I’ve been seeing a lot of anti-voting sentiment going around. Can’t believe I have to say this, but you need to vote. Not only is there more to the election than just the president. (State policy, Senate, house), but not voting is not an act of protest. C’mon guys

  • Midnitte@beehaw.org
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    4 months ago

    Always vote, whenever you have the option.

    General election, primary, whatever.

    You should always make your voice heard. There’s also more important elections going on that are more directly impactful to you (i.e. local elections).

    • survivalmachine@beehaw.org
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      4 months ago

      This! I’m voting in 5 different elections this year!

      We had a special election to fill a vacated mayoral seat (only 10% of registered voters showed up) and then the recent primary. In May, we have a local election for city council and school board seats and also a separate run-off primary election. And then of course the general election in November.

  • guriinii@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    In the UK you can spoil your ballot if you’re unhappy with the options and is a recorded vote. Perhaps there’s something like that.

    • roguetrick@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I live in maryland so my ballot doesn’t matter much regardless for the presidential election. If Biden loses maryland he loses. And I won’t be voting for him. The worst thing missing my vote will do for him is reducing his popular vote. Since that’s mostly a talking point, good.

    • AnyOldName3@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      It’s not a good tool if one party is likely, but not guaranteed, to win without your vote, but is much worse than the other. You should only spoil your ballot if your constituency is has a large enough majority that your vote won’t matter at all, or none of the parties are less bad than the others.

      If you’re voting on the single issue of Palestine in the US presidential elections (not the primaries), then no state has a large enough majority to justify as spoiled ballots, and one party wants to support a genocide while the other wants to discourage it (even if they’re doing a crap job of it), so there is a least bad option to vote for.

    • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Except we have an actual self proclaimed dictator, trying to gain power. These fucking “progressives” are helping him.

      As someone with a modicum of common sense, it boggles my mind that these spoiled children think helping Trump seize power is a good idea for anyone including themselves.

    • lordmauve@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      I don’t understand the motivation to spoil your vote. First past the post is the shittiest voting system but the rational response is to vote tactically instead, perhaps reduce the majority of your disliked incumbent. Even if you can’t overturn a majority, MPs on smaller majorities may be less arrogant, and less likely to vote for unpopular policies. But sometimes you do overturn a majority. It will happen lots in this/next year’s election.

      I don’t think any politician gives a shit about the numbers of spoiled ballots, they literally don’t look even once at those numbers.

    • pkill@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      Many people in Poland half a year ago though similarly as well during the last election. 6 months in and the new government proved to be just as much of a reactionary enemy of the people as that of PiS. They almost fired at the protesting farmers recently. And it’s like that anywhere in the world in this rotten system – best those professional politicians screaming about fascism and creeping dictatorship can offer us is just “fascism with a human face”. Their policies fuel the openly reactionary side precisely because they are just as morally bankrupt, worthless and entrenched.

        • Pan_Ziemniak@midwest.social
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          They use Poland as an example of why voting is bad but ignore Tusk being one of the loudest European voices in backing Ukraine. Sounds convenient for a different major world power tp argue against that…

          Bc theyre sooo totally gonna be able to get the proles to their side to overthrow their shackles instead -_____-

      • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        4 months ago

        This is such a garbage fucking take. A vote for Biden is a vote to delay fascism for 4 years, which we can use to fight it more effectively. You vote to buy time, and you use that time to fight. There’s not much point in voting if we don’t fight, but if you don’t vote fighting will get a lot harder and things will get worse. Go read a book and touch some grass.

        • Facebones@reddthat.com
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          Except Biden and democrats only move further right, which is - by definition - not fighting.

          “Let’s move three steps to fascism instead of 5, that’ll save us! The DNC that went to court to tell it’s supporters to suck a dick will totally decide to listen, we swear! We know we tell leftists they’re stupid fucking babies, but don’t forget, we blame them when we lose too! Who WOULDN’T want to vote for that?!”

          The fact that yall can’t see how you’re literally the same picture as MAGAts baffles me. Demonization/dehumanization of anyone who disagrees, hyper nationalist, A borderline violent insistence that ONLY YOU can save the country. This whole thing of ‘We have to save democracy and the right to vote America dies if we don’t vote BUT IF YOU DON’T VOTE FOR MY GUY YOU HATE AMERICA AND ARE WORSE THAN HITLER’ shtick you live and die by. These stupid boilerplate personal attacks “go and touch grass hurrdurr”

          Waving a pride flag doesn’t make you less fascist homie, but you already know that. You just don’t care. Cause you’re a faschie.

          • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            4 months ago

            You’re making a whole lot of unreasonable assumptions about me and misrepresenting my position pretty throughly. Read a book and touch some grass.

          • boomzilla@programming.dev
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            4 months ago

            Hello from Europe. Please inform yourself about Project 2025 if you haven’t. If you already did and insist on your position to vote 3rd party and still don’t get that you won’t have fair elections in your lifetime anymore when orange cheato & the heritage foundation come into power I can’t really feel sorry for you. I’m sorry for anybody who’ll get dragged with you into a christo-fascist handmaids tale nation, though.

