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.
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.
@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.
@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.
@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.
@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.