I think it might just be latent anxiety about all the "left the left" grifters that exist. It's hard not to feel like some sort of elder god of right wing thought is waiting to hit everyone who turns 40 with an evil stick.

[–] infuziSporg@hexbear.net 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Part of that is survivor's bias. Something else that plays into it is how we often don't keep ties to leftist or left-leaning elders. But they're certainly there.

[–] FunkyStuff@hexbear.net 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Once I got bored of podcasts so I started listening to more lectures and interviews, all the academics I listen to are much older people. Vijay Prashad is probably the youngest, along with Gabriel Rockhill and Yanis Varoufakis. Otherwise, it's Michael Hudson, Richard Wolff, Finkelstein, David Harvey, etc.

Writing this list out, I'm starting to notice a pattern, and I might need to start trying to look for more academics who aren't old white men.

[–] anarchoilluminati@hexbear.net 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's not hard to avoid becoming a Rightist when your life depends on it.

[–] SocialistDovahkiin@hexbear.net 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

yeah. It's definitely a settler thing, I haven't heard of many leftists in countries ravaged by imperialism dropping the cause, or at least not nearly as many as the amount of "ex-leftists" in the US.

[–] anarchoilluminati@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ah, yeah, of course. I didn't just mean it like that though.

I just feel like there's a certain point of no-return. If it's mostly an online, armchair politics then I guess one can go/return Rightist. But if you really get into it and throw down, at a certain point there's no going back.

[–] SocialistDovahkiin@hexbear.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

I think it's possible for people to get subverted into reactionaries (not full on rightists) even if they've done actual action for the cause before, because vulgar forms of Marxism, materialism, etc are unfortunately not completely unpopular

[–] WhatDoYouMeanPodcast@hexbear.net 22 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Yeah, what am I going to do, like landlords? Feel good about imperialist violence? Sign an epic pro-Israel pledge?

"I gotta be honest comrades, I had a sick ass bahn mi from a food truck. Since it was privately owned it made me think that market forces are actually... le good!"

I might get annoyed enough to stop posting, but it's not like I'll ever watch a Beanis Shabibo video instead.

[–] SpiderFarmer@hexbear.net 20 points 2 weeks ago

My hatred of my petite bourgeousie leaving my body when I order a pupusa.

[–] FunkyStuff@hexbear.net 8 points 2 weeks ago

I honestly think the most likely way that the kind of person who posts here becomes more liberal is if they make enough money to be comfortable and settle lenin-dont-laugh with a SO who's a lib. So as long as we keep up our volcel pledges I think we're in the clear.

[–] FunkyStuff@hexbear.net 20 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Yeah lol one day I just forget dialectics. Which makes me wonder, what the hell is going on with all the Trots turned neocons? Did they just... forget everything?

[–] infuziSporg@hexbear.net 21 points 2 weeks ago

Some people get their values overwritten by affluent material conditions. Some people never had a strong dedication to the cause anyway.

If it matters, I see one measure of dedication as how willing you are to make compromises with comrades.

[–] imogen_underscore@hexbear.net 11 points 2 weeks ago

well a lot of the original trots left the USSR for the USA, where they made hating the USSR their whole deal. so you can imagine the kinds of friends they ended up making there.