Thoughts I want to add here, re: "I'd have expected a lot of abuses of the assumption of good faith in allegations".

I think the thing is I was actually wrong? I guess the reason you don't see these is that these messages don't stick. "Zohran Mamdani is a pedo! Gavin Newsom raped a dog!" would be recognized as bullshit on their face.

But maybe I was wrong that people in general shifted in large-scale to believing the accuser by default. Maybe there was a large-scale but small shift. Maybe I'm not the Genius of Nuance shaped by the vagaries of my own trauma.

I've also felt discomfort that rape, a term that implies the most serious violations possible, had moved to a more inclusive definition, where the severity of the trauma does not factor in to the definition. I felt scolded when talking about comparative experiences, etc when I was younger, unaware my questions were evoking bad-faith arguments. I've had a lot of thoughts on the matter but I think the framework "restorative justice" roughly matches my thoughts(? but I can't stand by all that, having had heard of it by chance.)

All that is to say, I was surprised to see people pretty routinely and regularly stressing the points that:

1. This was severe. Platner isn't accused of merely meet the definition of rape, he is accused of breaking into his girlfriend's rural home against her explicit assertions not to

2. These allegations are credible,

3. This was recent. (Even the most optimistic, generous provider of the benefit of doubt can't forgive this.)

4. He is unelectable.

To me, it signals that these are all important things to everyone. It matters that Platner wasn't accused of merely meeting an inclusive definition of rape, but that it was actually about as severe as someone could imagine. It matters that the accusations are very credible, with evidence that if fabricated you'd see Platner fighting with an easy win. It matters that this was recent and part of a pattern, because it precludes an optimistic, generous, benefit-of-the-doubt person who believes people even violent rapists can change. And it matters, even for someone who wants an anti-genocide candidate no matter who, because Platner isn't a viable candidate anymore. Even a Platner stan who believes all the allegations are false would have to bite it

Thank you for just posting and fuck planter and ken

I felt self conscious that people might be taking my post as me calling platner haters (which includes me) that so I wanted to pierce the veil of irony to make sure people knew I was laughing at platner ride or dies who used terms like that.

Oh this Klippenstein guy just posted a new article on the matter, which I basically agree with: https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/my-graham-platner-apology

But, Ken, man, you have got to get off Threads and X. They're nazimaking sites full of the worst thinkers imaginable. You're snacking on lead paint with the nazis. Come to just_post instead although I think we will be very mean to you here

IIRC we've been seeing arguments like this ever since back in 2016, at least?

I forget the details, but I remember a Dem leaving his position over a smaller scandal (iirc sexting or sexual harassment). There are real questions to be had about how "me too" could be weaponized by bad-faith actors, about how the resistance (before and during the first Trump term) could be harmed by giving up political ground in response to scandals.

I don't really keep up with whatever corner of the internet (X? 8Chan?) Klippenstein is getting his verbiage from, or whatever flavor of disparagement it's meant to imply, but I do actually agree with a lot of the article (a-priori the knowledge that Platner probably raped someone only a few years ago).

I think this accusation is credible, but every election cycle, I've anticipated tons of non-credible accusations weaponizing a political movement to assume good-faith from accusers. Especially now that the most powerful surveillance apparatus that has ever existed now being wielded for opposition research in one hand, and the best machines for fabricating large-scale evidence in the other. For an administration that lies constantly about everything, I don't know why we haven't seen "Mamdani is a pedo, Newsom was on Epstein's Island, AOC fucks dogs", etc. We've only seen this one accusation, and it's credible.

I guess another piece of evidence that Democrats really are the better party is that we aren't going to elect someone credibly accused of rape. Platner has to know that he's done. I know it's not even been 24 hours since the story dropped but he should have dropped out by now, he never even should have ran.

But if he does drop out, man. Establishment Dems are going to get to pick their own candidate yet again. Maybe it'll work this time.

I hate this. maybe you didn't need to explain what this meant

My friend Emily is a nullo so I'll be sure to let her know she won.

🙄

Here is the article if you want to read it:

https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/graham-platner-loses-washingtons

Basically he was saying (this was about a month ago) that people who hate Platner are ken doll, sexless dorks who don't get how Real Americans are. It was part of the "Platner shows the end of democratic HR lady politics" thing that was going around.

