This is my opinion on voting.
November 7, 2008 was National Pick Your Oppressor Day. You can have
your
election fantasies. The whole election circus is owned and operated
by
wealthy,
powerful and sinister interests. Lots of people sense this. Elections
are not
the time when people influence the politics of the system. It is the
opposite:
it is a time when the m***** of people get indoctrinated in the
policies this
system intends to adopt.
The electoral system is a horrible trap. Its parties and campaigns--
are a
terrible place to try to organize and struggle for change. Real
change
comes
from mass action. The civil rights movement was not won by voting.
When people
get fooled and drawn into the electoral system their struggle gets
tamed. It is
an arena where people get trained to accept the limits and framework
of the
system. They are schooled in the political methods most useful and
(and least
challenging) to their oppressors.
Such a public statement of faith in the system legitimizes the future
government and power structures of this system.
There is a saying among political movement people: "Climbing into a
voting
booth doesn't make you powerful--any more than climbing into the back
of a
squad car makes you a cop."
You can cling to your electoral fantasies. Not me!
And Yes, of course, this is an indictment of the entire system.
Skeptic
49ERS: BOSS OF THE BAY
Next 49er/Raiders match up: 2010
