RaskolnikovsAxe @ RaskolnikovsAxe @lemmy.ca

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9

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120

Joined

5 mo. ago

Yeah, if we're being honest, Russia fought beyond the bounds of mere bravery, and sacrificed in numbers incomprehensible in the west. And their country is still suffering national PTSD from it.

Even Canada sacrificed more per capita than the US in both world wars.

The above may have been different if the US had been there from the beginning, rather than showing up two years late. Don't talk about bravery, brilliance and principle when you can't even be bothered to join the fight until after everyone is beat to a pulp. And if you do, try not to brag and boast for decades about how amazing you were.

You have to accept strength and bravery of the ordinary US soldiers

No argument there. My fathers family was in the military as far back as we can trace it reliably, on both sides of the border (United Empire Loyalists in New Jersey who split up their family of revolutionaries when they left for Ontario). I'll not disparage the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiery. I never intended that.

I just can't stand the disrespectful bullshit coming from Idi An Orange Dada. He's as soft as baby shit. And it's such a terrible image for America.

I would argue real democracy is incompatible with the current authoritarian version of conservatism, and obviously historical conservatism was created to support the monarchy, but modern conservatism is not necessarly the same as either of those, and can be reimagined. In fact I think it will necessarily need to do so, since it will face a reckoning after Trump. It has the opportunity to create a movement that can truly connect with the people.

I have a proposal for conservatives in Canada, that I offer legitimately in the spirit of getting the best for the country: Become the party of democracy. Ditch the crazies (and their reactionary grievance politics), and embrace electoral reform.

I know most people say electoral reform is the kiss of death for them, but I'm not sure I agree:

1. If they kick out the crazies, they will be a smaller party and their chances at holding SOME power will increase if we have some manner of PR or ranked ballot in place.
2. The Liberals have taken the patriotism brand from them (Poilievre was an idiot for giving that one up to them), but they can take the democracy brand from them easily if they shift their approach - especially since the Liberals have fumbled electoral reform so badly ("We will do what the Liberals couldn't do...because we're the party of democracy!"). It also gives them a patriotic 'foot in the door', since they can tie democracy to Canadian identity and fundamental Canadian values. Finally, it will distinguish them from the Republicans and the US in general, which is what they need to do right now.
3. When people make the claim that the Conservatives would suffer under electoral reform, the calculus assumes that voting habits don't change...but this is a foolish assumption, particularly in this case, since this maneuver would fundamentally shift the landscape
4. Conservatives would be rebranding entirely and would be perceived as a brand new party - truly the party of change.
5. Canadian Conservatives would set an example for right wing governments around the world
6. They would become a party truly back in the political centre, and would easily steal Liberals back to them.

None of this means they need to abandon their economic ideology, although they may find they need to tweak it.

HOWEVER - this would require:

1. Get rid of Poilievre and the others like him (Javani, etc.). They are toxic to good faith politics. They consider their opponents enemies, part of the out-group, and they will never be trusted enough to pull this off honestly. Also, this requires vision and an ability to unify people behind that vision - in other words, it requires leadership - and Poilievre is not a leader. He does not do vision or unity.
2. The Conservatives would need to accept and embrace the idea of coalition governments and minority governments, since they are fundamentally the most democratic type of government and would therefore be just as legitimate as majority governments.
3. They would need to actually care about democracy, and human rights, since they are fundamentally linked. This means a shift in policy towards indigenous and minority groups (thus why they need to ditch the crazies).

This isn't to say they wouldn't get a majority government ever (or indeed that no party ever would). In fact, I believe that the proper Conservative leader could do this in a way that would probably give them a good shot at a landslide victory in the next election. Carney has a very tough road ahead of him, but for sure the one thing that will help him get re-elected is the Conservatives digging in their heels and doing the same thing, but harder. They need to fundamentally change, and a change like this would give them the best fighting chance at looking like a trusted party to take Canada to a better place.

Hey - he's stealing Poilievre's ideas now!

A triumph for Diaperius Maximus. America is now a parody of itself.

If you're serious, start looking for companies hiring up here. As I understand it's not easy, even for economic class immigrants, but I work in tech and I work with many immigrants (albeit not usually from the US, but it's a different world now). Mind you - please look carefully into the financial impacts as it is a change from the US. Salaries are lower and taxes generally higher, which may or may not be offset in your context in other ways (healthcare a big one, income tax deductions, etc.) But many people, myself included, prefer Canada regardless of the reduced compensation. It's not always about money.

I’m just wondering why they don’t just move there. If you hate being Canadian so much start the process of emigration …

I get it, immigration takes time and some of them may not have the skills or the means to do it, or to do it quickly....HOWEVER, in the meantime, if they have no allegiance to this country, they should show some dignity by refraining from voting and refraining from doing everything they can to screw up the country for the people who actually DO care about it.

