Louis Ingenthron @LouisIngenthron@social.cleverlibre.org

@shoq @ceoln A few examples:
- While I support reasonable gun control laws (like UBC), I believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to own semi-automatic rifles.
- I do believe that a person should be free to legally do whatever drugs they want, even the scary ones, as long as they made the choice of their own free will. Your body, your choice.
- I generally oppose the NIMBYism that can be so common in democratic areas.
- I oppose anti-smoking laws (not the age limit ones, the ones that ban business owners from choosing to have a smoke-friendly establishment)
- I oppose border enforcement almost in its entirety, but both sides seem to treat that issue the same, even if they talk a different game.
- I generally don't approve of America's foreign policy and wars (under either party). We should be leading by example, not force.
- I don't believe the state should be involved in the institution of marriage at all.

@shoq @ceoln Lol, no, I hate the billionaires as much as anyone else.

Essentially, the left-libertarian ideology is that the government involvement in personal liberties should be minimized as much as possible. However, those liberties *should* be infringed to enforce the key of libertarianism: the non-aggression principle. In basic terms, that means providing mutual defense against outside aggressors (i.e. our military) and enacting justice against citizens who aggress on others (i.e. homicide/assault laws). But it also extends to more abstract principles like the protection of equal rights and proper accountability and oversight for those who wield government power to prevent injustice. Any right denied to one is denied to all, which is what puts me at odds with the GOP's open bigotry and attempts at voter suppression. But, it's also what puts me at odds with Democrats when they pull the same gerrymandering bullshit when they're in power.

Also, worth noting: The current Libertarian Party is a hollow right-wing populist shell. Their policies bear no relation to actual libertarian ideology any more. They're just culture war anarchists.

@shoq @ceoln @msnbc Then you're definitely alienating moderates.

I consider myself a moderate (more specifically, a left-libertarian). In the past I've voted for candidates of both parties.

Currently, I'm aligned with the democratic coalition, (party-registered since Jan 7th 2021), because the GOP are attacking democracy itself, but that may not always be the case and I may go back to registering independent in the future (although, admittedly, probably not anytime soon).

The right fights for shared culture wars, which unites them.

The left, on the other hand, needs a diverse coalition to win, and that means balancing the needs of the nuttiest communist with the flip-floppiest center-right capitalists to broaden the voting base.

Also, fwiw, I don't watch MSNBC at all.

(Note: The above post is not intended to belittle people who are subject to actual terror; just those who seek out terror to feel like a victim.)

@interfluidity It's *dying*. We can't save its body in time, but we can do a brain transplant... better than just holding its hand with futility as it writhes in agony.

@interfluidity Even if DeSantis doesn't become President, how does that curb Florida's now-two-decade-long rightward lurch?

@interfluidity I guess it comes down to: do you think that battle can be won?

If it can, then by all means, fight it. But I don't see that path. The only possible outcomes for people there are to live through being part of the destruction of their institution, or resigning on principle early. Hoping for a MacGuffin to sweep in in two years would just be kidding themselves.

Take the beauty you saw in the old thing and give it new life elsewhere. That's better by miles than watching Rufo slowly wear that beauty down into something twisted and cruel.

@ceoln @shoq Interesting. Are you concerned about alienating moderates from the coalition with that approach?

@lizstl13 @thealexknapp Fair. I misread it.