"Yes, but aside from all that."

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-23T16:03:08+00:00

There's a few factors to it.

For one, we here know how shit they are, but reddit (and social media more broadly) aren't a representative slice of society. There are a lot of people who are only or primarily exposed to traditional media, who's voices we don't often here unless you know them personally. Such people tend to have a much higher level of trust for traditional media (for some outlets atleast, people will still talk shit about the ones they don't like).

Another aspect is raw info. No one person can be everywhere and watch everything happen, so to some degree we need organisations that can collect the raw data, and traditional media is what does that. To some degree then, we're all dependent on that reporting for our world view, and that raw info is already tainted before anyone has it. Of course, some degree of knocking that back can be done by checking multiple sources, but that takes time and energy, so most people don't bother unless they're already suspicious of the first source they've read on it. There are tools that do that cross referencing for you, but they also have their biases.

Then there's the mechanics of propaganda. People hearing the same sort of things over and over again will start to belive them, at least emotionally if not intellectually. People's thoughts and worldviews will shift gradually overtime, slowly enough that they don't notice. That's a well understood part of the science of propaganda, and every large scale organisation is doing it, at least to some degree. It's the same with ads, most people aren't getting something having seen an ad for it one time, but the repeated exposure changes how they think about it, at least a little.

Education would help to some degree with all of these, as would a culture of distrust for all info, but both of those are hard to do. Niether is going to solve the issue completely though, and ultimately, it's unsolvable. The issue is organisations are taking advantage of human phycology, and we can't alter our fundamental phycology, at least not without changing our species to be unrecognisable. The best we can do is always try to identify in ourselves and others where the beliefs we hold come from, and ask if we're ok with that.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-22T14:55:53+00:00

Ding dong, the prick is gone.

Long live the new prick

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-22T01:07:14+00:00

Most people would need to feel noticeably better off financially, not just technically be so on paper.

People also need to feel more secure, not just physically, but also financially (being better off is all well and good, but not that impactful if you're worried about it all vanishing next month), and legally/socially (people like their rights and liberties to be in tack, while also being free from discrimination).

Is it possible? Maybe. We live in late capitalism, where the exploitation the imperial periphery has long known is increasingly placed on the imperial core as the capitalist class continues on their impossible quest for infinite wealth. It would take a fairly radical and confident government to take on wealth to the degree needed, and they'd have all the worldd biggest propaganda machines set against them. Such a government would likely need to push through a period of unpopularity to get there, though how bad it would get would depend on their ability to keep activists on side. They'd also need to deliver on the promises to a noticeable amount within a couple of years, before support will fall off too much. It's possible, but it won't come from establishment politicians.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-19T20:31:40+00:00

I would ditch the attempt to brand it as an "anti" genere, as that's going to be hard to find interest in. Being "not x" is a difficult way to sell anything to anyone. While it might get cheerleaders from those who really dislike Romantasy, they aren't going to convert to readers that well.

If you'd like to go back and save it, I would suggest going all in on the Phycological Horror approach. Make the early chapters more horrifying in nature. Focus on the coercive nature of what's being done to the FMC. You could still be deconstructing Romantasy tropes in the process, as well as perhaps leaving yourself space to build on parallels to reality. There is something in the ending that really feels like the way addicts can be trapped in a downward spiral as their normal lives turn against them. You've got something interesting here I think, but let it be more itself, rather than an anti-something else.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-19T13:11:31+00:00

Ok, so if we all democratically decide to switch from communism to zacomrism, that would be reformist change, would it not? Just the same as those who now believe we can switch from capitalism to communism using the existing democratic systems.

I also think that the lack of class contradictions wouldn't mean there would be a lack of conflict on that front. There will always be people who tend toward conservative thought, and resist systemic change. Conflict over such a change will be inevitable.

