Post B1xNCGSnNKKQOXpHma by newstik@social.heise.de
(DIR) More posts by newstik@social.heise.de
(DIR) Post #B1u2XT9chnZbKAFU0W by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 3 repeats
As #Trump bombs #Venezuela, a reminder of why we are here:1. Brainwiped #MAGA morons who believe really really stupid lies2. Entitled impotent fuckwits who find the idea of voting just too difficult for their oh-so-precious oh-so-delicate sensibilitiesFuck both of these pathetic styles of idiot American#Vote you stupid assholes in 2026 and shut this shit down
(DIR) Post #B1u6suvP38bxLq51DU by Minimac@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce wtf what I see that shit sign đł fuck magas mofo.
(DIR) Post #B1uCe5zKEYv72pELKK by Eetschrijver@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce Have the unsufferably entitled and holier-than-thou "Genocide Joe" folk already commented? No? Thought so.
(DIR) Post #B1uCe7i1pqGyNl9Ye0 by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Eetschrijver they havei just successfully got blocked by one of them after i gave them a piece of my mind about their typical "BoTh SiDeS tHe SaMe" mindnumbing ignorance and empty cynicismi'm working on being blocked by a few more as i type
(DIR) Post #B1uCe8NrKJjWTUixqS by Eetschrijver@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce I had seen this meanwhile. I understand ever better how this mega-MAGA-fuckup could come about. Not that it gives me any pleasure.
(DIR) Post #B1uCe8ktweAHcxVMlE by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Eetschrijver nor meall i have is yelling at these pathetic shitwits on social media for getting us into this messwith their precious self-regard being more important than realityand their empty impotent mindless "BoTh SiDeS tHe SaMe" cynicism replacing their hearts and minds
(DIR) Post #B1uCe93gonC4ZEIN2u by Eetschrijver@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce It goes to show that all it takes for fascism to get a firm foothold is for its opponents to do nothing.
(DIR) Post #B1uCe9YAzRa25mYiZ6 by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Eetschrijver they are doing worse than simply nothingthey are hollowing out their hearts and minds with cynicism. they are giving up. they are acceptingthey are cowardsand in some ways, these nonvoters are something worse than MAGAMAGA openly and honestly intends malice*you can fight that*it is a target. it is something that can be confronted, and defeatedbutwhat do you do with these inert grey lumps who just quit from caring about a coherent struggle to improve our world?
(DIR) Post #B1uDh9MUFOmkKY5Hqi by tseitr@mastodon.sdf.org
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @Eetschrijver I am part of the holier-than-thou crowd that thinks the red line is drawn at killing children. Trump is worst but honestly, fuck your murderous two party systemsincerly, the world.
(DIR) Post #B1uDhAjZ94qAaPtESe by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@tseitr @Eetschrijverso you don't care about dead childrenwhat you care about, by your own admission, is feeling holier-than-thouyou get better or worse in this lifethere is no other optionif better isn't good enough for you, then you're fine with things going to worse. which means more dead childrenso enjoy your smug, fake superiority, offering no way to improve the world, unless by "improve" you mean doing nothing but patting yourself on the back while more children are killed
(DIR) Post #B1uDhBtAqq7WAVOQ4m by rozeboosje@masto.ai
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @tseitr @Eetschrijver It's astonishing how many people don't understand the difference between "both sides bad" and "both sides the same". The first option sucks, but you pick "the best of a bad lot" and you keep working on having better choices on future occasions. I've never seen the second option, ever, anywhere. By the time THAT happens there is only one side left. The NSDAP, The Politbureau, etc. "All sides the same" = dictatorship. Not voting is a great way to get there.
(DIR) Post #B1uMqgjURXgY1ST0Ns by JustinMac84@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @Eetschrijver Dunno if I entirely agree with this. Dispare is a thing. Look at the UK, where all parties are falling over themselves in a race to the right. You could vote for anti-peaceful protest, anti-immigration, anti-encryption, pro genocide Labour, or you could vote for anti peaceful protest, anti-encryption, anti immigration, pro genocide Conservatives. The destination is the same seemingly. The only difference is how long it takes to get there.
