From: Not_Al_Crawford@ed.ac.uk (Not Al Crawford)
Newsgroups: alt.peeves
Subject: Re: voting
Keywords: democracy/inaction
Date: 9 Apr 92 13:08:25 GMT
Reply-To: Not_Al_Crawford@ed.ac.uk (Not Al Crawford)
Organization: Penicuik People's Revolutionary Sheepdog Liberation Front

And lo, pwg@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Paul Goldberg) spake unto the masses saying:
>
> Question: What is the difference between me and !Al (politically)?
>
> Answer: I live in a marginal constituency!

Nah, I think the political difference is rather more fundamental - y'see, I
*didn't* vote Labour. The Labour candidate in our constituency is (despite
the fact that he'll get in with an overwhelming majority) a complete
no-hoper. He's "old Labour" - an ex-NUM bloke who is still apparently
living in 1945 world of "class struggles" and flat caps. Even if he hadn't
been, I'd only have voted for him if he'd been a particularly good
candidate, not just because he was standing for one party or another.

> ObPeeve: Someone in this building has a "Vote Labour" poster in his or
> her office window. This is redundant, since it is only seen by
> university employees and students.

AAAAARRRRRGGHHHHH! This peeves me no end! Not the presence of the poster in
the window (after all, Claudio's "Vote Penicuik People's Revolutionary
Sheepdog Liberation Party" still adorns our office window) but the
assumption that all university employees and students will vote Labour. I
think it's fair to say that the vast majority won't vote for the
Conservatives but the arrogance of people assuming that I will thus
automatically vote Labour peeves me considerably.

I did not vote Labour.

I have never voted Labour.

Unless they undergo a severe mutation, I never *will* vote Labour.

I *do not trust them*. Neil Kinnock gives me the creeps only slightly less
than Gerald Kaufmann (who has been noticeably absent during the election
campaign on account of his frightening the voters).

Now the *really* peeving thing is that because I have *dared* to say I
don't vote for Labour I will now be labelled by the more right-on types as
a "fascist", a "Nazi" or a "Tory supporter". WILL YOU BRAIN-DEAD PEOPLE GET
IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS THAT THERE'S MORE TO POLITICS THAN TORY VS
LABOUR AND THAT I THINK THEY ARE *BOTH* A WASTE OF TIME!!!!!

As are all the other political parties. With the possible exception of the
Natural Law party because I quite fancy the idea of trying yogic flying. I
voted in such a way as to do my own personal little bit towards causing a
hung parliament. My vote probably had *zero* effect since I live in a
constituency with an *enormous* Labour majority, but hopefully by voting
for one of the other parties I can help screw things up a little. In an
ideal world this would result in a minority government where the other
parties can use their influence to prevent the "ruling" party from doing
anything particularly drastic and damaging.  Unfortunately, this world
*isn't* ideal so all that will really happen if there's a hung parliament
is for them all to piss around for a few months and then we have to go
through this whole election thing again in November.

> "We believe that politics is a pious profession that should not be muddled
> by conflict and controversy."
>   - from the manifesto of the Natural Law Party, April 1992

Definitely. We should have had one of these guys standing (or should that
be levitating?) in my constituency.

--
		Not Al Crawford - Not_Al_Crawford@ed.ac.uk
 "Isn't it nice/Sugar and spice/Luring disco sheepdogs/To a life of vice."
Newsgroups: alt.peeves