The debate gets interesting sometimes
The debate gets interesting sometimes
The debate gets interesting sometimes
I'm guessing the joke is that third party voters ignore the trolley about to go down one of two paths, instead deciding to stand next to a short piece of track connected to nothing with no trolley on it, so they can pretend the imminent disaster happening on the other track isn't real
And there's also a contingent of people on the trolley who are trying to get it to slow down, working their asses off to improve long term actual outcomes in the real world, whether related or not to the little lever, and the guy standing next to the empty disconnected track is claiming to be one of them and saying you must be against them and how dare you, you person-running-over-enabling monster, if you say anything against his strategy.
The problem is that we have two choices, and we will never not have two choices unless we do something about it. I can both say that Joe Biden sucks and we should do better and also vote for him because the other option is worse. This discourse that makes it seem like any criticism of Biden is pro trump is how we will end up in a slightly less terrible place. Cool. Really looking forward to that.
Also like what the fuck...I guess we have to kill Palestinians no matter what.
There is a third fucking option and it's not doing a genocide.
There is a third fucking option and it's not doing a genocide.
That's only an option if you have a viable strategy for accomplishing it.
The problem is that we have two choices
The problem is that we don't. If you're not in a "swing" state, all the votes in the world for Joe Biden are meaningless. Win California by another million votes. Win it by another 10M. Have every single eligible voter in California turn up and vote for Joe Biden. He still loses the EC when the SCOTUS tells Arizona to stop counting ballots the minute Trump is in the lead.
Also like what the fuck…I guess we have to kill Palestinians no matter what.
We have to keep sending money to Israel because its the means by which we control the Suez Canal.
Except... the Houthis have control over the back end of the canal so long as they're able to scare off shipping in the Gulf of Adan. So now we're endorsing a genocide just for shits and giggles.
Funny thing is, that's what's called a controlled derailment. It's the engineering answer to the situatuon, if the situation were real and not a contrived philosophical dilemma.
The Biden approach
This guy gets it
I enjoy the self insert character of Zach in panel 4.
WEINNERSMITHHHHHHH
Simplistic philosophy for simplistic minds.
It's not a trolley problem, and even if it were the consequences of greenlighting democratic support for genocide are not fully represented appropriately in this image.
It is a trolley problem for leftwing voters.
We all know what happens if the Republicans get in - they do what they want, and what they want is fervent, unquestioning support of Israel, and to continue trampling on the rights of millions of minorities.
That's where the Trolley goes if the leftwing can't agree on what it wants to do.
While I agree that you're right in stating that the long-term consequences of allowing democrats to get away with this aren't properly laid out, what's the alternative exactly?
You could argue to vote an independent, but if everybody disagrees on which independent to vote for, then you fragment the leftwing and the Republicans get a free lunch.
You could argue to refuse to vote to teach the democrat party a lesson, which sounds nice, but every lost vote against the Republicans only helps bring them closer to victory.
If you've got another idea, then by all means go ahead, but those are the two I hear over and over again.
Except communicating to Democratic leadership that this is acceptable moves us to the right, not to the left. I think it's time we all admit at least that we're past pretending Democrats are going to reform themselves without any meaningful pressure, no?
How far to the right do we let the DNC use fear to push us before being "left" only in relation to the extreme right doesn't cut it? If genocide is not where you draw the line what the fuck will be?
It's funny you say the philosophy is simple when strategic voting requires multiple layers of analysis and voting for bubblegum ice cream just amounts to what feels good. You can't bring yourself to accept the reality of the situation, so you pretend like the problem is easy to solve if you just ignore it. That's truly simple minded. Pathetic projection on your part.
It’s interesting how much the vote DOES resemble a trolley problem. Generally, the only real point in favor of not pulling the lever is “You’re killing someone, it’s immoral to get involved. Life shouldn’t be in your hands.”
Which is still setting aside all the conscious choice by other human beings that IS happening come election season. Probably the biggest way it diverges is that a trolley is moving under its own “natural” momentum. In reality, it’s as though some Nazis are pulling the trolley along the track to the 5 people.
give that man a rocket launcher
this one is actually really funny, i like this one.
Good shit.
I appreciate OPs honesty that Palestinians are dead either way.
Less palestinians will die under Biden. People who says "how could it be any worse?" have a severe lack of imagination and/or historical knowledge.
