r/PoursTea • u/Timbucktwo1230 Therapy For All 🩷 • 10h ago
Hearth & Home 🏡 John Leguizamo: "I'm a Democratic Socialist. Education shouldn't be a privilege, it's a right. Medicine is not a privilege, it’s a right.”
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u/Kenky0na 10h ago
People always act so shocked when they here the wird socialist, is it from generational fears about communism? And a misunderstanding in its differences?
Ahh socialism evil! "Hello, police? I need help?"
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u/Lost_Environment3361 10h ago
it’s because we were all indoctrinated from the public education curriculum here in the US. socialism/communism=bad, capitalism=GOOOOOOOD😃
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u/LaserEyeLarry 10h ago
It's not just the public education. It's been the media for the last 50 years or longer. It's been a fear tactic used in this country for anything new and that would harm the rich.
The biggest strength they've had in this fight has always been the adults. If you can get the adults fearful or hate something, the kids will automatically take up that fight without thinking it over.
Do this long enough and you don't even have to explain yourself anymore. Just call something the forbidden name and it's finished before it can start.
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u/BrianNowhere 8h ago
Do it long enough and the word loses meaning and people start wondering if they've been misled.
Seems to be happening more lately. More than I've seen in my 59 years.
Keep pushing. Ignore the trolls. Treat their input as you would a toddlers and help this old man die in a socialist country.
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u/boardin1 7h ago
Change your mindset by just a little bit and a lot of things start to fall into place. I quit watching police dramas and started calling them “cop-raganda”. That allowed me to start seeing all the ways that they normalize violating your rights; things like “you only need a lawyer if you’re guilty”. More people need to start looking critically at the media that they’re being spoon-fed.
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u/Skurpe 9h ago
Or people simply don't like the abolition of private ownership and the baggage that comes with it.
As someone from Sweden, one of the textbook social democracies of the world, socialism has pretty much no foothold in the country (although some people confuse democratic socialism and social democracy; even on the political stage). Private enterprise is seen as good and is encouraged in school. We simply like having what is deemed human rights or societally important (healthcare, education, parental leave, etc.) to be funded with taxation.
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u/devilmaskrascal 6h ago
I think very few Americans, even educated Redditors, understand what social democracy means and think it is interchangeable verbiage with democratic socialism.
You have to understand, for decades right-wingers have constantly claimed anything to the left of center-right is "socialist/Marxist/communist" and a lot of young people on the Left who have been educated by Tiktok and Reddit echo chambers have internalized this to think socialism is just another word for progressive/social democrat.
Sweden WAS pretty democratically socialist back in the 1960s-70s and it was a disaster economically, so they converted to social democracy with neoliberal reforms and privatization. Now it is in some ways more capitalistic than the US because social democracy allows capitalism to be at its best.
I personally don't think democratic socialism is even a feasible philosophy, at least not with a country with a substantial middle class. You're basically asking everyone to go to vote to voluntarily jeopardize their accrued life savings invested heavily in markets and assets upon the whims of a government intent on shaking up all private ownership and redistributing wealth and business ownership. That's quite different from supporting progressive taxes, social programs and environmental/labor protections.
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u/Rehypothecator 8h ago
People’s fears about communism is actually what happens under capitalism.
The negative criticisms about communism are due to corruption in the system, which are also inherently a capitalistic mindset.
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u/Lyrael9 9h ago
Yeah, I hear it in older relatives. And I'm talking left ones. I say anything that can be seen as anti-capitalist, anything that includes the 'S' word, and the reaction is "Oh so you want communism? If not capitalism, that means you want communism", "I'd rather have capitalism than communism!". They were brought up with such a rigid view of Capitalism vs Communism they can't seem to shake it. "Democratic Socialism" is of course "Communism" since it has the S word. And they agree with a lot of socialist policies, it's just like a switch goes off. I suspect it's too deeply ingrained in some people who grew up during the cold war.
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u/AlreadyFifty 10h ago
I live in VERY red area of a VERY red state where most people are poor. These people will bitch and moan about socialism until they have lockjaw because they watch Fox News 4 hours a day. Of course, they’re all on social security, Medicare, food stamps, section 8 and the younger mothers are all on WIC.
