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‘What a circus’: eligible US voters on why they didn’t vote in the 2024 presidential election
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2024
219 points (95.8% liked)
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Well you're sure not going to get more of the same now. Good job, shithead.
the problem is, we still gotta beat Trump.
I dont think anyone knows if actual leftist messages will actually work, but holy shit it's gotta be better than diet, no caffeine, low sodium fun size Bill Clinton Zero.
Yeah, keep blaming the people "not falling in line" instead of just running a candidate that supports them.
That's how we got 2 Trump presidencies and people like you still haven't learned from it.
If anything, this should teach people like you that expecting people to "fall in line" no longer works and you should support different tactics to prevent further conservative blowouts.
I don't think people like you are capable of learning from this, though. You're just going to get angrier and keep repeating the same mistakes expecting different results.
You're right. I do blame people for "not falling in line" and letting a genocidal fascist dictator who made no secret of that gain control of a nation because they didn't find the opposition "compelling."
And as far from not having learned, I think what you haven't learned is that 2024 was the last real election in the U.S. in your lifetime.
Harris lost. You got what you wanted. Be happy about it.
Yeah, you're delusional and incapable of arguing in good faith.
And yet I did not insult you.
And if you think I'm delusional about what Trump is going to do, you're in for a very rude awakening.
Yeah. You're too distracted by the other guy being the antichrist to focus on how democrats would rather have trump than a progressive in office.
Until that culture changes, we shouldn't expect our government to change.
Clearly you're doing your part in making sure things stay exactly the same, while somehow expecting different results.
I think there's a word for that, but I digress.
You're right. I'm "too distracted" by the fascist dictatorship to play what if.
What part should I be doing? Insulting people on the internet? What else are you doing?
Well when you get Biden pardoning a judge who literally took bribes to send kids to jail to benefit a for profit jail, I'd question how compelling the Democrats are.
Instead of voting 3rd party and trying to change things, many Americans seems to be locked in a pointless argument over which party is the least shit.
Maybe you shouldn't worry about them being compelling when the alternative was fascism.
How are you still arguing this?
Because it is all a lie to cover up the truth. They want everyone to think of them as righteous, good, and caring. Hell, they want to think of themselves that way. But deep down they know it's not quite true. There's something they hate that is more important than what happens to anyone else, and even to themselves. I suspect that for a lot of them it's extreme sexism... Sure, they are all for a female president. As long as she is perfect. Says everything perfect, does everything perfect, and it would really help if she had a penis too. Or maybe they didn't want an Indian or another black person... Whatever it was it was more important than their so called support for the Palestinians, support for the Ukrains, hate of fascists and Nazis, ect ect...
Whatever it was, the blood of the Palestinians, Ukrains, is a small price to pay... But whatever it is, it's heinous and they know it. So, rather than admit to everyone, and even more importantly themselves, what they know is truly disgusting, they pretend that it was something that makes no sense. "She didn't explain her policies, we didn't like her policies on something even though her opponents were 100 times worse..."
It's a smoke screen for the truth. Intellectual Dishonesty. They are lying to us and themselves.
At least the maga crowd has the guts to admit their hate. They come straight out and let you know that they are fine with the world burning as long as whatever they hate burns with it.
Well then I guess you've gotten what you wanted. Enjoy the Trump administration and the all new domestic genocides.
I'm not the guy you were responding to. I responded to your question about how he could still be arguing such an illogical argument.
And to reiterate, his entire argument is a lie. It's a smoke screen to hide the real reason he didn't want to vote for a woman, or a brown person, or whatever his hang-up is.
Sorry, I agree with you.
Not all the people who didn't vote for Harris are Trump supporters; there are a lot of leftists and progressives who believe that they can't survive any more late-stage capitalism. They recognize that the only peaceful chance to stop the wealthiest 1% from ruling is to stop electing them and stop electing the people who are bought by them.
Corporate democrats are better on certain social issues but they'll still put wealth over people, and they'll never move left. It's why we have the cruel health system we have today. It's why the banks got bailed out and never got regulated. It's why the Digital Millennium Copyright Act passed. Heck, 81 Congressional house democrats just voted for a military spending bill that denies medical care to trans kids.
Kamala Harris is a corporate democrat.
And like I told the person before you, she lost so you got what you wanted. Enjoy the fascism and the genocides.
I actually voted both third party and for Harris, so maybe don't assume you know how people voted or what they want.
You voted twice?
I have ranked choice voting. 🙂 I even had to vote for it three times for my damn state government to recognize the will of the voters and implement it. Currently I think only Alaska and Maine have it. I really hope other states push for it, but judging by the last election cycle where several states voted against it, it's not looking good.
This is part of the terrible fallout of people not voting; people across several states stayed home when they literally could have voted for a better system of voting. It's crazymaking.
