> On Fri, 30 Jun 2000, John Thornton wrote:
>
> > Not voting at all, according to mainstream media outlets, is a sign of
> > ignorance and laziness and not a form of protest.
>
> Worse -- classical pluralist political science considers voter apathy a
> sign of contentment. They assume that if people were upset they'd make
> their discontents known. So they infer that if people don't vote, it
> means they are content with the the system and assume it will basically
> continue to run itself.
Classical pluralist political "scientists" are clueless. Such an idea would be disproven if voter turnout continues to decrease but protests and unrest continue increased. Direct Action, not begging a bunch of politicians to help you, is the most effective way to fight the ruling class.
-- Joe R. Golowka joegolowka at earthlink.net Anarchist FAQ - http://www.infoshop.org/faq
"The essential difference between a monarchy and a democratic republic is reduced to the following: In a monarchy, the bureaucratic world oppresses and plunders the people for the greater benefit of the privileged propertied classes as well as for its own benefit, and all that is done in the name of the monarch; in a republic, the same bureaucracy does exactly the same thing, but in the name of the will of the people." -- Mikhail Bakunin, Statism and Anarchy