Cowbee

Cowbee, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago)

Not advocating for voting third party, but how do you genuinely plan on reshaping the democrat party, and how would this time be different, compared to the past?

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Growth is more valuable than dividends, and there’s always more room for growth in the eyes of investors.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Lemme just head on over to the Nirvana store to pick up a couple of tees, headass

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Eh, I can see the Proletariat deciding to direct the vast amounts of land destroyed for golf being used for public housing or returned to nature, rather than being a wasteful hobby for the elite

Cowbee, 3 months ago

It’s more that golf courses are generally wastes of land, and unless the proletariat deemed them necessary, golf courses would be either given back to the environment or repurposed for public housing or other such socially beneficial projects.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

You’d also have to reverse the systemic settler colonialism of Israeli Zionists on Palestinian land, otherwise Israel will continue to illegally seize land and homes to displace Palestinians.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

No fucking shit decent human beings have a point, that could easily be taken as dismissal.

Please act, and end Israel’s reign of horror.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Librarian system

Cowbee, 3 months ago

What a strange place to post delusional fanfiction.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

How so?

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Landlords are one of the most self-entitled classes to exist.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Class dynamics in action. Landlords are leaches, by definition.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

I just followed the comfy arch install guide with some additions from the comments section on YouTube, and I had a working machine quickly.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

As long as money infests politics, this problem will continue, regardless of how the public votes.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

I’m not an ML, but you don’t have to agree with MLs to understand that they are fundamentally leftist and opposed to Capitalism.

“Leftism” isn’t a synonym for “good,” it’s a broad, diverse range of ideologies supporting collective ownership and opposing hierarchy. This can be done well, this can be done poorly, and it is important to recognize both the good and the bad to learn and build, not to dismiss everything as “not true leftism” if it isn’t what you personally want.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

That’s not correct, though. MLs don’t support fascist regimes.

MLs have a long history with deep theoretical frameworks, which is why just calling them fascists and right-wingers gets you exactly nowhere with them, and ignores their genuine Proletarian perspective.

Even this post, for example, has people correctly pointing out how the USSR kept the Nazi scientists on a tight leash, then deported them after they had sufficient intelligence, while the western states kept the Nazis and allowed them into important offices.

If you want to genuinely combat MLs, then you have to appeal to them from a materialist perspective, and showcase sound theoretical basis to defeat Capitalism and Imperialism globally.

If you just dismiss MLs as right-wingers, you genuinely showcase a lack of understanding of leftist history in general, and don’t actually succeed in combating ML mindsets.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

I can do a better job than you.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Perhaps. However, giving up entirely and just calling MLs fascists is just going to get you called a lib. That’s why I pointed out that MLism has a strong theoretical basis, ie one doesn’t just happen into being an ML casually, they read theoretical texts and try to rationalize their beliefs.

If you can take advantage of what leads someone to believing something, you can show them alternatives.

For example, you can show them that currently, in America, Anarchists have more effective and tangible praxis than Marxist-Leninist parties have been, and according to ML belief, a mass movement is the only true way to upset the status quo, and as such they should consider supporting Anarchism. Baby steps, and all.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

I mostly agree, the issue is that the majority of what gets called support for Putin isn’t support for Putin, but alignment against NATO. There are legitimate supporters of Putin among some few MLs, but what I personally have noticed more is anti-NATO statements being called pro-Putin, because Putin standa against NATO.

The opposite is also common, going against Putin can often get conflated with being pro-NATO.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

My goal is for leftist reorganization of society. As such, it’s important to align leftists together in a unified push against Capital. Incorrectly calling people who in their own views oppose all Imperialism and Capitalism fascists gets nothing done, when the basis of that belief is sound and just.

On a practical basis, calling MLs fascist right-wingers is worse than trying to honestly engage with them and redirect their methods, because the basis of anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism is still correct.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

That’s not really accurate to what MLs argue, they believe that you can’t have Communism without having built it up via a Socialist state beforehand. They still strongly support worker ownership and oppose Imperialism and Capitalism, which is my point, because the foundational beliefs are good, they can be reasoned with.

The Proletariat in general can be reasoned with, that’s the entire purpose of class consciousness. Reactionaries found in the petite bourgeoisie and bourgeoisie proper are not capable of truly being reasoned with at a wide level, but fellow proletarians can be.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

If we just look at Lemmygrad’s Prolewiki, they outline their stance on the Russian Federation and the Russo-Ukranian War. You can examine that as much as you want, they acknowledge that Putin is a bourgeois dictator, but also go off of Lenin’s definition of Imperialism and find that the current RF doesn’t fit it, due to their production. That doesn’t mean they justify the RF’s invasion, they outright call it out, but also try to understand the reasons the invasion happened in the first place.

They outright state that they support revolution within Russia against the Capitalist dictatorship, and showcase how the people are unhappy with the current system.

