You didnt see the guy who runs daily kos saying "im so glad I dont have to fact check speeches now"? You havent seen the harassment leftists have been getting for pointing out Biden is already elevating uber and lyft executives? I guess you already did go back asleep.
I didn’t. I rarely go on Twitter and The Daily Kos blog is not a news source I read often. I was able to find his tweet, and I agree that’s a concern. I hope it was meant as a joke in poor taste about how blatantly and frequently Trump lied to the public and not an intention. I know news outlets of record did fact check Biden consistently throughout the debates, and historically have fact-checked politicians regardless of political party. While I would not, perhaps, extrapolate to the entire millions of people who identify as liberal from a single tweet from a single person, I again agree this is concerning and would prefer people not even joke about it. Twitter is not a good place for reasoned and nuanced political discussion, but even within the limitations it would have been much wiser for him to tweet something along the lines of “so nice to fact check a politician’s speech and not have to call out ten different lies in a single paragraph”.
As for the Lyft and Uber members on the board, that’s also a concern. The California Democratic party opposed proposition 22, which gives Uber and Lyft a concerning amount of power over employees. News articles from mainstream/politically neutral sources such as Reuters have meanwhile pointed out that Biden’s tech transition team includes a large number of tech companies and not as many critics thereof . As mentioned I don’t spend much time if any on Twitter; I’m sure there are disagreements, and I hope you are able to look at a large number of people to see the multiple views present within. I don’t know your exact leftist positions, but I think we can agree that leftism includes a wide number of views - socialism, communism, left-anarchists, all which branch out even further into subdivisions like Marxism or anarcho-primitivism - and that the views of some do not necessarily represent the positions of all.
You seem extremely angry. I can understand that. I remember how I felt in the 2016 election, seeing Trump supporters celebrate what felt like an unlivable loss to me - one that I’m still angry about, and will remain angry about probably for the rest of my life.
I think a lot of people felt angry in a similar way, and I think many of them voted for Biden for that reason. It sounds as though you still feel this unlivable anger - but it sounds like you feel it before Biden has even taken office - less than five days after he was declared president-elect. I suspect you didn’t have any hope that this election would improve things, even slightly, and that sounds like a very depressing place to be.
What I will say, though, is I didn’t message Trump supporters, or search for them on Twitter. I did not, for the most part, spend all my time online jumping on every statement as proof that things would never get better. I looked for ways to mobilize and bring about the change I wanted. And I recognize the way I want to change things - both the results and the method - are probably not the same as yours. I likely want to drastically reform systems you would prefer be torn down entirely. I tend to work through existing avenues of political engagement and peaceful protest, and you may prefer violent revolution. But I think we (both you and I, and more broadly liberals and leftists) both want considerable change, and in many cases in the same direction: that no one goes hungry, or is killed, harmed, or otherwise made unsafe because of their race, gender, sexuality, ability, age, or religion. That there is more to life than working until we die. That the environment is not ruined by humanity’s actions.
I wonder how you hope to accomplish these things.
Right now, liberals - and some leftists (I usually try to distinguish between leftists who do things in the real world and what I call ‘online/very online’ leftists, as a lot of leftist activists participate in elections and protests) have not given up on fighting for what they want. Phone bank slots have filled up for the Georgia runoffs, people are pouring money into causes they support, whether it’s funds for native populations seriously affected by COVID, or abortion access networks, and BLM protests have continued as they have for months. I hope you are not mistaking the first breath many have taken in four years for apathy, and that you allow the people you see as allies the same time to rest amongst the action.
It sounds as though you have given up on anything changing within a week of the mere promise of future change, and that you are looking for ways to feel that pain more online.
Maybe you’re not. Maybe you are taking the time in between the real-world actions you take towards revolution to both extensively check Twitter and Tumblr and send this. Maybe you’ve tried to change hearts and minds all day and have decided I am the one person who you will give up on. I doubt it, but it’s possible, and if that’s the case, this is a long answer and you’ve probably stopped reading. But if you are refreshing Twitter and despairing in an endless loop and are angry at everyone I hope you can get help, and that things get better for you, and you find an outlet for that anger in a way that helps the people you care about.
Feel free to check in at Biden’s inauguration in January; I will check the Daily Kos on that day to see if they maintained the same journalistic standards, since I think we both agree a press that applies critical analysis of the government, regardless of who is in charge, is vital. Take care.
