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this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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Asklemmy
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I just continue to legitimize the establishment in word and deed.
How. How am I doing that? I'm too tires to fight you, I'm just looking for information at this point.
Any legitimate vote is defacto consent for the system. The biggest stand you can take in a voting booth is spoiling your ballot with obscenities. It is abundantly clear that "harm minimization" doesnt work. Voting for a lesser of 2 evils is still voting for evil.
So your answer is essentially don't vote, or be really rude with your ballot in protest.
Okay. I can do that.
How does that help? What does it accomplish?
The people counting the votes see the dissent. Low voter turn out delegitimizes the system. If only 30% of people voted it is easy to say the system is corrupt and that outside pressure is justified. If 30% of ballots are being thrown out it calls into question the entire system.
If "bad country" reported that 30% of their ballots were discounted the USA would slap sanctions on them and start banging war drums.
Assuming they're not machine counted, fine. What does that accomplish?
Okay. So say the system is "delegtimized" this way. What now? That doesn't change anything as far as I can see. The asshats in power will just… keep being in power, because no matter how morally, ethically, or even rationally unjustifiable, the corrupt system is, it's legal.
I'm/not saying you're wrong. I don't think you are. I just don't see what it accomplishes.
In the long run, it means revolution I guess. But in the meantime, how do we stop old ladies from getting murdered over pride flags (to use a recent example)? Cristofascists and those that profit from them winning elections legitimizes their hate. It empowers the twatknuckles that support them. Even dumb crap like calling COVID the "Chinese Virus" spurs on hate crime.
How do we deal with that?
Has voting stopped this?
Organize with other people who want a new system. Convince other people that nothing is going to get better by voting. Make connections with others groups who are doing the same. Build/join a network so that you/they know when critical mass is reached. While you wait for revolution, do what you can in your local community to make people's lives better. This will also help pull people to the cause.
Also be ready to be a partisan because fascism rides electoralism to power so things are likely to get worse before they get better.
By arguing for the lesser of evils, you are arguing for the legitimacy of the establishment.
No. I'm not. That's like saying that acknowledging the existence of the Chicago Bears means I'm a football fan.
I'm arguing that the establishment exists and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm arguing for despair.
All I have left is harm reduction. Which is also 100% hopeless, but it keeps me from jumping off a building because no matter how ineffective it is, it's fucking something.
If you have a better idea, please. I'm all ears.