Having your say in the elections by means of voting? Every
vote counts?
Think again, it depends who you are. If you're Maori having
your say doesn't mean zip, regardless of who's in power. You’ve been in the
front of the queue for prisons and hospitals, voting or not. No wonder
they stay away in droves.
My reasons for not voting are many; so here’s a few:
Firstly, I just don't think I need to be governed. I need
limitations on my actions on order to make sure I don't take too many resources
for example, but beyond that..... We are so addicted by ideas and experiences
of boss/worker military style dominant culture theory and practice that we
can't see past that. Plus put all your eggs in a basket(case) like Mr Trump or
Mr Un and then you have given away your ability to protest or act, to someone
else. And don't come back at me with “we’ve tried communism and that didn’t
work”. I'm not talking about any isms or ideologies here. I'm talking about a
better way to be represented and I think we can do that at a local level. Check
out Barcelona's municipalism movement, En Comu for example. There the people
actually participate in the formation, maintenance and growth of their city.
Don't vote can't complain? On the contrary. If you vote you can't complain, you've just
given away your rights to have a say to a boss. I can, however, complain, since
I never agreed to leave my decision making to someone else
By voting, you agree to the use of force against people
(conceivable this could be you)who are not represented by the majority, who are
outnumbered and can be seen to be against the government. And remember, at some
level, you may become a minority, if you aren't already, if you aren't one now.
Disabilities and gender can be identified as minorities, as can groups like
scientists or artists, if the government decides that is so, and therefore you fall
outside of the scope of majority ruled governments.
The government supports industry and it's needs over
individual rights. values and needs. It exercises it's power through the police
and military to protect the assets of industry. If you fall outside the goals
of industry./government then you could become a target and force can be
(lawfully) used against you. Don't forget that fascist governments act legally.
Small self- governing neighbourhoods yay! Top heavy
centralised power structure s boo!
I don't believe in adversarial party politics. This is
enough reason not to vote, alone since doing so agrees with the status quo. I
don't agree with ‘I'm right you're wrong’ in conversation or politics.
Robust debate among differing groups of people in the community yes. 51 to
49 is not a win. It is a win with a wake of resentment.
Im sick of the perennial saviour cycle-X is gonna save us
(substitute X for Mandela, Trump, Obama, Jacinda, Jesus, Mohammed etc) It goes in a loop like this-
Belief
Outcome
Someone is going to save us Adore the saviour; give away my responsibility
It doesn’t work Hate the saviour, blame them, “They’re responsible!"
Get a new saviour Adore the saviour
Get a new saviour Adore the saviour
Repeat
I wrote an about blame culture in an earlier blog.
We don’t need saviours; they are myths. We need each other.
We need to develop a means whereby citizens are fully active in their place of
residence and work.
It would be great if ballot boxes had categories such as ‘no
vote’ and then some options as to why you aren't voting. At the moment it's
very difficult to decipher; I look the same as a so called apathetic voter, yet
my choice is conscious and informed. The sad part is we don't really know apart
from anecdotal surveys gaging voter participation. Such information could lead
us to abandoning present means of doing things and trying, like the brave
Barcelonians to form something better. It is, in my opinion, untenable to
persist and form governments with so few citizens actively involved in choosing
representatives.
Apathy is a vote for relevance and effective community. It
acknowledges the fact that for a large group of people outside of elites,
things don't change for them when candidates or parties change.
So I hear people saying, pleading, why you should vote. I'm
saying equally loudly why you shouldn't, that's all. So come on NZ, let's be
truly patriotic and don't vote- for our country's sake!
There is no way our public media would print this-if you’re
a journalist reading it I challenge you to publish it!
Postscript:I didn’t know this until today-prisoners in New
Zealand can’t vote, just like in The USA. So the thing about sending you to
prison is to get you back into society-to rehabilitate the crook, right? And
there’s an massive number of Maori in prison-51% of the prison population or
4,391 in 2012. It looks like a beatup to me. And the UN has already criticised
our high Maori representation in prisons, calling it a human rights issue
related to colonial rule. And when they get out-if they get out, are they going
to be the well-adjusted voter ready to back a system that imprisoned them?