Third track
[a character holds a lever connected to rails, on which a train is approaching fast]
A train is approaching fast…
Many people are tied to the tracks…
As a bystander, I can do only one thing in this current moment: flip a lever, which would send the train to another track where it would also kill people, but less of them
[next to another separate railway track, someone is trying to get the first character's attention]
Hey you, over there, look!
There is a third track here!
It is not connected to the other tracks, but there are zero people tied to it, so if you do not choose to send the train on this third track right now you are an evil genocide enabling liberal
https://thebad.website/comic/third_track
68 replies
The only thing I disagree with in this comic is this part:
You can do a bunch of other stuff. Voting and direct action are not mutually exclusive.
In this specific cas you can only vote cause the train is already barelling towards hundreds of people. What you shouldve done is stopped the train at the station four years ago with the help of other people when it was predetermined that this train would kill people either way. Also you have another four years before the train reaches the next switch and you could organize against it, connect the third track later on so you can switch it, or probably the bes lt option to burn the whole fucking thing down. Third parties are not a solution and ive had enough of people saying they are. The system is broken, you have to change the system not elect someone who is still slightly just somewhat better and will probably capitalize on their win immidiately after.
Two years ago but yeah
If only we'd elected a cop, we could have stopped this train lmfao
Are cops known to shoot trains more often than minorities and dogs?
Unfortunately people think voting is the be all and end all of action. They make no effort to dismantle the system because they naively believe they can reform it as long as they can stop it killing everyone.
No.
What people think is that there is still some hope to avoid massive violence by protesting and voting (effectively) instead.
If you think the system is broken beyond the ability to affect change, then you need to be in the streets burning shit and being ungovernable. You are saying that a violent revolution is the only way to get the changes needed to put this country back on track, but you won't start shit, and you use it as an excuse not to pull the lever of power that is right in front of you. It's idiotic, it's cowardly, and it's the main reason why we're dealing with the orange turd (for a second fucking time).
As long as you people keep talking down revolution and working against it, it can never get the traction it needs. No individual can achieve it, so my singular direct action is irrelevant.
You will wait until after they have stolen the election and further solidified power before you even allow people to entertain the idea.
Translated: "I need other people to start the revolution before I'll join in"
A valid position couched in caution, but not voting in the interim because you don't agree 100% with the collectively chosen candidate (that statistically speaking, you refused to have a part in selecting) is idiotic and cowardly, as per my previous statement.
My version:
The artist got it right in that the third track is not even connected to the rail, and the guy couldn't select that track even if he tried. He's missing that if you try to select the third track the genocide happens anyway.
I don't think it was missing, I think it was a "read between the lines moment", a "skill" that seems to be becoming rarer these days.
Yeah, tell this to all these people in the comments
This wasn't a private message... So done?
And if it WAS Connected it would be UNAMERICAN to Use it!
-Democrats CAMPAIGNING FOR REPUBLICANS right now!
Kind of an accurate comic since a lot of people would love to send the trolly to the third track but since it's not connected we can only watch. And somehow people believe this is a failing of the person at the lever for not being able to teleport the trolly or something.
"Well, obviously, the dilemma is clear...how do you kill all 19 people?"
lol I posted that in the last version of this type of post. Glad to see the Initial D vibe staying strong.
Sadly the tracks are always way too far apart to do this (thought maybe not in Michael's illustration).
Derailing a train takes no time, it’s a violent quick act.
The only ethical solution is to end the harm asap while working on building alternative support networks.
You don’t need a fully fleshed out replacement before you start removing the bad. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
It takes no time to derail?
You have 5 seconds and nothing in your hands, are you going to throw yourself in front of the train?
After those 5 seconds, you have no option of choosing to derail. So you better pull that lever. Otherwise all those extra deaths are on you.
This comment is about the primaries.
Stick a rock in the rails.
Taking a long time and requiring some degree of preparation are two different things. If you have 5 seconds and a funky piece of metal, the train is derailed by the 6th second.
How many people are on the train and will die when you violently derail it?
This depends on how many members of governors you have. Some have one passenger, some have hundreds of them.
Small price to pay for when we are at stake.
You're forgetting all the regular folks, citizens and noncitizens alike, who are packed into the cars behind the government officials in the engine car. The violent act harms everyone. And you aren't offering any way forward they can access, even if they survive the train wreck.
Who?
Then why aren't you condemning the government itself? The very monopolist on violent? Why are governments allowed to commit violence on everyone?
What are you talking about? Are we in the same metaphor?
Only the conductors and a couple thousands ton of war machinery
And the people packed into the boxcars
Won’t somebody think of the poor innocent government.
I'm talking about the ordinary people being pulled along behind, whether they're in the dining car, regular seats, or packed into a cattle car.
I mean, I'd really love to find a way to save everyone on the tracks and on the train (especially since I'm probably on the train in this metaphor, i.e. benefiting from empire). But if the train is going to keep running innocent people over if drastic action isn't taken, I'm in favor of doing whatever is necessary to stop it.
The ordinary person is the one on the tracks.
Ordinary people are everywhere, on the tracks and in the boxcars
It’s called a metaphor, socio politics don’t work like an actual train.
State of discourse.
See, and whenever I make up bad guys that only exist in my shower argument fantasies, you guys all get mad about it. Is it the colours I use?
It's more like the people tied to the top rail are also tied to the bottom rail.
