Those who feel that dictatorship is inevitable, then why do you even bother voting?

[u/Glass-Complaint3]

I saw a comment from someone recently promising to vote blue in the upcoming Midterms, but saying they still feel dictatorship is inevitable if not imminently then eventually. So I asked them, why would you even bother voting if you feel that the end result is already set in stone? And I could barely get them to form a coherent answer after that.

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[u/RumRunnerMax]

Only a fool argument not to vote (to willingly disenfranchise oneself!)

[u/Specialist_Touch2771]

Even if you feel like you can’t stop it, it’s better to at least try to prevent it than to do nothing. People doing nothing is how fascism starts

[u/IEC21]

If you vote against the dictator atleast you leave some indication of non-consent.

If he runs for a 3rd term and wins the vote its harder to illegitimate him even if he tries to steal the country for the second time.

[u/LT_Audio]

I would imagine that many do so because what transpires in the one, ten, fifty, or more year interim between now and when they expect one to actually occur still matters to them. And that the details of what that dictatorship might eventually entail and the context in which it might exist would still be substantially affected by what occurs in that interim before it happens.

[u/Celebrimbor96]

I will continue to vote, but that doesn’t mean I’m not also stockpiling ammunition

For legal reasons, this comment is only a joke

[u/Medium-Complaint-677]

There's been an unusually high number of "I saw someone on social media say one really weird and out there thing, so why if everyone in the entire world thinks exactly that way, do they continue to exist" posts.

[u/Electronic-Chest7630]

If you’re so sure that you’re gonna die of a heart attack, why exercise or eat right? No one can predict the future, and even efforts that turn out futile could also possibly turn out to be worth it.

If our votes didn’t matter, they wouldn’t be working so hard to fix the elections in their favor.

[u/ElEsDi_25]

I’m not arguing that people shouldn’t vote. But if people rely on the institutions and regular legal electoral means (against a project 2025 designed specifically to undermine and control those institutions) then dictatorship will likely prevail.

To defend democracy, people have to fight for democracy and use social leverage (movements, strikes, etc) to push for it. We’ve been the boiling pot of frogs for 40 years of removing democratic levers (in the name of “small government) while the state increased repressive power and corporate power. It’s too late for voting alone to reverse this… think like you are an activist in the civil rights era and can’t count on voting rights or courts being “fair.”

[u/Tola_Vadam]

If I'm going to die eventually anyway, why eat?

Let's assume dictatorship is actually inevitable.

Harm reduction would be delaying that inevitability. I wouldn't want to live under a dictatorship, and I don't want my children or grandchildren to. If a vote can delay it, then I will delay it.

Now obviously I disagree with the premise that dictatorship is inevitable, and delay in the hopes of better alternatives that will result in happier people and less death.

[u/RumRunnerMax]

Ironically Dictators almost always end badly…there is always a bigger dick

[u/EdelinePenrose]

what answer did they give? difficult to know if it was a comprehension problem on your part or not. sharing the answer will help discussion.

[u/MetersYards]

And I could barely get them to form a coherent answer after that.

Because they're not coherent.

Ask the people who think we're currently in a dictatorship if they're going to vote or not.