Conservatives frequently refer to themselves as centrists or neither. In the U.S., it is obvious someone is a right wing asshat if they claim to be centrist or neither.
“bOtH sIdEz r EqUaLlY bAd!!!”
If they were really centrist they’d vote democrat anyway, as that’s the centrist party.
Many leftists also vote democrat. Lesser of two evils, a two party system, no ranked choice voting, etc. etc. etc. etc.
In Spain, when someone says “I’m neither left or right”, that person is on the right, most of the time (if not always).
Yeah, same in America most of the time. Funny it’s often the right-wing that wants to pretend that they are “center” and/or are too afraid to say they are right-wing. It’s like they know…
Also centrists are just people who like the status quo which always benefits the people in power.
Everyone with at least 2 brain cells can guess that what they stand for is amongst the most inhumane shit one could stand for politically.
That’s why they pose as “centrists” because they know that they wish death on the people they hate which the general public doesn’t support.
People that claim themselves to be centrists in this economy, are either plain stupid or republicunts in disguise.
Yes, they are not mutually exclusive.
Or enlightened democrats who understand there party is the actual center and that workers aren’t represented outside of Bernie and AOC
Do they understand that the greater evil must be vanquished first?
You’re talking about leftists. I was saying there maybe actual centrists. Who would vote democrat even if a real leftist was on the ticket and had a real chance of winning because they actually preferred the center over the left.
The reason that you are running into situations like this is because you (the meme creator position) don’t witness the Centrist also vehemently argue with right-wing policies frequently.
You only see them argue with you and therefore have a skewed view of them and their politics. If you are left wing, and argue for left-wing policies in every case, that means you will also be argued with by somebody who believes political nuance and not just waving a party flag.
The right wing also shits on centrists because they think they are secretly left-wing since they argue with some of their stupider points as well.
These people are not secretly right-wing and just don’t have the balls to say it. That is a horrendous take no matter where you fall on the political spectrum the only serves to limit conversation.
This comment section is a riot.
So if someone truly has values that fall on both sides of the aisle, and can tell you what they don’t agree with on both sides, and can admit fault to each side… that makes them Republican?
I’d rather take someone any day that will take a stance on individual issues over just agreeing with what a specific political party says.
Everyone saying in this comment section that you aren’t strictly a Democrat you’re wrong/the problem… are indeed themselves the problem and are kidding themselves.
The left is misguided about certain issues.
The right is outright malicious about just about every issue, and is actively attempting to eliminate all other ideologies, using deception and violence.
That is why both sides are not the same.
Eh…
So while I do agree the extremism is much more dangerous on the right than it is the left… 99% of people don’t fall into these extreme groups anyway.
Maybe that’s just my world view but that’s how it is with people I know/have met in real life.
Both sides argue as if the entire other side is all extremists but the reality is most people fall somewhere in the middle, especially people younger than 50
I wasn’t talking about extremism. The mainstream right wing is as I described above.
Exhibit A: abortion bans. Exhibit B: election rigging. Exhibit C: crackdowns on LGBT+. Exhibit D: DeSantis literally advocating for slavery.
This isn’t stuff that fringe groups talk about. It’s stuff that mainstream right-wing politicians are actually doing as we speak, and they do it with the votes and approval of the people you know/have met in real life.
So are we talking politicians or are we talking regular citizens? Because there’s a big difference.
I read somewhere that over 80% of Americans were against the total abortion ban, for example. Another is an overwhelmingly majority of the country thinks career politicians are a bad idea, yet neither party does.
The problem is not the average American’s views. Very few are extreme. The problem is our politicians are progressively more extreme.
Most people vote Democrat or Republican and are biased one way or the other. If you want to commit career suicide as a politician, do anything that alienated the party you are closer aligned with. I hear people all the time, whether they voted Democrat or Republican, say aiming along the lines of “I don’t agree with a lot of things about (who they voted for) , but it’s better than the alternative!”
And that, in a nutshell, is why career politicians are killing the US.
I mean… They’re called Representatives right? Because they represent the people?
So, those politicians (Representatives) represent people, yes.
So are we talking politicians or are we talking regular citizens? Because there’s a big difference.
No, there isn’t. Regular citizens demonstrate their leanings in who they vote for. If you knowingly vote for a progressive/fascist/communist/theocrat/whatever, then that makes you a progressive/fascist/communist/theocrat/whatever.
I read somewhere that over 80% of Americans were against the total abortion ban, for example.
Then why did they vote for candidates from a party that’s spent the last several decades promising to ban abortion?
Over 80% of Americans may not be willing to directly admit that they want a total abortion ban, but significantly fewer than 80% of Americans are actually opposed to it. That was firmly proven when they voted for the Republicans who passed said ban, and unless there is a blue wave next year, it will be proven once again.
I hear people all the time, whether they voted Democrat or Republican, say aiming along the lines of “I don’t agree with a lot of things about (who they voted for) , but it’s better than the alternative!”
