Dems would get much more traction finding and promoting people saying what they know and experience.

What has more impact, This man speaking his mind or the Dems speaking “in unison “ ?

Reminder that law and morality are separate things

Reminder that your worldview and belief system should not be primarily based on laws.

Reminder to wear a mask. Reminder that trans rights are human rights.

Reminder: be Good

The ven diagram of:

The politicians and organizations who were doxxing and brutalizing students for protesting a genocide- under the guise of ‘standing against antisemitism’

and the politicians and organizations who have so far said nothing about, or fully defended Elon’s salute -

is a circle.

Congressman Ritchie Torres, who is constantly calling protesters Hamas supporters and has demanded that Arab streamers be banned from Twitch for "Anti-Semitism", has not tweeted a condemnation of Elon Musk throwing up a Hitler Salute.

Elon did the Nazi salute twice.

TWICE.

So. We all just saw Elon do that right?

It’s 6am of Jan 20th and my spirit is very unsettled. I’m thinking about the past 2 days and it feels deeply ominous. I fear that it is indicative of the intensity, rapidity + disorientation from the ruling class that we’re about to endure. We should be acutely aware of the need for infrastructure.

It literally was just “I want people to see my inauguration and also tell them I saved the app”

Okay, without trying to pass any judgement on the merits or who did what or why re: tiktok, I think it's notable that the rationale for enforcing the law seems to be a tacit rejection of corporate personhood by the government.

So Trump has essentially set up a way for foreign governments to directly bribe him and to enrich himself off of his office more than anyone in history using crypto.

I think it’s actually really important to make sure that bad actors cannot manipulate us using our data. The problem with the TikTok ban is didn’t address the fundamental data security issues at play here. They could’ve developed policy around data privacy and manipulation. 1/

And with that, Joe Biden created a bunch of baby libertarians like that scene when all the gremlins get wet.

"But Democrats had to pass the TikTok ban because Republicans made them by attaching it to other legislation"

Not in the House, but also...

The same people saying this are going to excuse when Dems vote for anti-trans bills in the budget over the next 4 years, like they already did with the NDAA.

I haven’t done a social media back and forth like this in foreeeever 😂😂 like not since 2020 haha is that the culture of bluesky?

To rephrase: When you think of a person making an income from tiktok, do you picture a wealthy influencer? Or do you picture a working class person?

I hear your concern, but i’ve had the opposite experience. I’ve seen massive and successful fundraising + mutual aid efforts. Especially for people in Gaza. It’s saved lives. As a musician, i’ve watched folks get enough exposure to not sell out to the industry. It does happen and very meaningfully.

Once we get a grasp of what we’re imagining - we can have a better dialogue and better understand who/what we’re all trying to defend and why.

Interesting pov! You’re the only person to engage with my actual point - I appreciate it. I think it’s important for us to understand what we conjure to mind when we imagine someone making money from tiktok. Some picture only influencers. For me, it includes working class ppl. For you, it’s scammers

I hear your pov. I don’t believe that everyone *should* diversify their income to an extent that they rely on social media to exist.

My point is that given our status in late stage capitalism, it is important for us to understand how the working class operates to create a more sustainable movement

I hear u. And I agree - under socialism “influencers” won’t need to exist and we shouldn’t live in a world where anyone relies on income from social media to sustain themselves.

At the same time - I think order of operations and messaging is of utmost importance for getting from point A to point B.

I think I see what this person is implying haha. I have thoughts.

First, to clarify.
I’m using the term “average” categorically, not numerically.

To rephrase: When you think of a person making an income from tiktok, do you picture a wealthy influencer? Or do you picture a working class person?

I agree that the average american - as in the number of people - is not on tiktok. I mean ‘average’ in the categorical sense - millions of folks who are in the same situation as the average american - living paycheck to paycheck - utilize Tiktok to support themselves. Those ppl are not the problem.

I hear you, but what you are describing is applicable to every source of income that working American living paycheck to paycheck utilizes. You’re describing a problem of capitalism, not social media. The solution is not to infantilize everyone for fearing the loss of a potential stream of income.

I deduced it from the nature of your statement. Like to say “it sucks, actually” and leave it there sounds like you’re making a principal assertion. But, that’s a deduction on my end - if you meant something different I’d genuinely appreciate hearing this.

Also this “go outside” thing is funny - like to speak as if you have any knowledge of who you’re talking to or what they do. It’s more of an admission of a lack of capacity to engage with the subject than it is a gotcha. I don’t blame you for thinking that way, it’s a popular + easy way to think.

This also is not a good faith response to any of the points I made. Are you interested in dialogue, or the dopamine rush of a comment section argument?

From the looks of it, I’d be more concerned about how social media hijacks our self regulation than ppl using it for income. Seems more pressing.

Like... On principal?

There are 0 case scenarios where the monetization of social media is positive for any vulnerable or marginalized population?

I’m genuinely confused as to where yall are getting this. It’s very strange to me. Like there is so much more nuance to this - what’s going on…?

Like- people in Gaza fundraising to survive. Or in LA and NC suffering from climate catastrophe. Or inner city folks engaging in mutual aid initiatives. Or the 7 million small businesses on tiktok. Or anyone in the 99% looking for any income to navigate late stage capitalism. Yk. The average person.

I sorta feel like TikTok is a distinct kind of communication technology altogether. It’s almost like the invention and proliferation of smart devices. It just operates differently than every other social media - like way more like a town square where anyone can show up. It’s a new kind of thing- imo