For 6 months in 2000, I lived in Atlanta. I was 10 so the move was cool until it wasn’t. My parents gradually disliked the experience in stages: my mum went first after a week, my dad after a couple of months, and me nearer the end.
One of the weirdest moments was political. The presidential election took place while I was there but as a 10 year old, I had no interest or knowledge of anything that was happening. I remember our class was doing a mock vote and I was asked who I’d vote for. I didn’t know who Al Gore or George Bush were and, in fact, I’m not even sure if I knew their first names. Bush or Gore? Gore or Bush? I said I didn’t know but they pestered me to pick one. Eventually, I said “Bush”, probably because the word had more positive connotations than “gore”. The kids around me were so mad. “How could you pick Bush????” Again, I had no idea what was going on and I said as such before picking a name for the sake of it.
Now it’s 2026 and I have to ask: why is current political mobilisation the same as the tactics of fifth graders from 26 years ago? With a lifetime of hindsight, Gore was the better choice of the two (although my hindsight extends to dismantling the whole thing but I won’t go into that here). I don’t have the ability to vote in the US and god knows what I’d do if I did because every choice is awful based on my principles. But you better pick someone or you’re a scumbag worse than a fascist voter because at least they voted!
It’s a very nuanced consideration that requires a lot of reading, a lot of thinking, and a lot of understanding beyond your own personal needs. The sad thing is that that work doesn’t translate into a lot of popular political activism. Social media is the most accessible means of communication for this and it’s full of people who just shout vote in response to anything and everything that happens. And if it isn’t that 4-letter verb, it’s one of many other directives without a deeper strategy behind them. Truth be told, shouting directives isn’t a strategy but try telling them that.
This feeds into a more general issue of communication and community. If you want a better world for all, we’ve all got to meet each other where they are and fill in the blanks, for ourselves and each other. If you operate in a leader and follower ideology, congratulations you’re propping up the class structure! Anyway, I get sick of liberals foaming at the mouth while furiously typing “vote!” or “mobilise!” and wanted to get that all off my chest.
Buy me a coffee or a pledge!
