• givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Last time I voted cops were talking to a guy in a red hat outside, but everyone was chill and they were laughing and joking so I didn’t pay attention.

      Everyone inside, totally on edge.

      I found out later that guy had taken his shirt off and yelled at poll workers which was especially problematic because he had a loaded gun tucked into his pants. No holster and I’m not even sure he had a belt.

      He might be there next time too, just in uniform.

      I don’t give a fuck, because I know what happened in the South when people caved to that kind of voter intimidation. I’m casting a ballet even if there’s bullets actively being fired at the polling location.

      All this shit does is make voting more important, that’s how we need to frame it.

      • lectricleopard@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Im considering finding a local polling location where I can stand watch and gather other like minded people so there are more of us than them there. They will be the intimidated, they are the minority.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          Great spirit, terrible idea.

          You won’t make anyone feel more comfortable, you’ll just make things crowded and chaotic.

          The only reason anyone should be at a polling location is casting a vote.

          You want to group up somewhere and show support, do it a block away within eyesight. Have signs and shit about how voting matters now more than ever.

          Chances are ICE will come fuck with you anyways, which is still a win because then they’re not at the polling station either.

          • keckbug@lemmy.world
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            8 days ago

            Hi, poll worker here and this is absolutely accurate. If you stand in or near our polling place we will absolutely have you removed.

            However… observing polls is a core part of a functional democracy and I strongly encourage you to do so. Each county is a bit different, but essentially every single one of them have some sort of process that you can register as an observer and you’ll be legally protected while observing and documenting what you see. If you’re affiliated with a political party, contact your local officials and they can help facilitate, as most observers are party affiliated.

            • lectricleopard@lemmy.world
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              8 days ago

              Excellent. Thank you. This is what we need to know. We just need to have sufficient numbers of people doing legal observation at the right places.

      • wheezy@lemmy.ml
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        8 days ago

        Can you explain to me the logic of using voting as a tactic at this point? I’m very confused by the “I’ll vote no matter what” that runs counter to the fact that we literally will have a fascist military force that will be involved in the voting process.

        Do you think we live in a world that has SS troops door knocking BUT we also will somehow have a fair election as long as we are “brave enough”? Like, I’m genuinely asking. Do you think we can vote fascist out of power?

        They’ll guard the polls. They’ll redistrict maps. They’ll murder people in the street and say it was “self defense”. They’ll kidnap children. But, if we just vote them out they’ll go “aw shucks, I guess we gotta pack it up”.

        I genuinely want to know if people think we’re still at a point that we can just turn this around with voting. Am I out of touch? Like, I’m not trying to be a Doomer. There are other ways to fight them. I’m not saying to not vote if you’re safe to do so. But if you’re gonna dodge bullets to go vote. I really want to know if you really think that that will actually make fascist give up their power.

        They spent over a month not swearing in an elected official to stop a vote on the Epstein files. What do you think they’ll do if they lose too many seats? Genuinely. Am I crazy? Or am I actually paying attention?

        • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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          8 days ago

          Multiple fronts required. No one action will be the solution.

          • Vote to establish legitimacy.
          • Protest to register dissent.
          • Civic pressure to demonstrate conviction and organization.
          • Fringe ‘performative’ resistance to sow sone unrest and uncertainty and maybe inspire.
          • Some violence for fear, mostly aimed at inanimates.
          • In the street security details, like minneapolis.

          And most importantly, daily microresistance and malicious compliance, sabotage, redirection, and education.

          • wheezy@lemmy.ml
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            8 days ago

            Agree completely. I am just shocked at the amount of people that stop after your first bullet point.

            • IronBird@lemmy.world
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              8 days ago

              the overwhelming majority of the country lives paycheck to paycheck or is otherwise one accident away from destitution

              keeping people just on that edge of survival but not literally starving acts as great tool for keeping the poors inline, has been the US’s bread and butter for many decades now

        • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          But, if we just vote them out they’ll go “aw shucks, I guess we gotta pack it up”.

