In the political cosmology of something that calls itself the “Democratic Party,” it is now a widespread belief that support is owed from below rather than earned from above. Instead of building popular coalitions by seeking to represent the hopes, dreams, and interests of a democratic majority, a posture of absolute, uncritical deference toward elite politicians is presumed to be axiomatic — even when an election is still well over a year away.

I shared this on a different instance some months ago, but with this new instance open it might find a different reception.

It's an election year, so the usual suspects are going to be screaming that any good person will vote party line Democrat and if you don't you're letting the fascists win and you're a a bad person and a bad liberal/leftist/anarchist/communist/whatever.

Of course, every candidate from every major political party is a fascist of some flavor, but "you have to vote for the slightly better fascist or the slightly worse fascist will win" doesn't have the same ring to it.

Just a reminder that voting is not the default, it's not a civic duty, it's not a requirement of being a good member of your community.

Voting, for United States citizens, is the personal choice to participate in one specific form of capitalist neoliberal politics - a form that claims the mantle of democracy while being one of the most profoundly undemocratic forms of government in history.

Don't shame people for not voting.

Don't shame people for voting third party.

Don't shame people for write-in votes or protest votes.

Frankly, don't talk about voting with random people at all. The choice to vote, or not, is a personal moral choice. You have no right to assume that someone considers voting to be a moral act - and there are strong arguments that voting in the United States is a profoundly immoral act - and assuming someone is a voter and asking them to pick a candidate to vote for is no different than assuming someone supports sex work and asking them to pick a sex worker to employ.

If you know someone is a registered voter, go ahead and talk to them about voting. But keep in mind voting third party, or abstaining from voting in a specific election, are also legitimate moral and political choices, and shaming someone for not voting party line Democrat is offensive, counterproductive, and rude.

And if you don't know someone is a voter, don't recommend they vote for or against someone or discuss electoral politics in general. Many of us find electoral politics profoundly immoral and the assumption that we would participate in such equally offensive.

Be respectful. Don't vote shame. Thank you.