Conservatives frequently refer to themselves as centrists or neither. In the U.S., it is obvious someone is a right wing asshat if they claim to be centrist or neither.
"bOtH sIdEz r EqUaLlY bAd!!!"
If they were really centrist they'd vote democrat anyway, as that's the centrist party.
Many leftists also vote democrat. Lesser of two evils, a two party system, no ranked choice voting, etc. etc. etc. etc.
Well america does not have a real left tbh ! Many people think of socialism as left wing while it is the economic center , someone supporting social left policies like lgbt rights can be considered liberal , but they can still be against universal healthcare or other socialist polices and then votes dem , coz they are liberal!
Depends on the centrist I want a smaller government more than anything which 9 out of 10 times forces me to go republican or libertarian. I like democrat ideas at times but hate their execution. Democrats fumble the ball every time they get it once the Pelosi’s and Bidens are out of the party I might give them another shot.
It's crazy. I noticed this on dating sites. I live in a red area, but I ONLY would see "other" or "centrist" I think I could count on one hand how many people I saw actually say they were conservative.
Naturally they all had their identity set as "free thinkers..."
the "enlightened centrist" lol. that's my mom, who calls Trump the "lesser of two evils"
Same in Germany. To call yourself Right in Germany is, well, we had a very right wing government and we swore "never again".
So the conservatives are center, the liberals are center, the social Democrats aren't really left anymore and self identify as center and the same is with the green party. There is one party called The Left and they obviously identify as left but can't agree on what that means. And the far right party (AfD) calls themselves Conservative.
Not just the US , that is a worldwide thing ! Although dems are not left either !
True. By all international standards, the U.S. Dems are a conservative party while the GOP is a fascism party. The Overton window in the U.S. is very far to the right. Conservatism has gone unchecked for so long it is running rampant. It needs to be extinguished. It's a health and safety issue at this point.
I consider myself a centrist as far as the world stage goes. In America that means I’m a democrat.
No what we have such polarized politics. Comments like this are insane.
I’m a centrist generally I believe in climate change want to expand immigration but also want to cut spending, scale back military involvement and focus more on state’s rights. I don’t really fit with either side.
I have a step grandfather who is super far right but insists he’s a democrat and that he’s the only true democrat in the family since he was elected as a democrat judge in a rather conservative area in Ohio in the 80s or 90s. He has also said the only thing he can do to save the country is to vote for crazy fascist republicans. Insists he knows how to run a government better than everyone in the family as well all because he was a judge.
One of my favorite thing to do with him is talk about something that impacts me and not tell him that it impacts me directly until after he’s been super shitty about it. Once I say it impacts me he then backtracks and tries to say that he still fully believes in the things he believes in but that he didn’t mean me, he meant the other ones. That my situation was different for no reason. He’s a piece of shit who my family expects me to respect, but I have many times purposefully been disrespectful because someone like him deserves negative respect.
To be fair, he may actually be a democrat, just a historic one. Their 'roles' were kind of reversed compared to today until somewhere in the last century if my outside knowledge of US political history serves right.
The flip came with Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act and then Goldwater and Nixon capitalizing on racists' anger about it with the Southern Strategy.
Yeah that’s basically what he is. I’ve never talked to him about the party switch and it’d be an interesting and probably very frustrating situation.
That said, you mentioning that has given me an idea about what to say the next time he says he’s a democrat so thank you for that!
Ah, a Strom Thurmond Democrat.
More accurately, I would say these types react to someone criticizing the status quo, which is typically right wing. These types are usually sheltered white guys who have had very few problems with the status quo because, well, they're white men.
You forgot rich, no matter colour as long as you are rich
I was poor as dirt and was like this for a long time.
It's called "conservative" for a reason, you could say. Good point.
Idk, I'm just voting for the least shitty candidate out of the two and moving on. I don't get why people care about parties at all and just focus on the issues that need to be solved and how they say they are going to solve it and what their character says about what they most likely are going to mess up.
