Lupe Fiasco Makes A Powerful Statement On Why He Wont Vote Anymore!

[EvilMonsanto]

Run time: 02:28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2TL0u6HTq4   Posted on YouTube: February 27, 2011 By YouTube Member: HIPHOPPHENE1 Views on YouTube: 41   Posted on DU: February 27, 2011 By DU Member: EvilMonsanto Views on DU: 2460

 
This is Hip Hop Superstar Lupe Fiasco
An extremely talented individual as an artist & grammy award winner

What do you guys think of what he has to say here?

[briteleaf]

1. Musician not voting...BIG SUPRISE....

The only voice people have in our system is the vote. Either vote or march in protest or both. We all could find fault with our government and rationalize our own laziness. We live in a plutocracy where the ultra-wealthy and their corporations decide political issues by influencing career politicians with their campaign donations. When you don't have the guts to vote, you're just making it easier for the wealthy to control your government. The people will eventually take America back from those who are spending billions to control it. If you don't have the self-awareness to vote, stay out of political blogs.

[inademv]

4. If a candidate that one desires

is not available to be voted for, how can you rationalize voting for someone whom you do not want to be in charge?

[gtar100]

9. With the system as it is today, a vote cannot be thought of as a personal statement of endorsement.

It's more like trying to steer the country. We either get behind those who are more to the left or more to the right. And by other means we must try to fix the systemic problems. Would you rather have a corrupt democrat who votes your way sometimes and could possibly be swayed by public opinion or a republican who will always tow the corporate/fundamentalist line. Sucks, but we can blame it on the "winner-takes-all" type of system we've got. Not voting at all gives more weight to those extremists who thrive on small voter turn-out.

[inademv]

12. The problem with that

is the rightward drift. To say that President Obama was the more leftist candidate is absolutely pointless without a frame of reference. Compared to nearly every democratic president before him he is, in quite more than a few ways, far to the right even when you take into account societal changes (changes which have not been driven at all by the politicians).

[Lava31]

2. I understand but...

Though I understand his frustration, we still need to vote. Look at our last election if more progressive, liberal and democrats had gotten out there and voted the GOP would not be ruining our country. It can be frustrating at times but the more that vote the more voices will be heard.

[inademv]

5. The lesser of two evils

is still evil. The system badly needs to be reformed and neither the Dems or the Reps will do it.

[zalinda]

8. Stop saying it's the 'professional left' that was the problem

Here is the truth: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/11/democrats_lost_big_because_you.html

For those who don't want to click on the link.......it has a graph which says who voted in 2008 and in 2010, and the group breakdown.

More 18-29 year olds, black and Hispanic voted in 2008, then in 2010. I guess they figured they voted Obama in, and their job was done. The Democratic party only have themselves to blame.

The Republicans, I guess, signed up the white, over 65 crowd and got them to the polls, as more white and +65 voted in 2010.

zalinda

[butterfly77]

3. Teabaggers want their taxes paid for war...

not for U.S. citizens.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SharksBreath]

6. LUPE is the greatest rapper alive. The Democrats and Obama

give the Republicans everything they want. They just appear to put up a fight.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever believed tax cuts for the rich would have gotten past with Democrats in charge.

Obama has never used his power to educate the American public.

Imagine if he held a prime time speech and showed the American people what tax cuts for the rich have done to this country why we are fighting two wars.

Yet he doesn't have a problem freezing Federal workers pay and suggesting we make cuts that actually help the people who need it most.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NV Whino]

11. My feeling is

If you don't vote, you have no right to criticize anything. You don't like the system, then work to change it. Bring in, vote in the candidates that will change it.

[EvilMonsanto]

13. I don't see how that makes sense

We've been voting for how many terms now and how much change came?
Reality seems to disagree with you

I mean.. i'm not sure what to think
I voted for Obama, I do not hate him as you do, but I voted for him because I thought he was going to do the right thing
I was rooting for Kucinich at first though, he would have brought real change!!!
But at the end of the day I guess i'm a little apathetic
But I also recognize that we've been doing what you are suggesting for a while now with little fruits of labor
If so, shouldn't our approach change?
Isn't doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results the definition of insanity?

[NV Whino]

20. I'm not suggesting you do the same thing

I'm suggesting putting new (non-corporate) candidates up so that we actually have something to vote for, rather than voting against the lesser of the candidates. Start from a local level. This is not an overnight process, but short of a violent revolution, it is the only way.