Are you assuming I'm ok with Democrats?

Can you name me one policy that is left of Democrats? I can name quite a few that are not - obsession with woke nonsense and culture war bullshit, disdain for the media, anti-intellectualism, climate change, disdain for government, dismantling the public service - without even getting into right to abortion, which is where a not insignificant proportion of the party wants to go, as evidenced by the thinly veiled and thankfully ham fisted attempts to push through bills to undermine it.

It's hard for Poilievre to distance himself from Trump when he borrows Trump politics. I mean, really, if you're trying to sound less like Trump, maybe don't bring up plastic straws. That's really the most important issue? I thought Poilievre had some political instincts, so I thought he would wisely avoid dumb statements like that...but I think now he wants to look like Trump because a) is all he knows and he clearly cannot pivot, and b) he calculates that his base doesn't care, and it seems he's right..which makes him and them profoundly unaware of the new reality, and profoundly unprepared for what we must do to meet it.

Not really clear where your position is, but I will make my position clear: We all see where right wing populism ends up just by looking south of us. It's a disaster. Copying that in this moment is outright idiocy. Picking the right wing populist who has never been on the right side of an issue and who mimics the exact policy beats of the Republicans is a surefire way to go down the same path. We need to tell the Conservatives to drop their culture war crazies, stop fighting against experts, stop trying to remove rights from people, and focus on real solutions to real problems.

Yeah this is the thing that really makes me hope for the demise of the current crop of Conservatives. I want a party that can offer an alternative vision to the Liberals, who can offer hope for the working class or those falling through the cracks of Liberal policies (to the extent that Conservatives do that, which is another matter). But I wish they didn't have to give a bunch of people hope at the cost of removing rights from others, or dismantling government protections for all of us. It makes the people they're helping feel like hating on minorities is just the price they need to pay for government support. The Conservatives are taking advantage of the poor situation of these people, and their desperation, to ram through regressive social policy. It's devious and dangerous, and I hope they get permanently removed from the political discussion.

Yeah fuck these treasonous Yank sympathizers.

Note to all these people: If you are staying in this country but you don't have any allegiance to it, at least have some fucking dignity and don't vote to fuck it all up for the rest of us.

Why ask this question to anyone younger than 30? Of course an 18yo will feel less safe now than 10 years ago...when they were fucking EIGHT and playing Nintendo 3DS in their parents basement.

I feel like the age ranges need to be different for this question, and to do otherwise is almost trying to further the narrative of conservative youth.

The reason I asked is because I feel that you are blaming social democracy and I think you are painting with too broad a brush. Capital should serve the state, the people, not the other way around. Social democracy is in part about strong regulations on capital. We need to stand by that and support it. Throwing it away cedes power to capital.

The framework that is built from the oppression of women, and the challenges that arise from that, does not represent the lived experiences, challenges, or values of men. All too often it diminishes these. To move forward in a spirit of mutual understanding requires a recognition of what matters to men; i.e., what provides purpose and value.

I feel that you may be misunderstanding me. This is exactly about tolerance and acceptance - including acceptance that men and women have different lived experiences that are founded on different fundamental principles of what is important and what provides purpose. Is it really so difficult to accept that men might find purpose or value that differs from women? I don't believe there is harm in acknowledging that, and respecting a healthy understanding of that difference.

What do you believe is the most important issue facing Canada, and how do you feel that Jordan Peterson and people like him are helping conservatives to address this issue?

Peterson is the godfather of woke and DEI obsession. Every time Poilievre says woke, he cements the demise of the CPC. Explain to me just why the fuck any of you care about this nonsense. What does it matter? It has nothing to do with you. If you don't want to change genders, don't do it. The more these stupid issues are brought to the fore, the more the CPC looks like the party of Trump.

The right wing needs to drop these types of people from their team. This is a cancer on conservatism that will only destroy them and everything they claim to protect. As we can see right now in the US.

We desperately need reasonable conservatives.

The problem is that something is missing and it's being filled by angry reactionaries and right wing grifters who prey on the particular insecurities of young men, specifically insecurities around masculine values.

What's missing is a foundational framework for understanding the male experience as distinct yet coequal to feminist theory. A framework that seeks to promote a balanced, respectful dialogue by articulating unique structures, values, and challenges faced by men, in order to offer a lens through which male identity, struggle, and transformation can be understood on their own terms, while upholding - acknowledging - the progress and insights of feminism.

These men feel like they don't have purpose or identity. They need a framework, but unfortunately efforts to define and build such a framework are often hijacked by extremists that just hate women and minorities. Like we see now.

How did social democracy let everyone down?

I hope you find the strength to Luigi yourself in a ketamine crash you boiled frog Nazi shitheel.