#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.

[sher-ee]

[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?

[sofiaflorina2021]

Here is What Democrats Are Fighting For

Vote Blue, Vote Democrat! 💙🇺🇲

Instagram

[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.

[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).

[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🎶📻🎙

[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.

[formerly-evil]

DONT FORGET TO VOTE IN THE EU ELECTIONS!!!

[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…)

[sher-ee]

🎯

[humming-fly]

This 4th of July I’m stealing the patriotism euphoria that’s usually associated with assholes idolizing the worst attributes of this country because fuck ‘em I live here too and remembering the things this country actually got Right is an important exercise when trying to rally anyone to want to defend it in November SO putting my money where my mouth is I’ll start easy and say I really like National Parks!! It’s rad how many of them there are and how they’re actual set up to preserve some of the most beautiful wild areas in our country while still letting people visit to enjoy and experience nature!! (Less important but I love how they put national parks on the quarters I think that’s real fun)

Feel free to add on if something speaks to ya!

[decolonize-the-everything]

Artists creating specifically to sell and trading off (some of) their own style to do it, activists begging for attention and shares and media coverage because they aren't being paid enough attention, UNWRA desperate for donations, the percentage of people who don't mask in 2024 compared to deaths and disabilities, ppl who need to be convinced to vote with principles that save lives and that genocide is unacceptable, how a living wage or UBI is believed to be "unrealistic" despite the trillions in shareholder investment accounts.

....I'm starting to think Mainstream People™ fucking suck, ngl. In fact, dare I say that Mainstream People are the biggest obstacle to progress now.

Malcolm X said it was the white liberal as did a lot of other revolutionaries and thinkers.

I, however, think anyone who can hold their own comfort over someone else's suffering is the problem.

Why are the rest of us constantly begging and shouting and changing ourselves and our bodies in an effort to make them care about us? To make them see us? To give us rights? To bless us with the support needed to make a living?

Same shit, different generations. And idk about y'all, but I would love to be the last generations who ever had to hate themselves to survive.

[neighbourhoodtwo]

usamericans please stop putting your "congrats uk!! hope this happens to us in november!!" posts in the uk politics tag please please you have no idea