this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
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A tweet from the George Takei Twitter account which states:

"A Democrat was in the White House when my family was sent to the internment camps in 1941. It was an egregious violation of our human and civil rights.

It would have been understandable if people like me said they’d never vote for a Democrat again, given what had been done to us.

But being a liberal, being a progressive, means being able to look past my own grievances and concerns and think of the greater good. It means working from within the Democratic party to make it better, even when it has betrayed its values.

I went on to campaign for Adlai Stevenson when I became an adult. I marched for civil rights and had the honor of meeting Dr. Martin Luther King. I fought for redress for my community and have spent my life ensuring that America understood that we could not betray our Constitution in such a way ever again.

Bill Clinton broke my heart when he signed DOMA into law. It was a slap in the face to the LGBTQ community. And I knew that we still had much work to do. But I voted for him again in 1996 despite my misgivings, because the alternative was far worse. And my obligation as a citizen was to help choose the best leader for it, not to check out by not voting out of anger or protest.

There is no leader who will make the decision you want her or him to make 100 percent of the time. Your vote is a tool of hope for a better world. Use it wisely, for it is precious. Use it for others, for they are in need of your support, too."

End Transcription.

The last paragraph I find particularly powerful and something more people really should take into account.

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[–] [email protected] 140 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (12 children)

Hoo boy. Against my better judgment, I'll wade into this pool.

  1. If voting for either party gets you the same result, fascists wouldn't be so focused on elections and trying so hard to take the vote away.

  2. Withholding your vote doesn't do anything. When has losing an election pushed either party left?

  3. Voting doesn't prevent you from engaging in other forms of direct action.

Both parties suck. People will needlessly suffer and die no matter who wins. But there are also people who will suffer and die under one party but not the other, and the same can't be said the other way around. Our democracy is fundamentally flawed, but voting is a tool at our disposal, and we're in no position to turn anything down.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Before Obama, I could still remain quiet when people said "voting for anyone is implicit approval," or whatever - and for the most part, they're right - voting is a pretty low level of change.

I voted for Obama because even if he is a bit of a tool, he's black, and now a huge group of minority kids saw someone who looks like them in the white house. I voted for him not because of the "HOPE" on his signs but literally to give black kids hope. (And yeah, for the most part, it's false hope, just like it is for white kids, welcome to the club.) He was a positive symbol and, if it's a symbol who is also a centrist Democrat, that's better then a centrist Democrat that isn't a positive symbol. And a shit ton better than Mitt Romney or whoever the other guy was.

And then Trump happened, and any respect for the "don't vote" viewpoint drained out. If you still think both parties are the same at this point, you might want to start asking yourself what else is going on with you - because "not great" is not identical to "fucking terrible"...

Biden isn't doing what I want him to do - health care, income inequality, corruption in Congress, etc - but the infrastructure bill isn't a bad thing. It's actually a good thing, we need it. We need a lot more, but 1 > 0.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 11 months ago

The amount of people in this thread who don't understand how our voting system works is too damn high

You're absolutely correct in your points

Especially the "against my better judgement" part, this comment section went to hell really quick

[–] idunnololz 21 points 11 months ago

Thank you. I'm also often reminded of this meme when discussions around this happen:

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[–] [email protected] 65 points 11 months ago (20 children)

"Democrats have always fucked me over but I keep voting for them because the alternative is actively more harmful".

No, I don't find it touching nor powerful. This is a celebration of the failure of the 2 party system.

[–] [email protected] 111 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (27 children)

When you roll out the feasible alternative let me know. Until then, I'll be voting for the candidate whose rallies don't break out in chants of "kill f*ggots, kill all transgenders"

[–] AngryCommieKender 32 points 11 months ago (26 children)

We need to get RCV passed at the state level in at least 33 states, then we can get rid of FPTP at the federal level, and actually force some change

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That's not what he said and you know it, shut up.

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[–] [email protected] 52 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Vote for the most useful option, then go make a difference in local politics or wherever you can actually influence anything. Limiting your interactions with politics to whining isn't going to change anything for the better and is definitely not going to get rid of Republicans nor Democrats.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (3 children)

This is the way. Even if you think voting for the "lesser" option is demeaning, it does no harm if you continue to use direct action as well

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[–] Custoslibera 50 points 11 months ago (10 children)

This would all be resolved if America just changed first past the post voting.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (3 children)

We'll only change it with enough push from citizens

Push for a new system (like ranked choice or STAR) in your state for state elections and we can likely make it popular enough to get it to the national stage

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Speaking as an Australian:

I also feel like you need mandatory voting (with enforcement), like what we have. That reframes elections from "riling up your power base so they go out and vote" to "hey average voter, here's why you should vote for me and how things will improve if you do so".

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago (4 children)

In a democracy, if there is no alternative we have to vote for the lesser of the evil. It's better to keep things worse, than to make it more worse, if there is no alternative. If an alternative is there, then absolutely. We should all be encouraging an alternative system in a democracy. But if nothing's is available, then this.

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[–] ShortFuse 33 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Complain today about fewer options.

Complain tomorrow about Führer options.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's ok to complain. The complaints are valid. Still vote and encourage others to vote.

If your two choices are between a 99% fascist and a 98% fascist. Vote for the 98% fascist.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (11 children)

Problem is that people actually think that it's 99% vs 98% (not saying you think that) when that's not the case. You have a guy that incited a riot against our democratic process and a guy that kept encouraging unity and actually helped fund infrastructure, local chip manufacturing, renewable funding, etc.

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[–] mydude 27 points 11 months ago (7 children)

My father beat me when I was a kid, he ran for child services president and I voted for him. I heard that the other guy beat his kids more, so I really had a moral duty to vote for my dad. You guys, it's really important to vote for the guy who beats his kids less.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 11 months ago (1 children)

My local mayor wants to increase funding for the public transit, but he didn't say ACAB, so I'm not gonna vote for him even if the other other guy is gonna slash the public transit funding by half 😤😤

[–] hydrospanner 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You make a good point.

The person you responded to also makes a good point.

There's no one-size-fits-all (all voters or all elections) solution on this one.

All we can ultimately do is encourage our fellow voters to open their minds, learn all they can about the issues and candidates, and make the best use they feel they can with their right to vote.

Shaming someone for not voting for your candidate is a great way to repel them from your camp long term. Respecting their decision, even if you disagree with it, sets a much better example of the sort of level-headedness you'd likely want people to associate with your causes.

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[–] Soulg 23 points 11 months ago (55 children)
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