Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 2w

You can always find a reason to blame something else for your flaws, maybe barring illiterate people from voting would make them learn and improve themselves, if not oh well

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Anonymous #2 2w

I think this is fundamentally right winger logic and not a very good practice if your goal is to oppose that kind of thing

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Anonymous #2 2w

This is the exact same as Republicans arguing against free school lunches and SNAP programs with “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” just in the context of education. Is literacy a crisis in America? Absolutely. Are the illiterate, who are generally from poor backgrounds with poorly funded early education (the most critical time for literacy), the people to blame? No, not really, these things are systemic issues.

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Anonymous #2 2w

Educational outcomes are extremely stratified by class, and class maps to race, and the answer to bad educational outcomes is not to simply blame the people who are trapped in the cycle of poverty by the fact that their parents couldn’t afford to live somewhere with decent schooling for children

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 2w

Yes, but it’s also true people won’t change unless they are given a reason to change. You don’t decided to get a 9-5, go to the gym, or eat healthy for no reason. Some people need to be incentivized to improve themselves and sure it might be hard but so what? Lots of poor people can read and write, what’s their excuse?

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Anonymous #2 2w

I don't even come at this from a perspective rooted in self reliance. Those who have obtained an education throughout their life should fall into a mindset where you realize that the skills and knowledge they have obtained are a privilege and they should use those to improve society and the lives of others around them. Raising the threshold on voting means things are going to get worse before they get better, but thats a reality that needs to be grappled with.

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Anonymous OP 2w

The United States cannot continue to allow people who lack the ability to understand and process information make decisions that can impact the everyday lives of people. One of the core characteristics of a flawed democracy is an uneducated electorate. Voting is supposed to be a well-informed decision. Not going based off of vibes, where you're from, or who your family votes for...

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Anonymous OP 2w

I think it’s exactly this kind of belittling of the working masses that is why liberal politics have been failing for the last 30+ years. Because our “left” is thinking exactly like our right.

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Anonymous OP 2w

You have no core philosophical disagreement with the right wing if you think some people are more worthy of democratic participation than others. Need I remind you of the history of “literacy testing” in the United States? Like I said, I used to say this kind of shit, when I was 16 and stupid.

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 2w

No one is more “worthy” it’s a matter of can they make a competent decision with their vote and not just be told what to do like what happened with crime bosses in New York

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Anonymous #2 2w

Machine politics were also not beaten by taking away people’s right to vote

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Anonymous cheese_of_the_world_unite 2w

Were they ever beaten?

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