#don't get me wrong ideologically i'm down for organic and local so that's fine but those are usually expensive so i don't buy them. UNTIL

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

aging tumblr userbase blah blah blah but the chain grocery store by my work wants HOW much for eggs???

[jyndor]

I'm not gonna punch left ever. like yes do I have both strategic and ideological disagreements with some leftists? yeah obviously since leftist infighting and disagreement is the feature not the bug.

I'm still not saying I'm voting for kamala but I do think she will be a better opponent than trump. I believe in strategic voting so tbh if your district is a swing district, if you are in a swing state, I think voting democratic is smart because they are at least able to be beaten into some concessions from the left when we are organized. one big issue is the liberals who see any criticism as support for the republicans, and they're gonna be annoying as hell but I do think more people are aware that the democrats suck now than they did during the obama years.

that said, it is totally understandable for people in the global south to be hostile to any us president. and it is reasonable for them to hate us for anything we do politically because all these freaks have done material harm to millions of people globally. so I'm not offended as a white queer us american woman that a third world maoist might hate that I am considering voting for kamala harris. it's cool, they're not wrong to be angry with us americans' selfish politics.

and at this same time imo there is no real path forward for a third party candidate in the us. and it's deeply frustrating to me that so many amazing activists use their time and resources on what is to me a herculean task, running for president as a third party candidate and not even for a party like the greens which has name recognition. I'd rather they focus on local politics and even statewide politics, where they have more of a chance. I also don't think they're wreckers though, I just don't agree with their strategies. and they can call me a liberal or whatever for saying that, that's fine whatever lol I'm not going to punch leftists doing important work.

it is one thing to disagree on strategy, even on ideology and politics. but to assume that they are not genuine in their politics... it's just gross and dismissive. you do not know what you're talking about. I don't love the PSL for a few different reasons but I respect the activism they do, and I'm not gonna disrespect leftist activists doing far more than I ever will, even if I don't agree with everything they do.

tumblr is full of white liberals who might in fact have access to financial resources that many others do not have, and that's important for us to understand because it does impact how we view politics. it does. it's so easy for you vote blue folks to call ANYONE who criticizes democrats bots or russian ops or whatever. it does you no favors politically. you do not want to negatively polarize potential allies by constantly treating them like they've got ulterior motives for not supporting the democratic party.

but most people who for instance supported the uncommitted campaign and who were working to get biden out of the race all these months are likely doing so because we WANT to vote against trump. not that everyone in the free palestine movement is a democratic voter or even is in favor of electoralism, but a lot are in the states. so... it's weird to me that liberals treated us like ignorant wreckers who don't care about abortion or queer rights or voting rights etc, or somehow PALESTINIAN RIGHTS LMFAO I mean I'm trying to stay nice and call these libs racist cunts for speaking down to voters of color in particular but that's what it is.

do you really think the people who are the most tapped into politics are not going to vote??? really???? some won't but most will. especially those in swing districts. do you think that someone like me, who has been politically active since I was TWELVE, does not understand the utility of voting???

as always, your job is not going to be speaking down to people so politically engaged that they are threatening to WITHHOLD THEIR VOTES BECAUSE OF FOREIGN POLICY. IN THE UNITED STATES OF NOBODY GIVES A FUCK ABOUT FOREIGN POLICY. they're doing the work you should have been doing this whole time. you will have to sit with your complacency at some point.

your job is going to be getting off your ass and convincing everyone you know who is not registered to vote because they don't care about politics or don't like politics or whatever that they need to be invested in our political system.

bad news: you will not do that by shaming them for being ignorant or apathetic.

good news: a lot of people are very easy to get on board with shit like rent caps (which biden was just talking about the other day, 5% caps on rent federally! that's amazing and would help so many people - we should pressure kamala to adopt that policy) and reproductive justice. a lot of apathetic people care about this shit, they just don't know how it impacts them or where to start engaging with this shit.

do not pull the smug liberal shit, do not speak down to them, meet them where they are at! ask them about the things that they are bothered about, things like potholes and shit. that matters to people. get them registered, drive them to the polls. you will do more good than shouting at lefties on tumblr dot com. otherwise you're just preaching to the choir.