Ask Lemmy
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
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Without criticizing the use of “echo chamber” - Lemmy (and the fediverse in general) is not liberal, but leftist. The entire concept of decentralization/federation/FOSS is leftist.
If this is the first time you are hearing that liberals and leftists are different things (not unusual for those who have gone their whole lives trapped in right wing “echo chambers”): The key difference between liberalism (which is centrist) and leftism is that liberalism enables and encourages the consolidation of wealth & power (rightward drift) while leftism actively advocates against the excessive accumulation of wealth & power, as doing so eventually creates inequity and oppression.
There are plenty of products out there that have authoritarian/right wing owners and moderators, and those are the places right wingers tend to congregate. But software like Lemmy that is built entirely on leftist principles - like democracy and free access to the means of production (i.e. source code) - is going to inherently attract more leftists.
I meant liberalism as progressivism and leftism, not economic liberalism nor libertarianism. What I mind is that herd behaviour of many fellows who downvote stuff even if it's a plausible idea, and vice versa.
@viliam
Liberalism, progressivism, and leftism are not synonyms. In a Venn diagram there may be some overlap, but they are still very distinct.
Liberalism and leftism are “absolutes” while progressivism is a relative. In all cases, these concepts are about the rejection of control and subjugation. If you wander into a left-leaning space and find yourself downvoted, it’s not because of “herd behavior” but because you said something wildly unpopular (e.g. authoritarian apologetics).
Whether you think something is “plausible” is beside the point. If it is unfair, inequitable, or otherwise supports, advocates, excuses, or leads to “some being more equal than others” then leftists will rake you over the coals.
One more thing to remember: leftists are so used to being misrepresented, lied about, vilified, and trolled by the right (including liberals) that there is very little patience for anyone that stumbles in and spouts any manner of right-wing rhetoric, because it’s almost NEVER someone trying to engage in good faith.
So ask yourself this: WHY is what you’re saying unpopular?
If you are willing to swallow your pride and challenge yourself, most leftists will be happy to discuss just about any topic… if you are able to build the trust that you’re exploring a topic in good faith. Asking challenging questions is a good approach; in lieu of making statements, always ask questions. Everybody loves answering questions. Challenging others leads to conflict (and downvotes), but challenging yourself leads to enlightenment.
Downvotes mean even less on a Lemmy instance than they did on Reddit. They don't affect your ability to post to a Community, or comment on a Post or start a Community and they don't affect your comments position in a thread.
It therefore doesn't matter in any way if people upvote or downvote your stuff, let it go as a concern.
Or, if simply sharing an instance with left leaning people is what really bothers you, exploding heads exists.