You Stole My Job, Now You Want Me to Help You Keep Yours

Daisy

I agree with the author of My Thoughts about Wasted Votes because I am in a similar position.

For the first time in my thirty years of eligibility to cast a vote, I find myself embroiled in a moral dilemma. It is easy for the candid voter in our nation unimpacted by the Covid response to vote strategically, but for those impacted the hurt and emotion we still carry cannot be ignored and will be an influential determinant. I cannot place a tick next to either major party for the following reasons.

One hundred and twenty people in this nation recently stole our jobs, our homes, our businesses, our financial security, our God-given rights and freedoms, and our hopes for a positive future. Their decisions even ripped apart our families – the very core and foundation of a healthy society.

Those in opposition can point fingers at the governing party but let us not forget that their leader pledged to take more decisive, urgent and forceful measures, and is still making decisions contrary to what we the people need and desire. Where were those opposition members when their voices were most needed? Not one among them stepped forward. They fell short of their role as a check and balance in our democracy.

These one hundred and twenty representatives turned a deaf ear to our heartfelt expressions of suffering and anguish. They seemed indifferent to our plight.

They stripped us of our rights, freedom, exemptions, ability to work, access to education, and the ability to be independant and act independently, even removing our access to the places where we used to gather and enjoy life.

These gathering spots were vital for our social wellbeing, yet they seemed content to isolate us further and impart additional grief. Their mandates took a heavy toll on our mental health, and our ability to be resilient. For far too many, they cost us our lives. May the souls of those who lost their lives under the weight of pressure and coercion, those who found themselves in the depths of despair leading to tragic suicides, and those who departed this world in solitude due to their loved ones being denied access to re-enter their country of birth, find solace in eternal peace.

We, the impacted, made it convenient for you – the 120 – to engage with us. We stood outside our elected representatives’ office, your workplace, for hours, spanning numerous days. We waited patiently for an opportunity to speak with you, to convey our voices, to share our experiences, and for you to grasp the depth of our pain and anguish.  But you never came. You couldn’t even walk down a few steps and come outside to be amongst us. You never acknowledged our presence, heard our words or cared about our suffering. Instead, you propagated falsehoods about our identity and intentions. ALL one hundred and twenty of you stood idly by as harm befell tens of thousands of us through isolation, division, discrimination, and polarisation that you fostered. Our families were torn apart, and friendships were lost because of your lies and the unverified, unsupported and baseless “Science” that you touted.

Your decision has exacted an economic toll of millions upon our nation, but, more gravely, it has eroded our trust in the democratic process due to the human suffering it caused. The one hundred and twenty of you authorised exorbitant sums to be funnelled into media outlets for the dissemination of your falsehoods and misinformation across our land for over two long years. Recovering from this will take our nation decades, and many among us may never fully heal.

Now you, the one hundred and twenty, expect us to cast our votes in your favour, to safeguard your positions, your homes, and your financial stability.

Not even one among you is deserving of our trust. None of you championed the very people you were elected to serve. You dismantled our democratic principles; the foundation upon which our nation was built. You betrayed the sacrifices of our ancestors, who laid down their lives to secure our freedom. You caused despair to those who had already lived through eras of apartheid and hatred, who sought refuge here in the hope of living in a united democracy.

You had a unique opportunity to unite our nation in the face of a common threat, where we could have found and enacted solutions together, but instead your deception and dishonesty drove us further apart. You could have made a positive impact, yet your legacy will be remembered for its destruction, divisiveness, negativity, and inaction.

Your tenure has been marked by failure, and it is clear you are no longer fit to represent our nation.

I cannot support any of you and therefore I am voting for change whilst also trying to be strategic. My concern with the ‘wasted vote’ lies with the reality that in the 2020 election the Labour Party got 5 extra seats from minor party votes who failed to reach the 5% threshold. This motivates me to be a strategic minor party voter, by following the polls to determine which one/s has a genuine chance of entering parliament.