For the longest I have been a staunch advocate for voting. I would assist with sign up in our communities and educate others on how important it was to vote. I heard people tell me it was rigged or it didn't matter and my philosophy was even if so, my ancestors risked their lives for me to have this right and the least I can do is exercise it. However, with this upcoming election and the political climate-most notably the genocide- I feel wrong encouraging others to vote and for the first time I am unsure if I should. I know my ancestors fought for us to vote, but honestly they were misguided. They naively believed that voting in this system would help, not knowing that this system would never ever accept us or any minority group as equal. Now I am conflicted.

Edit: to clarify I will still vote in my local election. I was just conflicted about Trump and Biden. There has been a lot of protest here in NYC for Palestine and a lot of the conversations, especially in my queer community is that Biden doesn’t care just as much as Trump doesn’t. I thank everyone for your insight. It’s just many of my friends protesting do not see the point in voting and I wanted to discuss it with others. Voting as always been a right I’ve advocated for and push others to do. This year I don’t know.

As a queer black woman I do not feel like I am in a place of privilege because I live in New York City. If I so privileged and safe, I wouldn’t question the system at all z Many of us are living in poverty, and I have been more committed to doing local actions in my community to help, such as rent fundraising, giving out free food and clothes, etc. I don’t think we should just lie down as a People, I have just begun to question if voting is helping us as a People. This is the first time I have ever had this thought, and have felt uncomfortable volunteering to help with voting. The Genocide has made me think there are alternative routes to quality besides this racist system.

Edit 2: I truly think everyone for their input. After hearing my friends weren’t voting, I just wanted to see if that was a common sentiment. I wanted to know if I was doing the right thing. Thank you everyone for their insight.