We have a police force that has militarized as a direct result of the war on drugs. Not only in their equipment, but in their tactics. Stop and frisk, flash banging children based off of anonymous tips that result in nothing, shooting people's dogs after breaking into their house in the middle of the night to raid them, civil asset seizure, equitable sharing, AND THAT'S JUST THE STUFF WE KNOW ABOUT as a result of the huge increase in video capability over the last 10 years. Then when you look at the current figures, 1 in 50 black people are currently in jail. The war on drugs has been waged primarily in communities of color where people of color are more likely to receive higher offenses. According to the Human Rights Watch, people of color are no more likely to use or sell illegal drugs than whites, but they have higher rate of arrests. African Americans comprise 14 percent of regular drug users but are 37 percent of those arrested for drug offenses. From 1980 to 2007 about one in three of the 25.4 million adults arrested for drugs was African American. Source Hell, Nixon invented the drug war as a way to target blacks and hippies. We do not have a police force that protects and serves all people equally, We have an army that imprisons people for private FOR FUCKING PROFIT prisons, which are now the US's biggest lobbying group Police are on the front line of a long series of political fuckups and unless we do something to change the political system, we will not see the end of this violence. You think immigration is a problem? You think e-mails are a problem? They're different color socks on a single puppeteer's hands. Until you guys stop voting over who is going poison you least, it's not going to change.
I agree with the above but this: It would take about four cycles to dramatically change our representation if people would only vote. The people that are in office are responding to those that do vote. Bernie is evidence of what is possible. The system is designed to be pulled by the voter's interests. A lot of people died for that suffrage. It is a lack of interest that we suffer from.Until you guys stop voting over who is going poison you least, it's not going to change.
Do you know many people who would say they don't care that police kill innocent people? How do you distinguish "lack of interest" from a belief that voting, writing letters to Congress, marching and chanting slogans won't in fact make much difference?It is a lack of interest that we suffer from.
I am specifically talking about a lack of interest in the political process that we have. There are plenty of reasons to be cynical about it our governance, but on a historical basis, I think that we can agree that our degree of representation is near an all time high. Of course, one individual's vote counts for almost nothing. But that is a function of being part of an electorate counted in the hundreds of millions. It's not unfair, and I don't think it is something that should be remedied. Also, we do get to vote on local matters, where our mathematical influence is greater. I can't understand why or how a vote should 'make more of a difference'. Voting is fair because it doesn't. I do suspect the total electorate's will is likely different than the voting electorate. I can't imagine how it couldn't be seeing as they have different views on the value of voting. Also, there are demographic differences between the two. At any rate, it frustrates me to see people that have opinions and perspectives that I value not voting, while I see many people that have opinions and perspectives that I do not value vote. We make the world we live in. Not only by voting to influence the final count, but by being the kind of person that indicates that societies should have voting as a part of governance. It is a statement. It is a way of being. Must our influence mathematically matter in order for an action to be worthwhile?
I don't know if it's the same thing in the states but in Canada this is where people vote least even though it can matter most. It's mind boggling, and most people don't even know enough about the political process to even know they have a vote in provincial and municipal elections. There's definitely a lack of interest problem, most people I know just complain about the current situation while being completely unaware they let it happen. Also, we do get to vote on local matters, where our mathematical influence is greater.
Probably because the chances of a person making an impact writing a letter to Congress is effectively zero when compared to that same person tackling the same or similar issue starting within their own local legislature. That's much more of a non-zero value and holy fuck I wish people would give a shit about the politics immediately around them and making a difference there first instead of continuing to hedge our bets on some grandiose national change.
Hey, Mr. Plague O'both Your Houses - Every time you get all indignant and insist there's no difference between sides, you are excusing yourself from the duty of actually thinking about it. Every time you open your mouth to illustrate that you aren't thinking about it, you're demonstrating to everyone around you that you aren't a thinker. There are millions of people whose lives are arrayed around the differences between this side and that side and I guarantee you - they've thought about it more than you. And when they come up with a different answer than you, that should fucking give you pause. I know how hip it is to be apathetic. I know what an edgy thing it is to vote for Ross Perot. But you're losing sight of the fact that your grandmother's roommate at the nursing home votes, and she votes for whoever Fox News tells her to vote for. So you can act like you're above it all but the only person you're fooling is yourself. And you should be better than that.