The Americans on this thread can at least agree that we need to come together in this moment, and leave inter-party squabbles in the past.

@mls14 I don’t agree with that at all. The people right now who are saying that we need to “leave inter-party squabbles in the past” are the people who are themselves actively attacking people within their own party and their own base. Guys like Schumer consistently side with Republicans, guys like Bernie Sanders and AOC have consistently sided with the working class, but it is Sanders, AOC, and their ilk who are most often attacked as “sewing discord,” especially in the mainstream media.

So I embrace inner-party squabbles, and more than squabbles, an all-out war between people who represent the working class and people who represent the oligarchs. If we can’t purge the Democratic party of pro-oligarchy candidates like Chuck Schumer, and also people like Joe Biden, the Clintons, and the Obamas, then the Democratic Party will only ever be nothing more than an extension of Trump and the Republican Party, more than worthless, positively toxic.

@rzeta0 @efialto @nilsskirnir @Bellison22

Much to unpack here.

A lot of people in the US[1] have been convinced that protest is useless.

In fact, our mass movements have repeatedly been sabotaged from without and within. See Occupy.

The "politics as usual" for the last 50 years has been pretty uninspiring. I know people on the Internet hate "both sides" arguments, but they do hold some water. Yes, both sides are bad, and one side is orders of magnitude worse. Which is why I voted for Harris-Walz. Nevertheless, we wouldn't be where we are without Democrats enabling Republicans, since they answer to the same donor class, rather than the people. Bernie and AOC are trying to do something about this.

Our complex of government and corporations has succeeded wildly with bread and circuses and divide and rule. Though more and more of the bread is being taken away, and the circuses are more and more expensive. Divide and rule is still in full swing. Between these two strategies of the ruling class, people are kept off the street unless the problem directly affects them.

When US citizens do get out in the streets en masse, I expect that it will be violent. As H. Rap Brown said, "Violence is as American as apple pie." If the military is used against the populace, I'd note that the US military is historically very bad at maintaining an occupation. See Iraq, see Vietnam.

[1] I've even heard this "protest is useless" stuff from Canadians. I hate that form of cynicism.