to vote or not to vote--that is the question.

*Sigh* y’all I really did not want to have to write this. “Sheep, slave, pig” is what I may be called, but no one is going to beat my ass (and if you try I got a cousin that will beat yours). So let's dive in!

disclaimers.

*Disclaimer, this is not going to be an all inclusive piece on the election, that would result in an essay. I’ll be providing resources at the end that address what I cannot here.*

I want to blanket this with an understanding--I am not writing this to convince anyone to vote. The whole point of voting is that candidates lay out reasons why they’re the best for the job and the final decision is ultimately left for each of us, individually, to make alone in a cube with a ballot and a pen. Kamala needs to activate voters with actionable promises not just, “I’m not Trump”. Though, at the end of the day, the choice to vote or not is one that relies on the individual. However, the reason I needed to write this is because I’ve seen misinformation and a lack of information spread by and to people my age. 

Before you say anything to me please ensure that you’ve read this whole thing. That’s my only charge for my time for conversation about this. 

i think we should all vote.

I’ll be honest and lay out my opinion just so you know my stance. I think we should all vote. There was a point in time when Black people couldn’t vote and then when they could they had to pay just to be represented in their own democracy. And I know the people in my age group hate that stance. I know it’s not the 50s anymore and things are more nuanced and we all understand truths about this “democracy” that generations before thought was just a matter of a lack of representation. We know, and they did too (because we sometimes discredit our ancestors), that Black faces in high places will not save us. 

But I believe that if there is an option for me to have any kind of say in what happens in my district, city, state, and this country, I’m going to take it. Too many people still don’t have that option for me to take it lightly. I think we should all vote because historically voter suppression has assaulted Black voters, incarceration has made many Black and brown voters ineligible to vote, gerrymandering has worked to dissolve the political power of Black and brown voting districts, etc. etc. If there was not power in voting to some degree, they wouldn’t try to prevent us from doing it.

Choosing not to participate in our capitalist society is a sacrifice--and not a pleasant one. It is designed so that you cannot survive unless you participate in some way shape or form. We all run the rat race because we have to. If you choose not to vote under the specific belief that you're not participating in said capitalist society, you have to understand that that is also sacrificing something. And if you accept that for yourself, that's okay, but you cannot expect others to make the same sacrifice--especially without a strong organized gameplan.

I think voting is never something we should concede, but rather always something we should leverage. 

things went left… 

Before I go any farther with this, I want to emphasize that this piece is not to call anyone out, rather I want to call us all in, for a second. When Kamala Harris was announced as the potential democratic nominee for the presidential election after Joe Biden stepped down, I witnessed a divide within the leftist organizing spaces I’m a part of in real life and on my social media feeds. I witnessed people, again both who I know in real life and via online, have a difference in opinion. Some think that voting for Kamala is a logical decision, others are adamant that if you vote for Kamala any activism you've done towards, specifically Palestinian liberation, and in general, liberation for all groups across the globe has been done in vain. And to be honest, this conversation has made me uncomfortable. 

For maybe the second or third time throughout this reinvigorated student organizing movement across social issues, I’ve found my organizing space at odds. And when we were at odds, discussions became arguments, personal accusations, insults of intelligence and morality (if I’m being honest). I question how any of us can claim to care about people, social justice, politics, and our favorite buzzword community, if when faced with moments of conflict and disagreement we turn our comrades into our enemies. The main reason I decided to write this is because of the fear within the people around me--who are well-meaning, dedicated, involved, unafraid to be uncomfortable, and open-minded suddenly feel afraid to say that they want to vote? I don’t like that. I don’t like people feeling silenced because of fear. And like I told you in my last blog post, I don’t want to live a life motivated by fear. So, I’m calling us in. 

voting is a harm reduction tool.

after writing and posting this i read that harm reductionists have been asking people to stop calling voting harm reduction: https://www.indigenousaction.org/voting-is-not-harm-reduction-an-indigenous-perspective/

Voting is a harm reduction tool. However, I know that just as easily as I say that, the opposite can also be said. Voting can cause harm. That’s what lowkey has gotten us into this situation. Right extremists turn the fuck out for a vote--granted some of them have the time, money, and resources to do so, but a lot of them are probably also low-income, low-educated, white people who turn the fuck out and vote. Voting is harm reduction because, especially on a local level, it helps implement policies that are community specific. Whether that be decriminalization of marjuana, increased financing towards drug rehabilitation, and deciding again on a local level where tax dollars go. I think that it would be a shame to disregard how important voting is to communities. To say that that has no impact isn’t true. 

