cutoffsignals
seth (ambivalent)
213 posts
Latest Posts by cutoffsignals
i saw the most beautiful pictures of alexander siddig yesterday hold on
The Outsider: a complete archive. Bound in real leather.
What a project! I started this typeset last year and after two practice binds here is, finally, the real deal. This little book includes every line of dialogue spoken by the Outsider in the Dishonored games, all ripped and typeset by yours truly.
I learned a ton since this was my first foray into bookbinding. It was frustrating, it was fun, I'm proud of the result despite the myriad of flaws. Two of these binds are for mutuals, one is for me.
There was a ton of thought that I put into this typeset so I included some info about it under the cut.
I typeset this project in A6 instead of the standard A5 so it wouldn't feel like I was wasting a ton of material if this project had gone wrong - but also to stretch out a comparatively small amount of text into an amount of pages more appropriate of a book. All in all there's under 9000 words in this book but thanks to the small format it's just over 100 pages long. And it meant I could use normal office paper without ending up with the wrong grain direction!
I decided against hyphenation for 99% of the typeset because it felt like adding hyphens made the small amount of text even smaller. Almost every line was edited typographically in some way to make the text feel good to me, adding line breaks and so on, idk I don't know graphic design but I did what felt right to me, so it really did take a long, long time just to typeset it all.
I wanted it to include everything including cut lines, so I included those in red and italics in the appropriate spots hovering over and through the normal text. I was trying to elicit the feeling of a ghostly afterimage or a later correction or amendment of the text. This did mean cutting the cut lines down to just the important parts, e.g. I only included the "to be a dancer" part of the cut version of the "When Billie Lurk was eight" line.
The little stars demarcate scene divisions. Empty stars mark scenes that are exclusive of each other - only one version of each scene is played in a run. The start of each scene subsection is marked with a quest marker from the DH2 journal. The lines that start at these markers connect exclusive possibilities - as with the scenes separated by empty stars above, only one subsection per level of line is played in one run. The stars are admittedly used very inconsistently because I just found they broke up some sections way too much, but the quest markers and lines should be consistently used throughout the work at least haha
The cover has been stamped with 3d-printed stamps and the impressions then painted with gold leather paint in order to give an (easier, cheaper) approximation of gold foil tooled leather. I kept it very minimalistic because the sort of story I originally wanted to tell with it is that since this is obviously a heretical book it would be very subtle in its exterior so as to not draw unwanted attention, only revealing its forbidden nature if you pulled it off the shelf and opened it. After deciding I did want to include the title on the spine that story doesn't quite work anymore, but the somewhat reduced minimalistic design still suits the Outsider, I think.
My kirtland's warbler logo is a public domain illustration by L.A. Messick via the USDA Forest Service.
Could you recommend other Latin American communists than José Carlos Mariátegui?
I should preface this by saying I’m mostly familiar with Mexican Marxism.
