Thanks, I’m sure you’re pretty swell too ✌

edit: typo

I tried to edit the comment but it seems to still just read as removed, so I apologize jordanlund but I’m going to tag repost my comment below this one, minus the offending last line so as to hopefully be within policy compliance. Comment (sans final line), was as follows:

What disingenuous bullshit. Did you actually read that page or just find the first google result that supports your claim?

Because that page is basically two things: legitimate raging against real anti-activism efforts and a bunch of defeatist bullshit nothing based on a strawman assumption that the harm reduction argument is inherently one which is at odd with other forms of activism. Yeah no shit the deeply systemically-rooted problems aren’t going to magically get solved just because you got off your ass for one day in November. And yeah no shit there are more effective, necessary, and righteous ways of affecting change and activism.

But nobody, nobody, is saying otherwise.

But the fact remains that whether you abstain from the practice entirely or you’re the most involved on the street activist in the world, an election will happen in November the results of which will have real world impact. And yes, again no shit both options are horseshit. Yes life under Joe Biden will be one where corporate interests reign free, minority and indigenous and disenfranchised people will continue to be treated unequally and exploited in America, and the economic divide will only further. Yes, that’s all true. But it’s also true that all of those things will happen, but even worse under Donald Trump, as well myriad other genuinely measurable worse things. So if we want to reduce the harm that will happen, logic dictates we ensure Donald Trump isn’t President.

Now tell me where, anywhere in that I say that voting is a panacea for all ailments or anywhere discourage any kind of genuine activism outside of voting.

You can take comfort in being so pure and above it all by not stooping to the levels of supporting an imperfect system all you want, but at the end of the day that’s just selfishness that serves only to feed your own ego. In the meantime, in the real world, abstaining from the system just makes things worse. The point is to do all the shit that I’m sure you pretend to encourage from your desk chair here on Lemmy but never actually do, and also take the fucking 1 hour out of your day once ever four years it takes to vote as well. It literally only helps things and does not in any way take away from legitimate efforts.