askchapo

So, I've seen discussions on here that make me think most people here think that multipolarity would be helpful. But I saw some discourse elsewhere about the topic and there was a lot of disagreement about it, but most people were against actively working towards it and said that it wouldnt help anything. I also talked to my three main ML discord friends about the topic and none of them really supported it. One was against it entirely, another fairly neutral, and the other said its not a goal in and of itself but would serve a progressive purpose.

(Their positions on the Ukraine war are also more moderated than some of the ones I see on here though? But I'm also very mixed up and confused about what people think right now because some of the things my friends said were nOT what I thought they thought about the situation).

Ive seen the following Lenin quote used against the idea of multipolarity:

But I've also been told that thats not what Lenin meant at all and that he was talking more domestically than about geopolitical conflict. The quote above is also used as an argument against "critical support of Russia", and MLMs (and anti-Dengist MLs, and Leftcoms) use it as an argument against "critical support of China". My friends online all have slightly different takes on the Ukraine War, one sees it as inter-imperialist conflict and "fundamentally similar to WW1", but another thinks that Russia doesn't count as imperliast under the Leninist definition but is still against the invasion. These are both more moderate takes than i USUALLY see here but I know we arent a monilith. The one that thinks its an inter-imperalist conflict stands by this statement from her party: https://ycl.org.uk/2022/02/25/the-central-committee-of-the-young-communist-league-has-issued-the-following-statement-in-response-to-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ and dismisses "critical support for Russia" as "twitter jibber jabber". Both, however, think that revolutionairy defeatism means that we as people living in NATO countries should oppose our own country's involvement in the war and oppose NATO generally. I do remember getting into an argument here with someone, who has since gone inactive, who felt that revolutionairy defeatism does NOT apply to Russians living in Russia, and I thought it did. They thought that Russia is a national struggle for its survival and should win outright ect. That is a more extreme position than I usually see from others here, and my side of that argument got more upbears I think.

Sorry, I have a problem where i learn best through discourse and rely on people who I admire and think of as smarter than me to help me figure things out. And when they disagree, I get confused X_X. I know thats not the best, but its the way my brain functions unfortunately. I'm sorry my brain is developing in real time and Im not sure what to think about things right now. This turned into a long rant about stuff thats not all related to the main question. But any input or help you could give would be welcome.

I legit thought it was theory but google just drowned me in a deluge of memes

Between genociding Palestinians, giving weapons to Azov and concentration camps on his own country's border, Biden is starting to look more and more like an actual Nazi, hmm?

I saw something about bringing your dog to a gay bar, but didn't catch the end of it.

Things that are so obvious and ingrained that no one even thinks about them.

Here’s a few:

All US americans can go to Mexico EASILY. You’re supposed to have a passport but you don’t even need one (for car/foot crossing). Versus, it’s really hard for Mexicans, who aren’t wealthy, to secure a VISA to enter the US. I’m sure there are corollaries in other geo-regions.

Another one is wealthy countries having access to vaccines far ahead of “poor” countries.

In US, we might pay lip service to equal child-hood education but most of the funding pulls from local taxes so some kids might receive ~$10000 in spending while another receives $2000. I’m not looking it up at the moment, but I’m SURE there are strong racial stratas.

I've noticed a lot of posts asking how we're going to vote, and people coming in trying to shame people for not voting for Biden, or any candidate in the general election at all.

So I'm curious and, asking in good faith, want to know - what will make you stop voting for Biden?

Title, also Mr. Robot is a left-ish eco warrior and wannabe wealth distributor from Cuba

She is at the point where she has a work-related breakdown at least once per week, and wants to quit her job. If that's what it takes for her to get better I am completely fine with it, but I can't help but think that this would happen in any job, because:

1. She wants to work the exact hours listed in her contract, without counting breaks of any kind so she effectively works more than 8 hours per day. She doesn't want to cheat her employer, despite knowing about wage theft.

2. She doesn't want to inconvenience anyone, so she consents to doing things that are too much for her. The biggest offender here are the work trips, she is very introverted and socialization tires her out, especially considering that she fakes her facial expressions and the way she speaks in order to fit in, so having to do that for 4 consecutive days with her coworkers is really taxing for her. Despite that, she goes anyways, because she doesn't want to inconvenience her manager and coworkers and comes back in a worse state than before she left. This also applies to working on things she doesn't like, which might have been avoided if she tried speaking to her manager (who is a pretty decent person luckily).

I have also been burnt out during uni, and from experience know that if you don't stop on your terms, when your body and mind "tell" you you are at your limit, you are going to collapse in a much worse manner, so I want to prevent this somehow. But I feel like I can't do anything except observe her walk a dangerous path without robbing her of her agency and that's frustrating. Does anyone have some ideas for this?