Joe Biden stepping down happened because of the massive turnout of uncommitted democratic voters during the primaries. We weaponized voting alongside organizing, turning out to protests, leading teach-ins, and maintaining encampments. Once again, voting is a tool that can be leveraged. 

the ever so forgotten “down-ballot”.

You guys know that I organize for environmental justice in Chester, PA and part of that organizing has been encouraging students to help campaign for State Rep. Carol Kazeem. Having State Rep Kazeem in a position of political power as an ally to CRCQL has been transformative in getting greener initiatives into Chester, and getting a corrupt political force out of the city has made our organizing so much easier. Fighting the corruption of former Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland and his squad is one less obstacle in the fight for environmental justice in the city. That’s because people went out and voted, and because they were not misinformed.

When you tell people not to vote in the presidential election, you’re virtually telling people to ignore the down ballot--candidates who fill up congressional seats. Candidates who can be allies to the very organizing we want to do (to an extent of course, cause politicians won’t save us). When did we become single solution organizers? Who said that we cannot both vote and still maintain the grassroots organizing that we need to do here? 

the south.

Next, I’d like to talk about the South. Many of the people I see posting calling people pigs for voting for or even considering voting for Kamala Harris reside in BLUE states. Meaning, two things--one, since their state is predetermined blue their vote doesn’t really matter on the federal/electoral college level (you should still vote to keep that blueness the case esp within local elections).

The second thing being, if Trump does win, to some extent, that state is a safe haven for as long as the constitution abides by the state rights we have now. It’s unfair in my opinion to platform saying people shouldn’t vote, because you’re not voting, and not be honest about the fact that you’ll be good! Maybe not the best putting it lightly, but certainly not as vulnerable as marginalized populations in the South. 

We forget about the Black and brown people in the South every time we see the red state because we assume that it’s just white Trump heads there. And I know y’all know this because people have said this repeatedly. Abortion access, healthcare, LGBTQ+ resources, bans on books and critical race theory that just passed in Atlanta that I’ve seen people repost. We lost abortion under a Blue president because of a right wing majority in Congress and the Supreme Court that came from Trump’s presidency. 

People should not be shamed for voting to survive. Especially if they are the same people doing what they can to be active on the frontlines. They certainly cannot continue to help if they cannot even help themselves. 

But, I’m not from the South and I won’t speak on their behalf. Included in the growing Tik Tok compilation of personal testimonies I’ve collected from people there are a couple people from the South who share their viewpoint on this. 

swing states.

If you live in a swing state especially, LIKE PENNSYLVANIA, where my classmates reside and are potentially registered voters, then fun fact our vote actually does matter on a federal level! And to this I say, if our vote didn’t matter why would the right be focusing so much on voter suppression in places like Georgia, a swing state. Where new laws are drafted that would make it illegal to give people water or food while they wait on line to vote. Georgia where a runoff election flipped the state! Thanks to Black voters.

We cannot say that voting doesn’t matter because a Republican in that seat would’ve not only changed the day to day lives of Black Georgians (I’m sure the down-ballot candidates have policies that aided these Georgians), but also impacted the electoral college and thus the presidential election. A presidential election that decides who chooses our next Supreme Court Justices. The SAME predominantly conservative Supreme Court Justices that are overturning decisions across social justice movements! Organizing efforts get undone when not intertwined with other methods.

a red line is a red line.

I understand why people who have been personally affected by Kamala’s time as the California DA are abstaining from voting for her. I understand why Palestinian Americans who have been personally affected by Kamala’s role as VP to Biden throughout the genocide, statements on the genocide in Palestine, and her recent condemning of protests are abstaining from voting for her. No, buts. 

trump. 

Again, I am not trying to convince anyone who has decided not to vote for Kamala to vote for her. I also do not think it is anyone’s place, given the nuance of voting, the people we all have at stake, and what having Kamala in office means, to condemn people for choosing the lesser of two evils (another phrase I hate and am tired of hearing). 

Trump presents an imminent threat and already has to people across our country. That man is on a revenge tour. There are communities who are struggling in this country. Trump being back in office is like a steel ball suddenly being an obstacle in the road for organizers across movements. There is no working with him, there is no pushing him. I cannot say that I believe Kamala will be more helpful than Biden was during his term across all issues (including the environmental issues I’m passionate about), but I know less people will be vulnerable than compared to having Trump as president. 

The Supreme Court just ruled that presidents can’t be prosecuted for what they do in office anymore, this nigga is finna have a ball! Stating that our realities will be equal under a Trump administration vs. a Harris administration is not true. 

