Darius Kazemi

My least favorite thing about election culture in the US is when individual people say things like "Make sure to vote!" and don't actually say how they think you should vote. It means one of a few things:

1) they think it's rude to discuss specific policy or candidates
2) they think their position is the "true" majority and if everyone voted it would all be ok
3) they actually don't care how you vote

1 & 3 are morally awful, 2 just seems like hubris

Nov 6, 2018 at 3:25pmWeb
Show threadDarius KazemiNov 6, 2018
I guess the other assumption could be "people in my own social network (online or offline) are probably somewhat like me and will vote somewhat like me" which is a better assumption than 2 but still... come on, have some bravery, don't be so passive aggressive
Show threadShane Liesegang, SJNov 6, 2018

@darius and then there’s like the next degree of privilege-apathy where people take the performative middle ground of “ill still be your friend no matter who you vote for because that’s being an adult”

My own network still contains a lot of this, which speaks to my lack of curation...

Show threadStephen BNov 6, 2018
@darius That's a fair criticism, and I'll admit a combination of this and #2 were actually kind of where my head was at earlier today and I kind of think they're both true. But I also have to admit that my telling people to vote generally, doesn't really help with people who are disenfranchised by various voter suppression techniques that Republicans in some states are employing. Anyway, I've updated/replied to my own posts in that vein with more specifics.
Show threadJPNov 6, 2018
@darius the way voting has been subtly reshaped into this quasi-consumerist ritual by brands etc proferring this vague sense of never-actually-specified political consciousness... is wild
Show threadCaePla Build FightersNov 6, 2018
@darius It's nice to see someone saying this, because it bugs the crap out of me.
Show threadmaloki 🍵Nov 6, 2018

@darius I think I'm the context of "go vote" a lot of people (at least here) view it as taboo to talk about what you voted on.

I feel like the discussion out what to vote on should've been months ago (saw it brought up elsewhere too). And help people prepare to make good votes, etc.

I dunno man. It's weird we hold on to a lot of taboos which are stupid.

This year's election I think a lot of people around me did say "please vote for anything that isn't NP"

Show threadmaloki 🍵Nov 6, 2018
@darius (np as in nationalist party)
Show threadAlonealastalovedalongtheNov 6, 2018

@darius This is a great point but I think there are legions of pessimistic people whose hopelessness leads them to apathy (myself included). I think people who honestly care are more often the ones that become exhausted by the brutality of america. So yes I think those people are the people that need to be poked.

Also fascists don't want everyone to vote, so telling everyone to vote is a statement against that. I agree it isn't strong enough of a statement tho

Show threadthomasNov 6, 2018
@darius I was definitely taught, by my parents and teachers, that being interested in how a person votes is beyond reproach
Show threadDarius KazemiNov 6, 2018
@trappleton me too
Show threadThe Librarian 🌷Nov 6, 2018
@darius
Or 4) there exist a power hierarchy, and they believe it would be an immortal abuse of that power relation to tell you explicitly how to vote.
Show threadDarius KazemiNov 6, 2018
@thelibrarian I wish people were that sensitive to power hierarchies.
Show threadAceNovo  Nov 6, 2018

@darius
LB:
Republicans are 1
Democrats are 2
Capitalist media are 3

That's a gross generalization and an oversimplification, but not entirely untrue

Show threadMichal Migurski 🍉Nov 6, 2018
@darius If you’re a liberal or a Democrat, #2 is more often true than not.
Show threadJustin MichaelNov 6, 2018

@darius I want everyone to vote because I want government to actually represent the will of the people, of the majority.

I know that's probably not a practical or obtainable situation for a variety of reasons, but I still have hope.

Change begins with hope, so I ask everyone to vote.

Show threadDarius KazemiNov 6, 2018
@VioletPixel I just can't get behind hope and change as a general concept because sometimes the hope is "this country will be for me and my kin alone" and the change is "strip people of their citizenship" (etc etc)
Show threadDavid ChartierNov 6, 2018

@darius People might also simply not want or have time to discuss politics at that time. It sounds funny, but some people might just need a reminder of what time it is; maybe they're unplugged from current events or busy and forgot.

It doesn't always involve hubris or malice. There are plenty of other reasons as well, and I think many of them come from more... harmless, maybe even positive intentions.

Show threadBorutNov 6, 2018
@darius well there is actually research showing turnout = higher dem votes. So 2 but with data?
Show threadDarius KazemiNov 6, 2018
@borut I have heard that anecdotally but haven't seen the data, would love to look at it (googling just failed me)
Show threadBorutNov 7, 2018
@darius yeah, now it's all midterm election punditry, maybe in a few weeks when the algorithms settle down