I promise I am not a reactionary, but I am somewhat uneducated on the subject so I might say something offensive accidentally, sorry in advance about that.

So, does gender dysphoria stem from a disconnect between the body and some "gender socialization" function of the brain, which could be solved by getting socialized and treated by everyone as the correct gender from the start, or something that stems from a disconnect between the brain and the actual body parts and hormones, so the transition is needed to alleviate that, or both?

I have a few:

• I was in my house at night and got scared, so I went to go get my parents. Their dream bedroom was huge, though, and almost pitch-black, so all I could see was a bit of carpet directly underneath and around me. The carpet swarmed with fist-sized bugs that skittered around and over my feet.
• I was on a beach with my brother, looking at him while he faced me. My brother's face was grotesquely distorted, elongated and stretched to one side. His eye socket on that side took up a good portion of his face, and it was stuffed with what must have been dozens of regular-sized eyeballs.
• I was trapped with my family in a big outdoor area surrounded by concrete walls, with the ground covered with gravel and trash. We were all sitting together on a long bench atop a trash pile, and we couldn't leave the bench because we were being menaced by an animate blue plastic tarp that wanted eat us and the bench was - somehow - the only safe place. The tarp fluttered in front of us, then reared up onto one edge and struck at us like a cobra, accompanied by a sound like duct tape being violently torn off of something. The bench protected us, so we were unharmed, but we were all very distressed and afraid.

I stand up, I look out my window at the big city. I think 'how is any of this real, and why do I have to age and eventually die?'

I wake up in the morning in my weird little flat. I wonder to myself, 'so this is it, huh? I just do this until my body fails?'

I cook myself a meal. I find out how a museum works behind the scenes. I get a tour of an office. I see my friends go out. I book a movie ticket. I work out. I watch a comedian. I listen to a podcast. All of these things just make me ponder what the point of it all is. Am I doing it wrong? Am I doing it pretty well? Why should I accumulate all this knowledge if I'm just going to die? What's the point in watching my stupid obscure movies that I can't even talk to people about? Am I missing out on the human experience?

Realistically I'm a happy ape. All my needs are satisfied. But I am a sad human.

I think it's all linked to graduating. The pressures on to do well, the workload is racking up, and then once that's all done I just get thrown into the real world. That's it. Then it truly is just doing the same thing over and over. Then it really is a question of survival. Would it be better to just be a dumb neolithic huntsman who is grateful for his bed of fur in his cave? What the fuck did those guys even think of when they took psychedelics? Well, spirits, I know, but wow, the things in their head must've been so original. If I do them, most of my thoughts are just about the garbage I've watched, and my modern worries that are worrisome but relatively tame.

Is this just a normal thing to go through, and then you get on with it and accept that this is just how things are?

Maybe life is simply starting to get to me, and time will tell if I crack under pressure.

I'm not very informed on modern China and there's a ton of sources accusing China of killing and even harvesting organs from Uyghurs and Falun Gong believers.

Is there any truth to those claims or is it all ?

I lost my cellphone a few days ago and don't wanna pay too much for another one. I'd like to keep it under $200. Thank you in advance comrades.

I want to learn more about the conflict and interventions in Ethiopia and Eritrea, but from a left-wing source. Many sources hint at socialist vs. capitalist disputes and interventions, and there are religious angles here too, but I haven't seen this pulled together into a coherent narrative. Any recommendations for something good?

Before this runs the risk of being a struggle session about arming/disarming the Proletariat, let me specify this is specifically about the belief that holds deeply that he, or someone like him, may be the lucky winner of a heroic tale of personal vigilante triumph and save the day and get praised for shooting the bad ( ) guy with a gun.

Notice how that just about never happens, no matter where the mass shooting happens? Police presence doesn't often matter either, not until the shooting is basically done, unless one of their own gets shot first.

What excuses have you heard?

A common one around here is a classic: "everyone is too scared of getting sued these days," with the implication they'd be waving their guns more regularly otherwise, maybe shooting them as a means of communication.

A more specific and spicy take I've heard is "because guns aren't allowed in schools so only bad guys bring them."

(Ask a teacher who has guns in school and they'll tell you, for what it's worth)

spoiler

My partner has all the right political instincts and really wants to bolster their knowledge of the systems of socialism/communism and the ideologies therein.

I was initially thinking of recommending Blackshirts and Reds by Parenti as that was an entry point for me to shed any remaining lib tendencies I had.

Would love to hear what y'all would recommend!