Privilege: Many Jill Stein Voters Have It, and Many Hillary Clinton Voters Do, Too

[rainbows_]

As an outspoken supporter of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, I often get questions akin to the one Stein was asked at the Green Town Hall on August 17: "Given the way our political system works, effectively you could help Donald Trump like Ralph Nader helped George Bush in 2000. How could you sleep at night?" More often than not,

Comments

[richeiieu]

I don't know what different perspective this article is supposed to provide considering every "point" they've written about has been regurgitated by the ~true progressives~ a million times in the past several months.

One major point: If these people supposedly care so much politics, why do they only focus on the presidency? If it matters so much to these "progressives", they should start at the lower levels where impact can actually be achieved. Start voting in your local elections. Why these people insist on starting at the very top when they have absolutely no ground game whatsoever reveals how out of touch with reality they are. Do these people have a clue about how the political system works (from what I've seen, pretty much no) and think that by electing a third-party candidate that somehow, things will be different with a Congress make-up that has not changed whatsoever

[amw]

I don't agree with most of what you said, but I totally agree with the "start at the bottom" sentiment. I wrote about this in my journal the other day... for the first time in my life this month I am finally eligible to vote. Not for a federal election, because just like everywhere else I lived in my adult life I am not a citizen, but for the city council, where Germany allows non-German EU citizens to vote. I couldn't be more excited. I love the drama of federal politics as an observer, but it's in local elections where I can make a real difference. I am not going to waste my vote on a major party - I'm going to vote for a minor party that has little to no chance of even making a blip in Berlin proper, and isn't even running on the federal level. But my 0.005% contribution to my local district might just push my candidate up past 5%, or 6%, and that will send a message to the mainstream parties who own the district (currently the Greens) that some of us are not here for rampant consumerism, police brutality and gentrification. On the

[liz_marcs]

Working Families Party, represent!

Sorry. I rather like them. They've been around for 20 years and they've been building a lot of grassroots and local networks over the years. They're also looking to expand. I also really like their platform as a whole.

I just got excited that someone outside of the U.S knows who they are.

[amw]

It's altogether possible they sprung to mind due to you posting about them on here recently :) Keep it up! People need to keep hearing about parties like these guys, the SPUSA, the CPUSA, Socialist Alternative etc. The more people realize these minor parties are real and valid choices, the better America's democracy will become.

[mimblexwimble]

Voters don't necessarily need to be privileged as a people for the specific vote they cast to be a privileged vote, I think.

[moonshaz]

Could you please explain what you mean by that? In particular, what is  a "privileged " vote?

This is a sincere question. I haven't heard that expression before, and I honestly don't know what you mean. Thx!

[mimblexwimble]

Poor word choice, sorry. :(

I meant that if I voted for Jill Stein, that would be a vote of "self-indulgent privilege"--even though I'm a woman of color and part of a marginalized demographic. Basically, I don't think talking about the demographics of Stein supporters changes the fact that voting for her in this election is a vote of privilege. I just don't think voting for Clinton--right now, in this election--suggests privilege as much as voting for Stein does.

[moonshaz]

Okat, I get it now!  And I agrre :-) Thank8for the clarification.

[pairatime]

The video auto plays when I opened the page and doesn't seem to have a stop button. Can you please fix that.

[screamingintune]

if you use chrome you can right-click the tab and mute it

[pairatime]

I don't use Chrome but thank you. LJ being down for a bit wasn't helping either

[rainbows_]

my apologizes, hopefully the video now works, no idea how that happened!

[screamingintune]

autoplay D: kill it with fire

[rainbows_]

my apologizes, hopefully the video now works + doesn't autoplay, no idea how that happened!

[un_fantasma]

I agree with this and think it offers a fair perspective. I have seen privilege weaponized by the left in both this presidential election and the last presidential election and it's so frustrating, it's a really easy way to shut someone down if you don't happen to like what they're saying. We on the left wonder why no one takes privilege as a concept seriously but then are willing to weaponize it conceptually by branding those we disagree with that label. Meanwhile, those who are privileged democrat voters don't get criticized for their privilege. Like, I'm disabled, queer, and read as a woman. My existence is shaped by all of those things. I have class and white privilege which I admit to, but it's not like I have nothing at stake here and I'm tired of being talked down to as if that's the case.

[eveofrevolution]