Left wingers seem as bad as right wingers

[secureyourbook]

I’ve seen so many people this last week who see themselves as such “right on” virtuous people posting the most horrible things on social media.

One replied to a post about Charlie Kirk, it was basically a “sorry not sorry” post because he’s so hateful. When asked by someone if she’s actually seen any of his debates she said she didn’t need to, the facts are there that he was basically a fascist who incites violence. FWIW I’ve watched several of his videos since seeing her post today and seen nothing that suggests this, even though I don’t agree with his opinion on many things (but apparently he’s doing it in code, whatever that means)

Another friend was ranting about the protest in London and using really horrible terms to describe people that went. I hate what the flags have come to represent, and I don’t doubt that there were many thugs there just wanting to stir up hate. Surely though, describing all who went to the protest as the same (basically they’re all thick as shit racist hooligans) is no better than someone describing all immigrants as benefit chasing potential rapists (or insert any other racist stereotype)

Am I missing something? Or is it considered acceptable to make sweeping generalisations as long as you’re on the left side of the political spectrum?

I have no idea what camp I fit into and should think that lots of people are issues based. I don’t think all landlords are scum, think VAT on school fees was an appalling idea (especially when children are already mid-schooling), have a high income household, which puts me on the right by some. I think the way politicians and the media talk about people with disabilities is appalling - the left and the right do that. I think the damage that covid is doing to people of all ages should be addressed - no party really talks about that, despite the costs of ignoring it ramping further and further up. The flags everywhere leave a really nasty taste in my mouth. I voted Remain. I really dislike Trump.

I think that most people are in favour of free speech - with free speech comes consequence and some don’t like that (I mean being called out on it/being punished if it’s incitement etc - not being shot). There’s a lot of hateful speech dressed up as free speech. Some people behave like religious fanatics as though they have to defend everything their ‘side’ does no matter how ludicrous - social media amplifies this. As for debate, someone will repeat a headline/opinion/political soundbite which is easily refuted with facts/data by another, yet the extreme person will stand by it/say they’re lying/lots of laughing emojis. Bots amplify this and there seem more bots on the right. Politicians also often repeat stuff that they must know is untrue - if there were more accountability in that area, it would help - lots of people can accept there will be pros and cons, without the deceit. There’s also false equivalence - someone creams off £££££, another creams off £ and it’s “they’re as bad as each other” or 99% of data supports a theory, yet the 1% is given the same weight.

I’ve noticed on social media, especially before the election, a bombardment of vote reform posts. I can’t stand Reform. I find the whole “reform are in with a chance of winning” really dodgy too - it started shortly after the last general election where people had just been given a chance to vote, yet somehow everyone really wanted reform? There is something really fishy about the whole thing and it feels like nudge theory on steroids, funded by God knows who.

There’s a saying about women being scared of men because they’ll kill them and men being scared of women because they might get laughed at. If applying that saying to the extreme left and right, from what I’ve seen, the women tend to be on the left with the men on the right.

I don’t think it’s as black and white as that. I know plenty of right leaning people who volunteer in various organisations and groups, helping in their communities and giving a huge amount of their time for free. I also know quite a few left wing people who moan a lot about local services but do nothing to help, despite being retired and having time to get involved. We really need to move away from this left wing = good, right wing = bad, there are decent people and idiots on both sides of the political divide.

Very much agree.
The idea that it’s only left wing people that ever do anything to help others is just as much a silly cliche as the claim right wing people sometimes make that left wing people expect the state to sort everything out.
I wonder if people of different political beliefs tend to gravitate to certain types of volunteering so both sides are speaking from experience when they say they only ever meet people with the same politics as them. What things you can do depends on things that also correlate with politics like age, economic situation, education level.

'I’ve noticed on social media, especially before the election, a bombardment of vote reform posts. I can’t stand Reform. I find the whole “reform are in with a chance of winning” really dodgy too - it started shortly after the last general election where people had just been given a chance to vote, yet somehow everyone really wanted reform? There is something really fishy about the whole thing and it feels like nudge theory on steroids, funded by God knows who.'