It was a shame because much of the time I like klippenstein's work. But that was a bonehead take. At the time we knew a bunch of bad stuff about him but not this and my reaction to it was just that it was a bizarre thing to say.

Why are they called smoothgroins? Like they are sexless people?

I feel that I should explain what this means... Ken Klippenstein wrote a notorious article about how platner proves that "smoothgroins" are out moded. Now that Platner is resigning aparently, all the "smoothgroins" (which if you define it as people critical of platner) are saying "i told you so".

If you don't know what this means good

I would not be very surprised since I already knew about that damn frog

The creator of Infiniminer, a defunct shooter that wasn't just a heavy influence on Minecraft but basically set up the community and basic gameplay ideas that allowed Minecraft to exist at all, has said that he stopped feeling any sort of way about Minecraft's success once it got incredibly big. Like once it got bought for billions of dollars it just started being a fake thing. That's where doge is at I think.

What happened with doge would have happened no matter what once the fascists came in. That it was connected with something cute and likable is just some kind of weird quirk that doesn't matter. And it's all so big it becomes fake.

"It's pronounced 'dog-ee'", I insist to the time traveler. "You have to remember - it's how a dog would spell doggy. Why would a dog invent rules about how the e works in English?"

I think this is how I'll feel about Woody Allen and any of the people who clapped for him at his standing ovation in Venice in 2023

Oh geeze yeah, I remember that too :[

Years back I thought that covid might make for a polio-style event that put an end to antivax sentiment for a generation. So the "Herman Cain Award" stuff seemed like both catharsis + a prosocial movement, even if distasteful. Maybe it did lead to more distancing, masking, vaxxing but it definitely wasn't a total victory over antivax sentiment.

Pain is pain and that counts against the scoreboard, even if from a ghoul. But moral frameworks aside, it's probably unhealthy to derive pleasure from any human suffering.

I think Hell is a narrative that protects the most extractive and abusive members in our society, by getting people to forego justice. Maybe those had a prosocial effect against revenge, etc. before we had the technology to enable such vast power imbalances between people. So when the people who peddled these narratives in their middling place on the hierarchy are met with a living hell, that gives me warm fuzzy feelings.

All that is to say I think you're completely right. I think I am a worse person nowadays. It is good there are still normal people like you and I should try to be more like that

I'm taking going on their facebook pages and screenshotting posts from grieving relatives

I did laugh at Kirk but not the other two cos thinking of prolonged human suffering makes me sad. The same reason I got incredibly turned off a bunch of people I used to look up to on twitter when they gleefully clowned on (normal, non public figure) antivax people dying painful deaths from covid

Me too, thanks

I have a good feeling about Platner, which suggests that he's a bad egg

And don't get me wrong, I don't like him either and I don't live in Maine either. But the "I'm a single issue voter regarding genocide" thing wasn't a pretend thing, and only a little bit exaggerated.

I forgot about the Blackwater thing, but again, genocide. I didn't know about the cryptocurrency thing but, again, genocide.

And I can't find one US politician not on X. I don't think one can win a campaign without being there, because despite it being about as big as Quora or Pinterest, not enough people rejected Twitter's channels of power and information when they saw those come under nazi control for a nazi project.

It doesn't mean that Trump and Netanyahu and Ilhan Omar and Wesley Bell and Lateefah Simon and Nick Fuentes and are all equally dedicated to the project of white nationalism, but it does mean they're all nazis.

It sucks so bad to be in a nazi country and it's driving me crazy. I wish we lived in the better world where a guy like Platner would not be legitimate in our politics.

I think this is of importance to me, despite not living in Maine, because

• I think the Conservative scandal-digging apparatus has a chilling effect for others on The Left(tm), as it does not even matter what is or is not true, and is an extra pressure against being visible,

• It's still a national position so it'll still impact me (even if my words won't impact it).

I will say it's moot to start since I don't live in Maine. My opinion makes no difference.

But I think the guy with a totenkopf tattoo who voluntarily joined blackwater is probably not that great. Everything I've seen since I learned of those things has been only a red flag.

I feel like if what he's saying now is what he really believes, great. But he's not just some populist insurgent, he's also backed by the big cryptocurrency PACs.

Idk. I've had bad vibes from him for a long time. I haven't opined much on him before because I can't really affect that race. But I don't think he's the left wing golden boy many people seem to hope for.

I hope I'm wrong and he ends up being great. But I don't trust him.

Americans love to eat