(DIR) Post #B1uMqjZfsUcGpsti08 by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@JustinMac84 @Eetschrijver you're talking about feelingsfuck feelingsfuck everyone's feelings. fuck the very notion of feelings on this topicpeople need to think, to strategizeif they are just a blubbering mound of reactive feelings, then they are utterly doomed, period, no matter the circumstances
(DIR) Post #B1uMqklPSLb6WZOavo by JustinMac84@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @Eetschrijver Okay, if you don't like the word feelings, switch it for beliefs. If I believe that my toss of a coin, that the flapping wings of a butterfly will make no more difference to my country's direction of travel than if I vote, then a strategy that involves voting has no value.
(DIR) Post #B1uMqlEpgx8JzpA5nE by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@JustinMac84 @Eetschrijver nobecause you're right:it's about feelingstoo many people don't fucking think, they feeland that is a huge problem because that can be easily manipulated
(DIR) Post #B1uMqm8qKhw6nXMp60 by JustinMac84@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @Eetschrijver We live in a world where there are people so rich that they could literally buy a whole congress and not miss the money. Give 400 MPs 10 million dollars each to do and say certain things. Cover the money trail. In that kind of a world, I believe it is an intellectually valid position to lose faith in voting.
(DIR) Post #B1uMqmxXIEUBKl5J6u by elala@nrw.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@JustinMac84 As long as there are people who feel compelled to sacrifice a portion of their most sacred possessions (a few numbers in one of their bank accounts) to influence and manipulate elections, elections must at least be seen as a rudder that empowers us to retain some semblance of maneuverability on stormy seas.Whoever relinquishes this rudder becomes a plaything of the waves.@benroyce @Eetschrijver
(DIR) Post #B1uN5HFJU6HXJwJBUe by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@elala @JustinMac84 @Eetschrijver well said. and rather poetically
(DIR) Post #B1uNC7qWpZz4C8ytMm by elala@nrw.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce I tried my best. đ€@JustinMac84 @Eetschrijver
(DIR) Post #B1uP3ThyNYjXIhz2ye by barryallen2023@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce Beyond disappointed in my country. Hard to say it's even my country anymore. This clown sure as shit isn't my president #fucktrump
(DIR) Post #B1uP3UhegE4cO0qJ7Y by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@barryallen2023 same Bart, same đ©
(DIR) Post #B1uP3VQK09nocXjyk4 by barryallen2023@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce Not sure how anyone gets behind a guy so hell bent on distracting you from the fact that he's a #childpredator and #childrapist that he's willing to start a war with a country that never provoked us
(DIR) Post #B1us1j29KGCAvIwBXc by Npars01@mstdn.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroycehttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-31/richest-billionaires-added-2-2-trillion-in-wealth-in-2025-led-by-musk-ellisonBlame the billionaires who bought a corrupt Supreme Court & got unlimited money into elections with Citizens United.https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/us/politics/koch-network-2024-election-trump.htmlhttps://www.businessinsider.com/koch-funded-group-backing-nonpartisan-campaign-before-america-250-2025-12Blame tax evaders like Bradley, Koch, Coors, Scaife Mellon, Seid and Uihlein paid for Project 2025 and the Jan 6 coup attempt.https://www.desmog.com/2024/08/14/project-2025-billionaire-donor-heritage-foundation-donald-trump-jd-vance-charles-koch-peter-coors/Larry Ellison owns the news and the biggest election meddling apparatus ever invented https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/2025/07/17/bill-gates-charles-koch-and-three-other-billionaires-are-giving-1-billion-to-enhance-economic-mobility-in-the-us/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/opinion/larry-ellison-paramount-cbs-tiktok.html
(DIR) Post #B1v3xCh8olTCuxin5s by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@rozeboosje @tseitr @Eetschrijverthey like that #HannahArendt quote:"Those who choose the lesser evil forget very quickly that they chose evil"the problem is they are using the quote out of contextshe is critiquing behavior in a fascist system. the quote is from her essay "Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship"if hannah were alive today she would say:"you fucking idiots, #vote to stay out of fascism. good god you pathetic morons"although she'd probably say it nicer than that
(DIR) Post #B1v40HewoeCjBTAEgy by Godfrey642@aus.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@elala @benroyce @JustinMac84 @Eetschrijver You did well. Just woken up. Im in Australia. Feel utterly drained and doomed. Trump's decided to "run Venezuela". Well aren't we all fcking happy about that...Wait for him to pick his next Monopoly card and take over the next country bc fck knows nobody is going to stop him. We have a sobering endgame choice. Submit to Trump/MAGA world domination. Or bombing campaign like Iran/Venezuela if anyone dares to fight back.
