So...Im going to be honest, a lot of the Yang tribalism is annoying. A lot of people are defending this move acting like 'you see, yang knows what hes talking about, hes the numbers guy, and he knows what he's doing here".
I mean, does he, really? Im gonna be honest, while i respect yang, I've had lukewarm opinions on him over time. When I first heard of him in 2017 I couldnt take him seriously despite being a UBI supporters even back then. Then I supported him in 2019, but by 2020 I switched back to bernie. Then I supported him as he started forward in 2021, and now I'm getting alienated again.
Yang is not as smart as people act like he is. None of his ideas are original, he's not a prophet or the strongest supporter of the causes he's for. And for all of his talk of being a numbers guy, his UBI doesn't add up and up to 1/3 of it would be funded by deficit spending (I say this as a die hard UBI supporter myself who HAS run the numbers). I just connect to him and his movement because he's the only dude in the mainstream who actually supports anything close to my own ideology and vision. Don't get me wrong, he's done a lot to advance the movement, and make it mainstream, but when he screws up, I'm keeping him honest.
For all the talk of tribalism and division in society, the Yang gang isnt immune. Everyone has a tribe, everyone needs a tribe, this is okay. Sure, too much division and purity testing is a problem, but so is too little. If you are too purity testy no one will meet your standards. if you're too lax, you will have no standards at all. And the way the yang gang is circlejerking about no standards right now is annoying. it's weird how psychology of these movements work sometimes. When the ideals change, suddenly the people change to contort with them. Suddenly not having standards is celebrated. Only caring about RCV is celebrated. Third party unity is celebrated.
I was accused of being purity testy over UBI. DARN RIGHT I AM. Not all purity tests are bad. Sure, it's annoying when you have someone with 724 purity tests and if you dont meet every single one you're a bad person (see: SJWs, Bernie Bros). But if you have NONE at all, what do you even stand for? And I have to ask, what does the yang gang even stand for now? The movement was originally based on UBI, M4A, and human centered capitalism. Then M4A was dropped, and the community went along with it. To be fair, I ultimately did too, but for different reasons. I still support M4A, but given the difficulties with funding, let's just say I developed an alternative model just in case. This actually did drive me closer to yang and HIS moderation, but not BECAUSE of Yang. I developed my ideas parallel to yang. And that's the difference.
When I change my mind, it comes from a change in my perspective. I was convinced by reason and evidence to change my mind. And I admit, post 2012, I change my mind slowly. Some people think im closed minded, but honestly, I just know what I want. And while I can evolve or change that over time as new evidence comes out, generally speaking at my level of knowledge and strength in my convictions, eh, it's gonna take a lot of evidence to shift me.
So, I stick with what I want. And I expect people I support to support it. I still compromise. As I said before in other articles, even someone like Yang I only agree with say, 70-80% of the time. There's always disagreements. It's just a matter of whether this is a deal breaker. But as I said, I prioritize. For me, my top issue is UBI. Beyond that, healthcare. Beyond that, free college/student debt forgiveness, climate change, and electoral reform. Note how these are in the third tier. Maybe housing or the minimum wage next. Then maybe abortion. And you know, the further down I get, the more willing I am to compromise. I've seen people ripping yang over stuff like israel or circumcision, as if those are hills to die on. WHO CARES?! Sure, yang doesnt need a position on every issue, and I dont care what his positions on a great number of issues even are.
But giving up ANY partisan issue at all for just voting reform and then celebrating being a circlejerk of no standards is just...no. And in place of actual conviction on issues, we get...a cult of personality.
To be fair, I knew some yang gangers were like this. Back in 2019-2020 when i was split between yang and bernie, I noticed this too. The yang gang would pick fights with the berners and vice versa, and at the time I'd try to be diplomatic, but man the tribalism made it hard. The bernie people full on turned on UBI in the process, alienating me from their cause since as you know UBI is my TOP issue, the one thing i DO struggle to compromise on. But the yang people were annoying too. I'll be honest.Again, its the cult of personality. And again, after M4A was out all of the sudden it was the same thing. "Well M4A was never a good idea, blah blah blah'. UGH.
Seriously, where the frick are your convictions people? Im not saying we should be blindly tribalistic. But again, this circlejerk of changing your mind just because the guy you like changes his mind just tells me many of those guys weren't in it for the UBI.
That's the real problem with tribalism to some extent. It's just people cheering for a team. It's why i hate the dems. Im not a "team player". I never was. I dont care if your team wins or loses if you lose your values. It was true for the democrats, and it's true for the yang gang. Maybe people will stick with yang through thick and thin, no matter what, just like they do with bernie, but I dont do that. I have my ideas, I advocate for THOSE. The people are just vehicles to get there. Screw tribalism. And yes, that means pro yang tribalism too.
It's fine to have values. We should celebrate having values. We should debate our values, and purity test our values. Thats not to say we cant overdo it. I mean, if it isnt in your top 10 concerns, just stop. But not having an ideology still leads to tribalism too, its just vague appeals to being on a team or some cult of personality. it's still a tribe, you're still taking a position, it's just the position that taking positions is bad.
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