#vote our rights

[wednesdayshadow]

Vote your conscience

I got this general idea from a gentleman on @notes. So, I thought I’d put something together for myself. I’m going to be 61 this year and getting older DOES bring its own challenges. Not to mention that being labeled “Boomer” is not the insult some think it is. I’m not as quick to think of a word that’s “on the tip of my tongue”. I’m not as fast, in general, as I used to be. And my memory, though far from being senile, isn’t as good as it used to be, I’m ageing. But you know what I’m not? Stupid. My beliefs, apparently are being considered “radical”, “leftist” and even “socialist”. And, you know what? Put me in that category for these:

I don’t want a dictator, a man who ADMITTED that is what he will be on the 1st day. I want ALL Americans to be free. ALL Americans, to have enough to eat, a roof over their heads, love WHOEVER they want without hate and discrimination. I want ALL Americans to have freedom OF and FROM religion. I believe, no, I KNOW, that abortion IS health care. I KNOW trans healthcare IS healthcare. I believe in separation of church and state.  I believe in America and will vote with my conscience and with love for my country. If this makes me lose friends, I’m sorry. I don’t make friends with people I don’t care about on some level and I WILL miss you.

[thesaltyace]

Y'all I did NOT know this about Harris, and I think it's really critical that we all listen and understand as we approach this election. Video at the end.

This creator's video describes how progressive Harris was as a prosecutor -- actively going against the grain to the point she was accused of being soft on crime. Accused of being a social worker, not a prosecutor. She calls it being smart on crime. She's pushing for systemic changes to give real pathways to reintegrate incarcerated folks back into society and prevent their past from continuing to haunt them moving forward.

"Kamala's a cop" is a catchy dismissive response usually used to shut down conversation rather than add nuance. But this kind of reform is ESSENTIAL to work towards a present and future that treats incarcerated people with value.

I fell for it in 2020 and have thought "Kamala's a cop" without further inspection since - and I'm sobered by the realization that (you guessed it!) I'm not immune to propaganda.

A better system only follows liberal democracy, because library democracy allows for exploration of better systems. If authoritarianism takes hold, it will not allow for the exploration of better systems. We will have to fight tooth and nail just to try to get back to liberal democracy, and I suspect we could not achieve it in our lifetimes.

Harris isn't perfect. But she's a hell of a lot better than many leftists have led me to believe. Don't let perfection be the enemy of good. Don't let perfection be the enemy of harm reduction.

We can either help elect Trump and usher in authoritarian fascism, or we can help defeat him and pull things back in the direction we want to go. Not liking the choices doesn't absolve you from participating and doing the most good you can with the options available.

I'll link the original video in the replies. The original video has captions if you need them.

[reasonsforhope]

Literally begging anyone who can vote in US elections to vote, and to vote against Trump. Which means voting for Harris, not abstaining or voting third party.

My family actually did move here from an authoritarian country, where voting literally didn't matter, they literally did throw out your vote, and they literally did assassinate citizens who spoke out against them.

We would all very much like to keep living in a country where those things are not the case!

You know, the same things that Trump and his stooges have openly said they want to do. And two of the main propaganda lines for why people in the US shouldn't vote, which is a lie.

Voting matters. The parties are not the same.

And make sure to vote in down-ballot races!!!

And like. The fact that voting matters in the US is a very real reason for hope. It is something you should genuinely appreciate. We can make a difference.

And a lot of people risked their lives or even died to earn that right, and it's a right not everyone has.

[devoursjohnlock]

Con O’Neill, MCM Comic Con panel with Nathan Foad and Kristian Nairn, London May 27, 2023

Q: As someone who was a teenager for Section 28 Part 1, I just want to [...] say a massive thank you for speaking up about Section 28 Part 2. What's it been like at the moment, working on a show that has got such cool and interesting things to say about gender broadly and masculinity more specifically?

[exemplarybehaviour]

I keep seeing people say things like this: "You know what does matter to the politicians, even more than us voting for them? When we DON’T vote for them."

No, absolutely not. This is not how the US electoral system works. Under the current system, only votes cast matter. Only people who are going to vote matter to campaign strategists.

The last election, less than 20% of my district voted. The 80+% of the people who abstained? Their opinions on the results don't matter. The system does not take them into account. They gave up their right to have a say. Some strategists for future elections might look at the numbers and say: wow, why didn't those people vote, and can we GET them to vote? But ultimately, the system is designed so that if only one person votes, that person gets to decide the winning candidate. You get the representatives voted on by whoever shows up to the poll.

If a candidate thinks you cannot be swayed to vote (because, for example, you've joined a weird anti-voting movement), then ther campaign is not going to cater to you. Their strategists won't care about you. Someone in the next cycle might try for your vote, but you are giving up your right to have a voice for this cycle.... and voters with a history of voting are more promising targets for any campaign strategies.