(DIR) Post #B1v4NOnKSBN7yR6fCq by SuneAuken@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce https://mastodon.world/@SuneAuken/115831907340806235RT: https://mastodon.world/users/SuneAuken/statuses/115831907340806235
(DIR) Post #B1v4RA5T4rKHWANwKO by elala@nrw.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Godfrey642 Good morning đŹ đ
@benroyce @JustinMac84 @Eetschrijver
(DIR) Post #B1vMgjZhDSZF6D6DB2 by smutmag@mstdn.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@rozeboosje @benroyce @tseitr @Eetschrijver They aren't the same, but it honestly seems to me that the Democrats are collaborating with Republicans on letting Republicans drive us into the ground. And if it's just ineptitude, that can't cut it either. And so long as the Democrats like Gavin Newsom are joining the AI race instead of trying to stop it, I can't support them. I think we should end the campaign finance nightmare and organize around write in candidates. We should start now.
(DIR) Post #B1vMgksWMxDh8sul9s by rozeboosje@masto.ai
0 likes, 0 repeats
@smutmag @benroyce @tseitr @Eetschrijver Ask the Dutch how well having a dozen progressive splinter parties that do nothing but tear strips off each other when they should be focusing on defeating Geert Wilders and his Ersatznazis is working out for them.Voting for the best of a bad lot is not "supporting" them. When the other choice is actual fascism, voting for the lesser evil lets you live to fight another day. Getting better candidates is your job for the following 1430 days.
(DIR) Post #B1vMgll75yt9sCSMFc by smutmag@mstdn.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@rozeboosje @benroyce @tseitr @Eetschrijver If we start organizing now, we can have candidates of our choosing. If the American people are going to behave as though we do not have control over who runs, it IS fascism. I get that playbook when we don't have years to organize. But we do. If the Democrats were equipped to stop fascism, they would have. They cannot, or will not. They consistently do what they can to make it impossible to fight fascism. We can do better if we try.
(DIR) Post #B1vMgmEtJGhxMYO8fI by smutmag@mstdn.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@rozeboosje @benroyce @tseitr @Eetschrijver Also, I don't want a dozen parties. I want the people to write in their candidates and to organize for them ourselves. This is also about forcing campaign finance reform by making fundraising dollars meaningless.
(DIR) Post #B1vMgmYk7SaUM7fzbk by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@smutmag @rozeboosje @tseitr @Eetschrijver look at #Mamdaniwhat does he show?1. SHOW THE FUCK UP IN THE #PRIMARIES #PRIMARIES2026not *remotely* enough people do that2. then show the fuck up in the general electionthis is the waythere is no other way in the #usa for changenot voting, write in, 3rd party, cosplayers dreaming of revolution, etc: they are all doomed, ineffectual strategies
(DIR) Post #B1vMgoExrxxHZMRE3c by smutmag@mstdn.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @rozeboosje @tseitr @Eetschrijver See, I think it's a pipe dream that anyone in the major parties will think of the citizens at all. I don't see anything noble in not attempting to create the democracy we want. We aren't getting in through the main door. If we want candidates of integrity, we will need to pick them ourselves.
(DIR) Post #B1vMgodQP1WMnDslBQ by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@smutmag @rozeboosje @tseitr @Eetschrijver "See, I think it's a pipe dream that anyone in the major parties will think of the citizens at all"that's why i cited #mamdanihe directly counteracts this notion. and he achieved it by people showing and votingwe have to #votetake over the #democrats. stop thinking of centrist impotent democrats as some omnipotent force. in fact they are quite weak. we can shove them the fuck outby votingespecially in the primarieslet's get 50 mamdanis
(DIR) Post #B1vSDmbXTKi1p4XVQW by feike@toot.community
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce so, where are the democrate counter campains
(DIR) Post #B1vSDnvQYsDDv2qu48 by nomdeb@mstdn.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@feike @benroyce WE have to personally be the counter campaigns. All of us. We the people.
