completely invalidated as a reasonable institution, and if the time comes to take up arms against my country's government I am more than willing to do so. As a woman and a lesbian I consider the Supreme Court my oppressor. Trump supporters showed with the insurrection, which if not punished I feel will result in a second one, a likely US dictatorship and a civil war, which Trump supporters have openly expressed desire for.


As far as the United States collapsing at this point I consider it an inevitability and I say let it, when it comes down to it we are a foul country run by psychopathic right-wing fascists where nine unelected people, some of whom are sexual predators and one of whom is married to a treasonous insurrectionist, have more power than the American people. Honestly I think that if the were to dissolve the union of this imperialist power now what would be a better world for the blue states and humanity in general, and the red states can just further drift into some type of backwards Third World theocracy, good riddance I say. With things like gerrymandering and the electoral college America has never be a real democracy as far as I'm concerned, it has always be a racist misogynistic oligarchy of white male Bible thumpers, pedophiles and parasitic capitalists.


That I said my piece, and I think that like what that other thread about Antifa I should probably not check any responses to this because political topics, as I said I cannot really be civil about it, and I am sure that a lot of the responses would just make me infuriated. It's nothing personal, I come here to try and forget about these things which honestly make me sick with rage, so this will be my only post in this thread.

Link to comment
9 hours ago, dabboi said:

Hey, I'm American too.

I know that the Dems will do nothing and just tell people to vote; which we did, and now the Dems are in power everywhere but the Supreme Court. They'll run on a platform of "vote for us, and we'll codify Roe into law!", but then they'll get elected and do nothing. The Republicans will continue to drift further and further to the right end of the spectrum.

It doesn't help that the US right-wing is more united, whereas the US left-wing is constantly either disenfranchised, ignored, or guilt-tripped. US liberals are blaming US lefties for not voting for Hillary right now; casting blame with the benefit of hindsight is a horrible way to approach a conflict.

 

I'm only 23, and the system seems irreparable to me. We're a country of mostly left-leaning people, being held hostage by geriatric far-right Christian fascists. Due to issues like gerrymandering, and others, the left-wing will just never win in certain states.

 

As time has moved on in the last few years, it's really begun to look more and more like we only have one option left. We've tried voting, and that hasn't worked. We've tried protesting and picketing, and those didn't work. It seems that our only choice left rhymes with evolution.

 

Don't give up and fall into despair, that's what the rethugs want you to do. They made a huge error by getting rid of Roe being anti-abortion is not a popular viewpoint even amongst Republicans, the GOP has been riling up their voting base for years by dangling Roe like a carrot stick and now that SCOTUS has actually gone and done it, they've got little left to offer to their voting base so I foresee this mid-term election having record turnout for leftists.

Personally I don't agree with that whole "Dems do nothing" mantra as it's not really true at all, the main problem is Manchin and Sinema who are essentially DINOs(democrats in-name only)who've stifled numerous attempts at passing legislation due to us only having 50 dems in the senate(And you need at least 60 votes to pass most major legislation), hopefully we will get enough dems elected to the senate that those two will become irrelevant and we can actually get Roe codified into law(Which I do firmly believe will happen).

We also need to expand the SCOTUS as three of those seats were illegitimately stolen as far as i'm concerned(and Thomas needs to step down, especially now that we know how deeply involved his wife was in plotting the Jan 6th insurrection)

@DesperateJillI don't think the USA is going to collapse personally, I am at least hopeful from watching the Jan 6th hearings and seeing how many peoples minds have been changed by them. I don't blame you for feeling angry one bit though, I consider all of those GOP justices illegitimate. I don't agree that this country has never been a real democracy personally, but I can fully understand why some feel that way. 

Personally i'd recommend following these people on Twitter, they've kept me sane over the past few years: https://twitter.com/Angry_Staffer/with_replies

https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/with_replies?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

i don't want to leave this country in spite of how things are going right now because I want to stay and fight to make things better, the way I see it if Ukrainians still have the courage to stay and fight for their country after everything they've gone through, i've got no excuse for not at least trying to do the same myself.