Ricardo Flores Magón and Enrique Flores Magón (extremely influential, communists in the rest of Latin America basically saw them as the ideologues of the Mexican Revolution),
César Vallejo (poet and associate of Mariátegui, his political writings are neglected),
M.N. Roy (very influential for the development of international communist anticolonial strategy),
Tristán Marof (was cooking some kind of insane things about Tawantinsuyu but interesting because of that),
Aníbal Ponce (historian and critic of education, a big missing piece if people only look at European critical theory and some of his takes on it precede Paulo Freire),
Aimé Césaire (Notebook of a Return to the Native Land is one of the greatest poems about the Caribbean)
José Revueltas (great analysis of the world significance of the Mexican Revolution and the repression of the social revolutionary elements of it),
Che Guevara of course (you’d be surprised how little Anglophone people actually read anything by him),
Walter Rodney (Groundings with my Brothers is a great book)
Pablo González Casanova (great sociologist, a lot of what he wrote goes well with Henri Lefebvre, influenced the EZLN),
Ruy Mauro Marini (one of the greatest dependency theorists, does a lot of interesting things with Marx’s Capital),
Beatriz Nascimento (one of the main theorists of the Movimiento Negro in Brazil and influenced a lot of the reassessment of maroons),
Michael Löwy (great for connecting critical theory, Latin American Marxism, and the concept of utopia),
Gustavo Esteva (critic of developmentalism and one of the better radical democracy theorists), René Zavaleta Mercado (also a great theorist of radical democracy),
Andaiye (formerly worked with Walter Rodney and influential for the development of feminist social reproduction theory),
Álvaro García Linera (one of the theorists who I think is the most consistent defending Lenin’s position on governance, for better or worse, and a meeting point between autonomist Marxism and indianismo), and
Aníbal Quijano (great work on the world historical significance of colonialism and imperialism in the Americas)
Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui (revolutionary decolonial theorist and critic of North American academic decolonial theory, has some very interesting interpretations of abstract labor and language)
oh my old blog got…deleted? i don’t know when that happened. i think i had found a way to backup some stuff at some point maybe but i don’t remember. rip to the old me enjoy the void i suppose
answering a couple questions i got on this post since i realized ppl genuinely wanna know:
tl;dr:
israel lets very, very little aid get into gaza. even the UN can't get in as much as they want to. funding individual families, gazan led initiatives, and mutual aid collectives operating out of gaza ensures gazans can provide for themselves and pay for the extremely expensive aid that is available.
with all the civil infrastructure destroyed by israel, the situation on the ground has devolved into unrestricted capitalism, driving up the price of aid (that should be free!). this makes it more urgent for people to have funding for daily survival.
the post linked above has examples of how donating to individual families can help a lot. if you want to help more than one family at a time, there are many gazan-led initiatives focusing on rebuilding their infrastructure and distributing aid fairly that are worth donating to instead of large charities that already get the majority of donations.
as i mentioned in the last post: @/careforgaza on twitter is a nonprofit started by gazans, it's been endorsed by multiple palestinian journalists.
the sameer project is a collective organized by diaspora palestinians offering emergency shelter to gazans.
ele elna elak is a project aiming to bring water, food, shelter, etc. to gazans and has been promoted by bisan owda.
and the municipality of gaza itself is fundraising to rebuild water infrastructure.
all of these organizations are active inside gaza right now and are being run by gazans. if anyone knows of other gazan-led mutual aid projects, nonprofits or charities feel free to link them in the notes! hope this helped!
long answers under the cut!
if you wanna donate to a charity that's absolutely fine, but the thing is most charities (and even the UN!) are unable to make it into gaza in the first place, leaving aid rotting at the egyptian side of the border or subject to israeli settler attacks
not to mention, charities and nonprofits also maintain a paternalistic colonial relationship with the indigenous people they are trying to help, determining what aid they need for them instead of returning power to them and letting them make their own choices
i'm not here to say that one option is better than the other, just that they achieve different things and are equally legitimate. there's an attitude among people who question the legitimacy of these gofundme campaigns that somehow the people promoting them are telling them not to donate to charities. nobody is stopping you from donating to charities. we are just asking that you do not dehumanize the very real gazans in your inbox just because their method of asking for aid is more direct and risky.
unfortunately that's exactly what has happened. because israel destroyed all of gaza's more formalized infrastructure, it seems that organized crime and rampant inflation has taken its place. aid is supposed to be free, but in order to save for evacuation or the cost of living, people have started selling them at an inflated price. and aid that is truly free attracts intense, large crowds that are dangerous to navigate.
this was posted on abc a few days ago
it's pure, unrestrained capitalism. i've had multiple palestinians describe this situation to me confidence. that's why everything's so expensive now. why people have to rent out tiny plots of land for their tents to sit on, why my friend @siraj2024 still has to buy tarps to cover the broken windows of the overpriced bombed out apartment he rented, and why a bag of flour can cost a thousand bucks in the north.
even before israel closed and then bombed the rafah crossing, the egyptian hala travel agency was only allowing people to cross the border if they paid a hefty $5000 USD per adult / $2500 USD per child bribe. it denies doing this, but the hundreds of stories from palestinians say otherwise.
