Picking a fight with Hasan Piker while midterms are gearing up is the dumbest fucking idea. The consultant class really is a problem when it comes to meaningful change. (TikTok screencap)
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Any article, or does OP just imagine everyone here knows what the fuck this is about and who this person is?
Considering how much American politics seeps through online spaces you’d have to be living under a political rock to not know who Hasan Piker is. He’s one of the biggest leftist, like actually leftist not “neoliberal leftist”, political commentator online. As for what the meme is referencing, it’s this.
I think I’ve heard the name a few times, but never bothered to watch or look up much about him. Only political “influencers” or whatever I watch are Big Joel and (I guess technically) Stephanie Sterling.
I’m in a leftist group that regularly discusses politics. I know one guy who follows him, and regularly talks like this (he’s the biggest happening thing, a huge voice on the left etc)
Noone else thinks about or talks about him. I’m not here to trash on the guy, hes probably fine. It’s more a point about the usefulness of twitch as a political project. It’s a deeply insular place. Much like it’s annoying when people act as though niche twitter stuff is world news.
Just out of curiosity, who do you think are the big leftist political pundits? Who does you group regularly bring up?
It’s a fair critique. I suppose i personally dont really know many pundits that aren’t of this type of another. I wouldn’t say TV ones or YouTube or podcasts any other place would be a better (though my suspicion is YouTube has the greatest reach but I wouldn’t assume any particular subculture from it was world changing or universally known or whatever, the culture is too deeply fragmented)
As for the groups discussions, I suppose I don’t think “pundits” as a concept is really that important to us. It’s like asking what literary critics a writers group talks about a lot, we’re more interested in the politics than talking about the people talking about the people talking about the…
Kinda the whole point is that we want to think about the interesting problems ourselves and what we can do about it rather than having other people do that for us
Walter? Yes.
Fucking purity testing bullshit, fully functional and operational at the highest levels. The left will purity test itself into extinction if it doesn’t realize it’s happening.
Precisely. The right will vote for anyone no matter how terrible they are and we’re busy self defeating.
Yeah, as soon as you say “look the Democrats suck but it’s the best chance we have to not have a Republican in office right now, with how things are now” you get jumped by people going NO NEVER VOTE DEMOCRAT ONLY THIRD PARTY YOU’RE A SHILL BLUE NO MATTER WHO IS BULLSHIT BOTH SIDES ARE CAPITALIST AND THE SAME
I don’t expect purity but I expect the ability to self-reflect and grow when personal behaviors are questioned by others who share a substantial amount of your world views. Instead of exploring his relationship with his dog (owner/accessory), he doubled down and his fanbase closed ranks to defend a behavior a lot of people find abhorrent. Treating animals like property and setting unrealistic expectations for their compliance while you use them as a backdrop is not a leftist virtue. A loyal audience is not there to normalize abusive behavior and run with the narrative “any questioning of what happened is a right wing attempt to undermine him”. A person can talk all the talk they want, if their walk doesn’t match the tone and they cannot accept that their views may occasionally need growth, fuck ‘em. We don’t need leftist demagogues, we need leaders and speakers with character who aren’t afraid to confront themselves and their beliefs.
Instead of exploring his relationship with his dog (owner/accessory)
All of this comment points to you needing to gain some emotional maturity. You sound as if you’ve either never owned a dog or have only ever owned already trained dogs.
I can grab a piece of paper loudly and my dog will crumple as if I’ve beaten her every day of her life. Never hit her once. Never shocked her with a collar, only ever used the beeps and vibration. All I need to do is pick up the remote and she will cower. Mind you, I shower this dog with love every day and again — I’ve never once hurt her besides maybe stepping on her tail.
I think you need to exhibit some personal growth here, tbh. If your reasons for disliking Hasan stem from this one incident vs the blatant hypocrisy he’d already shown (like purchasing a mansion) — you need to rethink some things.