I don't take sides but I still want to see big changes that from my point of view would improve things for everyone, splitting giant companies and Foster competition, improving infrastructure to help create jobs, a deep focus on fixing root issues in healthcare instead of just slapping a bandage on it, better affordable internet accessibility for farmers and rural towns, as well as taking steps to preserve the environment for future generations, etc.
I don't get the hate from all these people, I'm not even in the middle I just care about what I think needs to get done.
The meme isn't about party, it's about right and left. The things you want are left wing in the American context. In fact, your positions on healthcare, the environment, and splitting up companies is to the left of where both parties right now. Like most Americans with a lick of sense and decency, you want the world that the left strives for but think left and right means Democrat and Republican. The fact is, the Republicans are extremely far right and the Democrats do a shit job at delivering for the left because they are funded by wealthy interests. The meme is calling out right wingers that proclaim themselves centrists, not people who are to the left of the Democrats.
People that claim themselves to be centrists in this economy, are either plain stupid or republicunts in disguise.
Yes, they are not mutually exclusive.
Or enlightened democrats who understand there party is the actual center and that workers aren't represented outside of Bernie and AOC
It's possible to be left in one area, and right in another. Someone could be left economically, but not necessarily socially.
In Spain, when someone says "I'm neither left or right", that person is on the right, most of the time (if not always).
Yeah, same in America most of the time. Funny it's often the right-wing that wants to pretend that they are "center" and/or are too afraid to say they are right-wing. It's like they know...
Also centrists are just people who like the status quo which always benefits the people in power.
Everyone with at least 2 brain cells can guess that what they stand for is amongst the most inhumane shit one could stand for politically.
That's why they pose as "centrists" because they know that they wish death on the people they hate which the general public doesn't support.
It’s the same everywhere and it is what the image is portraying.
I feel like the very idea of "centrist" is flawed. Sure you can choose not to identify with either party.
But for most of these issues you can't reasonably pick a "center" option for most issues. Sure we can argue implementation but you're either ok with abortion, gun control, gay rights, civil rights, or your not.
Is it really useful to have the "control guns" and "control guns only a little" groups fighting when there's a "school kids are a worthy sacrifice for guns" party?
This internet version of centrism that everyone hates on is bizarre to me, for the reasons you say - the "only commit half a genocide" type of centrism. Are there people who really strike a middle ground on every issue on principle?
I always understood centrism as "I hold enough opinions from both parties that I don't align with either one", which honestly fits me pretty well. I still have strong opinions on individual issues though...
This internet version of centrism that everyone hates on is bizarre to me, for the reasons you say - the “only commit half a genocide” type of centrism. Are there people who really strike a middle ground on every issue on principle?
That's not a principle, it's just a rhetoric. Like when people demonstrated in Charlottesville : one side wanted to get rid of a slavers statue while the other side run a car through the crowd. Then Trump took a "centrist" position and said that there was some very fine people on both side, which was just a way to defend his side
That's typically how it's actually used, but then that makes any reference to being a centrist pointless when discussing issues.
This interpretation means there is no "centrist position", so if an issue is divided by Democrat vs Rebuplican (which it usually is) then you're picking a side for that discussion.
That means that in issue specific conversations or debate, bringing up the fact your centrist only serves to fracture yourself from the party your currently on the side of. (None of this applies for registering to vote, where being an Independent actually matters).
I just think the label at best fractures your impact and reach and at worst is an attempt to sound rationally superior.
All this to say, not identifying with a party or choosing opinions are all well and fine, but categorising yourself as a centrist just groups you with a bunch of people that don't necessarily represent or agree with you.
I agree with this. I'm center overall as an average of my views, not that I'm cutting every view I have exactly between left and right. I kind of feel this way.
I'm not pro life nor pro choice I think everyone should be able to do what they want!
I feel like my objections to anti-abortion laws are playing out just as I feared. I'm against abortion but I feel like easier access and less stigma around birth control is a big part of preventing abortions. My main objection was I knew right wingers would make no distinctions between any kind of abortions, even to save lives of women. And son of a gun, unfortunately I was right.
