Yeah, AOC’s record on Israel isn’t as good as Tlaib’s or Omar’s, but it’s still better than 95% of Democrats. Only an idiot or a liar would call her a Zionist because she didn’t vote for a symbolic amendment for a bill she voted against anyway.
Also, you’ll notice that the people who gleefully brand her a Zionist or a Neoliberal never have an alternative to tell you about. They’ll tell you why every promising progressive is actually an imperialist, or why the DSA are actually corporate shills, why no one is actually a real leftist, but they never have someone they actually want to get elected. They just want to say “no,” or at best, they demand, “next,” without doing any work to find that next person.
Most people saying that kind of thing don’t believe in electoralism at all. They don’t think voting is useful. They believe in a litany of other things as alternatives, specifics depend on the group and individual.
But I found most of the people in that camp also aren’t… doing any of the alternatives they like to suggest as meaningful. It’s more like excuses to not do anything, take a “holier than thou” position, or to avoid being associated with something that could fail.
Some anarchist groups actually do “mutual aid”, which is to say, charity work effectively. Which is commendable, but also, like, not a replacement for participating in the political system that currently exists.
YUP. I once had someone tell me that the educating people on Marxism was more important that voting, because giving more people an understanding of theory would bring about a post-capitalist society. Meaning, “actually, my internet arguments are very important.”
If you don’t believe in electoralism, fair enough. It’s certainly hasn’t been serving us well the last 40 years (and especially the last ten). But if you’re going to judge everyone that engages with the political process, then you better find something better to do: join a grocery co-op, organize a union, start a commune. If voting isn’t the answer, do something else. Something besides talking. (Anecdotally, I’ve found anarchists are more likely to do something community oriented, or at least risk getting their heads kicked in at a protest, than a lot of other leftists I’ve known).
Yeah, AOC’s record on Israel isn’t as good as Tlaib’s or Omar’s, but it’s still better than 95% of Democrats. Only an idiot or a liar would call her a Zionist because she didn’t vote for a symbolic amendment for a bill she voted against anyway.
Also, you’ll notice that the people who gleefully brand her a Zionist or a Neoliberal never have an alternative to tell you about. They’ll tell you why every promising progressive is actually an imperialist, or why the DSA are actually corporate shills, why no one is actually a real leftist, but they never have someone they actually want to get elected. They just want to say “no,” or at best, they demand, “next,” without doing any work to find that next person.
Most people saying that kind of thing don’t believe in electoralism at all. They don’t think voting is useful. They believe in a litany of other things as alternatives, specifics depend on the group and individual.
But I found most of the people in that camp also aren’t… doing any of the alternatives they like to suggest as meaningful. It’s more like excuses to not do anything, take a “holier than thou” position, or to avoid being associated with something that could fail.
Some anarchist groups actually do “mutual aid”, which is to say, charity work effectively. Which is commendable, but also, like, not a replacement for participating in the political system that currently exists.
YUP. I once had someone tell me that the educating people on Marxism was more important that voting, because giving more people an understanding of theory would bring about a post-capitalist society. Meaning, “actually, my internet arguments are very important.”
If you don’t believe in electoralism, fair enough. It’s certainly hasn’t been serving us well the last 40 years (and especially the last ten). But if you’re going to judge everyone that engages with the political process, then you better find something better to do: join a grocery co-op, organize a union, start a commune. If voting isn’t the answer, do something else. Something besides talking. (Anecdotally, I’ve found anarchists are more likely to do something community oriented, or at least risk getting their heads kicked in at a protest, than a lot of other leftists I’ve known).
You named one - I’d gladly vote for Tlaib.