The Last Poster Wins! [v21]

[Noblejanobii]

@Noblejanobii Now I come from a country where we ALL have to vote, even if we have no idea what's going on, or we don't want to. And I don't think this is any better. If half of us don't care about how we vote, how is that bettering the country? I'd rather we have a system like yours, where you only need to vote if you wish to. You told Neo that "you're throwing it in the faces of those who have protected your right to vote by saying that you don't want to", but isn't it his right in the first place whether or not he chooses to? Just because someone is given the right to do something doesn't mean they have to, especially if it might make it worse. Believe it or not, not choosing to vote is a choice as well. You're entitled to your decisions as someone else is to theirs. Respect their choice. Don't take personal offence where none is intended. O:

I mean it's not like I'm studying this and plan to take part in it as a living or anything. Must mean I know nothing huh? There's a reason I used the term "civic duty". People not voting even though they can drive me crazy because often times they're the ones complaining about everything that's wrong with the country and then do literally nothing about it. Like okay, because you *****ing about it is going to make a difference. Sure. I'd rather everyone vote because then if something goes wrong they can complain all they want because they participated. But in Neo's case, he's not voting and then he's going to complain no matter who gets into office. That's not right. It's not fair to the politicians, it's not fair to the people who did vote, and it's not fair to the country as a whole.
@Neo Emolga Again, not like I plan on doing this for a living or anything. Nope. Not at all. I mean I am a political science major that has been drowned in election studies for over a year now, but that means nothing to you, right? I have no authority whatsoever.

I get that this is a horrible election, but just swallow your pride and deal with it. I did because I get that if I don't vote that means someone else gets to vote for me. Have you seen that Doritos commercial? Where people go to get a pack of Doritos and if they aren't registered they don't get the chips they want because by not registering and effectively not voting someone else is choosing for them. That's why you have no right to complain. You willingly let someone else choose for you and that nulls your voice because you already let someone else speak for you in the election. And you're right, people should be able to call out a flawed leader, you know how we do that? By voting. Crazy concept isn't it. But think for a second, as a political science major, I get ask Politics questions all the time. People complained about Obama to no end around me because I knew what I was talking about when it came to politics. And when I asked them, did they vote? They said no, they just didn't feel like it. Well great, then you helped get him elected. It's no more useful to us as politicians to have people complain about something if they won't vote to get it done. Yeah, you have a voice, but if you don't put that voice into a vote, it's not doing any good.

Haha this is pretty much how I feel. xD It's even funnier when they voted FOR someone dumb and then complain about that person doing dumb things. Well duh! xD Happened a lot here with our last prime minister!

Still weird to me that you guys gotta try and vote on a Tuesday. I read it's just a traditional thing and a certain republican keeps trying to get it changed to a weekend but for some reason it doesn't go through. My friend said it's probably to stop the poorer working classes from being able to vote as they'll be too busy working. :P Conspiracy!

I mean to be honest I'm going to complain about who I voted for but I get that right because I actually voted. Meh. It's just one of those things.

So if I remember correctly the reason we vote on Tuesday is because back in the days of farmers you couldn't vote on a Sunday because that was the sabbath. And we needed to account for travel time so we gave people Monday to travel to their polling location and thus Tuesday became voting day. I don't understand why they won't change it though. If they don't change it then they should at least make it a national holiday because so many people literally cannot vote because of work and that's beyond stupid because it's not like they're choosing not to vote, their voices are being nulled against their will. And absentee does help with that because certain states (like mine) allow for early voting due to work but not everyone can stand in line for that long to vote absentee. That's just so stupid.

[Neo Emolga]

@Neo Emolga Again, not like I plan on doing this for a living or anything. Nope. Not at all. I mean I am a political science major that has been drowned in election studies for over a year now, but that means nothing to you, right? I have no authority whatsoever.

I get that this is a horrible election, but just swallow your pride and deal with it. I did because I get that if I don't vote that means someone else gets to vote for me. Have you seen that Doritos commercial? Where people go to get a pack of Doritos and if they aren't registered they don't get the chips they want because by not registering and effectively not voting someone else is choosing for them. That's why you have no right to complain. You willingly let someone else choose for you and that nulls your voice because you already let someone else speak for you in the election. And you're right, people should be able to call out a flawed leader, you know how we do that? By voting. Crazy concept isn't it. But think for a second, as a political science major, I get ask Politics questions all the time. People complained about Obama to no end around me because I knew what I was talking about when it came to politics. And when I asked them, did they vote? They said no, they just didn't feel like it. Well great, then you helped get him elected. It's no more useful to us as politicians to have people complain about something if they won't vote to get it done. Yeah, you have a voice, but if you don't put that voice into a vote, it's not doing any good.

I'm not saying anything against your political science major...

Also, I don't get that Doritos analogy. Voting for a presidential candidate isn't the same as selecting a bag of chips. But to turn the tables on that analogy, let's say the only flavors available were "skunk butt" and "withering maggots." I'd prefer not having any chips at all, thank you.

In terms of it meaning someone gets to select for me, that's an unfortunate truth. I actually do wish more people would stand up, openly reject what's going on, and refuse to go along with it so much so that it forces the system to have to change based on the desires of the people and alternative candidates have to come forward. Instead, people are all too proud to just be compliant and complacent with a system and candidates that they're voting for when really in their hearts, they don't like them at all. Right now, voting simply says "oh, I'm totally okay with this system and these candidates." And "oh, it's okay if you think I really like that candidate!" Because right now, voting, even if it's for the "lesser evil," still implies this.

Here's the thing. Let's say I vote for a particular candidate that I know is bad, but I vote for them anyway. They win. And they do terrible things while in office. Trust me, there's no good feeling that comes out of that either. And guess what? I'm partially responsible for that. I used my voice to say I was satisfied enough with this candidate that I gave them my vote.

And that's the thing. Neither of these possible candidates secured enough of my personal minimum standards. As a result, neither of them are awarded with my vote. If I was hosting a cake contest with a cash reward and all entries just threw raw ingredients all over the floor and made a mess, why should I award the grand prize to any of that? Would you? Would you just say "well, guess I gotta give one of these jokers all the prize money." That would mean time after time, you'd be fine lowering your standards even though the winner didn't even come remotely close to your expectations and undermined the spirit and intention of the contest in the first place.

Well, that's how I feel right now.