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See? This is why I'm a so called "climate doomer."
1) Because fixing the climate requires reducing anti-Black racism, and letting Black folk in the US vote, but the US just does not want to do that. There is no viable path to making progress on climate change without reducing anti-Black racism. None.
2) Because so many people will see headlines like this, and not even recognize the problem with it. China is doing the right thing! But we frame that as a negative.
https://www.dw.com/en/from-solar-to-evs-how-china-is-overproducing-green-tech/a-68782157
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.ioThe US has politicians that want to make the exact same subsidy decisions that China did. The silly part: It's not even an *increase* in subsidies, or a cost to the economy, or an increase in taxes. It's just a *change* in what we subsidize, and it boosts the economy, and taxes can stay the same, and in some cases, decrease.
The US has those politicians, and Black people try to vote for them. Try, but fail. 
The most effective "climate protest," is registering Black people in the US to vote.
I'm not saying don't protest for the climate. I'll never tell people not to protest.
I'm just saying, it's silly to vote for the wrong politicians, dudes who literally own coal mines, and want coal to increase, but then kayak up to their yacht and beg them not to do that.
I'm just saying, voting for the wrong people, then throwing soup on paintings, is kinda silly.
80% of people already want faster progress on climate change. Protesting to push that to 90% isn't going to change anything.
There are fewer than 50 people standing firmly in the way of *the entire world* making faster progress on climate change. All of these 50 people are US citizens. All of them are politicians. They are the president, a few governors, but most of them are senators and representatives.
No one else matters. No one.
You cannot change the minds of these politicians. It's silly to think that you can. They. Don't. Care.
But you can change these politicians, to get different minds making decisions. 
@mekkaokereke Actually... this is just true, and states it both simpler and clearer than I have seen anywhere. Chapeau!
@mekkaokereke the four boxes of Liberty seem applicable to this situation as well.
@mekkaokereke I worry a bit that that after those "in the way" are replaced, that we'll run into another batch that I'd call "whoa not that fast". In the benevolent-dictator model of stopping climate change, we'd change housing, transportation, and tax policies. Crudely, we'd need to make things look at lot more European (*), smaller cars, more electric cars, more transit-friendly zoning, transit, bicycles, and that would bug a lot of people, and they would vote. (*) easier sell than "Asian".
@mekkaokereke I spent the first 20 years of my life someplace where 3 adjacent counties grew by 3% per year, compounded, literal green-field development for a lot of it, and it was a lot of change, governments could not keep up with the amount of school-building that was required for a bit. Roads were widened and re-widened and a lot of the planning was ad hoc and missed some things (the deadliest road in the US for pedestrians is now in one of those 3 counties).
@mekkaokereke What I see where I live now, is a combination of not recognizing how "unrelated" policies break climate-friendly policies. We have a funding "formula" for transit, that is inadequate, so the transit agency "can't" do things that need to be done (electrify commuter rail, more frequent schedule, fix subways, more frequent subways). We fund schools by taxing localities, which makes them oppose growth. Cambridge is still "learning" how to build bike lanes instead of stealing ideas /
@mekkaokereke from the Dutch; instead they make mistakes (we could also steal ideas from the Dutch that help roads carry more cars, but we don't do that, either -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knbVWXzL4-4 ).
@dr2chase @mekkaokereke From what I've seen (from afar) of a fair number of Americans, "be more European" would be heavily resisted, to put it mildly. I think the best bet is to somehow frame addressing climate change as being something heroically American, which is tough given a fairly individualistic culture. Perhaps it can be the next Apollo?
(And I think Europe could be doing a lot better. The main thing we have going for us is starting from a lower base.)
@sgf @mekkaokereke the most-resistant part of American culture is actually kinda monolithic, much like the "We Are All Individuals" crowd in Life of Brian ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Flr-hQHcY ). But you're right, it would be helpful to change their minds, just a little bit. Unfortunately there's a lot of money spent on marketing to keep them from changing, our oil-drilling-car-driving-road-paving economy depends on continued wasteful consumption.
Silly?
We are down to two choices, Republicans or Democrats, for the most part in almost every choice at every post in November.
Will Trump will be a more logical choice, as opposed to President Biden?
Yes, I agree it would be great if America had more than 2 parties. But it does not. Voting for a third party candidate is withholding votes from Democrats.
There are many Democratic politicians who understand the urgency needed. Work with them, and still try to convince others.
@msbellows @mekkaokereke @Ultraverified In the us we have to vote in primaries to make a difference. And unfortunately we mostly aren’t doing that. By the time the general election rolls around it’s too late for anything but dumb or dumber.