with regard to the economy, here in america we saw something similar happen in the wake of hurricane helene and milton. the podcaster margaret killjoy describes how she saw dual economies rise after asheville was fully cut off from the rest of the country - some people offered each other supplies for free in a sort of mutual aid honor system, and some people required payment when they lent supplies because they themselves needed to buy stuff for their families. these dual economies exist in gaza too. and this means they all still need money to survive.
they should invent a leaving your room that does not involve potentially running into any of your six roommates* who are all having various levels of beef with each other
Now available for preorder! Queer dark YA fantasy, available in paperback and ebook. A story about the messy ways we cope with trauma and the myriad facets of love.
maryborsellino.com/witch/
if you're spending today with family, partners, close friends, people who would take a little piece of you away if they were gone;
if you're taking the time to cook, showing off a culinary secret, trying something for the first time, struggling to make a family recipe the way you remember it growing up;
if you're thinking of a home you left, looking forward to the home you hope to build, or happy where you are right now;
if you're angry about the legacy of displacement and colonialism that threads its way through every comfort in the western world, if you would go back and change history in any small way you could;
if you are thankful for the simple things that every human being should be afforded: community, food, shelter, personhood;
please donate the cost of one plate at your table to any fundraiser:
thank you, eat well, love each other
look up 'textile recycling [county where you live]', in some areas big chain thrift stores like Goodwills (*not* small local nonprofit thrift stores) have a textile recycling program and encourage donation of clean, dry clothing/fabric that has no resale value. sometimes there are drop boxes or mail-in bags from other organizations that have a similar purpose. but also for fucks sake stop buying garbage
DONATING TO THE THRIFT STORE PSA!!!!! that i can’t believe i even have to say
if you would not buy it in the state it’s in, don’t fucking donate it!!
maybe if there’s a button missing or little holes or stains, but stop using thrift stores as your garbage. the amount of actual trash we get donated at my job is ridiculous. one man’s trash is another man’s treasure like 20% of the time. but chances are if you didn’t want to fix it yourself, neither will anyone else.
quality too. if you would not buy shein from the thrift store yourself, don’t donate your “cute summer shein hauls :33” that you don’t wear anymore because the trend ended. nobody buys shein second-hand, and it sits on our shelves until we have to throw it out.
“but i don’t have money to not shop at shein 🥺” idc. cope. thrift. maybe if the thrift stores weren’t full of plastic cancer clothes from last months aesthetic you’d be able to find more good quality items. but alas
ITS STILL YOUR CONSUMPTION WASTE, even if you give it to us. clothes don’t just disappear once you donate.
TREAT YOUR THRIFT STORES WITH RESPECT
“i didn’t know you were uncomfortable” dude my ears were pinned and the whites of my eyes were showing. bro did you not see me excessively licking my lips and yawning
for whatever reason I have found it much easier to simply block people and avoid obnoxious bad faith discourse on cohost vs tumblr. i must fix this
im proud to present my own little phasmid i just finished making! shes a special cryptid
vetted fundraisers from today. please continue to give support to families like these in whatever capacities you can, they are suffering such unfathomable deprivation and grief.