This is why the US should help move all Palestinians out of Israel. Relocate them to a place in the US. Give them a reservation land like the native Americans. They're never going to beat Israel and the best solution would be to move and start over.
wouldnt be a joke otherwise.
So, why do some blue states want to continueusing FPTP voting? Why continue using a voting system favored by Republicans? In states controlled by Democrats, there's no Republican opposition hindering electoral reform efforts.
FPTP favors whichever party is currently in power in a two party system. Solid blue states don't want to switch because it makes their hold on power less secure. Same reason as Republicans in red states.
You're factually correct, and I support your long term goal, but it's not something we can achieve by November.
I swear I hear this regardless of how close we are to the next presidential election. Can we maybe focus on some of the other races on the ballot? I would love if we could get a Congress that was actually able to make good things happen, instead of trying very hard to do nothing so bad things don't happen.
Electoral systems is a pretty nerdy topic (despite how important it is for who gets power), so it is not an issue the typical voter cares for. Therefore there is not enough political capital for such large reforms to be taken on by politicians.
I hope this post gets a lot of tankie comments. They’ll be flockin’ to a blockin’
Heh. See, cause. It rhymes. So.
The one yesterday had that commenter who was all “what’s this? Oh it took me a second cause I blocked all the tankies” and that’s when I realized I forgot to block lemmy.ml. Now that that’s done, it’s just onsie-twosies. It’s a bright, bright sunshiney day.
Guys, I don't know what's going on in the world and their wars. I just want a president who isn't abhorently evil. Do we have to revolutionize to find that 3rd option orrr?
Do we have to revolutionize to find that 3rd option
Pretty much. It's against the interest of both parties to have more options because both are near-guaranteed to lose power if there were more options.
I assume your "abhorently evil" comment is based off support of the genocide in Palestine (which is a completely reasonable thing to describe as abhorently evil, I'm just being clear about my premise).
In which case, sorry, bad news, you can't have that. Your options this time round are genocide supporter or genocide supporter. Somewhere down the line, years from now, the US electoral system may have been sufficiently reformed to make third parties viable. But this year that's not going to happen.
So that decision is completely out of your hands. But here's what you do get to decide; you can have an outright fascist, leading a party of outright fascists who have openly publicised their plans to turn your country into a fascist theocracy. Or you can have the guys who strengthened workers rights and went after major companies for union busting, hit Microsoft for $20 billion in back taxes, had the FBI raid a major landlord for illegal price hikes, brought antitrust lawsuits against Amazon and several other large tech firms, and secured billions in aid for Ukraine in their fight for their freedom. And that is literally just a tiny sampling of the good things that Biden's government has done.
I don't even see how that's a choice. One of these two options is clearly and manifestly better than the other, no matter how disgusting it feels. A vote for Biden is not an endorsement of his position on Gaza. It is a tactical choice, nothing more. And if nothing else, its a tactical choice that will prevent the fascists from filling even more seats on the supreme court.
It sucks, but those are the only options. Sometimes life just be like that.
This guy gets it. I don't see how this is so difficult to understand. Not voting is essentially skewing the vote towards the diaper-wearing Nazi-Clown you once already had for a president. Vote for the least evil party, it's all you can do.
But what if I am a bad faith actor that only pushes the "no moral choice" position because I want to ensure that the fascists take power? Better yet, what if my Russian paycheck demands it. Then what do I do?
I think the choice is really: Does America deserve the lesser evil?
We can have it for the low price of demanding it. Tell the Democrats you won't vote for Biden if he doesn't stop supporting the Israeli genocide.
I'm certain ballots with good options are unavailable absent a revolution, but if we tried under present conditions we'd likely only get worse governance and maybe destabilize the global balance of power catastrophically.
Thank you! We may eventually have to but revolutions do not have certain outcomes and we face a second problem that in general will require a mechanism for global cooperation which is hard to do when the state with the military, cultural, and economic influence the US currently has plunges into chaos
stop the trolley, dumb fucks 😂
I like that, as a nation, we are admitting that we'll enable the killing of innocent children. It's important to be honest with ourselves about who we are as a country.
Yeah but only when it's politically convenient.
And with your support we can make sure we never have to admit it again
I'm just excited for Trump to win and "Those stupid leftists who didn't vote for Trump" to be the cause, when all the conservative/centrist voters Biden picked up in 2020 abandon him in 2024 over the economy or Hunter Biden's dick or his emails.
