momentarily serious posting concerning tomorrow's referendum.
I usually cut politics related things but I'm not doing it this time. And I know that probably most Italians on my FL are voting tomorrow and Monday, but I still want to state a couple things about it. I'll try to be brief.
So, tomorrow and Monday we're having a referendum here. It's about:
a) Whether to keep water supply a public business or not;
b) Whether nuclear energy should be an option;
c) Abrogating or not a law which states that the PM and people in charge of a ministry can't go on trial while they're in charge.
Especially because of B (which is a main point for this stupid government, who's stuck on building nuclear centrals in a country where we still haven't disposed of the nuclear waste from the eighties, where we can't dispose of trash and where it takes a 6.0 earthquake to destroy a city because we build cheap, not safe) and because of C (since the PM has currently four trials going on and other about to start, including the one about paying underage girls to have sex with him), they gave this no space in the news. The public broadcasting received fines because they didn't air information about the referendum in the right spaces, and a bunch of politicians including the PM are being like 'this is useless, I'm not going to vote'. Clearly they don't want people to go - if 50% of the people who can vote do it and -yes- wins, PM = fucked. Nuclear program = fucked. Privatizing water = fucked. If we don't reach the quorum, it's for nothing and they do whatever the hell they want. And this had also happened years ago with a referendum about artificial impregnation and researching on embryos - same government and Church said not to go voting, it didn't reach the quorum, and the consequences weren't that great (at least for people trying to have children using that kind of technique - now they have to go outside the country).
Now. There are campaigns around to promote awareness for said referendum, and it looks like it might be possible to reach the quorum in spite of the fact that the information about it has been close to zero; but the point that really annoys me is that these idiots are trying to pass a message which consists in, if you don't want it, DON'T VOTE instead of going and saying no. Because you can say no if you don't agree with it. And this is what's pissing me off to insane degrees. It basically means that voting is optional. And it's not just in these cases - I heard enough people saying that they can't be bothered to vote because they don't like anyone particularly or because 'it's all the same anyway' or because 'politics suck so there's no point'.
Actually? Sorry, but no. If you went to school they taught you that voting is a right and a duty, not just a right. You can also go in and leave it blank, if you really don't like anyone. But voting is the only way you have to change how your country is run, and if you want to keep things as they are, good. Wake up, go voting and say NO. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I won't be the one saying you should vote yes even if that's what I think you should do, but please, for the the love of everything that's dear to you, wake up and exercise your goddamn right to vote. Because if you don't and you think that it's not worth anything, then it'll come a day when maybe you won't be allowed to at all and you'll miss it. People died to allow others to vote. Here, women couldn't vote until 1946. And I do realize that politics mostly suck ass and that half of the time you don't like everyone, but case is, there's always someone who's less bad than the others. And saying that 'you don't understand it' isn't an excuse - buy a newspaper and read it regularly, because these people run your country, and their decisions have consequences (also for you), and if you don't care about that, then you don't care about your own benefit either. And that's why I can't stand politicians saying that you shouldn't vote. Because any politician who says that is someone who should go home asap, and who doesn't know what doing his job means. And I'll be very happy if this round the quorum is reached, however it goes. But please, if you're Italian and you can vote, just DO IT. You can leave it blank if you don't have an opinion, you can say no, you can say yes, you can also vote for one issue and refuse to vote for the others. But please, just do it. At least, if your side doesn't win and it turns that whoever won was wrong, you have all the rights to complain later.
Okay, that was it. Thanks for the attention and sorry for the spamming. Also sorry if it sounds somewhat preachy, but I feel pretty strongly about this, if it wasn't clear already.
So, tomorrow and Monday we're having a referendum here. It's about:
a) Whether to keep water supply a public business or not;
b) Whether nuclear energy should be an option;
c) Abrogating or not a law which states that the PM and people in charge of a ministry can't go on trial while they're in charge.
Especially because of B (which is a main point for this stupid government, who's stuck on building nuclear centrals in a country where we still haven't disposed of the nuclear waste from the eighties, where we can't dispose of trash and where it takes a 6.0 earthquake to destroy a city because we build cheap, not safe) and because of C (since the PM has currently four trials going on and other about to start, including the one about paying underage girls to have sex with him), they gave this no space in the news. The public broadcasting received fines because they didn't air information about the referendum in the right spaces, and a bunch of politicians including the PM are being like 'this is useless, I'm not going to vote'. Clearly they don't want people to go - if 50% of the people who can vote do it and -yes- wins, PM = fucked. Nuclear program = fucked. Privatizing water = fucked. If we don't reach the quorum, it's for nothing and they do whatever the hell they want. And this had also happened years ago with a referendum about artificial impregnation and researching on embryos - same government and Church said not to go voting, it didn't reach the quorum, and the consequences weren't that great (at least for people trying to have children using that kind of technique - now they have to go outside the country).
Now. There are campaigns around to promote awareness for said referendum, and it looks like it might be possible to reach the quorum in spite of the fact that the information about it has been close to zero; but the point that really annoys me is that these idiots are trying to pass a message which consists in, if you don't want it, DON'T VOTE instead of going and saying no. Because you can say no if you don't agree with it. And this is what's pissing me off to insane degrees. It basically means that voting is optional. And it's not just in these cases - I heard enough people saying that they can't be bothered to vote because they don't like anyone particularly or because 'it's all the same anyway' or because 'politics suck so there's no point'.
Actually? Sorry, but no. If you went to school they taught you that voting is a right and a duty, not just a right. You can also go in and leave it blank, if you really don't like anyone. But voting is the only way you have to change how your country is run, and if you want to keep things as they are, good. Wake up, go voting and say NO. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I won't be the one saying you should vote yes even if that's what I think you should do, but please, for the the love of everything that's dear to you, wake up and exercise your goddamn right to vote. Because if you don't and you think that it's not worth anything, then it'll come a day when maybe you won't be allowed to at all and you'll miss it. People died to allow others to vote. Here, women couldn't vote until 1946. And I do realize that politics mostly suck ass and that half of the time you don't like everyone, but case is, there's always someone who's less bad than the others. And saying that 'you don't understand it' isn't an excuse - buy a newspaper and read it regularly, because these people run your country, and their decisions have consequences (also for you), and if you don't care about that, then you don't care about your own benefit either. And that's why I can't stand politicians saying that you shouldn't vote. Because any politician who says that is someone who should go home asap, and who doesn't know what doing his job means. And I'll be very happy if this round the quorum is reached, however it goes. But please, if you're Italian and you can vote, just DO IT. You can leave it blank if you don't have an opinion, you can say no, you can say yes, you can also vote for one issue and refuse to vote for the others. But please, just do it. At least, if your side doesn't win and it turns that whoever won was wrong, you have all the rights to complain later.
Okay, that was it. Thanks for the attention and sorry for the spamming. Also sorry if it sounds somewhat preachy, but I feel pretty strongly about this, if it wasn't clear already.