Also there's this: https://twitter.com/dcpetterson/status/1540710723524993030

Edited by LifeIsStrange (see edit history)
Link to comment

I would also rather fight to make it better. Once upon a time, slavery was the law of the land. And we began with voting rights limited to white male land owners. They *chose* to steer their world to become one where people like me (black) and you (female, lgbt) have more than we could have imagined 150 years ago, but the ones seeking more equality always had to fight for it, and didn’t win every single round. The people trying to drag the world back into the past were there every step of the way, so it’s no surprise that they’re with us now. 
 

It ain’t over yet. 

Link to comment

Excellent post. I'd like to add on a couple things:

22 hours ago, TVGuy said:

In yet another case the court ruled that the state had to provide public money for private religious education.  This is the first time in the history of the United States that public funds must be given to support religious institutions.

There's a glimmer of hope regarding this specific case: The Maine legislature was able to sidestep the SC decision by mandating that no school applying for or receiving these public funds could engage in LGBTQ+ discrimination of any kind. As a result, every religious school eligible to apply for public funding stated that they would no longer do so. (The ruling also only said that Maine has to allow public tuition vouchers to be used in religious schools where there is no public school option available.) Obviously, this does not cancel out the broader issues, namely that public funds can now be given to religious institutions with their own agendas. (I wonder how long it'll be before the Church of Satan applies for funding...?)

------------------------------------------

23 hours ago, TVGuy said:

The court also struck down an over 100 year old gun law, limiting the kinds of restrictions states can place on guns.  So far in the US we have had 281 mass shootings this year, which we are only 172 days into.  Almost 100 more mass shootings than there have been days in the year.  But, the court has now severely restricted the ability of states to pass laws to try and limit these shootings.

This particular case was terrifying to me as well- it struck down a New York law that required people to demonstrate a legitimate need in order to obtain a concealed carry license. However, there is a possibility that state legislatures could sidestep this decision as well: In the majority decision, SCOTUS acknowledged that states may still pass laws barring firearms from being brought into "sensitive places" (emphasis mine):

Quote

To be clear, even if a modern-day regulation is not a dead ringer for historical precursors, it still may be analogous enough to pass constitutional muster. For example, courts can use analogies to “longstanding” “laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings” to determine whether modern regulations are constitutionally permissible.

State legislatures have thus been given a green light to pass laws banning guns from "sensitive places," and to create a list of "sensitive places" from which even licensed gun owners are banned from bringing weapons. I believe that, at least in NY, and especially in NY considering they're still grieving from the Buffalo shooting, the legislature will soon pass such laws. Imagine this- a gun owner licensed to do so can bring his gun outside the house, but can't take it anywhere (aside from a gun range or public park). Combine that with stricter penalties (such as losing the ability to own firearms permanently), and New Yorkers may end up safer than before the SCOTUS ruling. (Don't take that as a statement of support for SCOTUS, by the way.)

------------------------------------------

The Miranda rights decision was frankly disgusting. The idea of Miranda rights has always been that citizens have the right to know their legal rights in the event of being accused of a crime. If you are arrested or questioned, and the police never inform you of your Miranda rights, my understanding (I am not a lawyer) is that anything the cops gain from questioning you is inadmissible. However, the onus would be on you to tell the court that those rights were violated (the cops sure won't!). Most people aren't aware of their rights, which means that violations will (continue to) occur; violations are certain to increase in number now that cops have nothing to fear by doing so. Since US police disproportionately target minorities, this is certain to have the gravest effect on those communities.

------------------------------------------

Finally, on Roe: That decision was absolutely disgusting. The 14th Amendment clearly gives individuals the right to bodily autonomy. Neither the Constitution nor any previous judicial decision has ever considered the unborn to be people under the law; ergo, any rights extended to them cannot supersede or infringe on the rights of the people gestating them. Regardless of your opinion on abortion in general, this decision (and more directly, the laws it has enabled) forces women to carry to term pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. If someone steals your car (committing a crime against you), the justice system not only punishes the offender, but attempts to undo the crime by returning your car to you. After the Roe reversal, if someone sexually assaults you, the justice system may punish the offender, but if you are pregnant, they not only refuse to undo the crime by allowing you to abort the pregnancy (which begins as literally a clump of rapidly dividing cells- like a tumor), but violate your rights by forcing you to carry that pregnancy to term, AND (in some states) may even force that offender into your life by giving them parental rights.

