I know there’s no shortage on political posts on Lemmy, especially in other communities, but I don’t really know where else I could post this.
I’ve always had the philosophy that anyone (referring to the working class here) could spend their money on whatever they want without feeling any shame. Especially when it concerns donations. Donate to the cause that speaks to you more, etc. etc.
But I honestly haven’t considered political donations into my already bare-bones philosophy. And I think that quite shook me when I saw the MastodonForHarris movement.
I understand that people want to support their favorite candidate and make sure they win so that they feel safer. But doesn’t giving 500k to someone who’s already rich, receives millions and, let’s be honest, still works for the interests of the rich feel a little off to anyone?
What hit me the most was seeing a post from someone in Gaza that needed 60k. That made me realize that 60k for someone could be life changing, while 500k for Harris could just mean nothing to her. (here’s the GoFund me for those who are interested: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-donate-family-gaza-palestine-gofundme)
I’m still very new to leftism, so I may be wrong. But nothing feels leftist about any of this. I know not everyone is a leftist on the Fediverse, but I felt like most of us here had anti-corporate and anti-billionaire views. And even if she is a leftist from a US politics point of view, I still can’t help but feel like those donations are misplaced due to her donation pool and policies.
I do not mind if you disagree, but please at least explain why.
This is a desperate attempt to prevent a trump presidency - anything goes, even supporting a corporate democrat. Which sucks.
The way I see it a day might come when I have to explain to my kids what I did to try to make a better future for them. I could tell them I worked hard to put a roof over their head. I could tell them I changed my lifestyle to try to reduce my carbon footprint. If Trump wins I expect they’ll want to know what I did about that. I don’t have time to volunteer, but if $100 can help pay for an ad in a swing state and win Harris half a vote, that’s better than nothing. Then I can tell my kids I tried to protect their access to abortion, tried to slow down climate change, tried to depoliticize the Supreme Court, tried to strengthen our alliance with Europe, and tried to keep hate and bigotry from having a voice in our government.
It’s kind of like in the Airplane preflight safety demonstration. You always have to put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. It doesn’t really help if you pass out in the process of helping your child put their mask on.
Combine that with the serious unaddressed campaign finance issues with American politics and that’s how you find yourself in this predicament.
But doesn’t giving 500k to someone who’s already rich, receives millions and, let’s be honest, still works for the interests of the rich feel a little off to anyone?
Agreed. I am conflicted. I think that donating will help someone win, but it seems so trivial compared to other causes that need it more.
I find that I’m constantly fighting off a feeling of utter hopelessness whenever I think about the current state of American politics. Harris’ comment yesterday, responding to all the protestors’ chants of “You can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide,” saying in an abusive motherly tone “Keep saying that if you want Donald Trump elected” really hit hard. It just reminded me in a very raw way that Democrats are in no way on the side of humanity.
I don’t have a good response to what you said. Do I want Trump to be dictator? Of course not. Millions if not billions of lives will be ruined by that. Do I want Democrats to maintain the status quo and pretend a genocide isn’t being funded by my income? Not a fucking chance. Do I want a revolution of the working class? I don’t really know; would it save lives today, would it make lives today better, would it make lives in the near future better?
Fuck me; I want off this ride.
