Political Fandom
Three Leftists Using Twitch to Inspire Future Organizers: LaborKyle, AmyeC3 and Transnationale
If we’re going to “do a socialism,” both in the United States and the rest of the world, then hundreds of millions of people will need lots of education; on the contradictions of the world that we live in now, how we can organize ourselves, and on how we’d want to shape a new society. That education is not going to come from top-down hierarchies, but from individuals and small pockets of people who are able to communicate the big ideas in digestible ways to people that trust them.
Continue reading “Three Leftists Using Twitch to Inspire Future Organizers: LaborKyle, AmyeC3 and Transnationale”10 Tips for Organizing Horizontally
Artwashing: The Role of Artists in Gentrification
Facebook’s Data on 15 Different Presidential Fandoms
We’re still about six months away from a single ballot being cast in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. Since there’s little getting out the vote or door to door campaigning going on, the race consists of political brands competing with marketing, much of it on Facebook. We analyzed over 15M liberal and very liberal Facebook users who are “interested” in the different candidates, and found some interesting outliers and trends that map to aspects of the different candidates’ backgrounds and platforms. Continue reading “Facebook’s Data on 15 Different Presidential Fandoms”
Why Have 29 Congressional Democrats Stopped Supporting Medicare for All in 2019?
After the 2018 elections were over, we calculated that there were about 130 Democrats elected to Congress who either already were co-sponsors of Medicare for All (H.R. 676), or signaled clear support for Medicare for All during their campaigns.
Last week, when Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) introduced 2019’s version of Medicare for All (H.R. 1384), the bill had 106 co-sponsors, 103 of whom had votes that counted. It’s another painful but important lesson about the limits of politely pushing elected officials to the left; just because they co-sponsor or promise to support legislation doesn’t mean they’ll actually stick around or expend any political capital to make it happen.
Continue reading “Why Have 29 Congressional Democrats Stopped Supporting Medicare for All in 2019?”
10 Insights on Gamers’ Political Views (According to Facebook Data)
The revolution isn’t happening yet. Way more people need to be radicalized before capitalism can be dismantled. There are many lenses through which people can build solidarity and organize; the workplace, housing, healthcare, etc., but one potential area of praxis where the left is playing catch-up is in video gaming.
Continue reading “10 Insights on Gamers’ Political Views (According to Facebook Data)”
Updated: There Are Now 136 Medicare for All Sponsors in Congress
Going into Tuesday’s midterm elections, there were 123 co-sponsors of Medicare for All in Congress, and 119 if you account for incumbents who were stepping down. Continue reading “Updated: There Are Now 136 Medicare for All Sponsors in Congress”
15 Gamers Moving Twitch and Youtube Leftward
Defeating the forces of fascism, authoritarianism, and capitalism is going to take some serious IRL effort. But before millions of people are ready to go to vote, protest, organize and revolt, they’re going to need to be offered some compelling reasons why they should. Continue reading “15 Gamers Moving Twitch and Youtube Leftward”