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this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2026
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They aren't trying to "distract" from Epstein. This implies there is some form of justice that would come if they didn't successfully keep "distracting".
That justice does not exist in the systems of power we have. Obama didn't put Bush in chains. On the contrary, he continued commiting the same war crimes and didn't even shut down the very torture camp he ran on closing. Because every politician is just a subject to the ruling Epstein capitalist class.
Epstein was the ruling capitalist class, and the politicians that they own, telling you "we get to do the worst crimes imaginable and there is nothing you will do about it". They don't have to pretend anymore. They use to have to pretend "weapons of mass destruction", "we tortured some folks", "Rafah is my red line".
They told you this same thing first when they spent years bombing and mutilating children in Gaza even without the orange man in control.
And they were right. We didn't do anything.
There is no "distraction". We give them permission to genocide children every day we keep going to work. We give them permission to keep trafficking children every day we pay our rent. We give them permission to starve children every day we don't put a fucking [redacted] in their [redacted]'s.
Everytime you hear this same "distraction" comment. I want you to remember that.
To be fair Obama did try to do it but Congress screwed him.
Not that I'm saying dude was a good guy or anything like that, just that he did everything he could as president to shut down guantanamo. He did successfully drastically reduce the number of prisoners held there but Congress held up funds and approvals for certain prisoner transfers preventing the actual closure.
I'd say it's because he didn't have a spine with his own party. He signed an executive order to close it within a year. Which was blocked by his own party members. The Democratic party is a failure for sure. But if the leader of the party can't get a fundamental thing he ran on passed that's still something you can blame a politician for. He failed to pass it. Why it didn't pass is not an excuse for a politician failing. Especially when they hold the highest office in the land.
Obama's entire presidency is him not acting on popular legislation, attempting to work with Republicans to prevent them from calling him a dictator or terrorist lover, and the Republicans STILL calling him a dictator and terrorist lover anyway.
Edit: downvotes. But everything I said was true. His literally party voted against him closing it. A fundamental part of his campaign. That's a weak president that can't even whip his own party. Or he never cared to close it in the first place.
A lot of people seem to forget, but prior to Trump, the president wasn't a dictator
Super majority in the house and Senate. His party voted to block a fundamental promise of his campaign. Presidents aren't dictators. But they are absolutely dictators of their parties in situations like this.
Ironically, the downvotes I'm getting are a testament to how incredibly liked and popular Obama is with the population.
Obama could have literally built the momentum of the left by pointing to the failures of his own party. Threats to primary Democrats that did not enact the will of the people.
Trump is a dictator because he controlled his party with the popularity he had in elections. Look at Thomas Massey recently. Even with his unpopular national approval he still has so much power in his party.
Obama was significantly stronger than Trump; he could have influenced the primary of any Democrat that betrayed the popular mandate of the people. It's why even now his party begs him to not endorse candidates unless he needs to come in and save an establishment candidate from a DSA candidate. And even then it is rare because of the influence he has that would just improve turnout and interest (bad for establishment candidates).
He is not powerless. He is/was the most liked and popular president in you and I's lifetime. And that was only STRONGER when he was first elected. Maybe I'm old. But I think people forget how much people thought Obama was FDR 2.0. He ended up being Clinton 2.0 with some Bush 3.0 on the side.
I mean I think he did the best he could with what was in his power to do.
Him getting his hands tied by Congress and the Judiciary is part of living in a functioning democracy. Even if I did want Obama as a dictator that doesn't really matter nor would it be cool.
I do wish we could have had more impactful legislation passed while he was president but that's not really part of his job duties.
I'm not trying to whitewash Obama here, plenty of bad shit happened while he was president and some because of him. Nonetheless, I don't think it's fair to paint him as a totally useless and bad president that "(didn't) act on popular legislation" given the action a president has in regards to that are a signature or veto.
A Republican president wouldn’t have had a problem shutting it down if they decided they wanted to
To be fair to Congress, the 90 senators who voted against it in 2009 included Bernie Sanders and other progressives. Obama attempted to fulfill only the letter of the promise of closing Guantanamo, by simply relocating the detainees to American soil. This risked creating a firmer legal precedent that could enable the practices to be expanded across the country.
I'm not sure how you got that connection in your last sentence couple sentences. It's not a choice between two evil acts. I'm pointing to it because no one ever talks about a "distraction" from Gaza.
The idea that Epstein needs to be "distracted" from is because it's something that more Americans know and care about. But, more importantly, it's something that happened TO AMERICANS. So, Americans believe that there is some justice they are due.
