The Current State of Affairs : usauthoritarianism

[-] [email protected] 32 points 1 month ago

yeah. but mention the impact of failing schools by directly adressing those affected will get you banned/downvoted etc.

e.g. i think american education has generated americans that have no wider education. they can do math and writing but know shit about geography or history.

say it out loud...die.

so are the schools really failing or is that what these people voted for in the first place?

[-] [email protected] 24 points 1 month ago

Don't know what to tell you, but we really aren't creating a literate population here.. Even basic math skills are difficult for huge amounts of the population. We are absolutely cooked as a nation.

[-] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

This is completely anecdotal on my part but I work customer service. part of my job involves resetting customer passwords for our online portal. We generate temp passwords for this to provide to our customers. These passwords often have exclamation points in them. The number of people I encounter on a regular basis who flat out just don't know what an exclamation point is is frankly horrifying. We definitely are not doing a good job teaching people how to write.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago

I've never heard exclamation mark being called exclamation point.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

It's an American thing

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

In Soviet America...

[-] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

so are the schools really failing or is that what these people voted for in the first place?

Yes to both.

With the caveat that, in most elections, there's no option that doesn't either overemphasize STEM or doesn't mention schools at all.

Just like very few Americans have the opportunity to vote for a senator or congressperson who's not an unconditional Zionist.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago

It's not failing if it's on purpose. The right has been trying to strangle public schools for decades

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Schools are being transformed from a public service into a private profit center.

This isn't just a "the right ruins everything" problem. It's happening in Washington State and New York and DC as quickly as anywhere else.

Look up Obama backed Michelle Rhee Chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools from 2007 to 2010. She fired loads of teachers, imposed an onorous standardized testing regime, and then committed a ton of fraud to fake improvement in classes that had been wrecked by her tenure.

Hugely hyped by the Gates Foundation, which has been angling to privatized education for over a decade. Her regime was then replicated all across the Gulf Coast as Republicans latched on to her originally "liberal" ideas of school reform.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

It's not just the far right who do it on purpose. Like with society in general, it's also the center right to right wing Neoliberals who don't do enough to stop them. Though THAT might be on purpose too, depending on which owner donors the specific candidates are beholden to.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago

I think I've been one of the few people willing to say this.

I think zoomers have the biggest hearts of any generation yet. They're the most tolerant of differences people can't control, and the least tolerant of unjust situations.

But holy fucking shit they are stupid, and it's because our public education has hit bedrock and is still digging.

[-] ZombiFrancis 5 points 1 month ago

Public education has been an enemy of conservative values since about forever, but especially for American conservatives after desegregation in the 1950s. At this point after all the lobbying and carveouts in the law; religious schools get public funding at the expense of public schools.

The conservatives have reliably been met halfway at every step.

[-] brbposting 2 points 1 month ago

We can do math and writing?!

[-] [email protected] 25 points 1 month ago

Wow, literally hamas

[-] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago

If he wanted to stop the war, he should has simply voted for the anti-war party.

[-] [email protected] 24 points 1 month ago

ITT, guy calls out how we're all pretty well and truly fucked; everyone instead focuses on how he incorrectly uses the words "Republic" and "Democracy" together.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Tbh I kinda get it because I have so often seen americans on reddit say that the US "is a republic, not a democracy" so I'm assuming they're being bullshitted (bullshat? Idk that feels wrong) from somewhere and that seems worth correcting.

On the other hand the OP didn't even assert them to be opposed, just that people debate it, which is clearly true.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

People don't debate it.

It's something the fascists are lying about to pretend we don't need the democracy part, immediately suspect on usage. Best case, you're just a fucking idiot.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

The collapse is operating exactly as planned.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

and people think this is a democracy or a republic

It’s both. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. Neither have anything to do with the current state of affairs.

[+] [email protected] -8 points 1 month ago

LOL

America is most certainly not a democracy in any sense of the word.

[-] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Democracy (noun) - a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation, usually involving periodically held free elections.

Like it or not, the US is a democracy (at least for now—check back in a few years). It’s just a severely flawed one.

supreme power is vested in the people

That is, not a monarchy or hereditary system.

exercised by them directly or indirectly

We have Senators and Representatives (indirect representation).

periodically held free elections

The system is fucked up in many places, but we have regular elections where people are largely free to vote their choice.

All the downvoters are reading my comment as if I’m some MAGA loon. I’m not. Quite the opposite actually—I believe words have meaning, and perverting those meanings is the domain of the right.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

The word is inconsequential.

We are an oligarchy masquerading as a democracy. You get two choices, both selected for you by the ultra wealthy and both beholden to them over all else.

