For all of my US followers for whom general public official election day is coming up (Nov. 7th) PLEASE do not become so disillusioned with the current state of higher power politicians that you skip out on voting for local offices; off year and local elections are already critically unemphasized but these are the people who have the most direct power over jails, police, school curriculum, etc. Do not let your grief be weaponized as a distraction from also continuing to fight police brutality, queer and bipoc censorship in schools, bodily autonomy, housing inequality, etc, on the smaller scale battlefields where every vote truly does count
It can be so frustrating to vote in small local elections because info is harder to find, but if you take the time to google vote411 and go to their website, get your personal ballot, and then look up the candidates, you will always find that two people are running for a local school board, and one is a lovely person who has slowly been effecting positive change for three decades and the other is a real estate broker who wants more money. And then you have the power to vote against the money asshole and for the nice person in a race that can genuinely go down to a handful of votes. Feels awesome, man. Vote out the bitch who voted against reasonable COVID measures in your local high school 3 years ago.
Vote in your local, off-year elections because if you don’t, that’s how the book burners get on the school board
The presidential vote is bullshit but as someone with a parent in education in Texas PLEASE VOTE AS LIBERAL AS POSSIBLE ON YOUR SCHOOL BOARD IT MATTERS A LOT!! Despite living somewhere semi-rural as a kid I had a very solid history course w proper teachings on the horrors of colonization and a basis in philosophy. After I graduated, a very conservative school board got voted in and started gutting what used to be considered a great history program of anything considered ‘liberal’ (despite being factual). Like, shit used to be pushing against leftism in some of my classes!!! So checking your school board votes is huge because it changes how THOUSANDS of young people get brought up. The education system is fucked in a lot of ways but it is also mandatory at this time and going to seed a lot of people’s outlooks and personalities and the school board is vital in making sure the curriculum isn’t too conservative (some schools are cutting evolution teaching in Current Year!!!!).
A good way to see who’s on the ballot and what bills do what is to just go to a polling location and look up signs or ask around honestly, or find out what your local Independent School District is called and just look up their board.
Local elections are one place you can actually make a marked difference in your community. Broader electoralism is bullshit, but hometown isn’t! I promise! I will not be voting for the president either! I WILL vote school board!
[image description: six photos of tattoos. They are on the backs of fat people, so that the rolls of their bodies are essential to the design. In most the rolls are the stems of flowers. The first is fern fronds. The second is lotus flowers. The third is curling ocean waves. The fourth is tulips. The fifth is daisies. The sixth is lilies. End description.]
