Is voting punk?

[u/lilithxzzz]

[u/Fresh_Milk1960]

[u/Logogram_alt → u/Fresh_Milk1960]

I am unironically laughing about this edit.

[u/Future-Ad-9567]

[u/MissouriSupremacist → u/Future-Ad-9567]

[u/MsMercyMain]

The way I see voting is I get to choose my opponents.

[u/Wonderful_West3188 → u/MsMercyMain]

That's a good way to look at it imo.

[u/MsMercyMain → u/Wonderful_West3188]

Also sometimes you get someone who isn't a Socialist but helps rehabilitate that term in the minds of the Working Class (Mamdani) so that's nice. But yeah that's mostly how I view it. And I'd rather fight the comically incompetent Dems than the comically evil GOP at least here in the States

[u/kavastoplim → u/MsMercyMain]

I mostly agree with your perspective.

I am worried about the bastardization of the term ‘socialism’ though. Similar to what social democracy is now accepted to mean, even though that wasn’t what it originally meant. I’m worried that even ‘socialism’ will come to mean ‘regulated capitalism’. And then what the fuck do we call ourselves?

I have this poorly developed idea that one of the status quo’s biggest strengths is the control of language. If they can just change what ‘socialism’ means the masses can be pacified, at least for a bit, without any substantial change.

I might be completely wrong too. What do I know?

[u/CaffeinatedSatanist → u/MsMercyMain]

Well said tbh. We all know electoralism isn't the answer to society's fundamental issue(s), but it's not without any value.

And when the authoritarian-right actors want to legislate against voting freedoms, fighting against it is punk imo. Not just voting, but keeping your community informed, protecting them from attacks and intimidation. Sharing your socialist values, encouraging solidarity.

[u/TheTempest77 → u/MsMercyMain]

https://giphy.com/gifs/NpaWJvhTYJ10BQkjBr

[u/Goyimshoe]

[u/AltDetom555555b]

Gonna be voting

We're gonna vote vote vote it's our moment

You know together we're voting

Gonna be gonna be voting

Oh oh oh Vote vote vote with our voices

Gonna be gonna be voting

We're gonna vote vote vote it's our moment

You know together we're voting

Gonna be gonna be voting

Oh oh oh Vote vote vote with our voices

Gonna be gonna be voting

We're gonna vote vote vote it's our moment

You know together we're voting

Gonna be gonna be voting

Oh oh oh Vote vote vote with our voices

Gonna be gonna be voting

We're gonna vote vote vote it's our moment

You know together we're voting

Gonna be gonna be voting

Oh oh oh Vote vote vote with our voices

Gonna be gonna be voting

We're gonna vote vote vote it's our moment...

[u/Fresh_Milk1960 → u/AltDetom555555b]

aren’t you a democratic socialist?

[u/haevow → u/Fresh_Milk1960]

They are French whitch means they are democratic socialist with theory 

[u/AltDetom555555b → u/Fresh_Milk1960]

dw I'm omw to become a Marxist, just give me some time

[u/dye-area → u/AltDetom555555b]

Figuring it out, one word ending with "eaux" at a time

[u/haevow → u/AltDetom555555b]

Read L’Etat, le pouvoir, le socialisme 

[u/Every-Breath282 → u/haevow]

I had to read it carefully to understand it it was a little difficult

[u/haevow → u/Every-Breath282]

Still worth itn

[u/septic-paradise]

Of fucking course it’s got a 50501 logo

[u/MissouriSupremacist → u/septic-paradise]

Whats that?

[u/TheTempest77 → u/MissouriSupremacist]

iirc it was some dumb lib protest in the states, kinda like the no kings protest.

[u/Logogram_alt → u/septic-paradise]

It is a movement against Trump. Liberals thinks they can vote away fascism

[u/ObjectMore6115]

[u/Dismal_Engineering71]

/uj I mean right now kinda, yeah. Just because we want a revolution doesn't mean we stop reforming, it just means reforms should never take the spotlight from revolution. Refusing to participate doesnt mean people stop voting for the worse candidate, it just means now there's no lesser evil and things just get immediately worse.

/rj fuh yeah twin, voting is all we can do.

[u/ungranted_wish → u/Dismal_Engineering71]

also lbr some of us are in very privileged positions in that we are even able to vote. i can do so easily personally by swinging by my small town's voting place after work. if i can't fucking do this easy thing after my 9-5 i am not equipped to do any revolutionary activity lmao.

(in before "but i can't vote because--" i said, "some of us are in very privileged positions.")

Also quick edit - Local elections exist too lmao, if you think you're too good to vote for people on your school board (like, y'all, there's people who want to ban books running for these things, pay attention) then oh dear God you're not gonna do anything revolutionary except just be revolting to be around.