Consider also that for many women, pregnancy may endanger their life. The US has 17.4 maternal deaths per 100K live births- more than double that of Canada (8.6), and nearly ten times as high as Norway (1.8). This results in part from the fact that women often have no way to abort pregnancies that endanger their lives. To put that a different way, the life of an unborn fetus is valued more highly than the life of a living, breathing person with friends and relatives and people who care about them.

Gentlemen, imagine finding the girl of your dreams (who's real! and likes you back!). You get married. You're finally happy, happier than you ever thought you could be. Maybe you want to have kids (or just like doing it raw), so long story short, you get her pregnant. But her doctor tells you both that she has PCOS, or a uterine septum, or any one of hundreds of medical conditions that neither of you knew anything about before this moment; if she carries this child to term, she will die, with a good chance that the baby will die as well. You are now faced with a terrible decision- either a) watch the person you love suffer from the child growing inside her before dying painfully, leaving you either with the baby that killed her, or completely and utterly alone; or b) have an abortion. If you're wealthy enough to travel someplace where abortion is legal, you have that choice. But for many families, they are stuck with option A.

How can a decision which causes so much human suffering be the plan of any benevolent or loving deity?

Link to comment

I've heard Judaism is actually very pro-abortion so the states outlawing abortion on the basis on "religious freedom" would technically be violating the religious rights of practicing Jews with their anti-abortion laws. I'd love to see a lawsuit filed targeting the red states for that, it would be delicious karma and irony.

It's not just that some states outlaw abortion, some don't even allow exceptions for rape and incest which is all kinds of fucked up.

15 minutes ago, PrincessPEEach said:

When I was younger I was sooo infatuated with the US. We live on the border and I thought everything was better in USA. All the good restaurants, all the cool things from TV…

As I got older I thought it would be amazing to move there. I mean Florida😍. I love sun and sand. It was my goal to retire there. 

But in the past few years I’ve come to realize how incredibly grateful I am to live on this side of the border. I mean Canada isn’t perfect by any stretch, but every time I think I can’t become more horrified by the news out of the US, something new tops the bar. 😬

People in the U.S. say the same thing about other countries like the U.K., but people living there can tell you those countries have their own set of problems(like the U.K.'s absolutely horrendous treatment of transgender individuals that puts the U.S. to shame, as both parties there demonize them to a truly disgusting degree)it's that old "the grass is always greener on the other side" mantra.

Plus we are still better off then some countries in regards to abortion, at the very least there isn't a single U.S. state that doesn't have an exception for abortion in the case where the mothers life is in danger, which is more then I can say for Poland where abortion is effectively outlawed period with NO exceptions even for when the mothers life is endangered(which is causing a problem for many Ukrainaian women that fled there after being raped by Russian soldiers), that country is basically a low-key dictatorship now and I truly feel sorry for the citizens there(especially women and LGBTQ folks).

I think you should still visit the U.S. sometime, though i'd wait until after mid-terms at least(and if I were you i'd stay the hell away from any state controlled by the GOP, especially Florida with Death-Santis and his insane policies)

Edited by LifeIsStrange (see edit history)
Link to comment

I'm not American. And when I look at this situation from a foreign perspective, I don't see a problem with the USA. I mean, like every country, the USA have their own problems, but slowly doing the right moves to correct things. What I see, is the Supreme Court of the USA undermining its own credibility. How can that group of judges be responsible for such sensible tasks as regulating legislative and administrative powers in the USA? If I was a citizen of the USA, my actions regarding this matter would be to pressure the government institutions to rethink the supreme court, how the judges are appointed and how much time they stay in office (a permanent seat is a call for abuse of power).

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Jota said:

I'm not American. And when I look at this situation from a foreign perspective, I don't see a problem with the USA. I mean, like every country, the USA have their own problems, but slowly doing the right moves to correct things. What I see, is the Supreme Court of the USA undermining its own credibility. How can that group of judges be responsible for such sensible tasks as regulating legislative and administrative powers in the USA? If I was a citizen of the USA, my actions regarding this matter would be to pressure the government institutions to rethink the supreme court, how the judges are appointed and how much time they stay in office (a permanent seat is a call for abuse of power).

