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"Another thing I get grief for is constantly saying “Republicans are terrorists.” I’m not sure why it’s controversial, given just how much obvious effort they put into wrecking democracy and ensuring Americans die of hunger, disease, and gun violence, but people just seem to wince at the “terrorist” word."

^This kind of rhetoric is not progressive. Democracy is messy, even terroristic sometimes. A true 'progressive' would base their 'progressivism' and hope for humanity on solving democracy through democracy, not supplanting it with technocratic managers. The people must lead! But they must also learn how to lead! There is no shortcut

https://beforethedawn.substack.com/p/reasons-why-the-left-must-start-learning

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You've completely lost my eyeballs by putting the expanded distribution of marijuana in your Top Three progressive priorities. This is why high people should not even be writing about policy.

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Well, I’m not high — I don’t drink or do any drugs, actually. And that isn’t a list of top three progressive priorities, it’s a list of progressive policies that win large bipartisan support in polls and ballot initiatives.

That said, legalizing marijuana isn’t about letting people get stoned. It is a fundamental part of criminal justice reform, ending mass incarceration, and enacting racial justice — police harass and arrest Black people for small possession crimes infinitely more than white people despite the fact that statistically, white people and Black people smoke at the same rates.

So, no, legalizing marijuana is not in the top 3 of progressive priorities alone, but it does play a part in one of the most important priorities we must pursue.

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