"Why bother voting? It's all rigged!"

I understand the psychological fear of being duped, manipulated, lied to. No one wants to be a "sheep". Everyone likes to consider themselves smarter than the average bear.

But there is a point to where that paranoia forces a person into a state of willful paralysis. I've noticed a trend where people think that they are smarter or more "enlightened" than "the masses" by not participating in societal norms.

Specifically, there is a group of people who believe that voting does absolutely no good, and therefore they refrain from doing so. In fact, they refrain with pride because they believe that they have outsmarted the system by simply not playing the game.

It's strange to me that it never seems to occur to them that this mindset may be just as manipulated as that of the masses whom they are trying to distance themselves from.

If I were part of the 1%, it would be a dream-come-true to have a group of people who were driven to passiveness, convinced that their participation in the legal system would not make a difference. I would strive to get as many people on board with this philosophy as I could. I would hire people to infiltrate these group and repeat mantras like "both parties are part of the same system" and "our votes don't matter, TPTB have already pre-decided who is going to win". The more people I could virally brainwash into complacency, the easier it would be for me to have power over them.

I know this post isn't very ranty, so uh.. grr, arg. But seriously, it really bothers me how easily people can be controlled.

a reply to: thepixelgarden
What exactly would happen if not a single person voted for say, President of the USA?

a reply to: thepixelgarden

But seriously, it really bothers me how easily people can be controlled.

No worries. They feel the same way about you.

I don't vote because life is meaningless & I couldn't care less what happens politically as our world is so far beyond f#d already. Humans deserve their plight. I will happily sit back & let other people worry about their measly 80 year existences in which nothing is going to change.

originally posted by: thepixelgarden
I understand the psychological fear of being duped, manipulated, lied to. No one wants to be a "sheep". Everyone likes to consider themselves smarter than the average bear.

But there is a point to where that paranoia forces a person into a state of willful paralysis. I've noticed a trend where people think that they are smarter or more "enlightened" than "the masses" by not participating in societal norms.

Voting has never been "normal". There have always been people who didn't vote. The sky is not falling.

The right to vote (or not) IS the societal norm. If I don't believe my vote counts, it's my right to stay out of the whole damn thing. That's also a vote. It says "I don't believe any of you people".

originally posted by: Tiamat384
a reply to: thepixelgarden
What exactly would happen if not a single person voted for say, President of the USA?

I'd LOVE to know.

But you know the politicians would have some backdoor deals and cast their votes (or have their cronies cast their votes) so they still get the outcome they want

a reply to: FamCore
Or if literally one person voted. These are questions I want answered and may start a thread at some point, though I know asking those questions is too little to post..

There is no point to voting as we have no say in what the elected officials do anyway. They are just the middle men to the powers behind the scene that have there way with the world no matter who in suspposedly in charge. Convince me otherwise, if anyone can then I'll vote.

Viva la revolucion!

a reply to: thepixelgarden

I think of this as one of those times when we really have no good options, so we have to choose our best option, and that will vary from time to time and person to person. I understand the choice to not vote can be a political statement in and of itself... that sometimes a person of principles and values must choose to refrain as their best option because they don't want to be part of and contribute to the problem (and for lots of reasons).

As for myself, I choose to vote third party. No matter how rigged the vote is, I'm pretty sure they have to keep track of the independents and third party folks and so on in order to somewhat accurately know how much of the vote they have to rig. So even if my vote doesn't count, someone is still counting it. I'm betting "they" know even better than us just how much anger and outrage towards the political class there is across the country.

originally posted by: Tiamat384
a reply to: thepixelgarden
What exactly would happen if not a single person voted for say, President of the USA?

I've wondered the same myself.

More recently, I'm wondering what would happen if every single person voted for the dead hero of their choice and not a single candidate... That would certainly be the opposite of a "voter mandate" for the new prez!

I would love to see such a vote of no confidence for the top elected official -- and everyone on down the line.

I write in...call it a thrown away vote or whatever you want but I'm there & I get my sticker.

The problem is the entire process that determines the two "finalists" essentially eliminates your average citizen's input.
As a result many are left with 2 candidates that they neither agree with or want representing their country.

How do you propose that be fixed?

a reply to: Boadicea
It'd be interesting. But of course with the over 325 million people in the USA, someone's bound to vote for an actual candidate.

I only voted because I have my own original thoughts of candidates like most cool people and maybe it could be a hate vote. The democrats have it bad, their voting system sucks, how is it democracy when 9 old lady delegates vote for candidate 1 when a HUGE majority of the state votes for candidate 2. The republicans do it differently, the delegates are allotted and bound by the popular vote.