Centrism is when you pretend that the screams of oppressed trans people mean exactly the same to you as the chants of the nazis prosecuting them, but deep down you know you're actually a nazi too.
Idk i think most actual centrists lean left or right depending on the issue, its not usually that they try to take the exact middle ground on every issue.
I lean to the left on nearly every issue except when it comes to firearms.
For some reason I am called a nazi, bootlicking, qanon, magat, baby killer all because I believe we can have appropriate gun control measures while not outright banning every single firearm from those who do follow the laws, take more than necessary precautions to keep them safe and secure, while regularly training.
This is literally my flatmate , calls himself centrist , but would blame left wing media for showing the truth because the news hurt a RW sentiment !
You mean the centrist media? Because there's really no main stream left wing media, not enough money in it.
Flatmate. Probably not the US.
Well I am talking of the twitter / youtube social media left wing figures ! When I even point out some bizzare statement a RW politico / influencer has made , he is like why do u bother ?
The meme character is frustrated at "the the", yes?
He has a stutter, thanks for pointing it out, jerk!
They always seem to vote Republican.
This comment section is a riot.
So if someone truly has values that fall on both sides of the aisle, and can tell you what they don’t agree with on both sides, and can admit fault to each side… that makes them Republican?
I’d rather take someone any day that will take a stance on individual issues over just agreeing with what a specific political party says.
Everyone saying in this comment section that you aren’t strictly a Democrat you’re wrong/the problem… are indeed themselves the problem and are kidding themselves.
I am a socialist, though I do not subscribe to all of the American left's social or moral takes. I just want everyone to have a strong government-provided safety net, good social services, and a satisfying life that isn't defined by the type of work one does or one's profession.
edit: Having said that, it doesn't seem like either the "left" or the "right," at least in America, truly cares about effecting these sorts of changes. They just want to be loud.
Sure the left isn't exactly going for those kinds of changes, but the right is actively trying to move away from the changes you want.
As an outsider, I always consider the American two party system to represent the right and the extreme right.
I take your point, but that doesn't mean that I find the left to be much more appealing than the right, at least in terms of its ability to make worthwhile systemic change. The end result is the same. The American "right" and "left" are obsessed with their own flavor of identity politics, and that is what defines them over their approaches to government and economics. America's "left" is still seemingly anti-socialist.
I don't think that people should go out of their way to offend others, and the left's propensity for tolerance is somewhat better than that of the right's, but the postmodern social construct that is "identity," at least in American culture, inspires tribalism and disunity. The right, being so opposed to postmodernism, itself, has unwittingly adopted the construct of identity, regardless.
And I don't wish to invalidate others' experiences as members of identity tribes, especially those who have been (or still are) wrongfully subjugated by coercive powers in our society that may even force an identity construct upon them, but generally, feuding between opposing identity tribes seems to me to be a distraction from making a systemic shift toward a better society. Identities don't care about social welfare, though they may claim to; they care about ensuring they remain or grow stronger as modes of personal validation or actualization. They struggle against each other, as if they are, themselves, organisms fighting for survival.
People aren't defined by the subscription list of their identities (including "left" and "right"). We are not the final distillation of social performance. We just are—a cross section of experience, carried from one moment to the next.
I'm neither left nor right, I'm forward
I'm up. As in high.
Well, that one I can support
So fucking stupid that the forward party supports ranked choice voting and not STAR which is superior in every way
RCV oversells itself and some states are repealing it after being burned by it- complex ballot
- easy to get your vote voided
- centralized, complicated tallying process
- can still cause vote splitting!!!
I doubt many of you have 3 hours to kill on this, but here's a debunk video
Wait, there's a "forward" party for real? Tf?
not left nor right.....but forward???? :0
I came from the center to a lib-left-leaning and I gotta say: those "centrists" fuckin scare me now
Check out libertarian socialism if you're ready to swear off capitalism
Well I am already promised to syndicalism after swearing off corporations
Its better to trust a rw for once but never a centrist !
