Back in the day I had the privilege of knowing some old school Communists. People who had gone to Spain to fight Fascism and been blacklisted at home.
One of the stories they told was about how in 1968 they were warning young voters to get to the polls to stop Nixon. It wasn't that they were in love with Hubert Humphrey, but they knew he was a million times better than Nixon.
The situation is the same today. If you aren't voting for Harris and every other Dem you're ignoring reality.
My grandfather went through something similar. He faced relentless hate and pressure from both sides of the political spectrum, but he never caved and stayed true to his convictions.
Just like those old-school Communists, he knew the power of standing firm, even when the world seemed against him.
Choosing the "lesser of two evils" was never his style, and I’m the same way. I won’t be bullied into casting a vote I don’t believe in, and neither would he.
In my opinion, respecting someone’s decision to vote their conscience is a lot more powerful than forcing them to pick the so-called “realistic” choice.
I won't be voting Harris. I'm proud to vote third party.
I'm sure you think you sound like you have integrity, but it sounds like privilege to me.
Women have actually died because they couldn't get abortions.
I could point out a lot of other things that happened because of Trump, but let's just deal with this one issue.
And you totally misread the idea of the old school Communists standing firm.
Another thing they talked about was Ho Chi Minh working with the American OSS in WW2. Ho would have known all about America's history of racism and genocide, but that didn't matter because there was a bigger threat to his people.
And please name the 'Third Party' you're planning on voting for. There's proof that the GOP has helped both the Libertarians and the Greens get on the ballot to help split the Dem vote.
Because I am not voting Harris, I have privilege?! I promise you make more money than I do. So you have more privilege than me. So are you evil because of it?
It's not bullying, it's simple math. Harris wins or Trump wins. Harris isn't perfect, but Trump is unacceptable. Voting for neither is a choice, but it's choice that says you don't care which one wins. You don't care if a fascist bigot who wants to abuse his power to control women and line his pockets wins the election. Anyone that's OK with that is either themselves a fascist bigot who wants Project 2025, or they're stupid.
So saying you don't care if Trump wins tells me you might be a fascist bigot, or you might be stupid. If you're just stupid, that's fine, vote your conscience. But if you're a fascist bigot pretending, you might as well admit it to the world and admit you're supporting Trump.
Either way, it's not a persuasive argument to make anyone think you have anything of value to say.
Voting is always an act of harm reduction. Choosing to vote for a non-viable option or not vote is a statement that neither you nor those you care about (in life or the abstract) are in minimal risk of harm or you don’t care about the harm they may undergo.
And honestly I suspect there is a lot of astroturf trying to make the argument. Far too many people on social media are using the same talking points, eg "I can't support a genocide enabler." Which is a valid issue, but it's disingenuous to think that Trump is going to be better for Palestine. Harris, being a human being with empathy, would certainly want the violence to end. Trump wants the genocide to finish. He's said that. A Jill Stein protest vote is nothing.
tells me you might be a fascist bigot, or you might be stupid.
And you trying to bully and pressure me, tells me the same things about yourself that you just accused me of. Either way, it’s not a persuasive argument to make anyone think you have anything of value to say.
I'm still voting third party. And proudly. Thank you!
I wasn’t bullied into casting a vote for Hilldog (she fucking sucks). I am going to vote against the orange bad because I’ve seen how awful his time in office was. I’m not a fan of Harris, but I’m very anti-him. Dems aren’t good enough, but he’s terrible enough that I must do what I can to prevent another term.
Third parties will never be viable if we keep dismissing them and refuse to vote for them, which only strengthens the duopoly's stranglehold on our political system.
So your goal is to make them viable by giving them a pittance of a vote during an incredibly polarized election? How many local seats has your third party won? I wonder if they do anything or have any success outside of ~2 months directly before an election? Why didn't I see shit like this year round from you losers?
There are people affected by your lack of empathy and harm reduction. You stomp your feet and blame the system, and then make a net-zero or negative dent in it and call that integrity. You're no better than the brainwashed right who would vote for a literal felon.
Third parties will never be viable if we keep dismissing them and refuse to vote for them, which only strengthens the duopoly's stranglehold on our political system.
No, there are plenty of genuine Greens and Socialists, no question about it. Quite a few post content on Lemmy without anyone bothering them.
You very specifically get a lot of heat though. This is due to how you interact in comment sections with people, and why you draw so much more heat than our entire instances of actual Marxist-Leninists.
And this poster's response to this was as predictable as the sun rising in the east, setting in the west, water rolling downhill, and Russell Wilson sitting on the bench for a different team while we pay for him. 🤣
You called this poster out properly, and the mods refusal to let us call a spade a spade here. Readers, I invite you to read the definition of a troll from Merriam-Webster: to antagonize (others) online by deliberately posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content. The poster that constantly changes its name over and over again repeats it'll keep posting its content despite being soundly rejected over and over again, just so it can piss us off. I'm not asking for it to be removed, though I sure won't turn down such an outcome. But can we at least call a spade a spade where this poster is concerned?
I don't post to piss you off though. You just get pissed off. Big difference.
