Media & ArtsHas anyone read "The Transgender-Industrial Complex"?

submitted by HelloMomo from self.LGBDropTheT

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[–]PenseePansyBio-Sex or Bust 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

That's terrible, Warrior; particularly because, once "the Troubles" came to an end, I'd hoped that the people of Ireland could finally have a fully-functional country to live in. After CENTURIES of being under both English and Church domination, you guys deserve a fuckin' break already (I'm half-Irish myself BTW, like many Americans).

Do you know what led to this sad state of affairs? I have some idea of how America got here (it's not just about lobbyists-- that's more of a symptom than a cause), and would be happy to give you an in-a-nutshell summary (which is pretty much all I know anyway), if you-- or anyone else-- are/is interested.

[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

Ireland is a functional country despite our government and legal system. But imagine how great we’d be if we had a proper government. Most countries have this problem.

We have lobbyists here too. But most of our problems is that our government sets up publicly-owned companies across various industries, then monopolises these industries and quash competition because the government wants to profit from them. This started with Éamon de Valera, who was a neoconservative. When we joined the European Union, the EU told our government to stop monopolising industries and forced the government to allow competitors in those industries. This is one of the few good things that the EU have done for us. But sometimes our government continues to break EU law by being biased in favour of government owned and government supported companies. But the main source of our problems is that Irish people tend not to think outside the box. We’re not very good. with imagination, especially when it comes to politics and economics. So we don’t do much about it. And when we do get angry, we complain… and that’s it. All we do is complain. We don’t want to be uncomfortable, because we like our cushy jobs and our warm houses and our abundance of food and toys. But the lockdowns have made so many Irish people uncomfortable and miserable, so who knows?

I’d like to hear how the American federal government came to be so corrupt. I’ve heard about what LBJ, FDR, Grant and Lincoln have done.

[–]PenseePansyBio-Sex or Bust 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Oh, I didn't mean to suggest that Ireland isn't a functional country! I only meant that the government's problems keep it from being FULLY functional, you know? Like, because of that, it's at 95% instead of 100%, or something. (I'd say that my own country is currently functioning at a level which falls well short of either.)

I’d like to hear how the American federal government came to be so corrupt. I’ve heard about what LBJ, FDR, Grant and Lincoln have done.

So glad you asked! Well, it goes beyond even corruption, I think (as bad as that would be); what's happening here is more like a fundamental breakdown. That's been decades in the making.

In a nutshell: most Americans have been disconnected from their government for the last 40-some years, so any sense of citizenship is dead; and neither of our two political parties care about anyone besides the rich.

Why:

  • the Cold War: made any criticism of capitalism (even at its most amoral and inhumane) anti-American. Made average Americans support policies favoring the rich, even at great cost to themselves.
  • the Southern Strategy: Republicans (always the minority party) become competitive by going after voters in the South... white, radical-reactionary, intensely-racist voters who HATE the federal government (for ending first slavery and then segregation). This remakes the GOP in their image. One of our two political parties is now anti-government (and anti-democracy) at its core.
  • Watergate: the president was revealed as a criminal... and then pardoned by his successor, so he got away with it. Made Americans see their government as a corrupt sham, and want nothing more to do with it.
  • the Powell Memo: written from the POV of corporations who feared that the public would use government to check their power; outlined ways of undermining democracy, so people would have no choice other than to just go shopping. It worked.

Result of the above: most people no longer have any sense of citizenship. They're tuned out of government, so there's nobody to offset the influence of the rich. Both political parties thus largely ignore the masses. The GOP is also increasingly hostile to the very existence of the federal government. This served the Democrats, at least up to a point, because they could mainly devote themselves to the rich while getting votes from average people because "look how awful the REPUBLICANS are! You don't want them to win, do you?" As one writer memorably put it: Democrats are useless and Republicans are crazy. All of which made our politics just get ever nastier and more unhinged.

As you can probably tell, I'm on the liberal side of things myself, but nonetheless very much aware of how Democrats have contributed to this epic clusterfuck. Here's another liberal who is likewise, and wrote a book about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listen,_Liberal

[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

That’s sad what’s happened to America. Soulless corporations will be the death of your country if nothing gets done.

[–]PenseePansyBio-Sex or Bust 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Too true :( Though of course the corporations didn't take over by force; we regular Americans let them-- by not participating in politics, or, when we did, supporting their interests over our own. And they really just did what you'd expect them to, you know? Use their money and power to their advantage. 'Twas ever thus. I mean, I don't begrudge the rich a place at the table-- they're part of this country too, after all-- I'm just opposed to them having the ENTIRE table.

But maybe, as you observed about Ireland, recent events will be a wake-up call for the general public. I'm hoping that it might lead to a rebirth of citizenship, you know? People realizing that they have a responsibility to their country; that, in a democracy, the government is... us. We need to be informed, and involved. Otherwise it's not gonna work.

Hey... a girl can dream :)

[–]RedEyedWarriorGay | Male | 🇮🇪 Irish 🇮🇪 | Antineoliberal | Cocks are Compulsory 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

People are slowly beginning to wake up. And you’re right. Most of Ireland's problems stem from the fact that we as Irish people allow these problems to occur. But there have been occasions in our history where a group of Irish people got fed up of their fellow countrymen complaining about our problems so those specific Irish people took matters into their own hands and got uprisings going. It can happen again.