They’re too uneducated to realize they’re socialists. All their talking points are someone else’s. They don’t research and they don’t know they’re hypocrites. Of course, if you try to educate them, you’re just a libtard sheep…
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u/ConflatedPortmanteau 10h ago
"I ain't no socialist, I go to church!"
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u/NoCopiumLeft 7h ago
Imagine living your whole life believing sky daddy is going to give you some free ride into the afterlife but thinking wow my gov shouldn't help anyone at all.
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u/Responsible-Cry2528 7h ago
especially when he listed three things he was specifically gonna be on you about at the gates, and im pretty sure they are all about helping others
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u/ConflatedPortmanteau 7h ago
What reason has a man to behave in a moral or ethical manner when all misdeeds can be forgiven on a whim and the keys to the kingdom given shortly thereafter?
No, if your moral fiber is bequeathed from a book and reaffirmed penultimately on the deathbed regardless of who you have been for the totality of your life then you are not a good person, you're just another character from your book.
Exactly like that book when that final chapter ends and the cover closes it is simply over, and who you were will only be determined by those who saw how the pages unfolded.
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u/Jallen9108 7h ago
Thing is they think thems gah dang libtards are trying to take away their socialist money and give it to someone even more poor, and god help them if that even more poor person is b-b-black.
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u/lividtaffy 6h ago
I’ll take Mississippi as an example because they are very red and also one of the poorest in the nation. About 24% are on social security, the vast majority of which are retirees, and social security makes up about half of all income among residents 65 and over. About 22% are on Medicare. About 13% receive SNAP benefits. 1.5% live in section 8 housing, and about 4% benefit from all HUD programs. About 47% of eligible mothers participate in the WIC program. That’s a pretty far cry from “they’re all on…”, and these are some of the highest participation and usage rates in the country. What you’re espousing is straight doomerism, but of course in response to this education I’ll be labeled as a chud or fascist or some such nonsense.
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u/eastbay77 5h ago
these are the same people who support cops and hate paying taxes. well, how do you think we pay cops? Yup. Socialism.
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u/devilmaskrascal 7h ago
Those things are not socialist, regardless of what MAGA says. They are social democratic programs.
Social democracy = capitalist economic system with government programs to offset all the things capitalism does poorly in providing basic needs for everyone and protecting labor/the environment.
Socialism = ending capitalism and redistributing property and the means of production to workers/the people.
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u/beezdablock 5h ago
Thank you! Our major parties (both of them) have intentionally muddied/obscured the actual meaning of socialism and it irks me every time I hear someone misuse the word.
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u/devilmaskrascal 5h ago
I don't think mainstream Dems have pretended to be anything but social democrats, but they don't call themselves that because the word "social" is taboo and confused with "socialism." The far Left tries to call themselves "socialists" while point to Sweden (social democracy) as proof "socialism" works, which Sweden is more capitalist than the US in many ways.
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u/EndPristine5595 7h ago edited 5h ago
Biggest grift in history is twisting people's minds into believing socialism (as an ideal) is wrong.
The nature of capitalism at the fundamental level always means that one person is capitalizing on others. At its literal base level it ensures there will always be an elite class and a poverty class.
The fucking least that elite class could do is share a tiny bit of their wealth to ensure the rest of the country has free health care and social services.
It's an absolute joke to defend anyone not vying for that.
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u/Interesting-Put2828 7h ago
yeah i dont think people who say socialist programs are bad really take into account what that all includes
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u/Upper_Command1390 6h ago
Who is this interviewer and why was he trying to make the word “socialist” sound like a super bad thing?
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u/Bambivalently 5h ago
Because Socialism (like Mao Zedong) and Democratic Socialist (Denmark) are politically very far apart. One of the two no longer has a market economy and no longer has democratic voting.
It's like asking what is wrong with National Socialism? It's Socialism right so it must be good. Except it's literally Nazis. NAtional soZIalism.
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u/HenriettaSnacks 6h ago
I love how all the naysayers ITT have their profiles hidden. Bunch of bots and bitches.
