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gulliver

(13,142 posts)
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 11:06 AM Mar 2014

Where the Buck Really Stops

So some obviously able-bodied guy cross-parks his Escalade over two handicapped spots in front of a hospital entrance. He gets out, and tosses an empty coffee cup into the window of the car next to him. Then he spits on a seeing eye dog, trips an old lady, and cuts in at the head of the line. "I need to get someone to look at this finger," he says. "I'm teeing off in twenty minutes, so make it snappy."

That guy is still a better person than a non-voter.

When we get to the point where we look down on non-voters rather than sympathizing with them, when we no longer tolerate their learned helplessness, depression, and "political consumerist" whims, when their excuses fall on deaf ears, we will be on the right track.



26 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Where the Buck Really Stops (Original Post) gulliver Mar 2014 OP
what an ugly post. unblock Mar 2014 #1
Ugly indeed (NT) malokvale77 Mar 2014 #2
I was with you until the children Boom Sound 416 Mar 2014 #7
children are also "non-voters" unblock Mar 2014 #10
Exactly. Boom Sound 416 Mar 2014 #11
Just going where the ugly is. gulliver Mar 2014 #12
Damn, I missed the children. gulliver Mar 2014 #14
Actually the buck stops with leaders who sell out the people... polichick Mar 2014 #3
We're all "corrupt." gulliver Mar 2014 #15
See #6 polichick Mar 2014 #17
See my OP. gulliver Mar 2014 #18
Your OP is incredibly misguided and also hateful. polichick Mar 2014 #19
Well, not misguided. gulliver Mar 2014 #20
"It's the way everyone should feel about them" - lol... polichick Mar 2014 #22
And the defense rests. gulliver Mar 2014 #23
Make them want to vote. jsr Mar 2014 #4
Put a "none-of-the-above" option on the ballots and turnout would probably increase. Tierra_y_Libertad Mar 2014 #5
"For some, not voting for a corrupt system is a political act." polichick Mar 2014 #6
"None of the above" voters would be, of course, just as ethically corrupt... gulliver Mar 2014 #8
Why? It sounds like a pretty sound statement to me. Tierra_y_Libertad Mar 2014 #9
Non-voters should not be holding other people in contempt. gulliver Mar 2014 #13
Sez who? Tierra_y_Libertad Mar 2014 #16
And the defense rests. gulliver Mar 2014 #21
I think not. Tierra_y_Libertad Mar 2014 #26
DUnrec. n/t PowerToThePeople Mar 2014 #24
Some unrecs are actually better than recs. gulliver Mar 2014 #25

unblock

(51,974 posts)
1. what an ugly post.
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 11:53 AM
Mar 2014

there are better ways to encourage people to vote.

i also hope you're not looking down on people who aren't eligible to vote, e.g., children, who are also "non-voters".

 

Boom Sound 416

(4,185 posts)
11. Exactly.
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 02:29 PM
Mar 2014

Where did you get minors' inclusion in the OP?

French nationals can't vote either. Neither can dead people. It's pretty clear who the OP is targeting: eligibles.

Though I'm with you on the cynicism. (It gets the better of me too. Which is probably why I liked the imagery).

gulliver

(13,142 posts)
12. Just going where the ugly is.
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 02:30 PM
Mar 2014

You mistake me. I'm not trying to encourage non-voters to vote. I'm encouraging the attitude that non-voters should be despised. Ugly? Well, the result of non-voting is ugly.

I'll grant that a lot of people have found a way to kid themselves into believing that non-voting has some (any) moral foundation. That reasoning is itself is deeply ugly, the product of seeing the world through a straw. Occasionally, I feel the need to call the swamp a swamp and maybe try to drain it a little. And so I get some swamp on me.

polichick

(37,152 posts)
3. Actually the buck stops with leaders who sell out the people...
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 01:52 PM
Mar 2014

so often that they don't want to vote - or even to support a system that keeps such assholes in power.

Try writing a colorful tale about the real enemy.

(Hint: corruption)

gulliver

(13,142 posts)
15. We're all "corrupt."
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 02:41 PM
Mar 2014

Good is a direction, not a place. If you vote, you vote for less corrupt, and less corruption is the result. Not voting is deeply corrupt.

gulliver

(13,142 posts)
20. Well, not misguided.
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 02:57 PM
Mar 2014

And hateful is a little strong. I tend to despise non-voters, not considering them fully worthy of hatred. It's the way everyone should feel about them.

 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
5. Put a "none-of-the-above" option on the ballots and turnout would probably increase.
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 01:57 PM
Mar 2014

For some, not voting for a corrupt system is a political act.

polichick

(37,152 posts)
6. "For some, not voting for a corrupt system is a political act."
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 02:02 PM
Mar 2014

So true - and I respect them for it.

May even join them one day if Dems keep running corporate servants.

gulliver

(13,142 posts)
8. "None of the above" voters would be, of course, just as ethically corrupt...
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 02:22 PM
Mar 2014

...and morally low as non-voters.

 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
9. Why? It sounds like a pretty sound statement to me.
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 02:25 PM
Mar 2014

Are saying that they are ethically corrupt and morally low for not voting for people they hold in contempt?

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." John Quincy Adams

 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
26. I think not.
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 04:03 PM
Mar 2014

I always vote so, under your rubric, I'm allowed to hold politicians in contempt and refuse to vote for them. Or, at least, some of them. Or, write in a candidate I find not, or less, contemptible.

And, if none of the above was on the ballot, it would be voting. And, just like "not-voting", it would be making a political statement of "NO".

gulliver

(13,142 posts)
25. Some unrecs are actually better than recs.
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 03:15 PM
Mar 2014

An unrec from anyone who has the slightest respect for non-voters is really a rec.

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