I think one of the main factors why the younger progressive American politicians like aoc are so well liked by their cohort is the same reason the older generations can't stand them

they refuse to play nice.

so many of us are so. fucking. done.

with playing nice.

they're accused of being self centered and Being Too Online (lol) and not toeing the party line.

(there's obviously a racial and gendered component to this too. young white men wouldn't get a fraction of the scrutiny the squad get)

But I think really the core issue is they

refuse to sit down and know their place and this uppity disobedience really infuriates a certain kind of older crowd who demand respect and niceties before they let you play their game.

too bad, imo. the future is now. get on board or get out of the damn way.

the tone of it all is what doesn't sit with me. the lecturing and snideness that you don't even see their detractors using on the right. and the same people scolding them for not being team players are somehow only directing their criticism left ward. it's so damn obvious.

one of the skills I've developed is to see what people are not saying. it's a really useful tool to have as a fiction writer, and also to pick up on disingenuous or hypocritical online discourse. highly useful. can recommend.

it's also really easy to do with moderates or conservatives because they don't tend to pick up new ideas.

like you might be persuaded if you read one tweet saying how unbearably arrogant and self centered this non white woman in a position of power is that said woman is actually arrogant and self centered.

a thousand of those tweets feels like a pattern, and not one pointed at her.

once you know the patterns of attack (remember, they're not very imaginative) you can see it super easily.

woman? shut up.
nonwhite? ungrateful.
jewish? taking over.
immigrant? lazy.
transgender? abuser.

what I hope you take from this is that you have to learn how to sift thoughtless hate from legit critique and the main way to do that is to have, you know, principles that you can rely on as heuristics to process information.

(this is why the right is so easily whipped into hate mobs btw. they have no principles.)

it's the same answer as to why we won't shut up and play nice.

because doing so is against our principles.

oh also:

it's not being openly discussed because the overton window is dragged so far to the right

but the squad is the compromise.

America had a taste of what happens when the people lose faith in electoral politics and state power.

the squad

is

the compromise.

I'm not a full on anarchist. I believe in states and centralized, duly elected power because I think it's a pretty good way to create a social safety net.

but I understand that riots are a form of political speech

a burning police station is asking

ARE YOU LISTENING NOW?

so if you wanna talk policy, sure, let's talk policy. but if all you have is shut up and sit down, I think I speak for millions of us when I say lol, haha, no.