        • Not if you vote democrats though. 2016 should have been a wakeup call, but wasn’t to the party elites. Then 2020 should have been a wake up call but wasn’t. Now it is 2024 and they are still not waking up.

          As long as they are not punished vor being neoliberal far right economists with an imperial war hawk approach to foreign policy nothing will change.

          Everyone should vote for a third party imo. If the Dems suddenly need to compete with an actually progressive party, they would need to bring actual progressive politics. Right now they are just becoming more and more like what the republicans used to be, just with some LGBT rights, but only like if it isn’t inconvenient.

          • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Ah so you want to give the country to Trump and turn it into a dictatorship, so you don’t get to vote ever again?

            That’s some really “SMART” math you have!

            • Your alternative is the Dems continueing to fuck over the poor people in and outside the US and the Republicans to sucessfully blame it on the libs, but doing the same, fueling an ever far right extreme spiral.

              In the end i guess voters get what they deserve for never demanding actual positive change from the party that proclaims for itself to be progressive.

              • Olgratin_Magmatoe@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                I agree that the democratic party is a shit show. I hate it too. But if the goal is progress, handing Trump the presidency is wrong move.

                The correct move is to begrudgingly vote Biden in and work on election reform at a local level. In no way am I suggesting sit around doing nothing and letting the status quo persist.

          • LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            4 months ago

            with some LGBT rights, but only like if it isn’t inconvenient

            So I intend to vote, but this is important for everyone to understand. The democrats are NOT allies. They are only supportive insofar as we are useful producers and consumers.

            Look to Palestine and the Mexican border for examples of how well they’ll stand up for us when we become unuseful or unpopular.

            We need a system change including the entire removal of our “dEmOcRaCy” – anyone who defends our system as any kind of equitable system is either a lying fascist or a fool – no exceptions

      • StupidBrotherInLaw@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Did you actually think before posting this?

        “Not eating pie this weekend is eating pie next weekend!”

        “Might as well rear end someone. Not doing it now means you’re going to do it later.”

        “Why lose weight? Not dying earlier means you’re just going to die later.”

  • pkill@programming.dev
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    4 months ago

    “The Republican and Democratic parties, or, to be more exact, the Republican-Democratic party, represent the capitalist class in the class struggle. They are the political wings of the capitalist system and such differences as arise between them relate to spoils and not to principles.

    With either of those parties in power one thing is always certain and that is that the capitalist class is in the saddle and the working class under the saddle.

    Under the administration of both these parties the means of production are private property, production is carried forward for capitalist profit purely, markets are glutted and industry paralyzed, workingmen become tramps and criminals while injunctions, soldiers and riot guns are brought into action to preserve ‘law and order’ in the chaotic carnival of capitalistic anarchy.

    Deny it as may the cunning capitalists who are clear-sighted enough to perceive it, or ignore it as may the torpid workers who are too blind and unthinking to see it, the struggle in which we are engaged today is a class struggle, and as the toiling millions come to see and understand it and rally to the political standard of their class, they will drive all capitalist parties

    of whatever name into the same party, and the class struggle will then be so clearly revealed that the hosts of labor will find their true place in the conflict and strike the united and decisive blow that will destroy slavery and achieve their full and final emancipation.” - Eugene V. Debs

  • pkill@programming.dev
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    4 months ago

    if voting changed shit it would have been made illegal. don’t legitimize slavery by acts of expressing gratitude for being able to pick your masters.

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        4 months ago

        in this day and age, there is no progressive wing of the bourgeoisie. Revolutionary communists fight for a workers’ government and do not give any support to any capitalist party or politician. (…) However, mass dissatisfaction with the Democrats does not mean a majority of Americans are right-wing reactionaries. On the contrary, most people merely want stability, good jobs and wages, and a safe and healthy place to raise a family. But this simply isn’t possible for everyone under capitalism. The exploitation of wage-labor by capital and the relentless drive for profits precludes this. As an arch-capitalist himself, Trump can’t square the circle either, and he is merely filling the political vacuum in a temporary and distorted way. If reelected, those workers attracted by his poisonous bravado will eventually realize that no American president can magically wave their problems away.

        https://socialistrevolution.org/election-2024-why-genocide-joe-and-trumps-system-has-to-go/

        Evil is evil and lesser evilism is a disgusting idea.

        And when it comes to Trump, just as Hegel put it, historical necessity is often expressed through accident. Donald Trump is a giant, catastrophic accident for the capitalist class.

      • pkill@programming.dev
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        4 months ago

        Also I hope the Russian government is overthrown by it’s people and that the right to the self determination of the myriad of ethnic groups of Russia is actually honored instead of them being used as a cannon fodder to oppress another nation.

        • rottingleaf@lemmy.zip
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          I live in Russia. First, that won’t happen soon, it’s a bad situation with apathy, fragmentation and decay. Second, that myriad of ethnic groups is by geographic distribution mostly unable to secede as states with clearly defined borders. Third, where they can (say, North Caucasus), they depend on central financing to not be terribly poor (and they are still very poor).

