i really, truly, don't want to hear "i refuse to vote dem because they aren't doing anything for trans people" ever again, especially from people who don't know they were quietly advancing trans rights at least as far back as the early 2000s, possibly longer (i was too young and not paying attention before then). and doing it quietly so that the GOP didn't latch on with culture war crap while changes were first starting and even more vulnerable to attack.
the good stuff rarely gets headlines, both because only negative stories get clicks, and because staying low-key until absolutely necessary throws off the GOP. pay attention. be active. and also vote.
the dems will always trail the movement, but that's how politics works. You make it politically embarrassing for the closest party with a critical mass to not do the thing, and then they can justify it to their own people.
Which, as amy says, has been working, if slow and covert.
Elections won't end capitalism but when it comes to civil rights voting really is a matter of "who would you rather be shouting at" and the professed progressives will always be easier to push even if we still have to push and push
the CIA has a longstanding tradition of spreading messaging, in countries it wishes to disrupt, to the effect that voting is pointless
when you hear messaging that voting in the US is pointless you should consider it with that in mind
academics who study authoritarianism have been clear: cling to every shred of democracy, fight for every single bit of process and procedure. yes the system as a whole is bullshit and will not save us, but still, there is a party that openly advocates for killing us all and a party that does not specifically have that as a goal, and sometimes even helps slightly. we should be voting for the latter.
voting by itself will not save us, we may very well all die horribly at the hands of the state, but we still need to vote. we just shouldn't let our activism stop there, we need to do more.
I know this is correct. I know that categorically and undeniably voting is important. I will be voting Labour in the elections that crop up. But I will be dragging myself every damned inch of the way to the polling station to do it. I will be hoping every moment of time between now and then that Kier Starmer suddenly gets possessed by something actually left of center and stops being utterly shit.
Voting is not sufficient. It's just mandatory.
