But voting doesn’t counter the street action, it’s not a zero sum game. At the very least people should vote for the right people, even if that’s all they do. And if they wanna do more, like protest, then that’s great because it’s really needed. But in the end I’m of the opinion that you can’t complain about how bad it is and then refuse to vote. If you vote and then your candidate is shit, you have a reason to complain. If you vote and it turns out they meddled with it, then you can complain. And obviously you can also complain if half of the country voted for some douchebag. But people who encourage not voting are actively lowering the chances of the right people to win, even in a system where the vote is rigged. The more people vote for change, the harder it is to cover up
I have one occasion I did not vote and got to complain: I was out of state and my absentee conveniently arrived the day after the election. I ain’t got proof of fuckery but I’m sure it happened
it does suck the energy out of street action. every time someone is out door-knocking or phone banking, they’re not organizing non-electoral resistance.
So on voting day you vote, takes like 10 minutes maybe then you’re free to carry on with whatever else. It’s an easy activity that has no downside and you can still do the other things.
Non-electoral resistance usually requires a higher risk tolerance from the individual engaging in it, so not everyone doing door knocking or phone banking would be willing to do what you are thinking anyway.
food-not-bombs, skill-shares, and other community-building is an important facet of resistance, and takes essentially no risk tolerance at all. but every time you grab a clipboard and start collecting signatures, you’re not spending the time building community.
I’ve done both. I don’t think local community building is worthless, it can be potent, but it really depends on what region we are talking and it requires you to stick around to build rapport. There are some places where its just a cultural wasteland of ignorant chuds and rightwing nutcases. And it only has of course a local impact. Its not on par with the importance of national politics.
As someone who essentially grew up lacking roots in any particular place and doesn’t care for much of the people in my local area it also isn’t really something I care to engage with anymore.
Other than the fact that I already work for a small local non-profit, though I’ve been seeking to get out of it as soon as possible as I kind of just don’t believe in it as fully anymore after 2024. Private sector pays a lot better anyway. I’m going to start working for me, not a local community that seems to think I’m some kind of Leftist Autistic LGBT freak.
this wasn’t an indictment of you, personally. i’m indicting the energy-sink that is electoral politics. all that energy, just to lose half the time and have to build a new campaign for a new candidate every 2 or 4 years could be spent building something that actually helps us resist our oppression.
additionally what [email protected] fails to realize is electoral compaigning isnt perfectly safe either, theres recent precedent of a politician putting up campaign signs being sexually assaulted. of political opponents being raided. of voters for whatever opposition party having their name and location information recorded if not openly accessible online for targeting. putting your name on a clipboard is insecure and opens you up to harmful actors, both those who scam you for your time and money and those who hate you because you voted “the other guy”. meanwhile you dont have to put down any name or even have people know who you are for things like FnB, skill shares, mutual aid, etc. and the whole goal of other things like direct action often times is to never even be seen or noticed.
But voting doesn’t counter the street action, it’s not a zero sum game. At the very least people should vote for the right people, even if that’s all they do. And if they wanna do more, like protest, then that’s great because it’s really needed. But in the end I’m of the opinion that you can’t complain about how bad it is and then refuse to vote. If you vote and then your candidate is shit, you have a reason to complain. If you vote and it turns out they meddled with it, then you can complain. And obviously you can also complain if half of the country voted for some douchebag. But people who encourage not voting are actively lowering the chances of the right people to win, even in a system where the vote is rigged. The more people vote for change, the harder it is to cover up
I have one occasion I did not vote and got to complain: I was out of state and my absentee conveniently arrived the day after the election. I ain’t got proof of fuckery but I’m sure it happened
it does suck the energy out of street action. every time someone is out door-knocking or phone banking, they’re not organizing non-electoral resistance.
So on voting day you vote, takes like 10 minutes maybe then you’re free to carry on with whatever else. It’s an easy activity that has no downside and you can still do the other things.
Non-electoral resistance usually requires a higher risk tolerance from the individual engaging in it, so not everyone doing door knocking or phone banking would be willing to do what you are thinking anyway.
food-not-bombs, skill-shares, and other community-building is an important facet of resistance, and takes essentially no risk tolerance at all. but every time you grab a clipboard and start collecting signatures, you’re not spending the time building community.
I’ve done both. I don’t think local community building is worthless, it can be potent, but it really depends on what region we are talking and it requires you to stick around to build rapport. There are some places where its just a cultural wasteland of ignorant chuds and rightwing nutcases. And it only has of course a local impact. Its not on par with the importance of national politics.
As someone who essentially grew up lacking roots in any particular place and doesn’t care for much of the people in my local area it also isn’t really something I care to engage with anymore.
Other than the fact that I already work for a small local non-profit, though I’ve been seeking to get out of it as soon as possible as I kind of just don’t believe in it as fully anymore after 2024. Private sector pays a lot better anyway. I’m going to start working for me, not a local community that seems to think I’m some kind of Leftist Autistic LGBT freak.
this wasn’t an indictment of you, personally. i’m indicting the energy-sink that is electoral politics. all that energy, just to lose half the time and have to build a new campaign for a new candidate every 2 or 4 years could be spent building something that actually helps us resist our oppression.
additionally what [email protected] fails to realize is electoral compaigning isnt perfectly safe either, theres recent precedent of a politician putting up campaign signs being sexually assaulted. of political opponents being raided. of voters for whatever opposition party having their name and location information recorded if not openly accessible online for targeting. putting your name on a clipboard is insecure and opens you up to harmful actors, both those who scam you for your time and money and those who hate you because you voted “the other guy”. meanwhile you dont have to put down any name or even have people know who you are for things like FnB, skill shares, mutual aid, etc. and the whole goal of other things like direct action often times is to never even be seen or noticed.