I did the thing. I made my voice heard in our democracy, others in my community did the same. But nothing fucking changed and the system of electoralism remains ever rotten to the core.
Lol but now I’m being told that “they’re scared of us because they say how frustrated we were.” Bull fucking shit. Why the hell do people equate mean words and insults with violence? This is the exact same song and dance that’s been happening for decades in American politics. “You must work within the system to get the change you want” or whatever other nonsense. “Be sure not to damage any potential relationships with liberals or scare off any potential voters!”
I guess the most absurd part about all of this is that liberalism has a track record of producing zero systemic change (or hell even challenges for that matter). So what am I fucking doing with my life at this point? What the hell can you even do without doing something that addresses the root cause of a serious problem?
I think Matt said in one cushvlog, or maybe it was Amber, that your singular vote isn't going to decide the election. One way or the other.
You can vote, withhold your vote as a protest in order to extract concessions, or strategically vote, etc etc etc.
But, the point is, don't fall into the trap that liberals and the Democratic party have laid for you to take on the responsibility for the entire system that they have created and at every junction prevented popular will from having any effect on.
That’s the thing though. I struggle to see a reality where multiple people voting in a left way will make any tangible difference on an election outcome. Because there are so many fucking back room dealings and all it takes is one coward to flip
I have so many more thoughts but nowhere to spread them without
but something has to give eventually. I guess I’ll just be twiddling my thumbs until the bourgeois decide to start automating everything and/or climate change gets realI mean, yeah. There are plenty of baffles (like a supressor) that Matt Christman talked about in Hell of Presidents and some of his vlogs, that our system of government has to contain and dissipate any energy that attempts to come into the system and enact reforms, let alone any revolutionary energy. I think at this point you just do what you think you can do to make any change, but obviously keep realistic expectations about what change can actually be done. As others have said, build local networks of support and wait for circumstances to change.
It sucks, but it's better than the emotional rollercoaster that happens every 4 years, where if your side loses it's the end of the world and if you win, well you've just put the apocalypse on pause for 4 years. I'd rather have the slow grind with an unknown result, compared to the constant the-apocalypse-is-going-to-happen or the-apocalypse-is-happening depending on if the Dems or Repubs are in the White House.
Do you have any good literature/write-ups on how to go about building a support network? Like almost doing socialism with capitalism? I have a few pretty well-compensated friends and we’ve all floated the idea but have had some trouble getting the idea off of the ground
I think instead of literature, you have to find groups that match your interests, or at least where there will be people with similar attitudes. I was active in the SRA (socialist rifle association) for a time and they did a lot of work with Food Not Bombs, which is another group that might be worth looking into. You can join some of the organizations that are doing protests about the violence in Gaza, since that is active right now. You could also consider joining your local DSA chapter or another similar political organization... yes it's still electoralism but it's better than nothing and is at least one starting point that you can try before branching out. Plus, here on Hexbear is also good when you want to vent.
There is none, voting is nothing it will never do anything (in bourgeois 'democracy')
Lmao right even if you were to get some magical voting turnout, do people seriously think the powers that be wouldn’t just add unnecessary hoops to jump through and more voter suppression methods for marginalized groups?
Yup because they can. And it’s not just republicans, prod a dem enough and they’ll be indistinguishable from a bush era republican
They keep most people too afraid of the other team to demand any real change. And it works.
People always bring up the civil rights act when talking about electoralism leading to change. Convenient how they never mention how riots/protests are what eventually got the goods?
2020 and cop cars burning? Something happened. I have a couple of buddies with connections to law enforcement and one of their lines when teaching new piggies is “this is how we do things since George Floyd”
Almost makes it worse having this knowledge, honestly. Really puts into context the absolute powerlessness
Sure, but it's better to know what actually got the goods compared to the MLK fairy tale where everyone just woke up one day and decided to all be friends.
It is as exhausting as it is frustrating. I've been listening back to Hell of Presidents, and I keep returning to the thought that this system was built - half intentionally, half blindly - to be unable to respond to whatever given set of conditions it finds itself in. The two largest political shifts, the end the southern slave economy and the New Deal nearly a century later, seem like they were only possible because war broke out and the institutional norms were suspended. Even then, the ruling class was quick to reestablish norms and move things as close to the previous status quo as possible.
Federal politics looks over-determined. That could change, but not from the inside. Some external force, like a shift in the global economy or our ability to maintain empire, is going to crack that open and allow for new possibilities. But there's no way to know exactly how or when. Until then, I think state and local governments present a more actionable goal -- with the added benefit that growth in these smaller institutions becomes another advantageous inroad for if and when federal politics changes.
...that's obviously easier said than done; each state has it's own set of conditions and it's hard enough to draw local attention away from the national spectacle -- let alone doing it while also combating Red Scare brainworms.
If voting was sufficient to change the system it would be made illegal. Therefore, it makes tweaks around the edges or lags behind the real agents of change.
Feel free to vote if you want it's not like it's bad to do it. But do spread the news that spending tons of time on electoralism is a wasted effort.
Libs don't know game theory, if you don't act on your threats - there is no incentive for les acteurs to change behavior
Most cynical democrat after losing 2 times in a row to some green party 4% might think twice. Dems however are banking that republicans will be so horrible that you won't have convictions to follow through (see nader) it in a row.
*But also multi party eu systems do bs as well
Btw I realize voting has some utility in the context of producing some marginally better things, but why do fuckers think we’re going to vote our way to socialism? At this point, if you’re privileged enough, I’d say you’re better off building a support network locally