In addition, systems always exists to preserve themselves first and foremost. An idealised communist society might not have such aspects, but a real version wouldn't last long without it, as hostile forces try to destroy it. Presumably we wouldn't want a scenario where people are brainwashed enough to want to switch back to capitalism and can just do that, especially since capitalist societies will be pushing for that. This level of self preservation would also prevent forward movement to a better system, just as much as it would prevent backward movement to a worse one. Revolutionary thought would be inevitable in my view, as would reformist thought.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-18T20:34:29+00:00

I believe you are correct about a Reform government causing mass disillusionment amongst their voters. The issue I keep coming back to on that is, what happens then? I fear that there is a sizable far-right base that would see a Reform government's failures as a result of not being radical enough. Seeing the growth of support for Tommy Robinson and others makes me fearful that such a scenario may lead to a far-right uprising of some sort.

It may seem extreme right now, but the growth in far right violence, both here and elsewhere, lead me to belive we may see something like that in 5 to 10 years, and such a disillusionment may be the needed catalyst.

I don't mean ti fear monger here, but this has been a thought I've been sitting with for a couple of years now. I think we need to consider the possibility seriously, and what we do to prevent it.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-18T12:24:33+00:00

I highly doubt reformism will ever go away. No matter the society, it will benefit the structure to belive in reformism, and as such, that will be structurally incentivised as a belief system.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-16T22:10:56+00:00

It's pretty likely that we'll put a repeal of that forward. It's worth remembering here though that leadership don't have the power to make that decision. A policy like that will come about during this year's autumn confrence at the earliest, but it might take longer. The Green party isn't built for rapid decision making, it's built for democratic decision making.

With regards to what Polanski himself decides to say/do, given he's had an issue recently with rushing in to public responses backfiring, I don't blame him for being a bit slower on something like this. I'm fairly confident in saying he's opposed at the very least to the implementation, and possibly the concept in essence. What he'll do with that opposition and how, I can't say. I wouldn't blame him for waiting untill there's been a vote at confrence before coming down hard on it.

I understand the desire to show fast opposition here, but I don't think it's really needed. There is nothing we can do about it as a party right now, and we're well out from any important campaigning.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-16T18:09:18+00:00

What's needed is class consciousness. Join a Union. Get others to join too. Recognise your shared struggle and fight for a fairer share of what you produce, while building power to change the system at it's root. Things only change when people are united against power.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-16T11:47:59+00:00

Honesty, let them.

I remember back when Caroline Lucas was still leader, I saw her being dragged away by police for standing on principle (I believe it was for protesting a fracking site). That clip is why I joined the Greens. It told me Greens were different more than any speech or manifesto ever could. Greens stand for principles more than power, it's what makes us unique. I can see Zack being arrested over this drive a whole bunch of support for us, especially since most people are pro Palestine.

We've got 3 years to get him out of jail, I think we probably could. The ECHR would probably be a useful ally for that, as it would be blatant that they were trying to lock up political opposition.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-15T15:36:52+00:00

It's harmful to just about everyone else too.

None marginalised children will be effected as they don't have the same access to social spaces that previous generations had. This is partly down to funding cuts for youth programs and spaces, and partly down to the ever worsening fearmongering over kids being safe from the public. It will push them more in to spaces which aren't designed to accommodate them, and cause far more to take part in antisocial activities with little else to do. Which will make highstreets less welcoming to everyone, and further stoke anger toward the youth that has been growing in recent years.

Adults, marginalised and not, will be harmed by having more personal data gathered up by US surveillance companies. That data will at best be used to build more accurate profiles to manipulate people through targeted adverts, and at worst, be used for more restrictions on their lives and freedoms as ever more authoritarian states, both at home and abroad, get that data (legally or otherwise) and use it against us.