 

Fortunately we do have some recourse against a rogue SCOTUS: https://archive.ph/WPcvm

Link to comment

Wow @TVGuy thanks for putting a topic about it here so we can vent in a much better way then most of Twitter and the rest of the big social media platforms. I'm also a American and have lived in this country my whole life,( if you want to know my age just click my profile or something idk). I'm upset about roe v wade getting gone, BUT, a reply to a post on Twitter I found had a small point. In the constitution it doesn't specifically state the word abortion because back then they used old English words of that era. So the word is there just not the same word your looking for. Anyway now it's up to the states to decide about abortion. My only advice to women in this country and it sucks trust me, is if your in a republician controlled state move to a state that is more on the side of the democrats then repubs and you should be fine or, take your birth control regularly even if your not having sex?! Like I said it sucks for me to say that but quite frankly it is what it is till we get another civil war to ultimately decide the fate of the country but I hope that's not in my lifetime. Also sorry for the run on sentence I have graduated high school more then 10 years ago so yea lol. Also hi to all the other Americans on this site.

Link to comment
15 hours ago, dabboi said:

I know that the Dems will do nothing and just tell people to vote; which we did, and now the Dems are in power everywhere but the Supreme Court. They'll run on a platform of "vote for us, and we'll codify Roe into law!", but then they'll get elected and do nothing. The Republicans will continue to drift further and further to the right end of the spectrum.

Except that the democrats really aren't in power.  The power of the president is mainly limited to emergency powers at a time of war and the ability to veto legislation.  That is it.  The president doesn't have much power issue declarations.

When it comes to congress, yes, democrats have a narrow majority in the house, but the senate is fairly evenly divided.  In the senate, the minority party can block most anything using the filibuster rule.  Even with a majority in the senate, democrats need 60% vote to override a republican filibuster.  So, unless the house is majority democrat and 60% of the senate is, republicans can prevent congress from doing almost anything.

There is the so-called nuclear option, where a simple majority can vote to throw out the filibuster, but you would still need over half the senate to vote for that.  Right now, senators Manchin and Sinema, though democrats, refuse to vote to override the the filibuster.  So, democrats are essentially powerless right now.

16 hours ago, dabboi said:

I'm only 23, and the system seems irreparable to me. We're a country of mostly left-leaning people, being held hostage by geriatric far-right Christian fascists. Due to issues like gerrymandering, and others, the left-wing will just never win in certain states.

I was a teenager in the late 90's, before social media was really a thing.  Both the left and the right were a lot more moderate back then, especially before 9/11.  People had different ideologies, but facts weren't something that were so politicized.  Even in extremely republican areas, being openly racist or associated with the white power movement used to be disqualifying for a politician.

The problem today, as I see it, is that everyone has their own set of "facts."  Social media and engagement algorithms favor content that creates engagement, it doesn't matter if that content is true or not.  As a result, many people live in an echo chamber of information that only reinforces their biases.    I don't think the system is totally irreparable, but in order for it to work we need to be able to solve the problem of misinformation.

11 hours ago, DesperateJill said:

I don't I could comment much on this without getting angry or violent, I'm a political extremist and can't even think about these issues without thoughts of violence, I can't be civil over politics when my rights are being stripped away.

I am very sympathetic with where you are coming from @DesperateJill, I feel much the same way. 

What I try to do is step back and look at things using game theory- I have a specific goal. What can I do to increase the chances of succeeding at that goal?

There is a strong desire when threatened to use violence to defend one's self, but in this case, when the nature of the threat is so institutional, I am not convinved that violent action could be useful in achieving the ultimate goal.

Now, I'm not saying to sit back and do nothing.

Personally, I am working with several of my colleagues in the media industry, developing a new project to combat misinformation.  One of the problems, I've realized, is that it isn't enough to simply combat misinformation with the truth.  Not with the way the social media echo chamber works.  The project that my colleagues and I are embarking on is specifically designed to take advantage of the social media engagement algorithms, to penetrate the echo chamber bubble, and get real information in front of the very people who are being subject to misinformation right now.

5 hours ago, YesIamThatDan said:

Finally, on Roe: That decision was absolutely disgusting. The 14th Amendment clearly gives individuals the right to bodily autonomy. Neither the Constitution nor any previous judicial decision has ever considered the unborn to be people under the law; ergo, any rights extended to them cannot supersede or infringe on the rights of the people gestating them. Regardless of your opinion on abortion in general, this decision (and more directly, the laws it has enabled) forces women to carry to term pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.

Exactly.... With the legal precident now set at the highest level that one's right to bodily autonomy can be overridden by a state law, it is terrifying to think would future laws this could enable. 