I'm not gonna hold my breath
I'm assuming the third track being entirely disconnected and therefore not a real option is intentional.
Either way, accurate
I’d generally agree, but the problem is that this particular instance is much higher stakes than most elections.
Generally speaking, the worst case scenario would be someone like John McCain taking the reins instead of Obama. I didn’t agree with McCain about a lot of things but he was a generally honorable guy who wanted to do the best for American democracy.
Now we have a group who is polling to win and outright saying “America needs a dictatorship”. If they get their way, it could be the last election we ever have.
How do you get electoral reform when no one you vote for gets elected, and everyone who does get elected has no reason to pay any attention to your opinion?
In my state, ballot initiatives to change to ranked choice or approval voting, ideally with expanded multiple winner districts.
Whatever happens, we're all dead. The only question is whether, along the way, we act in a more moral or less moral way.
And the third track has buffers at both ends, is covered in weeds and somebody has stolen some of the sleepers to make a nice planter for their garden.
The point would be to at least get something out of Biden. Not just to give up without any demands. Bluffs and all that.
These posts are basically calling on leftists to support a genocide. I'll vote for Biden, but I'd also punch him square in his rich white Zionist jaw if I was given the opportunity. That's how American democracy works. The U.S. doesn't deserve a pass for supporting genocide, even if it's an election year.
Lol neoliberals are stroking themselves about how clever this is and just out of view there was another choice back in 2020.
But they like to ignore the fact they voted for a geriatric, procorporate genocide supporting candidates in the 2020 primaries.
What kind of argument is this? "People talking about the current election are ignoring an option that hasn't existed for 4 years" of course they're not?! It's not an option any more! The meme perfectly represents the idiocy of anyone trying to take any kind of moral high ground by not voting. America has made its bed, it sucks but no amount of idealism can change the practical options available to you.
That ship has sailed now bud. Now its trump or biden and that is what the meme is referring to.
There are next to no 70+ year olds on here to be stroking themselves over this. Most of us young people either didn't vote in the primaries or voted for Warren/Bernie. It's the old voters that choose our candidates because not enough young people can be bothered to vote in primaries... :(
they voted for a geriatric...
Joe Biden has won ONE state in all 2020 primary and general elections where there was a major party candidate that was running below the age of retirement: South Carolina, and that was because everyone skipped it in preparation for super tuesday.
The other 99 contests either Biden lost or everyone still running was over 65.
Neat.
I love how the right and their trolls have picked up on the fact that neoliberal has become a dirty word and is trying to weaponize it.
I'll ask the same question I always do when someone accuses me of being a troll: where do you think all those people who voted uncommitted in the 2024 primaries are? Do they have zero social media presence?
Stop voting for shit candidates in the primaries. This is non-negotiable.
Fuck me this comment section is toxic
Thats crazy how every government only has two parties
If your point is that the American system is fucked, we all know. We've known for decades. We're trying to fix it, but progress is basically nonexistent, because every politician who is currently elected benefits from our fucked system. Trying to get to a parliamentary system, like most developed real democracies, is almost entirely out of reach. Just getting ranked choice voting is like pulling teeth, and we'll have to create a brand new party to have politicians free from corporate interests.
I will have to fight all my life to enact positive change in this country, all because a bunch of rich white assholes who came to power long before I was born have stolen my future from me. Don't belittle us, mourn for us and never, ever repeat our mistakes.
Biden is anti-abortion, anti-BLM, doesn't care about muslims... Not saying the tracks are equal, but it is definitely not as one sided as this.
Why should he "care about Muslims" any more than any other group? Would your opinion be the same that he should care about Christians? Jews? Buddhists?
The president of the USA is supposed to care about Americans.
Also Biden is not even slightly anti-abortion, wtf. Biden is a Catholic and would not personally choose to abort a child of his own, but as the President he supports the right to choose in service to the office and not to his personal beliefs.
This is what it means to be President, to do what is right for the people even if it goes against your own opinions. Did Trump really lower our expectations that badly?
Since he unwaveringly supports the Zionist regime because they're Jews, it seems reasonable to conclude that his support of some ethnicities but not other makes him a racist.
I do agree that the POTUS is supposed to care about Americans (independently of ethnicity).
That is however not what Biden is doing - he's favoring some over others based on ethnicity (and money, like the vast majority of US Presidents).
