General Discussion

He is a genuine supporter of animal rights (which is a true abomination ignored by many on the left. Nathan Robinson and Current Affairs have been stellar in their championship of it and given a platform to Marina Bolotnikova, John Sanbonmatsu, Seb Alex etc while remaining leery of effective altruism. Robinson has good instincts. I like to support CA, Yasha Levine and some day Chris Ketcham on that head..)

My ex who is pretty reliable and a staunch Democrat of the Warren allied faction says he is not maga.

But we were both sad that he lost his compass on an issue as serious as Gaza.

I am a curmudgeon myself, so I get why superficial lefties (who rarely make any sacrifices nor walk the walk), but form swarms online annoy him.

But it is like people who find Peta annoying and therefore dismiss horrors like factory farming and ventilation shutdown.

You have to separate an issue that serious from its more annoying supporters. I always thought “being on the right side of history”- such an image conscious framing-is grating.

But such a deep humanitarian crisis affecting our fellow humans is different. I remember reading about a girl who was living in such horrific conditions, much like tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
I remember being moved by Pastor Marian Budde’s words on the latter.

It is easy to harden one’s heart at times like these as outrages multiply. But that is misplaced when directed away from all manner of self serving hucksters and charlatans grifting exploiting human fallibility and folly.

Andy Nikiforuk put it well when he said that when the imagination is limited (which is an unfortunate aspect of all sides with the online mode of engagement that favors combative, pugilistic styles. It doesn’t have to be that way, but humans have to want to change that for reasons that are not as shallow and misguided as the increasing level of intrusion and surveillance we live under more, which will catch and expose more hypocrisies. But that is again a poor motivator whether driven by image or a reactionary “I do not give a shit” stance..) you cannot think of what being a child walking through the rubble in Gaza is like.

That was the one thing where Maher, whom I generally like, disappointed me. He should learn to ignore celebrity culture and not pay so much attention to those IDW whiners. I agree with him/Ricky Gervais, on how superficial a lot of the left has become.

But that never makes me blind to the cruelty of removing sexual harassment protections for trans prisoners and reality based humanity.
Which is what the left is about.

Not the approval of some strangers you will never meet with opinions they post online when bored at work etc.

I am slamming the web to be precise not those humans, though it is recommended imo that all humans think a little more deeply.

The web warps perceptions of reality and even pre-ai that had a negative effect on politics, democracy and human life.