883
A group of veterans from the US armed forces burnt their uniforms in a show of solidarity with the airman Aaron Bushnell, who died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in a protest over the war in Gaza.Footage by Alissa Azar shows veterans lining up and taking turns to burn their military jackets at a vigil in Portland on February 28.A banner can be seen behind them, reading: “Veterans say: Free Palestine! Remember Aaron Bushnell.”The event was organized by the group About Face: Veterans Against the War, which told attendees to gather in front of the Wyatt Federal Building in Portland at 5 pm.Before setting himself on fire, Bushnell filmed himself saying he would “no longer be complicit in genocide". He then yelled “Free Palestine” several times as flames engulfed him. Credit: Alissa Azar via Storyful
You’re right. As the saying goes, “Vote for who you love in the primaries and against who you can’t stand in the general election.” After all, the enemy of my enemy is-
…the bitter irony.
Let’s face it, the facts are that every 4 years, we have 3-ish years to push for grassroots efforts and electing local officials for things like 3rd party candidates and ranked choice voting, a chance to make a statement by voting for who you love (or a vote against who you hate if you live in a state that let’s independents vote in either primary) that no politician is going to take notice of in the primaries, and then we have to vote against the guy we don’t want in office come the general election.
The Republicans won’t allow us to do otherwise, and for one simple reason: they toe the party line, regardless. They don’t care who is on the ballot. It could be Trump, Bush, Putin, or Stalin himself, risen from the dead to destroy capitalism once and for all. So long as they have that R next to their name, that’s who they’ll vote for. As an old boss of mine once said, and my grandfather before him, both with the same incredulous look as if they couldn’t understand why somebody would possibly ask them who they were voting for: “I’m a Republican. I vote for the nominee.”
Leftists get all riled up once every 4 years, like a swarm of cicadas screaming about 3rd party candidates when it comes time to vote for the President, and then go back to sleep. And the Dems love it. Because Republicans vote down the party line all year long, meaning that when those 4 years come up again, there’s no other choice against the continuing slide further and further right than voting for their corporate sponsored candidate of choice. We need to claw seats from both Dems and Republicans for any meaningful change (preferably from Republicans). Otherwise, weakening the Dems only furthers the goals of the Republicans.
You wanna make a difference? Vote local, vote often, and help other people get to the polls. There’s a reason that election days aren’t holidays, and any real change isn’t going to start with those lifetime appointees whose best interests are in opposing any meaningful change in the system. It’s going to start in your town and state elections.
Fuck yeah. This is an awesome comment. I appreciate you! Keep fighting the good fight.
Appreciate it. My dad was involved in town politics when I was a kid, so I got to see plenty of how policy is shaped by the crusty old Republicans who can show up at every town meeting to spew nonsense and incorrect information and vote on every decision in town because they’re retired and don’t have to worry about work. And then I spent many years training kids at a job and got to see firsthand how those policies drove those kids to get out of town as soon as they’re able. And I understood how they felt because I felt the exact same way.
Remembering how the old ladies used to call the people who wanted to get a new school built “the enemy” still gets my blood boiling.