(DIR) Post #B1vSDoau4fOBzgG1iK by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@nomdeb @feike it is really a lazy entitled attitude:"i don't vote until magic perfect candidate appears"no, you impotent ineffectual assholes:you show up in the fucking primaries, and you actively consciously choose the candidate you want to appear in the general election*YOU* do thatno one else will fucking do that for youexpecting that to happen automatically is clueless ignorant and delusional
(DIR) Post #B1vSDpawM10r65HZPU by CStamp@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @nomdeb @feike If you donât vote, âsit down and shut up,â is basically the thing. You donât deserve an opinion since you chose to sit the elections out.
(DIR) Post #B1vW69dyKQl0mHINm4 by ApostateEnglishman@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @nomdeb @feike It can't be repeated enough: not voting is merely endorsement of the most reactionary candidate, because the wingnuts *always* turn up at the polling booth.I was part of a small team of activists who did leaflet drops to stop Reform UK in a local by-election. We dropped 13,000 leaflets in two campaigns - one in support of the independent candidate, another urging folks to just vote any way but them.Anarchists and revolutionary socialists, still putting in work. VOTE!
(DIR) Post #B1vcBs9CtKJ9yc0zh2 by cafechatnoir@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce I have an uncanny knack for voting for whoever is going to lose in the primaries, and yet I keep going back every single damn time, because it's important.
(DIR) Post #B1vcBtlAteGyyempVo by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@cafechatnoir If you try in this world, you may succeed. You may also fail.If you don't try, you're guaranteed to fail.Nonvoters who go "well I'm trying until I'm guaranteed success" aren't being principled, they are being impotent airhead losers. Literally losers, not the empty insult
(DIR) Post #B1ve1tz3PR3agTdiQi by dashrb@mstdn.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@CStamp @benroyce @nomdeb @feike *unless you tried to vote but were stymied by voter suppression laws. Then youâre ok to speak out, and push for greater democracy.
(DIR) Post #B1ve1vBqvKtAQSdS1A by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@dashrb @CStamp @nomdeb @feike absolutely no one sane has a single iota of a problem with people who *can't* vote. that is utterly different than people people who can vote, but merely choose not to. in fact, to get the voting rights back of those who can't, that's even more reason for lazy entitled nonvoters *by choice* to get off their asses and vote
(DIR) Post #B1ve1w8hOXxbMyARk0 by the5thColumnist@mstdn.ca
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @dashrb @CStamp @nomdeb @feike No one entitled to vote should not be able to vote. That is to say if it is not easy for anyone entitled to vote then the system is not truly democratic.
(DIR) Post #B1vnsVz2GtbTBSnGPQ by pattykimura@beige.party
0 likes, 0 repeats
@feike You live in the Netherlands. So, you voted in which elections? Trolling much?@benroyce
(DIR) Post #B1vnsWrczvGvumKrVA by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@pattykimura @feikeI don't mind Europeans commenting on US politicsexcept for one issue:3rd parties3rd parties work in their systems3rd parties do not work in the US FPTP voting system (yes UK has FPTP, but they also have parliamentary which lends some stability and viability to 3rd parties the USA doesn't have)if the USA is to have 3rd parties, we need a new voting system, like ranked choiceUntil then:Please world, shut the fuck about 3rd parties in the USAThank you
(DIR) Post #B1vnsYBW5Sm80keG8m by kingtor@frontrange.co
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @pattykimura @feike we need a new Constitution. No electoral college, money is not speech, no "soft money" from parties to campaigns, no PACs, no primaries, ranked choice, public funding of elections..... I could go on.
(DIR) Post #B1vnsYtTS1wAD5DMem by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@kingtor @pattykimura @feike But that doesn't mean anything. It's easy to make a wishlist, and I like your wishlist. The problem is *how* do we achieve it. And that requires participating in the current shit system to build the better system. Otherwise just making a list of demands and then wandering off when you don't get it is fruitlessIt's like going "That's illegal! Arrest Trump!"OkSo participate in the system to elect someone who wants to do that. We can't just issue empty demands
(DIR) Post #B1xEfwmOE0xaRj4PeS by Fietsbel@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce I just canât understand why Harris wasnât voted for, at least as âthe lesser evil.â Now your country and the whole globe are in a MEGA crisis of more than epic extent. Please be aware of it and treat it like that.