As far as Muslims, I am responding to the people on the tracks in the meme. Biden has been vocally anti-abortion for most of his career, he is only trying to walk that back in the last few years. Even then, best case scenario, he is refusing to try to make progress on that issue to use it as a mobilization issue. If it is not an issue of legislation, but only the Supreme Court reversing the precedent, then you have to keep voting Democrat for a generation before progress can be attempted. That is what it means to be Democrat.
No, Biden did a number on me. It showed that Democrats and Liberals have absolutely no principles or beliefs. They are fine with a senile, racist, rapist, right-wing, war criminal, genocidaire president as long as he has a D next to his name and doesn't have an orange spray tan. Now Liberals think it is not fascist for ICE to put more people in concentration camps, the president to continue building the border wall, ignore human rights agreements to turn away asylum seekers, arm and fund genocide, continue interventions in the middle east, etc. It laid bare that all of the Liberal's objections to Trump were based not on principles nor positions, just that it was Trump doing it.
OK Pippi Wrongstocking, neat take
How am I wrong? Was it Trump that passed the COPS expansion, using federal funds to make sure police got funding expansions without local input, didn't Biden say that his Catholic faith meant that he was anti-abortion, and wasn't Biden's position on the Senate Council of Foreign Relations make him the Democrat with most input and culpability on how the war on terrorism was carried out? Were Muslims served by Biden's sanctions on Afghanistan, starving the people, as petty revenge for him following through on Trump's planned withdrawal not working out. Just excluding the point that Palestinians are Muslims and most Muslims care about Palestine. Did Biden stand up for trans rights or is his only saving grace not vocally cheering on the Republicans, and instead just try to avoid taking a position on that because Democrats don't actually want to fight for things or defend positions.
That bottom track should a circle or cliff to demonstrate it goes nowhere.
Why? It would be the best option. If it was an option...
Why are you blaming the voters for not choosing the lesser evil, instead of blaming the dems for forcing them to make that choice in the first place?
Stop supporting and enabling the fucking genocide, then it's a no-brainer for everyone. And with so many other people's lives at stake as well as the Palestinians, how dare the dems play chicken?
Okay, I will minimize genocide as much as possible by voting for Biden.
Can you link some of the Palestinian advocacy groups who are asking us to vote for Biden, since you're definitely listening to them?
https://uspalestiniancouncil.org/latest-action/arab-american-agenda
Hitler didn't win. He was appointed Chancellor by the big parties as a compromise and abused that power.
So you admit that the problem is a moderate party half-assing elections because they think they can coast on not being "other guy". Democrats help trump because they'd rather have fascism than threaten the bottom line of their rich donors. How do you think it got this bad in the first place? Did you think democrats were the bastion of progress?
Pakistan got the CIA coup treatment under BIden's term, so this meme is already wrong.
Support ranked voting with fairvote us.
Ok but that won't happen before our next election...
No, but hopefully this won't be the last US election.
Absolutely insane democrat-mental-gymnastics
Would they have the US still being a two party race no matter what in 2100? In 2200?
Yes, they would.
How is voting for a marginal unknown 3rd candidate going to upend the US electoral system, I'm so curious...
Instead of dreaming look at the general population. How many people who vote do you think actually care about this. Sure they might not like the politicians but do they actually want to change the system? I don't think so.
Capitalists hate competition
At least you haven’t been fooled into getting angry
You know the real solution to the trolley problem that is used in real life? Purposeful derailment. You let the front wheels go down one side, then flip the switch, and the back wheels follow the other path, which derails the trolley.
It either kills everyone, or saves everyone. And then you can figure out a better option as you untie your rail prisoners.
The let it burn and start over crowd are in this third category. The vote for Mickey Mouse crowd is not.
It kills the trolley passengers.
The reality is you're a actually on the rails, a billionaire is controlling the trolley, and the passengers are all ruling class.
You can vote for who controls the trolley. The trolley has a brake but they won't use it because there are profits to be had.
Derailment is the only thing that will bring about meaningful change.
One of the people you can vote for, will throw the trolley and start a revolution. The other will maintain the status quo, which is shit. A useful idiot, is still useful.
I've seen the writing on the wall for a while. I've divested and left. I am now waiting for the collapse and the quicker the better so the split of the nation and restructuring can start. Limping along on life support is not helping.
