Etaoin Shrdlu

Slightly above average.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

Patriotism is the first refuge of the feeble-minded.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@SVcrazycatlady I asked the questions, but got no answers.

https://t.co/vftFFqwq5a

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

Many people I genuinely respect on this site like to vote-shame during election seasons — not for voting for the wrong party, but for voting at all.

I've asked, and here is the reasoning behind it as it has been explained to me.

a) People who vote are endorsing a corrupt system, echoing the Green Party Fundis of yore.

I feel I endorse a corrupt system when I fill up my car, pay my rent, or pay my taxes. Voting is by far the least harmful of all these activities. Really, it is unclear to me what harm it does at all if I don't vote for the duopoly or other fascist parties.

b) Your vote doesn't matter anyway.

This is probably the most logically sound reason I've been given. My vote is indeed just one among millions, but, local elections aside, if all of us who support the Green Party US on social media had supported them at the ballot box, they might very well be receiving FEC funding right now, and the major parties might be forced to address issues you care about that they can now ignore.

c) The time you waste voting could be spent fomenting revolution.

As I live outside the US, I always vote by mail-in ballot. I don't think it has taken me more than 15 minutes every two years. The average person spends approximately 8.4 hours merely yawning over that period, so I don't believe it is a colossal time-waster. What's more, I don't even know if a violent revolution stands a chance against the most powerful military in history.

I'm seriously looking for answers here. I feel that voting is a personal choice, and it's none of my business whether you do or don't vote. But this is one issue where lefties start sniping at each other every election cycle. I want to understand the anti-voting stance. Thank you.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

Last year, my good friend told me she was sick. She didn't let on how sick. There I was, telling her that if they were performing surgery, the doctors must think you have a good prognosis. I got a call from her husband on Xmas Day. She never woke up completely and passed. Now every Christmas, he has to be reminded of that dreadful day.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

It's been 14 years since my friend, a tortured but brilliant man, passed away alone in a council flat in Edinburgh.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@flrainh What happened to your Muscovy ducks?

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@JoeBagz2 Don't. It's an entry insulated from the rest of the building.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

I saw a dusty window in this photo. Others see ghosts.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@LemLemanski @mcsquared34 Like rapist and literal backstabber Michael Irvin.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@ProfessorDNA I'll still take it.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

Uncanny.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@ProfessorDNA There is no greater compliment. Thank you.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@FreeTheWorId I like to think someone will do the same for me someday.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@LemLemanski @mcsquared34 He-he-he. Man, he looks younger there.

But who cares? Let's put half their games in prime time, even though they are the most hated team in the NFL by a wide margin.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@TurboKitty I'd like to renounce my US citizenship so I don't have to pay US income tax, the only country I know of that makes its citizens abroad do so, but it's a big step.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@AlejandroC7531 @BroImSlow @Seahawks I lived for many years in Vancouver, and I have an uncle and aunt in Magnolia. Every memory of visiting them seems overcast or rainy.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

I haven't seen it yet, but Alex Gibney's new documentary Musk seems to explore many puzzling aspects of his character — or lack thereof.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@SocialistAmber

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

If you really want to terrify your seven-year-old.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@FreeTheWorId Thank you. He was at times a consternating man, to be sure. Other times, he was quite clever, learned, and kind. His death, like all deaths, was tragic.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@Adley1981 Indeed. As a parent, your authority tends to wane as your children grow. Embarrassing them, or the threat of embarrassing them, is the only real power you have left.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

On this date, we were having dinner at the now-defunct Efendy Turkish & Mediterranean Grill on Dresden Row, and we found ourselves sitting next to Ghostface Killah and his entourage. I spent the whole night threatening my children with the prospect of me introducing myself and asking for an autograph.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@fyrepoWA Thank you. I appreciate it.

[Etaoin Shrdlu @Shrdlu]

@AjDroba Thank you. I try to keep his memory alive because I don't think anyone else does.