Polish anti lgbt president

[stickygirl]

"During a divisive campaign, Mr Duda targeted the country's LGBT+ community, saying in June that “LGBT ideology" was "more destructive than communist indoctrination”.

The incumbent president also promised to ban marriage for gay couples in his bid for re-election. "

The fight never stops as yet another populist right wing party retains power. Same old fear-mongering and nationalistic BS that keeps people frightened through lies and scare tactics. So easy for them to achieve this through social media

 

[astuffedshirt_perv]

The fight never stops as yet another populist right wing party retains power.

It really is amazing, isn't it? Here in the US we think we took a wild turn with our guy, but it is happening all over the world. India. Poland. Philippines. Brazil. UK. The list goes on. What happened to progressives? There seems to be no progressive leaders that have any appeal any more, like Obama was the last of the breed. What happened? How did the children of the 70s fail to produce any progressive leaders anywhere in the world?

 

[coati]

What happened? How did the children of the 70s fail to produce any progressive leaders anywhere in the world?

I think this is a matter of fear being more exploitable than reason on the relatively new social media platforms. There are progressive leaders, but their messages are getting drowned out by fear soundbites that are easily repeated over and over again on this relatively new communication medium. Fight or flight from fear is deeply programmed in the human psyche, and is readily exploitable by unethical politicians.

My hope is that the majority of people will get very weary of being hypervigilant in this climate of fear, and will opt for reason again.

 

[yukonnights]

I think this is a matter of fear being more exploitable than reason on the relatively new social media platforms. There are progressive leaders, but their messages are getting drowned out by fear soundbites that are easily repeated over and over again on this relatively new communication medium. Fight or flight from fear is deeply programmed in the human psyche, and is readily exploitable by unethical politicians.

My hope is that the majority of people will get very weary of being hypervigilant in this climate of fear, and will opt for reason again.

There is some merit in the 'social media' argument, but I think the root cause is more partisan/tribal in nature. Social media is just a tool. These "fears" are not born in a vacuum — they are fully embraced beliefs by those who are being made afraid — actually, they've been afraid of (or disgusted by) LGBTQ+ people forever. They are afraid of 'the others' — those who are different than they are. Therefore, it's easy for someone with an agenda to hyper sensationalize their pet fears. Once a person latches onto a group who shares his/her beliefs I think it's a rare instance that they turn to reason. They are doing what they truly believe in…they're on the winning team.

The fact that these afraid people are usually more violent than progressive minded folk is what concerns me. They claim to love freedom — but only their definition of freedom. It seems that human life itself is of little value to them, and LGBTQ+ people are their enemies — the danger. These politicians are just answering the call for what they want.

I don't curse such people, as that would only have an impact on me. They, like everyone, are all shaped by so many things that make us who we are and what we believe. While we do have agency; parents, teachers, community, etc. also had a hand in shaping who we are and what we believe. Now, social media gives all of those voices a much farther reach — and a sensation of camaraderie in a bigger cause.

Today, I'm not feeling very hopeful it will get better anytime soon