It’s disappointing that you discredit criticism of harm to another living creature while considering materialism like a house a bigger hypocrisy. They’re not mutually exclusive.
And you’re correct, I have never “owned” a dog. I’ve shared my life journey with many, but I didn’t “own” them. They’re not property even if the law and society view them as such. You conditioned your dog to cower at the sight of you picking up a remote? For fuck’s sake, you conditioned your dog to cower at a behavior that resulted in no physical consequence, just the idea it could result in physical consequence. What the fuck is wrong with you!?!
Yeah I would recommend getting back into an English class, maybe just like start all over from the beginning. Get a fresh start, refresh your brain. Maybe you’ll be able to learn how to read.
All I need to do is pick up the remote and she will cower.
Oh, I read what you wrote. You never hit your dog. Instead, you figured out what she was afraid of and used it to create a trigger to gain compliance. It’s no different than a parent threatening to hit their kid if they don’t stop. Why, when she cowers and shows fear, do you not cease the action that causes her distress? Why don’t you redirect the behavior you want her to cease into a behavior you’d like and can reward with positivity? Because compliance through fear is quicker and easier. No wonder Piker’s got so many apologists. This is how we end up with kid fuckers in office, the support base is up to the same shit as their guy and will defend their worst behavior so they can justify it at home. You sicken me.
Holy moly, you are nuts.
I’m sure your dogs run rampant all over you, no I will not be taking any of your advice. By the way, the action I was referring to was picking the remote up off the table. Simply to move it. Much like crumpling the paper was to throw it away. The dog is a skittish dog, and you’re fuckin nuts. You’re the exact kind of nutjob that probably freaked out and virtue signaled all over when Alinity ‘threw’ her cat.
Doubling down on the self-awareness that your action causes an irrational fear in your dog but that you would rather ignore the behavior than work her through it. She fears your tv remote because instead of taking the time to shape her behavior, you slapped a vibration collar on her to scare her when she behaved contrary to your expectations. The unintended consequence of a vibrate and beep collar is that now your dog is afraid of tv remotes and the sound crumpling paper.
The dogs I live with behave because I defined my expectations and set boundaries with patience, repetition, and reward for compliance. Using fear and force will get compliance, but it’s hollow, and as you’ve found out creates skittish dogs. It’s the tired old mentality that a little “tough love” is the solution. But by all means, keep justifying scare tactics and discomfort as tools for dog training. Holy moly, you are cruel.
Hasan Derangement Syndrome. It’s not just the consultant class that’s to blame, the DNC is just as infested by corporate interest and PACs as the Republicans. The average Democrat rep’s platform does not align with the average Democratic voter’s priorities. Hasn’t for a long time.
Hasan continues to be an effective litmus test.
Like, if in 2026 you’re responding to the call to actively take time and energy out to hate on Hasan, you’re squarely an anti-leftist.
People talked about his dog for longer than we talked about the 100+ children the US slaughtered a few weeks ago
Yeah, I’ve thought Hasan was a tankie for a while, but joining the shithead neo feudalists in dogpiling him is a terrible idea. Those fuckers are controlled opposition for the fascist oligarchs, and when it comes to fighting fascists you cannot be picky in your allies.
I think it’s a bit much to say that someone who doesn’t like Hasan is an anti-leftist. I’ll stand by my brothers and sisters in the fight for equality for all but I’m also of the opinion that Hasan is a bit of a douche who probably does more harm than good for the left in the US. I would encourage you to not box out potential allies because of a silly disagreement over a Twitch streamer
More harm than good is crazy, that guy is probably one of the biggest influences in the country in terms of getting leftists to the polls. I think most legitimate criticisms of Hasan just come down to not liking his personality.
Not liking is one thing. It’s another thing to take the next step and put energy into attacking Hasan. As in: the active practice of boxing out Hasan and any fans of Hasan.
The guy who still refuses to admit that Kamala would’ve been a better choice than Trump?
I call bs. Source your wild claim.