(DIR) Post #B1xEfxiWjrSrM2GqGm by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Fietsbel you can find the reasons for not voting in comments all over mastodonsome variation of "but i want perfect"or "both sides the same"and other fucking idiocies
(DIR) Post #B1xEfyKoRW5bGmBPwe by TimWardCam@c.im
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @Fietsbel Approximately 100% of the time (only approximately, there *are* (rare) exceptions) the real (rather than claimed) reason for not voting is "I was too fucking lazy to get my arse down to the polling station".
(DIR) Post #B1xEfyrmSwScv1bkKe by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@TimWardCam @Fietsbelyes, but a little more nuanced than thatyou are correct that the root of not voting is lazy entitlementbut they lie to themselves: they think they are making a brave moral stand, then they excuse their privileged indolencethere is no such thing as morality without action, even just votingmeanwhile, "morality" without action is nothing more than ego masturbationnonvoters don't have an ideological positionthey have a self-serving psychological position
(DIR) Post #B1xEfzRaJp6Ii4ML8i by newstik@social.heise.de
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel I disagree.I think there are at least 3 groups of reasons for not voting. One is the small group of illness, lack of ID, in some countries incarceration. The second is the challenge of access, which can be specially relevant in certain areas where authorities put the polling locations far from transit, or provide insufficient resources so that poor people have to wait for hours. Someplace it's illegal to provide water. A single mother with 2 jobs simply can't.
(DIR) Post #B1xEvKNCmnfHxsclqS by newstik@social.heise.de
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel The third group world be the largest, often coined as "apathy".People who feel stupid when they have to make that decision. And nobody likes to feel stupid. So they don't go to the place/event that makes them feel stupid. That's much simpler than "entitlement". Much more basic.The reason they feel stupid is a lack of education. Not necessarily in the formal sense, but a lack of engagement with the political landscape over longer periods of time.
(DIR) Post #B1xF9YCk9tMiuqVrzU by CStamp@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@tseitr @benroyce @Eetschrijver Harris was running. Biden wasnât. Biden negotiated a cease fire in Gaza, itâs ridiculous to think she couldâve spoken about ongoing and sensitive negotiations. She wouldâve lifted up the middle class. She wouldnât have allowed teenage techbros named âbig ballsâ into government systems, she wouldnât have deleted the education dept. She wouldnât be pardoning criminals and arresting innocent people. Etc. People who donât vote have no valid opinion.
(DIR) Post #B1xFBYQWIs42BTucgC by CStamp@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@tseitr @benroyce @Eetschrijver An even bigger thing: the US would still have world standing & respect. If Harris had been elected, it wouldâve been easier to have accepted that 2016 election as an aberration. The orange felon has burned bridges with traditional allies. We are all working on new partnerships on import/exports that we had been doing with US. The US can no longer be trusted when signing deals. The US is a rogue state. This wonât all be fixed by the next admin, it will be decades.
(DIR) Post #B1xFBfUg1oY46OuXdA by CStamp@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@tseitr @benroyce @Eetschrijver Spanky had already been ranked one of the worst presidents, he had already been alienating allies while fan-boying over dictators, he had a track record of destroying markets for farmers, he suggested folk inject bleach to cure COVID. He was a known rapist, convicted felon, his charity of kids with cancer funneled $ to him. The idea that anyone can still whine about Biden & why Harris wasnât perfect, so let in the guy who campaigned on revenge is mind-numbing
(DIR) Post #B1xFI3RrsVb88MdtEO by newstik@social.heise.de
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel Those people simply have no clue what the difference is between the political parties or candidates are And it is not easy to figure out. Even when these people were to read a new article, the tub of the mill articles dont explain the fundamental differences in ideology and approach at all. All an inhibitor reader will understand is that these politicians bicker and argue.You have to read along for months or years to get the whole picture.
