Keep watching to the end for what you can do about it.

    • muse@fedia.io
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      4 months ago

      You know, the ostrich burying its head in the sand is a myth. So you can quit cosplaying as one and get your head outta your ass when it comes to knowing how First Past The Post works

      • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        For the record, I’m an advocate for everyone voting. I don’t think anyone should not vote as a protest. I just take issue with the analogy that a vote not for Biden is a vote for Trump. If you want to blame someone for Trump getting elected, blame those that voted for him.

        • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Mathematically is kind of is though. At least that’s how it works out in a FPTP system. A 3rd party/non vote doesn’t carry as much weight as someone voting for Trump, but it still moves the needle in his direction. EDIT: to clarify this, GOP voters are generally the minority, that means the GOP candidate benefits more from a smaller pool of votes than the Democratic candidate does.

          If you want to blame someone for Trump getting elected, blame those that voted for him.

          I think you can blame both. The Trump voter deserves significantly more though.

        • mommykink@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Been saying this for months now. When you’re in the voting booth, the screen asks who you want to vote for. Voting against someone isn’t an option.

          If it was, I’d vote this year against Trump, but that’s not how it works. I don’t want Biden, either, so I won’t be voting at all.

          There is literally no counterargument to be made that doesn’t rely on changing the meaning of words or twist reality.

          • Thistlewick@lemmynsfw.com
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            4 months ago

            What?

            Do you know how elections work in your own country?

            The US is First Past The Post. Whoever has the most votes wins, even if they do not have a majority of the vote. Splitting the votes of one party, or abstaining from voting only gives more power to the opposition. It is an absolutely shit system, and election reform needs to happen, but it’s what you have to deal with now, and being ignorant of how it works is going to hurt everyone.

            Hypothetically there are 100 people voting between the “stubbing your toe” party and the “hot poker jammed in your urethra” party. The urethra party runs a campaign about how horrible stubbing your toe feels, and gets 40 votes. The Toe Party runs on a platform of “the choice is obvious” and gets 35. A small subset of Toe-ers break off and run their own “hitting your funnybone” party because they don’t like feet and get 10 votes. The remaining 15 voters really do NOT want to have their pissholes sealed shut by a piece of red hot iron. But at the same time, stubbing your toe or hitting your funnybone really hurts as well. They equate “pain” as an absolute value, deem both sides equal and abstain from voting.

            The number of people who do not want a blistered pisser outnumber the opposition 60/40. But in the end, the numbers come out; Funnybone : 10 Toe : 35 Urethra : 40 The next day, everyone is lined up to get their pissholes branded.

            Are you telling me that the abstainers hold no responsibility in the hurt that is bestowed upon the whole group? Or that Funnybone can blame Toe for not marketing themselves better?

            You can’t vote against Trump, you are correct on that point, but abstaining from the vote reduces the numbers of literally the only other option.

            • mommykink@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              I don’t want a second Biden term. I won’t vote for a second Biden term. Simple as that. That’s, literally, exactly how democracies are meant to function.

              • leadore@lemmy.worldOP
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                4 months ago

                Forget about Biden, it’s about which direction the country will go. One of the two dominant parties will win, either repub or dem–it’s that simple.

                Do what ever you want, but I’ll be voting for the party that doesn’t want to kill my friends and I just hope there’s enough other people who give a single shit about other people’s lives instead of pretending this is some kind of popularity contest game show.

              • WhatsHerBucket@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                Nobody but Biden wants him for a second term. But as others have mentioned, not voting isn’t helpful.

                Democracy is literally meant to function when people make their voices heard. If you’re not exercising your right to vote (the thing that people in the US fought for) then you are accountable for the consequences of your decision being made for you.

              • Thistlewick@lemmynsfw.com
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                4 months ago

                I live in a democracy. Voting is compulsory. Some people will take the monetary fine and abstain, but for many it encourages them to at the very least become informed about the policies of each party on the big ticket issues. It’s not perfect but it means everybody has a say.

                Your democracy allows one party to use the strategy of “erode confidence in the very political system we are a part of” to convince people that not taking part in their freedom is a smart choice.

            • mommykink@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              For what reason? I don’t want either candidate to be president. I’ve voted in elections where I wanted one of the candidates to win.