I never did, that’s the least destructive way to let your displeasure be known, as long as you still vote for, and encourage others to vote for, the least bad candidates in the general elections (spoilers, the least bad candidates will pretty much universally be blue)
All this that does is ensure this election’s Democrat is the same as last election’s Republican, they constantly move as far to the right as you let them because they know they can count on your vote no matter what. You are making things worse. Maybe you, specifically, didn’t speak out against uncommitted. The whole .world instance definitely did, though. We remember.
All this that does is ensure this election’s Democrat is the same as last election’s Republican
Even if this is true and we’re in a metaphorical political nosedive, that’s still harm reduction, it’s 4 more years to be politically active in a functioning democracy, vote in every primary and general you can from your local school board up to the presidential election, and hopefully pull up hard enough that we don’t actually smash into the ground
If you think our democracy is already too far gone and completely unsalvageable, you shouldn’t be advocating for other people not to vote, you should instead be advocating for people to join/form a local militia and start training to defend it because clearly it’s already time to break out the 4th box
If voting matters, if this is a democracy, then non-votes matter too.
So which is it? Is this a functioning democracy, where refusing to vote unless certain demands are met can be used as leverage? Or is this a kleptocracy where you must vote for the fascism lite party if you don’t want the fascism delux party to win?
Non-votes literally do not matter, mathematically it’s the same as if you had two votes and you gave one each to both candidates. Parties cannot appeal to you as a non-voter because they have no idea what you want, the only way they can is if you vote in primaries for your candidates of choice so they can see the sorts of things their constituents value. Only don’t vote if you truly don’t care whether we have “fascism or fascism-lite”, because if you would prefer one then not voting only helps the other win.
Again, general elections are about harm reduction, sometimes you have to be an adult, grit your teeth, and choose between two bad choices because one is clearly the better option. We’ll have to eliminate FPTP first if we want anything different.
By refusing to vote unless my demands are met I can exert pressure on Democrats. You, by voting blue no matter who and no matter what, literally have no impact on Democrats. How else do you think we push them left?
Also, genocide isn’t harm reduction.
You’re an enabler. This genocide is on your head, blue no matter who’s have made it impossible to convince Biden to stop.
If that’s what you have to tell yourself when you and others like you not voting enables Donald Trump and the GOPs super genocide on the Palestinian people, I’m sure their spirits will rest well in their mass graves knowing that you really stuck it to the Democrats
I for one will be trying to save lives come November
You are cutting off your nose to spite your face, your selfishness and inability to move past your moral grandstanding on this single issue will guaranteed cause untold suffering across the globe (especially to domestic minorities) should the Republicans gain more power
More dead Ukrainians, more dead Gazans, more dead women, more dead LGBT, and if they get their way, the death of American democracy as we know it
I never did, that’s the least destructive way to let your displeasure be known, as long as you still vote for, and encourage others to vote for, the least bad candidates in the general elections (spoilers, the least bad candidates will pretty much universally be blue)
All this that does is ensure this election’s Democrat is the same as last election’s Republican, they constantly move as far to the right as you let them because they know they can count on your vote no matter what. You are making things worse. Maybe you, specifically, didn’t speak out against uncommitted. The whole .world instance definitely did, though. We remember.
Even if this is true and we’re in a metaphorical political nosedive, that’s still harm reduction, it’s 4 more years to be politically active in a functioning democracy, vote in every primary and general you can from your local school board up to the presidential election, and hopefully pull up hard enough that we don’t actually smash into the ground
If you think our democracy is already too far gone and completely unsalvageable, you shouldn’t be advocating for other people not to vote, you should instead be advocating for people to join/form a local militia and start training to defend it because clearly it’s already time to break out the 4th box
If voting matters, if this is a democracy, then non-votes matter too.
So which is it? Is this a functioning democracy, where refusing to vote unless certain demands are met can be used as leverage? Or is this a kleptocracy where you must vote for the fascism lite party if you don’t want the fascism delux party to win?
Non-votes literally do not matter, mathematically it’s the same as if you had two votes and you gave one each to both candidates. Parties cannot appeal to you as a non-voter because they have no idea what you want, the only way they can is if you vote in primaries for your candidates of choice so they can see the sorts of things their constituents value. Only don’t vote if you truly don’t care whether we have “fascism or fascism-lite”, because if you would prefer one then not voting only helps the other win.
Again, general elections are about harm reduction, sometimes you have to be an adult, grit your teeth, and choose between two bad choices because one is clearly the better option. We’ll have to eliminate FPTP first if we want anything different.
By refusing to vote unless my demands are met I can exert pressure on Democrats. You, by voting blue no matter who and no matter what, literally have no impact on Democrats. How else do you think we push them left?
Also, genocide isn’t harm reduction.
You’re an enabler. This genocide is on your head, blue no matter who’s have made it impossible to convince Biden to stop.
If that’s what you have to tell yourself when you and others like you not voting enables Donald Trump and the GOPs super genocide on the Palestinian people, I’m sure their spirits will rest well in their mass graves knowing that you really stuck it to the Democrats
I for one will be trying to save lives come November
There might not be anyone left alive in Gaza by November because you refuse to pressure Biden. You are an enabler.
You are cutting off your nose to spite your face, your selfishness and inability to move past your moral grandstanding on this single issue will guaranteed cause untold suffering across the globe (especially to domestic minorities) should the Republicans gain more power
More dead Ukrainians, more dead Gazans, more dead women, more dead LGBT, and if they get their way, the death of American democracy as we know it