Look, I’m not going to say that Gavin isn’t generally a dipshit (he is) or that what he’s doing now means that we should unequivocally support him (we shouldn’t), but like… at least he’s resisting. At least he’s not rolling over and conceding to Trump’s every demand like much of the Dem establishment. I think our anger is better focused elsewhere right now than at a prominent politician who is very publicly and very directly resisting Trump’s abuses of power. I’d much rather Newsom be doing this when he could be issuing statements that the protesters should stand down and disperse.
As far as the efficacy of it, no, he probably won’t be arrested, but I don’t think that really matters. The point is to loudly call attention to the callous evil of what Trump is doing, take the moral high ground on the situation, and call his bluff. Daring Trump to arrest him makes headlines, calling attention to what’s happening, and potentially influencing public support. If Trump doesn’t arrest him, he looks weak and shows that he has no real justification, and in the event he does arrest Newsom, that’s gonna open up a huge can of worms he’s almost certainly not ready for.
Defeating fascism is going to require a broad coalition, which means working with a lot of people we don’t personally like, at least in the times where our interests align.
As much I agree with the idea of abandoning Discord - honestly, fuck 'em - I just don’t know how I or many other people could practically make the full switch… While I might be able to convince a few of my close friends to go with me to whatever new platform comes about, there’s just no way any larger communities would be able to uproot and leave without losing 90%+ of their members, and that’s only if the owners of those communities are even willing to leave in the first place. Inertia is a powerful thing, and the reality of the situation is that the vast majority of Discord users will not be convinced to leave over this.
I want to defend my privacy, and I want to tell these corporate ghouls to shove it, but at the same time, I don’t want to become a digital hermit. Having to decide between protecting my privacy and cutting myself off from so many valued social connections and communities feels like an impossible choice.
I know I’m not saying anything particularly new or actionable here, I’m just… tired. I’m tired of having to flee from platform after platform into increasingly smaller and more insular corners of the internet to escape the endless cycle of enshittification. I’m tired of what the internet has become, where the only places left where you can exist without being manipulated and exploited by corporate interests are a handful of small, decentralized platforms that are becoming increasingly cut off from the internet at large. I’m just tired of this shit, man.