4 hours ago, LifeIsStrange said:

I've heard Judaism is actually very pro-abortion so the states outlawing abortion on the basis on "religious freedom" would technically be violating the religious rights of practicing Jews with their anti-abortion laws. I'd love to see a lawsuit filed targeting the red states for that, it would be delicious karma and irony.

There are some religions that don't just allow, but even obligate abortions in some circumstances.  Yes, this recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade and upholding state laws banning abortion seem to conflict with other Supreme Court decisions regarding religious freedom.   Ultimately, if the right to an abortion is not established in some other way, the courts are going to have to reconcile these conflicts.

4 hours ago, Jota said:

I don't see a problem with the USA. I mean, like every country, the USA have their own problems, but slowly doing the right moves to correct things. What I see, is the Supreme Court of the USA undermining its own credibility. How can that group of judges be responsible for such sensible tasks as regulating legislative and administrative powers in the USA? If I was a citizen of the USA, my actions regarding this matter would be to pressure the government institutions to rethink the supreme court, how the judges are appointed and how much time they stay in office (a permanent seat is a call for abuse of power).

The Supreme Court is established by the US constitution.  Other government institutions simply don't have the power or the authority to rethink the court.  There are a few things that can be done, like expanding the size of the court by increasing the number of justices.  But how the justices are appointed and how long they serve are enshrined in the constitution.

One of the problems is it is up to the senate to confirm a justice to the court when they are appointed.  It is the duty of the senate to hold confirmation hearings, and decide if a justice is qualified or not.  However, recently, the senate, under republican leadership, has worked to fill the court with justices with specific conservative viewpoints.  The senate refused to do their constitutional duty and even hold confirmation hearings for Obama's supreme court picks.  Then, voted along party lines to certify a justice despite potentially disqualifying information being introduced at the hearings.

The Supreme Court got to this point because the senate, under republican control, sought to increase their own power instead of performing their duty under the constitution.  And, because of the way elections work in the US, with an electoral college instead of each vote being equal, things are stacked in favor of the republican party.  A minority of voters are able to elect a majority republican senate who are able to only confirm justices that will uphold the voting maps that keep them in power, and limit the voting power of those who would vote against them.

2 hours ago, Lovetoholdin said:

In the constitution it doesn't specifically state the word abortion because back then they used old English words of that era. So the word is there just not the same word your looking for. Anyway now it's up to the states to decide about abortion.

The constitution establishes that all citizens in the United States have the right to bodily autonomy in the 4th and 14th amendments.  You have the right to get a piercing, a tattoo, to donate blood, or to chose not to donate blood.  Until now, the court has never found that an innocent person could be compelled to sacrifice their body or risk their life unless there was some form of special duty, such as a soldier being required to go into battle.

You have two kidneys.  Image that a person, suffering kidney failure, could be saved by you donating one of your kidneys.  Giving them your kidney would certainly be a noble thing to do, but there are many reasons why you might decide not to donate your kidney.  The operation isn't completely risk free, for one thing.  Imagine if you are a single parent, you may not want to risk leaving your children without a parent to help a stranger.  The law can't compel you to give up your kidney, no matter how morally righteous it may be do to so, or how morally reprehensible it may be to withhold it.  It is your kidney, your body, your choice.  But now, women, can be compelled to sacrifice their reproductive organs.  They can be forced to allow use of their uterus by the law, and no longer have the right to bodily autonomy to refuse.

2 hours ago, Lovetoholdin said:

take your birth control regularly even if your not having sex?!

Actually, justice Thomas, in his concurring opinion, suggested this court is also ready to strike down Griswold v. Connecticut, which established the right to contraception.  Birth control could also be outlawed by these states.

5 hours ago, LifeIsStrange said:

at the very least there isn't a single U.S. state that doesn't have an exception for abortion in the case where the mothers life is in danger

Kind of...  Idaho, South Dakota, and Arkansas do not provide any provision for the mother's health, only if her life is in danger.  Any doctor who performs an abortion in these states could still be prosecuted.  Their guilt would come down to the question, could the mother have survived without an abortion? If the answer is yes, then the abortion was illegal.

Also, in almost none of the states that have abortion bans are there any exceptions for cases of rape or incest.  In these states you could have a child who is raped by a family member and impregnated, but then legally required to give birth.

