I think a lot of people tried to do this after 2016 by going on social media, and that didn't work out so well. People are unruly and persuasion is harder than it might sound in the abstract. Not...
I think a lot of people tried to do this after 2016 by going on social media, and that didn't work out so well. People are unruly and persuasion is harder than it might sound in the abstract. Not impossible in all cases, but it's hard.
"Do something," sure, but what's effective? The article gave one theoretical example, but that's just the start of a conversation.
There's also an issue of scale. A nationwide election in a large country is much, much bigger than any one of us. "It's up to us" where "us" is mostly "other people" and only slightly "me," even if you're an activist. (The reason I bring that up is so that people don't blame themselves too much.)
Making stronger relationships is difficult and important and probably should be done with multiple goals in mind.
I think a lot of us don't have the patience. We look for reasons to dismiss things quickly. That's an effect of being busy and receiving a lot of messages - you have to triage.
I think social media is probably the wrong place and it’s face-to-face that things need to happen. The relationships need to already exist, but most people have them.
I think social media is probably the wrong place and it’s face-to-face that things need to happen. The relationships need to already exist, but most people have them.
Sometimes fairly weak relationships, though, if you haven't been maintaining them. Particularly if they live far away. And for many of us, swing states are far away, and maybe Facebook is your...
Sometimes fairly weak relationships, though, if you haven't been maintaining them. Particularly if they live far away. And for many of us, swing states are far away, and maybe Facebook is your only means of contact?
I feel like... the last few decades have seen the population stratify by political affiliation in a way that makes this a lot easier said than done. I don't think I even know a swing voter,...
I feel like... the last few decades have seen the population stratify by political affiliation in a way that makes this a lot easier said than done. I don't think I even know a swing voter, letalone a Trump voter--at this point I can be no more persuasive than any other stranger.
I'm also pretty fatalistic, but I'm not sure that follows. It assumes you have no influence and I'm not sure if that's necessarily true for most people? And in any case, you might not be "most...
I'm also pretty fatalistic, but I'm not sure that follows. It assumes you have no influence and I'm not sure if that's necessarily true for most people? And in any case, you might not be "most people." Millions of people live in swing states.
One thing the article got right is that influencing other people's votes can often be more important than your own vote. The question is how to put it into practice.
It’s a weird sort of deal where none of us individually matters, but each of us is like a tiny pebble and if we don’t do our part the avalanche we need doesn’t happen. And whether we get enough...
It’s a weird sort of deal where none of us individually matters, but each of us is like a tiny pebble and if we don’t do our part the avalanche we need doesn’t happen. And whether we get enough pebbles depends on a vague sort of cultural gestalt where enough people have put enough of a vibe out there to get more people sufficiently motivated to get out there.
Biden’s no Goku but he’s the one with the spirit bomb right now ༼ つ _ ༽つ ༼ つ _ ༽つ
An article stressing the most productive places to direct your energy instead of succumbing to despair about the election.
I think a lot of people tried to do this after 2016 by going on social media, and that didn't work out so well. People are unruly and persuasion is harder than it might sound in the abstract. Not impossible in all cases, but it's hard.
"Do something," sure, but what's effective? The article gave one theoretical example, but that's just the start of a conversation.
There's also an issue of scale. A nationwide election in a large country is much, much bigger than any one of us. "It's up to us" where "us" is mostly "other people" and only slightly "me," even if you're an activist. (The reason I bring that up is so that people don't blame themselves too much.)
Making stronger relationships is difficult and important and probably should be done with multiple goals in mind.
I think a lot of us don't have the patience. We look for reasons to dismiss things quickly. That's an effect of being busy and receiving a lot of messages - you have to triage.
I think social media is probably the wrong place and it’s face-to-face that things need to happen. The relationships need to already exist, but most people have them.
Sometimes fairly weak relationships, though, if you haven't been maintaining them. Particularly if they live far away. And for many of us, swing states are far away, and maybe Facebook is your only means of contact?
For those coming in here and leaning into their own supposed impotence: "Cynicism is a luxury for the comfortable."
I feel like... the last few decades have seen the population stratify by political affiliation in a way that makes this a lot easier said than done. I don't think I even know a swing voter, letalone a Trump voter--at this point I can be no more persuasive than any other stranger.
The election will come down to a few thousand votes in a small handful of states. Most of us genuinely can't do anything.
We can participate in text message get out the vote campaigns. Some people fly in and volunteer to drive people to the polls
I'm also pretty fatalistic, but I'm not sure that follows. It assumes you have no influence and I'm not sure if that's necessarily true for most people? And in any case, you might not be "most people." Millions of people live in swing states.
One thing the article got right is that influencing other people's votes can often be more important than your own vote. The question is how to put it into practice.
It’s a weird sort of deal where none of us individually matters, but each of us is like a tiny pebble and if we don’t do our part the avalanche we need doesn’t happen. And whether we get enough pebbles depends on a vague sort of cultural gestalt where enough people have put enough of a vibe out there to get more people sufficiently motivated to get out there.
Biden’s no Goku but he’s the one with the spirit bomb right now ༼ つ _ ༽つ ༼ つ _ ༽つ
Indeed. The Electoral College system. Trump already won one election while losing the popular vote.