(Your actual vote is a secret, but they DO monitor that you have voted. This will affect how much annoying campaigning materials you will get, because they do target active voters.)

Also, "if I don't vote, that will make a point!" is just a stupid take in general. If you don't vote in November, and then Trump wins, what have you really done? Do you think the Biden admin will care, as they're leaving office? Do you think the Trump admin will care, as they enter office? Republicans want fewer people to vote! Your abstention will be nothing but a footnote in history about how Trump won.

[nyxieluvs]

I swear to fucking god.

If any of you who call yourselves allies try to gamble with our fucking rights in November by voting independent don't even fucking bother calling yourself that. I'm all for voting independent *when its fucking safe* Its not safe. Project 2025 WILL become reality if Trump wins, and if you facilitate that by gambling with our rights then you can get out. I don't want to die because you're unrealistically optimistic.

[eonars]

u guys keep being like lmao her name is kayleigh and she's got republican family members as if you all are not also kayleigh with republican family members dkdkcnsoxjrkdnfn

[ginnyrules27]

Ya'll.

Joe Biden has dropped out of the race. It most likely will be Kamala Harris as the nominee since he has endorsed her however there is still the chance of an open primary.

If Kamala is the nominee, I don't want to hear anything about her being a former DA or anything else. Those calling for Biden to drop out got what they wanted. The choice is now no longer between two 'olds'. The choice is now between Trump and whoever the Democrats choose for the nominee. And whoever that nominee is, the Democrats have to be behind them 100%.

Friendly reminder: The Democrats weren't behind Carter 100% in the 1980 election, which was one of the many reasons we got Reagan. And Reagan didn't come with the looming threat of Project 2025 and Plan 47 (or whatever it calls itself).

Side note: I don't fault Biden for stepping down. The man is 81 years old and is recovering from COVID. He even said in 2020 that he would be a transitional candidate.

Remember what is at stake in November. Remember that no matter what Trump claims about not knowing anything about Project 2025, he has met with members of the Heritage Foundation who are the ones behind 2025. Remember that Trump's team wants you not to vote (considering he and the RNC are suing Michigan gov Gretchen Whitmer for signing veterans up to vote when they go to visit the VA in Michigan.)

Hold your nose and vote Blue in November (or if you can vote earlier than that).

[wednesdayshadow]

I got this general idea from a gentleman on @notes. So, I thought I’d put something together for myself. I’m going to be 61 this year and getting older DOES bring its own challenges. Not to mention that being labeled “Boomer” is not the insult some think it is. I’m not as quick to think of a word that’s “on the tip of my tongue”. I’m not as fast, in general, as I used to be. And my memory, though far from being senile, isn’t as good as it used to be, I’m ageing. But you know what I’m not? Stupid. My beliefs, apparently are being considered “radical”, “leftist” and even “socialist”. And, you know what? Put me in that category for these:

I don’t want a dictator, a man who ADMITTED that is what he will be on the 1st day. I don't want a king (we actually fought a war about that). I want ALL Americans to be free. ALL Americans, to have enough to eat, a roof over their heads, love WHOEVER they want without hate and discrimination. I want ALL Americans to have freedom OF and FROM religion. I believe, no, I KNOW, that abortion IS health care. I KNOW trans healthcare IS healthcare. I believe in separation of church and state. I believe in America and will vote with my conscience and with love for my country.

If this makes me lose friends, I’m sorry. I don’t make friends with people I don’t care about on some level and I WILL miss you.

[marzipanandminutiae]

people really watch/read that scene in Emma where she talks to Mr. Knightley about how he can say whatever he wants because he's never been a dependent, and doesn't know what it's like to "have tempers to manage" and say "wow that's so sad that this adult woman has to walk on eggshells to keep the people who control her life- specifically, a man, her father -happy, and thus keep her place in the household"

and then turn around and insist that it's women's job to keep men from trying to violently take our human rights away, by just being ~sweet and kind~ to them at all times

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

These people are despicable.

https://x.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/1744886186722971731?s=20

BREAKING Fani Willis visited Biden's White House for five hours on Feb. 28, 2023, one week after recommending charges against Donald Trump. Yesterday, court records revealed that Nathan Wade, Fani Willis's lead prosecutor, met with Biden's White House Counsel on May 23 and Nov. 18, 2022, before indicting Trump. Fani Willis's lead prosecutor billed taxpayers $4,000 to talk to Joe Biden's White House Counsel for sixteen hours about prosecuting Biden's leading political opponent. H/T @MHowellTweets @KanekoaTheGreat

Now I Ain't Sayin' She's A Vote Rigger🎶📻🎙

[clementimetodie]

"Rrrrrrrrrrr these people I don't like are dangers to democracy because they democratically voted for a politician I don't like with their democratic vote!!!"😤😤😤😤😤

[formerly-evil]

DONT FORGET TO VOTE IN THE EU ELECTIONS!!!