[Francisco]

14. Idealistic nonsense

People like him take their lifestyle for granted in this country. If you don't vote your opinion doesn't mean shit PERIOD.

[sulphurdunn]

15. How do you change

a status quo political system by supporting it? Do you buy the lesser of two evils argument, or the don't vote don't bitch maxim? I really don't know.

[JonathanBrowne]

16. Lol

Lupe also said he thought about suicide because his record label kept trying to get him to make his new album more pop sounding.

He's no expert on politics, foreign policy, or history.

He's a smart cat but not that smart.

He's just good at rapping and not a complete buffoon like many other rappers are.

I'm a HUGE fan of hip hop, but rappers are not good people to consult about politics.

Immortal technique for instance styles himself as some kind revolutionary, making angry songs highlighting numerous conspiracy theories. While his music is compelling and he's made quite a living for himself with it, it's filled with hyperbole and conjecture.

Most people have no idea how nuanced and realistic obams foreign policy and political views are.

The war in Afghinistan IS THE REAL WAR. I'm not convinced that during the bush administration they were fighting it correctly, and I would not be surprised at all if illegal Iran Contra esque opium deals were occuring, but yes, al queda is in afghanistan.

Yes, the taliban are terrorist sympathizers and represent a real threat because they create a haven for terrorism.

Saddam Hussein was not creating a haven for terrorists. The problem with the Iraq war was that it was america coming in a storming a country that the people themselves needed to liberate much as the egyptians did. America went in and chose their own officials for their own interests and created huge amounts of resentment among the people, making the country an open invitation for radical muslim terrorist groups to take the fight to america and create chaos and huge death counts for innocent iraqis. This then had a further negative effect in creating a lack of trust for america and increased recruitment for terrorists.

The majority of foreign policy mistakes Ameria has made are the result of the wrong leaders being elected, leaders that were on some sort of spiritual quest/male dominance trip and decided it was a good idea to try to depose regimes by arming dangerous revolutionary groups and giving them power, money and weapons as long as they served american economic/geopolitical interests.

In Obamas book Audicity of Hope he talks extensively of his disagreement with such policies and his ideas for how military conflict should for the most part only be pursued if it can be done multilaterally, with just cause, and without empowering radical groups that will serve americas interest while ruthlessly surpressing their own people. I recommend people read that book.

We can't just go "hey war is bad let's not do anything militarily at all and become isolationists!".

We live in a global world. Everything effects everything else and everything is connected. It IS sometimes neccessary for us to intervene in other countries militarily, but our first options should ALWAYS be diplomacy, economic sanctions and the like. The problems occur when we ELECT leaders who don't have their head on straight and go about strategizing for american dominance like machevelli instead of only using military force when it best serves the interests of both america and the country in question, and only taking action on virifiable and correct intelligence.

The iraq war would NOT have happened if Obama was president. People like lupe fiasco are just being stupid because they don't understand these things on anything more than a superficial level and they are thinking emotionally instead of practically. Yes, let's not vote and keep allowing leaders like bush to take power :crazy:

[Francisco]

17. +10000

We need more people like you around here.

[EvilMonsanto]

18. Sounds Like Neo-Con Views!

Your views sound very much like what the Neo-Conservatives try to vomit

Listen, you are the isolationist
not being friendly to other nations just occupuying them is not friendly relations at all
that is even worse than isolationism

How come it is only the U.S. being attacked
How come Canada who doenst have military presence around the world does not have so many terror problems despite being our immediate neighbour

[JonathanBrowne]

19. Canada

Does not have the military or economic power to be a player in foreign affairs.

America is a superpower.

I don't really care if I "sound like neoconservatives". Anyone who actually understands foreign affairs is going to sound suspect to people who don't actually know what they are talking about but have some sort of emotional idea of what should be done.

What do you propose be done?

[EvilMonsanto]

21. That's easy

Ummm... How about minding our own business?

[Dokkie]

22. I Kinda agree with him

especially for the anti war crowd, there are very few options (no Obama is not anti war) in the ballots for us. But for me, I vote in every election and when I am presented with 2 candidates that doesn't represent my antiwar interest, I just write in a politician I support.

[DeSwiss]

23. K&R

It's his vote. He can do (or not do) with it, as he pleases. I tend to agree with his POV.

- That's why it's called DEMOCRACY.