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u/bigorangemachine 8h ago
"The Right" (Fascists) don't want people to be educated
Look what happened in the US already; Trump openly lies to the press and people just believe it.
The average person is too dumb to even develop the cognitive dissonance to realize they are being lied to or let alone realizing that not voting can lead to bad outcome.... that by not voting you are helping the worst choice
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u/Valentine_343 9h ago
Socialism is simply someone who advocates for equal distribution of wealth and resources. However, only the uneducated and greedy will hear that word and, without understanding it, try to fear us. That interview was trying to subtly make John feel ashamed for expressing his political view, but it failed because John articulated clearly and precisely what it means in a short time and why he takes the stand point that he does.
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u/One_Adagio_8010 8h ago
Propaganda is very effective. There has been a distribution of wealth for years but it has been going to the rich. The bank bailouts, the automobile bailouts, the airline bailouts, the military industrial complex, the recent tax law that just cut social programs and transferred that money to the wealthy in the form of tax breaks, etc.
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u/shade1848 8h ago
You're paid to entertain, not politicize.
It doesn't matter what side of the aisle you prefer, I really don't have faith in anything you have to say about the real world as you have been in Hollywood most of you're life. I can't trust you to be in touch with reality.
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u/ottereckhart 8h ago
I think he's a Social Democrat, not a socialist. Just sayin.
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u/Thvenomous 6h ago
He said democratic socialist, but he just seemed to be stumbling over his words a bit.
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u/ottereckhart 5h ago
Yea I mean it seems like with the rise of DSA (which for the record is a wonderful and appropriate response to the circumstances,) people are really conflating social democracy with democratic socialism.
Nothing he said he supports is strictly speaking socialism. They are social democrat policies. They can exist in a strictly capitalist society. The conflation of the two I have to believe is deliberate. Because then they can point to "socialism" and say it's just when people take your taxes and redistribute them to services for immigrants and lazy people.
Socialism is about public ownership of the means of production. Period. And many people already benefit enormously from Democratic Socialism. In Canada we have public car insurance in some provinces, public power companies, and in one case a public telecom -- all of which provide good and cheaper necessary services to people without a profit incentive. They're not paying out shareholder dividends and stuff like that.
In the case of the telecom, it forced the Big 3 companies which make up basically an oligopoly that gouge customers across the country -- to reduce their prices by ~40% in that province in order to be competitive.
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u/lucidzfl 7h ago
a lot of people don't understand democratic socialism. As he said - we're already a democratically socialist country in many regards. Democratic socialism is not antithetical to capitalism in the same say true blue socialism is, because its not an economic structure.
its shocking to me how few people understand what democratic socialism is - which makes me never want to say it, because right wingers thing I'm socialist, and left wingers assume I share their ideology to the core.
As an aside - you can tell that capitalism supports capitalism by the fact that my boy john here has like a 2 carat diamond in his ear. (Love john btw, so no shade)
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u/Zealousideal_Fee_491 7h ago
John Leguizamo, sir, I’ve always been a fan of your work, just so much talent and versatile, and I’ve been watching and listening to you more and more of the years and I just gotta say….. I love you even more dude. I agree a million percent with you! Keep up the awesome work! 👍🏼👍🏼
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u/djdaem0n 7h ago
He sounds like a Social Democrat, which is more of a "small s" Socialist.
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5h ago
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u/djdaem0n 5h ago
That was kind of my point. He's SAYING he's a Democratic Socialist, but he SOUNDS more like a Social Democrat. Bernie has done the same thing for years. But thanks for assuming the worst in my post and being condescending about it.
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u/Frequent-Client1508 7h ago
I work for the state fixing roads and you'd be surprised by how many idiots I work with who don't get it.
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u/devilmaskrascal 7h ago
Ok, but do you want to socialize the means of production and end capitalism? If not, you are a social democrat, NOT a democratic socialist.
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u/merlinn2u 7h ago edited 7h ago
no "right" exercised by one person can ever put any obligation on another. healthcare and education require another person to provide their services. you can't force those people to provide their services without compensation. that would be indentured servitude or slavery. therefor, neither is a "right". they are services provided for a fee.
