alchemicink

I decided I would start doing

thefridayfive if I had time and liked the questions. It'll be an opportunity for me to post about non-fandom things. So... first time! Here we go!

1. Did you vote in your most recent applicable election? (If you're not yet old enough, do you plan to vote in the future?)

I did indeed vote! I vote in every election I'm eligible for, and I think I've maybe only missed one or two since I turned 18 (and those were back when I was in college). Personally, I like to do early voting. That way, I can just get it over with and not worry about potential conflicts on Election Day.

Mostly I wanted to answer this question so I could mention the stringing I have done for The Associated Press. I really like it just because I have learned a lot about the local election process. If you have an opportunity to visit your local elections office on Election Night, I recommend it! (I have also sat through election recounts... which are much more boring, but nonetheless very educational too.)

2. Have you ever protested or attended a march?

I was about to say no, but then I remembered that I did attend a "stop the violence" march once for work. We have a lot of trouble with gun violence here, so it was held to bring the community together. It was fine, but... I gotta be honest, it ultimately did not really do anything. The organizers did not really follow up with anything afterwards.

My only other experience with a protest march was back in college. My freshman roommate wanted to visit Raleigh (she was from out of state), so we took a day trip there, and happened to see, from a distance, a group of people marching in support of legalizing marijuana. Just a sea of people in green walking down the street. We certainly weren't expecting that during our visit 😂

3. What political issue is the most important to you?

Education. Every person deserves a good quality education for free, and I feel so strongly about that. You don't have the tools you need in life if you miss out on a solid educational foundation.

I need politicians in power to stop trying to destroy both public schools and higher education. *shakes fist* (I will refrain from the full rant here, but I am specifically upset with the North Carolina legislature about this for several reasons... most of which relate to funding)

4. Are you a member of a party in your country? If so, which?

Democrat

5. Do you ever plan to run for office?

Absolutely not! I deal with enough local politicians and politics for work, and that's taught me enough to know I'd hate it 😂 You have to make so many decisions that deal with large amounts of money, and if you fuck things up, it can take literal years to fix it. No thank you. I will stick to sitting in the audience and watching other people handle things.

For anyone who actually does want to run for an elected office, I strongly recommend spending time learning as much as you can about the position beforehand. So many times I've seen people who never attend town council or county commissioner meetings get elected, and then they just have no clue what's going on. It's not helpful for the community that way. (This is a pet peeve of mine 😅)

This week's questions come from here