How you still did not understand that this way of arguing won't change anyone's mind?
"Choose between slow sleepwalk to fascism or this rapid honest one".
I can't fathom why people put all the blame on the voters. Dems could a and should have done more. Harris got billion dollars for her campaign!
Biden pardoning his son is understandable, but a giant Fuck You to everyone else. He got his, now the rest will live with consequences.
DNC has fucked the USA again and again. How about some blame there.
Unreal.
Most voters don't have luxuries of having time or education to make deep dives into issues, and are swayed by some nonsense.
And think what you like, it's usually not something they choose voluntarily or consciously.
I can't fathom how people point out how 'pulling yourselves up by the bootstraps' is BS, and then they point to tired, underpaid, health issue ridden public and say: "you should know not to vote for this!!1!".
Then Harris panders to the right and the same people don't understand how she could lose. Really?
AOCs voters said they are tired of the status quo. Something we all know and understand. And we know the DNC will never let go of the status quo. Where does this lead to?
AOC's voters said all sorts of insane, idiotic shit, when she asked why they voted for her but also Trump.
It was trivially easy, and took very little time, to inform yourself about the two options. There is no excuse. People need to take responsibility for their decisions, and blaming everyone but themselves is just copium.
Those are the people you have to convince to vote, that's all.
If you keep ignoring them, nothing will change.
This attitude is what brought the results. Ignoring masses to pander to billionaires is not going to win democrats anything. Pointing fingers to other side and announcing 'we are better than them' worked only once.
Yes, and them not voting is one of the reasons we are where we are. So you agree.
Yes, obviously in democracy you need people to vote for you.
And in order to achieve that, you need to convince them to vote for your cause. If you don't, it's not their fault. They vote for what they believe, no matter how crazy and stupid it may be. That's also part of the 'rule of the people'.
I can see that you will do everything you can to keep yourself convinced that people who voted third party, or chose not to vote at all, bear no responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
I hope you're able to one day acknowledge what's happening, and accept that you fucked up and take responsibility for your action (or inaction).
I'm not saying they are not responsible for the outcome. But they voted for what they believed in. If you want to vote for your side, put effort into it.
I am not an american, I vote, and am very sad that elections everywhere go to the bad actors. And I realize that I need to do more so that better actors get more votes. Or this won't change.
Arguably most voters wouldn’t have needed to take a deep dive into issues to see Trump was the worse option, a shallow one at most. A swim would’ve been enough, really.
Why would I care about changing anyone's mind at this point? America is going to be a fascist dictatorship. Any sort of semblance of a free and fair election are over.
By understanding the problem potential solutions may emerge.
Doomerism helps the owner class, they need you to feel helpless and isolated. Don't let them win.
Do you know nothing about Project 2025? You've had a long time to learn about it. The whole point is to keep Republicans in power perpetually and remove any need for legitimate elections.
And you think you can vote your way out of that?
(By the way, I love how you've gone from "this sort of arguing won't change anyone's mind" to "why aren't you trying to change people's minds?!?!")
Re:btw what do you mean? It's the same thing: you should be trying to change people's minds, and be better at that, and I'm bringing your attention to it. You are a prolific poster all over the fediverse, so you can have a big impact on people. And I think you are aware of it.
I've known about the P25 for a long time, I'm well aware of its consequences. Burying our heads and losing our hope is the only way they can get away with it.
Kings have fallen, and we all should do our best to not create them again. That includes understanding those who voted for them. Ignoring the problem or its root cause won't change anything.
I keep repeating this line in my head:
They already got away with it.
They have not. As long as we fight, they will not get away with it.
Please do name the absolute monarch that fell because people had a vote and the monarch said, "fair enough," and stepped down.
And I like how your only two options are "vote expecting elections to be fair" and "do nothing."
You are completely misrepresenting what I'm writing, and I'm done discussing with you.
Have a nice day.
Enjoy seeing your voting accomplish nothing ever again.
I'm not an american, but I watch closely what's going on there.
You enjoy for self-fulfilling prophecies and laying down.
I thought you were done discussing it with me.
And yes, believing in Project 2025's aims, which Trump just re-endorsed, is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I noticed you never gave any sort of rational pathway for Trump to offer fair elections or accept their outcome. Is it because there isn't one?
Don't stick your head in the sand, oppose anything that threatens democracy, don't just accept defeat.
Again, what is the rational pathway for Trump to offer fair elections or accept their outcome?
You know you can't answer that question because you know there isn't one.
And you still have this ludicrous idea in your head that the two options are "hope for a free and fair election" and "accept defeat."
If it doesn't change a person's mind, it's because they don't understand it.
Fortunately Biden wasn't on the ballot
No, but "i wont be fundentally different from Biden" Harris was.
Yeah fuck Biden for doing that, but try to stay on topic