Turning inaction to action: How to talk to folks who do not vote (plus we are doing a human chain across Triangle on Aug 2!!)
Good morning Engaged Durhamites for Democracy!
Today is our Triangle Unified Bridge Brigade from 9:30-11!! Hope many of you will head out to one of our 14 bridges to show our neighbors that we are not ok with what is happening, and we are not going away. We will stand for Freedom 4 All (we will display our beautiful signs that our sign-making team created) supplemented by signs that tell people what we are for. On my bridge, I will have a sign with a Peace symbol. I love Shelly’s sign that says, “Dissent is Patriotic” (and thanks Shelly for being at Freedom Friday, our Good Trouble yesterday and being a Bridge Captain with Jim today! Three days in a row!!) Calile helped many of us have “NO ICE” to display. Thanks, Calile!
There is still time to sign up:
SignUp Genius
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C4DABAF2DA46-57528598-triangle
Those going, please bring American Flags to wave. Your Bridge Captains will have a few large ones. We also need folks to bring small ones. It will not be as warm as our last unified bridge brigade, thank goodness. Please bring water and ways to keep cool. We chose the morning hours to keep our protectors safe.
Great news on our next mass mobilization on Aug 2! ED4D in collaboration with one of the other Durham Indivisible groups, Democracy Out Loud!, and also Wake Women have Mercy and 50501, will be doing a human chain combining activism warriors across the Triangle including Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, Cary, Morrisville, etc for the next mass mobilization on Aug 2. Aug 2 is a Saturday, a common time for folks to gather in Durham, Hillsborough, and Morrisville. Hope we have a great turnout!
I am forming a planning committee for the human chain event. If you want to help plan this event, please email me at Romeoboots@proton.me. We will be meeting this week as the event is in less than 2 weeks. This also means unless someone else plans it (and many of the usual planners are unable to plan a rally on Aug 2 as they are out of town or have other commitments), there likely will not be a rally in Durham on Aug 2. I hope you will consider joining our human chain on Aug 2 to diversify our actions!
Wow!! The Good Trouble rally was amazing in Durham!! Thank you to the many who did double duty and attended their second Good Trouble rally! I loved the speakers. They were so inspirational. Mama Cookie helped us know the perils she and her civil rights activists endured and the fight they still have in them! Also, lovely to hear from Andrea and Queen about the importance of voting and what is on the ballot. Our lives literally depend on these future elections. The way to win those elections and vote out the people who are hurting the American people is to register voters and get them to the polls. Thanks to those who came out despite the heat.
Here is a cool idea that my friend from the Netherlands showed me from the Asheville Good Trouble Rally. Smart to use umbrellas as signs!
Also, Karen held her Morrisville demonstration. Thank you for your dedication, Karen!
I am hoping Bob held another great demonstration in Hillsborough!! Welcome back Bob!
I learned of a rally to stop the override of Stein’s veto. The rally is tomorrow (Monday) at 5pm in Raleigh. Thanks, Mike, for sending.
Thanks so much folks for coming out to our mass mobilizations and our weekly demonstrations (and our bridges this morning!). We have a very engaged group that keeps growing each week! Amazing!!
This is a great way to flex your activism muscle. I do hope we will consider going out of our comfort zones to talk to strangers about politics. I attended the second series of workshops from “The Joy of Talking Politics with Strangers” by Elizabeth Chur. These are great! I look forward to the last one!
Today, I want to address how to talk to folks who are not willing to vote. This was a big issue in our last election as many stayed home rather than voting.
When canvassing in the last election, I met many folks who were disillusioned with the whole process of voting. I felt this more in 2024 than I have in any other year I have canvassed (and I have been doing political canvassing since 1987!). People feel their voice doesn’t matter. They feel that people do not care about their lives. It is not hard to understand why they feel that way as the American dream is out of reach of so many right now. No matter who is in office, their lives are hard. They vote, yet things don’t change.
This is the time to be having these conversations. Many have local elections in the Fall. Local elected officials can have a GREAT impact on our day-to-day lives.
So what do you say when people are unwilling to vote. I am editing some of the things from the workshop.
If they say, “All politicians are crooks.”
You can say:
“It sounds like you want to support candidates with integrity (reflective statement). I want that too (validation and alignment). I’m wondering, if a candidate who really listened to you got elected, what would be different in a year? (open question)”
If they say, “My vote doesn’t matter.”
You can say:
“Tell me more about that.” (open question)
“I’m wondering, if you could change 2-3 things about the country, what would they be?” (open question)
“Do you mind if I share a statistic with you? (ask permission before giving information). A few years ago, 401 votes out of over 15 million determined who was the Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court. That affected how NC is represented both at the state level and also at the federal level. I’m curious, what do you think about that?” (open question)
If they say, “I don’t have time to research the issues/candidates.”
You can say:
“I hear you that you want to make sure your vote reflects your values (validation and reflective statement). If you were in an elevator with XXX for two minutes, what’s one thing you’d ask her to change? (open question)
If they say, “I’ve voted, but nothing changes.”
You can say:
“It sounds like you have some ideas about how to make things better (reflective statement and validation). Tell me more about that. (open question)
If they say, “I haven't voted in years.”
You can say:
“What inspired you to vote the last time you did?”
“What might motivate you to vote again?”
Thanks for considering talking to strangers. Our demonstrations help people join our movement. Judy and Mike are very good at talking to folks about joining (or yelling to them as they drive by!). Our demonstration leaders like Wendy, Lila, and Cathy are handing out flyers to pedestrians. Laura helped us make a big QR code for folks to scan when they see Freedom Fridays. Bruce has been handing out flyers for a long time. All of these efforts are bringing new people out. Thank you all for your efforts!
We also need to talk to strangers to get them to join. My friend in Fayetteville talked to an Amazon delivery person yesterday, and that person will be on a bridge today!! Yes!!! Thanks for taking this plunge. So much depends on our growing the movement.
No news about obtaining a permit for RDU, so Avelo Boycott activism warriors, please plan on being at our normal spot outside tomorrow. Many thanks for your dedication.
I leave you with a video. Given both PBS and Stephen Colbert got canceled on the same day, this video is appropriate. Thanks, Mark and Vanessa for sending.
Hope many of you are heading to bridges this morning to be part of Operation Overpass 9:30-11. Bridge Brigades are an excellent way to make our movement visible. When on your bridge, you will be joined by many on 13 others in Durham and Raleigh (sad no safe bridges in Orange County). Even better, you will be joining so many in FL, GA, VA, and NJ. We are in this together, and we are not going away!!
Warmly,
Kathryn