[k3n-dyll]

I know I said I'd be inactive but I gotta rant like I'm at a point of pure rage and I'm not all the way sober rn. As a black woman? I feel betrayed. Like I have no clue why, but for some reason I had faith in y'all to come through and recognize that while Kamala isn't perfect by any means that a Trump presidency would likely mean wraps for all of us, but no. Every. Single. Group managed to fuck up aside from black men and women in this election.

What happens when the internet becomes so overruled with censorship that we can no longer share information about the causes we care about? The police are already over militarized and the oompa loompa that's been put up in office is fully ready to grant them immunity, meaning they would essentially be able to do whatever the fuck they want to us without consequence.

I mean let's be fucking real that immunity is going to affect my community at a disproportionate rate just in case you guys already forgot what those pigs like to do to us. And my community is also that main group of people that is out on the street riding for everybody when there's an issue so what's gonna happen now? Hm?

Black women have been saying for a good while that we should vote for the candidate who will let us keep doing the work we're trying to do. The one that we would be safe protesting and organizing under so that we can make change both in and outside of our community, for example, actually putting third-party candidates in STATE GOVERNMENTS so that when actual viable third parties run, they'll have some chance in the presidential election. Y'know because the Electoral votes and support from state governments are really what matters.

And I say ACTUAL viable third-party candidates because, let's be real once again, half the people who voted for Jill Stein didn't do research on her like they should have. That white lady has been a grifter this isn't news.

It's like...watching people just cling to the idea that some big revolution is going to start within the next year because of this is exhausting, especially when the vast majority of American citizens had not a fucking clue about Palestine, Sudan, or Congo until 2023. Unfortunately for us, this shit takes time and actual irl community building. These election results have only made what would have been difficult nearly impossible because people either want to stand on some moral high ground or for 'tax cuts' that they aren't eligible for because half of you bitches are poor just like the rest of us.

I'm fucking exhausted. My ancestors survived slavery, Jim Crow, red lining - we're still surviving and fighting for justice for victims of police brutality and I am so. Fucking. Tired of surviving shit because y'all can't think critically for two fucking seconds. It's like doing a group project but everyone else has a few pebbles in their skulls knocking around in there instead of brains.

[eggy-tea]

the thing that is SO WILD to me watching usamericans on the internet talk about their upcoming elections is that this is one of those incredibly rare occasions where you are choosing between two guys who have ALREADY DONE THE JOB.

look, i’m canadian. we have a first past the post parliamentary system and i don’t even get to vote directly for the person who will lead the country because i don’t live in any of the leaders’ ridings. i don’t live in any of the big important cities or even the big important provinces. i know ALL ABOUT “it feels like my vote doesn’t matter.” and all the same, i’m incredibly worried that a lot of people will vote conservative because they don’t like trudeau (fair! he sucks!) and hey, who knows, poilievre might be better. let’s give him a chance. time for a change etc. etc. (and of course there are a bunch of people who want what he’s selling and that’s depressing as hell too but they’re not the swing voters who will make a difference here.) never mind that the dude seems very happy to cozy up to our own local fascists. we don’t know for a fact what he’ll be like as pm, because he hasn’t been pm yet, and we DO know what trudeau is like, and we don’t like him.

the argument for change because it might be good is very compelling to our little animal brains when the status quo is BAD. poilievre is even banking on this! he’s been keeping his promises and stances deliberately vague so people can fill in the blanks with whatever they hope will happen.

and what’s so absolutely mind-breakingly incomprehensible to me is that THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN THE US but so many americans KEEP TALKING LIKE IT IS. each of these dudes has already done the job. they are known quantities. and you (realistically) only get to choose between the two of them. the political machine is going to go through with all of the usual debates and campaigning and thinkpieces and op-eds and rallies and whatever else pageantry, but biden and trump have told you who they are. they’ve SHOWN you who they are. it’s not often you get such a clear-cut choice with so much solid information behind it. you either vote for one of them and live with your choice or you hide your head in the sand and pretend that if you don’t vote one of them won’t win. and then you live with your cowardice because when the time came to choose you couldn’t bear to look.

(which is guess is also why so much effort is going into convincing people to just fucking vote oh my god i get it if you can’t because so many people have been deliberately disenfranchised in the us but if you can and you just don’t so help me…)

[tra-archive]

Women are leading men in the swing states and I’m so proud. They’re also saying that Iowa could flip blue simply because so many women are getting out and voting.

We are not going back. And we won’t allow our rights to be taken away. Please, get out and vote tomorrow. We’ll never have a perfect candidate, and not voting until we do will just hand Trump the victory and hurt so many people. You have a voice. Use it.