I may not agree with their overall analysis, but this is absolutely not the viewpoint of a right winger, which means they can be swayed.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Collective ownership of the Means of Production via a Worker state is in fact Socialism, and not Capitalism. If you eliminate the bourgeoisie, it is no longer Capitalism. It isn’t Anarchism either, but it’s still leftist in structure.

Lenin opposed the Worker councils and replaced them with a Union system. This is not the same as an outright replacement of a Socialist system for a Capitalist one, but a decentralized Socialist system for a more centralized Socialist system. This is still leftist, even if it’s more centralized. You disagree with it on the basis of centralization, not on whether or not it’s leftist.

As for Imperialism, Lemmygrad has a wiki where they go over why they don’t believe the current Russian Federation meets Lenin’s definition of Imperialism. I agree that it doesn’t meet Lenin’s definition, but I disagree with them that this justifies critically supporting Russia against NATO, which is Imperialist according to Lenin’s definitions. This, however, is a take based on Lenin’s analysis and a framework to oppose Imperialism and Capitalism, and can be argued against based on effectiveness, unlike fascists that enjoy Imperialism being Imperialism like the GOP.

I’d say they are in fact honest, and can be reasoned with. If you attempt to understand their views, you can more effectively take down some of their worse takes, like on Russia.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

That’s a more grounded take, but not one that can be argued against a right winger. Ultimately, there is an undeniable difference between the USSR and Capitalism: the Workers made up the state, and as such directed the Means of Production, rather than a bourgeois class. This makes it Socialist, even if you disagree with its effectiveness at realizing the ideals of leftism.

That’s what I’m getting at, you believe that Anarchism (presumably) or some other more decentralized form of Socialism is the best way at achieving the ideals of leftism, but you’re conflating that with anything less than that not being Socialist at all. That’s an incorrect analysis, in my opinion.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Biden is trying to speed run voter apathy, lmao. I’m still going to vote blue personally, but I am absolutely not surprised by his lack of support, as he’s been doing his work diligently to destroy his chances for reelection, and liberals will blame leftists before they blame Biden and his terrible policy.

Just stop supporting Israel, and watch support skyrocket.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Linux has different flavors, some with bleeding edge updates like Arch, some rock-stable and built on FOSS like Debian, some that force you to compile nearly everything on your end to save fractions of seconds in compute time like Gentoo, and some meant to be as beginner friendly as possible like Cinammon/Mint.

Linux “fans” are likely to use something like Arch and break something, then fix it. People who use Linux will use Fedora or something and call it a day. You don’t have to go down the rabbit hole and play with all of the shiny new tools as they release.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Being pro-worker for a tepid neoliberal is like being woke for a member of the GOP. While better than outright fascism, of course, liberalism is inherently anti-worker and pro-Capitalist. Biden has been giving band-aids to gaping stab wounds and running victory laps, without attempting to meaningfully address the root cause.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

First of all, I will absolutely be voting in the general, for whoever has the backing of the Democrat party, whether that be Biden or someone else if something unforseen happens. However, I think it’s important to recognize a few key key matters.

1. Not voting is an act of protest, but it is a largely ineffective form of protest. Protesting is the way the people voice their concerns, and deliberately not voting is in fact a way of voicing concern. However, this is an emotional, unobjective form.
2. Biden, and the overall US war machine, is complicit in genocide. This fact should not be denied for the sake of an election. Simply voting third party is unobjective, this results in the outward fascists taking power, but at the same time, toeing the line results in further entrenchment of liberalism.

How can we resolve the former 2 statements? Simple. Protest loud, as much as you can, during the primaries. Force Biden’s hand.

Just as we can hold people responsible if they vote third party during the general, or not voting, we can also hold Biden accountable. This isn’t simply a matter like Single Payer Healthcare, which would take tremendous effort with the support of congress to pass, this is something in his hands.

I’ll reiterate: if your goal is to help the Palestinian people, there is only one correct path: protest as much as you can, as early as you can, until Biden caves and ceases the genocide. If you do not protest Biden now, while we still have the chance to change his course, then we risk protests lasting even longer and hurting his chances during the General, backfiring.

The Condition for Victory is a swift, loud, uncontestable wake-up call for Biden, followed by rallied support once genuine, positive change is shown to happen. Biden has already started to feel the pressure, and has begun sending some petty aid. Biden cannot risk losing the general, and we cannot risk Biden losing the general either, nor can we stand by and watch Biden support genocide.

Vote in the Primary against Biden, and vote in the General for Biden.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

I’m not suggesting voting third party or protest voting, I personally plan on voting for whoever has the Democrat party’s backing come the general. However, I do want to ask, what do you believe is a realistic plan for gaining that change?

The people that are voting third party or not voting are doing so because they believe that’s the best option for change. Even if I disagree with that, how can we show them a better path?

