Englishgrinn

Yeah, our government is just the worst Joe. I mean, we don't light our money on fire to pick a fight with all our friends. We're not erasing our own history because we're scared of black and brown people. We let people have access to healthcare without having to sell their youngest daughter in sex slavery (sorry, "child marriage"). And we haven't even turned the keys of the kingdom to a mask off fascist doing the fucking seig heil on national television and then pretending to wonder why people want to kill him.

God, it's like we're not even trying to put our boot on the neck of our citizens. You should totally go to Russia. Like, right now. And I hope you fall out a window you drug-addled windbag.

Man, Charlie Angus has really been the man of moment here. He's doing the same speech all over this country, seen it in a bunch of places. I know that sounds like a criticism - how can he be genuine when he's repeating himself and refining the message? Isn't that just a stump speech?

But it's not. First of all, anyone who knows Charlie Angus' record knows this isn't new territory for him.

Second, the reason this feels so genuine is because it's how WE feel. We aren't being told what to think, we're having our feelings put into words right in front of us.

And finally, these lines aren't stupid slogans or focus group tested pablum. These are things I've heard other Canadians say to each other, things I've said, way before any political leader was saying it. He's speaking in plain and easy language, in the exact terms Canadians think about this.

Populism and patriotism are heady, dangerous drugs. So quickly, they can pour over into mob-mentality, anti-intellectualism and nationalism. We have to be careful, and we have to be smart. But right now, man, I am riding this high. Elbows up!

I have never known a man who needed to get punched in the face worse than Donald Trump. I am not a violent man. I detest "online tough guys" who treat every situation as an excuse to advocate for violence. And I'm not saying I endorse a bullet or a guillotine or something like that. I'm not even saying I'd punch him.

But this man has clearly never been punched in his shit-talking mouth, and if someone had done it 40 or 50 years ago, we wouldn't be here now.

That story is absolutely heart-breaking. It's funny to me that reading that story, I can just tell I wouldn't like Jasmine Mooney. We wouldn't get along on a personal level. Her humour isn't my kind. Her view of things doesn't line up with how I perceive the world. We wouldn't be friends. And yet, I'm so incredibly moved by her story and I really respect the humility she shows in highlighting the stories of the other women she met in that system. I'm going to share this around, this feels really important.

I'm not sure we need to waste a lot of time on the lunatics that make up that 10%. You can't get 90% approval for fresh baked cookies, or friendly golden retriever puppies. While it would be nice for there to simply be no traitors within our borders, it's not really a realistic goal.

Instead, let's celebrate that by and large we're all on the same page. Elbows up. One way or the other, old age or a bullet, we die Canadians.

Despite every horrible thing they stand for - it is completely reasonable to me if the thing you're most pissed at them for is cultural appropriation of Norse Mythology. I know when people use my country's flag in their hate-fests, it angers me almost as much as the hate itself.

Sons of Odin are a Canadian white supremacist movement with Viking inspired iconography and a stated mission to "stop the spread of Shariah Law". They were started in 2018 and started with a very media-savvy push as a "service organization" doing park clean ups and handing out water and granola bars to homeless people. Their intent was to grow to spread their Xenophobia and anti-islamic rhetoric.

They aren't a large group, maybe 15k members coast to coast and that's spread pretty thinly. As for why I picked them? I dunno- memorable name and more "Canadian" than name dropping the Klan.

I would like "Kills Nazis" to be a common, simple part of Canadian identity, like hockey and manners. Basically, I want this:

"Oh Bob? Yeah he's just a good old Canadian boy. Smooth wristshot, absolute sniper. Always helps his neighbour shovel the walk. There was a demonstration by a bunch of those "Sons of Odin" fuckers downtown last week and he stopped by to huck bricks at them and protect counterprotestors. You know, we should have him over for a beer and some steaks"

It's true - I can remember a year ago, maybe two? Back when he was still on Fox News Tucker Carlson was constantly on about how we were under a tyrannical dictatorship and how Americans should "free" us. This "not viable as a country" thing is just another attempt at justifying their aggression and it's just as hollow and stupid. The lies and fallacies just cycle through until something sticks, it's the goals that remain the same.

The truth is, they want us out of the way because our multiculturalism and socialism are threats to their siloed reality. We're too similar to them, too successful. We're a living repudiation of everything they believe, of all the lies they need to be true to justify their cruelty and bigotry.

We were never going to be allowed to live in peace, for no other reason than we are a constant reminder of the truth.

Hello Lemmy.ca,

Super new here, but super happy to find this exists. I hope it grows and keeps gaining in popularity despite the clunky nature which I think is inherent to the Fediverse (am I saying that right?).

My story is probably like a lot of people here. Reddit was my only actual social media account. Never did the Twitter/Facebook/Instagram, whatever else. Reddit was how I got my news and I was fine with that.

But back in January when this whole Tariff thing was first winding up, I decided to go hard and start my American boycott. I cancelled Netflix and Disney+ (I haven't missed them for one second, which makes me wonder why I was paying for them anyway), I cancelled my Xbox Gamepass. I was already boycotting all things Amazon and Wal-mart. You get the idea. Reddit though, it didn't feel like a betrayal - r/onguardforthee was my Canadian politics news source of choice and I wasn't giving them any money.

But it occurs to me, when engagement numbers is how these guys convince investors to prop them up with no sustainable business model - I sort of was doing some damage. So, I set off looking for an alternative and here I am.

We have so little power to influence things these days it can feel pointless to make changes. Changes to our social media site of choice. Changes to our buying habits. How much does it really add up? But my father taught me, and I bet yours did too, you don't do the right thing because it guarantees the right outcome. You do it so you can look in the mirror at the end of the day. Thanks for helping me look in the mirror.