It’s a great example, actually. Trying to re-(re-re-re)hash 2024 is about the most counterproductive thing imaginable. If the dog’s dew claw doesn’t get purchase, what else is there to go on, right?
Hassan is a charlatan
Charlatan or not it’s still fucking stupid to go after a twitch streamer instead of IDK going after the fascist administration. The only reason they’re going after Hasan is because Hasan is presenting an alternative to the “our hands are tied” politics of the democratic party. An alternative would be fine if it also served the corporate overlords of the democratic party but because his alternative is left-wing populism (you know, the stuff Mamdani ran on) it’s no good. Can’t give people hope for a better America.
I know nothing about the dude except his fucking shock collar dog and that’s allI need to know that I’m being manipulated somehow.
“Here’s some dirt we dug up on the guy, which apparently renders all his opinions invalid”
Edit: Ah shit and look at me going exacerbating the problem like a fucking drone
Oh 100%; there’s definitely some foul play and slandering going on. Still, I’m not happy with the way he handled the Cuba flotilla, I’m not happy with his uncritical endorsement of Platner and Sanders.
What do you dislike about the way he handled the Cuba flotilla? Not trying to start an argument, just curious.
Really it’s just a colossal waste of resources. The Gaza flotilla made sense because absolutely zero aid was getting in. With Cuba, there are countless international organizations with already established infrastructure that could use the flotilla funds much, much more efficiently.
Also, wasn’t he only there for two days? He could have done more than just vlog; he could have stayed to hand out cash to the needy in droves, what with him being a millionaire and all.
It felt like a disingenuous clout grab to me.
The Cuba flotilla was organized by an international coalition of individuals and organizations who made an open call for more organizations to join the effort, and many did; 650 delegates from 33 countries and 120 organizations. Hasan Piker was part of a delegation of journalists and influencers there to document and raise awareness of the blockade. Together the volunteers delivered 20 tons of food, medicine, and solar panels, which is nothing to scoff at. Also, Hasan is working on a documentary that he made from interviewing people in Cuba, and didn’t actually do much vlogging because of the blackout. I don’t think he has said if he contributed any personal funds to the effort but he isn’t the type to publicize that.
I wonder, how much does 20 tons do for the people? And the website does not mention plans for another convoy :(
I noticed they brought solar panels with them; that’s what Cuba needs right now. AFAIK, their non-energy imports have not been affected by this new blockade.
I’m any case (tangent), uncritical support of Platner and Bernie are concerns for me. With his influence, he could be pushing for proper progressive candidates. He has so much influence I feel as if he could really set the groundwork for a national movement, and yet he insists on working within the system. Admittedly, I am ignorant on this point, and establishing a proper third party is certainly easier said than done.
Also, I hardly ever watch him. I just know that the moment he sits down with a politician he sucks their dick and never presses them on the issues that supposedly matter most to him (US-Israel relations, US imperialism, &c.).
See? Here we are talking about his dog instead of his message. I don’t know what his message is, I don’t know if I really wanna care, but still.
Edit: My too hasty reading, my bad
Did you reply to the wrong comment?
nOPE.
I was asking @Vupware@lemmy.zip their opinion on how Hasan mishandled the Cuba flotilla. You’re literally the only one in this thread who mentioned his dog.
I don’t like Hasan Piker and I think he was actively damaging in 2024 (not that he swinged the election, but he sure didn’t help). However, shouldn’t we be trying to build bridges right now since the left has been bulkanized so hard? The right can unify against the left but apparently the left can’t do the same…
He is trying to build bridges. But the establishment Democrats are terrified of more Zohrans popping up in the Democratic Party.
Upon reflection, I don’t know if that’s true. He certainly was the one burning the bridges during the 2024 election. Which is why I’m still conflicted and unconfident in this opinion. I’m just scared that we’re allowing the far right to win by fighting amongst ourselves. If the right sweep these midterms like they did the 2024 election, then it’s just over for America…
IIRC, he did a poll during the election stream, and around 80% of his viewers voted for Kamala Harris. The main point that he’s pushing is that he can’t endorse Harris because she’s going the blue MAGA route, and that’s not going to be resonating with the average Joe and Jane on the street. Just watch the video that Zohran did when he’s starting out during his political campaign, doing man-on-the-street interviews. But even Hasan voted for Kamala in the end.