Cowbee, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago)

It’s not particularly effective, but is still a form of protest. It’s important to recognize it as such, because:

1. It means that there are people who are attempting to have their voice heard
2. They can be steered towards better forms of getting what they want if they are shown better forms of praxis.

At the end of the day, protestors are people with goals, and if you can convince them that this goal may be met more effectively otherwise, they can be allies.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

I think a key issue here is that you’re combining unlike things and trying to make coherent sense of that, rather than analyzing what is driving people to feel this way.

The first part you mentioned, is a key disagreement you have with people opposing reformism. A significant part of leftist history is the conflict between reform and revolution, whether reform is even possible at a large scale or if revolution will ever be more likely to succeed, and so forth. The people opposing reform are not saying that incremental change isn’t good, but that:

1. Incremental change is simply too little, too late, in a modern late-stage Capitalist dystopia
2. Because the course of politics in modern first world Capitalist counties like the US follows whatever the interests of large Capitalists are, any meaningful reform will be hindered or even reversed unless the system is overthrown in its entirety.

The second claim, that Biden doing genocide is bad and voting for Biden is voting for continued genocide, is built off of the prior point. Because voting for a right winger like Biden or a fascist like Trump will both result in more genocide, their conclusion is that voting for either is to continue genocide, though it remains implicit that if Biden stopped the genocide, they would vote for him.

I of course believe it would get worse under Trump, so as I already mentioned, I will vote for Biden. However, I also understand that protesting against Biden is the best way to change his course now, rather than later.

The final disagreement you have with these people is the idea that Biden is a “slow good” rather than a “slow evil.” You’re not talking to liberals, you’re talking to leftists, who wish to see some form of Socialism take place in America. Biden is continuing the Imperialist project of American Liberalism at the expense of Workers both inside and outside of the US, you can’t convince leftists that Biden is good, actually.

The truly best way to get leftists to vote for Biden is to get them to see what is directly more beneficial to the international Proletariat, protest voting for a third party or picking Biden and trying to use that time to organize on the ground, which is easier than under Trump. That’s the real key, not to try to convince them Biden is good but slow.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

That’s why I elaborated, though if you’re only going to read the first sentence then why even bother replying?

Cowbee, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago)

That’s a hot take I 100% agree with. Fallout 1 nailed the vibe and was perfect from start to finish. While 2 has a ton of great moments (Frank Horrigan is amazing), it isn’t as totally consistent.

New Vegas married the two quite nicely.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

With mods, it’s pretty much bug free now, and crashless. Follow Viva New Vegas!

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Did you mod your game? Modded should have no crashes anymore.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

New Vegas feels far more like Fallout, and nailed the tone, though.

3 has more oppressive atmospheres, but the actual writing, story, and world building of New Vegas is a perfect evolution of 1 and 2.

Cowbee, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago)

For anyone thinking about playing New Vegas again, check out Viva New Vegas! Fixes the gunplay, bugs, lighting, crashes, balance, and adds new important features like expanded consequences for your actions, cut content, a post-game where you can see the consequences of your choices, and better visuals!

Cowbee, 3 months ago

The Wasteland Survival Guide expands on TBoT and balances the games far better, adds in need content, tons more bug fixes, and generally improves on the games.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Even if you didn’t notice them, they’re there! For example, the iron sights are almost all misaligned, but this mod pack fixes that.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

That fixes the vast majority of crashes, but you also need other mods to manage memory, as it’s bugged in Vanilla.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

That’s how weapon sway usually works, alongside innate weapon spread, but there are legitimately misaligned iron sights at 0 spread and perfect stats, unintentionally from the devs. Other fun bugs include increased aim shaking when further from the center of the worldspace, micro stutters, an inability to play beyond 60FPS without destroying physics, weapon lighting assuming light sources are not where they actually are, and more!

All of these are fixed, and result in a New Vegas as you remember it, not as it actually exists. Absolutely worth playing with VNV.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Why?

Cowbee, 3 months ago

That’s fair, have you played around with modding New Vegas? The mod scene is incredible lately.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

They removed traits, a proper SPECIAL system, skills, proper skill checks, the reputation system, etc.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Why not?

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Like your lie about ACAB originating with skinheads in the 70s? Nah, I’ll let history be factual. Historical fiction is great, but you can’t pretend your fascist fanfiction is reality, bud

Cowbee, 3 months ago

Anyone who has access to the internet can tell you’re full of shit: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACAB

You’re claiming an antifascist term has fascist origins, because you want to tie antifascism to fascism. This is fascist apologia, making fascism not seem as bad and making the left seem bad.

I’m not trying to “embolden laziness among the angry” or whatever the fuck you think I’m doing, I’m calling out misinformation presented by someone trying to paint the left as fascist so as to take away from the ACAB movement. That makes you, at best, an extreme reactionary, and at worst, a fascist.

Cowbee, 3 months ago

MGN22 is a far-right concern troll, just check their history.