Yeah but that other track was built by a woman.
and I bet that track leads to a tan suit store too
This, except the the lever doesn't actually control which track the trolley goes down, that is controlled by the trolley corporation. The third track is being built by people who understand this, in order to connect it with the other tracks so that noone has to be run over, but the person pulling the lever thinks they are pulling the track-switch.
The trolley corporation rigged it so that when the person pulls the lever, it actually bombs the other track, so that it won't connect to the rest of the tracks, killing a few track builders in the process. The lever puller is told by the trolley corporation that the track would have switched except the track builders are terrorists who blew up the switching mechanism because they hate freedom. But not to worry, keep pulling the switch because it is actually individual switch pullers, not trolley corporations, and definitely not track-building "terrorists," who make all the decisions, and that switch pulling is a sign of a healthy and civil society.
We can't move toward a future without trolleys as long as we keep voting in fucking trolleys. Short-term harm reduction is not worth long-term harm multiplication.
Short term harm reduction is a delay tactic meant to be used to buy you time for actual effective grass roots actions.
Local municipalities, mayors, school boards, state governments and up from there building a movement for house then senate then president.
On its own harm reduction will never fix the problem but it is a very important tool that should absolutely be used in conjunction with real effective action.
Is it actually used to buy time for effective grass roots actions? Because I don't know that I've ever seen actual progress made for socialism under a Democrat president. It seems to me that socialism gains the most traction under (and in direct response to) republican presidents.
Yup. Centrists always claim that it buys time for action, yet immediately go back to brunch. They also yell at you if you point out how their leadership is tying more people to the tracks, while also dismantiling the third track.
What's the third track? A free Palestine? "Let's be mad for people calling us out for not demanding more when children are murdered at industrial scale." That's how you sound.
I just don't get it. Are you people being willfully obtuse, or are you all just that stupid that the reality of the situation just can not fucking stick in your head?
The kids are going to die either way. Left or right, Israel will not give a shit, they will continue to kill Palestinians. You're right, that is horrible and a terrible thing to support, but considering there is literally no option that avoids this, why is this even a fucking factor?
Like, let's say you have to be around one of two different people that are going to punch you in the dick. You have a choice on which one you will deal with, if you make no choice then one will be picked for you. Person A will punch you in the dick. Person B will punch you in the dick, and then stab you in your kidneys.
Your logic here is that you can not possibly pick Person A because they will punch you in the dick, and you don't want to be punched in the dick. But that's really not an option. You are going to be punched in the dick, there is no getting around that. So you aren't really choosing if you're going to be punched in the dick, you're choosing whether or not you're going to be stabbed in the kidneys. Why the hell would you leave that part up to chance? Picking person A is not supporting getting punched in the dick, it's saying you don't want to be stabbed in the kidneys.
Oh shut the absolute fuck up. At least conservatives go all-in on their stupidity, fucking centrists are just a bunch of cowards who spend more time making trash like this than anything useful. You’re not clever, you’re just a little bitch.
People voted for Mamdani pretty easily, and it’s been going great. People voted “center” here in Canada and it’s gone…predictably fucking awful.
You're right. Maybe instead of voting I'll get a bunch of people and superglue my hands to the middle of the highway and make a bunch of people late to work. That'll fight fascism and global warming at the same time.
@[email protected] Looks like this thread got locked.
The bare fucking minimum is voting you smooth brained muppet. At this point, if you don't vote your'e the one enabling fascism.
Wow, is that seriously the best counter-argument you can come up with? Throwing a sulky adult temper-tantrum?
You can’t even do the bare-fucking-minimum and look at you cry and insult when you’re called out. Embarrassing.
Does Canada have a two party system?
Liberals are cringe as hell.
oh this again. more farming.
if you actively argue against building that third third rail, your an ass hole.
“but what about the short term” the short term does not matter vote for who you will. but the ones who scream “vote blue no matter who” never stop screaming it, the SECOND the election is over they will be in the wings to screech at everyone that talking about third option, or demanding progressive candidates is not an option. that we should vote who ever the nominee will be and voting for progressives in the primary will lose us the election. gouls.
to all the “vote blue no matter who” people who get upset because your neo liberal canidate loses the election because they are thinly veiled republicans, get over it. its the dnc’s fault they are so fucking unvoteable.
Vote blue unless there is someone who ...
vote who actually has your back, and if that is no one, then don’t vote, unless you are ok to vote against your morals. and don’t give a single other soul crap for voting how they fucking wish
If you don't cast a ballot politicians will not give a shit about your position and thus you will never get someone who had your back. AOC and Bernie come from strong blue districts. It's not hard to see this...
This is almost a great analogy. The artist just needs to tie the third rail to the main track, and change the lever so that the third track is easily selectable.
We don't have the means to select ranked choice voting though, and 3rd parties will never win until we do, by design.
3rd parties can, but Centrists don't want them to. Centrists tell me that it's super easy to win every election: We just need enough people to vote for them.
Of course, when it comes to voting for an actual anti-genocide candidate, suddently they don't think that strategy will work.
Easily selectable just it goes slightly near a billionaire who is fine once it passes
And then add a few hundred people all pulling the lever in different directions. The reason the trolley is necessarily going to kill some people is because we keep putting up with the "kill less people" party instead of forcing them to take the "kill no people" track
What lead in Gasoline does to a mf
?
Not voting for an imperfect but lesser evil
Perfect example of how to moralize electing the greater evil.
So you're the guy at the bottom, got it
Must be a Dump fan to enable him