(DIR) Post #B1xGDTGcYdtIiOlAx6 by Fietsbel@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@TimWardCam @benroyce Then do your duty at least in the #midterms. There is no excuse for such laziness. As citizens, US citizens have the right, but also the ethical duty to vote, and to get informed before, i.e. to vote as an informed citizen. Trump just harmed your country and global politics. He betrayed ordinary peopleâs trust and interests. He went to war, while having promised peace. #nofascism #noGOP
(DIR) Post #B1xGDVoN684obeZ9pw by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Fietsbel @TimWardCam well the other problem is the typical nonvoter only cares about themselves, about tweaking their self-regard. they don't actually care if more children die because of trump, just as long as they themselves did not vote, no matter that the effect of that in the real world is more dead children. they are an island unto themselves. this is the most important thing to them. they are selfish self-involved navel gazing assholes
(DIR) Post #B1xGDWqBGt7NnYQ7IO by Fietsbel@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @TimWardCam But itâs even in their very OWN interest that your country does not further evolve into neofascist dictatorship. They will also lose their personal freedom that way, even if they do not realize this now. - About their selfishness: I think itâs because the neoliberals tended to deprive society of all non-economic values. Society became cold, even children did not receive enough love and attention anymore. Something like that?
(DIR) Post #B1xGDXbKRape9mTlmi by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Fietsbel @TimWardCam well yesdehumanization, misanthropism, alienation, cynicism, self-serving detached toxic idealism, learned helplessness, etcall the contemporary illsthe idea is that someone should escape that pitnot fall into it and wallow in it and we somehow excuse them for thatwe don't excuse them for thatwhat you're describing is not victimsbut perpetrators of their own weakness and cowardice, used for fascism and they not knowing or not caring
(DIR) Post #B1xGFwmpm9ZIqc0Yu8 by newstik@social.heise.de
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel Keep in mind that many people have limited reading skills. If you can read a foreign language, but not super well, you can experiment. Pick a place where you don't know the political parties and their names are not obvious to you. Maybe they would translate a s "Coalition for $province" or "Better Future". Then read 2 random yellow press articles, with the latest chapter on the dispute of the month. How confidently would you vote, based on just that information?
(DIR) Post #B1xGFxTNDzb0yXuXD6 by newstik@social.heise.de
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel No, I don't know how to solve that information gap. Of course it starts with political education in school. But beyond that, I'm not sure.This gap is where influence platforms like Tiktok and X operate. The irony is that their campaigns may actually increase voter turnout.
(DIR) Post #B1xGcgqpBqYe5Iiesi by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@newstik @TimWardCam @Fietsbelsure but that doesn't excuse themyou're articulating the mode of failure, which does not validate the mode of failurewhat you're getting at is people who go on feelings. feelings can be, and are, manipulated. so when we have this group of people going on vibes, and not voting, we have a method for fascism to take over a countrythat is a problem. and it is not solved by coddling manipulated, facile feelings. it is solved by telling people to wake the fuck up
(DIR) Post #B1xGnADcr9QA3xNX1c by NadiaPurge@musician.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@newstik @benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel voting is not a graded test. You can easily look up the candidates beforehand. Tbh, I have frequently looked up policy or candidates AT the poll while voting. There is VERY little excuse where you claim voting makes people feel stupid.Refusing to engage in civic duty is a moral failing more often than an intellectual one.It is one day. It takes so little effort to go mark some bubbles, even in ignorance. Jfc."Trying is hard" --You
(DIR) Post #B1xGnBApJ2mB1Z4oIi by newstik@social.heise.de
0 likes, 1 repeats
@NadiaPurge @benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel Apparently you vote regularly, Nadia (thank you). I don't think it works well to attempt to deduct from your approach and resulting experience to how people who haven't been voting would feel about what you do.I see a parallel to men deducing from their experience to how women would feel. I don't think it works well.
(DIR) Post #B1xHnrzuBicxnIrTQe by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@newstik @TimWardCam @Fietsbel i understand and this issue constantly comes up when i go after nonvotersnobody at all thinks nonvoters are the same group as people who *can't* votenonvoters are people who can vote, but choose not towhich makes their betrayal especially odious because to win back the rights of the disenfranchised and the suppressed, that means everyone who can vote must vote
(DIR) Post #B1xIjhuDrmovI7mZQu by leswarden@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@CStamp Last sentence statement sums it up nicely!