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u/Zoob7 5h ago
I have a right to due process. That requires that others provide their services for me. If I can't afford a lawyer, one is provided for me. Is that slavery or indentured servitude?
Legal rights don't always fit your definition of a right. Our tax dollars go to multiple programs that provide their services. Arguing that Healthcare is a legal right is just accepting that our tax dollars would also go towards Healthcare aswell.
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u/adumblittlebaby 7h ago
Yeah but what if in doing so we prevent a handful of people from becoming even more fabulously rich?? I'm willing to sacrifice the health and happiness of millions so long as it means the opportunity for one guy to be so rich that he can never spend it all exists.
That's the US in a nutshell.
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u/illDiablo69 7h ago
Why don't more people react this shocked when you have the secretay of defense asking for $1.5 trillion? That money is not coming from the private sector but from the tax payer. That sounds super socialist to me.
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u/Lost_Department_2177 7h ago
The country would actually save money with a medication program. Less incidents would happen so the country would end up paying less tax money on prisons.
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u/BobDestroyerofWorld 7h ago
the funny thing is, we basically invented a bunch of socialist programs, but as soon as a rival country has an ideologist who claims those things are part of his ideology, we suddenly see those programs as a threat to our way of life.
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u/the___reckoner 7h ago
the guy who made millions and millions of dollars through capitalism
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u/DefoNotTheAnswer 5h ago
Yep, and paid more in taxes than you'll make in your entire life. He has just as much right to talk about where he thinks those taxes should go as you do.
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u/Hefty_King_6046 6h ago
Weird how it’s always the rich people who are socialist not the poor people it’s supposed to help 😆
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u/Kind-Code7626 6h ago
Great so you can distribute your wealth and just start taking a paycheck for the median pay of Americans.
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u/HiddenMonkey7 6h ago
americans hear socialism and freak out thinking they are taking their big macs off the menu.
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u/Advice-Question 6h ago
It’s not a right.
Now you want to talk about making it less expensive sure, but it’s not a right.
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u/mike22a20000 6h ago
Saying those are “ rights “ would mean you also have a right to teachers and Doctors labor … explain that
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u/JoeBuskin 6h ago
Trying to explain to a unenlightened coworker that when I say Americans are on average uneducated isn't calling them stupid, but pointing out an intentional design choice conservatives have made
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u/palmerama 6h ago
They get so hung up on language. American use of hard left, communist, socialist is so weaponised the words lose meaning. Just judge the policy on its merits.
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u/indy3232 5h ago
If we could unalive every politician that committing fraud with our taxes, we might actually see a government that starts listening to the people....
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u/GreatPotatoMuffin 5h ago
This is not socialism. This is just a normal functioning government and society.
He’s probably more of advocate for a capitalist economy with a well governed welfare state like we have in the Nordics.
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u/kwantsu-dudes 5h ago
Publicly funded services are not socialism.
A "right" does not mean a publicly funded service.
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u/Relevant_Problem1935 5h ago
Social Democracy is fine. Like we see in Nordic Countries. They still have a capitalist economy. But Democratic Socialists...Never have my vote.
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u/DickTheDancer 5h ago
While we are at it can we also make 10c wing nights and Japanese toilets human rights too?
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u/krusecontrol91 5h ago
So get in the classroom and teach. Give up your acting salary. Get in the lab and churn out medication for free. Oh you need to make a living? Oh you don’t know how to do it? Oh things cost resources? Get the fuck outta here
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u/Sure-Impress-1003 5h ago
They could also go by:
Social -Capitalist
Capital-Socialist
Democratic-Capitalist
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u/FortificationIsFraud 5h ago
Doctor: "we need to save those resources for a younger person" and you'll just stand there like "doc I'm 36 and in pain" Doctor: " good news We have a maid program like canada" after paying in even more to health care but on the upside they will fix my arm if i break it for basically free. Oh and mandatory vaccines well all be good guinea pigs.
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u/Additional-Heat-5002 5h ago
So you have a right for other people to pay for you, is that what democratic socialism means?
