I teach at a public high school for “profoundly gifted” kids, and work pretty much exclusively with 16+ students. They’re all very smart, and range from libs to somewhat better than normal libs (we had one open ML, but he graduated a few years ago). They all think Trump is a fucking dumbass. As with every election, a big crop of our seniors is going to be eligible to vote for the first time this year.
For the first time in the decade or so that I’ve worked here, pretty much every single one of them has said they don’t intend to vote. They hate Biden almost as much as Trump, either because they condemn the genocide in Israel or just because they (correctly) believe that he has done nothing to actually benefit them. This is a population of kids who are much more politically engaged than your average teenager, and vote turnout in previous years has been high. I was actually very surprised at how many of them expressed contempt for the whole process this year, and indicated that they were totally uninterested in supporting Biden (and of course would not support Trump). I’m guessing this is part of a big trend that we’re going to see this year, and I’m preparing myself for libs blaming young people–for whom Biden has done little but make their future demonstrably worse–for Democrats’ loss.
I’m trying to convince all of them to vote anyway, just for some third party that speaks to them. Yesterday, we talked about PSL, Cornel West, the Greens, and Afroman for a bit. It would be incredibly funny to see young people reject Biden/Trump, and yet turn out in record numbers anyway. The narrative that kids are just too addicted to their phones to vote would fall apart. I’ll keep working on it.
No real point here, just
If the democrats were interested in not having Trump getting elected maybe they should be less dogshit instead of trying to guilt trip people into supporting their genocidal bullshit.
Spoiler: they’ve never actually been interested in being in power, aside from siphoning money from their constant warmongering, they raise way more money from rubes when they’re out of power
Did Biden move that embassy back? No? Weird. How about the nuclear deal with Iran? Did Biden get back into that? No, he wants Iran to make more concessions to restart a treaty America broke, not Iran.
It’s almost like they have exactly the same policies but one of them is more rude.
Trump could absolutely be convinced to do something for Gaza in the right media cycle.
Some bullshit deal that slightly improves conditions so that Trump can brag for the next 4 years that he “Solved the Middle East Crisis that the Democrats couldn’t do in 60 years.” Biden is a full-throated supporter of the genocide and won’t back down.
How many will be deported/have family deported?
Stop. Stop this nonsense. https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2024/01/03/deportation-numbers-under-biden-surpass-trumps-record/
Name a single thing Biden has done or proposed that would make any impact on food availability or income for Americans.
“A lot of the programs that had buffered people’s experience during the pandemic were retired or rolled back in some way,” Waxman says.
You don’t have any ground to stand on this one either. But please keep showing us what a prime example of an out of touch lib you are.
Oh wow I knew we were on track for that I didn’t realize we passed it. The “Mexico is sending rapists” guy is legitimately the better choice on immigration. Love that.
Philosoraptor is just reporting conditions on the ground. If you want to convince everyday vulnerable people to be enthusiastic, why don’t you actually implement policies to help them instead of constantly whipping them with the negative partisanship whip. Because it appears by the OPs post that potential voters are getting wise to the con the party has been playing since Hillary lost in 2016.
I don’t know if there is anything they can do but post about it. Many are seeing that those metaphorical leavers in the voting booth don’t change anything but, have been so atomized by the progress of capitalism that they can’t really mount any effective resistance to it. This difficulty in organizing seems to exist with non electoral strategies too, like trying to build organized labor. This is something I think leftists should get together, discuss, and strategize how to overcome.
Literally all of them have skin in the game by namely being a u.s. citizen. Costs of living have gone up and refuse to ease back down, rent is astronomical and gotten worse under Biden, there’s the genocide in Israel, there’s the unwavering support to Ukraine (supporting the genocide of Ukrainian Russians, which is yet another reason why Russia invaded), and there’s the possibility of war and bringing back the draft to send the young adults to die for other peoples wallets. They shouldn’t have to settle for two different kinds of shit sandwiches. They need better options that’ll guarantee a better life for not only them but for the generations after. Where’s the m4a, free college, people complain about all the Tik Tokers and no tradesmen, why not start an initiative to send people to pick up a trade FOR FREE to help ease that eventual labor shortage. Y’know instead of blowing people up. Just a thought.
Since 2004, probably earlier. After you get fooled by the same thing 10 or 15 times eventually you start to feel like some kind of mark.
Your man Genocide Joe had no issues sidestepping Congress to send billions to genocidal demons on the other side of the planet, but suddenly had no money to actually provision for the promises he made to get to the point he could cosign a genocide. Biden was never going to do anything for protection of synagogues, churches, was never going to close the concentration camps on the border, was never going to stop the Cop City monstrosity, was never going to let out the protestors who tried to fought against it-- and they’re all going away on RICO racketeering charges in one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice that Amerika’s seen in a hundred years.
Typical settler monstrosity, but Biden has always been a segregationist monster ever since the '94 Crime Bill; and settler monsters are all this system of electoralism lets get to the brass ring. I don’t care who you put up next. They’ll just be another symptom to a far greater illness. Even Trump is nothing more than a symptom of the same white supremacy that spawned Biden. Your redditor pith, is nothing more than a symptom of the same illness. And I don’t give the first fuck anymore. May you reap everything you’ve sewn; and may you die nameless at the end of that harvest.
Looks like Dems will have to choose a more electable candidate
Yup, that’s been the strategy. They know me well enough to know I wasn’t going to shame them about it, but I think they were pleasantly surprised at how many interesting alternatives there are.
AFROMAN 2024
Damn lucky you! I work with kids at a decent but small public school sometimes and I’ve not gotten too political yet, but all I’ve heard is one kid being like “guys you gotta VOOT” (voting for anyone besides biden has not been mentioned, its implied)
I should get more political tbh, just to try and keep minds and eyes open if nothing else, but we’re always busy so there isn’t toooons of idle chat time
I do think I’d get fired if I wore a keffiyah but might fuck around and do it anyhow, I’m wearing a scarf already
I teach (among other things) a class on radical political movements, another one on climate science, and most of them know I’m a communist. I still boggle at how much the school lets me get away with.
That’s cool as fuck
I just run an after school program that’s decidedly not political or philosophical in topic but its a very high density of queer and neurodivergent kids involved recently which has been great
After school programs are essential services in today’s society, especially for poor and marginalized groups. Thank you for your service.
They’d never let the teachers get away with that in Florida. Thank you for what you do.
Yeah I definitely know I’m in a super privileged position to be able to do this stuff. The school I’m at is weirdly situated since it’s technically part of a university, and my background also helps me get away with even more. I was a “real academic” who left a very prestigious university to come teach high school here, and I think they give me a somewhat longer leash because of how good I look on paper. Also we just have a fabulous administration who always has our back. It’s a really great job (even pays well). Trying to use that privilege to do some good.
