this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2024
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The problem with not voting (fedia.io)
submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/tumblr
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[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Ok, how will not voting result in a non-fascist president?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The mafia: How will not paying protection result in your store not burning?

Voting is not a moral imperative, and especially not when the main argument to do it is that one side is less shitty than the other.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I agree, voting isn't a moral imperative implicitly.

Like your mafia example. You stop paying them, then you get your store burnt down. It's not a moral imperative to pay them. But you do want to keep your store. Maybe you pay them now and do work to weaken the mafia between now and your next payment. Maybe you will end the mafia, maybe your payment will be less, maybe nothing will change except you have another day to enjoy being a store owner.

Also the price to vote isn't that bad. It is one day a year at most.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Like your mafia example. You stop paying them, then you get your store burnt down. It’s not a moral imperative to pay them. But you do want to keep your store. Maybe you pay them now and do work to weaken the mafia between now and your next payment. Maybe you will end the mafia, maybe your payment will be less, maybe nothing will change except you have another day to enjoy being a store owner.

That is short-therm thinking. When I was in Catania, some shops were proudly announcing that they were not paying the mafia. Sometime to stop being blackmailed, you have to stop paying and face the consequences.

Anyway, look I understand where you're coming from but I could not vote for liberals. And I would not accept anybody telling me I'm facilitating anything. Fascists are responsible for fascism. Nobody else.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Anyway, look I understand where you’re coming from but I could not vote for liberals. And I would not accept anybody telling me I’m facilitating anything.

I have nothing against a personal choice not to vote. That is understandable. People fought really hard for Bernie and the DNC did them dirty. Political burn out is real and is happening, so if you or anyone needs to step out of it for a while, I fully support you Kings and Queens.

My problem is the public push for not voting as a solution to improve things. It looks like a bad idea to me. If people personally don't want to vote, that is fine, I wish people would stop trying to justify and convince people it is the right tactic when it's just that they need a break.

Listen, the rest of this post is counter arguments against some of your arguments. I put them in here for posterity. I hope you (@wildcherry) don't feel the need to engage with them. Let someone else counter them. I don't think it is beneficial for us to keep going at it. Rest King.

That is short-therm thinking. When I was in Catania, some shops were proudly announcing that they were not paying the mafia. Sometime to stop being blackmailed, you have to stop paying and face the consequences.

Fascists are responsible for fascism. Nobody else.

So let the fascist win unopposed? The consequence of this is not just a store getting burned down, its the loss of freedoms, lives, and democracy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Voting for negative reason only leads to an implicit cartel where the fascists are being more and more obnoxious and the libs more and more centrists. Why would they do anything right, they have their alter ego to scare people off.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I agree 100%. That is why voting alone is not going to solve problems. Organization must happen. Voting gives us time not change. Biden will be 4 years of slow decay and garbage. Trump will be 4 years of fast decay and by the end of it, we may all be arrested for having this discussion on Lemmy. Maybe after Biden and Trump die, there will be better candidates thanks to the organization.

I'm not saying everyone has to vote. I am saying that we should encourage people to vote.

I see it like this:

  • If we vote. We lose a day worth of organizing effort. We tip the scales towards a president that probably wont try to remove democracy. We probably get 4 more years of organization time plus more depending on the next president elected. We get to keep fighting.
  • If we don't vote. We gain a days worth of organizing effort. We tip the scales towards a president that will probably try to become a dictator and has the means to do so. Maybe we get at most 4 more years of organizing done, then that is it. We either need to have a revolution or give up.

I hate it, but this is how the math works out in my head. I don't understand what we gain that would outweigh the losses by not voting.