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u/Relevant_Problem1935 5h ago
The best system is a combination of Capitalist Economy and Social Democracy. Anyone trying to sell you on anything else needs a history lesson.
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u/QuartersWest 5h ago
A millionaire socialist calling for someone else to fund his ideologies of education and medicine. Someone needs to get him a mirror.
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u/Icy-Drive2300 5h ago
I doubt he knows the difference between democratic socialism and social democracy but I love the spirit.
Its always a better world when people arent scared of socialism.
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u/Ironmasked-Kraken 5h ago
Isn't this the guy who gets upset at other actors about playing different nationality than they personally are and then goes and does it himself ?
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u/shotokhan1992- 5h ago
If something costs money, it will never be free. The government doesn’t have a magical pit of infinite money
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u/doublethink_1984 5h ago
Education and medicine are rights in America though. Just as much as the right to bear arms is.
The citizenry is not is denied education or emergency medical assistance, they just have to pay for it. Just like firearms
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u/Environmental_Ant268 5h ago
He's trying so hard to please the ignorant masses, please leftist give him money
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u/No_Lifeguard259 5h ago
Anything that you require others to provide you is a privilege. Not an inherent human right. Otherwise you’re implying that the people that perform those tasks that you call “rights” are your slaves
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u/Aware-Elk-237 4h ago
I agree with John. I have been working and paying taxes all my life. It is time that taxpayers get something in return. It is time for our government to start doing good things for people who need it.
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u/PaChubHunter 4h ago
People are too damn caught up on boxes and labels. Which leads to misunderstanding and divide. The majority of the American left believes that people are entitled to what they build an earn but also believe the government should actually be helping its citizens.
The billionaire hate isn't because they hate captilism and believe everything should be fair and equally distributed, it's because the majority of billionaires have shown that they have no problem extorting everyone and everything else for their own gain and don't care about anyone else which ends up making other people's lives worse. They are stuffing their face in the water source, sucking down more than they need, and leaving their snot behind for everyone else.
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u/Dolewhip26 4h ago
Very simple for us Americans who don't see Healthcare has a birth right. Who's paying for it? We are already taxed on every penny coming in and going out. You can't keep squeezing the same lemon expecting it to produce more lemonade. We pay our whole lives in Medicare automatically take from our pay just to retire and still pay hundreds of dollars month for something we have paid our entire career that now should be free. Same goes for social security yet if managed right seniors shouldn't be getting 1/8 of that they use to make a month to survive. As Ronald Regan once said most terrifying words one can hear is " I am with the government and hear to help". Only thing you are promised in life is to he Born and Die. Everything between is up to you how you live it. People should not be dependent on overlords and government shouldn't be in anything besides protecting the citizens of the country from foreign and domestic enemies.
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u/Wind_Best_1440 4h ago
Fun fact, back during the "New Deal." The reason why the US put high taxes on the rich and did so many reforms and had good pay for workers and cheap food and housing. Was because they knew that the left had the better message and they knew from history that the common people will revolt eventually if the wealthy took everything.
The president that did the new deal famously said in one of his meetings. "Its either the new deal, or our population will revolt."
Same thing is happening now. The left have the better message and the right doesn't. If the government doesn't make life better for its own population then they run the risk of being overthrown.
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u/Pikawoohoo 9h ago
Just because something is right doesn't make it a right.
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u/confuseum 9h ago
?? But you said it is right??
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u/einsteinosaurus_lex 7h ago
What? No. Every right we have someone had to fight and die for. None of them are guaranteed even if they're obviously the right thing for society to do, because those with power will always try to squash everyone else's rights to ensure nobody else can enjoy them as well, because when commonfolk start enjoying luxury goods, they stop being luxury. How else will the ultra wealthy distinguish themselves? Now apply this logic to virtually everything else in society, that's the number one motivator of the elites right now.
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u/NoSleepTilBrklynn 8h ago
I don’t trust the government. I’d prefer lower taxes and smaller government. You want bigger government and higher taxes. Thats fine. Everyone is different. There’s k-12 free education already and it’s not great. I doubt free college or healthcare would be great either.
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u/notfromrotterdam 9h ago
It's so bizarre some Americans think this is a bad thing.