july 18th:
Safaa, her husband, their baby son Amir, and Safaa's parents, who both urgently need medical treatment ($1,086/$75,000) - @safaamiroo, verified by @/90-ghost
Amira Alanqar, her two siblings, and their mother, who needs treatment for diabetes (Amira is solely responsible for her family after the loss of their father) (€14,484/€20,000) - @amira-world, verified by @/nabulsi
Ashraf Alanqar, his wife Widad Issa, and their little son Bakr (€8,974/€30,000) - @ashraf-family, verified by @/90-ghost
Wafaa Alnhal's family of 15, including four young children and a newborn (the family has already lost multiple members, including Wafaa's sister and teenage niece) (€34,690/€50,000) - @wafa-nahll, #171 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet
Widow Hadeel Abu Jiab and her family of 12, including three young children (Najwa who was orphaned, Samira who needs treatment for vision problems, and Almas who is in severe shock) and Hadeel's injured mother and brother (€2,814/€20,000) - @palestinianhadeel, verified by @/90-ghost
Salahaldin Hor, his wife Sundus, and their three young daughters, two of whom have been injured (€1,946/€40,000) - @salahaldinhor, verified by @/90-ghost
Islam Al-Najjar and his family (€15/€30,000) - @islamgazaaccount2, verified by @/90-ghost
The Ayyad family of eight, including a sick child who needs treatment to save her sight (CHF3,753/CHF60,000) - @basel-1995, @amanyayyad, #214 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet
Mohammed Atallah (needs urgent surgery after being shot with an explosive bullet) and his family of 11, including a toddler and a newborn (€3,205/€82,000) - @mohammed-atallah, verified by @/90-ghost
Ola Ahel, her four siblings, and their parents ($7,308/$20,000) - @olagaza, #205 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet
Yousef, a toddler who needs lifesaving treatment for a severe blood disease, and his parents (€4,080/€25,000) - @dima96yousef, verified by @/90-ghost
Nour Ashour, her husband, and their two little children, including Muhammad, who needs continuous treatment for disabilities relating to birth asphyxia (£55/£80,000) - @nourashour33, verified by @/90-ghost
Hala Daoud (needs vital treatment for multiple sclerosis) and her three children (€180/€17,000) - verified by @/frostedforestfairy (contact for more details)
Helping Tawfik Satoom continue his education ($902/$20,000) - @tawfiksatooom, #238 on the operation olive branch spreadsheet
Ahmed Alanqar, his wife Dina, and their four young children, one a newborn (€31,345/€35,000) - @ahmedabuyamin, #174 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet
Helping Siraj Abudayeh, his wife, and their three young children rebuild their treasured home ($6,972 CAD/$82,000 CAD) - @siraj2024, #219 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet
Shimaa, her husband Abdel, and their little daughter Juri (€386/€50,000) - @shimaashaban22, @abdelmutei, verified by @/90-ghost
5-year-old Nour, her three sisters (all suffering from malnutrition), their parents, and their grandmother ($373/$25,000) - @nourbader2019, verified by @/90-ghost
not yet vetted:
Salem Anqar, his wife Hadeel, their two little children, Salim's five siblings (three of whom are children), and their chronically ill parents (kr1,022 SEK/kr990,000) - @salemanqar
Mohammed Ayyad and his family of seven, five of whom are children (Mohammed lost his mother when she was not able to evacuate for medical care) (€11,473/€35,000) - @mohammedayyad
The Eleyan family of 18, including eight children, one a newborn (€3,185/€50,000)
Doctor Mohammed Shurrab, his wife, their child, and ten extended family members (€435/€100,000) - @684599
a small amount of your time and effort can have an immeasurable impact. please don't scroll past without engaging in some way, it really makes a difference
question: should I watch We're All Going To The World's Fair first or skip right to I Saw The TV Glow
i want someone who will sit on a rooftop with me at 3 am and shave their head while i shave my head and then hotglue the hair to the roof so the roof will have hair
tattoos by @soft.point on instagram
why are all the star trek games based on war and ship command and galactic fighting and war. i want diplomat simulator. i want skyrim for star trek. i wanna talk to a bunch of aliens about their farming rivalry and then go to the planet where everyones an italian mobster. i dont give a shit about upgrading the torpedoes on my battle cruiser to level up and destroy other ships in the New Online MMORPG. i want my entire ship to malfunction because an alien laid an egg in the nacelles and then i want to fix it by raising the alien as my own and then tossing it into space. what’s so hard to understand.
never let anyone tell you that trawling through mediocre victorian poetry isn't worth it. we just happened upon an absolute BANGER of a worm poem. go read it or else 🪱🪱🪱
NASA advertising "do you want to be an astronaut" to tumblr users surely means something. What have you found out there, NASA? What have you found that you believe tumblr users, specifically, are best equipped to handle?
finally finished my first lace crochet project!
[I.D.: a large intricately crocheted teal doily. end I.D.]
