# Oh my fucking god. I cannot stand the far left **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 8, 2024, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406 "2024-08-08T04:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/181 "2024-08-08T22:33:47Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > The people who are doing by far the most “more harm than good” to LGBTQ people are not any subculture of LGBTQ people themselves. Particularly when “more harm than good” actually means not being closeted. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/182 "2024-08-08T22:33:56Z")
He may have suddenly remembered this quote: " “Better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” - **Maurice Switzer, 1907** ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/183 "2024-08-08T22:38:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > “And don’t get me started on the Welfare Queens, amirite?” As an aside, there is a fascinating podcast about the “original” welfare queen that Ronald Reagan used to slander everyone on welfare. The woman at the center of it is no saint but also not what Reagan portrayed. Well worth a listen (four episodes). > **[The Queen](https://slate.com/podcasts/the-queen/s1/the-queen)** > > Linda Taylor Committed Abhorrent Crimes. She Became a Legend for the Least of Them. Back to the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/184 "2024-08-08T22:40:01Z")
Hi, another portion of the 6% of the US who identifies as Progressive Left! We scary! ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/185 "2024-08-08T22:46:46Z")
Like the fact that the far left are loons. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/186 "2024-08-08T22:49:24Z")
So, your daughter is visiting for the weekend? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/187 "2024-08-08T22:51:01Z")
Pull the other one. Anyone that’s really been following you knows you mean Trans people but you’re to chicken shit to admit that’s what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/188 "2024-08-08T23:15:08Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > And while we’re talking about this, it’s worth pointing out that [the standard conservative-centrist trope of large numbers of black Americans disdaining academic achievement on the grounds that it’s “acting white” has been repeatedly debunked.](https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/1/5/14175116/acting-white-myth-black-kids-academics-school-achievement-gap-debunked) > > > [@](#): > > > > You’ve probably heard it before: Too many black students don’t do well in school because they think being smart means “acting white.” […] > > > > While the “acting white” theory used to be pretty popular to bring up in debates about black academic achievement there’s a catch: It’s not true. > > > > At best, it’s a very creative interpretation of inadequate research and anecdotal evidence. At worst, it’s a messy attempt to transform the near-universal stigma attached to adolescent nerdiness into an indictment of black culture, while often ignoring the systemic inequality that contributes to the country’s racial achievement gap. […] > > > > The “acting white” theory also validates a particular social conservative worldview by placing the blame for disparate academic outcomes squarely on the backward ideas of black children and black cultural pathology, instead of on harder-to-tackle factors like socioeconomic inequality, [implicit racial bias](http://www.vox.com/2014/12/26/7443979/racism-implicit-racial-bias) on the part of teachers, segregated and underresourced schools, and the school discipline disparities that create what’s been called the [school-to-prison pipeline](http://www.vox.com/2015/2/24/8101289/school-discipline-race). […] > > > > A prime example of a shaky study on this topic, according to Toldson, was Harvard economist Roland G. Fryer’s 2006 research paper [“Acting White: The Social Price Paid by the Best and the Brightest Minority Students\*.“\*](http://educationnext.org/actingwhite/) […] > > > > But the numbers didn’t actually add up to support the “acting white” theory, Toldson said. To start, the most popular black students in his study were the ones with 3.5 GPAs, and students with 4.0s had about as many friends as those with 3.0s. The least popular students? Those with less than a 2.5 GPA. > > > > It seemed that the “social price” paid by the lowest-achieving black students was actually far greater than the price in popularity paid by the highest academic achievers. […] > > > > Fryer’s research found that the very highest-achieving black kids were the least popular — but this likely had much less to do with beliefs about acting white and more to do with the fact that the very smartest kids of any race tend to suffer social stigma. […] > > > > In a 2003 study titled [“It’s not a black thing: Understanding the Burden of Acting White and Other Dilemmas of High Achievement,“](http://www.cpc.unc.edu/pubs/2817) published in the _American Sociological Review_ , researchers concluded that the smartest black and white students actually had similar experiences and that the stigma was similar across cultures […] Thanks. Great info! ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/189 "2024-08-08T23:41:46Z")
I’m in Canada, making us part of a trans(national) movement: even more scary! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/190 "2024-08-08T23:43:40Z")
Man, that straw investment is already paying huge dividends. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/191 "2024-08-09T00:10:20Z")
“It’s literally in their name” is the same kind of “logic” used by those who try to sell the Nazis being Socialists. The “Democratic” in “Democratic Socialist” has nothing to do with the same-named party. It just means that they think that Socialist ends can be achieved by democratic means. But, in any event, remember the 239th Rule of Acquisition: “Never be afraid to mislabel a product.” ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/192 "2024-08-09T00:32:52Z")
Well,now you’re making me do research! DSA emerged from the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, which was founded in 1973 with the explicit aim of working within the Democratic Party to push it to the left. In 1982, it merged with the New American Movement and became DSA, so I guess from that point on the “Democratic” part no longer referred specifically to the Democratic Party. The organization grew massively as a result of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign, and the influx of newer members has led it to move further left; for instance, it no longer excludes advocates of violent revolution and it has adopted anti-Zionism in place of its earlier two-state policy. Indeed, I see the national group has withdrawn its endorsement from AOC for being insufficiently anti-Israel, though the NY chapter still supports her. However, it still devotes a great deal of energy to electoral politics, and the candidates it supports and endorses are invariably Democrats, so I think my original post was substantially correct. It is true, however, that it only supports very specific Democrats, and not the Party in general. