I used to be somewhere in the neighborhood of anarchist/social democrat, the way most people on lemmy who aren’t MLs are. I was just as “anti-tankie” as anyone.

While trying to really define what I believed, I stumbled across Progress and Poverty by Henry George, and it really clicked for me. It made the case that no one should have a specific right of ownership over land and natural resources, so they should be considered publicly owned and used to fund the state. Without getting into the details of the idea itself, I was convinced that it could work, as a compromise that would fix the worst parts of capitalism and essentially get the best parts of both. That, if it were enacted in a few small countries and able to compete on a level playing field, it would prove itself successful and serve as a model for everyone to follow. But this raised the question of, if that’s true, why hasn’t it happened already?

This question caused me to take an interest in a bunch of random small countries around the world that had experimented with asserting state control over their natural resources, and using them to fund social spending for the benefit of the people. And what did I find? Let’s look at a case study.

Mohammad Mossadegh of Iran was the prime example for me, because he wasn’t a Marxist at all, he had no ties whatsoever to the USSR, and did everything right. He attempted to assert control over Iran’s oil, which had been stolen outright by the British on a massive scale, in order to use it to uplift the people, who were incredibly poor and destitute. He believed in and upheld democratic ideals, and that exactly how the CIA was able to freely operate in Iran and oust him in favor of a literal monarchy.

Mossadegh refused to censor the press, when the CIA controlled 90% of the newspapers in the country, which constantly printed negative stories about him. He refused to suppress demonstrations, when the CIA was hiring them to march, both against him, and for him while wrecking shit and turning people against him. Finally, a US diplomat fed him a false story about the embassy receiving death threats from his supporters, and he was so moved, and so concerned about remaining friendly with the US, that he put out a radio message instructing his supporters to stand down. The next day, the CIA attacked his residence and there was no one to come to his aid.

It took me a long time to really wrestle with the full implications of that case study, and the similar stories that I found all around the world. But what I eventually realized is that the reason so many socialist states are authoritarian is not because they just want to be, it’s survivorship bias. And while the US is able to act as a global hegemon, the kind of system that I idealized, the kind of system Mossadegh was trying to build, will never be allowed to compete fairly. In fact, it is precisely because it might work to fix the worst parts of capitalism that it cannot be permitted, because a lot of powerful people get very, very rich off of those parts. It’s not about the food, it’s about keeping those ants in line.

I would much rather live in the world where the Marxist-Leninists were wrong. I would love it if countries around the world could try out all sorts of different systems, without fear of outside interference, so that different systems could compete and rise or fall on their own merits. If, when I looked into history I had found something different, I’d probably still agree with the criticisms I did before. But, unfortunately, that’s just not the world we live in. When you actually study history, what you’ll find in nearly every case is that the US tried to meddle in their affairs, to the detriment of the average person, and they were successful whenever they were not suppressed by force.

And that’s how I became a “tankie.”

That you should always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I grew up that turning the other cheek and taking the high road was righteous. It was freeing to realize that even though it might not be 100% someone’s fault; sometimes a racist is a racist, even if they’ve never had the opportunity to broaden their horizon. The alcoholic is choosing not to get help, even if they have a good reason to want to drink. That asshole is an asshole, even if their father beat them as a child.

I hadn’t realized what an emotional burden I’d taken on trying to excuse the bad behavior of others until I came to the realization I needed to stop.

A long time ago, I actually believed in the myth that if taxes are lowered for the rich, they’d have more capital to spend.

With that extra capital, I was taught that they’d use the opportunity of lower taxes and more money in their pocket to invest in the economy, with the understanding that we’d all benefit from what they invest in, such as higher wages, private control over public services (after seeing them decline for so long), fostering in a freer market due to fewer regulations over it.

So what blew off the cover of that lie? Seeing, over time, that a lot of what George Carlin observed about American society and government rings true.

This got the ball rolling while working regular jobs. Noticing the behaviors of the typical CEO, reading up on the stagnation of wages since 1980, and the prospect of societal control through a poorly educated populace went a long way towards painting a clearer picture of what we’re all facing now.

I had zero interest in history until I was able to recall it.

Free speech on platforms. I used go think it was good to have platforms where people can broadcast any message. Now i think when broadcasting you should be held to certain standards and punished for breaking them. I genuinely believe political pundits should be arrested for blatantly lying day in and day out.

It shouldnt be to hard to prove they know they were lying its been done before.

That I could stop worrying about COVID after getting vaccinated.

There’s a giant chasm between the popular perception of COVID and the empirical reality.
The damage is cumulative, even from a-symptomatic infections in vaccinated people. It undermines your immune system, gives you brain damage, and eats away at your cardiovascular health. It leaves its mark on every organ in the body. It disables people regardless of their previous health and fitness.
And oh yeah

COVID literally shrinks your brain.

None of this is privileged information. It’s all there in publicly accessible studies for those who have eyes to see.
What caused me to change my mind: exposure to scientific facts that contradict the ‘vax and relax’ narrative.

