Look at the recent Ohio special election results. Races have been real close and every vote matters.
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Americans: Not Voting Makes a Statement Alright - F*ck You, Got Mine
- Thread starter Syriel
- Start date
Alright. I understand that feeling of powerlessness very well, so I'll refer you to a post of mine I've made before that tries to be as respectful as I possibly can be on this subject and explains how your vote, absolutely can have an impact all by itself:
"And in addition to that, there's the matter of the 2017 Virginia Gubernatorial/House of Delegates election. Most expected Democrats to do well in that election, but nobody knew by how much exactly. And the actual results when they came out pretty much blew everyone out of the water. Nobody expected what ended up happening to actually happening. And what was that something exactly? Democrats performed well enough to not just make huge gains, but for this to be a conceivable scenario that even happened, a possibility that even presented itself to begin with:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/19/16797572/virginia-house-delegates-drawing-bowl
While most were expecting Democrats to do well, NO ONE, and I mean no one, was expecting control of the House of Delegates (the lower house of the Virginia State legislature) to actually be in play. And particularly not in the fashion it was: coming down to a tie, a TIE, in one race, that had to be decided by a COIN FLIP of all things.
And of course, on top of all that, there were some rather notable candidates that won as well:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_House_of_Delegates_election,_2017#Results
The point of all this? Let NO ONE, absolutely no one tell you your vote doesn't matter. It does. No one expected the Viriginia 2017 election to turn out the way it did, and yet it did. One vote absolutely CAN make the difference, as it would have there. And nobody had any way of knowing that in advance, because nobody could conceive of a situation like that actually being in play to begin with. The only way to know, the absolute one and only way to know in the end, is to actually do it and see what happens. "Shoulda coulda wouldas" are pointless. The only way to know in the end is to try.
And I was already convinced myself, being an active voter since the 2008 Presidential election. But especially after that? After seeing the power one vote can make in elections like the Virginia 2017 gubernatorial elections? You bet your ass I'm going to continue voting whenever I can, because no way in hell do I want to be that one person that DIDN'T show up when it would have mattered most, don't ever want to even chance it, that's for sure. People underestimate it and say it could never happen, but elections like that are proof that people like that don't know what they're talking about, and yeah, I never want that to be on my shoulders when there is something I could have done, and so I will do my best."
Now, like I said in the quoted post of mine above, is it likely that that same situation will repeat in any given individual election? No, but situations like that nonetheless happen more often than one would think, where things come down right to the wire like that, especially in terms of stuff like local elections and ballot initiatives, which are themselves more important than people give them credit for. And if that does happen, there's absolutely no way of knowing in advance. None of us can tell the future, obviously.
But stuff like that nonetheless does happen. And who wants that to be on their shoulders, if it were to happen? Ultimately, the only thing any one of us can do is vote, to make sure that we've each done our part and that that doesn't fall on us at least, should it happen. Be proactive in that type of way.
Or to put it another way: yes, there's a small chance that any given individual election will be a repeat of stuff like Virginia 2017. But if you don't vote at all, you're taking that small chance, and turning it into an absolute certainty that it doesn't by completing removing your voice before anything's begun and removing any opportunity to put it back in should you change your mind. Yeah, there's no way to know for certain if it actually will matter or not, but stuff like that does happen, it absolutely does, and there's no way of knowing until all the ballots are in. So the only way to know is to be proactive, vote, and then let the pieces fall wherever they may because at least that way, regardless of what happens, your voice has been heard, and stuff like that, should it happen, definitely isn't on you in any case.
And who knows? Maybe you will end up casting a decisive vote after all, when everything's counted and said and done. Only one way to actually find out in the end, isn't there?
This is an argument to campaign not vote, which is the subject of this thread. The magic number is one not thirteen.
Forgive me if I'm quoting the wrong source, this is the first reasonable source that came up searching for your quote. There was a difference of 1,564 votes. You might want to say every vote counts, not every vote matters, at least in regards to the election you mentioned (unless I have a bad source, in which case, that's on me).
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Thirteen people thinking 'the magic number is one' is thirteen people not voting. this argument is either disingenuous or just plain stupid.
It's not a feeling of powerlessness, it's a feeling of pointlessness. The only votes that matter are the ones belonging to the majority. If my vote happens to belong to the majority, then it only mattered if it was decided by a margin less than or equal to one. It's the idea that my opinion only matters if the majority shares it which effectively renders an opinion useless in the context of a vote.
The argument is convincing people to vote is what matters, not the vote in and of itself. Say I voted in an election that was decided by such a margin, in a vacuum, as to mean my vote has zero impact on anyone else that did or didn't vote, would change the margin to twelve and would carry no significance.
A house election in VA was literally tied and decided by a draw.
You've got to be trolling, right? Nobody can actually be dumb enough to think this way. The idea of "I'll only vote if my vote is the deciding vote" is the most insane bullshit I've ever read on this forum. And I read a thread about someone cupping their farts and smelling them the other day.