This - along with the deluge of anti Starmer posts. Nowhere near as many threads started about the Conservatives despite Brexit and Truss trashing the economy, the Covid parties, failure to impact illegal immigration etc etc]

I was a left winger for years and years and I still believe in the basis principles of being left wing. However the recent shift to fringe ideologies amongst the majority of Labour/Lib Dems and Greens are something i cannot understand. TRA’s calling for women to be decapitated alongside smiling MP’s. The suppression of news on the grooming and rape gangs. Protests targeting the destruction of the few things people enjoy art, sports, flower shows. Aligning themselves with Islamists, a religion which taken to such extremes is now trying to eradicate women in Afghanistan (which they are strangely silent on, in fact some are even going out of their way to suppress this).
Its like wanting a fairer state that protects the most vulnerable (as in the elderly, children, disabled - not a man who has put on a dress) without overtaxation is no longer enough for them, they want to be seen as good people above everything else who support these causes and make sure everyone knows how wonderful they are. It’s almost become a religion of one up man ship. But no one can be that perfect all the time, good guys need bad guys so they have legitimate targets. Punch a TERF. Fuck the Tories. Kill a Nazi. Dance on TikTok to celebrate an assassination. Scrape the pictures of missing hostages off walls. Punch a 72 year old woman in the face at a rally. It doesn’t matter because they were on the wrong side, they don’t count, they are evil. Well this is not the left I supported and voted for.

The majority of the left did none of those things you accuse them of. It's only maybe 0.1% of the far, far left. Or, in other words, you pointed to extremism to smear an entire mass group.

Thanks for showing your double standard.

I have been reading the latest news and opinions for the past 2 hours and I can say, without hesitation, that the left were correct about one thing for sure. The right to free speech in America is dying. It’s being killed off by a Trump government. It was always the plan.

I'm left wing and I have never done any of that. Can you give some specific examples?
There are bad eggs on both sides of the divide, doing some awful things, especially closer to the far left/far right fringes.

What does being right wing mean to you? What are some good things about it in your view?

Hmm except being racist and violent whilst wanting to maintain the divide between the rich and the poor people of our country seems pretty fucking “bad”.
You can’t really be a massive wanker then expect everyone to think you’re lovely 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Thundertoastis being realistic though.

What? Inequality will exist in any society, there isn't someone sitting in a big chair gleening to themselves because they mange to keep a divide between rich and poor.
Bless you, I hadn't realised why leftists think how they do but some really just haven't been given a basic education when it comes to understanding demographics.

I was horrified at the idea at first but I've actually given it some careful thought and I think we actually could benefit if we only allowed families to vote. 1 vote per household per married couple. We are in trouble.

There has been a study done on that particular paper and its simoky wrong as it counted all the BLM riots and most of the leftist violence as no political when it was. I'm sorry but this isn't really debatable. Political violence is a trademark almost exclusively for the left.

And you don’t think the right use the poor as much, if not more? What exactly do you think Nigel Farage is doing?

Also I don’t get what point you’re trying to make saying compare democrats to Trumps demographic?

That’s a horrific idea! So only married couple count in your world, and single people be damned?!

Also you are aware some married couples don’t even agree on who to vote for? But you want them to “share” a vote.

So you think inequality is fine then and not something that we should as a society be trying to reduce?

yep - the right certainly deserve their reputation as massive cunts.

What about January 6? Right wingers running amok, or was it all faked by Antifa? The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville? The Texas mall shooting? The boogaloo shootings? All the attacks on Planned Parenthood sites and staff? The armed takeover of the Malheur wildlife refuge? Oklahoma City? The Pittsburgh synagogue attack?

