Essentially, there have been two reactions over on grad today:
- I didn’t vote, neither of the candidates were going to stop the war in the Gaza Strip, therefore, there could be no good outcome for the US, therefore I can’t be held accountable
- I voted for a third party, which Republicans will have to acknowledge and respect
I know you’re all going to have to get this out of your system, so go ahead. Mock the leftists who stubbornly refused to vote for Kamala. Assign the blame for fascism taking over on those who could not see past their principles to the bigger picture (at least, as you see it). Eventually, you’re going to have to move on and acknowledge that the blame cannot fall solely on them.
I voted for Kamala Harris. I, like most of you, felt strongly that doing so was necessary to prevent a far worse outcome. In the short term. The truth is, those that you mock for failing to see what was so plain to you were looking past it to an even larger picture, and that is why they could not see the strategic necessity of their vote. Why they chose not to see it, just as many of you choose not to see something that is very plain to them, the inevitability of this outcome.
Kamala Harris began her campaign to thunderous applause from those who were hopeful that the Democratic Party was finally embracing progressive ideals, only to then abandon and insult those very same hopefuls while moving further to the right than even Biden dared go. Kamala Harris then also proceeded to approach the economically anxious right with the same limp-wristed and tired economic messaging that has consistently failed to address the concerns of the working class. She campaigned as a moderate old Republican, the very same that the Republican electorate abandoned in favor of Trump.
A large number of progressives and radical leftists saw this and surrendered. They sacrificed their hope for change and reform to preserve their principles, and embraced accelerationism where previously they resisted it. I felt what they felt but held onto hope not because I truly believed Kamala Harris would turn around, but because I feared that we were not ready. I voted for Kamala Harris because I wanted to buy just a little more time, but fascism is here now, and we’ve run out of time.
Accept responsibility, stop assigning blame, we can’t afford to. Accept responsibility not because you are at fault, but because no one else will.
The “some of you will die but that’s a sacrifice that I’m willing to make” strategy that has no historical evidence, and in in fact a fair amount of counter evidence, that it had ever worked? That’s a bold move cotton. I sure am glad that people that I love and care about are all but certain to see untimely deaths because of it.
Way ahead of you.
I made it clear that I don’t agree with their decision. I despise accelerationism as much as you do. I am trying to make the point that those who made the decision not to vote or to vote third party were driven to do so by a variety of factors that could have been avoided.
They should accept responsibility for the consequences of their decisions, but many of them are not, and it’s fair to be frustrated with that. Another who will not accept responsibility for this outcome is the Democratic party, and they will be very happy to shift blame to leftists who did not vote.
<3. Sorry about that. It’s been a bit of an upsetting time.
I mean, in this case, they are objectively correct when it comes to the statistics. The Right always wins when voters sit out elections and protest votes (and non-votes) only helped them in the current FPTP system.
The neolib captured Democratic party refusing to move left at all didn’t help but, lack of participation is what allowed it to happen in the first place. Our fellow leftists have continually decided to ignore the basic numbers and be swayed by propaganda suggesting ideological purity over concrete benefit to at-risk populations and demanding seats at the table. Maybe they’ll self-reflect and take responsibility for the consequences of their actions when they see the harms that they contributed to but, I’m not holding my breath as it hasn’t happened in my lifetime despite Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Rojava, not to mention the impending Project 2025.
Allow me to restore your hope a little bit:
Not all of them will, and those that do might take quite a while to get there, but it happens. Those who see others express such regrets will be inoculated against making the same error.
Bit of a chicken or the egg situation, don’t you think? I recently watched a documentary about union coal miners in Harlan County, KY, and while watching it felt like I was watching a culture of resistance transition to a culture of defeat as a result of compounding traumas coinciding with minor improvements to material conditions that made it tempting to settle.
The left has had a culture of defeat for some time, and I believe we are now witnessing the early developmental stages of a new culture of resistance. It is young and naive, and chose too early to abandon electoralism entirely, but it will either mature or be stamped out by the fascism they thought they were ready to face. If we are to survive fascism we can’t hold grudges against one another for their errors in judgment.
Edit: Here is the documentary I mentioned, and here is a video that explains what I mean by culture of resistance.
Thanks for the optimistic words. Definitely needed.