          • pkill@programming.dev
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            4 months ago

            isn’t Tuva an exception in this case due to it’s isolation? Also a question of leadership, how relevant was Boris Kagarlitsky, actually?

            • rottingleaf@lemmy.zip
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              4 months ago

              Not of the third point.

              Also a question of leadership, how relevant was Boris Kagarlitsky, actually?

              So relevant that I’ve heard about him a few times, but never paid attention.

      • pkill@programming.dev
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        4 months ago

        but election rigging in post-Soviet Russia was actually started by the CIA to not let the communists get back to power in 1996 elections. Which is actually yet another proof that what is needed in any country really is a revolution and actual thorough democratization of every aspect of social and economic life possible, instead of neo-aristocratic electoralism. And that to that goal, a party able to lead a way towards it is needed (instead of trying to work within those that actually just prop up the system and will actively fight back when that is challenged (look up SJ Voralberg case in Austria as the most recent example, or even more glaringly, CPRF purging anti-war faction or the Blairite hostile takeover in Labour a couple years ago)), which was sadly lacking in Russia in the 90s as well as today.

        • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          what is needed in any country really is a revolution and actual thorough democratization of every aspect of social and economic life possible

          Good luck accomplishing any of that while under a dictatorship :)

          • force@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            the iranians revolted… into another dictatorship…

            and the french revolution ended swell! wait

            what about the cuban revolution? oh god damn it

            lol i’m just kidding, i can think of a few. the italian civil war and the libyan civil war, and technically the russian revolution and german revolution but i guess it helps when the government you’re fighting against is getting brutally beaten in a war against other countries. but i can’t say all of those ended in an extremely democratic system

      • pkill@programming.dev
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        4 months ago

        stagnant wages, no real influence on the politics because the Overton’s window is so narrow and all major parties filled with out of touch millionaires and also just because the political system does not really benefit a common person in a meaningful way, the cost of living and debt crisis, needing to join the military for basic public services, creeping corporate censorship and oligopolization creating a generation of dependent, depressed people with growing self-censorship instinct?

        • Moss@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPM
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          4 months ago

          Ok but none of this is slavery. I wouldn’t even call it indentured servitude. There’s a million miles between things sucking and being literally enslaved

          • pkill@programming.dev
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            Yeah I mean police brutality exists and although a peaceful revolution would be preferable to adventurist bloodshed, we must reckon with the high odds of the powers that be not giving up their power to “the mob” peacefully, this bears no comparison to the rampant abuse of the rural south before the Second American Revolution. But still for real emancipation I believe a third revolution is needed, first the colonial rule, then chattel slavery and now the oligarchic, imperialist capitalism need to go. The continued existence of the previous two was an impendance to the proper development of the United States (the latter two also a humanitarian tragedy, first directly, the latter indirectly*) while nowadays it is also and probably even more importantly, not just anymore due to the climate crisis but also due to hawkish foreign policies being on the rise – a threat to the continued existence of humanity.

            • I think I get your point. We used to have that buffer called the middle class that for decades ensured some relative social peace and fostered some faith in the American dream because some people were able to advance socioeconomically. But we are the first generation to actually have a worse standard of living than our parents, so all of that is crumbling. I used to be a software developer but the absolute shitshow that has been the 4-month long failed job hunt in the current state of the market forced me to become a food delivery driver. It all feels so disempowering when you feel your efforts amount to nothing. And I believe it’s not just me. Lots of young people have been scammed into wasting their time and money pursuing degrees that produced no ROI for them. I now really think I should’ve trained to become an electrician or other deficient, decently paying blue-collar vocation but now if I don’t find at least a support/admin job in IT soon it will be another couple years of debt and uncertainty and feeling easily replaceable, cheated out of future after being promised an irrationally exaggerated market value.

            But I feel like again, I’m not alone in this sentiment and soon we’ll see another wave of people training for highly demanded blue collar jobs, the market will saturate and some people will again end up feeling duped into another Ponzi scheme with their livelihoods. Because capitalism is a permanent crisis of overproduction, chaos and speculation, a dog eat dog world

            inb4 Ayn Rand’s “Anthem”

            I don’t really care about getting rich. I actually care about my craft and believe everyone should be able to do what they are passionate about without the fear of hunger, not receiving healthcare or homelessness. Most commercial software development is just as wasteful as marketing anyway.

    • mulcahey@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Not sure how to tell you this, but the Right has spent years and millions of dollars trying to make voting illegal for its opponents.

      So… I guess it does change shit, by your definition.

      https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/us/politics/trump-voter-rolls.html

      https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/officials-investigating-why-126000-voters-were-purged-from-ny-rolls

      https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/in-seven-states-removing-voters-from-the-rolls-just-got-easier/

      • pkill@programming.dev
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        4 months ago

        The people of USA succesfully beat two tyrannical systems in 18th and 19th century so why wouldn’t they now if the current state of things deteriorates in that direction. And so did the Russians who have lived under the tsarist tyranny. Or the people oppressed by the colonial regimes who have not attained their independence as a gesture of good will. Or Cubans overthrowing Batista. Or Chileans ousting Pinochet. Or South Africans overthrowing the apartheid.

