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Even ignoring the other quality replies to this comment, this just seems to me an insane viewpoint. It's kinda like saying "I'm starving, but I won't eat any o

Even ignoring the other quality replies to this comment, this just seems to me an insane viewpoint. It's kinda like saying "I'm starving, but I won't eat any of the food on this table because I don't like it". What? I can maybe see how this is reasonable if you don't vote but also spend significant time/money investing in trying to bring about candidates who you feel do represent what you want. But, most people with this opinion seem to simply do nothing. That's a pretty childish stance to take, it seems. As much as you might not like it, the reality is that you only have so many ways to influence things, so you should probably at least put the bare minimum effort in and vote. If you can't be assed to do that, well, I think you forfeit your right to complain about the situation.

Miner49er 5y ago
This isn't an accurate analogy. I'd say people who have this viewpoint view both parties as poison, not food. Maybe one is slightly less poisonous, but we'd rather have neither.
- sushisource 5y ago
  Sure it's a loose analogy, but keeping with it: You're gonna starve either way. Might as well try to do something about that.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - foobar2021 5y ago
    “Eat our poison. It’s better for you”
- Fnoord 5y ago
  But you're gonna have to eat one of these two dishes, and you can help deciding which ones best, even if both are terrible. Its like saying: I hate getting vaccinated but I'm not gonna join take part in a society being unvaccinated. But there's only these 2 practical choices. The other ones are niche (e.g. leaving society living in a treehut or a tundra, committing suicide, going to Mars for science -- these kind of extreme outliers). If I were American (ie. read US citizen), I'd never discount any of the dishes. After all, there's only two practical choices... ..which, despite all the current issues, makes me happy I got more than two in The Netherlands. But it also gives me compassion that Americans, given they only got two. What a system...
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > Maybe one is slightly less poisonous, but we'd rather have neither. Abstaining doesn't get you neither, though it does increase the chance of getting whichever one you want least compared to engaging productively (and that's assuming “engaging” is just voting in the general election, and not deeper engagement beyond the last-step, lesser-of-two-weasels choice.)

Miner49er 5y ago

This isn't an accurate analogy. I'd say people who have this viewpoint view both parties as poison, not food. Maybe one is slightly less poisonous, but we'd rather have neither.

sushisource 5y ago
Sure it's a loose analogy, but keeping with it: You're gonna starve either way. Might as well try to do something about that.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- foobar2021 5y ago
  “Eat our poison. It’s better for you”
Fnoord 5y ago
But you're gonna have to eat one of these two dishes, and you can help deciding which ones best, even if both are terrible. Its like saying: I hate getting vaccinated but I'm not gonna join take part in a society being unvaccinated. But there's only these 2 practical choices. The other ones are niche (e.g. leaving society living in a treehut or a tundra, committing suicide, going to Mars for science -- these kind of extreme outliers). If I were American (ie. read US citizen), I'd never discount any of the dishes. After all, there's only two practical choices... ..which, despite all the current issues, makes me happy I got more than two in The Netherlands. But it also gives me compassion that Americans, given they only got two. What a system...
dragonwriter 5y ago
> Maybe one is slightly less poisonous, but we'd rather have neither. Abstaining doesn't get you neither, though it does increase the chance of getting whichever one you want least compared to engaging productively (and that's assuming “engaging” is just voting in the general election, and not deeper engagement beyond the last-step, lesser-of-two-weasels choice.)