You’re bang on! The stereotypes are through the roof! If you’re GC you’re a pearl clutching, rightwing Karen, regardless of your whole political profile. There’s a woman on TikTok saying that if you “want your country back” you should do some voluntary work in your community; and it’s done in a lengthy, gotcha, playing to the crowd style, using the assumption that they’re talking about just the one gammon keyboard warrior.

A lot of the left wing have shown exactly how vile they are now. There's no going back

I think I’m actually centre - great questions btw and what the country needs: sensible dialogue. I’m pro welfare, immigration, sensible taxation, environment, NHS etc. however, my “right” comes from my belief of pragmatism - welfare in its current form is not affordable (non working households should not be able “stack” different benefit claims to earn more than working people and things like PIP for disability should be means tested). NHS needs reform not more money - I’d be in favour of charging a small fee to access services for higher earners etc: £25? each visit to deter those people who go with a cold or sore throat 20 times a year etc or those who don’t show up and miss appointments), I’d increase immigration of families to support social care and specialist jobs where we have shortages, but come down super hard on illegal migration, France is not dangerous, nor Italy or Greece where all these boat people would have passed through. Taxes: I would keep taxes progressive but would not tax for ideological purpose's: eg. 45p for top rate income is proven to raise less overall tax revenue. I’d love to tax 50p above a certain rate but would care more about total receipt of taxes above my own personal ideologies, don’t is not possible - left don’t do that. Environment:- I’d exploit North Sea oil and gas as much, and for as long as possible, and use all the income to build green infrastructure so that consumers don’t subsidise the cost, while we still buy in oil and gas from elsewhere but pretend to be green ( again, practicality ahead of ideology). I would also try and foster belief and pride in our history at schools. This is important to achieve cohesive society in the long term - a common bond amongst diversity. In short though, I would put the quality of outcome ahead of the idea, even if it went against my principles. That in my mind sums up the difference between the left and right: outcome for society is more important than the way it’s achieved. I would love to hear your thoughts in return please.

the media are controlled by the rich and powerful including social media. So what you see on there is all stirred up by them - and influenced by their mates - other rich and powerful men (mainly). Its all about power and influence. There is a lot online denegrating 'the left' or 'the democrats' and its all about influencing the public. Most of whats online isnt credible or true anyway. There is evidence (apparently) that the russians have been disrupting and planning to destabilise the west for decades - their years of work are now coming to fruition. Those in power stir up division and hate and blame it on specific groups or sections of society. Its happened before and will happen again. But it is getting quite dangerous - ie moving slowly towards patterns seen in the nazi uprising - not there yet but we are going along similar lines. What with Kimmel being taken off the air with his TV show as he is a trump critic and more on the list to be targeted - because trump has his man in post as regulator of the media in the USA. This is how the slide towards autocracy (and away from democracy) works. So dont believe what you read, hear or see online about the left or the right - its is most likely untrue and a manipulation by those with an agenda.

I'm sorry, but anyone who says "leftist" I cannot take seriously. Do people on the left ever say Rightist - no, it would be a nonsense. To my mind, leftist, is shorthand for Trump/MAGA/Fromage ideas...

Jan 6th a few rightbwing guys running around a building, violence was absolutely minimal. BLM riots was night upon night of fear and terrorism with billions of pounds of damage to private property and numerous deaths. That was for the death of 1 man. A misogynist criminal drug addict. Whether it was a murder or not is even questionable.

Charlie Kirk, a much loved one of the biggest commentators on the right is executed, shot in the neck in cold blood in front of his wife and 2 young children. Wheres the violence? Where's the calls to violence? Where is violence brewing? It's not. Violence isn't the language of the political right.

I think these two events in most recent history speaks volumes.

Political left Not Right ^

Wow. That's one of the most blatant downplaying of Jan 6 violence I've seen for a while. But we've all seen the video. And I note you are completely ignoring the other instances of right-wing violence I listed.

Is Disingenuous your middle name or something?

That's the problem, the video is the worst of it and misses to show all the peaceful protesters that made up most of the crowd.
It's not comparable to BLM riots and you know it.