        All of that required militancy. Polite pleas are not a language tyrants understand. But, by extension, blind faith in electoralism has failed when the KPD failed to respond with proper militancy to the Reichstag fire decree in 1933. The militancy must be proactive. One should not be deluded that a “progressive” government will welcome with open arms any advanced, massive expression of social anger any more than a reactionary one would. See France where it is basic street knowledge to wear at least a solid fucking helmet with plexiglass visor to any protest if you don’t want to say, lose an eye under the oh-so-benevolvent rule of the liberal Macron.

        Aaron Bushnell had a gun pointed against him as he died.

        • mulcahey@lemm.ee
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          Yes, that’s all true. But that’s a good argument for “You shouldn’t only vote,” not “You shouldn’t vote.” See the difference?

          If the only action we take is voting, then the tyrants who aren’t constrained by law will win. If the only action we take is direct action, then the tyrants win as soon as they outgun us. If we use voting to advance things in civil society inside the lines and direct action to keep the tyrants playing inside the lines, we win.

          • pkill@programming.dev
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            Reactionaries, like real fucking fascist shock troops are actually a minority compared to interwar period. Most Trump voters are just tired, frustrated and desperate, not actually fanatically rallying behind him. His bravado may resonate with some social anger but it will probably run out of steam as soon as people find out he offers no real solutions. On the contrary, Nazis and fascists were able to rally a significant number of strata of the population. So let’s compare the relevance and position of the groups upon which the Italian, Spanish and German fascists based themselves:

            • Demobilized soldiers and mercenaries like the Moroccans in Spain and Freikorps

            Nowadays many people join the military in the US just to get free college and healthcare etc. And yet they still fall short of their recruitment targets. See the recent protests in solidarity with Aaron Bushnell. Also after WW I most armies were infantry based and there was initially mass unemployment amongst the veterans.

            • Medium to large-scale landowners/peasants

            1-3% of the society. And if anything, their militancy at least makes the ruling class tremble, lest it was adopted by workers.

            • Clergy

            Even in the US religion is losing relevance

            • Students

            Massively shifted to the left almost everywhere

            • Small business owners

            They are still getting screwed every once in a while by the ruthless law of the accumulation of capital but still mostly they might be partly correct but still go into some major distortions in their understanding of things. Petty bourgeoisie is not a revolutionary class. But at the same time, they no longer compete with other small business owners of other (Jewish) ethnicity but actually rely heavily on unskilled migrant labor

            • Organized criminals

            Crime has mostly economic causes. For massive spike in crime that could serve as the manpower pool for the fascist militias, the system would actually need to be built on a prejudice against white males, not just in /pol/cel projections grounded in not seeing shit primarily through economic lenses.

            So even if the unavoidable aggravation of capitalism’s agony happens sooner:

            • to reject the possibility of emerging from it victorious is actually a defeatist internalization of downplaying the potential of own class, just what the porky wants
            • to tail the liberals will not serve in any way to convince the less politically educated people that we are any alternative…
            • …and if anything, ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy for their besieged fortress myth about some leftist conspiracy
            • most dictators came to power not by election, but by a coup or manipulation
            • even if we think about the most notable example when they did, that is in Germany in the 30s, it’s all actually vastly different. While KPD’s sectarianism towards SPD and the refusal to take advantage of several revolutionary situations were what led to it not being able to successfully withstand Hitler, there are some key differences here:

            Democrats are as much of a millionaire club as Republicans. SPD was a massive workers’ organization. CPUSA actually endorses Biden because that’s what most IMCWP parties not in power do: legitimize the status quo and maintain a watered-down programme. No diff here with CPRF in Russia. And such sort of passivity and conservatism is what permeated the leadership of KPD under Thälmann and it is the reason why a revolutionary party aspiring to stand as an independent force that won’t ever let itself be co-opted into the system is needed.

            I get that feeling of FOMO. But ask yourself, which do you think matters more against millions of other voters whom you’ll never talk to:

            a) voting

            b) organizing to defend yourself against the Trump regime, by force if necessary where a loud and consequent group can easily sway thousands if not millions under the right conditions. That vs trying to basically convince people why one shade of the same color is better than the other which serves mostly narrowing their worldview and proving that you are not willing to stand up for your ideas.

    • fidodo@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Tell that to women and trans people. If Trump wasn’t elected we’d still have roe v Wade and federal judges that would strike down a lot of the anti trans laws being put out, plus those states wouldn’t have been empowered to do so in the first place.

      • regul@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        Lol. As if trans people in red states will be any better off with Biden as president again. Or trans people in blue states any worse under Trump. The feds aren’t doing anything about all the states that are doing the most heinous shit to trans people already.

        Don’t threaten me with my sister’s death to coerce me to support the genocidal regime currently in power.

        They don’t keep us safe. We keep us safe.

