Poop Shute

Allow Me To Retort...

How very brave of you, Mr. or Ms."anonymous." Going out on a limb to vociferously defend people's right to not vote. I did not at all appreciate the tone of your comments. I will freely admit that my dropping the word "idiotic" in the post was a bit strong, but that described a choice not a person. The rest of the post was more of a persuasive essay, not a specific commentary on any one person's ideals. Whereas in your comments you throw sarcasm and personal comments about my "bashing." Not cool.

I was so bothered by your comments I felt it warranted it's own attention. So here we go.

You're right, people don't have to vote. It's not required of you, and neither is making it your business to LISTEN AND LEARN ABOUT THE ISSUES that you say you know nothing about.

The info is there, LOOK FOR IT. And if you say "I'm too busy" that is a lame excuse, and you know it. In this day and age a simple Google search can yield PILES of info on any given subject and do it QUICKLY.

If you are a part of the country's unfortunates, then I might understand. If you are somebody who works several jobs in order to feed a family and cannot afford an internet connection, or even a newspaper subscription, nor has the time to use either, then okay. That's not irresponsible. It's sad.

Nobody I know has these problems or anything remotely resembling them.

"Vote for the one you hate the least"

I didn't say that. Vote for Nader. Vote for Dean. Vote for f**king Mel Gibson for all I care, but don't waste your opportunity. Make it your business to learn about some candidates and find one you DON"T HATE.

"Only idiots don't vote, because voting isn't a [choice], it is something you MUST do."

I didn't say that either. I was trying to make a compelling argument as to why you SHOULD vote, not why you MUST.

And calling somebody's choice "idiotic" and calling them an idiot are two different things. Smart people do stupid things sometimes.

"I may not share Nick's opinion, but I respect his choice."

Sure, it's a choice, but I don't respect any choice that involves ignoring responsiblities. You have a right to vote or not vote as you choose and that right is given to you and guaranteed by the very same system that your vote contibutes to. It's a give and take. If you think about it that way you actually undermine your right to not vote by exercising it.

"Australia knows what's up."

Please explain that. I don't know what that means, and I'd honestly like to know.

"I guess they could point you out and "bash" your decision online without knowing or caring why your not voting."

You are right, I don't know any reasons, but you are wrong about whether or not I care. I inquired as to reasons and I was met with an "I don't want to talk about it." That conveys a specific impression to me. That says to me that he has no good reason for his choice and is sick of being told all the reasons why he's being irresponsible. That impression may be wrong, but why would he refuse to discuss it?

Conclusion:

If you truly don't care, then don't vote. This post and the one that came before it were designed to give compelling reasons why YOU SHOULD CARE and therefore should make it your business to know the issues and vote. Apathy is a problem when these are all issues that DIRECTLY affect you and your life and the lives of your friends and family. Issues like stem cell research, abortion, and the death penalty may seem too lofty and far away now, but they could be in your backyard tomorrow. What if tomorrow you knock a girl up? What if tomorrow you are hit by a truck and damage your spinal chord? Then abortion and stem cell research may seem pretty important to you.

Also, I appreciate disagreement. It leads to discussion/debate which can only lead to better understanding. But please, don't be so flippant and sarcastic about it and don't pull the old anonymous trick. I've done it in other conversations myself before, but after this I can assure you: never again.

Give me reasons why I'm wrong and tell me who you are. Hiding figuratively behind sarcasm and literally by not identifying yourself is lame and doesn't help your argument at all.