Message from @Atkins

Discord ID: 473627309296058377


2018-07-30 22:55:20 UTC  

Who cares. Most left leaning protests are majority middle-class white females.

2018-07-30 22:55:42 UTC  

And you don't need to chain yourself to a tree. Just make enough noise to get attention and force the administration's hand.

2018-07-30 22:55:53 UTC  

And keep up pressure.

2018-07-30 22:56:08 UTC  

I mean, just inviting Christina Hoff Summers is usually enough.

2018-07-30 22:57:49 UTC  

Again, the majority of the action should be from the non-left base and external factors. Create funds with designated purposes and keep people informed on how it is working. Then shift to politicians.

You only need a couple visible figures.

2018-07-30 22:58:00 UTC  

And enough attention to maintain focus among the base.

2018-07-30 22:59:48 UTC  

Seems like one obstacle is communicating to moneyed conservatives why they need to fund these efforts instead of investing that money in something that's going to generate a return.

2018-07-30 23:00:13 UTC  

Because a lot of people are just going to read about this and tune out.

2018-07-30 23:00:24 UTC  

Oh yes. That's actually why I like the Kochs. He understands the importance of the culture war and doesn't just play "buy Republican ads" game.

2018-07-30 23:00:26 UTC  

They think it doesn't matter to society at large.

2018-07-30 23:00:43 UTC  

The real challenge is getting the Rightwing grassroots to care.

2018-07-30 23:01:09 UTC  

Think of the last time you found a far left and how many NGOs they had on their car. Every one of those bumper stickers was money directed for a cause.

2018-07-30 23:02:39 UTC  

There is an asymmetry in the left and the right. The Left will fight on any terrain they can find. The Right just thinks that if they whine like sheep and then elect someone like Trump they'll somehow win.

It might work for short stretches in electoral politics but fails in the long run.

2018-07-30 23:03:54 UTC  

There are actually moneyed conservatives interested in this already and they struggle to find footing. The Martin Center of Academic Renewal for example has plenty of money coming in from places.

2018-07-30 23:04:17 UTC  

But a couple million from donors to fund a couple people to complain is like everything--easy to ignore.

2018-07-30 23:04:27 UTC  

Maybe one factor is that the right thinks they can win a civil war.

2018-07-30 23:04:37 UTC  

Which they won't, BTW.

2018-07-30 23:04:49 UTC  

They might have the arms, but thy lack the organization and intelligence.

2018-07-30 23:05:08 UTC  

I'd rather have established structure and Google than a single firearm.

2018-07-30 23:05:22 UTC  

The right has a bad habit of being completely delusional.

2018-07-30 23:05:50 UTC  

I don't think anyone would win a civil war, and yes the right is pretty delusional when it comes to such discussions.

2018-07-30 23:05:54 UTC  

(Aside: this is my criticism of Nikki Haley's recent comment about not 'triggering the libs.' I notice alot of the vocal right wing academics I know would agree with me)

2018-07-30 23:05:56 UTC  

But they use it as a security blanket.

2018-07-30 23:06:00 UTC  

^

2018-07-30 23:06:09 UTC  

Along with naive assumptions on the free market.

2018-07-30 23:07:21 UTC  

It's like KiA. Everyone keeps saying how "get woke go broke" is going to kill the gaming publishers.

But The Escapist just got bought, Youtube is cracking down with the adpocalypse. Twitch isn't much better and there's not really easy-to-find alternatives to actually make the publishers go broke.

2018-07-30 23:07:52 UTC  

If KiA was a social justice outfit, they would have already crowdsourced and hired their own independent stack and "signal boosted" it whenever possible.

2018-07-30 23:08:42 UTC  

Instead, they'll just lose the new market and get replaced over time or get exhausted.

2018-07-30 23:10:20 UTC  

Feels like some of these differences in institutions stem from the differences in personality traits of their constituent members. Getting conservatives to work together on anything is like herding cats.

2018-07-30 23:10:33 UTC  

Can agree. But that's a problem on the left too.

2018-07-30 23:11:13 UTC  

Once a hierarchy is established it works great, but the dominance battles are fierce and destructive.

2018-07-30 23:11:13 UTC  

Conservatives tend to be of the "we'll find someone who will fix it for us" variety and Libertarians are to strongly "No You. Fuck You telling me what to do"

2018-07-30 23:11:47 UTC  

I'm not sure it's the heirarchy battles as much as it's a tendency towards apathy and an inability to recognize that sometimes you just have to sacrifice for the common good.

2018-07-30 23:12:18 UTC  

It's actually a coming weakness I think. As the right becomes more libertarian and the religious right fades, there will be a general shortage of footsoldiers.

2018-07-30 23:13:02 UTC  

Also, the left now has more money. Organization and discipline are more important than ever.

2018-07-30 23:13:12 UTC  

Well, every time a conservative organization forms it's denounced as 'alt right'

2018-07-30 23:13:33 UTC  

And every time a left wing organization is formed it's denounced as "communist."

2018-07-30 23:13:43 UTC  

Left wing organizations were designated "obscene" in the 90s.

2018-07-30 23:13:45 UTC  

The Proud Boys could've been something good, but they've been mired in controversy and accusations of racism since day one.

2018-07-30 23:14:17 UTC  

I'm not sure that really matters much for the fight over the academy.

2018-07-30 23:14:31 UTC  

Who else is going to be shouting "THIS IS WHAT YOU DO TO US"?