I’m not going to start with my favorite part of the recent New Liberal Podcast with Richard V Reeves (author of Of Boys and Men and founder of the American Institute for Boys and Men).
I am not the person to do outreach to downtrodden men, because I am like the embodiment of all they hate, but I'd think the way their media sources prey on them and take advantage of them would be a good place to drive the wedge and make everyone better off. What are your heroes trying to sell you? Follow the money.
Also if we could change the paradigm from "being a man means not being a woman" to "being a man means not being a boy" emphasizing striving and maturing rather than limiting your own humanity and being misogynist.
Depending on the timing, the DNC giving up on men could be defensible. There is a point in the election cycle when you have to throw everything at the easiest short term goals. Breaking through to men is a long term project that will need to involve a lot more left actors.
"Breaking through to men is a long term project that will need to involve a lot more left actors." That is definitely the case. We need money, talent, time, etc.
tangentially related but I find it ongoingly odd that the inflation we've seen in things like groceries is largely profiteering and collusion. but seems to enjoy the nebulous title of "inflation".
"Both parties are choosing gender war (and culture warring more broadly) because the same billionaires own them. Every viable policy option for addressing slowing economic growth, declining innovation, and declining economic mobility threatens the oligarchy."
I think this is the most important point. The Democratic party in general is beholden to the same ruling class, the ones who cash out by crippling your rural hospital or carpet bombing your home country. They might ask you your pronouns before doing so, but the end result is the same. This "divide-and-conquer" tactic is as old as time, but the decline in income relative to cost of living for Americans is only about 50 years old.
We need credible actions which take power away from the oligarchs and back to the people, and not just signaling that "Democrats care about men."
Yes. The Democrats are going to try to do what wins voters and donors. That's their job. It's up to us, the people, the intelligensia, the cultural critics, the entertainers, everyone with any influence whatsoever to create the conditions in which voters demand their parties behave in our best interest.
Thank you! I feel like I give too many shits, if anything. I'm glad you are enjoying the unusual way I apportion my fucks.
I don't know that I'd say I'm optimistic about the party system. Or US democracy. Or even the continued existence of US global military and economic hegemony.
What I can say is that, especially having read a little history since the pandemic, I'm much less optimistic about the alternatives, especially and including dictatorship and revolution.
I think you're getting to the heart of the matter. What is the alternative to the hegemony we live in the heart of? We don't know, because we have to figure it out together.
Have you heard of Grace Lee Boggs? Learning about her life and reading her books has taught me so much about what an "second American revolution" could consist of. Tldr; all the older examples of revolution cannot be applied directly to the USA, the toppiest top-half of countries. All of those historic revolutions were about economic necessities--people were literally starving for lack of food in the country. Now there are certainly people starving here too, but so many more Americans are spiritually starving, even as they can Amazon (I hate using this as a verb) a 48 pack of Goldfish to their door while sitting on the toilet (I love goldfish). They know something is wrong, that there must be more to life, but they cannot name it.
If you're interested, you could start with her last book "The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century" which she co-wrote when she was almost 100 years old (!). There's also a documentary about her called American Revolutionary (can find on Youtube). And I can email you some pdfs of an older out-of-copy book, if you'd like.
Men will never fall for the sort of weak minded messaging that can effectively coerce the feelings of women. The reason democrats, and progressives more broadly, lost men and boys is because men and boys rightly saw through the bullshit of leftist ideology. It’s time to face reality: you lost, and you didn’t lose because men and boys are stupid/naive/resentful, you lost because YOUR WORLDVIEW IS WRONG. Deal with it or don’t… you’ve lost the ill gotten institutional power you once held, so whether or not you decide to see reason is beyond me to give a damn about.
I am not the person to do outreach to downtrodden men, because I am like the embodiment of all they hate, but I'd think the way their media sources prey on them and take advantage of them would be a good place to drive the wedge and make everyone better off. What are your heroes trying to sell you? Follow the money.
Also if we could change the paradigm from "being a man means not being a woman" to "being a man means not being a boy" emphasizing striving and maturing rather than limiting your own humanity and being misogynist.
