How/why are you left-wing?

Kuato2012 · 2020-09-28T15:17:32+00:00

I generally prefer to let people fight their own battles without much moderator interference (and yes, that sometimes means leaving a rightwing talking point alone so that people can rebut it). But there have been too many fires to stomp out in this thread, so I'm locking it.

northseaview · 2020-09-27T15:09:55+00:00

Not sure about left and right, as there are many self proclaimed lefties who I regard as nothing of the sort. I am a socialist, by which I mean the fundamental crisis facing society is the control of the economy and this politics by the less than 0.1% of the world richest people. Unemployment, poverty, homelessness, healthcare inequality, the rise of racism, identity politics and failure to address climate change can all be traced to the inability to use the world's resources to solve those issues and the absence of economic democracy.

Most men's issues that matter to me are a result of a refusal to fund their needs. Unemployment, homelessness, education are not exclusively, but in some part a failure to resource, and men are at the back of the queue. The burden of child support on working class men is rooted in the capitalist refusal to fund childcare and instead blame 'dead beat dads', when society needs to completely revise the concept of family, now that the nuclear family model is defunct. Criminal justice primarily punishes the working class and the as the most damaged layer men bear the brunt. Drugs, educational dropouts, homelessness, all require resources to address, but with less need for labour the state would rather just lock them up. And I could go on.

Most of the left do not see men as vulnerable or discriminated against, and the right would keep it so, while feminist and other identitarians will be promoted by the corporate media to drown out class awareness of gender, race and national problems, and keep the working class divided and disoriented. I see my responsibility to show that men do need their problems recognised and addressed and that they are not a part of any oppressor class.

Terraneaux · 2020-09-27T16:53:14+00:00

People on the American right are actually making it worse, OP. There's no "pro-male" movement on the American right. They're pro .1%, pro-Christian, etc, but that doesn't mean they will help me or other men. The American left has more ideals that I am in tune with.

gurthanix · 2020-09-28T02:15:55+00:00

Self-avowing as "left-wing" doesn't mean supporting everything that a major party identified as left-wing puts on their platform. I describe myself as left-wing (or center-left) because economically I believe in policies that create a minimum floor of purchasing power and socially I believe people should have the same opportunities regardless of immutable characteristics (excluding serious disabilities that can't realistically be overcome). I'm not American, but in my own country I typically vote for a minor party whose platform includes investment in welfare, science/technology and education, but thus far no feminist ideology.

wazzup987 · 2020-09-27T15:14:49+00:00

Tell me what left wing means and ill tell you if I'm left wing. seems to be what it means to be left wing has been shrinking for about a decade or two.

Nyanu · 2020-09-27T17:54:14+00:00

Because I believe leftist economic policies will help everyone including men. That simple really. Do I agree with all the identity politics stuff or things like the wage gap? Not really. Doesn't mean I don't support leftist economic policies.

DMP1391 · 2020-09-27T14:09:48+00:00

I'm not. Not any longer. I used to be, when New Atheism was the dominant mode of western leftism, so from 06 til about 2014ish. What really made me break with my former political identification was the leftist response to the Charlie Hebdo Attacks and their utter fucking silences, even deliberately so, of the Rotherham Rapes of lower class white girls by pakistani men.

Of course there were many more instances that made me less of a leftist, it feels like after 2011 leftists went nuts. Just from memory ElevatorGate was probably the first time I saw my fellow leftists as 'in the wrong', and many other -gates followed, DongleGate, Shirtgate, GamerGate, along with many more that I have forgotten the details of, but Charlie Hebdo and Rotherham was the major breaking points for me. There I knew the Left had changed and New Atheism had gotten old. Never too keen on feminism (but not against women having a movement either, just don't involve me or make me the bad guy) and anti-white stuff, but believe it or not in the late 00s those were on the fringes, but in the 10s became mainstream within the wing.

Long-Chair-7825 · 2020-09-27T14:40:51+00:00

Personally, I'm pro UBI. That's a big one to me. There's other things I agree with the left on, but that's a major one. That being said, I consider myself a centrist. There are some right-wing things I agree with.

Edit: actually I guess I am on the left.

Kuato2012 · 2020-09-27T15:55:01+00:00

I'm a bit skeptical of your question. We're coming up to an election, and here you come saying, "hey guys, honest question: why don't you switch teams?"

The most obvious answer is that lots of us aren't single-issue voters, and when it comes to sticking up for "We the people," left-wingers feel that the left wing does better overall.

goldenjuniper · 2020-09-27T15:34:19+00:00

I don't consider myself left. I'm firmly a centrist.

I do like that the left champions advancing rights of minority LBGT groups. They seem to be more science minded and trust the consensus of science over Facebook.

But I cannot stand the collectivism on the left and the refusal to make an individual an actor in their own life... Unless you are a straight, white male. Every other demographic can't be responsible for any of their actions because of society. It's truly maddening. Using a single identifying factor of a person to judge their oppression/privilege points is truly insane.

OkLetterhead9 · 2020-09-27T17:41:50+00:00

If i was in the US i would vote for Trump.

I hate the tax cut for the billionaires, but men's rights is the most important issue for me.

guitarguy109 · 2020-09-27T17:03:17+00:00

I think the total authoritarianism that the right is currently pushing is wayyy worse than anything a feminist could impose upon me.

Tmomp · 2020-09-27T17:44:49+00:00

Have you noticed the current President and Senate majority leader?

Title	How/why are you left-wing?
Author	DMP1391
Upvotes	3
Comments	138
Date	September 27, 2020 1:59 PM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/comments/j0rk30/howwhy_are_you_leftwing/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/howwhy-are-you-left-wing.1062759 https://theredarchive.com/post/1062759

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