        • ToastedPlanet@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          The Republican Party is not the party of small government. They are a fascist death cult and they will bring their anti-trans bills from red states to the federal government. Trans people will be erased from public life. Trans people will be discriminated in the work force and undoubtedly find it difficult to pay rent as a result. Trans people are going to end up homeless on the streets if Republicans win in 2024.

          The Supreme Court is hearing a case about homeless encampments. Homeless encampments may soon lose the current legal protection they have under the Eight Amendment. The current logic being that chasing away people who have no where left to go is cruel and unusual punishment.

          https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/city-of-grants-pass-oregon-v-johnson/

          Even blue states like Oregon and California asked the Supreme Court to review the case.

          https://nypost.com/2024/03/09/opinion/the-supreme-court-could-soon-outlaw-homeless-camps/

          Multiple prominent Democrats petitioned the Supreme Court to review Grants Pass, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco mayor London Breed, and Portland mayor Ted Wheeler.

          It is not guaranteed that blue states will be safe havens for anyone. Here is an official statement from Governor Gavin Newsom.

          https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/01/12/governor-newsom-statement-on-u-s-supreme-court-agreeing-to-hear-case-on-homelessness/

          “California has invested billions to address homelessness, but rulings from the bench have tied the hands of state and local governments to address this issue.

          “The Supreme Court can now correct course and end the costly delays from lawsuits that have plagued our efforts to clear encampments and deliver services to those in need.”

          If Trump wins in 2024, he wants to make homelessness illegal. Homeless people are going to end up in death camps.

          Trump said his proposal calls for creating “tent cities” and relocating homeless people to “large parcels of inexpensive land” with access to doctors, psychiatrists, social workers and drug rehab specialists. He claims his plan will once again make cities “livable” and “beautiful.”

          A trans homeless person is as least as likely to end up in a death camp as a cis homeless person. And trans people have a good chance of being homeless if they can’t get a job because Republicans allow corporations to discriminate against them in the work place. Trans people will be worse off no matter where they are in America.

          • regul@lemm.ee
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            4 months ago

            If the Democrats are also pushing to make being homeless illegal why is that an incentive to vote for them? I guess I don’t get your point. You think Biden doesn’t feel the same way about Martin v Boise as Newsom?

            • ToastedPlanet@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              If the Democrats are also pushing to make being homeless illegal why is that an incentive to vote for them?

              My point is Democrats want to overturn the status quo. The blue states assume they are going to get to decide what happens to homeless people next, presumably for the better. Unfortunately for them, a second Trump term would undoubtedly render homelessness illegal at the federal level. Best-laid plans gone awry thanks to Trump.

              If the Republicans win in 2024 they will have control of all three branches of the federal government. They will be able reshape America how they see fit, and states rights are not going to stop them. States rights were only ever a justification from Republicans to turn their states into authoritarian christofascist workshops. Now they going to take what they’ve learned and practiced to the federal level and won’t care about state rights whatsoever.

              • regul@lemm.ee
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                4 months ago

                The blue states assume they are going to get to decide what happens to homeless people next, presumably for the better.

                The blue states are pushing to be allowed to put homeless people in jail again. Martin v. Boise required you to have enough shelter beds/housing available before you could force homeless people to leave the street. The blue states are joining the SCOTUS case because they will not build shelters. If that doesn’t indicate that they have no intention of doing better, idk what does.

                They will be able reshape America how they see fit

                They don’t need the other two branches of government to do this. They’ve already got the only one that matters and are doing it now even with a Democrat in the Oval Office.

                • ToastedPlanet@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                  4 months ago

                  The blue states are joining the SCOTUS case because they will not build shelters.

                  Again, here is Governor Gavin Newsom’s official statement. He seems intent on providing services to homeless people. Presumably that would include shelter.

                  https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/01/12/governor-newsom-statement-on-u-s-supreme-court-agreeing-to-hear-case-on-homelessness/

                  “California has invested billions to address homelessness, but rulings from the bench have tied the hands of state and local governments to address this issue.

                  “The Supreme Court can now correct course and end the costly delays from lawsuits that have plagued our efforts to clear encampments and deliver services to those in need.”

                  It’s fair to not trust what someone says. At least with Democrats when they outwardly claim to have homeless people’s interests at heart, since they are neoliberals as opposed to fascists I am inclined to believe them. However, I disagree with the need to remove homeless camps in order to provide services to people. If the services are good and this is effectively communicated to people, I think most people in need of those services will take them voluntarily.

                  This is opposed to the fascists in the Republican party who want to put homeless people in what will no doubt turn out to be death camps.

                  They don’t need the other two branches of government to do this. They’ve already got the only one that matters and are doing it now even with a Democrat in the Oval Office.

                  If Republicans want to make homelessness illegal at the federal level, they will need Congress to pass legislation and the presidency to sign the bill into law. All the Supreme Court can do is remove homeless encampments’ Eighth Amendment protection based on the current question they are trying to answer. They could also assign whether they think the federal or state governments have the authority to write legislation to address homeless encampments. As they did recently with Trump v. Anderson. However the Supreme Court cannot write or sign into law any such legislation themselves.