This is utter bullshit. Go on having no voice and disenfranchising people because you don't care.
This may not mean much coming from a guy here in the UK but I wish you all the best and I hope sanity prevails and the vote results in the Democrats taking the house.
Regarding the topic I once asked on here in another thread why people got so mad at those who don't vote and even though I always vote myself I did not appreciate what it meant, so I thank those who replied with honest and respectful answers.
Regarding the topic I once asked on here in another thread why people got so mad at those who don't vote and even though I always vote myself I did not appreciate what it meant, so I thank those who replied with honest and respectful answers.
What an extremely stupid opinion. The point of voting isn't for your fucking special snowflake choice to be the pivotal one that makes the difference and decides the election. It's for the views of the population in aggregate to be expressed.
Basically this. As an ecologist in the UK, it really frustrates me that I get absolutely no voice in shaping how much Trump gets to screw over the environment globally just to make his oil buddies a little richer for the rest of their old-man lives.
Please vote. The entire world is relying on you <3
I don't want to pile on, but voting isn't about your single vote making the difference. It's about understanding that this process only works when people vote, and deciding that you're the kind of person who will go through the minimal effort required to record your opinion where it is actually counted.
So, you're not voting because other people are voting against your interests?
How in the world do you think things ever change?
Well, when one party needs lower general voter turnout, and suppresses the votes of demographics that vote for the other party, when someone tells me their vote doesn't matter I think they are an idiot.
If it didn't matter, then no one would suppress voters. No one would gerrymander.
If it didn't matter, then no one would suppress voters. No one would gerrymander.
My post in no way praised the FBI but acknowledged how the current overtly white supremacist administration has changed their current directive for the worse
This is such a stupidly racist phrase. I'm a slave for voting against the overtly racist party? This phrase alone deserves a serious ban, seriously
So you're cool with how McConnell and his gang are running Washington for a few more years?
Nah, go vote anyways.
One side runs actual black candidates and at least talks the talk. The other side disenfranchises voters. I know you're banned but if you felt like these situations are the same, you lack basic critical thinking skills. If your point is to expect more from your politicians I think everyone will agree with you.
Their name is Halo 2, I feel like that's pretty obvious haha.
If I believed that it was possible to send a message or institute real change by not voting, then I would argue in favor of it.
But it's not. Not voting just sends the message that you don't care what the elites do.
So I'll vote in every election, even when the candidates seem like crap, because not voting is always the worst option in this system.
But it's not. Not voting just sends the message that you don't care what the elites do.
So I'll vote in every election, even when the candidates seem like crap, because not voting is always the worst option in this system.
You not voting doesn't stop the system from being corrupt, it just hurts the people who are trying to fix the system.
User banned: (3 Days) Racism, Barack Obama identifies as African American.
People can identify as they want
I am not supporting that other dudes claims or opinions but there is a difference in having a small percentage of white ancestry to having a white mom . Obama does not descend from Africans enslaved in America , what he has in common with us is being a Minority in America and because of the One drop Rule he is looked at as black .
The One Drop Rule is racist it was made as a way to Demean black people
Less than 24 percent of European ancestry and probably less for a lot of black people like myself or none at all
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Not voting is similar to hearing about Amazon treating their workers badly and deciding not to shop there.
It solves pretty much nothing.
If you were to tell me that you're going to abstain from voting in order to take to the streets and protest the system or speak up in another way then sure, have at it. But to just sit at home in some silent protest that no one knows or cares about is a strange move to me. What's the goal really? No one heard the light wimper you let out. No one cares.
You're talking to yourself.
It solves pretty much nothing.
If you were to tell me that you're going to abstain from voting in order to take to the streets and protest the system or speak up in another way then sure, have at it. But to just sit at home in some silent protest that no one knows or cares about is a strange move to me. What's the goal really? No one heard the light wimper you let out. No one cares.
You're talking to yourself.
"Got mine" what? I'm a young black man in a crime heavy metropolitan area. What do I have that every other American would be jealous to have?
In any other circumstance, I wouldn't be voting because I know for 100% fact that nothing I do will make a difference.
And before everyone dogpiles on me relax. I am voting on Tuesday because you all say I have to. No other reason.
In any other circumstance, I wouldn't be voting because I know for 100% fact that nothing I do will make a difference.
And before everyone dogpiles on me relax. I am voting on Tuesday because you all say I have to. No other reason.
Y'all trying to negotiate a raise before the interview even starts. We can talk about the quality of Democrats to choose from after we regain power.
The GOP keeps winning because they keep voting in lockstep and not giving a fuck, not because their ideas are all that more popular than ours.
It takes like an hour every two years out of your life to do the minimum to stem the tide of white nationalist fuckery, and in the long run we can put some steam into the engine and move the Overton Window in a place where a candidate can stand with BLM and still get elected.
That shit isn't going to happen if we don't fight for it.
The GOP keeps winning because they keep voting in lockstep and not giving a fuck, not because their ideas are all that more popular than ours.
