Why Sitting Out This Election Is Idiotic—and Won’t Help Gaza or Anyone Else
#VoteBlue
Look, let’s not sugarcoat it. If you’re skipping this election because you think that’s going to be some big wake-up call for Democrats about Gaza, you’re—I’m trying to be polite here—fooling yourself. It’s not strategic. It’s just foolish. The notion that refusing to vote will suddenly make the powers that be listen harder is misguided at best and dangerous at worst. Sitting out won’t help Palestinians. In fact, it’s a recipe for catastrophe. If you think a Trump-led government will somehow treat Gaza better, let me be blunt: his administration sees Gaza as prime real estate, not a humanitarian crisis. Jared Kushner and Trump’s camp envision condos, not peace. Voting Republican means empowering a faction that sees Palestine as land to be bulldozed and redeveloped.
And that’s before we even get to what another Trump term means for those of us here at home. If you think staying out of this election only affects Washington, think again. For every vote withheld, you’re throwing marginalized Americans under the bus. A Republican-led government is a fast track to further eroding rights for minorities, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. Think Roe v. Wade was the end of it? It’s just the beginning if the Republicans take control of all branches of government. From rolling back protections for trans youth to banning queer representation in schools, this agenda isn’t theoretical—it’s real, and it’s actively targeting people’s lives.
Maybe you think you’re safe, sitting in a liberal bubble in San Francisco, Portland, or New York. Great for you. But millions of Americans can’t “just move” to a safer state. Not everyone lives in a protective bubble of liberal enclaves and before you say that “they should just move,” we both know that isn’t practical. Not everyone can (nor should they have to) abandon their lives, jobs, and homes to be safe. So yes, if you’re sitting out this election in some misguided act of “resistance,” you’re throwing people who are counting on every vote right under the bus.
Voting isn’t about endorsing an ideal—it’s about minimizing harm. Sitting out doesn’t send a message; it hands over power to those who would happily dismantle the very protections you’re supposedly fighting for. So don’t be an idiot. If you care at all about human rights—both abroad and at home—#VoteBlue.