Apathy, or smart non voters

[malcolm]

e·lit·ism
...
2.   consciousness of or pride in belonging to a select or favored group.

I am using the term as defined in #2.  We all enter this world with different strengths and weaknesses.  The path we choose in life can (and usually does) alter that innate potential.  We should all be equal before the law (with or without a State), but assuming that everyone has the same set of aptitudes is the basis of socialism.

Socialism strives to enhance the weak at the expense of the strong.
Fascism seeks to enable the strong at the expense of the weak.
Elitism says that no one should be preferred, but that all should do their best.  To say that A is superior or B is often an empirical fact, free of moral suasion, although imparting a moral judgment to that statement is the basis of oppression.

The opposite of Elitism is not anarchism.  The opposite of Elitism is Relativism.

Again, I am using the word in its aesthetic and epistemic sense, not as political justification, which I also find offensive.

[watershed]

It felt good today to vote NO on ALL the articles requesting more money and increased tax bills in my town.

The gall of these bastards wanting more police, firemen, teachers raises, new equiptment and all kinds of stupid shit.

If i cant buy all the things i want and need in this slow economy, then they can't either....SUCK IT UP   I say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Russell Kanning]

This is from dictionary.com and it matches my understanding of elitism. I think it's almost completely contrary to the notion of anarchism which is a rejection of hierarchies of people.

I totally agree with your thinking here Dale .... this is also the way the term was used by our esteemed original poster in this thread.

[Russell Kanning]

If i cant buy all the things i want and need in this slow economy, then they can't either....SUCK IT UP   I say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exactly

[KBCraig]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080313/D8VCKBH80.html

No One Votes in Florida Election

Mar 13, 11:15 AM (ET)


TAMARAC, Fla. (AP) - Every vote counts. But what happens when there are no votes at all? That's the situation city officials in Tamarac are facing. No voters showed up Wednesday night to cast a ballot in an annexation referendum for an unincorporated Broward County community.

There are 68 registered voters in the 200-person Prospect Bend neighborhood. Tamarac officials have proposed annexing the neighborhood.

Details were mailed to registered voters. If just one voter had shown up, that one vote would have decided the neighborhood's fate.

The cost of keeping a polling site open for 12 hours with no voters: $2,500.

City officials could take another approach to annexing the area. One option is a mail-in ballot election.

[malcolm]

I wonder if it's against the law to protest an election.  Maybe picketing a polling place.

Signs like "Voting is Begging" and "Don't Vote: It only Encourages Them" come to mind.

[Kat Kanning]

Whoohoo!  That is great 

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080313/D8VCKBH80.html

No One Votes in Florida Election

Mar 13, 11:15 AM (ET)


TAMARAC, Fla. (AP) - Every vote counts. But what happens when there are no votes at all? That's the situation city officials in Tamarac are facing. No voters showed up Wednesday night to cast a ballot in an annexation referendum for an unincorporated Broward County community.

There are 68 registered voters in the 200-person Prospect Bend neighborhood. Tamarac officials have proposed annexing the neighborhood.

Details were mailed to registered voters. If just one voter had shown up, that one vote would have decided the neighborhood's fate.

The cost of keeping a polling site open for 12 hours with no voters: $2,500.

City officials could take another approach to annexing the area. One option is a mail-in ballot election.

[dalebert]

I wonder if it's against the law to protest an election.  Maybe picketing a polling place.

Signs like "Voting is Begging" and "Don't Vote: It only Encourages Them" come to mind.

I like this idea too. Vitruvian and I have already had some discussions about a voting protest. If we do it, maybe we can organize groups of two so we can spread ourselves out to various voting locations, focusing on the higher traffic and higher visibility ones. And as always, in this modern age, everything should be YouTubed.

[David]

Protests on ceremonial days, such as april 15th, and voting days, are a good use of time.  I like them.  Too bad no one thought of this during the last (recent) mayors election that less than 4000 people voted in.     (in a city of 25000 people.    )