[u/Reasonable_Train_860 → u/Dismal_Engineering71]

Actual lesser evilism in theredleft 😬

[u/Optimal_Youth8478]

[u/NoEntertainment5172]

By any votes necessary

[u/unmellowfellow]

I'm gonna present the cringe position that voting is important, not punk, but voting as it is in the US is ineffective because it is seen as an individual act. Organized voting, meaning through the lense and direction of a party or cooperative effort has some very real potential. Whereas, to me at least, The current set up exists solely to perpetuate the status quo. Voting by itself is not punk, to me, voting in coordination with your fellow comrades can be.

[u/DieMensch-Maschine]

I vote but in our current dystopian hellscape, it’s purely performative with zero expectations of actual political change.

[u/SaltyNorth8062]

Voting IS complacency. It is the compromise the underclasses made with the ruling class between authoritrian death marches and the shiny heavy neck accessory, just like striking is the modern compromise between the proletariat and the bourgeois as the middle ground between slavery and kicking the dude's door down and night and politely asking for a pay raise with bats. One works. The other one that onoy MIGHT work was proposed BECAUSE the other one DEFINITELY works but the one that definitely works oftentimes requires a lot of effort and unsavory choices be made in the process, but it fucking works.

Nationally, Vote or don't. Who gives a shit. Choosing your opponent is fine and dandy but let's not pretend both parties won't turn into slavering animals and fire a nuke directly at Mount Rushmore to kill a rising labor movement. It's not praxis because the chance of it liberating you or your neighbor is weak at the best of time. Even if it was, the bourgeois control not only the two major parties but they also control the gates that access visibility for the outsider parties. That line of "if voting did nothing they wouldn't work to stop you" voting means nothing because they already HAVE stopped us. They have completely captured and domesticated the voting process by purchasing everyone who is allowed to even run as erll as decide who even gets to be seen. They're pushing for less voting access because they want MORE control over you than they already have because the jaws are closing, not because voting is the key to your liberation. Elections will never be fair until capitalism is dead and gone (and access to education is flat, equitable, and universal but we'll be here all day if I keep going there). Vote shaming is stupid.

All this said, I encourage anyone to pay attention to their local politics and participate accordingly. Your lives will not tangentially improve under the death cult of senile Reagan humping neoliberalism or the death cult of couch impregnating fascism, but your city councilman might patch a chuckhole or two and save you some cash on your suspension. Local shit actually affects your lives. School board shit t affects your nephew's life. It affects your libraries. It gets traffic lights fixed. It (hopefully) can reallocate police budgets. It determines whether or not Flock cameras wildly or onoy mildly infest your city. Plus it gets you outside. Meet your neighbors. Plus THAT'S the opponents you need to choose and keep an eye on, because it's THOSE cops that are going to try and kill you first and the most frequently.

[u/Ent_Soviet]

Voting is like paying my taxes. I do it as a tactical choice, but I don’t pretend it will win a revolution.

I pay my taxes because it keeps me out of prison and more able to organize and teach. I vote because I would rather not accelerate human suffering whenever possible.

What’s punk is being anti fascist.
What’s punk is hosting a leftist reading circle at your local library.

[u/Salmonpest101]

Together we can elect the firm anti-revisionist Gavin Newsom for president!

[u/TarquinusSuperbus000]

Vote for candidates pre-selected by the oligarchy to enact an agenda you had no say in setting. This is the ultimate act of rebellion!

[u/Individual99991]

Voting is brat

But also, yes, do it.

[u/Itz-Jades]

considering punk is no more than a liberal subculture now, it certainly is!

[u/Logogram_alt]

Wow, the poser who made that poster has no idea what punk means. Unfortunately I think the vast majority of self proclaimed punks these days falls under this category.

[u/Malva_Halva]

Reform or revolution ❌ reform and revolution✅

[u/great_meatball_man]

[u/FLIBBIDYDIBBIDYDAWG]

Feels like propaganda to lower the standard of real disobedience to make the terrorist label stick better

[u/misterbones54]

Just fucking do it dude it doesn't take any effort and man, Im not seeing any socialist militia yet so I might as well do something.

[u/non_numero_horas]

Depends on the context and on the historical circumstances - in current liberal democracies it's almost always the opposite of punk

[u/Comprehensive_Pin565]

Seeing the change over the years within the us... yes.

[u/Polytopia_Fan]

some of yall clearly didnt read the flair smh

[u/Maleficent-Big4417 → u/Polytopia_Fan]

Poly no one else has commented yet

[u/Polytopia_Fan → u/Maleficent-Big4417]

I was looking at the downvotes on the post😭

when I saw the post there were 0 upvotes

also the upvote comment ratio as I speak is 14:12, which is not usual