this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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United States | News & Politics
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Drag is confused. How does voting legimitise the electoral system? Drag mostly does direct action, but drag also votes.
If voting for Democrats is seen as activism, then activism is oriented around voting for Democrats. Voting third party signals disapproval for the system in general and tells the public what views those in disapproval have.
If Drag wants to do direct action, and believes it to be the path to systemic change, then voting for Democrats is counter-intuitive.
Drag doesn't get it. None of that sounds like practical, material effects. It just sounds like symbolic gestures. Drag wants to know if there's any physical reasons not to vote, or just symbolic ones. Also drag is not a capitalised pronouns user, but drag is glad you're willing to respect people with capitalised pronouns.
How is delegitimizing the electoral system by voting for leftist third parties not practical? If leftists continue to prop up right wing parties committing genocide, failing to address climate change adequately, and working towards World War 3, then that will be the status quo that is maintained. To get off of this train, leftists need to organize outside the bounds of electoralism, build up dual power, and signal strength with third party voting.
The physical reason not to prop up the democrats is that the democrats are leading the US to the end of the world, just like the republicans, and legitimizing their rule makes leftist organizing more difficult.
That's a circular argument. Drag asked you how voting props up the electoral system. You said "well how does propping up the electoral system help?" Drag agrees that propping up the electoral system is bad, but drag has not been told a reason that voting is that, except that it's supposed to be a symbolic loss. Drag doesn't care about symbolic losses, drag cares about stopping Trump from bombing the West Bank. Drag cares about Palestinian lives much more than symbolic complicity. Drag still wants to hear a practical reason why voting helps electoralism.
I never said voting props up the electoral system, I said voting for Democrats or Republicans props it up. Drag is arguing against ghosts.
Drag still wants an answer to the question you think drag should have asked. Drag doesn't think that detail is worth delaying the actual conversation for.
I already answered it.
Your answer was that it's a bad symbol. If drag thinks the only reason not to vote Democrat is because it's a symbolic admission of defeat, is drag understanding your argument as you wish it to be understood?
Nope! 👍
Then maybe you should explain what you want drag to understand