Church of Whale Fall
If you have access to Libby through your library, there are some really excellent audiobooks of both his novels and some of his collected essays!
free online james baldwin stories, essays, videos, and other resources
(i believe he currently has no estate or family that can profit from his works, as the last owner of the estate was his landlady who recently died.)
James baldwin online archive with his articles and photo archives.
---NOVELS---
Giovanni's room"When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy. This book introduces love's fascinating possibilities and extremities."
Go Tell It On The Mountain"(...)Baldwin's first major work, a semi-autobiographical novel that has established itself as an American classic. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves."
+bonus: film adaptation on youtube. (if you’re a giancarlo esposito fan, you’ll be delighted to see him in an early preacher role)
Another Country and Going to Meet the Man Another country: "James Baldwin's masterly story of desire, hatred and violence opens with the unforgettable character of Rufus Scott, a scavenging Harlem jazz musician adrift in New York. Self-destructive, bad and brilliant, he draws us into a Bohemian underworld pulsing with heat, music and sex, where desperate and dangerous characters betray, love and test each other to the limit." Going to meet the Man: " collection of eight short stories by American writer James Baldwin. The book, dedicated "for Beauford Delaney", covers many topics related to anti-Black racism in American society, as well as African-American–Jewish relations, childhood, the creative process, criminal justice, drug addiction, family relationships, jazz, lynching, sexuality, and white supremacy."
Just Above My Head"Here, in a monumental saga of love and rage, Baldwin goes back to Harlem, to the church of his groundbreaking novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, to the homosexual passion of Giovanni's Room, and to the political fire that enflames his nonfiction work. Here, too, the story of gospel singer Arthur Hall and his family becomes both a journey into another country of the soul and senses--and a living contemporary history of black struggle in this land."
If Beale Street Could Talk"Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin's story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions-affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche."
also has a film adaptation by moonlight's barry jenkins
Tell Me How Long the Train's been gone At the height of his theatrical career, the actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, Baldwin shows the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable. For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the intoxicating world of the theater lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. An adored older brother vanishes into prison. There are love affairs with a white woman and a younger black man, each of whom will make irresistible claims on Leo's loyalty.
---ESSAYS---
Baldwin essay collection. Including most famously: notes of a native son, nobody knows my name, the fire next time, no name in the street, the devil finds work- baldwin on film
--DOCUMENTARIES--
Take this hammer, a tour of san Francisco.
Meeting the man
--DEBATES:--
Debate with Malcolm x, 1963 ( on integration, the nation of islam, and other topics. )
Debate with William Buckley, 1965. ( historic debate in america. )
Heavily moderated debate with Malcolm x, Charles Eric Lincoln, and Samuel Schyle 1961. (Primarily Malcolm X's debate on behalf of the nation of islam, with Baldwin giving occassional inputs.)
----
apart from themes obvious in the book's descriptions, a general heads up for themes of incest and sexual assault throughout his works.
Seattle DSA is organizing phone/text banks as well as canvassing. Get in there!
washington state folks please please please consider joining this effort I think it sends a real message
ettingermentum has just published an excellent guide to protest voting state-by-state. for those of you who are bemoaning your choice between biden and trump, for those of you who are against genocide, and for those of you want to utilize your civic duty to vote: this is how you can pressure joe biden for a ceasefire
Earlier this week, when I was talking with my girlfriend about the Michigan primary results, she asked me if we could also vote uncommitted in our state’s primary. Since we live in Georgia, I knew that we didn’t have that option, so I told her that it wasn’t possible and that I personally planned to use my ballot to write in Jane Fonda. Then she asked me if that vote would be counted, which made me realize something: I didn’t know if it would. I looked it up, and and after a bit of searching, I learned that the answer was no. As a Georgia voter, I have to either vote for one of the three names on the ballot or a “validated write-in candidate” or my vote will be discarded. My year-old plan to vote for Jane had always been DOA, and I had never known it until that moment. This got me thinking. If I, someone who writes about politics for a living, didn’t know the exact procedures for a protest vote in my primary in my own state, how many prospective uncommitted voters out there actually know what their options are? I presumed that someone out there had published a guide for how to protest vote in each state, but, at least as far as I can tell, such a guide does not exist. To remedy this problem, I decided to create a guide myself. The following is the first ever state-by-state, territory-by-territory cheat sheet for how you can, and cannot, cast a protest vote against this administration in your upcoming Democratic primary.
