As Vice President Kamala Harris received the presidential nomination at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), thousands of people marched near the convention demanding an end to U.S. arms shipments to Israel and the war on Gaza. The protesters, led by Palestinian and Jewish activists, represented a diverse coalition including anti-war veterans, climate justice activists, and labor organizers. Despite efforts by Democrats to keep the Palestine issue sidelined, the marchers made their voices heard, declaring Harris and President Joe Biden complicit in the genocide in Gaza. The protesters came from communities and movements that are often considered part of the Democratic coalition, warning that their votes could not be taken for granted unless the party takes concrete action to end the occupation and devastation in Palestine. Organizers estimate around 30,000 people demonstrated in Chicago over the course of the week, making Palestine impossible to ignore during the convention. The activists drew connections between the struggle for Palestinian liberation and the fight against racist violence and state repression in the U.S., challenging the Democratic Party’s complicity in both. The protests encountered a heavy police presence, with hundreds of riot police surrounding the march at all times. Despite the tension, the demonstration remained largely peaceful as the protesters demanded justice for Palestine. As Kamala Harris prepared to take the stage, the marchers continued their chants and songs, determined to keep the spotlight on the ongoing catastrophe in Gaza and the Democratic Party’s failure to address it.
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A party with a comfortable margin can embrace less centrist policies when their voters ask for them (write to your representatives everyone). A party with an uncertain margin has to calculate their platform to target the largest demographics. Using your vote + using your voice = representation.
How, precisely, does a promise that you won’t vote for them unless they alienate a larger demographic entice them into anything?
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Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the majority. I think the majority either support Israel without really thinking about it, or don’t care.
Your vote I can ignore, your voice muddying the water for other impressionable voters I cannot
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Of poll respondents. There’s a large overlap between people who don’t care, and people who don’t answer polls. And oh yeah, Harris has been calling for a ceasefire
And disregarding AIPAC is stupid. Picking up the single issue voters by overtly pissing off AIPAC during the election will unleash a multimillion dollar ad campaign. Look at what happened to the squad.
There’s no good reason to do that now. A smart candidate would stay relatively quiet until the election, and then go full bore on the offensive. Especially since, y’know, the vice president doesn’t even have authority here so it’s stupid to blame it on her. Especially when the other candidate is actively sabotaging ceasefire negotiations.
There’s just no logic here.
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I dunno what to tell you. My heart aches, aches for Palestine. More than you know. But I’m not a politician, I don’t have tangible power to improve things for them directly. And none of the politicians seem particularly bothered. They’re focused on their campaigns, maintaining the status quo, all of it. Like you said, complicit. It would be great if any of your strategies, or the strategies of the protesters, if anything helped. Actually made a difference. It might assuage some of the dread implicit to our daily lives as profoundly privileged and comfortable citizens of the West.
But it’s resoundingly obvious that’s it’s just another minor calculation that gets rolled into the other calculations to win elections. People are dying. Innocent people. It eats me alive. But I’m a privileged , comfortable westerner. My ethical inclinations don’t mean shit at best, and soothe me into thinking my compassion is valuable in and of itself at worst.
But I know what backwards looks like. And backwards is bad for everyone, Palestine included. Ukraine too. All the disenfranchised minorities in this country too. I can’t just revel in my irrelevance, exercise my privilege by tapping out because no one on the ballot has the perfect platform. I’m afforded the opportunity to slow the backslide. And maybe slowing the backslide isn’t enough for you.
But it’s something tangible, and I’m going to do it. I’m going to vote lesser evil. Not like my life depends on it, because for all my troubles it’s been a blessed life compared to others. If I die tomorrow, I’ve had a better go than most. I’m voting lesser evil to slow the backslide to mitigate damage for others, because that’s what I can do.
I don’t live in a clear blue state. Lots of other people don’t live in clear blue states. Lots of them identify as leftist. Many of them are here. I’m begging you, don’t project your exceptional privilege as a clear blue citizen as universal. This is serious, backsliding is bad for everyone. Carelessly fomenting apathy in people who could actually help is horrific. This isn’t just Internet arguments. Innocent people are dying. Stop this. The Dems are garbage neo-libs, but the opposition is tangible evil. Enabling genocide is horrific, but it’s marginally better than acceleration of genocide. The opposition is worse. Anything I, and the millions in swing states, can do to mitigate that horror is better than apathy.
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