#voting helps enough!!

[staticonthestratosphere]

pls help

okay for context: I have 75% of one sock done from nimble needles' generic sock pattern (I have turned the heel and am on my way towards the toes) but I started it back in... january? and have been on and off with it, could barely tell you where I am in the pattern, know I need to go in circles. the sock fits? probably needs to be blocked but it wasn't too loose, just a wee pinch

also, I have a pattern gifted from the owner of a local yarn store who sold me beautiful peruvian alpaca yarn and gave me "the easiest sock pattern you will ever do and love forever" for free with my purchase. and I'm kind of inclined to follow a step-by-step pattern vs do as you please

buuuut I don't know what to do and have decision paralysis so I'm crowdfunding a thought. what do you think?

[leupagus]

On Voting in America

So one of the most profound comments on routine chores that I've ever encountered was, hilariously, the Pickle Rick episode of "Rick & Morty," where (after a lot of shenanigans have already ensued) this therapist absolutely lays Rick out:

"I have no doubt that you would be bored senseless by therapy, the same way I'm bored when I brush my teeth and wipe my ass. Because the thing about repairing, maintaining, and cleaning is: it's not an adventure. There's no way to do it so wrong you might die. It's just work. And the bottom line is some people are okay going to work and some people, well, some people would rather die. Each of us gets to choose."

I think about this at least once a week — usually while I'm doing my laundry or sweeping or some other task that needs doing and won't get me anything more than clean clothing or a dog-hair-free floor. There's no Pulitzer for wiping down your microwave or scrubbing your toilet; no one's awarding you for getting all the dishes out of the sink. At best you have the satisfaction of crossing it off your list.

Voting is very much the same (and I'm talking about the US here, as an American). Sure, you sometimes get a sticker; but nobody's going to cheer for you. There's no adventure here, no potential for anything more than crossing something off of a list. It's a chore, something that needs doing in order to repair, maintain, and yes even clean. So I get why people don't like doing it.

And I've decided I don't give a shit.

Do it anyway. Your country takes astonishingly little from you — taxes, the once-in-a-blue-moon jury duty, and a theoretical draft that hasn't been used in over half a century and likely will never be again — but it asks you (asks! not requires! not demands!) to vote once or twice a year. It's not always easy; especially in conservative states, the impediments to vote can be ridiculous. But it is once a year and unlike in our nation's all-too-recent past, you will not die if you do it.

In fact, the worst outcome from voting these days is that the person or issue that you vote for loses — but you won't know if they lose until after the election. Polls are less accurate now, for a whole host of reasons; you cannot know until after the election who or what will win. This makes your vote more valuable than possibly ever before.

Use that power. Not because it's exciting or even rewarding, but because your vote is what keeps our country's metaphorical teeth from falling out and our metaphorical ass from stinking.

Brush, wipe, vote.

[animentality]

I have always wanted to believe in ignorance over malice, but in the 2024 us elections...

I think it's both.

and I'm not sure if I can see Trump supporters as human beings anymore.

[northwest-by-a-train]

Real talk. It's been 9 months since I've seen Palestinian children bleeding to death every day of the week. I don't particularly seek it out, I don't revel in it, if I'm being fully honest, every time I see it cross my dash I feel the urge to close my eyes and keep it out of my mind. Just the description of what I've seen is too gory to write without my stomach churning. And I think I'm not alone in having seen that. I know some among you have seen worse. I know that even those of you who have not seen the worst of it have seen things that will haunt you for a lifetime.

Of course the right, US as well as international, will mobilize like crazy over this grazed ear and those two droplets of blood. But if we on the left are not motivated, are not radicalized, are not incensed to act decisively after having seen this. And the fascists wackos are more motivated with these remarkably clean images of violence. Then we are doing something wrong.

The moral high ground, the revulsion at blood, at crass disregard for human dignity, at targetting the innocent is on our side. And acting like this will galvanize our enemies while we'll stand helpless is baby shit. We must use every means at our disposal to stop the violence in Palestine and defeat the fascism that around the world makes cover for genocide. This is not a moment to fall to the ground and cry, this is a moment to fight for those who need it most.

[beddybites]

reminder during this very intense and scary election to step away and distract urself when needbe and to communicate when you need a moment. this is a very stressful time and ik as an american im also freaked the hell out but its good to have context and a better understanding of how things work otherwise id be losing my damn mind every second. i like to discuss it and work through it but not everyones the same way and thats ok. if u need space tell ur loved ones what ur thinking and going through and take the space needed. if u need a distraction ask for a distraction. be safe tonight and be kind to yourself. u are deserving of it

[hotvintagepoll]

on my phone and out loud i say "OOOHHH NO-okay, good." my mom asks, "are you on that hot old actors poll?"

Hi tumblr moms!

[nordfjording]

Politics is so fun because the greatest enemy of the Right is the Left. And the greatest enemy of the Left is also the Left.