Link to comment

In all fairness, I never liked Roe v. Wade from a legal standpoint. Reading through the decision it always felt like the Judicial Branch arbitrarily creating law, which is the purview of the Legislative branch.

Basically, if there is going to be a law or legal action with regards to abortion, it should come from the Legislative branch and actually be codified either law or an amendment.

Link to comment

Shit like this entire overturning among so many other things the past few years fuels my nihilistic views on political issues even further. Each side either pushes for ass-backwards policies or pushes ideals that shouldn’t be imposed onto the people without any (meaningful) say from them, or they cannibalize themselves making any potential for positive changes or “progress” haphazard or nonexistent. American politics are an endless tug-of-war where nothing changes for the better. If dems get what they want, it’s only a matter of time before the branches sway to republicans to undo whatever they implemented. Same goes for republicans when they get replaced by democrats too. Nothing of any positive value ever fucking happens and when it does somehow it gets changed or walked back. I used to care about politics but now I can’t bring myself to without getting aggressively nihilistic. Voting doesn’t fucking matter because it’s only a drop in the proverbial bucket. A bucket which doesn’t mean shit half the time because one democrat vote in a republican dominated area or one republican vote in a democrat dominated area doesn’t change a fucking thing. Presidential elections with the electoral college involved only prove my point. I don’t see myself ever going out to vote. I feel that it doesn’t matter, nothing will come of it. For as long as politics are just an endless shit-fest and treated like sporting events with the way people pick teams for the sake of doing so, I don’t plan on voting. Nothing I say or do matters. I’d rather just live under my metaphorical rock and not care, because if I cared, my spirits would have been crushed already.

Link to comment

Although I'm not fond of the idea of abortion, it has happened for many thousands of years, and the SCOTUS decision won't stop it.  But it is a surgical procedure that needs to be performed in sterile conditions by qualified medical personnel, and now, in some states, amateur abortionists will threaten the health or life of desperate women.  Perhaps some day we'll be able to control reproduction so that abortion won't be necessary, but until then it should be allowed in a proper setting by proper persons.  I note that for some women the "abortion pill" is safe and effective, but they need to know how and where to obtain it.  

Regarding guns, in my state no license is required for concealed carry of a firearm, so anyone, no matter how incompetent or unstable they are, can own a gun and walk around in public with the ability to kill quickly and easily.  There is something wrong with that picture.

Link to comment

As an outsider on two fronts - I'm an anarchist and against the very idea of a hierarchical authority in any capacity, but especially nation states, and DOUBLY so for capitalist ones. - and somebody from outside the USA, the entire situation the country finds itself in is frankly disgusting, but not unexpected.

Over the last many, many years - The latter half of the 20th Century and all of the current one, there has essentially been an uptick in rights and freedoms... Followed by an immense downturn that continues to this day. The causes of which are far too long to get into in exhaust detail here, but suffice to say that a mix of rich individuals, military leadership, monopolistic corporations and others fed resources into a massive movement turning US Christianity on its head entirely. We're talking billions of dollars into convincing people who believe in the words and acts of Christ to believe essentially the polar opposite.

This is the modern 'Right Wing' in America, built under a mix of rabidly anti-liberal and anti-socialist propaganda, outright bullshit with no theological founding, and more money than any of us will ever see in our lives specifically sent to encourage the hate we see today.

They then picked up a batshit insane group of Klan types preaching about 'Dominionism'. The resultant cocktail is essentially America-branded Christofascism, rather than well-meaning conservatism which has generally been known outside of North America to be about cautious progress rather than "You're not white? GET FUKT LOL"

A reasonably in-depth examination of exactly what arguments are used by the rising tide of frothing maniacs can be found here:


More worryingly yet, as has been mentioned before in this thread, is that these rollbacks on rights and freedoms have the potential to be expansive. There is discussion amongst the reactionary ('conservative' is a lie, their ideology has more in common with Franco's Spain than, say, Teddy Roosevelt's USA) base behind the new SCOTUS judges about attacking the following:

Interracial Marriage
Same-sex Marriage
Protection From Discrimination (Sex/Gender/Ethnicity/Etc)
AND MORE.


Frankly, voting will do little to help fix this. House Democrats were singing 'God Bless America' while snipers watched protestors from the Supreme Court's roof.

