“They will be worth a fortune one day”

Anyone have ideas for things to do on a phone besides endlessly scroll on websites? I can’t stay still but also I can’t keep being here. Not sure I even belong here.

You don’t care

No, I’m not going to let you tell me how I get to live my life.

Talk about going to extremes.

I don’t want a government telling me who I can marry, what bathroom I have to use, whether I can own a gun, whether I can drink or not, etc. You people aren’t listening to what I’m saying. I was very clear that I want government to stop people from harming others.

You can keep missing the point and post about “muh voluntary contract” but that’s not at all the same thing. Of course those should be outlawed… they cause harm to people. I want to get rid of Capitalism completely, but I’m not a fucking prude who is going into a UAW meeting telling people they can’t blow $5 on DraftKings this Sunday.

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And I don’t need a Republican to tell me what a good Marxist would do

Banning sports betting apps is clearly in the interest of the working class.

No, it’s your personal opinion of what the working class wants. We need to operate in reality, and the reality is demand is there for all of these betting apps and millions of people to be using them every day.

I don’t do it personally, it’s not for me, but that’s not the point. A good communist should go to the masses and build a program based on what they want, not what you think they want

“Capitalism with American Characteristics” is a disease that is poisoning every part of society. I believe it breeds desperation and a “fuck it” attitude and drives people to reckless behavior, aggression, and distrust of others.

I’m not immune. I kind of hate most people, especially here. Society sucks, most people suck.

That’s not a good reason to ban something.

Our laws should protect people from doing harm to others. I couldn’t care less if someone wants to smoke themselves to death. I care a lot if that person is near me blowing second-hand smoke at my face!

Join the club. I’ve been called an “abomination” all my life :)

One last thing: Where does the “vice” label come from anyway? Why are some activities labeled “vices” and others are not? I have a feeling there’s a religious component behind this. I hate that religion has made so many people poke and prod into other people’s personal lives. It’s none of your business what’s in my pants, or how I dress, or what I want to do in my free time. I’m sick and tired of Christians and other religious types always trying to force their lifestyle on me! Leave me alone, and I’ll leave you alone.

One other point: I think pushing to ban things like gambling or alcohol is BAD political strategy! I want a working class movement to overthrow the current U.S. system. We need this movement badly. The last thing the movement needs is to split or fracture because some people want to be nosy about how other people choose to spend their after-bills money. The fact is the left isn’t growing at the rate it needs to, and we should take a long look at why. I don’t believe any tendency has the complete picture. Try something different.

It’s not politically consistent to say on one hand we should liberate the workers from the chains of capitalism, but then turn around and go, “no smoking, no drinking, no casinos, no gacha mechanics in video games, etc.” Right-wingers take away peoples’ choices. You win people over by protecting their treats, protecting their choices, and trusting them to live authentic lives. Even if that means doing things you personally don’t approve of! If you’re not hurting someone else and you are taking care of yourself, go blow that $50 on slots! Go buy that $300 Funko, or blow that money on a new XboxStation 6, whatever. Have fun, I don’t care!

That’s not true at all. I’m to the left of everyone in my community except maybe the 2 Ultras I know.

that wants completely uncontrolled vices

That’s a gross misrepresentation of where I stand.

Someone mentioned a father of three becoming a gambling addict. Of course I don’t support that, and frankly I expect better of folks here than to jump into arguments like that. In that particular case I want the state to intervene for child endangerment leaning towards child abuse.

But just because some people become addicted to a thing, and a few people ruin their lives over the thing, doesn’t mean the government should force all of us to avoid the thing. For every addict or idiot who blows up their account and has to sell their home, there’s millions of people who are enjoying gambling for what it is supposed to be: entertainment. Most people are putting $20 in on their bets or slots or whatever and not expecting to win anything but get some fun out of the deal.

Someone else explained how gambling is exploitative. Yes it is! So is everything under Capitalism! Cheap immigrant labor was exploited so a grocer can profit off selling me the tomatoes they picked. The supply chain of Funko Pops is probably some Dickensian nightmare of injection molds and chemical compounds that makes Flint, MI water look safe to drink. I am typing this on a device that probably contains metals mined by kids in the congo. There’s NO ethical consumption under Capitalism! Why would I single out one type of consumption when the whole damn system is rotten?

I also don’t support banning the sale of Funko Pops, produce, cars, or laptop computers.

Capitalism is essentially a world-wide open-air prison. You can’t escape it, you can’t opt out, and if you try to fight it you get punished or killed. Borders are the walls and the “free market” is the prison guard. You have to conform to survive. There’s no option to not work, to not gamble your money for “retirement”, to gamble with your health, and to make a million little decisions that you wouldn’t take if you weren’t coerced to participate in this system. This system is bullshit. I want to destroy it

As a member of the LGBT community, I really don’t want the state to have any more power over me. It’s the right wing that wants to regulate what people do with their lives, whether that’s telling women they can’t control their own bodies, telling drag queens they can’t be near kids, telling trans people in general they can’t exist, telling me I can’t marry another human with a penis, etc. I’m not in favor of a state like this because my entire life has been under a “nanny” state that restricts everything I do.

It baffles me that as leftists we claim to want to liberate the masses, and then turn around and get very paternal about a few specific things like gambling, drugs, etc. I would think us of all people would understand wanting to be left alone! I want to be left alone! I want a state that leaves people alone!

Maybe a state where the people have complete control will be different, but I do NOT ever want to allow unelected bureaucrats to have power over my body, my family, and my friends’ lives the way the U.S. has control over those right now.

My views put me somewhere between a Marxist-Leninist and Libertarian Socialist. I want the masses to own the means of production, and a state that enables people more than it restricts them. Longer reasoning coming.

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Nutella is delicious and I will die on this hill