                  Not that I assume anyone needs this, but it’s catchy and I’ll take any excuse to watch it, it’s the “I’m just a bill.”

                  I was just going to post this just for fun, but they actually raise a good point. Even with only Trump in office, without a Republican controlled congress, he can do a lot of damage with just executive orders.

      • FreudianCafe@lemmy.ml
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        4 months ago

        Well, if you care about people’s wellbeing you gotta see what Genocide Joe is doing in palestine. Idk what Trump did but i dont remember he killing 15000 children

        • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Actually Trump did MUCH WORSE… And is literally saying he would turn Gaza into a glass now…

          But you knew that Russian troll.

          • FreudianCafe@lemmy.ml
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            4 months ago

            Id like to know about what he did that is worse. Any source in english, spanish, portuguese or italian is welcome

        • boomzilla@programming.dev
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          4 months ago

          You’re either a plant or you’re dangerously uninformed.

          If Trump and his christofascist sect wins, all arabic people in the region will be expelled or genocided.

          If the crazies behind Trump with their playbook “Project 2025” get their way it would be really the “Lord have mercy” phase in humanities history.

          This article shows the grand picture which should frighten every world citizen, considering we talk about the greatest military power with an unhinged Commander in Chief who is commanded himself by even more sinister manipulators.

          “Many Republicans express their unwavering support for Israel in biblical and apocalyptic terms. Rep. Mike Johnson, a Christian evangelical, made his first public appearance after being elected House speaker last October at a conference of the Republican Jewish Coalition, where he said that “God is not done with Israel.””

          Compare that to president Biden openly criticising Netanyahu and vice-president Harris calling for a ceasefire now.

          Your insult just doesn’t make sense. I hope you see that. I heard that nearly every US president after WW2 was unconditionally pro Israel. And at least some of the dems (including the president) currently seem to begin to grasp that Israel is going terribly wrong with their methods in the war on Gaza. Your current government has the best chances to bring it to an end if they go just one step further. Biden said in the interview on MSNBC he’d always support them with their Iron Dome but it seemed, although he didn’t say it directly, that he wouldn’t support them above that, if Netanyahu crosses a red line.

          Choose wisely.

          • FreudianCafe@lemmy.ml
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            4 months ago
            1. In politics what people do is way more important than what they say. Not saying Trump is reasonable in any way, he killed Soleimani for no reason at all. But Biden have a genocide in his curriculum

            2. Where did i insult you?

            3. Biden is not my government. Idc if he curses and tell Netanyahu to eat shit, as long as he is providing weapons and money he is a genocidal ghoul. You are so easily fooled by nice words but dont forget who’s the weapon supplier to this genocide

            • boomzilla@programming.dev
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              4 months ago
              1. Jup. That execution was extremely dangerous and I’m sure Iran is still pondering how they could take revenge. Another possible fubar situation if he comes to power. Iran launching a new 9/11 as a retribution for their national hero.

              2. Not meant that you insulted me but rather 46. You’re free to do of course but I don’t think it fits. I can’t imagine it’s Biden who’s giving commands to carpet bomb Gaza, block aid deliveries or to shoot ~100 people fighting for said deliveries.

              3. I’m not well informed about the independent candidates in the US and their stance to help for Israel. But even if there are some very left parties with no-aid for Israel policy would they stand any chance to against Orange Cheato? After him it’s just game over. He would be dictator for lifetime. And Don Jr. after. Remember it’s very hard for US presidents to traditionally not support Israel militarywise. This doctrine seems to become a bit brittle lately.

      • Binzy_Boi@supermeter.social
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        4 months ago

        At what point did I say that? Of course the Republicans are miles worse than the Democrats, but why should people sit there and be like “oh, let me just vote for genocide lite when the other party is genocide standard”

        • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          People should not actively vote FOR increasing genocide, which supporting Trump does. Not only there but bringing it here against US Arabs and LGBTQ people. And also opens up the VERY real possibility of this country turning into a dictatorship in which there won’t be more votes.

    • Binzy_Boi@supermeter.social
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      4 months ago

      Vote for an independent candidate. People have this wild notion that voting for a third-party candidate means you’re throwing your vote away.

      You’re not. You’re voting for the candidate that best represents your values. People who say otherwise have fallen for the brainrot talking point that’s been around since Ross Perot ran in '96.

      • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        How is it wise to vote for a candidate that has no discernible chance of winning the election, and is therefore incapable of actually representing my interests in government?

        • Binzy_Boi@supermeter.social
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          4 months ago

          Hm, almost as though Democrats should be pressured by voters to abolish the electoral college… wonder what will change their stance on that.

          Maybe… if the Democrats saw their support weakening as a result of their terrible policies… hmmmm.

          • survivalmachine@beehaw.org
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            4 months ago

            Democrat-leaning states are already working towards that.. The idea is that if they have 270 electoral votes worth of states signed up, they will all agree to change their electoral delegates to follow the national popular vote, effectively ending the electoral college. It’s not really a democratic push, but it’s an idea that would only be popular with the party that aligns with the national majority. They currently have 205 EVs committed.

