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1. Survival is Insufficient (itstrainingcatsanddogs@kolektiva.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:08 JST Survival is Insufficient

   I think it's so funny when people admonish others for not voting when those are the people most active in the community doing real things that help others (anarchists). I don't do that as much. I vote to make myself feel like I'm doing something when my ass is at home voting for someone else's oppressor and patting myself on the back.

   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:00 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to

     • Kevin Karhan :verified:
     @kkarhan @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs I think elections if not outright stolen are engineered in such a way that the powers that be ultimately end up with a candidate they can work with (usually). Voting for the lesser of the evils does nothing good. Voting for unpartied candidates might bring you something, but otherwise abstention is a valid form of protest.
   • Kevin Karhan :verified: (kkarhan@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:01 JST Kevin Karhan :verified:

     in reply to

     @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs OFC depowering them is important.

     But non-voting will basically worsen the situation for everyone in the meantime.

   • Survival is Insufficient (itstrainingcatsanddogs@kolektiva.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:02 JST Survival is Insufficient

     in reply to

     • Kevin Karhan :verified:

     @kkarhan but what if you are against everything it stands for and don't want to give power to anyone? Then you are enabling it by voting. Why not concentrate on creating ways to not need them?

   • Survival is Insufficient (itstrainingcatsanddogs@kolektiva.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:03 JST Survival is Insufficient

     in reply to

     • Kevin Karhan :verified:

     @kkarhan I feel like people should earn their fucking votes if voting is to mean anything. Not voting is a vote sometimes.

   • Kevin Karhan :verified: (kkarhan@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:03 JST Kevin Karhan :verified:

     in reply to

     @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs yes, it's
     "silently consenting to whatever is the outcome is"...

     There are other options, like candidating oneself.

     Cuz better vote for a party with no realistic chance of winning or a candidate that gets cockblocked than no votes at all...

   • Kevin Karhan :verified: (kkarhan@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:04 JST Kevin Karhan :verified:

     in reply to

     @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs Choosing the "lesser evil" OFC is only a last-resort option.

     Considering the USA's anti-democratic political system which has less political pluralism in practise than Somaliland, it seems kinda shitty.
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULYWIDcUOY4

   • Survival is Insufficient (itstrainingcatsanddogs@kolektiva.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:05 JST Survival is Insufficient

     in reply to

     • Kevin Karhan :verified:

     @kkarhan what if both candidates are oppressors?

   • Kevin Karhan :verified: (kkarhan@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:06 JST Kevin Karhan :verified:

     in reply to

     @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs still, non-voting when one's able to is supporting the opressors that get their sheeple mobilized to the polling stations.

     Even in a cleptocracy like the USA...
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tu32CCA_Ig

   • Survival is Insufficient (itstrainingcatsanddogs@kolektiva.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:45:07 JST Survival is Insufficient

     in reply to

     I often see some liberal tell an anarchist that everything is their fault for not voting, but I personally know this or that anarchist is out sharing cooked breakfast with homeless encampments every morning, organizing community events around mutual aid, etc. Like, things that are so much more impactfull than canvassing for... *checks notes*...Joe Biden.

   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:46:01 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to

     • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:
     • Kevin Karhan :verified:
     @kkarhan @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs write ins are another. I plan to vote for Terry Crews next year.
   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:52:17 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to

     • Kevin Karhan :verified:
     @kkarhan @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs notnsire voting has much of an impact, even if your chosen candidate wins. The only people put up on that stage are ready to play the game. It seems to me that abstaining may not prevent a shit show but it means you aren't actively making things worse which could be good for conscience.
   • Kevin Karhan :verified: (kkarhan@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:52:18 JST Kevin Karhan :verified:

     in reply to

     • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     @thatguyoverthere @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs OFC one can abstain but in the case of shitty systems like the USA this will only empower the worse people.

   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:54:42 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to

     • Kevin Karhan :verified:
     • Letzte Generation
     @kkarhan @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs @AufstandLastGen what does picking one of their chosen candidates do to force them to change?
     
     I agree there is a lot of counterproductive protest out there. I'm not sure I follow how abstaining from politics is similar to gluing yourself to a painting though. One is active and the other passive no?
   • Kevin Karhan :verified: (kkarhan@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 21:54:43 JST Kevin Karhan :verified:

     in reply to

     • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:
     • Letzte Generation

     @thatguyoverthere @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs So unless one is an accelerationist and thinks that stuff will become better if one refuses to implement or participate in change, it's the kind of "well-meant but counterproductive" shit like @AufstandLastGen sticking themselbes on the road surface, only angering #WageWorkers doing #UnpaidLabour aka. #commuting and not forcing the decisionmakers to change...

   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 22:01:22 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to

     • Kevin Karhan :verified:
     • Letzte Generation
     @kkarhan @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs @AufstandLastGen I dont know if I'd say I'm an accelerationist, but sometimes all you need to do to defeat an enemy is get out of their way. When all the decision makers are making worse and worse decisions, they are harming their own credibility and people are waking up to that. At a certain point their political capital will be exhausted.
     
     It's also a lot less stressful to just worry about building community and making yourself less dependent on the corrupt system. The more people who can find ways to exit that system the less power it wields. Focusing efforts there instead of trying to make a decision within the confines of the board your enemy has constructed seems likely to yield more pleasant results. It's like moving to fedi instead of getting worked up about whatever elon is doing with twitter. Who cares? if I don't use twitter I shouldn't.
   • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: (thatguyoverthere@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 22:03:29 JST Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     in reply to

     • Kevin Karhan :verified:
     @kkarhan @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs I just think it really doesn't matter if the candidate has one letter or another next to their name. Ultimately they are working for donors who all suck the tit of global finance. There is no way for a candidate to get to a national stage without it.
   • Kevin Karhan :verified: (kkarhan@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Apr-2023 22:03:30 JST Kevin Karhan :verified:

     in reply to

     • Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think:

     @thatguyoverthere @ItsTrainingCatsAndDogs personally, I doubt that this has ever worked since in politricks and espechally elections, silence is consent.

     I wished parlaments would be forced to vacate the percentage of seats proportional to non-voters and elections would count per % eligible voters, not % valid ballouts, cuz if people don't want a functional government then they should get that too.
     https://mstdn.social/@kkarhan/110265209810981144

     Disinformation Purveyor :verified_think: likes this.