Depending on the timing, the DNC giving up on men could be defensible. There is a point in the election cycle when you have to throw everything at the easiest short term goals. Breaking through to men is a long term project that will need to involve a lot more left actors.
"Breaking through to men is a long term project that will need to involve a lot more left actors." That is definitely the case. We need money, talent, time, etc.
"Women: Probably also just people.” LOL likely true.
Also seems like hitting union solidarity and working that angle with blue collar folks would gain ground.
I don't know about unions. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EJAg1xszyImmRUg8JR3qtolRAJp4_8CbZpCHW2mptN0/edit?tab=t.0
https://www.slowboring.com/p/a-common-sense-economic-agenda
But yes I do think the Democratic Party would do well to marry industrial policy with explicitly pro-male messaging.
point taken.
tangentially related but I find it ongoingly odd that the inflation we've seen in things like groceries is largely profiteering and collusion. but seems to enjoy the nebulous title of "inflation".
"Both parties are choosing gender war (and culture warring more broadly) because the same billionaires own them. Every viable policy option for addressing slowing economic growth, declining innovation, and declining economic mobility threatens the oligarchy."
I think this is the most important point. The Democratic party in general is beholden to the same ruling class, the ones who cash out by crippling your rural hospital or carpet bombing your home country. They might ask you your pronouns before doing so, but the end result is the same. This "divide-and-conquer" tactic is as old as time, but the decline in income relative to cost of living for Americans is only about 50 years old.
We need credible actions which take power away from the oligarchs and back to the people, and not just signaling that "Democrats care about men."
Yes. The Democrats are going to try to do what wins voters and donors. That's their job. It's up to us, the people, the intelligensia, the cultural critics, the entertainers, everyone with any influence whatsoever to create the conditions in which voters demand their parties behave in our best interest.
I want to believe in your optimism in the party system.
Also just want to say I've been really appreciating your writing, style, and dgaf perspective
Thank you! I feel like I give too many shits, if anything. I'm glad you are enjoying the unusual way I apportion my fucks.
I don't know that I'd say I'm optimistic about the party system. Or US democracy. Or even the continued existence of US global military and economic hegemony.
What I can say is that, especially having read a little history since the pandemic, I'm much less optimistic about the alternatives, especially and including dictatorship and revolution.
I think you're getting to the heart of the matter. What is the alternative to the hegemony we live in the heart of? We don't know, because we have to figure it out together.
Have you heard of Grace Lee Boggs? Learning about her life and reading her books has taught me so much about what an "second American revolution" could consist of. Tldr; all the older examples of revolution cannot be applied directly to the USA, the toppiest top-half of countries. All of those historic revolutions were about economic necessities--people were literally starving for lack of food in the country. Now there are certainly people starving here too, but so many more Americans are spiritually starving, even as they can Amazon (I hate using this as a verb) a 48 pack of Goldfish to their door while sitting on the toilet (I love goldfish). They know something is wrong, that there must be more to life, but they cannot name it.
If you're interested, you could start with her last book "The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century" which she co-wrote when she was almost 100 years old (!). There's also a documentary about her called American Revolutionary (can find on Youtube). And I can email you some pdfs of an older out-of-copy book, if you'd like.
To be clear, feel free to say no thanks :) I'm feeling that content/learning overload realll hard these days.
You're very cool and very smart! Hope you're having a good day
I'm actively reading five books, but I downloaded the kindle version and added it to the list. TY for the rec and the kind words <3
Men will never fall for the sort of weak minded messaging that can effectively coerce the feelings of women. The reason democrats, and progressives more broadly, lost men and boys is because men and boys rightly saw through the bullshit of leftist ideology. It’s time to face reality: you lost, and you didn’t lose because men and boys are stupid/naive/resentful, you lost because YOUR WORLDVIEW IS WRONG. Deal with it or don’t… you’ve lost the ill gotten institutional power you once held, so whether or not you decide to see reason is beyond me to give a damn about.
all caps, the universal language of apathy
Good reply. I’ve said my piece, and should return to my actual real job now.