@abhayakara @mekkaokereke @Ultraverified Absolutely right. I wrote this years ago to say the same thing: https://wiretaps.typepad.com/eleventydimensional/2016/05/the-elks-the-party-system-solitary-masturbation-and-bernie-or-bust-an-explainer.html
@Ultraverified @mekkaokereke I don't think the point is "withhold votes from Dems" so much as get as informed with your friends earlier in the process where you have more than one Democrat to pick from in a primary.
@squishymage42
And in some states, it could be worthy to vote in the Republican primary even if you are not going to vote for them in the General.
@Ultraverified @mekkaokereke
it's be great if we had a proportional parliamentary system. We don't, so we have two parties which are more like coalitions in parliamentary systems. What we have instead of parties are cacauses.
organize, and vote more in primaries...
@mekkaokereke German FDP politician Christian Lindner also tries his hardest to prevent investment in renewable energy, laws that would prohibit oil/gas heating etc. He does not deny global warming, but money / the economy is more important to him.
@mekkaokereke I wish I shared this optimism. But I don’t think it’s 50 people. I think millions of self-described “good liberals” become frothing reactionaries as soon as you suggest part of their roadway should be reserved for buses or an apartment building should go up in their town so that lower wage workers don’t need to drive so far.
@mekkaokereke this is not to contradict your central point. Opposition to housing and transit expansion in this US is absolutely tied up with anti-Black racism.
I think that's it exactly. "If it's good for [insert subject], I'm all for it! Just don't let it get in the way of my comfort zone."
@ef4 @mekkaokereke Yep. Welcome to Berkeley.
@ef4 @mekkaokereke The challenge with multi-tenant zoning is that it often doesn't serve anyone but the builder/owner. Bylaws here mandate that you don't need a parking structure if you allocate 10% to low-income tenants. But in a city with as many cars as people, this ripples out into the community as more parking tickets, streets going permit-only, etc., all of which diminish the area's affordability. 10% is way too low, and parking is a necessity here.
@mekkaokereke Don’t forget the money behind those politicians making damn sure they don’t change their minds. The oligarchs, the oil barons, the bankers reaping the fossil fuel profits, etc. so I’d venture it’s more than 50 people when you include the dark money system supporting sticking to the status quo.
@mekkaokereke the reason I really hate our system, is that there are actually much fewer than these 50 people in the way. It's the national committee's policies that remove our choices and continue allowing bad policy. Democrats refuse to support primary challenges, so the only way to improve a dem is by allowing a republican to win a term. RNC is a trump mob money laundering firm now.
We don't get to vote for who leads the *NCs, or participate in their policy unless we are already elite
Facts! I wish I could boost this multiple times!
Describes the problem so succinctly.
The filibuster is a necessary tool *for centrist Democrats* to prevent challenges from the left.
Those candidates to the left are the ones that the Black voters really want.
That's where the climate change results are. That's where the bike lanes are. That's where the affordable housing is. That's where the labor rights are. That's where the police reform is.
@mekkaokereke the political theory that says people can vote for whoever they want as long as the elite control who is on the ballot is so cynical yet so true
What about down at the municipal level?
@KrajciTom @mekkaokereke the more local the better. I participated in a conversation with a local rep that helped with traffic speed control on a road near my house, and direct busses to a more usable route. She helped guide the community through brainstorming and explained what things could be done based on money and permitting and such.
Made a huge difference in my daily life. Local elections matter.
@KrajciTom @mekkaokereke but I say this living in a blue dot in a red state. The state passes laws that prevent local municipalities from being able to enact policies. The national parties try to restrict states sometimes.
@ATLeagle @mekkaokereke Nah... it's only a problem when the Guardian Council does the controlling 
飛柳 @ATLeagle@mastodon.online @mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io it’s so clear why AOC defeating the incumbent in her primary was such a shock to the establishment. And why it seems like they’ve made it even harder since. Didn’t Pelosi say specifically that she’d punish anyone that attempted a primary challenge?
@ATLeagle @mekkaokereke The premise here is that the DNC (ok... not them. The *real* DNC that controls everything in smoky backrooms) is the reason there isn't a progressive anti-coal candidate in WV to replace Manchin?
At the start of the last decade, voters replaced a lot of conservative democrats (so called "blue dogs") with rabidly right-wing Republicans. In no small part a response to electing a black President (thanks DNC!).
The result was a dramatic rightward lurch in our politics.
@ATLeagle @mekkaokereke The loss of those blue dogs enabled the rise of Trumpism, including climate denialism, which directly led to (among other things) the overturn of Roe v Wade.
As a practical matter, your sacrificial model of politics is a complete failure.
Selective memory makes Dems always remember when progressive candidates lose, but never remember when tepid, centrist candidates lose.
They always remember when centrist candidates win, but never remember victories for AOC, Bowman, or other progressives, overcome huge spending gaps to win.
We act surprised when the candidates whose policies are you really are supported by 80% of voters, win by landslides.