IMHO, there’s nothing wrong with demanding better from the politicians. Just see what Zohran is doing in New York right now. Most of the “difficulties” that the old-school politicians said are just them not giving a shit.
The democrats aren’t the left. And for God’s sake you can’t build bridges with people who want to kill or enslave entire demographics.
The democrats aren’t the left.
The democrat politicians; right?
After all, “Othering” the vast majority of working class people is the mentality of MAGA and fascism.
The democrat politicians; right?
Of course.
cool cool cool.
Even if that was true, I hope you at least know going on a crusade against Democrats does nothing but aid the fascists and billionaires right now. Thus why I suggest we form a coiliation against them first. We’re like the Muslim nations in Iberia during the Reconquestia, and we will meet the same fate if we also start fighting the Christians and ourselves at the same time
That is true.
But what’s also true is the majority of dems aren’t against the fascists or billionaires rn either.
hes a grifter though, thats why i dont think he represents the left, hes very wealthy as his family, and he was literally handed a job by CENK.
I agree that he’s a grifter, but the establishment attacking Hasan directly like this does nothing but divide the left more than we already are. How about we drive the fascists out of our government first before we do blood sports within our side? All this does is ensure Hasan’s fans who would otherwise vote Democrat will probably consider not voting at all once again despite this being perhaps the most important midterms within our lifetimes
What is going on in here? Most of the comments are blue maga.
No kidding!
Some of these comments are unhinged. We’re drowning in a sea of fascism and folks are still doing purity tests and believing BS from right wing sources.
hasan uses a shock collar to keep his dog confined to a small area, he will do it to anything living he deems beneath him. Fuck hasan.
i use one on my wife and she’s not complaining
What, like an invisible fence situation? Aren’t those insanely common in suburbs and the like?
Nah, there’s a clip of his dog tripping on something and yelping while his hand was in a weird spot and people love to dog pile on him.
It doesn’t help that he has the worst PR instincts when crises happen.
I’m not a fan, but think he’s a net positive. He clearly excuses abuses by China, but also does useful analysis of current events in a historical context with actual analysis usually. It’s not like his community is an echo chamber either, they’re constantly shitting on him and calling him out of things, but as a whole they stick around, listen and get more involved with progressive causes.
To my recollection, it was an actual remote controlled shock/vibration collar. The exact model people found lets you remove the electrodes altogether to prevent any risk of shock, which people somehow used as proof that he had been shocking her
Doesn’t he shill for the Kremlin?
He’s a bit tankie but not that tankie
He claimed it’s Ukraines own fault that they got invaded right after saying Russia would never start a war with them.
Mobilize them to do what? Not vote?
The opposite, vote in primaries and try to get people on the ballot worth voting for
Thats the key, if you dont get exactly what you want in the primaries, what do you do?
If there’s no one worth voting for, don’t vote. My disagreements with the candidate I vote for should be about, like, whether billionaires should be taxed at 90% or 95%, not whether or not we should murder a bunch of school children for Israel. There’s a difference between not voting for someone because they’re not exactly what you wanted, and not voting for someone because they’re a war criminal.
Biden had four fucking years to put Trump in jail. Four years to release the Epstein files before Trump got sharpie all over them. Four years to give us healthcare and raise the minimum wage. Instead we got first amendment violations, some infrastructure funding, and an assurance that evangelical christians could spend the next four years trying to bring about the end of the world. I’m not ashamed that I voted for Harris or Biden, but I would not vote for them again. I’ll vote for a party that would fight Republicans, not BLAST them with mean words. If that party is the democrats, great. If not, then I’m not voting democrat. I’ll write in Abraham Lincoln’s Reanimated Corpse before I vote Newsom.