People are trying to survive. Many of us are trying to survive so that we may still be activists in the way that we can. We need help here too, and for a lot of communities, it CAN get worse for them with a Trump presidency.  We cannot water down the shift his presidency had on this country and the rest of the world--whether it be the social climate where racists were emboldened to be bigoted and proud or on a policy level when he took us out of the Paris Agreement and implemented a “muslim ban”. You do not have to participate in the vote if you do not want to, but I ask you at least within leftist circles to look to the side of your sphere you disagree with and hear out their reasoning.

socialists and social skills.

Sometimes I think we fall prey to the very individualistic tendencies of capitalism that we critique, it is impossible not to do so. It’s how we are socialized. In moments like these, we should be willing to be called in. Else we run the risk of isolating those who are on our side and who have been ten toes down. 

I know there has always been conflict within organizing spaces about the best way to implement change. Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Malcolm X--non-violence vs. violence, the whole thing (but, MLK wasn't the passive solely non-violent figure he was watered down to be. They wouldn't have killed him if he was). 

I’m of the opinion we can do both. I’m of the opinion that, when necessary, we need to do both. I’m of the opinion that those who desire to do either need to be in community and conversation with one another and rely on each other. You don’t get through to people who are on your side by making them feel incompetent, immoral, or silenced. I think that if you’re doing this work, and leading this work, you should like people and not just the people who agree with you 100% of the time. Why are we quarreling among ourselves? Why are we being disrespectful? Why are our spaces turning into the exact things we’re fighting against? We can do better.

Continue to critique Kamala, do not put her on a pedestal. I don’t think it’s true that everyone who’s voting for Kamala is doing so because they suddenly don’t care about the harm she’s caused. And, for people saying don’t vote for Kamala, she's a cop? Bae, the president of the United States, is a cop--like top cop. So the third party candidate that you’re saying people should vote for (even though there are at least three and no one has said “let’s rally around this specific candidate” because if we don’t the third party vote will be split, but anyways) WILL BE A COP! All the socialism goes out the window because they will be…A COP. So you were better off not even trying to cover it by saying vote third party. 

conclusion.

So, to close, there are issues with voting in this country, oh so many, but it is not something we should give up on in any society we intend to create. It is also not something we should approach without nuance. Voting will happen with or without us, and even if we choose not to participate, it will leave us behind. 

People are dying and American leftists turn everything into discourse and think pieces. I genuinely do not want to add to that, which is why I contemplated even writing this. But this isn’t to start a debate or to dehumanize what is going on. If anything it is the opposite, an attempt to humanize the reality of what's at stake for people domestically and abroad. 

If you're reading this and you know me in real life, you know that I am more than open to having a conversation about this. I also know that by posting this, I will 100% make people mad at me and dislike me. That’s okay. (When you unfollow me please remove me as a follower at the very least). I know that there will not be one solution to our fight for true democracy, change doesn’t come from using one tool. 

Vote or don’t vote. Present information, a duality of perspectives, if your aim is truly to educate. But don’t lie by omission and don’t spread misinformation. And be open to conversation. If you’d like to add any info (from any perspective) that is factual or even a personal testimony (which is fact) please link it in the comments. 

There are three months of campaigning we have yet to see from Kamala. Three months for her to condemn the genocide in Palestine and condemn Israel for their crimes against humanity. Three months to stop bankrolling the genocide. Three months to keep having conversations. Three months for Kamala to earn our vote. Three months to register to vote. Three months to brainstorm actions like the uncommitted vote that showed the Democratic party that voters are the ones with the power. And the rest of our lives to keep working on our social skills and practice care within our communities. 

Kamala is not our savior and those who have been calling people out for platforming that are completely correct. But we need more time, and she gives us that. Voting for Kamala is not a decision motivated by joy for many, but I also don’t think it has to be positioned as an immoral one. 

As a reminder, we are not doomed. And I despise doomspeak paired with inaction. Accepting doom is white people shit. And half these people end up voting anyways, but their social media doesn't know that. 

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P.S please do not do the thing where I say, “I like waffles”, and then you say I said, “I hate pancakes”. 

P.S.S if you do decide to have a convo with me about this, watch how you speak to me. because the way y’all been getting down…

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resources.

These aren’t all things i 100% agree with, just things i’ve seen.

(i intended to update this list as i find resources so keep checking it)

x Kamala Harris shifts tone on Gaza, but advocates say US voters want more

x Growing compilation of Tik Toks on the matter of voting in the 2024 election. 

x Kamala Harris Can Win. Stop Saying She's “Unelectable.” 

x Voting is Not Harm Reduction -- An Indigenous Perspective