      • boomzilla@programming.dev
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        4 months ago

        Nothing wild about it.

        Either

        • vote for the only worthy contender against Trump

        or

        • vote for someone who isn’t that contender and therefore not for the only worthy contender Biden

        If you decide for the latter you’ll risk to never really vote again. Read the signs on the wall. It’s the “What would I have done if I was a german under Hitler” phase, the USA citizens are in right now. If your prefer the stuff that’s going on in Hungary under Orban or worse, go on, vote 3rd party.

    • JesterIzDead@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Yes! It has and always will be about voting for the person you dislike the least. You need to grow up if you think otherwise

  • Julian@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    Seriously. I get feeling like you don’t have much of a choice, but not voting is just giving up. Like, you’re actively removing the little choice you have and handing democracy over to an overt fascist.

      • Julian@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        Maybe for some local elections. But you really need heavy support, otherwise you’re dividing the vote which can lead to more harm. Some places have rank based voting now though which makes it possible to vote for 3rd parties without dividing the vote. Hopefully that becomes more common.

        • Binzy_Boi@supermeter.social
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          I get where you’re coming from. I’m definitely in favour of a ranked choice voting approach cause it does a lot more to get rid of the spoiler or dividing vote fallacy.

          The entire spoiler or dividing vote hoax is based on this false assumption that the voters carry the responsibility for not voting for a “lesser evil” candidate when that burden of responsibility should instead be on the nominee for not doing enough in their power to win over votes.

          With the current election, Biden is being a complete dumbass and is hemorrhaging support from Arab Americans and young people because of his refusal to stop giving weapons and aid to Israel and properly withholding those until a full and permanent ceasefire is reached. He’s also losing support from Hispanics, though the reasons there are more to do with how he hasn’t been doing enough to better the lives of working-class people.

          Arab Americans and young people aren’t going to turn around and vote for Trump, or in the off chance he receives a conviction before November, whoever else the Republican nominee will be. They’re more likely to vote third-party or independent or not vote at all, and unfortunately with the latter, that’s when the burden of responsibility becomes shared.

          • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Ah a Trump supporter! Let me know how that works out for you!

            Question? How did Trump treat Arabs last time? Did they enjoy the travel ban? The exponential increase in hate towards them in this country?

            Once Trump, wins and helps Israel turn Gaza to glass, will helping him win make them feel good? Once Trump puts them in concentration camps in this country, will they be happy?

            When, Trump cements his dictatorship so there is no vote in 2028, will they they be satisfied?

            I don’t like Biden, but not supporting him now, is supporting a repeat of 1930s Germany…

          • CoggyMcFee@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            The entire spoiler or dividing vote hoax is based on this false assumption that the voters carry the responsibility for not voting for a “lesser evil” candidate when that burden of responsibility should instead be on the nominee for not doing enough in their power to win over votes

            No, that’s just plain incorrect. The spoiler vote phenomenon is an inevitable consequence of our first-past-the-post election system. Whatever you start from, this voting system trends to two parties over time. You can model this and watch it play out. It’s not a hoax. We even saw Ross Perot make a serious run at the presidency in the 90s, and he ended up with zero electoral votes, and 4 years later he did much worse and his Reform party fizzled out and nothing came of it. Because it is absolutely suboptimal in our voting system.

      • ditty@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        I’m voting for a 3rd party in the general bc my state is a staunchly blue state (every presidential election since 1972) so my vote counts more that way. If I lived in a swing state like WI, PA, GA, AZ, CO, etc, I would definitely vote Dem.

      • jumjummy@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        In the realities of the US electoral system, a vote for a third party is akin to a vote for Trump. Twist and spin all you want, but that’s reality.

        Anyone who argues this is either naive, or a disinformation Russian asset.

          • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            While technically “possible”, the likelihood of Trump supporters switching to vote 3rd party is very low at this point.

            Just about everyone talking about voting third party is a progressive that would have voted for Biden. If they weren’t being duped by Russians.

            • FreakinSteve@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              Explain “duped by Russians”, and how trump voters are not being duped by Russians while unconvinced biden voters are.

              • horsey@lemm.ee
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                4 months ago

                They are being duped by Russians… into voting for Trump. But anyway, the question is who the third party voter would have voted for otherwise.

          • FenrirIII@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            None of the 3rd party candidates has national support or awareness. If you start small, you build support at a local level. People see what you can do and it instills faith while bringing in donations. As more people join the party, your influence grows. A real 3rd party candidate, who isn’t super rich or funded by rich donors looking to spoil the election, has never shown up.

              • FenrirIII@lemmy.world
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                There are no 3rd party conservative candidates. The cult of power (GOP) makes no room for competition. 3rd party candidates only exist to split the progressive/non-fascist and are usually funded by conservative donors for that very reason. If a 3rd party candidate was funded by grassroots support and had actually gained popularity by repressing a large constituency, the votes would mean something.