(DIR) Post #B1xL4us33fVRUV0STQ by Thriveth@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Eetschrijver @benroyce Ah yes, let's all vote for Mussolini because at least he's not Hitler, and anyone who doesn't go along with this is an insufferable, entitled holier than thou puritan. Yep yep.
(DIR) Post #B1xL4xlmHRGyTv5zcG by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Thriveth @Eetschrijver well if you think the choice between harris and trump is like a choice between mussolini and hitler, you're not only an insufferable, entitled holier than thou puritan, you're also a pathetic edgelord moron
(DIR) Post #B1xLxvIXAgr2k7clBQ by curiousgawker@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyce @Thriveth @Eetschrijver not invading Venezuela for oil is almost the same as invading Venezuela for oil. it must be nice to be a dumbass piece of shit and not even realize it.
(DIR) Post #B1xNCEknjPXj5oEdZQ by evoterra@podvibes.co
0 likes, 0 repeats
@NadiaPurge Iâll grant itâs possible that âvoting makes people feel stupid.âBut not voting proves it. @newstik @benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel
(DIR) Post #B1xNCGSnNKKQOXpHma by newstik@social.heise.de
0 likes, 1 repeats
@evoterra @NadiaPurge @benroyce @TimWardCam @Fietsbel That's an interesting point you make, Evo.Which leads to a choice: Do you want more stupid people to vote? Or do you want to make them less stupid?Other options are to leave things as they are, to make fewer stupid people vote (through more complex voting systems, for example), or to make people more stupid (the latter has more support than one would expect).That choice is the starting point to develop an action plan.
(DIR) Post #B1xOA8z4JRkWZZTTRQ by TimWardCam@c.im
0 likes, 0 repeats
@newstik @evoterra @NadiaPurge @benroyce @Fietsbel It doesn't always take very much education to turn a non-voter into a voter:Our kid: "I'm not interested in politics."Us: "What are you interested in?"Kid lists various public services - education, roads, NHS etc.Us: "So how do you think that decisions about providing those things are made?"Kid (after a short pause - but only short, he's not stupid): "Oh."
(DIR) Post #B1xOACXv4KPRcWnqgC by newstik@social.heise.de
0 likes, 1 repeats
@TimWardCam @evoterra @NadiaPurge @benroyce @Fietsbel That's a very good point, Tim.The usual current affairs news give you a sliver of the issue. Should we raise the salary of politicians? Should we increase parking fees? Should we outlaw plastic straws? Did the minister help his niece's boyfriend get ahead? That's perceived as "politics".The bigger picture of education, transportation, health services etc etc is lost. Current affairs news focuses on trees, not the forests.
(DIR) Post #B1xOWN8cMwAgqEXYdk by thestrangelet@beige.party
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Eetschrijver @benroyce Yup, there's no such thing as a perfect candidate. Everytime we vote, we select the best of the available options, whether we admit it or not. Choosing not to vote is simply self-supression and ineffective righteousness.
(DIR) Post #B1xOWOvZiOvWOMSAaW by curiousgawker@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@thestrangelet @Eetschrijver @benroyce also, you're not just voting for yourself. you're voting for your communities, especially the vulnerable ones. if you're not going to vote or protest vote just because your single issue may not be addressed you don't really have a belief system. you're a textbook sociopath.
(DIR) Post #B1xQVTEARVPZLXpksS by obscurestar@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@curiousgawker @thestrangelet @Eetschrijver @benroyce THIS! I think frequently how nice it must be to be a white man who can go, "Well, I'll probably survive a racist bro-ocracy. Heck, I might even come out better off. I can just not give a flying fuck about the welfare of anyone else."That's who all the 'protest' voters are to me. Just right wingers who're still lying to themselves about being selfish narcissists instead of embracing their inner scumbag wholly.