          I know Jan 6 happened, but they fucked off after losing the election in 2029 when the found no means of weaseling their way to hold onto power. Voting was a means to that end. Not the sole solution but absolutely a tool to be leveraged, imo.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Armed EVERYONE, panthers, housewives, mechanics, trans teens, latino families, truckers, the entire Village People stereotypical grouping, should be there armed and handing out cookies and coffee and making sure our communities are safe and that everyone, no matter their politics or identity or race or background has their say at the polls.

      There are presently about 22,000 ICE agents. There will be somewhere around 100,000 polling stations in the US. Their math for “surrounding all polling stations” just isn’t working out.

      • Sasquatch@lemmy.ml
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        8 days ago

        They don’t need to surround every polling station. Just the ones in blue states

        • Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.ca
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          8 days ago

          Time to plan to have 50 or 100 people at every polling station in every blue & red state. There should be enough retirees, unemployed, house-parents, teens to make it happen. 1 Million average Americans of every political affiliation to defend their democracy for a day.

    • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Yup.

      Saw a video a week or two ago. Cops roll up. Group of Black Panthers are heavily armed on a public sidewalk. The cops tell them to leave. They say “no”. The cops leave.

      It’s a whole hell of a lot harder to oppress people who are heavily armed and in groups.

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        I rather see the Rainbow Coalition ride again, let’s take specific colors off the agenda.

        Surely the FBI won’t sabotage them again this time around.

        Surely.

  • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Simple.

    Everyone shows up to the polls heavily armed and stays until everyone has voted.

    Actually, not even everyone has to be armed. Just enough to form a group. Do not try this on your own. Totally safe if you’re in a group that’s packing though. They’re cowards. They’re only going to mess with people who can’t defend themselves.

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    I’m calling it: they’re going to have Palantir set them up with a database of likely Democrat voters paired with facial recognition and detain everyone who is a positive match on their way to the polls until the polling station closes.

    And then they’ll have the mail-in votes thrown out.

      • Akasazh@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Sturm Abteilung (stormfront) precursor to the SS who were Hitlers thugs who beat people at the polls to get them to vote for Hitler.

        Hitler later stabbed them in the back during the night of the long knives.

    • n4ch1sm0@piefed.social
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      8 days ago

      Truly the most accurate comparison to ICE on paper. Schutzstaffel (SS) is the one everyone knows about and for practical reasons in the public eye, it’s a good analogy, but it’d be beneficial for people be aware of Sturmabteilung (SA), because the SS were far worse following the Nazi party’s truly solidifying grip on power. History really does rhyme.

      • Akasazh@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Also the SA where mostly thugs, like ICE. Only thing Hitler did far better was to praise them and stand behind them. Bovino was basically sacrificed without any honor (nor was he deserving), but Hitler made national monuments to the goons who died and memorialized them in song.

        Until the night of the long knives, ofc, then he quite literally stabbed them in the back.

  • klay1@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    When Hitler was choosing his cabinet, he made Göhring Minister of the interior, which was head of the police. Then they put their SS inside of the Reichstag, when they cast the vote if Hitler should have absolute power (for a limited time, to solve a fake issue). The police, now under Göhring, didn’t stop them. The SS stood everywhere, shouting Nazi paroles and threatening the Reichstag-members to apply violence if the vote does not come out their way. Back then in the Reichstag, voting wasn’t anonymous. The deed was done. Some brave leftists still openly said they cannot vote yes, many were later captured and killed. Hitler obviously just cancelled the limited time part and kept the absolute power.

    Many Germans later regretted, not having fought more, when they saw it all coming.

    Guys, everything was alarming so far. Announcing to have ICE at the polls is even more alarming. You cannot have the Shitler get that far, where it is too late. You must act now!

    Good luck over there, regards from Germany.

  • Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 days ago

    There are far more polling locations than ice agents. Even if they selectively pick the purple ones and deploy every agent they’re unlikely to end up with more than a couple agents at each.

    I guess that also means those agents either don’t get to vote or have to do early voting.

  • SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    When a Republican tells you what they’re going to do, believe them. There will never be another fair election in the United States.

  • takeda@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 days ago

    They say it is to make sure that “illegals” didn’t vote.

    In reality the real goal of ICE is to be gestapo. Undocumented immigrants are just being used as excuse.