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/193 "2024-08-09T00:33:53Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Examples of “far left” positions I’ve seen advocated online (as examples of what I consider actual extreme left positions to be like): > > Forcibly deporting all non-Native Americans from North and South America. > Expertise is a lie, everyone is equal and all jobs should be assigned by sortition (aka, a lottery). > The housing shortage can be fixed by the people building their own housing. > People like nature pictures because of Western Imperialism. > Women are shorter than men because they are systematically starved. > Fixing issues like paralysis is bigoted. > Once the Communist Revolution comes it will endure forever with no need for enforcement, because no one would disagree with Communism without capitalist coercion and manipulation. > The only reason the USSR broke up is CIA subversion. > The people of Ukraine should be exterminated as fascists. > A nuclear war is desirable because Communism would inevitably arise from the ashes. Yeah, anybody who is anywhere at all within the modern American “progressive left” mainstream supports exactly zero of these fruitbatty views. (To be completely fair, some of them are worth thinking about for their rhetorical implications regarding some contrary positions, although they’re not defensible in their own right. For example, the idea of complete “decolonization” of the Americas by mass deportation of all non-Native-Americans is absurd, but what does that say about the extremist anti-immigrant positions at the other end of the spectrum? It’s considered fair nowadays for white-majority nations that arose as settler colonies, with governmental systems derived from white European cultures, to declare that nobody from elsewhere is allowed into their territory without official say-so, and if they snuck in without official say-so they can be kicked out. So then why is it unfair for descendants of indigenous inhabitants of the region to demand a mulligan in order to kick out all the descendants of white Europeans who snuck in without their societies’ official say-so? Similarly, although “Western imperialism” is obviously not the only reason people like nature pictures, is it really surprising that artistic representations of “nature” in imperialist societies influenced, and were influenced by, imperialist culture tropes about the “exotic”, the “native”, the “savage”, and so forth? Does our technology-driven focus on curing and “fixing” disabilities medically cause us to neglect what’s needed for socially accepting and accommodating disabilities that can’t presently be “fixed”? And does it push us to unnecessarily medicalize and treat some “abnormalities” that don’t actually need fixing? None of these questions, of course, involve actually endorsing the fruitbatty claims that inspired them.) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/194 "2024-08-09T00:40:09Z")
Yep, I can honestly say I’ve never encountered a single person, even online, that espoused the views that @Der_Trihs [listed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/169). Strawman leftie gets ever more extreme in his views, it seems. The closest I’ve seen is a couple of times people have implied that all Ukrainians are Nazis, but the people saying that were MAGAs, and even they weren’t proposing extermination. Meanwhile to find examples of far right rhetoric; from great replacement theory to sexist or racist rhetoric we can find it any day of the week. And not from randos on the Internet, but from senior Republicans and the most popular right-wing podcasts / video channels. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/195 "2024-08-09T00:54:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Examples of “far left” positions I’ve seen advocated online Cites for at least some of these? If you’ve seen them online, shouldn’t be hard. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/196 "2024-08-09T01:00:58Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Are all far leftists this bad or did I just meet an extremely toxic one? I need new friends. You met extremely toxic ones. And yes, you need new friends. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/197 "2024-08-09T01:03:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > You met extremely toxic ones. And yes, you need new friends. I agree. There does seem to be a lack of judgement here if this is @Wesley_Clark 's friend. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/198 "2024-08-09T01:03:36Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > > > If the left in the US really wanted a resurgence, they should rebuild the labor movement. > > Working on it, buddy! My far left son is literally a union organizer. He’s been making some progress, too. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/199 "2024-08-09T01:27:49Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Yeah, anybody who is anywhere at all within the modern American “progressive left” mainstream supports exactly zero of these fruitbatty views. Maybe that should be a sign to you that progressives are not the members of the ‘far’ left under discussion here? You remind me of Octopus 🐙 jumping in to defend conservatives whenever anyone talks about Nazis. > [@Mijin](#): > > Yep, I can honestly say I’ve never encountered a single person, even online, that espoused the views that @Der_Trihs [listed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/169). Strawman leftie gets ever more extreme in his views, it seems. Then you’ve never encountered Briahna Joy Gray; I’m jealous. Now, thankfully, you may never be subjected to an encounter with her work again, because her Tankie takes got her fired. Because that’s how the Left, and even the Progressive Left, treats the truly Loony Left in this country. And that’s a good thing; it’s why idiots like BJG might get a job while they’re pretending to be merely Progressive, but when they show their true colors, their ass is shown the door; meanwhile, Conservatives worship Trump at the Cult of MAGA. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/200 "2024-08-09T01:34:32Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Maybe that should be a sign to you that progressives are not the members of the ‘far’ left under discussion here? You remind me of Octopus Um, that was [exactly my point?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406/157) > [@Kimstu](#): > > > [@octopus](#): > > > > It’s a bit disingenuous to say that the progressive left, which is pretty far left, has no power in the USA. They have disproportionate influence in many institutions. […] The far left has been the most destructive force in history in terms of misery and body count. > > It’s more than a bit disingenuous to try to conflate “the progressive left”, as the term is generally understood, with “the far left” in the OP’s sense of pro-communist kneejerk “rejectionists”, or with the actual communist totalitarian dictators that you denounce in the last sentence of your post. > > No, the modern progressive left that actually does have some influence in some institutions is not even close to the crankish fringe “far left” that the OP is complaning about […] Hence my illustration of the differences between the two ideologies that octopus was trying to conflate, in my response in post#193 to Der\_Trihs’s post#169. Hope that clears it up for you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-god-i-cannot-stand-the-far-left/1005406.md?page=11)