Promise Nothing, Deliver Nothing, Blame
A tutorial on vote shaming told in memes
by C. A. Matthews
American voters are looking for inspiration and some indications that their wants and needs are heard and being considered seriously this election. But all we get are empty promises and vote shaming when we consider voting outside the prescribed parameters.
"Here's your choice. Live with it," the powers-that-be tell us. And yet...
So, what can voters do? The "choice" they give us rings hollow. Recent history shows us how voting for these parties' candidates doesn't improve our lives. Surely there's something better we can do than keep voting for the "lesser evil" in some insane expectation that conditions will miraculously change?
Worse yet, those who constantly push that old adage of "voting is the cure for all ills" aren't the ones who suffer from the problems we ordinary Americans face, such as lack of adequate health care, evictions, unemployment, police brutality... Their lives are secure and their wealth insulates them from the ups and downs of life in a failed state.
Political parties whose members do nothing but vote shame and tell us our needs cannot be met are not to be trusted. Their "smokescreens" or lame excuses indicate their lack of trustworthiness and perhaps their need to please their corporate donors at our expense. Furthermore, these excuses tell us we aren't important enough to be given straight answers. This is where we draw the line. This is where we tell these manipulators we aren't fooled, and we won't be dismissed anymore.
We tell our oppressors through our voting that we're not afraid of them. We're ready to take them on and take them out. We've found a better choice and no amount of vote shaming or blaming is going to talk us out of it. We know that when we vote our conscience our vote goes to that candidate alone--it doesn't go to or take away a vote from another candidate. We understand basic mathematics, but for those who don't we'll repeat this simple lesson...
And we support these policies and would never settle for anything less:
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| http://howiehawkins.us |
The next time anyone tries to vote shame you tell them you're not into bullies. You'll never settle for anyone who is okay with vote shamers and vote shaming, either. If supporters of a certain candidate can't win you over to their side by sharing what they stand for in a polite manner, don't feel obligated to put up with their hate. Show them the door. And always vote your conscience. To quote Jimmy Dore: "There's no such thing as a wasted vote!"
The following video gives a great critique of a recent incident of vote shaming done by a well known person:
<-- This meme rings true. The status quo doesn't like change, so why would they change to help us? They'll make more lame excuses!
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Amazon is funding police without any public oversight.
Police foundations were policing’s best-kept secret — until now — and Amazon is in the thick of it.
Over the past six months, tens of thousands of people have loudly condemned police violence and the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others. But even with all the protests, the government and corporations haven’t yet acted in ways to create real, significant change.
Enter Amazon.
Even though Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos has prominently come out against racial inequity1, Amazon still gives dark money donations to police foundations who then give massive amounts of cash to some of the biggest police departments, without any public oversight. This is absolutely inexcusable.
Today, we’re joining Color Of Change to call out Amazon because it’s not enough for one of the world’s biggest corporations to say it wants to end racism — it needs to take real action. If we’re loud enough, we can push Amazon to divest from policing and stop being complicit in terrorizing Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.
Tell Amazon: divest from police foundations now!
Police foundations, like massive corporations or oil companies, are private, corporate-sponsored entities that supplement already bloated police budgets and serve powerful interests.
From NYC to LA, they raise money from wealthy corporations like Amazon to help cops acquire surveillance tech, SWAT team equipment, and weapons designed to target and systematically oppress Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. And, they do it outside of public scrutiny or budget oversight.
In the past few months, Color of Change and over 40 organizations have been pressuring corporations to divest from police foundations. Thousands of messages have been sent to various companies from people like you with amazing results. Wells Fargo has announced it will "pause" all contributions to police foundations2 and we’re waiting on active policy decisions from several more corporations.
That’s why it’s so important we pressure Amazon right now. Jeff Bezos is now the richest man in the world.3 His wealth has increased by $88.9 billion in the past five months4 and Amazon is worth more than $1.7 trillion. If Amazon divests from police foundations, many others will follow.
And, here’s the thing. Amazon’s image is its most valuable asset. Amazon doesn’t want to be associated with racist police departments and practices. If you speak out, I know we can pressure Amazon to stop giving money to police foundations. Send this message to Amazon and Jeff Bezos right now: Stop your recklessness! Divest from police foundations that have helped grow and militarize the police at the expense of Black and Brown communities.
Racism is a root cause of the climate crisis.
For too long, fossil fuel companies, chemical companies, and other mega-polluters have treated Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities as sacrifice zones — polluting air, land, and water where people live. This environmental racism is part of the broader racism in this country, and it continues with devastating impacts.
If everyone in the U.S. doesn’t work to end racism, elites will be all too willing to let Black and Brown communities suffer the intensifying heat, fires, storms, and rising seas of climate change while continuing their destruction for profit. It’s that simple. Corporate polluters funding police foundations are an example of how climate justice and racial justice are even more connected. The same companies causing climate chaos are also propping up the institutions that keep Black and Brown communities oppressed.
Funding police departments without any public scrutiny or budget oversight is so atrocious. There’s no reason tech corporations like Amazon need to donate to policing and only pretend to care about racial equity. It’s absolutely not enough for corporations to say they want racial equity — they need to prove it with their money.
Greenpeace exists to dismantle the system of corporate power that puts profit before people and the planet. Join us and tell Amazon to divest from police foundations now.
Thank you for taking action. This is an all hands on deck moment.
Gabe Smalley and everyone here at Greenpeace
[1] nytimes.com/2020/06/24/
[2] politico.com/news/2020/09/
[3] forbes.com/stories/ten-
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