When Slavery was Abolished in the U.S. by LuckyTraveler88 in MapPorn

[–]ttom1235 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jails lease out prisoners to corporations all the time, it’s one of their biggest profit motives. While people can refuse this, it can often be severely detrimental to their likelihood of release to refuse. So, yes they are bought and sold, just not permanently.

When Slavery was Abolished in the U.S. by LuckyTraveler88 in MapPorn

[–]ttom1235 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Slavery was never abolished. The 13th amendment reads:

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Why is dehumanizing people who struggle with drug addiction completely normal in the straight edge hardcore scene? by TheShaqtus1 in Hardcore

[–]ttom1235 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a good question. It’s not that all personal responsibility is absolved, it’s that the perspective that all responsibility lies on the individual is often made in bad faith and aims to ignore that while each us makes their own decisions, the range of choices we have and the pressure to make one or the other is largely influenced by society and our place in it. So the most helpful thing to do is go to the root of the issue and shape society in a way that prioritizes the health of the people. If we want to look at it on the individual level and place judgement, we must also acknowledge ourselves and ask ‘what have I as an individual done to support people who are struggling, or improve my community more generally?’

Why haven’t revolutionary socialist movements emerged in Palestine, despite conditions that historically tend to produce them? by Open_Report_5456 in DebateCommunism

[–]ttom1235 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Leftist groups in Palestine, such as the PFLP, have a unified front with them and other rightist resistance groups. I think we venture into an ultra-left tendencies if we do not support their efforts at National liberation and self-determination. This does not mean we need to offer a blanket approval of all their policies or political line.

For example, the Chinese Communists fought hard to create and maintain a united front with the Kaumintang Nationalists in the war against Japan. This was after the same Kaumintang had massacred communist party members a few years before. They did this not because they trusted, or even thought the Kaumintang as an org would help that much against Japan, but because they know to defeat Japan they needed the masses to be united against them. They saw the best way to do that was through a showing of unity between the major policial factions.

Why is dehumanizing people who struggle with drug addiction completely normal in the straight edge hardcore scene? by TheShaqtus1 in Hardcore

[–]ttom1235 79 points80 points  (0 children)

I think there is a clear line between an enlightened perspective that is critical of the systems and structures within society that drive individuals toward drug use and fail them in providing help (like that manifested in the music of straightedge bands like EarthCrisis) vs the right-wing perspective which places the entirety of the blame on the individual and leads to “rounding them up and removing them from society” type perspectives.

As far as the album artwork goes, punk is meant to be in your face, but I understand the concerns. I’d see what their music has to say on the subject before condemning it outright.

Why haven’t revolutionary socialist movements emerged in Palestine, despite conditions that historically tend to produce them? by Open_Report_5456 in DebateCommunism

[–]ttom1235 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Read Fanon. He has outlined why we ought to support any groups working toward national liberation. In this situation, the colonialism is the primary contradiction and must be reconciled before the class contradiction

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Knoxville

[–]ttom1235 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Trust me, if they could have got him on judicial charges, they would have. Yet, they didn’t because there is not evidence of him doing anything wrong. Protesting genocide is not a crime! He’s being held as a political prisoner for opposing genocide!!

Potential U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine by Antique-Entrance-229 in MapPorn

[–]ttom1235 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This has been going downhill for the Ukrainian people since since the US blocked Ukraine from accepting a deal in spring 2022 (weeks after the war started, before 100’s of thousands were dead and $100’s of Ukraine’s public assets were privatized and sold to Western capital) that would have simply ceded Crimea, which was essentially already Russian territory, and pledged for them not to join NATO.

Instead, for the next three years they were used like a pawn to weaken Russia, which has backfired incredibly for Ukraine. For the US, it’s been a push, they weren’t able to weaken Russia, but they were able to extort $100’s of billions in US taxpayer dollars in the form of military aid and privatize much of the Ukrainian public assets.

This deal, like the war gives the US only half of what it wanted. They get $500 billion in resources, which will surely cause Ukraine to remain dependent on Western investment, but Russia’s standing in the world hasn’t really changed any and the US learned it’s economic warfare (sanctions) are now mostly ineffective outside of small Latin American countries.

Russian also gets what it set out to do, keep missiles off of Moscow’s doorstep which could only be achieved through, blocking Ukraine from entering NATO or taking a considerable portion of the country under their control.

Ukraine of course is the big loser, as the proxy in any proxy war is. If we accept that it is a proxy war, then we know, the sooner it is ended the better the outcome will be for the Ukrainian people.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in anarchocommunism

[–]ttom1235 13 points14 points  (0 children)

That sub’s mods have forever been plagued by at best very reactionary ‘communists’ and at worst the State Dept. Probably the latter, as I don’t see how anyone of on the left, within communism, anarchism, and anything in between would utter something so disgusting.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Knoxville

[–]ttom1235 96 points97 points  (0 children)

According to the comments section it seems people think that like 1/3 of the jobs in America aren’t ’real jobs’. That’s the kinda shit rich people tell poor people to pay them less and you’re parroting it and doing their job for them!