I think if it were like "rigged" enough then the RNC and establishment crooks would have Trump out of the race. That's why I voted for him. Im only conservative with money, borders and terrorism/military non interventionist , other than that Im way more liberal than Obama or Hilary and so is Trump . I also like to medicate.

a reply to: Medicator

The electoral college exists so it hardly matters that dems & repubs do their primaries differently.

The whole system is a god# joke.

a reply to: Esoterotica Im not disagreeing but the polls are pretty dang close to the voting. As for the electoral college I don't know enough to comment, but since you mentioned it I will look at it. There sure is lots of cheating for votes.

originally posted by: coldkidc
How do you propose that be fixed?

Surely it can't be that difficult. You could literally not have super delegates, not have primaries, not have anything except debates & media coverage. Straight popular vote for everything, by state. Hell even allow 2-3 candidates from all parties be on the ballot. Eliminate electoral college, everything is straight popular vote. Why do we even have this whole process if things like write ins are available already. For instance, it makes no sense to me that if Bernie isn't the "nomination" every Bernie supporter could still write in his name anyways.

Can anyone explain what would happen if he won the popular vote via write in?

Anyone who argues for anything other than popular vote or argues against popular vote in any way is a collaborator.

a reply to: thepixelgarden

Some think voting is a waste of time because campaign promises die quick deaths, special interests rule and the system is rigged.

Yeah, it is rigged, especially since the diabolical U.S. Supreme Court decision making it even easier for money to corrupt the process. But I think we're too quick to give cynical non-voters a pass, as if their can't-be-bothered attitude is a badge of honor. Is it really cynicism, or is it ignorance, apathy or good old-fashioned laziness?

If you don't feel like voting, don't bother. It won't matter. The statistical odds of one's vote making any difference at all are infinitesimal. And the fact that some don't care enough to swing themselves out of the chair and head down to the polling place is a good sign that the country does not need their ill-informed, half-hearted opinion.

a reply to: thepixelgarden
Don't be a F'nut get out there and VOTE, start to demand to audit the counts locally.

100% correct...

Those who still believe that that "elected" politicians are the ones who are really in control are deluded.

Vote all you want, the "hidden hand" that Disraeli spoke about won't change.

The ones really in control are never elected.

Boycotting elections is the only way to delegitimize a government...

The most common activist strategies, such as street demonstrations, protests, etc., rarely seem to bring about any change in government. There is only one nonviolent tactic that has been proven to work. Boycotting elections alone will not oust the oligarchy, but it is the only proven non-violent way to delegitimize a government.

If granting your consent of the governed to people you can't hold accountable has resulted in government operating on behalf of big corporations and the wealthy instead of on behalf of the people, do you really want to keep doing it? Some say that Einstein defined insanity as repeating the same experiment over and over and expecting different results.

Consent to Tyranny: Voting in the USA

The U.S. Presidential election was rigged even before the first ballot was cast. The whole voting system is rigged by the Illuminati to keep their control of the People in so-called "democratic" societies. Almost every person in a so-called "democratic" society thinks that so-called elections are REAL. They want the American people to believe that they live in a democracy and that their elections are "real" and "free" and not manipulated or corrupted. Nothing could be further from the TRUTH.

The American elections are a "staged" Illuminati event to give the American people the belief that a "real" democratic event is happening and that no matter who wins, it is your "patriotic" duty to wave a red, white and blue flag and "blindly" follow that leader and do whatever he says, including killing innocent men, women and children in unnecessary "wars for Illuminati profits" In order for the Illuminati to get their American "SLAVES" to do their bidding, an intensive daily dose of brainwashing and mind control is in constant play.

The Illuminati Always Win The 'Election'

The voters who put Barack Obama in office expected some big changes. But six years into his administration, the Obama version of national security looks almost indistinguishable from the one he inherited. The presidency itself is not a top-down institution, as many people in the public believe, headed by a president who gives orders and causes the bureaucracy to click its heels and salute. National security policy actually bubbles up from within the bureaucracy.

Vote all you want. The secret government won’t change

"Governments do not govern, but merely control the machinery of government, being themselves controlled by the hidden hand." ~ Benjamin Disraeli; Prime Minister of England

Past presidents of the United States and other high profile political leaders have repeatedly issued warnings over the last 214 years that the U.S. government is under the control of an “invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.”

From Washington to JFK: Former Presidents Warn About Illuminati

a reply to: thepixelgarden

Could this video be the reason people are cynical about using voting machines?
www.youtube.com...

This is exactly why a group of activists got together and got paper ballots back in our county after we had "evidence" (in the form of affidavits) that such rigging had taken place in our precinct. We knew that 8 of us had voted for a third party candidate yet only two votes for him showed up in the final totals. This was in the 1998 senate election in Kentucky. en.wikipedia.org...
At that time our county was leasing Diebold machines. The testimony you see in the above link was after that election cycle.
But as late as 2008 it was still being discussed: www.youtube.com...