Active disruptive protest combined with lending unconditional aid to the people affected by this travesty are about the only sound legal solutions left, and I'm not about to advocate for illegal solutions on an open forum no matter my own opinions on the matter. I say disruptive (but not illegal) as there are already reports of people being run down by cars and trucks in protests across the USA because the ghouls leading their brainwashed Yeehawd and general Y'all Qaeda fuckery told them it was good to do it. Combining that with regimented peaceful protests with permits being violently beaten or worse over the last few years, the knowledge that peaceful protest in the Civil Rights Movement only worked because MLK and associates had friends who were marching with rifles slung on their backs...

If your activism isn't inconveniencing whomever you're against, it is a joke.

For people in states with still-legal abortion, this means clinic escort volunteers. For people in states where it is now illegal, this means willing to smuggle people out of state. For pregnant people within those red states, this means burning all evidence of any period tracking app or documentation you may have as it may be used against you in court as evidence even if you haven't aborted a fetus at all.

Other more general methods of aid include providing for people who cannot flee or obtain means to safely abort in secret. Often enough they cannot afford a new child and if they give birth they will be severely impoverished...

...and organizing teaching things like self defence classes, first aid, basics for how to deal with childbirth when reaching a hospital isn't an option, and gun clubs where at-risk women can learn armed self defense.

Apologies if this post is all over the place, but this whole affair has my head spinning.

A clarification if you're unsure about my stance on guns, my take is: You're absolutely nuts if you think giving up the ability to defend yourself with parity against people who fetishize AR-15s is gonna help anybody. Gun restrictions in the modern US are even based on laws made to de-fang armed groups who were standing against white supremacist police (the Black Panthers would watch any arrests happening. Visibly armed, with the expectation that the cops wouldn't beat somebody to death or shoot them if it meant they might catch a bullet for it.) and so are even more worthless besides. Of course, anybody who wants to get a gun is gonna get one anyway, legal or not. If you think it's hard, there have been cases of various groups in countries with far less numerous firearms getting their hands on military fucking missile launchers. Legality is not going to stop people who are very happy to murder you no matter how they need to go about it.

^ Tl;dr for gun talk? They aren't giving theirs up, don't give yours up. Simple as.

I'd also like to say that these monsters are in no way Christian in any measurable sense. Words attributed to Christ in the New Testament are clear, compassionate, and against hate and brutality of all kinds. While they might claim Obama or Biden is the antichrist, the extremists banning abortion are in truth far closer to fulfilling that concept themselves.

If this court ruling affects you or people you love directly, I'm so, so sorry you have to deal with this shit, and I pray that Canada and a few other nations at least open their borders to women fleeing persecution over their own bodily autonomy.

Link to comment

Also an interesting fact, after Roe initially passed in 1973 there wasn't really much resistance to it from religious groups(with some christian groups even defending it)for about 5 years or so, the furor against it didn't really start until a group of right-wing nutjobs tried to come up with some wedge issue to get Christians on their side so they could push their own secret passion- segregation, see by that point right-wing politicians could no longer get away with being openly pro-segregation without alienating their voting base, so they tried a bunch of moral campaigns(including an anti-porn one) as a wedge issue to get christians on their side so they could push for resegregation later but nothing seemed to work until they hit upon abortion in 1979 and that's when you saw all of this pro-life nonsense emerge. So the pro-life movement was never an organic movement to begin with, it was something the right-wing chose to get Christians on their side so they could sneak in their pro-segregation views under the radar.

It's all detailed here:https://www.teenvogue.com/story/religious-right-abortion-segregation

@DarksynThe idea that voting won't do anything to help this is flat out false, if that was the case the GQP wouldn't be trying so hard to stop minorities from voting in states like Texas with things like bogus voter ID laws in the first place, so clearly leftists voting DOES inconvenience the rethugs if they are willing to go to this much effort just to try and stop non-whites from voting(since they almost never vote for the right)

Edited by LifeIsStrange (see edit history)
Link to comment

@LifeIsStrange It is not that voting will not help, but that voting without other action in support of it is entirely useless.

Depending on your definition of 'Leftist', many wouldn't be voting in most cases anyway. Marxists, Marxist-Leninists, and many Anarcho-Socialists refuse to engage with the mechanism for ideological reasons, and would be far more likely to resort to direct action in whatever form. If by 'leftist' you mean Sanders, AOC, and the gang? They're literally just semi-progressive right wingers compared to the previous groups I mentioned. 'Liberal', in the sense of "Not a monarchist, fascist, or socialist." (So, in the same category as the less violently insane GOP members out there in comparison to the anti-capitalist left.)

