Bernie fans I encounter come off as very adamant about voting, but not listening. They will tell you the importance of having their voice heard in this election because Trump winning would be such a travesty. The message I tend to receive form Bernie fans is,”I was never political before, but Bernie says things I like, he is going to help us take back this country. I need to vote so Trump does not win and my voice will be heard.” Then there is that part where they say, “I assume you support Sanders?”, then all hell breaks lose. Europeans especially seem to freak out internally when I tell them that I do not. This has happened so frequently I have learned it is best to not explain why unless they ask. I could be wrong or confused but no one has told me what my error is. Here is a perspective for those that can not understand why a person of color from a colony would not support Bernie or any other candidate in the Amerikkkan elections. Keep in mind I do not represent or try to represent all people of color and survivors of colonialism.
1. Amerikkkan elections are rigged
It really seems pointless to vote in Presidential Elections in the United States of Amerikkka. Although there are laws that protect voting rights of workers and the unemployed, some places do everything they can to make voting conflict with earning a miserable income. Take the catastrophe of Arizona for the 2016 primary. Voting stations were reduced from 200 to 60. Some voters had to wait for at least five hours. Was this an accident? Who would this affect most? Would voters dependent on public transportation be discouraged? Who would this hurt the most?
2. Not All Citizens Get to Vote
A significant number of citizens are denied the ability to participate in presidential elections every four years.There are 3.5million people in Puerto Rico will not have a choice in who leads the United States of Amerikkka. There are laws that forbid it and politicians that fight to keep it that way. Borikuas have have been exploited and repressed by Amerikkka since 1898. Police actions, weapons and medical testing on the population, political prisoners, embargos like the Jones Act, mass incarceration , mandatory military service and citizenship are the only privileges United States of Amerikkka has given Borikuas. The citizens of the Puerto Rico have served the United States Military and have provided cheap labor for corporations.They do not get a vote or a voice.Let us not forget the homeless population in the United States. I have the impression that they do not have an easy time getting registered depending where they are. The US seems to be famous for simply ignoring the homeless population unless it is to evict them or arrest them. Are the extreme poor and homeless ignored because they do not generate a significant income? Is it their lack of production that keeps them marginalized? Is there minimum tax bracket you must fit in to have a vote?
3. Hillary, Trump and Sanders are Imperialist
The two parties represent one system of racist and classist oppression. Both parties participate in invading countries, bombing cities, exploiting people of color and silencing critics of capitalism and imperialism. All three candidates support the drone program and bombing and occupying other countries. This is nothing new and as long as we depend on these figure heads no one will be free. Evan Sanders refuses to admit the US had any blame in the troubles of the colonies, specifically Puerto Rico but does blame corporations and hedge funds. His campaign team ignores the fact that the Jones Act is a shakedown and that Puerto Rico's government, unlike other states, is not permitted to claim bankruptcy. None of the candidates will even call Puerto Rico a colony or speak up on human right violations and political prisoners from the island. They are, very quick to criticize other nations but refuse to acknowledge US sponsorship of terrorism, genocide and exploitation of people overseas.
4. Voting validates an illegitimate regime
You keep hearing “ Make Amerikkka great again” and “Take back our country” but it always seems to be coming from European-Amerikkkans that seem to forget that they are on stolen land. 100 million indigenous people have been killed and are still being killed for this so called “great nation”. Afrikans made this regimes economy by being forced to work for rich white capitalist. Today,after the false abolition of slavery, Afrikans are imprisoned and forced into labor, kept sick so we can not generate capital, exploited for our culture and labor while also being dehumanised. So take this country back and make it great, but who benefits really? The system is not broken, it does what it was designed to do. Keep the lower classes divided through systematic racism and exploit the masses for their labor while keeping all the profits and controlling resources. Reform is not revolution, it is just the re-wording of policies to make sure they fit with popular culture. If we rely on electing another president, those of us who can, what do we actually change?
Maybe we need to stop depending on a system that has exploited the workers, the poor, the marginalized. Instead of trying to change the system, why not start organizing with each other and create some new systems? We live in a society that tells us we can all start a business and be successful but we fail to believe that we can create a new economic system. Why do we celebrate the entrepreneur but we do not support the radical organizers that put themselves on the line to fight for others? Why do we wait for an action to happen to mobilize instead of getting involved with organizing? Why are we expected to vote rather than revolt even though deep down inside we do not trust any of our candidates but are too scared of being critical or criticized?
Maybe make sure you are participating in a system that is fair serves not just to you but those different from you. Judge your society by how it treats those who are on the edge of it and have a quieter voice. Do not wait to be given rights and freedom, those things shared and worked for not distributed evenly by the elites. Again, this is just an opinion and I could be missing something.
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