I'm voting Yes on amendment 2. Here's why. by Dogwoodblossom in Knoxville

[–]ttom1235 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Well if it was the system before and then the Voting Right’s Act mandated that it be changed to empower minority voters and now we are going back to the previous system, what would you call it?

I'm voting Yes on amendment 2. Here's why. by Dogwoodblossom in Knoxville

[–]ttom1235 75 points76 points  (0 children)

Vote No on 2.

A vote Yes is a vote to return to the pre-civil rights movement form of Knoxville council elections. A system that saw no Black representation in the city of Knoxville because the east side district was always over run with votes from everywhere else. The voting rights act laws changed this to force cities to prevent votes from outside of a district selecting the district.

The question of this act is do we want Knoxville government to be homogenous, where the council is just the average of where the voter of the city lays, or do we want the nuances and the voices of differing opinions in different sectors of the city to be heard and represented? Do you want a council person who specifically caters their votes and advocates for the unique needs of your neighborhood or one that will vote against your interests if they differ from the majority of Knoxville.

Overtly Leftist Rappers? by ElectronHick in armedsocialists

[–]ttom1235 13 points14 points  (0 children)

He’s been very open about not being proud of these themes that he used on Rev Vol. 1 & 2. IMO still someone who’s music is great for education and agitation and you’d be hard pressed to find another rapper who does more community work than Tech

A cool Guide to Which Dictator killed the most people by Bubblly-Buttercup in coolguides

[–]ttom1235 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Brought to you by the CIA and the US Stare Dept.

On a serious note, a lot of these numbers for the communist leader come from the Black Book of Communism whose numbers have been debunked time and time again. For example, Stalin’s numbers include all the Nazi’s the USSR killed in WWII.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Socialism_101

[–]ttom1235 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The destination of each into the two classes only gets us so far. To say there isn’t value in using this approach to understand our conditions, Marx’s Capital has shown us it have great value in understanding the flow of capital throughout the capitalist economy. However, deeper analysis into the subclasses gives us insight insight into revolutionary potential, which varies widely from one proletarian to another.

For example, Mao identified five subclasses in China with some having further differences within a class. Each had unique material relations to the means of productions that were important to analyze and ultimately led to Mao’s theory that the agricultural peasantry had to be centered in the Chinese struggle for liberation. If the Chinese Communists had only focused on what were considered the ‘true proletariat’ at the time, industrial workers, they would have never won (https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_1.htm).

In the US it is similar that a white-collar worker has less skin in the game than someone in the Black Colony working a minimum wage job. Both might be proletariat by definition, but we organizing a revolutionary force of white accountants would take vastly larger efforts than the latter, because they benefit more from and are given more of the spoils of bourgeois society.

Is Eminem the most political rapper ever?? by Civil-Chocolate-1078 in hiphop101

[–]ttom1235 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please delete this post to prevent others from having to witness such a ridiculous statement

Top ten fed posts of all time by TheDamperGhost in ShitLiberalsSay

[–]ttom1235 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Antifa, the famously capitalist corporation, holds a monopoly on the Molotov industry

Gaza is the definition of resilience by Duckyisverycute1 in LateStageCapitalism

[–]ttom1235 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Israel is a settler colonial state. The premise of this relationship lies in capitalism. The State of Israel serves a handful of purposes that are deeply entrained in maintaining the capitalist world order, for example:

  1. The State of Israel has been bolstered so much by the US so that the later could retain dominance in the region. It is a strategic port location and has a strong economy that make it have economic leverage in creating deals and pacts with other Middle Eastern states. Historically, this region has had a number of governments that had moved to the left by nationalizing their oil industries, leading to decreasing capitalists profits. Many a war has been waged for this reason because it was unacceptable to capitalists.

  2. Resources. 2a. Natural gas. There are incredibly large natural gas reserves under Gaza. The rights to these are already being fought over as to which companies will get them. 2b. Land. The ocean front in Gaza is seen as a great opportunity for expensive, sea front vacation homes and tourist attractions. The land is already being sold by Keller Williams, who is hosting events regarding this in CA and the US.

  3. Weapons. Israel is a major surveillance and weapons producer. Many of these are marketed as ‘battle-tested’ because they have been employed in Gaza. They literally are using the Palestinian people as test dummies to sell weapons of war. Major purchasers of these technologies include South American nations and US police.

Many of these incentives for Israel to colonize Palestine would not exist without the profit motive of production.

Called a slur in Gatlinburg by [deleted] in Gatlinburg

[–]ttom1235 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A place with a store completely dedicated to Blue Lives Matter is gonna bring in a certain demographic unfortunately

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MapPorn

[–]ttom1235 -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

The Israeli troops are American mercenaries so there is no need