I'm an anarchist and I'm voting.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

In a very long line in Durham, NC.

Holding my nose, but still voting.

Y'all keep me company.

[Stallion]

1. Stay Between the Lines and Follow the Government's Election Officials Directions

until you finish voting

[SomethingFishy]

2. Lots of us out here holding their noses and voting...

Yet I keep seeing thread ofter thread whining about "kids aren't voting" " all I see are senior citizens" "wake the stoners" . Still trying to blame the problems with elections squarely on the populace.

No threads on why the most important day of the year for a democracy isn't a holiday.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

13. Right. Or public financing of elections.

And a slew of other shit that's wrong with this country.

[SomethingFishy]

15. I did a thread earlier on the cost of the top 10 Senate races..

it was $431 million for just the top 10 most expensive Senate races. Crazy amounts of money. Public Financing is a big thing with me too, I mean, who spends $40 million to get a gig that pays $174k a year?

[Fantastic Anarchist]

33. People in power.;)

[villager]

3. Yup, mailed in my ballot the other day, anarchist leanings and all...

Sometimes -- especially as a parent! -- you know you have to do "triage," until some kind of corner can maybe someday, somehow, be turned...

[Fantastic Anarchist]

14. Yep! Proudhon even voted.

[Avalux]

4. So - you're a pragmatic anarchist!

Thanks for voting - it may or may not matter at all, but it's still all we've got within our current system.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

16. Some even say "Fantastic!"

It is all we have.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Me too.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

17. Hello, my friend!

[TBF]

6. Earlier today -

chose amongst the dems and greens. No socialists on the ballot in Texas so I did my best for the women of Texas.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

18. No Green or socialist options here, either.

The pity.

Hope you are doing well.

[TBF]

21. Busy as always

but still fighting the good fight. Although it is exhausting sometimes.

[Starry Messenger]

7. Yay!

Here's some music while you wait.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

20. I love The Oppressed!

We need a Barmy Army!

[Jester Messiah]

8. I would think anarchists would vote Republican.

They are, after all, the party most likely to speed the total collapse of government AND make sure you're well armed to deal with the resulting Mad Max-ian aftermath.

[scarystuffyo]

10. I only knew one anarchist in my life , he was exactly as you described

Had a lot guns , knives a pallet of ammunition at his house

He wanted to see government collapse

[nomorenomore08]

19. In my experience, anarchism generally means not so much "no gov't" but rather "no social hierarchy."

Ideally, citizens govern as equals, and no one has the power to systematically exploit others.

[Jester Messiah]

22. Something has to enforce that equality though

And enforcement regimes wouldn't sit well with anarchism. "You can't tell me I have to treat that guy as an equal."

[nomorenomore08]

23. True enough. I'm not saying it's necessarily workable in practice.

Hence why I'm not an anarchist, but more of a Social Democrat type.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

24. You would be wrong.

Anarchism is a tradition within socialism.

"Every anarchist is a socialist, though not every socialist is necessarily an anarchist." ~ Benjamin Tucker

[Jester Messiah]

26. But... for that to be true, I would have to not know everything...

And THAT can't be true!

[Fantastic Anarchist]

31. No worries, comrade!

[scarystuffyo]

9. Are you really an anarchist?

[BKH70041]

11. I wonder how many who call themselves that really understand what it is.

Anarchy means you find all forms of government to be undesirable. If one is an anarchist and are in any way in favor of hierarchy, then they need to find another way to define themselves. And anarchists don't vote. Many of them can be found on the Indymedia sites.

[scarystuffyo]

12. Oh I know that's why the OP surprised me when claiming that

[Fantastic Anarchist]

27. I've studied the philosophy for going on ten years.

I assure you, anarchists vote. Perhaps not for the bourgeois political parties, but have voted in workers councils (soviets), for leaders in revolutionary times, etc.

Very common misconception.

[BKH70041]

35. I read your bio and it explained a lot more. Thanks.

I'd personally place you more in the syndo-collectivist or syndo-anarchist category rather than just anarchist.

Besides the reasons I already mentioned, your sig line of "No war between nations; No peace between classes!" wouldn't allow me to put you in the purely anarchist category because of your mention of "nations." More often than not, from anarchist I would see what you wrote more clearly expressed as "No war but class war. No maps but topo maps," or something along that line. The idea of nations would be taboo.

Not wanting to get into some discussion today, just clarifying some things. Maybe sometime when there's less going on than today we can PM about it further.

Hope your day goes well.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

37. Thank you ...

Nations in this sense means people. Not boundaries.

But, I do consider myself an anarchist - and like de Cleyre said, "without adjectives." I'm influenced by the individualist, mutualist, collectivist/syndicalist, and communist currents.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day, too.

[TBF]

25. Can't have an anarchist thread

without the red-baiting ...

Here's some more music to drown them out:

[Fantastic Anarchist]

28. They don't know better.

Educate!

[TBF]

30. Hence my choice of song

[deafskeptic]

29. I'm an anarchist as well.

I have my doubts about the effect of my voting given recent trends but I did this anyway.

[deafskeptic]

32. Well, perhaps I shouldn't call myself one anymore. n/t

[Fantastic Anarchist]

34. You can be whatever you want to be.

Just be the best (or worst) at it!

[Kalidurga]

36. Me too

I didn't have to hold my nose too much. I got to vote for Al Franken, Mark Dayton, and Keith Ellison.