-65
As a Palestinian American, I can’t vote for Joe Biden any more. And I am not alone
(www.theguardian.com)
Anything Biden can do, Trump can do worse.
this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2024
-65 points (24.4% liked)
politics
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As a Canadian I don't have to deal with it directly, but I don't think I could cast a vote for Biden. Downvotes on these posts are strange to me. From outside the US it's obvious that while Israel bears primary responsibility for the ongoing ethnic cleansing, it likely wouldn't have developed so completely without the material, economic, and political support of the Biden administration. Simply telling a group that, sure this guy is cool with the elimination of your people and is willing to help, but the other guy is a threat to our system... well it's pretty rich to expect that group to suck it up.
Simply telling a group that, sure this guy is cool with the elimination of your people and is willing to help, but the other guy is a threat to our system… well it’s pretty rich to expect that group to suck it up.
The other guy would probably be offering to put our troops on the ground to help Israel genocide faster. It's not just that he's a threat to our system, and he is, but that he's a horrible, horrible, terrible, un-redeemable, festering piece of excrement who you can be assured is going to do the absolute worst possible thing in every situation he finds himself in, and revel in it.
Trump would gladly support turning Gaza into a parking lot, and quite likely would have US troops engaged in a war with Iran right now. So, the actual choice is Biden, who's attempting but largely failing to restrain Israeli military actions, and Trump, who would actively support them and undoubtedly support subsequent Jewish settlement of Gaza once the Palestinian "problem" has been solved.
It's an unfortunate choice, sure, but it's not a hard one.
The downvotes are because “both sides are the same” is an extremely common talking point by right wing trolls/astroturfers.
Conservatives recognized a long time ago that republicans will vote. They aren’t worried about disenfranchising conservative voters. Because conservatives will be willing to jump through hoops to keep voting. Voter ID laws, for instance, largely don’t affect conservative votes. If there’s one thing conservatives are really really good at, it’s presenting a unified front for their voters.
So when barriers to voting are put in place, they’re almost universally intended to disenfranchise liberal voters. This is true for both hard barriers - Codified legislation like voter ID laws - and also for soft barriers like a lack of time or motivation to vote. There is often a lot of liberal pushback against hard barriers, (because liberal lawmakers and activists recognize that it will unfairly disenfranchise liberal voters) so lots of time and effort has shifted towards making those soft barriers larger. This includes everything from “your vote doesn’t matter, so why bother” messaging, to “both sides are the same, so why bother” messaging.
Basically, the conservatives are going to vote conservative regardless. But the liberals might not vote liberal, or might not vote at all. So the “both sides” messaging has been leveraged by conservatives to dissuade liberal voters. The downvotes are a sort of over correction from liberals who have recognized this trend. Because sure, it could be someone who is genuinely disgusted by Biden’s actions and doesn’t feel right voting for him. But it could also very easily be a right wing troll. So many liberals have simply begun downvoting any kind of “both sides” messaging, because the default assumption is that the argument isn’t being made in good faith.
I definitely understand the dynamics of that, and how policy and morality make center left voters more fractious than the right, who vote on dogma. What I was trying to say, is that were I an American, I would very much struggle to give my vote to someone who is pretty clearly a part of the process of atrocity and genocide. It's a cold decision to have to make. Do I choose an accessory to one of humanities worst crimes, or another who would also commit that crime, as well as presenting further risks of accelerating the path of America toward becoming Iran, but with a cross instead of a crescent.
I'm glad I'm not American, but I think I live way too close right now.
“I’m going to shoot myself in the foot on principle.“
Not what was said or meant, but undeniably the ultimate result of this approach will be leadership that actively and happily opposes ANY progress for Palestine. Period.
Biden has done poorly on an issue that the alternative would utterly disregard.
I know, the “lesser evil” argument is weak - but Biden is pushing back on Netanyahu where others would encourage and enable him.
It’s your vote - think pragmatically.
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(28 replies)
"I plan to vote for the fascist who will deport me and my family out of the country. Won't you join me in destroying American democracy outright instead of shifting the Overton Window to the left by voting progressive people in and looking forward to 2028?"
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(14 replies)
Enjoy president Trump, a man who will guarantee the complete annihilation of Palestine, you moron.
If neither of the candidates are pro Palestine, then this issue is moot and not an election issue. Deal with it through your reps in Congress, which are the ones you should have been going after to begin with. This isn't a presidential decision stupid
Lol "this guy has 2 flaws so I'm going to throw my vote in the garbage" ok fascist
A pile of shit who will do even worse than Biden. They think it's bad now with Biden, wait until Trump lets russia butt fuck Europe and Israel fuck over Palestine and Iran.
The ignorance of the far left is astounding.
And I say this as someone who cannot stand Biden...but I know more of my family will be killed in Ukraine if that orange turd is allowed to win.
OP isn't far left. OP is either a russian troll or a gravy seal fascist.
Good luck if Trump gets elected.
There is actually a right way to do this -- Ralph Nader talked about it in his article in Mother Jones. Basically, you decide on something you tactically can achieve, get a coalition together, communicate to the candidate that you're asking them to do X, Y and Z in order to earn your vote, and then follow through. That effectively puts pressure on the Democrats to start to pursue decent things instead of the grim neoliberal crap they tend to like to do when they're left to their own devices.
Just deciding you're going to make a private decision to protect the Palestinians by refusing to vote for Biden, when Trump is 100 times worse on the Palestinians as well as many many other people, doesn't make any goddamned sense. You're wrong two times over -- one for failing to be vocal enough about your priorities to make a difference, and then again by failing to support the obviously better choice (in cases like this where the worse choice is absolutely catastrophically bad, for the Palestinians as well as for many other people.)
The vote for aid to Israel is coming up this week, separated out from the Ukraine aid, and a lot of Democrats seem like they're waking up to the idea that supporting Israel is a monstrous crime. Infinitely more productive than voting third party would be to call your congresspeople and tell their staff how you feel about it, right now of all times.
they never said it would protect anyone
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(7 replies)
Voting for or allowing Trump to be elected by inaction, will result in injustices a thousand times worse.
Even though it says they'll only vote uncommitted in the dems primary, they probably will vote elsewhere in the November election too. I kind of get it, these people are losing families and friends, losing their nation. If both candidates are going to let Palestine anyways, you may as well try and hurt the one who isn't doing it right now. What else have they got to lose in their minds? I can't feign to imagine the fear and helplessness these people are feeling right now, to live under the rule of people who would watch and fund the burning of your people.
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