@mekkaokereke @ATLeagle The wipeout of the blue dogs created space for the freedom caucus loons, which provided the core political support within the party for Trump's primary run.
Refusing to acknowledge the political power of the white christianist vote does not make it disappear.
A large number of people in this country live in depopulated states and don't want the future that you and I do. Whether that's reduced fossil fuels or an end to the carceral state.
Correlation causation.
The shift from "conservative" dems to rabid right wing republicans didn't *cause* the rise of Trump.
Both of those things are symptoms of the rise of the alt-right, an explicitly white nationalist political movement. Trump was just "the alt-right candidate." He didn't create the movement. He was just the last puzzle piece.
@mekkaokereke @ATLeagle fair enough, everything is a matter of perspective.
You could argue that the alt-right is a response to the fecklessness of mainstream Republicans to the perceived progressive shift by the Democrats.
Not saying Dems shouldn't have shifted, not saying blue dogs presented a viable long term stance, just talking about the things that we know happened.
Did electing republicans produce a more progressive outcome?
No. No it did not.
@tob @mekkaokereke this perfectly points to the original premise of the conversation. People who were tired of the same old thing were energized by a chance to change things, even if they didnt thinknthe changes were a great idea. The people on the left who would like to change things can't get to the ballots
The Dems needed Manchin on their team just to have ownership of committees. They choose to live on this slim margin instead of an actual progressive platform that may bring out more voters
@ATLeagle @mekkaokereke The Dems need Manchin because there's not enough progressive votes in Texas and Florida.
There's nothing behind your cliches.
"People who were tired of the same old thing were energized to change things."
Which people? Tired of what? Energize in what way? Change things how?
Why can't people on the left get on ballots? All you need is the requisite number of signatures.
@mekkaokereke @tob @ATLeagle This right here^
The world isn't as it appears to be...
There are a ton of blue votes in TX and a ton of people who want to vote as well as have nice things (not just this)
You fix one problem you can get the whole interconnected web!
@mekkaokereke @tob @ATLeagle What can be done about it? The courts are no help anymore. My friends who live and teach school there are despairing and talking about moving.
@andytiedye @mekkaokereke @tob expanding the Supreme Court and restoring the voting rights act would have been good. Amazingly, voting access is seen as too partisan of an issue, and nobody had the pull to shove it through 3 years ago when it would have really helped
@ATLeagle @mekkaokereke @tob Manchin and Sinema made those impossible.
@andytiedye @mekkaokereke @tob yep. I suspect there were others that were happy with the result and with letting those two take the blame
@tob @mekkaokereke I don't like this tone. Clichés on a character limited platform??? Omg
Please don't shift the topic, this isn't twitter. The ballots I speak of would be on the 2 party system. Yes, people could start their own party, but that isn't what we were talking about. Progressives can't get on a dem ballot, because the party simply won't allow new faces.
Get rid of the suppression, energize voters, and WV can elect the republican they want, as there will be 65 dems in the senate
@mekkaokereke @ATLeagle my post is about tepid, centrist candidates losing en masse.
I remember it vividly.
AOC won a district that anyone with a pulse and a D next to their name can win. Her primary victory was more impressive (and rebuts the idea that dems don't support challenges).
@mekkaokereke @ATLeagle WV only matters because Manchin caucuses with the Democrats.
The filibuster sucks.
@ATLeagle @mekkaokereke yup. The voters are so disgusted with MAGA voting DINO of WA-3 that it's very likely this swing district will flip back to Red after November. We have quite a few Indies, Greens, and progressives here, but they simply don't have a voice to represent us. The broad majority of our district does not want MAGA, probably even less someone who deceives us by running as an "independent Dem voice" and voting with MAGA on key issues.
@mekkaokereke The white liberal moderate of MLK's description is against doing anything on racism but is also against doing anything on climate.
@mekkaokereke We can't change their mind, but we *can* build power and change their actions.
Last year Newsom tried to cut $4B from transit capital spending. A campaign of protests and getting angry transit riders to call the governor won back all the capital spending and won an additional $1.1B for transit operations.
New Yorkers are running a similar campaign to get Hochul to reverse her congestion pricing debacle, and it looks like the pressure is working.
@mekkaokereke Why shouldn't the US government do the judo move and allow the import of as many Chinese EVs as consumers want to buy? Letting the Chinese government subsidise clean tech for Americans would be even better than subsidies from the US government, wouldn't it?
@mpjgregoire cars won't get us to net zero. We have to completely mode shift.
That, and china can and will do even worse things with your entire life as data from cars as American oligarchs and data brokers
That would require changing the minds of some or all of those 50 people that Mekka mentions, such as the president and/or influential senators.
At least when it comes to international treaties for action on global warming Russia and Saudi Arabia are also in there with the US trying to block stronger action on reducing fossil fuel use.