Off My Chest
RULES:
I am looking for mods!
1. The "good" part of our community means we are pro-empathy and anti-harassment. However, we don't intend to make this a "safe space" where everyone has to be a saint. Sh*t happens, and life is messy. That's why we get things off our chests.
2. Bigotry is not allowed. That includes racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and religiophobia. (If you want to vent about religion, that's fine; but religion is not inherently evil.)
3. Frustrated, venting, or angry posts are still welcome.
4. Posts and comments that bait, threaten, or incite harassment are not allowed.
5. If anyone offers mental, medical, or professional advice here, please remember to take it with a grain of salt. Seek out real professionals if needed.
6. Please put NSFW behind NSFW tags.
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it's not about liking or not, it's about refusing to participate in the rigged system any longer. i vote but it is becoming harder and harder for me to personally justify it under technofascist oligarchial American capitalism. i empathize with those who don't vote. everyone knows our two party system is rigged, but it's not that it's merely rigged it's that it doesn't actually function or even exist. it's a one party system and we are being given the illusion of control even at the smallest scale. we have proven over and over again that voting does not result in change. there are ways to ignore the will of the people and we are masters at it here in the US.
additionally, not voting for many is a way to reject American imperialism and global expansion. it doesn't matter if a Dem or a Rep is in office, they are going to support genocidal Israel. there's no compromise worth a human life to folks who aren't voting because of this. it's complicated but i understand it and i can accept it even. the whole "if you don't vote then it's a vote for Candidate A" is nonsensical because it could easily be applied to their opponent, Candidate B.
not voting is itself a political act. it demands of our government to be taken seriously. for the people to be actively listened to and engaged with. our government should earn our cooperation not expect it of us. americans shouldn't be forced into the machine of corrupt democracy to act like worker drones keeping things going. go on and vote, that's your part. fulfill your role.
some say no.
Not voting is cowardice and a sign of white proviledge. Some of us had to have our forefathers fight for the right to vote; through lynching, poll tax, dred Scott, and so on.
So some of us can't afford to not vote for survival.
Glad you can be comfortable in your "political act."
uh lol i vote. it's literally one of the first things i said. i was explaining the rationale behind some non-voters.
Don't get me wrong, voting for the democrats is technically your best available option for prolonging your survival within the electoral system. However, the Democrats will absolutely betray you as soon as it becomes politically feasible. Look at how they have not only abandoned trans people, but often acted against them in recent years. The machine does not see you as any different even if the people involved sometimes do. Your rights are only protected so long as your identity as a marginalized person is beneficial to them. Should public opinion towards your identity become controversial they will not fight for you. Their #1 goal is to get elected and if protecting your rights does not accomplish that they will no longer pretend they care about you.
Vote for democrats if you feel it will preserve your safety a little longer but engage with alternatives as backup for when they eventually abandon you. Please do not trust people who commit genocide to protect you. Anyone willing to intentionally starve entire countries, put immigrants in concentration camps, and funnel weapons into fascist hands cannot be trusted with your rights. All of those actions have bipartisan support. Please involve yourself with local political organizing and mutual aid programs. It may literally be life and death someday.
Yeah but if you refuse to take the one step you have that can influence the way the country is run then don't complain. I don't care how much someone thinks or does not think the system is rigged. If your not participating then figure out how your going to make the change you want. I mean whats the point of complaininng about elections if you think they are rigged. If you feel the electoral system is pointless then you should be working outside the electoral system in whatever way you think appropriate. Whats the point of complaining about something you have decided to have nothing to do with?
it can't lol. certainly not at the federal level. i would argue a focus on state and local if anything. the people who refuse to vote aren't refusing to do something that can affect change, they just don't want to participate in the ruse.
and thats a fine opinion (mine differs). I don't know why someone would go vote for local and state positions and just refuse in the federal but that is fine (somewhat. it is stil the only step that migh influence the way its run. again if your not doing it then why are you even discussing the irrelvant thing. rather than complaining you should just be like. it sucks but im not going to revolt and have no control of vote outcome). I don't vote for uncontested positions myself. Local is real improtant and people should not skip the judicial part even though it takes a load of research. I mean im not big on leaving the us because I think we have to fight this but if I felt our democracy did not work at all then 100% I would leave.
It's not the symbol of rejection you think it is. It's full on capitulation. It's walking away while your house is on fire, pretending you're going to stop the fire by doing literally nothing about it.
it's not to the people who don't vote. you're not going to persuade them morally they have likely done a lot of thinking about their decision. voting forces you participate in American colonialism and they cannot justify that within themselves.
It really doesn't. At all.
no, it absolutely does. it gives us a false sense of control and instead of stopping the machine we simply keep it going through broken methods of comfort like voting.
Most people that actually know what they're talking about fully and completely understand that voting is hardly even the start of corrective action, let alone the full solution...
voting is not going to end capitalism, period. nobody to be taken seriously thinks it will or that it's even possible. voting can be useful at the local level. i don't blame people for not voting in federal elections.