• Phegan@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    People are starving and unhoused and this is the shit they choose to focus on. People should be mad

    • SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      6 months ago

      People are starving and unhoused and that’s exactly why they’re focusing on this. To distract people from the source of their actual issues. Bread and circuses.

        • SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          6 months ago

          No no, I don’t intend to besmirch circuses. It’s a phrase attributed to a second century AD Roman poet, referring to politicians generating public approval by providing diversion instead of fixing the root causes of issues or even handling those issues at all.

          We could also say “bread and games”.

          • Tiefling IRL@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            6 months ago

            Ironically, most circus performers tend to be very liberal. The circus sideshow is home to all the outcasts, and a large chunk of us are trans or queer. Many of us are disabled, some of us have deformities or body mods (I have a forked tongue). Republicans would undoubtedly send us to the gallows if they could.

            I’ve literally gone on stage to warn people about the bills that Republicans are trying to pass. At our core, we’re artists, and we’re trying to fight the good fight.

            In fact, the history of the “freak show” is very interesting and worth reading about. It’s a story of how capitalism exploits vulnerable populations for profit (PT Barnum is a piece of shit), though it has evolved a lot over time and is different now.

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        The people sliding the checks under the table to the politicians pounding this worthless wardrum day and night are the same people who profit greatly on the idea that there are people who have, and people who have not. As long as this dichotomy is preserved at all costs, the system remains stable and the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor where they belong: supporting the wealthy with their low-wage labor, and the vast, complicated spectrum in between.

        Trans people became the latest convenient target because they’re such small segment of the population. They’re being singled out exactly because they’re easier targets than a racial or ethnic minority. Not that they’ve stopped pointing at ethnic and racial minorities, but they know that more people will push back a lot harder on overtly stated ideas of racial superiority.