I sat out the 1972 election between Nixon and Humphrey. Many sat out 2000 and 2016 elections. Here are the consequences.
Elections have consequences. The only thing you prove by not voting is that your opinion doesn’t matter, and future campaigns will remember that signal from you not showing up and further de-prioritize your concerns.
This is a big reason that millennials were ignored as a voting block for so long–because it was safe to assume most of them don’t vote anyway. When you vote, you make them start considering your opinion.
Pfft 41% of voters were below 50 last election. They ignored millenials for so long because every sector was. Boomers don’t have the ability to hand power to the next generation, raise the next generation to handle responsibilities, or pass on the knowledge to handle things when they are gone.
Boomers raised kids like pets, offered no assistance to begin careers or families, and offered little actionable advice. They received assistance from their parents and grandparents in these ways. But then forgot they received help and were supposed to help future generations after them. They still complain about those “millenial kids” because they forget that time passes and the youngest millenial is over 30 now.
You found another bug in throwaway account detection! I’ve undeleted this comment and, hopefully, fixed the new one too. Sorry about that.
I’m a long time 3rd party voter, starting from when I could first vote in the late 90’s. I voted Green in 2016 and it weighs heavily on me right now. As awful as the Clintons are, we have had some real terrible consequences since then. Real people are hurting more because of Trump getting into office.
I still believe that the electoral system needs real change. I still think that the Democrats haven’t done much to help the working class. I’d still rather see all hierarchies flattened and power come from the bottom up. Unfortunately, voting outside of our shitty two party system does nothing to help this.
If we want real change we’re going to have to make it happen. Not with pulling the levers of the state, but with real organizing, mutual aid, and dual power. However, that doesn’t mean pulling the levers of the state isn’t harm reduction. We (I) could have reduced a lot of harm since 2016 if we would have just pulled those levers. It doesn’t take much time to do it, so just do it.
This comment was deleted, but it shouldn’t have been. The code to aggressively delete comments from users who don’t have enough data to rank them, meaning potentially throwaway accounts, was malfunctioning, and deleted everything from any accounts without recent activity. It’s only supposed to trigger if that user has some downvotes, but it was deleting anything.
I’ve fixed the code and restored the comment.
Thank you for this comment. The work we need to do in order to effect change extends far beyond the ballot box, but strategic thinking at the ballot box is an extremely important step.
Voting dem in 2024, to me, is a lot like tying a tourniquet on someone with a gaping wound. You sure wish you weren’t in a position where you had to do it, and the work isn’t over once it’s been tied, but it’s a hell of a lot better than saying “I don’t believe in tourniquets” and letting the person bleed out. Sorry, I know that’s not the best analogy, but I’m too exhausted to workshop it anymore at this point.
Also, thank you @auk@slrpnk.net for fixing up the code and deletion issue.
I think that’s a really strong argument for voting with choice you have, not the one you should have.
It makes me sad to hear you say voting Greens “weighs heavy” on you though! Democracy often isn’t as strong as it should be, and people are forced between supporting candidates they dislike, or accepting their vote won’t count, but that isn’t your fault!
This article is a really good think piece on how to vote. But if people choose to vote for neither of the two major candidates, I really hope nodody feels bad about it. The system sucks, not the voters!
I think that’s a really strong argument for voting with choice you have, not the one you should have.
Not too long ago I would have agreed with you. At this point though, I have come to the realization that the 2 party state can’t be beat simply by a small percentage of people voting with their conscience. As noble as it is, we just can’t win that way. It’s going to take some real organization to win the privilege of being able to vote with our conscience and having a real chance to make change. We are going to have to change the system by doing more than just voting for a 3rd party.
It makes me sad to hear you say voting Greens “weighs heavy” on you though! Democracy often isn’t as strong as it should be, and people are forced between supporting candidates they dislike, or accepting their vote won’t count, but that isn’t your fault!
I may be being too hard on myself and I appreciate your perspective here. We really are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to elections and “democracy” in this country. The consequences are real, though. When I see that many women now have to travel to other states to get an abortion or be forced to have a child they didn’t want it’s hard to not feel some responsibility. I don’t want to wallow in it, though. I want to help bring about some real change. To me, that means doing what I can to do some harm reduction come election time, but then organizing beyond that to make something better. Continuing on our current path is just not sustainable.
Looking back now, I realize that in 1968 at the age of 21, I was functioning on a dualistic or binary cognitive developmental level. I perceived the world, people, and events as either “good” or “bad,” and I saw pragmatism as a form of “surrender.” Viewing both Humphrey and Nixon as “bad,” I could not honestly vote for either without surrendering my ideals and ethical standards.
Using this event as a constant touchstone in my personal history, I now understand the cosmos more in its multiplicity, its nuance, along a continuum rather than as a binary. I also often consider pragmatism not so much as surrender, but more as compromise and as a necessary give and take in a democracy.
For example, I disagree with Harris who does not advocate for a single-payer health system and who will continue the practice of fracking, which I oppose. But I am voting for the Harris-Walz ticket because I trust them, and I know they will model a positive force for our nation and nations throughout the world.
And I agree with Kamala that “We are not going back!”
My thoughts exactly- she’s not as liberal as I’d like, but I’ll be damned if I’m sitting this one out. She’s going to be great, and has my vote. I don’t want to go back to a shithole presidency anyways. I want our country to be a leader and look forward.
I dislike both, but am still voting. In first-past-the-post, I end up voting against the worst choice in the presidential election which means I must choose the other candidate that has a chance of winning. I hate that it’s this way, but neither not voting nor voting for a third party in this presidential election will change that. I can’t wait until we have actual ranked-choice/star/etc. voting and get rid of FPTP. I do vote for the most progressive candidates regardless of affiliation in local elections but, well, it’s a rural red-state district so that’s unfortunately not a high bar (and I live overseas so the amount I can be directly involved in anything is quite limited).
