this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2024
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Political Memes

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131
Rule Change for PoliticalMemes (lemmy.world)
submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
73 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The fundamental tenet of a working democracy is voting. Everyone should have a vote and everyone should exercise their right to vote. To that end we have been seeing posts attempting to shame/mock or otherwise influence people not to vote. While this is a meme community, the idea that people shouldn’t vote goes against the fundamentals of a democracy by the people and for the people. To that end, we are adding a new rule that disallows posts that discourage or shame people from voting. This doesn’t mean that you can’t address how people vote, but even those who don’t agree with you and your political views should still vote. We all should. Everyone. Part of the reason we are in the mess we are in now is because participation in democracy is abysmal. Posts discouraging people from voting are essentially propaganda and will be removed.

PoliticalMemes is a community for having fun at the expense of our political hellscape we find ourselves in. People not voting is a big part of why.

We are taking feedback on this change, please let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments and why.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

Super in favor of this one! Barely just got on lemmy and all ive done is engage the bad faith actors in hopes of leaving some trace of sanity for the more impressionable to find.

This very thread is full of, "but cant you see how this rule change could turn authoritarian," and "what u claim to have witnessed isnt real, its all just butthurt democrats and no one is actually actively trying to suppress voting." To the lurkers, take note of the accounts that seem to do nothing but post about why voting is useless, why any complaints about biden are as relevant as complaints about dorito mussolini, or why russian imperial interests arent actually imeperial bc the west only ever lies, a fact unique to the west exclusively.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I fundamentally disagree with the underlying assumptions of this change, but understand its rationale, especially during an election year.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Informed voting is what's important. Voting in-and-of-itself doesn't contribute to a healthy democracy. To the contrary, mindless voting almost killed democracy multiple times recently.

To that end, I disagree with the notion that everyone should vote: filling your ballot on name recognition or in accordance with some preacher's orders or some shit is dangerous, and if that's you, then you absolutely should not vote!

Dig. Get at least some basic info on the people on your ballot. Consider the secondary and tertiary effects of any proposed policy; consider how it could back fire, etc. Once you actually understand what you're voting on, THEN vote. But if you won't take the time to do that, just showing up isn't doing any kind of civic duty.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Your right maybe we should have a test that you have to take before you can vote. But that might accidentally disinfancise people who are competent to vote, so to be safe if your family has a tradition of voting you probably learned about it at home, so if your grandfather could vote you don't have to take the test. This is a good and original system you have created.

To vote answer this question.

Snow is the same color as:

  • -flower
  • -grass
  • -skin
  • -roses
[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Finally someone with a reasonable opinion that outlines why discouraging people from voting is dangerous!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I would assume the poll meant "flour" and choose the first option.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Aight I thought the other guy was just trolling, so I didn't bother with a reply, but it looks like you reached the same conclusion, so maybe I didn't make myself clear.

No where in my post did I say uninformed voters shouldn't be allowed to vote; I said they shouldn't vote. That might sound pedantic, but it's an important distinction.

My issue is with the cultural notion that "It's your civic duty to vote!" cuz no, it isn't. Voting is a tool, and like any other tool it can be used in a dangerous way if you don't take the time to understand how it works.

If you're not sure how to operate pneumatic hammer, you shouldn't do that either; but I'm not saying you should be disallowed from handling one or face legal consequences for trying; I'm saying YOU should have the sense to recognize the potential for harm from misuse of the tool in question, and YOU should choose to abstain from trying until you've done some homework.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If you are asking people to self select not to vote, only informed voters will self select out. The vast majority of poorly informed or misinformed voters don't know enough to identify their knowledge gaps. Like a voting Dunning-Kruger asking people to abstain from voting if they are uninformed will actually result in an overall less informed voting population. If you want informed voters then get everyone to vote and increase voter education.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

The fact that the facts you're outlining are unpopular here is baffling. It seems like people forgot what "democracy" actually means 🙄

Thanks for putting it in words better than I did.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's not misinformed voting that caused Trump's ascension to power. Participation was abysmally low (55% of the adult population). I don't think Trump, or any other far-right lunatic, can win an election without voter apathy.

Do not reinforce stereotypes that some people should not be allowed to vote because they're too stupid. It is sterile and dangerous.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I don't think his point is that people should not be allowed to vote.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

True, but the undemocratic idea that voting should be left to "informed" people (who decides who's informed, or how do you make sure people are impartially informed, anyway?), is still dangerous. The idea that a part of the population is too dumb to take part in democracy is a core motivation of eugenism.

Don't discourage people voting against their interest from voting. You need their vote to dislodge autocrats. You need to convince them instead. If you believe in democracy, that is.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I think it goes more for people who are uninformed and don't want to vote anyway, but are forced to make a bad decision off the top of their heads. My country has mandatory voting and I see this happen quite a lot, we have the exact same problems.

In that sense encouraging someone to vote won't really matter if their decision is uninformed and can even be detrimental because people do willingly vote for these autocrats when they rightfully see no real option.

The first step is not voting but to encourage people to be politically engaged not with ideas but their surroundings and immediate material needs, and teach them how they can check in on the powerful. They can be coopted by bad actors all along this journey too.

Discouraging someone to vote, though? Eh, by all means vote if you want but I don't think voting really works that much at all because the system is completely broken in most places, and I will always point this out. If that counts as discouraging then here I am.

I can say these problems happen simply because most powerful people fucking us over are not elected, and they can and do choose which politicians will be on the ballot for us to fight over. Always have that in mind.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

That's a lot more elaborate than saying that some people shouldn't vote, which was a marvellously shitty take.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

how so?

maybe its because english is not my mother tongue, but I didn't really say this at all, no.

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