thoughts on politics

[tielan]

Well, I may have put the boot in over on tumblr.

BUT.

What's happening in US politics now has been slowly happening over forty years. Vote by vote by vote by vote by election by election by year by year by decade by decade by decade by decade...

Exhausting? GODDAMMIT, YES.

Frankly, here in Australia, I'm not happy that I'm very likely to die with fewer of the rights that I was born in this country with. That a kid who was born when I was twenty has fewer chances than I did. That kid who was born in the last five years has even fewer chances than that. NOT HAPPY JAN! But I'm damn well going to fight it - I have personal skin in the game, even if I don't have generational skin.

We were born in the fuck-around era, and we're entering the find-out era. It's not going to be pretty, but there is hope; just less of it each year.

But I'm not ready to lay down and die yet.

Comments

[lilysea]

I've been scraping together every last dollar I can manage to give to The Greens, in the hope that it will help with the upcoming Federal election...

[tielan]

Our best hope out my way is the "teal independents" who are certainly not ideal, but we're never going to get Labor or Greens in these electorates, and at least 'teal' means a half chance of a climate/social progressive.

Now if we can only educate the "well, I don't like any of them so I'll vote for Trump Clive Palmer" idiots that their "one above the line" just ends up going to the LNP.

[novel_machinist]

I'm so. damn. tired. I'm afraid, and I have lost all faith in national politics. I am even starting to lose faith in local stuff. It feels like all of the work we do can just be erased when someone with the "right" background has enough power.

I'm still going out to vote, donating, and working. It just feels like a sisyphean task.

[tielan]

It feels like such a very great burden, doesn't it?

Right now, I'm thinking of the black and indigenous protesters and policymakers across countries who have fought for their rights to full personhood and citizenship for years, decades, even centuries. Planting trees even when they know it'll likely be burned down by their enemies - or even by well-meaning allies, who think that their trees aren't planted in the right place.

I think the phrase "The work was not started by us, nor will it be finished in our lifetime, but that does not give us leave to walk away from it" is what I'm reminding myself right now.

[novel_machinist]

someone should update Billy Joel's "we didn't start the fire"

I feel less upset with my local elections, but even statewide it's a horrible mess. I also live in a hellhole of a state that happens to contain one of my favorite cities in the world. *sigh*

[ladyjax]

I am deeply tired of the handwringing from a whole lot of white ladies because 54% back in 2016 helped tip us over the edge of the madness then wanted to throw up their hands when folks who were way more vulnerable said, "Y'all talk to your families and what not and vote."

And then turned around and got angry when Black women and other women of color said, "Yeah,y'all. Save yourselves and we'll do the same."

Also, for everyone screaming about how we're in Gilead: they always forget that the people of other races and sexualities were killed or sent to the equivalent of work camps in the book. They were already erased from the narrative.

[tielan]

Dear Lord is there a lot of White Lady Handwringing going on - particularly from the anti-HRC/Berniestans crew over on tumblr.

As though their running down of HRC in the name of "but I prefer Bernie's policies" and "she's just like the establishment" didn't persuade some people it was better to opt out entirely rather than get their hands just the teensiest bit dirty.

It's easy to forget 'other races and sexualities' when they're neither. But "and there was nobody left to speak for me" comes to mind...

[timespirt]

I feel that way too! If the Replugs get their way we will be going back to the stone age!