It takes like an hour every two years out of your life to do the minimum to stem the tide of white nationalist fuckery, and in the long run we can put some steam into the engine and move the Overton Window in a place where a candidate can stand with BLM and still get elected.
That shit isn't going to happen if we don't fight for it.
Furthermore even when the Democrats obtain power again that doesn't mean we should just start giving Republicans a pass for being shitheads. My current Congressman (Erik Paulsen) coasted throughout all of Obama's presidency by selling himself as a "moderate" Republican who would serve as a responsible check and balance. Sure enough once he got in he was just as useless as every other Republican, obstructing everything Obama wanted and offering nothing in return, but because he was soft-spoken and not too outwardly bigoted he was able to maintain his reputation.
Now he votes 99% of the time with Trump and is finally in trouble after five terms but it's like damn, how did none of you see through this act? Clinton won this district by nine points, and at the same time Paulsen won by double digits. He didn't just *start* being horrible, it just took everyone this long to notice!
I don't vote because voting only serves the majority which I may or may not belong to. Things change by campaigning, not voting. Voting is simply a metric for measuring the effectiveness of a campaign. This is basically an argument of semantics because I'm tired of people throwing the very specific, disingenuous phrase of "Your vote matters" around when that is objectively a false statement. Vote in this context is the literal thing that is counted. Every vote is more akin to a popularity contest than it is a rational and logical assessment of literally anything.
I completely agree! It disgusts me how many people try to act like they are above it all because "all politicians are bad". Never has a cop out been so egregious as this one. Put some respect on your ancestors name who no doubt had to fight for their rights at one point or another down the line. Even in this country, it's been less than a lifetime since women were granted equal voting rights! So things may be good for you, but you still have to vote! And I don't know how anyone can say they love this country in particular and not vote. The whole point of our country is power to the people!
Apathy like yours contributes to the environment where Donald Fucking Trump can be elected president of the USA.
On behalf of those of us outside of the US who are hit with the consequences of a Trump presidency and have zero say in the matter, I have no respect or sympathy for you. At all.
In another election in another time this shit would be justifiable. But when you dont vote because you may vote for an ideology you dont believe in, then you think it's ok for branches of government to go unchecked and for rhetoric do what they do.
If Obama was the greatest asshole alive who continued to break federal law because he didnt like it and belittled other ethnics (yes even whites), and Congress/Hoise was doing nothing, fuck yeah I would vote Republican.
Right now it's about saying NO to Trumps ideology than it is supporting a party. Theres no grey area after Trump, you're either complicit or you're going to do the work.
You need to know where you stand, there are no bleachers or sidelines this game.
He can get his fake woke bullshit out of here, I cannot fucking stand people who love the smell of their own farts this much. Yeah, you're not voting because you aren't a slave. Ok guy lol. Keep thinking you not taking any action whatsoever and expecting results will breed the outcome you want. If it is something you truly want that is.
OP
OP
In this very thread you were provided an example of an election that was lost because someone like you didn't bother to vote, yet you choose to ignore it.
Not voting only benefits the party in power.
I think not voting is worse than voting and always losing. If everyone, conservative and liberal, voted the entire political landscape would be changed. Both the Republican party and the Democratic Party would likely be forced to lean further to the left on national issues, the racist wing of the GOP party that Trump's tapping in to right now would wield less influence than they do now, so much shit would be different.
Say what you will about Killmonger, he never advocated for racial purity tests.
You realize we essentially use the same process to elect the leader of our country as we do prom kings/queens right? You also realize he won because he convinced more people to like him than the other candidates? There are exactly three requirements to lead our nation and not one of them has anything to do with aptitude or ability.
I don't know why you're pointing the finger at people opting to not take part in such a system rather than the system that allows such things to occur. If we hired air traffic controllers based on the number of Facebook friends they had, would you get mad at their Facebook friends, or the fact that's how they decided who to hire? Would you only care once they screwed up?
Except that only matters if the majority feels that way and if they do then how I voted wouldn't matter anyways.
And I acknowledged it. It's a rather rare occurrence, most frequently for representatives. Rather than voting because of the astronomically low chance such a thing occurs, your time would be more effectively spent campaigning if you wished to actually make a difference.
The majority voted for Hillary and Trump still won. People say on their asses and assumed the majority vote would win in the end. People like my mother and several of my close friends.
Dont be complicit because you're disillusioned or some crap like that, get your lazy ass out there and vote.
Do the right thing.
The fundamental purpose of voting is not as a perfect expression of your personal worldview. Its purpose is as a tool to produce outcomes. When you opt out, the outcomes are chosen for you. People need to realize that voting isn't supposed to be a spiritual experience where ballot,heart and soul become one. Also if you don't vote you can't complain when shit you don't like happens. We have to vote w/ understanding that other tactics are also needed to address the problems we face.
You realize we also elected a president who lost both the popular and electoral votes right?
I'm saying prior to Trump, the United States elected a president who lost both the popular and electoral vote. I don't know how both of these facts are arguments supporting the significance of voting.