Political Memes

Agree wholeheartedly. There's no good-faith reason you would ever try to convince someone to not vote. None.

Centrist Democrats love to interpret any dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party as encouragement to not vote at best and overt support for Trump at worst.

I have every expectation that this will be the standard by which this rule is implemented.

It’s certainly easy to support this move when it applies to “discouraging voting”, but it gets murkier for posts about “discouraging voting for a certain candidate”.

The example given was one seemingly implying “X is bad - but you think Y is better??” If the net implication is “don’t vote”, then the concern is valid, but if it’s “Vote for a third party, likelihood be damned”, it does sound more valid. That said, I have yet to see memes positively highlighting a valid third party from front runners.

I’d definitely like a return to elections where we decide which candidate is best, not which is least worse.

Informed voting is what's important. Voting in-and-of-itself doesn't contribute to a healthy democracy. To the contrary, mindless voting almost killed democracy multiple times recently.

To that end, I disagree with the notion that everyone should vote: filling your ballot on name recognition or in accordance with some preacher's orders or some shit is dangerous, and if that's you, then you absolutely should not vote!

Dig. Get at least some basic info on the people on your ballot. Consider the secondary and tertiary effects of any proposed policy; consider how it could back fire, etc. Once you actually understand what you're voting on, THEN vote. But if you won't take the time to do that, just showing up isn't doing any kind of civic duty.

Part of the reason we are in the mess we are in now is because participation in democracy is abysmal

No, the reason for the mess is a system deliberately designed to benefit a handful of people at the expense of the rest. Blaming those who don't participate in the system for the system is an absurd little act of mental gymnastics (as well as a service to the aforementioned handful of people, by buying in to the division they sow for the sake of distracting us from them, who are actually responsible).

Should people vote? If they want to. Will it change anything? No. Because the choice is an illusion, as is "democracy".

Perhaps if you actually let people have the conversation instead of shutting it down because confronting the actual depth of the problem makes you too uncomfortable, we might reach a point where we can be rid of this rigged system and build one that is actually "by the people, for the people", because that sure as fuck isn't the case at the moment. Maybe the real issue here is for you to consider with yourself why you're so invested in defending the status quo..

https://web.archive.org/web/20230803021951/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/22/american-democracy-was-never-designed-to-be-democratic

https://libcom.org/article/capitalist-democracy-illusion-choice

https://truthout.org/articles/fascism-is-possible-not-in-spite-of-liberal-capitalism-but-because-of-it/

https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/10/14/liberalism-and-fascism-partners-in-crime/

E: having seen the example you've given, I'm outa here anyway, new rule or not, would love to know if you mod any other communities so that I can block those too. 👍

Not voting is a vote of no confidence.

similar deliberative body indicate that they no longer support a leader, government,etc.

Voting is a choice. Not voting is a choice. If you take away the choice of not voting, while only allowing two candidates that a vast majority of Americans don’t want, then can you really call it a democracy?

If voting is important to you, then it would serve the community better if the suggestion of not voting was discussed and denounced in the community itself. That is the purpose of social forums, to discuss ideas.

A forum is a public meeting place for open discussions. This rule is the policing of thought, and the antithesis of a forum.

I support the change

can you give an example of the kind of post you are talking about?

Super in favor of this one! Barely just got on lemmy and all ive done is engage the bad faith actors in hopes of leaving some trace of sanity for the more impressionable to find.

This very thread is full of, "but cant you see how this rule change could turn authoritarian," and "what u claim to have witnessed isnt real, its all just butthurt democrats and no one is actually actively trying to suppress voting." To the lurkers, take note of the accounts that seem to do nothing but post about why voting is useless, why any complaints about biden are as relevant as complaints about dorito mussolini, or why russian imperial interests arent actually imeperial bc the west only ever lies, a fact unique to the west exclusively.

Good. Apathy is a tool of the oppressors utilized on those who think they're being 'rebellious'.

In favor of this rule

Objection!

The fundamental tenant...

See: Tenet (the word, not the movie).

I fundamentally disagree with the underlying assumptions of this change, but understand its rationale, especially during an election year.