They Mean by “Our Democracy” in Their Own Words

A cut from the Democracy Files. Long but worth it. Hear them explain what they mean by "our democracy" in their own words.

DataRepublican

They don't mean democracy. Democracy means listening to the people. I used to call myself a technopeasant. I was a technocrat in Silicon Valley, and I learned better. User interface folks need to listen to users (blush), and even love them a bit. Technocrats annoy me now. I want to take my pitchfork and storm the castle. Their glossary makes the word mean rule by people with the right credentials. The appointed sense-makers do the speaking. Elections and regular people need not apply. They decide who gets the credential. Here they are, saying it. We've tried rule by experts. It sucks. Experts are still humans, and humans get things wrong. (Grumpy Note: This one is long, 50 minutes. At 5am I cut it to solo shots of the leaders because you have to forgive the gullible. The first cut was almost 3 hours, and it also put 56 other people on screen.)

— Grumpy Tech Bro (@GrumpyTechBro) November 9, 2026

… to take my pitchfork and storm the castle.

Their glossary makes the word mean rule by people with the right credentials. The appointed sense-makers do the speaking. Elections and regular people need not apply. They decide who gets the credential.

Here they are, saying it.

We've tried rule by experts. It sucks. Experts are still humans, and humans get things wrong.

(Grumpy Note: This one is long, 50 minutes. At 5am I cut it to solo shots of the leaders because you have to forgive the gullible. The first cut was almost 3 hours, and it also put 56 other people on screen.)