And yes, I will continue to post what I want, when I want, as this is a public forum. You are free to have your political views, and I am free to have mine.
Thanks for the kind words and I support your right to think whatever you want of me.
The reason the mods refuse "to acknowledge it" is because I'm not a troll. Just because you don't agree with and you don't like what I'm saying, doesn't make me a troll.
This community is about diverse political thought. It wasn't created to be an echo chamber in favor of one party.
The poster you're replying to is very much designed to drive engagement, and any attention, good or bad, serves its purposes. I'd rather not feed this particular type of poster, but if we don't point out the flaws in its reasoning, we might lose a few of those genuine Greens and Socialists.
I don't disagree that voting in America is a pick between a steaming mug of donkey pee, and an elephant dung sandwich, and has been this way for decades. I'm even with you in that we should have a choice that doesn't include donkey pee and elephant dung. But the reality is you can't have 150 million different people in the world's largest picnic each get different food, so there HAS to be a limited menu to vote from, lest nobody can agree on what we're gonna eat and we all go hungry. And whatever has the most votes at the end of the day will be what we all eat, and unfortunately, that looks like it'll be between not just donkey pee and elephant dung, but that the elephant has a bad case of gastroenteritis and the bread on the sandwich is EXTREMELY mouldy, AND there are a crazy number of rabid fans of elephant dung sandwiches for some fucked up reason. There are also a lot of crazies who have a taste for donkey pee, but at least you can wash that down with a stiff alcoholic drink. The elephant diarrhoea with two mouldy pieces of bread, on the other hand, can't be gotten rid of except with a high-pressure wash. Since I don't want the elephant excrement consumers to dictate what I am doing, and there's not enough sane people in the world to offset the donkey pee or elephant dung choosers, I'll pick the lesser of two evils.
And I say this as someone who is already a lockin for Proposition 131 (Colorado's RCV) and who has voted third party in the past.
Yeah, I'm aware. I don't think additional engagement in here actually benefits his goals in the long run, though, so I'm more than happy to take advantage of the situation to discuss the finer points of internet trolling for the benefit of the broader community.
edit: I also actually enjoy this process somewhat, it reminds me of simpler times I suppose. lol
Yeah? Because I refuse to change my mind? Beause I still haven't. Downvotes or not. I'll post what I want, where I want, when I want and I'll vote for who I want to. As I respect others rights to do the same. Thank you! :)
No, not because you won't change your mind, none of the Marxist-Leninists change their minds on a lot of stuff and still don't draw much heat. Something else.
Why would I care what you or anyone else thinks about other socialists? I have the freedom to believe what I want, vote for who I want, and think for myself.
I’m sure some socialists agree with me, and some don’t.
That’s fine—everyone’s entitled to their own view. You have yours too, and I respect your right to that, but I’m not going to change what I believe just because you don’t like it. Thank you, friend! :)
Just correcting your thought. You like to frequently talk about how persecuted you are for your beliefs, but this is a red herring you lay down, since other people that post pro-socialist content do not get the same reaction as you. If this deflection is intentional, then you're just lying.
Since other people get different reactions for posting the same sort of content you post, it must not be about the content. Some other aspect of your behavior, perhaps, that has nothing to do with being pro-socialist or critical of democrats. Personally I think it's your incessant engagement in trolling behavior, but that's just my own view that I am fully entitled to, of course. :)
See, I didn't ask you to change, I'm just making sure the record is correct. The only one talking about you changing ... is you.
Why would I let your opinions—or anyone else’s on Lemmy—dictate what I believe? Everyone’s free to think what they want, just as I’m free to do the same.
Personally I think it’s your incessant engagement in trolling behavior,
And personally I don't think I'm engaging in trolling behavior. That’s my view that I am fully entitled to, of course. :)
Feel free to block me if you are tired of reading my posts or responding.
I don't care if you think I'm a troll. I'm gonna post what I want, where I want, when I want. As is my right. I don't have to explain anything to you if I don't want to.
See, there's your subtle lie again. I'm not trying to dictate your beliefs, I'm just pointing out patterns. You can believe them or not as you wish. I'm not trying to control you, I'm making sure information is provided to the community. I'm not trying to force you to explain anything, or abuse you, I'm not persecuting you. I'm just disagreeing with you, that's it. All the persecution is in that cute little head of yours.
Oh, I have no interest in blocking you. I'd much rather watch you and use you as an educational example. A lot of people on here are ignorant of more advanced trolling techniques, which makes them vulnerable. A small silver lining of your existence is that you help remedy this.
Why would I let your opinions—or anyone else’s on Lemmy—dictate what I believe?
To which I responded that I am simply disagreeing with you, not trying to "dictate your beliefs". That's your persecution lie, a bit of a cornerstone of your persona on here.
I still haven't fully settled on if you're doing it intentionally or you're just really, really Christian. The persecution complex is extremely common in the devout, stemming from their stories about the early days of the church. But yes, I suspect you probably are a troll.
One really has to wonder if you actually cannot grasp why people keep telling you why voting for a third-party in the current US electoral system is throwing away your vote, or if you're just purposely misrepresenting the argument. Because literally nobody here thinks that.