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Magdi Semrau Profile picture
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Jan 17,, 6 tweets, 2 min read
Yes. I do not understand how anyone who cares about climate change would actively attempt to elide the differences between Democrats and Republicans on the issue. It's great to say how Democrats could do better, but it's a matter of empirical fact the parties are not the same.
If we lose the House & the Senate this year, we will lose our chance to do anything about climate for several years. Losing the Senate will also further disadvantage us in the courts. If you care about climate, you should advocate for Build Back Better & voting for Democrats.
You can elect Dems & petition them to be more progressive on the issues you care about or you can cry on Lisa Murkowski's voicemail & beg her not to take your healthcare away

I'm sorry, but those are your options. And if you actually care about an issue, you need to realize this
You literally have no other options other than electing Dems. You don't have to love the party. But--whether it's climate change or healthcare--you have no other options. You either create an environment where you can petition your government or you cede the fight entirely.
I'm not telling anyone to be happy about it. But the only revolution that's coming that could fundamentally restructure America is of the fascistic variety. So we should fight that off while also attempting to advance our own goals. And the only way to do that is to vote for Dems
I've been told we have ~10 years to act on climate. So it is unclear to me why some would not be investing all their time in 1. advocating for BBB & 2. expanding the Senate

Or would we prefer to spend these 10 years in the grips of GOP inaction & malfeasance?

Clock is ticking.

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More from @magi_jay

Magdi Semrau Profile picture
Jan 19,
The obvious answer is that vaccination is proven to reduce illness & death. Vaccination also likely mitigates immune responses that trigger Long COVID. Another under-recognized variable is that transmission between vaxx'd people is likely different than between unvaxx'd people
To be clear, here: I'm making a general point about the prevention of community harm induced by vaccination & corresponding immunity. Vaccinated individuals absolutely can spread Omicron & infect other vaccinated people. Everyone should follow guidelines closely.
When we're thinking about the power of vaccination, we need to think on the community level. Data from the Delta period indicate that the probability of breakthroughs goes UP if community vaccination is low. Every vaccinated person attenuates the spread.
Read 10 tweets
Magdi Semrau Profile picture
Jan 19,
A journey through COVID preprint twitter ImageImageImageImage
I'm not trying to slam any specific person here. But there's been a real problem w/ how preliminary data is disseminated on this website, particularly in how it is framed. It's really important to get this right when we're talking about immune responses.
"Natural Immunity" is a big talking point among anti-vaxxers & I can guarantee you there are a slew of unvaxx'd people who got Omicron who now think they're well-protected. We need to do a better job gate-keeping. alternet.org/2021/09/anti-v…
Read 4 tweets
Magdi Semrau Profile picture
Jan 19,
There are absolutely huge barriers to accessing services for poor &/or rural Americans. So much needs to be improved, from cutting red tape to providing better info. But I think it's somewhat infantilizing to claim vulnerable people don't know how to make appointments at Rite Aid
Am I saying we shouldn't do more to improve access to services? Absolutely not. We should focus on the *real* issues that vulnerable people face. They are not incapable of navigating the world. They've done so for years. If we pretend they can't, it's both distracting & insulting
I am also not saying that technology isn't a barrier. It is a big one! We should talk about how to improve it. My point is that, on this website, people talk about vulnerable people as if they are incapable of doing *anything* to manage their own lives, when that is not the case.
Read 14 tweets
Magdi Semrau Profile picture
Jan 18,
"Almost a cogent argument" ImageImageImage
I do not know why some on the left continue to deny that there is climate change legislation in Congress right now. If you tell people it doesn't exist, they won't know to fight for it. This doesn't seem like behavior that reflects a true concern about climate change. Image
Here is the cold, hard political reality. There is massive support within the Dem party for BBB. 2 Senators, particularly Joe Manchin, are standing in the way. Dems, especially those in the House, need a win before the midterms. It is very possible that BBB will be chopped up.
Read 4 tweets
Magdi Semrau Profile picture
Jan 17,
The linguistic parsing that occurs on this site would cause all communication to break down in real life. It's like, in a quest for one-upmanship, people's ability to make inferences or engage in other sociolinguistic reasoning just melts right out of their ears.
My new favorite phenomenon is the policing of modal verbs, e.g. "might, can, will, may."

A person, to me: "I would replace 'may' in this tweet w/ 'will.' Perhaps delete 'may' all together."

Me: "I would put your head in a toilet, but we can't always get what we want, can we?"
Here's my suggestion:If you feel the impulse to engage in such parsing or other tedious "corrections," imagine if you did the same thing at a Happy Hour. Would people want to be your friend? Or, if you don't care about friends, would anyone say, "Now THAT is a fascinating point"?
Read 4 tweets
Magdi Semrau Profile picture
Jan 17,
White society has taken the legacy of one of America's bravest & most brilliant men & hollowed it out to the point where, on this day we should honor him, so many gestures of this honor seem performative. As if MLK is a symbol we can wield to show our moral virtue.
Conservatives whip out "not by the color of their skin" to argue that racism does not exist or that recognition of racism is racist itself. They use Dr. King as a shield. They tweeted a photo of a Black hero's face; therefore, they are not actively undermining Black citizenship.
White people on the left have hollowed out Dr King in a different way. We have our own favorite contextless quote, "white moderates." We use it to per formatively show we've read beyond "I Have A Dream." And, often, to signal to the world, "I'm not a white moderate like them."
Read 6 tweets

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