#i'm currently on my second read of aphus and i'm doing annotations and stuff

[jasvidal]

ok so i'm gonna say something controversial

voting. i'm probably still gonna do it this election if i'm given the opportunity (i don't have reliable transportation to polling locations), so don't get mad at me. but like. the vote blue no matter who crowd is.. a bit concerning? people are blaming the average voter for the 2016 election not being a win for democrats, but if i recall correctly, hillary won the popular vote. the only reason trump won was because the electoral college voted for trump, which happened because of swing state loopholes. the conditions we're in right now are not uniquely unprecedented. project 2025 is not going to be stopped by kamala being president. after all, biden being in office didn't stop roe v wade from being overturned, and a lot of the promises of the 2020 biden campaign have fallen through. i don't think it's "doomerposting" or whatever to point any of this out, and i think it's obtuse to pretend like even if dems win this election any of the terrible shit that's being cooked up is going to be prevented.

i find it concerning that people are calling other people selfish and saying they don't care about ""harm reduction"" when they point out that voting is pretty much the thoughts and prayers of leftist action. i find it concerning that people are saying that this is unprecedented and has never happened before, and then coincidentally have never read up on US history outside of what they were taught in high school. i am begging you all to read up, become informed, and hopefully come back with a mindset of community work. no offense, but if you think that voting is the end all be all, i do not think you have read up on US history.

my point is not that you shouldn't vote, just like i wouldn't say you shouldn't think or pray about something. but please, PLEASE, add more to your roster of political activism than putting in a ticket to the polling booth. if you're not sure where to start on us history, i would recommend starting with a people's history of the united states, then go through beacon press's revisioning united states history series, and then go from there. there are free copies of those books/audiobooks online, they're not hard to find. you will learn so much about historical precedent, historical action, and historical community, and i promise that you will not regret learning more.

voting is not the end all be all, and it has never been. anyone who tries to convince you that it is the end all be all is either misinformed or has ulterior motives.

i promise you that you are not the only one that feels upset about the way things are right now. remember: strength in numbers.