I know it sounds like I’m feeding into some Doomer vibe, or like I’m giving up. I’m not, I will absolutely continue going to food drives and joining the occasional protest if I can, but my serious question I’ve been kinda struggling with is whether registration for voting is even worth it? I mean in my area there aren’t really 3rd parties, just a bunch of Jackass Democrats and Greedy Republicans yelling about how they’re more American. I suppose there are some referendums, but nothing that really helps people especially. I remember in 2016(I was a lib) I had told a friend that not voting creates a more dangerous situation for POC and LGBTQIA people that we know personally. The fucked up thing about what I said is that it kinda ignores the sad reality that Democrats often toss aside these groups as sacrifices for a few more votes. So Idk how to proceed. My potential vote for a Dem governor will make me feel worse than when I voted for Biden bc I know better. I can tell myself that I genuinely didn’t know better when I voted for Biden, I was a Dem who was willing to do anything to beat the Far Right, and I got what I wanted, just not what I expected. Sorry for the long Body Text, but as a USA comrade in a strongly Blue State, is voting worth anything? Thank you.
I was given advice once for babysitting and child raising in general. When a kid wants something that means an incredible amount to them, but basically nothing to you, then give it to them. Its a minor inconvenience sometimes but can make a significant, positive impact to others.
I suggest the same when it comes to voting. I’m not gonna bullshit, in the United States even being pressganged and obligated into “harm reduction” voting is part of a cope by liberals and not something I’m particularly sold on. I was told, repeatedly by well meaning white liberals, that a vote for Biden might mean nothing to me but was potentially life saving for immigrant communities. Despite me knowing full well and later being vindicated that the American electoral machine is fully captured by capital and the atrocities committed under the Trump administration would continue but now more quietly out of the public light– Well, if its gonna happen anyway why not take five minutes to send in a mail in ballot to signal support to the communities that fell that anxiety but aren’t fully aware of the depths of neo-liberal decay or so no one can say we didn’t even try to work within their rules-based-order. The process is already so captured anyway your vote or lack-there-off has zero impact on policies or elections, so its really a matter of “what option is gonna mean the most to my comrades that still believe in electorism?”
If you really need to square the circle also helps to chose your battles in a way that makes the most sense to you, even if its something extremely minor. I can take solice in my reluctant vote for Brandon not because I actually thought they would be remotely different in America’s overall policies for the very specific reason that Trump’s Department of Homeland Security chief was not confirmed by Congress and was obviously a fascist loyalist transforming the agency into his private army. Sure enough, Chad Wolf was removed from his position shortly after January 6th and the man chiefly responsible for abducting protestors off the streets of US cities had their career terminated because they didn’t align with the liberal rules based order.
That’s a pretty nuanced way of viewing it. If I know enough about local politics and I just mail vote, it’s a bit less of a waste of time than voting because I think it will affect the US in a meaningful way