The false belief Americans have is that when children are dying and raped in those "savage" countries by our countries direct or indirect actions are just an unfortunate result of "how the world works". But, Americans, we are special, we deserve justice.
If someone has this false belief they reach a contradiction when addressed with Epstein. That is, if they acknowledge the crimes of the Epstein class elsewhere. They must address this contradiction. So they continue to believe that the justice is just "on hold". That when Trump is gone or out of power the system will bring justice. They keep reminding everyone of the crimes because they (rightfully) don't want them to be forgotten. There must be justice FOR THIS!
But there will not be. Just as there has been no justice for Gaza. At least not from the systems of power that are controlled by the capitalist Epstein class. The only justice we will find for these crimes will be found outside of those systems of power.
Just as Gaza will not find justice in the American systems; neither will Epstein. They are crimes performed by that very system. The only justice will come when that system loses its power. By destroying those systems of power.
They aren't "distracting" you from anything. Because they don't care. If you think they care or think they worry you are confusing their own delusions of their own narratives with worry. Trump denying Epstein connections is not because he's worried for justice. He's doing that for his own narcissistic narrative. That's why they don't proudly say they are pedophiles (yet). It's for their narcissism, not for their worry of justice. Like you said, even they know people don't like pedophiles. They care as much as that narcissism needs them to.
They aren't worried because they still see the rest of us pointing to their rigged system as a means of future justice. They laugh as you appeal to it as the solution.
I think you're the one simplifying it and appealing to existing nation structures to avoid addressing class structures. Which is, ironically, exactly the thing I'm critizing. And also trying to appeal to some "human nature" reason for why Americans ignore other crimes.
A distraction would be a form of entertainment. It's the "bread and circus" of maintaining control. Rounding up people and putting them in concentration camps is not a "distraction". Killing people that attempt to stop that, or that run away, is not "a distraction". It's the form of control that occurs when the "bread and circuses" are no longer able to be maintained.
If you think fascist physically enforcing their power with violence is "a distraction" I don't know what to tell you.
Im sorry if I infered things from what you said. But, I am frustrated with the hoops people jump through to avoid discussing class conflict. You haven't once responded to the points I've made about class conflict and class consciousness. You just said "I'm overcomplicating it" rather than attempt to understand what was being said.
I'm not sure if you're purposely avoiding it. Or, more likely, you're just not understanding what is being said and you're filling it in with your own misunderstanding. But I'm not talking about "the rich" like they need to just pay more taxes and shits good. I'm talking about class not wealth. And more importantly, how that class structure gives only one class access to influence government (power).
I agree, online conversations like this are frustrating. But, you have now multiple times ignored my discussion of class and replaced it with things I didn't say. Instead you appealed to tribalism, calling people racist, or acting like I'm discussing a conspiracy. Nothing of which I've said.
If you want to push back on a perspective someone has, you should probably understand that perspective first. Because it's entirely based on class conflict. Something you've refused to respond to. I would have thought that was obvious from "capitalist Epstein class" that I mentioned in my literal first comment.
Fair enough. My comment was about people constantly calling everything "a distraction" from one specific crime. The article isn't really meaningful to the comment I made. So not really a part of any of the discussion.
I would say you don't understand what point I'm making because you are the very type of person lacking class consciousness that my initial comment was frustrated about.
I'm wasn't really trying to educate anyone with it. It was more venting a frustration.
I'm sorry if I was defensive in my responses. Its usually right wing reactionaries trying to point away from class conflict to something else. It would be better if you have a specific question about what I said. Rather than me trying to "explain connections". That's too vague to really answer.
Man, that's a lot of words to say "I don't actually want to learn what you're talking about".
It's not rude to point out what another person may not understand. That's not stupidity. That's lacking knowledge.
Stupidity is when someone is addressed with something they do not understand, take it as a personal attack, and then decide they would rather not waste their time to ask a single question.
You wouldn't look stupid if you asked me something simple like "what do you mean by class?" I'd be very happy to clarify my definition of the word and move forward from there.
But it seems you are too stubborn to do anything simple like that. You'd rather be upset by a condescending tone that I can't help but let out. If there is something I'm guilty of its definitely that.
Edit: Damn, when they delete all their comments.
We can also remember the Epstein Files though.
Happy for you. Or sorry that happened to you.
Yeah, it's somehow a rarely acknowledged truth than more than one fact can exist.