I used to think progress in tech will solve societies problems, now I think it concentrates too much power in the hands of some of the worst people in society and needs to be federally regulated at some level with safeguards and checks.

I now sincerely believe in aliens

Universal healthcare and confederate history in the South.

When the Obamacare talks started I thought it was a terrible idea because all I’d heard was how has the government was and didn’t know how bad healthcare and insurance were. Now I think universal healthcare is a great idea, but I still think we’re dumb for trying for it at the federal level. California is as wealthy and populous as Canada and it makes a lot more sense for them to go their own way and have like minded states follow than to try and convince states like Florida it’s a good idea.

Confederacy in the south is weird. I was raised learning about the biased southern version, calling it the war of northern aggression, going to battle re-enactments and daughters of the confederacy get togethers. It wasn’t until I looked into the real history on my own that I discovered how terrible the South was, that they fired the first shot and most importantly that the whole celebration of the souths history started late in the 1900s as a rascist response to try and white wash history.

Anti-natalism. For many years I thought people should really, seriously not reproduce. Then I heard “Rust” by Yussef Dayes and “Inner Flight” by Makaya McCraven. I’ve loved music my whole life, but for whatever reason these two hit different. If people having kids leads to those kids making art like this, then maybe it’s alright.

I used to think US police were probably good guys making the right call most of the time. When something fishy hit the news I tended to think “they must have had a reason.”

Then there was the killing of Walter Scott.

That put a crack in it for me, but it was 2020 that really spun me the rest of the way around. And not just George Floyd himself. It was how police conducted themselves during the protests - every day I saw clips of cops escalating or being brutal to protesters. And several more high profile cases of police brutality happened during the same time. I admit I can’t remember a lot of the names now but I remember them - the kid with the sandwich shot in the back as he tried to enter his home, the guy with the phone in his hand shot in his friend’s garage, the old woman who had her arm dislocated and was then mocked while the cops replayed the video and bragged about it. And others… And always it was that the cops were shown to be liars by video evidence.

I ended 2020 with the view that I believe nothing cops say about any situation without video evidence to back them up. I will never again assume they “must have had a reason” or assume they are making a good faith effort to be truthful. It’s been far too consistent that every time there is a controversy, a video makes liars out of them.

I was born and raised in the deep south (U.S.) surrounded by conservatives. I retired in the south with 98% conservative colleagues. I spent 50 years turning the other cheek to conservatives, being patient, using the Socratic method, being a good son, a good grandson, a good brother, good friend and good neighbor to conservatives. Then Trump came along.

I now see how absolutely short-sighted and naive I was thinking the arrogant, unintelligent, bigoted, hateful, grinning monsters all around me could ever possibly become kind humans. Conservatives are exactly as evil as they appear. It’s not an illusion and they will never change.

Conservatives are biologically unable to experience empathy. This core understanding of conservatives explains so much about them. Their relationships are shallow because deep connections require empathy. It explains why bigotry and cruelty comes so easily to them. It explains how they can literally brag about killing a puppy and receive positive feedback from fellow conservatives.

I will never trust a conservative again as long as I live. I cannot unsee how genuinely cruel and evil they are and I can no longer be misled to believe they can change. It took a lifetime, but I understand what they are now and I am appropriately horrified by them.

Israel.

I used to support Israel, until I heard about them executing children in Gaza.

I used to be a dyed-in-the-wool optimist. Now, I’m an avowed cynic, and most people don’t realize it because I’m generally a cheerful person and that serves to mask it somewhat.

My entire adult life has corresponded to the regressive post-9/11 loss of economic and civil liberty that has drastically impacted the poor and working class in America.

Thing is, I truly believed in Obama. I went to a rally where Michelle spoke in September 2008. In late October, Obama dropped by for a rally, and there were so many of us that the organizers had to cut the line off and we had to sit on a nearby hill and just listen. I was 100%, absolutely certain that real, lasting change was coming.

But nope. Our two wars became seven. (That we know of.) Occupy was brutally crushed by the NYPD with Obama’s tacit approval. Police became militarized, even after Ferguson. Torture continued and the War on Terror continued unabated, despite Obama having a mandate to end it. No one from Wall Street that crashed our economy for profit went to prison, even though a foreclosure crisis followed. Life began to become unaffordable and the minimum wage stayed at $7 an hour. Despite having the votes to universalize health care, Obama made it more expensive instead. The cherry on top was that Obama gave us Tom Homan.

All of these problems have continued and worsened in the decade since 2016, despite both parties having total power for years at a time.

Now, no matter who we elect at the federal (and mostly state) level, I know things are never getting better.

My only power is local. Thankfully, my city is doing good things, so there’s that, but if I had the money to do so I’d leave this country completely and reside abroad instead.

literally yesterday a book changed my mind about how much alcohol I’m comfortable consuming

since I’ve started getting horrible hangovers in my 30s I’ve limited myself to 1-2 drinks in one evening, once a month or so, and that worked for me

the book detailed how alcohol absolutely wrecks your sleep. yeah i think I’m done drinking for the rest of my life now lol