Category 1: Can Vote Uncommitted
This is the simplest and most straightforward category. In these states and territories, voters are given a Michigan-style uncommitted option on their ballots. These ballots are fully counted in the results like votes for any of the named candidates. If the total uncommitted vote reaches 15% statewide or in a congressional district, it will be awarded delegates.
Although some of these states have additional protest voting options in addition to uncommitted, selecting the uncommitted line is the most direct and straightforward way to register an anti-Biden vote. If available, it should be chosen over all other options, including write-ins, blank ballots, or votes for named candidates like Dean Phillips or Marianne Williamson.
State/territory list:
March 5th: Alabama, Colorado (Called “Noncomitted”), Iowa (Mail-only Caucus), Massachusetts (Called “No Preference”), Minnesota, North Carolina (Called “No Preference”), Tennessee, American Samoa
March 6th: Hawaii
March 12th: Northern Mariana Islands, Washington, Democrats Abroad
March 19th: Kansas
March 23rd: Missouri
April 2nd: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Wisconsin
April 6th: Alaska (Called “Undeclared”)
April 13th: Wyoming (Caucus, Called “Undeclared”)
May 14th: Maryland
May 21st: Kentucky
May 23rd: Idaho (Caucus)
June 4th: Montana (Called “No Preference”), New Jersey, New Mexico
June 8th: Virgin Islands
Category 2: No Uncommitted Option, But Can Vote Write-Ins
Following the set of states and territories that provide straightforward uncommitted option, we reach a small, unique category of primary contests. These states do not provide an uncommitted option, but they do allow for write-in votes, and they take the unique step of tallying every single one of these write-ins in their vote totals. This allows for voters to vote for whoever they want, from Abraham Lincoln to the demiurge, and still see their ballots counted in a broad “write-in” pile of general dissent.
Unlike uncommitted votes, write-in votes will not be able to win delegates as a category—they are only tallied together as a group convenience on election results pages for the sake of convenience. Legally, they all represent votes for entirely different candidates. While it would technically be possible for a write-in candidate to win delegates if they hit the required benchmarks through write-in votes for them, there are currently no efforts to coordinate this. As such, feel free to vote for whoever or whatever you want if you live in these states or territories.
State/territory list:
March 5th: Vermont
May 21st: Oregon
June 4th: Washington, D.C.
Category 3: No Uncommitted Option, Most Write-Ins Not Tallied, But Blank Votes Tallied
Right on the heels of the previous small list with very specific rules is another small list with even more specific rules. Like Category 2, these states do not provide an option to vote uncommitted, but allow for write-ins. Where they differ from the Category 2 states is that they do not count most write-ins in their overall tallies. To save time, only write-in votes for “qualified” write in candidates are considered valid and counted. This means that any write-in vote that says something like “ceasefire,” “uncommitted,” and, yes, “Jane Fonda,” will be discarded.
For most states that do this and don’t provide an uncommitted option, this rules out the possibility of a protest vote beyond voting for the named candidates. These states are the exception, however. Unlike most states, they count blank ballots in their totals. While blank ballots cannot earn delegates, they are counted as a bloc, making them a clear statement of opposition to Biden that avoids providing support for Phillips or Williamson. As such, it is best to send back ballots in these states.
State/territory list:
March 5th: Maine
March 30th: North Dakota (Caucus)
April 2nd: New York
April 28th: Puerto Rico
Category 4: No Uncommitted Option, Most Write-Ins Not Counted, Blank Ballots Not Counted
Category 4 states have easily the most delegates of any section on this list. Unfortunately, they’re also where the options for protest votes become sharply limited. These states have similar rules as Category 3 states. They don’t provide an uncommitted ballot line and don’t tally write-in votes except for those given to qualified write-in candidates. What makes them different from Category 3 states is that they also don’t count blank votes in their tallies.
