It’s amazing how close they get to making good points before veering off into “Dems bad, do <thing that gets Republicans more power>.”

This meme really doesn’t fit the format. Given the standard form of the meme, you’re implying that Israel are the reasonable, relatable ones here, that the warrants are unreasonable, and that someone other than the ICC has actually announced warrants.

Because I didn’t think it particularly important for countering this same old tired BS. But if you really want to know, it’s Ann Arbor, MI and the mayor was Albert Wheeler.

(Edit and fun fact: I’m writing this from Wheeler Park right now ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ)

My city had ranked choice voting implemented by Democrats in the 1970s. They elected the first black mayor, who is still one of our most beloved mayors in the city’s history, under RCV.

Then Republicans made it illegal at a state level when they had a trifecta. Democrats keep introducing bills at the state level to allow RCV, and Republicans take more and more drastic action against it. So yeah… I want more Democrats in my state government so we can have RCV.

Plague Inc was one of the things that kept me sane during lockdown.

It’s ironic that about 50% of the phone OS stuff (that isn’t actual technical discussion) I see is iPhone users complaining about Android users saying iOS sucks. 40% is iPhone users saying Android sucks, and 10% is Android users saying iOS sucks.

Canonical’s been selling commercial support for Ubuntu Core for a while now. Why would they abandon it if it’s working?

Android doesn’t count, but what about my PinePhone?

Already ahead of you on that as an active member of my state’s ranked choice voting initiative.

The vote is necessary, but not sufficient. My vote is a short term strategy for harm reduction. Working towards actual electoral reform is my long term strategy for fixing things.

Well thanks for that I guess. Voting Harris and protesting against the genocide still seem like the most effective combination of actions with my very minimal power.

So what do you suggest we do about it?

The current situation still has the Democrats with a less evil perspective. Evil? Yes. But less evil than the Republicans. And moreover, as you’ve yourself said, the Democrats are movable on the topic. Third parties are not a viable alternative, and 2016 showed how easily voting third-party can lead to a worse alternative. You don’t have to like it. You can and should protest against Harris’s current stance. But Harris is also the only electoral option that gives us a chance of getting better policies.

So, going back to that poem: voting for the Democrats is the most effective electoral way to speak out for both the Palestinians and the LGBTQ+ community (along with many other groups the Republicans would target). Voting is necessary, but not sufficient.

BTW, on a different topic… those are some interesting hours you keep. What time zone is that? GMT+3?

Voting third party is also worse for the Palestinian people given that it gives Donald “finish the job” Trump a better chance at the White House. This has already been established - it’s not my fault you’re ignoring facts that are inconvenient to your pre-selected conclusion.

It’s not so that people can play holier than thou while completely missing the point, but you can continue to do that despite the author’s intent.

Encourages people to vote in a way that’ll make a genocide of LGBTQ+ folks more likely

Posts that poem

Voting for third parties is tied for the second most effective way to increase harm. Without changes to the electoral system (changes I personally do believe are possible, despite your defeatist attitude), third party votes will always be spoiler votes. The only way to more effectively increase harm is to vote Republican.

Voting for Democrats isn’t a good long term strategy, but it’s the only strategy that has any hope of actually keeping my trans friends around so they can see the long term, and it’s the least bad of all the options right now. Voting third party, or not voting, is effectively a 1 vote swing away from the Democrats to the Republicans, whose policies are pretty clearly to make the genocide in Gaza worse and to start other genocides and forms of suffering. Voting Republican is a 2 vote swing towards that.

So I’m choosing the least bad option, and the option most likely to open up better options down the line. You’re choosing an ineffective option and then pretending to have the moral high ground even though what you’re choosing is ineffective virtue signaling.

Nee Solomon?

With such a defeatist attitude, why do you even care who people vote for?

Ahh, I see… You’re confusing the shitty, corrupt union (Democrats) with the company (the USA).

We need to fix the US electoral system so that we have better choices. But until we can do so, we need to do harm reduction. Accelerationism, including in the form of not voting or voting third party, is not harm reduction.