(DIR) Post #B1y5xvnFvP9iAfw5OS by Ilka4You@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Thriveth you have absolutely no political knowledge at all. Nothing with Harris indicates autocracy/fascism/racism/corruptcy. She was not the lesser evil, she was a good choice for USA. As a bonus, she is not controlled by RUS. That makes it so impossible for the entire world to understand why USamericans would even compare the looser Felon 47 with a well educated, morally & ethically well situated woman. aaaah yes, there is all the idiots Problem: female, brown. @Eetschrijver @benroyce
(DIR) Post #B1ys02PW4eQd6wzGjY by Thriveth@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@curiousgawker @benroyce @Eetschrijver Putting a $24M price on Maduro's head and hope for access to his oil that way is not that far from sending in the special forces to kidnap him to get access to his oil, if you ask me. That said, good job migrating the Twitter debate style over to Mastodon, too.
(DIR) Post #B1ys03KEflnZwrWZ8q by curiousgawker@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Thriveth @benroyce @Eetschrijver of you don't want to be treated like a fucking Twitter troll on mastodon don't be a fucking Twitter troll on mastodon, you low information nitwit.
(DIR) Post #B1ytxlNgcOGBclAsAS by Thriveth@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@curiousgawker If I don't want people to hurl insults at me like a machine gun I should... Stop reminding people that Kamala Harris committed genocide. All in the service of democracy.@benroyce @Eetschrijver
(DIR) Post #B1ytxlyCQdT1S0G252 by curiousgawker@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Thriveth @benroyce @Eetschrijver I don't think you understand how the American democratic system works. are you even American or a dirty Russian troll? your posts are dumber than a garden variety American performative leftist.
(DIR) Post #B1yujOeSQfIR1ujSmu by Thriveth@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@curiousgawkerThought terminating clichés as far as the eye can reach. If I'm wrong about something, you're very welcome to correct me. Just be specific. And preferably reasomably civil, but that may be requesting the impossible. @benroyce @Eetschrijver
(DIR) Post #B1yujP1r1g0mCTg9Fw by curiousgawker@mastodon.world
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Thriveth @benroyce @Eetschrijver anyone who types out the words "Kamala Harris committed genocide" either doesn't understand how the American democratic system works or is dumb and doesn't realize it or is a Russian troll. take your pick, monkeyboy. anyways I'm done with your shit. we have a democracy to save here and whoever the fuck you are, you'll be kicked out of the way in the process.
(DIR) Post #B1ywPP29UxXSKdPQvY by portlandy@pdx.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@benroyce @Thriveth @Eetschrijver speaking from my personal experienceNeither candidate would've done much different with regard to Gaza. Harris was clear about that, and I hated it.But the choice in the general was between a candidate who was going to support genocide and do ethnic cleansing here and shit on the Constitution and vilify anyone who opposed himAnd a candidate who would be responsive to my senators and rep, who I more closely agree with.
(DIR) Post #B1ywPQ79Tr8FgQkwMK by Ilka4You@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@portlandy I've heard this Gaza argument so often. So 1 political point was not to the liking consequently they vote for the Felon whose every single point was desastrous. He said & prove as much before. Get a grip, that is BS. I hope everyone with this argument is real happy about Gaza & their internal political situation esp. their personal situation like healthcare & prices, education, kids future, freedom of speech, data protection, job situation... life @benroyce @Thriveth @Eetschrijver
(DIR) Post #B1ywPR3dyNv6bq7eWu by Thriveth@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Ilka4You I can assure you that next to no one switched from Harris to Trump on the Gaza question. Most simply just stayed home in disillusion. @portlandy @benroyce @Eetschrijver
(DIR) Post #B1ywXk3REAl9qKzGD2 by benroyce@mastodon.social
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Thriveth @Ilka4You @portlandy @Eetschrijver which helped elect trumpergo, nonvoters aided in gaza's sufferingso much for principles and moralityit's all about showboating, ego masturbation and desperately preserving a fragile sense of self-regard based on sniffing their own contrived theatrical bullshiteasily manipulated morons on simple toxic idealism psychology, just as bad as MAGA
(DIR) Post #B1ywXkcB90Y5a5F0MK by Thriveth@mastodon.social
0 likes, 1 repeats
@benroyceAlso, how on Earth could nonvoters have aided in Palestine's suffering, when the very problem that made them stay home was that both candidates had exactly the same stance on the topic? They could have voted for a third party candidate but I don't think that would have made you any happier. So how exactly could voting Harris have made life better for the population of Palestine? @Ilka4You @portlandy @Eetschrijver