If there’s no one worth voting for, don’t vote.
It’s always worth voting for the non-fascist option.
So we can have a different, even worse fascist in four years? Aren’t you tired of settling for “not as evil?” You can say something like “but if Republicans win they’ll make sure that no leftist ever wins again,” but voting blue no matter who got us here, with a republican who’s doing his best to make sure no leftist ever wins again.
voting blue no matter who got us here,
Well, no. Because Trump was elected. Twice. If people had “voted blue not matter who”, we would have had Clinton, a shitty Dem and not a progressive, but NOT. TRUMP. And again with Harris, who would have been much better than TRUMP.
The time to fight and the place to fight is NOT the general US election, but everywhere else - primaries, and beyond.
But when it comes to the general election, the choice is FASCISM or NOT FASCISM for now, sot he choice is clear.
I used to agree, but now I don’t. In the general election, the choice is between FASCISM NOW or FASCISM LATER. We’ve been signalling to the democratic party that fascism later is fine for years now, and we need to start signalling to them that it’s not.
Let’s say Harris wins 2024. What would she do to prevent the next republican from being just as bad as, if not worse than, current Trump? Voting blue no matter who means never getting a progressive candidate. Why on earth would the democrats run a progressive when they can run a conservative, knowing you’ll vote for anyone with a D next to their name?
Also… What primaries should we be fighting in when they don’t have one?
I used to agree, but now I don’t. In the general election, the choice is between FASCISM NOW or FASCISM LATER.
Hard disagree. The reason for this mentality is Americans have this stupid fucking idea that one election fixes everything, and if we vote the once “correctly” we are done.
Fuck that. Vote blue blue no matter who means vote them to the left EVERY TIME! So next election isn’t about a fascist vs. bare minimum. You get the minimum and then work your ass off for a better challenger FROM THE LEFT for the next election.
This was the most efficiently I have ever proven my point in my whole career of arguing with people on the internet.
It was not very long ago that I would have left comments exactly like this. I hope the disillusionment hits you soon. We can’t have a better future as long as we’re willing to put up with the present.
Isn’t that the guy who was in the Cuba flotilla just last week or so?
Removed by mod
Point proven!
I’m going to guess, and I may be wrong, that a lot of people who would vote for the US Dems have no idea who he is. I didn’t until the last year, though I’ve lived outside of the US for a decade now
He’s hugely popular with people under 30 as far as politics goes. He is turning on an entire generation towards politics while also acting as an alternative to Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate.
So you can imagine the kind of threat he poses.
Liaison and Party Harmony: In the primary campaign your opposition is Jack Hopeful, a member of your own party. Never forget that you will need the support of all your party after the primary and never let your supporters forget it!
This is a very touchy, difficult matter, particularly in a volunteer organization. You are certain to have loyal supporters who are simple souls, unable to think in terms other than black and white. To them Jack Hopeful is the ENEMY - they will commit excesses through misguided zeal. So also will some of Mr. Hopeful’s supporters. Bad blood breeds more bad blood; in short order you can have a situation which is completely out of hand, which splits the party wide open, and which will render it impossible for your man to win in the finals.
Since the nomination is valueless in itself, being merely a necessary means to an end, you must prevent this at all costs.
–Robert A. Heinlein, Take Back Your Government
I will keep repeating this until the day I die: the democratic political machine cannot function as it exists today without it’s not-so-clandestine marriage with capital.
Piker being a massively-popular mobilizer of young voters does nothing to endear him to a party who’s entire political infrastructure is directly at odds with his political views on capital, labor, and anti-imperialist geopolitics.
The DNC will sooner drown in it’s own piss, shit, and vomit than adopt or promote a political commentator that seeks to rip the party away from its funding apparatus by holding them accountable to their increasingly socialist voting base.
did someone draw the teeth in paint?
Could be one of those “enhanced” pictures where AI made the focus on the teeth.