I have never heard of this and it sounds insane. You wouldn't kill everyone or no one, you'd probably kill everyone and the people on the train too. When I look up purposeful derailment the only incident I find is that crazy guy who crashed two trains into each other for fun killing some spectators.
Edit: hey more googling. You could argue it happened once and calling it a "trolley problem " is generous. The incident I'm finding was a runaway train in Australia. A runaway train is a lot different and usually they don't try to fix them like that, but by applying the brakes. It's also worth mentioning it was a "controlled" derailment and not just some guy flipping on Deja Vu as he sees if he can emulate initial D. There was no one in the area. Also in general I feel the trolley analogy has long fallen apart at this point.
You know the real solution to the trolley problem that is used in real life? Purposeful derailment.
Says who?
Isn't that just multi-track drifting?
I used to wonder if there was any line that people wouldn't cross with lesser-evilism, but now that I've seen all these takes just openly being like, "Yes, we're doing genocide, and if you break ranks over that, not only are you a bad person, but your behavior is only possibly explainable by you being a foreign agent or a conservative in disguise," and honestly it's pretty validating to know that yes, I was right all along that accepting that line of reasoning would lead to complete insanity with no limit on how extreme it could get. Like I've never voted for a major party presidential candidate because of that sort of thing but even I never expected the discourse to reach this level, and now that I've seen it play out I'm very glad I decided to distance myself from it. This is what zero principles does to a mfer.
It's really hard to see. Hearing that it doesn't matter that Biden supports Israel's genocide in Palestine because Trump would too is a bad take. It mattered to the thousands of people that have died. It matters to their families. It matters to their friends. So many of Biden's bad policies are just unforced errors. He doesn't have to be an unappealing candidate. He chooses to be an unappealing candidate. If he loses to Trump, that will be why. It'll be 2016 all over again. The genocide in Palestine is Biden's equivalent of just not setting foot in Michigan. And they'll blame voters, primarily independents and leftists (they already are), just like Hillary did, but ever think about what they could have done differently or better.
Fun fact. You don't get the bottom track without demanding it. You end up on the middle track if you negotiate on human rights.
Yup. You also get the middle track when you show up to the 2020 primaries and think to yourself "I'm gonna vote for a geriatric procorporate establishment white man. This is the best decision for me and everyone else will have to accept it because the alternative is Trump."
Because a party that does one genocide surely won't do another.
They will do genocide for just one day.
Why doesn't do the more popular and morally right thing to do and simply stop shipping weapons to Isreal?
He needs a little lever that's not attached to anything too.
The only way Biden will stop genociding Gazans is if there are electoral consequences for him, and you're asking us to not give him any electoral consequences.
That Pakistani flag is very ironic considering how Biden organized the coup there.
Do you even politic?
Democracy TM
The R path needs to replace the trolley with a ton of cars, and then run everyone over (including the US).
Yeah but jumping the track makes you complicit in what happens on the GOP train line Also nice try Ivan!
What is equivalent of derailing here?
You're a "domestic terrorist" and most likely already tied down to the middle track. You might also get tied down to the top rail - it depends slightly what you yell when attack.
But if that elepant and donkey are capable of tying down all those other people, they're not going to let you derail them.
laughs in STV
I'm with you on what the meme is trying to say, but the bottom track needs to be shown looping around to the Republican track and running over everyone.
Because that's where the third track leads.
Like so?
Also, let's have 'im on the track too.
"Oh, no, I'm not in any of those groups on the track, so I can safely not vote and have a clear conscience as it crushes everyone!"
Then they came for me...
Doesn't matter where the track leads if the trolley can't get to it. It could lead to rainbows and sunshine, but that isn't where the trolley is headed because there is no possibility that someone other than Trump or Biden is elected president. A few cry babies voting third party won't get some third person elected. A vote for the third track is a vote for a track that will not be ridden.
It could be a little model trolley track going in a loop with no trolley on it.
As someone who for the first time did not vote in 2016. I started voting in the Bush era. I fully agree, no action leads to fascism apparently. Don’t do what I did because I was pissed that Bernie was cheated out of the nomination. Vote or Trump will be back in office.
Oh, maybe. I assumed it was two different people, but yeah, that makes sense.
Okay, but the guy at the controls needs to be the swing vote on the SCOTUS.
It makes sense because you can see that the track exists and is better, but there’s no way to actually get the train onto it