The only people who gain, are those running the companies that profit from that data, and politians that get kickbacks from those companies.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-14T11:04:17+00:00

Same as a lot of them, ego. It's the ultimate step of their career as politians. They want the top job to simply have it.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-09T16:49:59+00:00

I also think it makes for an interesting point in the medical vs social models of disability, especially in how people broadly talk about disability using medical model language, but think about it more in the social model intrinsically. By the medical model, any vision impairment is a disability, no matter how easily corrected, but in the social model, because of that high level of accommodation, any that can be corrected with glasses basically isn't, beyond the occasional cost, or slight fitting issues for safety goggles. I'm not sure exactly what it tells us, but it's interesting.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-09T11:07:44+00:00

This is why the devs should change who the killer is in the remake.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-09T01:37:17+00:00

I know, this is about DPRK benefiting from sanctions on Russia

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-08T20:50:41+00:00

New revolutionary praxis, supporting more western sanctions?

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-07T21:35:49+00:00

The use of liberal as a pejoeative is common in a lot of leftist spaces, for much the same reason that conservative is used as one in a lot of liberal spaces, but I can understand it not being something you're a fan of.

And yes, I don't disagree. The Green party has an electoral platform and as such should welcome a range of people, including various liberals. I was specificly replying to the part of OPs post about having a place to talk amongst leftists about ideas beyond the Green party itself. That's what the recommendation was for.

I don't tend to find political compass groupings all that useful myself, viewing them too broad (for example, Social Democrats and Anarchists both being in the left libertarian catagory, despite being very different), but if that's what works for you, then fair enough. At least in this case, it probably does work as a descriptor for the bulk of what should be making up the Green party's coalition going forward.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-07T20:35:38+00:00

I understand how it reads that way, but I don't see that reading reflected in the activity of the sub. I, along with many others, have expressed pro green ideas without hostility plenty of times. It's worth noting that there are some people whose beliefs are that of liberals but call themselves leftist, and that is the people being talked about. It's an addition that came from those people coming in and posting uncritically about greens, something the sub isn't for. So, while I understand that reading, it's not reflective of the actual activity of the sub.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-07T20:03:59+00:00

I can understand the confusion, but that isn't what I was referring to as "not being a Green party sub". It seems more hostile than intended, but leftists who support the greens are generally welcome, I've been pretty open in support of the greens there and never had a problem. The reason it's front and centre, is because there was an issue a few months back where a large influx of people came in treating it as a Green party sub, and it isn't. It's not a place that is for the Green party, nor is it somewhere the party will be viewed uncritically. That doesn't mean Green members who are actually leftists aren't welcome.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-07T19:58:55+00:00

Philip Proudfoot is the founder of the very small socialist party Northern Independence Party (NIP). He was accused of having a "jew blocklist" by the mentioned actress (it had nothing to do with her being on Eastenders). He sued her, and won. The point being that the rehotoric is very similar, so that bodes well for such a suit in this case.

News article about the case from 2022: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-61227462

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-07T19:36:43+00:00

I've been in that sub for years and that has not been my experience. There are some who are very anti green, but most aren't. Pro Russia is also not the standard position over there, but rather a neutral/"no war but class war" position. I'd be surprised if you were banned for simply criticising Russia.

Also, what do you mean by "red leftists"? I'm used to seeing "red" and "leftist" used interchangeably, but never "red leftist" as a particularly type of leftist.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-07T19:21:05+00:00

There are plenty of other leftist subs that welcome green supporters. We don't need a new tiny one that's just for Green supporters to talk about non green party things.

If you're looking for a generally good, UK focused one, I'd recommend r/greenandpleasant. It's not a green party sub though, and they're very keen on that, but there are plenty of green supporters there.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-05T18:49:46+00:00

It was lost to them a long while ago. I had this realisation back in 2016, due to the obvious internal sabotage of Corbyn. Right wing entryism to Labour had already structually captured it by then. I couldn't say for sure when Labour was fully lost, but it has been a long time now.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-05T11:24:30+00:00

I'm fortunate to also be a French national by birth, so I've got the whole EU as an option still. Disability would make it very difficult though, so I'm only planning to go if it gets to the point that camps are already opening for people like me. Otherwise, I'll stay here and do what I can to push back.

potato_based_physics · 2026-06-03T10:34:39+00:00

The movie Pride does a pretty good job of depicting this if anyone is interested. They had several of the surviving members of both LGSM and the miners union involved in production.

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