Not when the last "centrist" that I've met was quoting Sargon and didn't know how to read anything to the end while kept saying that he's an "honest centric". Yeah, right...
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*criticizes the left*
:^|
:^)
It's almost like the other side would have some sound arguments even if their resolution isn't right or something!
Go infiltrate right wing media. Ask them what they think about Centrism. What y'all need to understand is that Centrism is an umbrella term for all who can't identify with either side. That means that yes, if you come at a centrist criticizing the right or left or centrist while being the other side, chances are they will never 100% agree with you. Thats how it is. Even within Centrism opposite ideas fight and coexist because thats what defines it: we don't align ourselves with any side but ourselves alone, even the idea of Centrism, if it exists. To reiterate, Centrism is not the right side, it never was a side, but simply an umbrella term to call "the unaligned". Well except for Radical Centrism, which is not Centrism, despite its name.
Maybe when we can finally separate ideas from our identities, politics would be remotely constructive from the hellhole it is today.
"Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the left or the right." - Wikipedia
Seems like you are describing being an independent, not a centrist, imo.
Centrism is, by definition, fence sitting. Someone who is a centrist will often reach a conclusion along the lines of "the left is too extreme, the right is too extreme, therefore whatever is halfway between them must be right."
This obviously causes some problems. Someone on the left might say gay people are human beings who deserve dignity and respect, while someone on the right might say gay people are icky and unnatural and shouldn't exist. A centrist would naturally conclude that both positions are too extreme, so how about we treat gay people with dignity as long as they stay in the closet and pretend they aren't gay? Then everyone's happy!
Centrists are like libertarians. Their ideology sounds really enlightened and appealing, but in practice, it usually ends up screwing over a lot of people, especially the most vulnerable, and benefiting social conservatives and the wealthy.
It’s funny because most republicans recognize that all politicians are corrupt and shitty people, and so they want to pull a “Hunger Games” or Game of Thrones” and sort of break the wheel and destroy these rich power dynasties.
The media recognizes this and pushes propaganda to paint them as fascist nazis.
The left eats up the propaganda and therefore is stuck in the “us vs them” mentality, thereby ensuring nobody actually stands up to the power dynasties.
This is why a lot of republicans still and will always support Donald Trump. Regardless of the person he is or may be, the power dynasties DO NOT WANT HIM AS PRESIDENT. There must be a reason why. So they will continue to vote for him and support him.
It’s both why Republicans will turn a blind eye to things Trump has said or done, and why the power dynasties spend extra time focusing and picking apart things Trump has said or done, while protecting and not reporting on other corrupt politicians.
Really it boils down to, Republicans have taken the “red pill” and are ready to take down the system and powers. Democrats got a taste of the Red Pill with Bernie, but quickly swallowed the blue pill when the DNC stole the nomination and gave it to Hillary. They got sucked back into the game but were so close to breaking free.
The RNC is trying to suck republicans back into the game now with DeSantis.
Now, some people say Trump has always been “part of the game”. I personally think this is not the case because Trump has shed light on a lot of corruption and even admitted to using tax loopholes that existing politicians enabled him to use. He’s revealed what’s going on behind the curtain that most politicians want to hide from the public.
No offense, but you might have lead poisoning.
🧌
Trump admitted to using tax loopholes because he's a fucking moron who can't help but incriminate himself.
Sooo…. You would rather he keep it to himself? How is that better? How could you possibly spin this into a negative
I want to have what you are smoking 😅
Kill your ego and eliminate your fear of being wrong. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities
I've never seen a more perfect example of the Dunning–Kruger effect in the wild, this guy genuinely thinks they are smart without an ounce of self reflection. This is just golden if it's not satire.
I don’t think I’m smart and I have nothing but self reflection, constantly doubting myself and observing myself from a third person perspective.
No it’s not satire, so yes it’s golden
Excellent post, I agree 100% !
I am right-wing, this meme makes me happy.