At this point, I've seen some democratic-socialist types musing about the Bullet Box rather than the Ballot Box, though that is generally reserved for community self defense via having people with some relative degree of societal privilege (White men, primarily) present a physical barrier. Just yesterday there was word of a group of parents blocking Proud Boys thugs from interrupting a drag queen book reading. Rolling up armed to stand alongside unarmed protestors, protecting people outside of Planned Parenthood, that kind of stuff.

Of course, I can't speak for some of the most extreme people out there, and there are likely some who have taken these events as a sign of "Welp, fuck, guess it's revolution time!"

Not that any of that would actually help all that much at this particular juncture. It'd make shit worse in a huge hurry.

Link to comment

@Darksyn  AOC is anything but right-wing, definitely strongly disagree with you on that one and I definitely don't agree that voting by itself is useless, again if that's really the case the right-wing wouldn't be trying so hard to stop people from doing it in the first place.

I don't count those marxist/anarchist nutjobs as leftists personally as I just don't have much respect for people that have the ability to vote but choose not to, I don't see anything heroic about not voting whatsoever.

Edited by LifeIsStrange (see edit history)
Link to comment

Again, there are ideological reasons these 'nutjobs' have for not interacting with the system that I'd rather not go into detail here, as it would be considerably off-topic and incredibly long-winded. Still, if the left and right are a spectrum between two poles, AOC is at most what I'd call 'three points left of center', within the US political sphere, of out ten points to left and right of pure center (0). Democratic socialists would sit at a 'six', Marxists at 'eight' and anarchists at 'ten' left of center.

This is based on a more international understanding of politics rather than a narrow US view. Anarchists were providing women with birth control when even considering handing out contraceptives was illegal, back in the 1910s-20s and are in part responsible for: the weekend existing as a break from work, bathrooms existing in factories and workplaces, health and safety regulations and the abolition of child labour.  So again, relatively speaking, this is where things sit whether or not one approves of the methods modern leftists pursue.

I'm not saying she's bad or useless, far from it - She's the single most progressive politician with any mainstream prominence and that gives her some leverage! I'm just saying that she's playing softball compared to the actual Left historically and presently.

RE: efficacy of voting, US representatives have zero requirement to actually represent the position of their constituents political desires, and so primarily act as an extension of the party line even if the people who elected them want them to do the polar opposite, and they are hardly able to be recalled or punished for this abuse of power. As a result, the gerrymandering in local elections is pushed to ensure a definitive win in a district, which is in part designed to remove the ability for minorities and opposition to dissent at all.

Aside from local elections, everything else is essentially a rich people exclusive popularity contest where the popular vote is frankly a fucking joke and serves only to gauge how well liked somebody is.

Local voting: Good and useful. Anything higher however requires you be a representative and good luck with that if you're not rich already. There are exceptions but they are RARE - AOC, Sanders, Ilhan Omar, etc.

The electoral college exists to ensure the masses don't choose the 'wrong candidate', because the founding fathers were primarily rich white men who'd rather not be led by Joe Schmoe the subsistence farmer, or HEAVENS FORBID, a slavery abolitionist!

So when I talk about not voting, I mean federally speaking. If it's not in your backyard you have zero influence over anything your representative does. So these groups often do vote locally for progressive reps.

They just know the rest of the hierarchy is rigged and don't participate in the theatrical bullshit surrounding it.

Link to comment

@Darksyn When i'm thinking of anarchists, i'm not thinking of the kinds of people you mentioned, i'm thinking more of the "burn everything down" types, which is an attitude I just can't get behind.

Aside from health issues or those aforementioned laws that specifically target minority voters, I can't think of a good reason not to vote(or vote third-party for that matter, don't even get me started on those green-party types, I will forever despise Ralph Nader for playing a part in Bush getting elected) if you are able-bodied and have the opportunity to do so. I don't care what Ideological reasons someone who can vote has for not doing so, at the end of the day not voting isn't productive and I can't help but view it as disrespectful when i think of all the people that fought and died for the right to vote.

Edited by LifeIsStrange (see edit history)
Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...