To register a non-Biden vote in the tallies here, you have to vote for someone pre-approved by the state, whether that be a named candidates on the ballot or a qualified write-in candidate. For most states, this leaves you with Dean Phillips and/or Marianne Williamson if you want your vote to count. Feel free to choose between the two at your own discretion, although you can always vote for another listed candidate or even prick someone from your state’s list of qualified write-in candidates if you really want to avoid voting for either of them.
State/territory list:
March 5th: California (Both Dean and Marianne on ballot), Texas (D and M), Virginia (D and M), Utah (D and M)
March 12th: Georgia (D and M)
March 19th: Arizona (D and M), Illinois (D and M), Ohio (Dean only)
April 23rd: Pennsylvania (Dean only)
May 14th: Nebraska (Dean only), West Virginia (Dean only)
Category 5: No Uncommitted Option, No Write-in Option, Blank Ballots Not Counted
Category 5 is very similar to Category 4, except with one difference. Instead of just making the write-in option functionally useless, these states don’t provide it at all. There’s no way to get around voting for one of the named candidates of you want to cast a protest vote in these states.
State/territory list:
March 5th: Arkansas (D and M), Oklahoma (D and M)
March 12th: Mississippi (No D or M or anyone else. Biden will just get 100% of the vote here. They’re still holding the contest, though.)
March 23rd: Louisiana (D and M)
June 4th: South Dakota (D and M)
June 8th: Guam (Candidate list currently unavailable)
Category 6: No Primary
Here’s the strangest section of them all. These states just cancelled their primaries and handed all of their delegates to Biden. They won’t let you vote against him even if you want to!
State/territory list: Florida and Delaware
---
voting 'uncommitted' aka utilizing the protest vote is now one of the key strategies to let the biden administration know exactly what you think of their policies. it doesn't affect your vote in november, but it does very much affect the US policies being enacted on the ground in gaza right now.
think of it as a "fuck you" to joe biden, in the most democratic way possible.
you're not abstaining. you're not voting third party. you're not voting for trump. this is a protest vote. you're exercising your civic rights and letting joe biden know: fuck you.
In the absence of a clear and obvious angle to attack Bushnell’s protest, most likely due to his status as a serviceman that would make outright insulting him or suppressing the news itself scandalous, discussions on Western shores have now taken on the familiar framing of mental illness. In Time Magazine’s write-up of Bushnell’s death, the article finishes with a link to the suicide hotline, and asks readers to contact mental health providers if they are experiencing a “crisis.” Mark Joseph Stern, a writer at Slate, seemingly unasked, also wrote on Twitter/X:
“I strongly oppose valorizing any form of suicide as a noble, principled, or legitimate form of political protest. People suffering mental illness deserve empathy and respect, but it is wildly irresponsible to praise them for using a political justification to take their own life.”
Conviction does not exist to the American. To be willing to die in a selfless act for what they believe in only exists for those outside America's sphere of influence. Many will recall reporting on those who self-immolated in protest in Iran and in Russia for instance where this sort of approach, unwilling to engage with the root of its cause, would not even be entertained, let alone written and published with sincerity. The Arab Spring began with a self-immolation. The self-immolation of Buddhist monks in protest of South Vietnam’s persecution became defining images of the war and its corruption. Within America’s walls however, there is a belief, unspoken and ingrained from birth, that democracy allows for everyone’s voices to be heard and that its representatives are inherently inclined to respond to the people and their widespread wishes.
Desperation at inaction or complicity in terror and atrocity need not apply. Everyone incensed by their government to such an extent must simply have something wrong with them. To be able to go about one’s day knowing that children are screaming from the hunger that is eating their insides and that pregnant women are eating bread made from animal feed, and that the United States is supporting Israel’s creation of this famine, is apparently the real sign of well-adjustment.
Seamus Malekafzali, “The Words Burned Through His Throat: The Sacrifice of Aaron Bushnell,” February 26, 2024.