The Republicans want to institute a dystopia of slavery and christofascism, and that’s somehow better than the alternative? No. No, it is not. That’s absurd.
And that, in a nutshell, is why career politicians are killing the US.
What’s killing the US is the extreme cruelty of a significant and growing fraction of its populace. Career politicians are merely doing what the populace wants.
Why, because most people vote for a party and side with a party, not issues.
I’m not saying that’s right, in fact I feel the exact opposite. That’s just my observation of the world we live in in why that disconnect exists.
That’s no excuse. When your side turns evil, you’re supposed to switch sides, not support evil.
I’m not a Democrat. I’ll never be one. I’m liberal as fuck though and will NEVER vote Republican. I’ll gladly criticize the Democrats and won’t get mad if you shit on them.
I vote for certain stances in a candidate, and how they prioritize them as a rough guide on how I vote. It also depends on what office I’m voting for too, as well as what level of government.
“I don’t like the Right or the Left!” only criticizes the Left
Saw an old lady nearly shit herself with rage when Biden came on the news. Who was she bitching about? Hunter
Hunter doesn’t have a position in our Government, so who cares what he does?
More accurately, I would say these types react to someone criticizing the status quo, which is typically right wing. These types are usually sheltered white guys who have had very few problems with the status quo because, well, they’re white men.
Idk, I’m just voting for the least shitty candidate out of the two and moving on. I don’t get why people care about parties at all and just focus on the issues that need to be solved and how they say they are going to solve it and what their character says about what they most likely are going to mess up.
I don’t take sides but I still want to see big changes that from my point of view would improve things for everyone, splitting giant companies and Foster competition, improving infrastructure to help create jobs, a deep focus on fixing root issues in healthcare instead of just slapping a bandage on it, better affordable internet accessibility for farmers and rural towns, as well as taking steps to preserve the environment for future generations, etc.
I don’t get the hate from all these people, I’m not even in the middle I just care about what I think needs to get done.
I’ve literally never seen a republican candidate be the less shitty option
I’m not one of those people, especially since I don’t live in the US but is it so hard to envision having different views on different issues?
All of the stances taken by one side need not resonate with you.
I for example am not in support of social media witch hunts when someone is accused of being racist/sexist/classist and and so on. I firmly believe that we should be instituting bodies that have the power to investigate issues like this and take appropriate actions, with more freedom than the typical judicial process. This however does not mean that I don’t support gender equality, climate action or social welfare measures.
Another example would be affirmative action. I find it horrible that the supreme court gutted it the way it did but I also find it quite unpleasant that the elected representatives, in all this time, did not try to replace it with grassroot level measure such as food security, free tuition, books etc. higher school and teacher density in lower income or low performing areas. I feel that affirmative action was a stop gap measure, but it ended up being the prop used by politicians to not act on more fundamental issues.
Honestly, I would rather forgo the label altogether. In my experience label makes people into tribes and tribes aren’t really conducive to nuanced dialogue or individual opinions, rather, they’re good at collective action.
I also find it quite unpleasant that the elected representatives, in all this time, did not try to replace it with grassroot level measure such as food security, free tuition, books etc. higher school and teacher density in lower income or low performing areas.
So you support leftist ambitions, but because of some nonsense on Twitter you feel obligated to give credence to actual, flag-waving, “we’re coming to take your kids and throw you in prison,” nazis?
Holy shit you’re the guy from the meme
I feel like the very idea of “centrist” is flawed. Sure you can choose not to identify with either party.
But for most of these issues you can’t reasonably pick a “center” option for most issues. Sure we can argue implementation but you’re either ok with abortion, gun control, gay rights, civil rights, or your not.
Is it really useful to have the “control guns” and “control guns only a little” groups fighting when there’s a “school kids are a worthy sacrifice for guns” party?
I’m not pro life nor pro choice I think everyone should be able to do what they want!
I’m not left or right! But I believe describes the left
This internet version of centrism that everyone hates on is bizarre to me, for the reasons you say - the “only commit half a genocide” type of centrism. Are there people who really strike a middle ground on every issue on principle?
I always understood centrism as “I hold enough opinions from both parties that I don’t align with either one”, which honestly fits me pretty well. I still have strong opinions on individual issues though…
That’s typically how it’s actually used, but then that makes any reference to being a centrist pointless when discussing issues.
This interpretation means there is no “centrist position”, so if an issue is divided by Democrat vs Rebuplican (which it usually is) then you’re picking a side for that discussion.
That means that in issue specific conversations or debate, bringing up the fact your centrist only serves to fracture yourself from the party your currently on the side of. (None of this applies for registering to vote, where being an Independent actually matters).
I just think the label at best fractures your impact and reach and at worst is an attempt to sound rationally superior.
All this to say, not identifying with a party or choosing opinions are all well and fine, but categorising yourself as a centrist just groups you with a bunch of people that don’t necessarily represent or agree with you.