                • Kalysta@lemmy.world
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                  4 months ago

                  The Libertarian party is a third party conservative party and they did take votes away from Trump last election

                • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
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                  4 months ago

                  I dunno, I don’t feel like a lot of otherwise dems (or at least not more than gop) would vote for RFK. And historically I don’t think the progressive side was voting for Ross Perot (as an independent) or the libertarians who still run within the gop like Ron or Rand Paul.

            • HACKthePRISONS@kolektiva.social
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              4 months ago

              >A real 3rd party candidate, who isn’t super rich or funded by rich donors looking to spoil the election, has never shown up.

              then how do you know the right method?

          • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Got them into local positions and let them build power in the lower levels before moving up. Voting at the federal level for anyone other than the big two is a wasted vote at this time

          • FenrirIII@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Start small, at the local level. City, county, school board, or even a state representative. You build up a following starting at a smaller level because there are fewer people to have to convince to vote for you.

  • riwo@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    4 months ago

    its funny(?) how i only see posts criticising ppl for bot voting/voting third options but i dont currently see anyone actually advocating for doing that

  • survivalmachine@beehaw.org
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    4 months ago

    I stand with Palestine, and I’ll be voting in the US. Yes, I’m voting for Biden as the lesser of two evils, but I’m also voting for a whole lot of other really good people who are going up against some truly evil people. I’ve got people attacking my schools and libraries at the local level. Not voting to spite Biden will hurt my town a whole lot more than it would hurt Biden.

    • averyminya@beehaw.org
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      4 months ago

      That’s what I don’t understand from the don’t vote crowd.

      Okay, nobody left leaning voted. Now what?

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        4 months ago

        I’d argue it’s not ultra-leftism if both options are reactionary. On the contrary, when going through such a turbulent period, to call yourself a socialist/Marxist and yet tail any anti-worker Democratic crisis cabinet is to compromise yourself just like the Mensheviks did for 8 months in 1917 when they happily took their warm seats and then didn’t do shit to improve the desperate position of the Russian workers and denounce the Russian imperialism.

        So what to do instead of voting? Join the revolutionary communists to end the endless cycle of disappointment and picking lesser evil in the system that gives no real agency to 99% of the society.

        • cobra89@beehaw.org
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          While I agree with communism in theory, some of the language on the page regarding revolution is problematic IMO and is not going to gain the party any favors.

          Also some of the stuff they have listed on the site is pretty hilarious:

          The German Revolutions in 1918 and 1923, and the British General Strike in 1926, show us that even in the economic powerhouses of capitalism, the contradictions of capitalism cannot be fundamentally overcome. In fact, in 1968, the largest revolutionary general strike in history shook France. This was a country that had been lauded for its high living standards, and it occurred during a period of economic upswing!

          Literally every example they list of “the contradictions of capitalism cannot be fundamentally overcome” is an example of a country that is still capitalist lol. (Maybe because the real life examples of communism objectively haven’t turned out that great.) So they’ve continued to overcome them. And sure you can argue a country like France has a lot of socialist programs and legislation but it’s certainly still a capitalist country.

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            Because to resolve them a revolutionary situation is necessary first, and then some class leadership ready to lead it towards victory. Instead the impasse or temporary fixes for social peace will just continue into years of unresolved tensions erupting every once in a while but not achieving much. I.e. when

            (1) when it is impossible for the ruling classes to maintain their rule without any change; when there is a crisis, in one form or another, among the “upper classes,” a crisis in the policy of the ruling class, leading to a fissure through which the discontent and indignation of the oppressed classes burst forth. For a revolution to take place, it is usually insufficient for “the lower classes not to want” to live in the old way; it is also necessary that “the upper classes should be unable” to live in the old way; (2) when the suffering and want of the oppressed classes have grown more acute than usual; (3) when, as a consequence of the above causes, there is a considerable increase in the activity of the masses, who uncomplainingly allow themselves to be robbed in “peace time,” but, in turbulent times, are drawn both by all the circumstances of the crisis and by the “upper classes” themselves into independent historical action.

    • pkill@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      lol if you want to defend your community, join SRA instead of relying on a state that will not back down when tried, just like the French bourgeoisie used an enemy army to suppress an uprising by the French workers 150 years ago.

        • pkill@programming.dev
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          4 months ago

          yet the black panthers actually taught us the value and the power of the oppressed being able to defend themselves. imagine what if they were still around for the BLM movement if it wasn’t for cointelpro.

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    Americans: do what you want in the primaries. Vote for Biden in the general, because he will be the nominee. I am not stoked about that, but that’s the choice our system gives us.

    Non-Americans: please, please do a bit of research on how weird and fucked up and fractious our electoral system is before going off on someone for voting “undecided” in the primaries, as I did myself. Compared to the nationally-organized stuff you guys seem to mostly rely on, ours could charitably be described as “intentionally byzantine”.

  • Moss@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPM
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    4 months ago

    On the other hand, not voting or voting uncommitted in the presidential primary is completely fine. Literally no issue with that

  • Grant_M@lemmy.ca
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    4 months ago

    I stand with Israeli and Palestinian civilians, all of whom are victims of Hamas and the Netanyahu regime.