Not voting is an act of personal protest and rejection of the system and/or its offered choices. Lots of personal rejection adds up to social rejection. But there is no obvious path to action and generation of alternatives from it. So many will wonder: Why not vote? Why not choose the lesser evil, especially if one candidate seems really worrisome?
A #VotingSitout is partly symbolic, partly motivational, partly a warning to leaders, and partly stirring the ground so that other seeds will take root. #VotingSitout has more of a long-term orientation and less of a right now view. It is less based on fear and more on transformation.
Symbolism is important. Psychological motivation and firmness of position are important. Leaders do reference voter turnout. The social working out and spreading of ideas is a mysterious process that requires trust, faith, time, patience, humility and knowledge. That’s my personal view. I have more faith that #VotingSitout will have ramifications that encourage a beneficial reset and spread of beneficial and good ideas than I do that standard revolution will. Sit-ins will generate factions and State repression; they degenerate into narrow political struggles and the same old politics.
6:17 am on August 11, 2016