Further, the presidency has never in this country been decided democratically, and that was by design. The poor and minorities were never intended to have any meaningful electoral power, and they don't.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

I remember the last time a Republican began his presidency with the popular vote. It was during the Cold War. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court is run by folks who find the 1970s a bit too futuristic. It was exhausting and depressing when I used to hope we’d make it out. I’m liberated but exhausted and bereaved.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

The poor and minorities were never intended to have any meaningful electoral power, and they don't.

President is elected by very much minority. About 1%.

[-] [email protected] -1 points 1 month ago

The president is elected by the wealthy. The minority has nothing to do with it.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Wealthy people are minority. Or maybe there are hundreds of millions of billioners I didn't know about?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

That's true in the literal sense, but the word 'minority' has a very different connotation in this country.

[-] [email protected] -5 points 1 month ago

Inb4 "Now China, on the other hand, is a perfect country"

[+] [email protected] -8 points 1 month ago

Technically republic is subset of democracy. Also called representative democracy.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

No. A republic is the opposite to a monarchy.

What form of democracy is used doesn't matter.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Also democracy is opposite of monarchy. And anarchy. Republic is "a state in which political power rests with the public through their representatives" which is also called representative democracy, while democracy includes both representative democracy(duh) and direct democracy.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Also democracy is opposite of monarchy.

It isn't. Look at the monarchy's in Europe(Great Britain,Denmark,Belgium). They all have democratic monarchys. A monarchy just means, that the head of state is a king, that isn't elected. This doesn't necessarily mean,that he has any say in politics.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

They all have democratic monarchys.

A monarchy just means, that the head of state is a king, that isn't elected.

I'll leave your quotes here here.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

The head of state doesn't necessarily has a say in politics. All laws are still made by elected politicians.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Then it's republic.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

No. Just look at Great Britain as an example. They are a parlamentaric monarchy. The head of state is the King/queen. He doesn't has a say in politics, but represents the country. He isn't elected. All laws passed in the UK are worked out and passed by the elected Parlament.

Being a republic just means, that the head of state isn't a king/queen. It has nothing to do with democracy.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

He doesn't has a say in politics, but represents the country.

So is he monarch or honorable pensioner?

[-] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

"Rests with the public" means "doesn't rest with a monarch". If you're a monarchy, you're not a republic.

So the UK is not a republic. Norway is not a republic. Canada is not a republic. (But they are representative democracies.)

On the other hand, Iran is a republic. North Korea is a republic. Russia is a republic. (Are they functional democracies? That doesn't matter.)

Americans are brought up to think "monarchy bad, republic good", but in practice, mileage varies.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago

If you're a monarchy, you're not a republic.

Where did I say opposite? The only thing I said was that republic is one of types of democracy. That's it.

It's not hard to understand when some subset is member of superset and that superset doesn't contain another set, said subset doesn't contain such set either. When I say "bus is one of types of vehicles" and get response "but horse is not a bus", the only reaction is "no shit, Sherlock". But when I say "representative democracy(AKA republic) is one of types of democracies" I get what appears to be swarm of angry Americans.

Americans are brought up to think "monarchy bad, republic good", but in practice, mileage varies.

Looking at what I see about America, they look very monarchy-happy. Did you want to say French?

[-] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago

You said republics are also called representative democracies. You also said the monarchy is the opposite of democracy.

Those are both incorrect statements.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

You said republics are also called representative democracies. You also said the monarchy is the opposite of democracy.

If you're a monarchy, you're not a republic.

Where did I say opposite?

I asked where did I say opposite. Not where we said same thing.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I am not saying the same thing as you.

You're saying monarchy is the opposite of democracy.

I'm saying monarchy is the opposite of republic.

This isn't a matter of opinion. You're just wrong. Monarchies can be representative democracies. The UK is a monarchy and it's a representative democracy.

(But it's not republic, because republic is the opposite of monarchy.)

[-] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago

I'm saying monarchy is the opposite of republic.

Monarchies can be representative democracies.

I'll leave it here.

[+] [email protected] -8 points 1 month ago

Wrong. It's because you never fight back against fascism. You say stupid shit like "Nazis have free speech rights too!" and "you just have to vote harder" and "none of this would have happened if you had voted for Hillary". This is YOUR DOING. You do not take your freedoms and associated responsibilities seriously, and you refuse to arm up against a rapidly growing clearly violent insurgency.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

You say stupid shit like “Nazis have free speech rights too!” and “you just have to vote harder” and “none of this would have happened if you had voted for Hillary”.

One of these things is very much not like the other 🤣

Waaay too ham fisted with the propaganda bud, better luck next time

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

So when are you going to start shooting?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

When they try to come for my friends, family, and neighbors

US Authoritarianism