[m00sebaby]

there's something to be said about people voting for a man who can't string together a coherent sentence for the life of him because his brain is soup, who has threatened mass deportation, who has threatened a complete rollback of the rights we started to hope for and a literal convicted felon (mind you) all because a woman of color running the country seemed a bit too much for them.

[mokeonn]

Before I go to sleep I leave you all with this piece of advice: sometimes you don't actually have to answer big political questions, sometimes you can just say "I am not smart enough to know that, I just know the small things I do to help." Like you can often times completely avoid making a fool of yourself if you just say you don't know.

[flying-cat]

I just saw someone say "I wasn't educated on politics so I didn't vote" then why didn't you educate yourself??? We all have little computers in our fucking hands guys this is kind of something to USE THEM FOR.

[profnic]

Trolley 2024

You stand at a control panel. Coming down the tracks before you is a trolley. A big banner on the front of the trolley reads Election 2024. Where you stand with the control panel, there is a split in the track, right or left, red or blue. The lines still run nearly parallel to each other, and looking down the track, you see they join back up further down the way. The left track is slightly slower than the right one - perhaps. You wonder what the real difference is then, so you look closer.

Examining the tracks, you see that there are people tied to them. On the right side, you see some of your friends, family, and other people you care about - issues you care about. Abortion, birth control, trans rights, Queer rights, education, and others lost among the crowd. On the left side, you do not see anybody tied to the track, yet that side is shaded. People could be tied to that track, but it is hidden from view; the right side proudly displays the bodies on their tracks.

The answer seems obvious, then. But you decide to keep looking. You gaze down the tracks to where they rejoin and see the true horror. There are many bodies tied to this track, people you may know, but either way, the sheer volume is overwhelming. Palestine, the American war machine, homeless people, undocumented immigrants, good relations with China, banning fracking...and so many more. You know it will hit these people no matter what button you press.

How are you expected to choose a button? Maybe you should just ignore the buttons entirely. Run from the control panel. But as you look around, you see you are not the only one with a control panel. There are millions of others faced with the same choice. Don't they see the horror down the line? Don't they care?

Some avert their eyes while pressing their button. Some stare eagerly at the people on the tracks, awaiting their destruction. Many, though, walk up and simply press a button like they have hundreds of times before - no thought except it is the color they have always pressed. Millions of people out there are pressing their buttons. What choice did they make? What if they chose to run over your friends and family? What if pressing your button meant they didn't get run over?

Does the trolley know it might run people over? You look at the trolley coming toward you. Seated inside, you see the corporations relaxing. This ride will be good for them no matter what. Further down the line, where the trolley has already been, you see bodies. Uncountable bodies, run over by the trolley.

What about stopping the trolley? It is moving too fast to stop before the tracks split. Additionally, the tracks are defended by armed guards. It can only be stopped if you blow the trolley up and line up—doing so will be near impossible, though. And if you blow it up, who knows how many will die in the explosion or after?

You see some people walking away from their buttons. They will not press one. They try to get others to join them as well. You understand. It is so tempting to walk away. If you do not press a button then, when those people are run over, you will not feel like you participated. But those people where the tracks rejoin will be run over no matter what. You could avert some of the destruction with your choice.

Some people turn and walk away without looking back. Some people turn away but run to help those tied to the tracks. Some people press their button and walk away. Some people press their button and run to help people tied to the tracks.

Do you press a button?

More importantly, what do you do after?

[chieana]

the punk to capitalist pipeline is kinda insane and makes no sense to me

and yet that is what mcr (and many others who aren't famous) have done

[dittolicous]

i dont care where you live in the usa or w/e... if you dont vote for biden you are throwing away your vote and enabling trump. because *everyone* thinks their vote doesnt matter and piddles around because of that. hell, everyone thinks 'its only me, it wont make a difference' about THOUSANDS of things, like littering, picking seashells, taking stones from rivers, etc. and in all of those situations THEYRE FUCKING WRONG. if anything unites us, its our damn ability to think we alone are the outlier despite everything indicating otherwise.

and miss me with that 'biden is just as bad/is a murderer' shit. 1) cool, and how do you plan to change things in a mr. nazi-dictator trump world? how are you ACTIVELY making a difference? 2) CHANGE IS INCREMENTAL. the reason things suck so much is because the left keeps taking slow change as 'no change' and giving up before we can gain any momentum to make big change!

if you vote in hamas or w/e to protest... you might as well throw dirt at all those suffering innocent people. you arent saving palestine that way. that is not a helpful protest. you'll only enable trump to win by throwing away your vote. it is the one bit of actual power you have, so USE IT RIGHT! stop in-fighting for one moment! look at what is possible to achieve in reality! dreams arent fulfilled overnight!

when you feel like your vote doesnt matter, remember this - you have to try anyways

[mars-ipan]

the thing about the whole “voting is useless” argument is like. i’d rather do a useless thing than not do a useful thing