At this point, in my completely layman’s opinion, I believe they’re a cult. Or at least they meet a lot of the common criteria, even down to isolation/alienation and the threat of rejection/retribution as a result of refusal to participate.
the threat of rejection/retribution as a result of refusal to participate.
Exactly. Consider repercussions for not acting like the rest of the group. While your vote is supposed to be private, not everyone is good at lying. And maybe if the local polling place is run by these same people, maybe that privacy is in question?
And to drive home the point, let’s go to the worst case. Imagine choosing to risk a beat-down from someone twice your size and way stronger than you, by breaking rank on a single election. Especially if you’re convinced that vote will get outweighed by every other spouse in the same situation. You might toe the line too.
And this is why I’m generally against voting at home / via the internet (except for very, uh… exceptional situations), and that’s without considering the boondoggle that is ensuring vote accuracy and privacy in an online system.
I think it’s usually less explicit than that. Human survival is predicated on being part of a community. Exile is an existential threat. And for most of our existence, you couldn’t just change communities. So you want to think like those around you. There doesn’t have to be a threat of physical violence, just a threat of no longer belonging.
At this point, in my completely layman’s opinion, I believe they’re a cult. Or at least they meet a lot of the common criteria, even down to isolation/alienation and the threat of rejection/retribution as a result of refusal to participate.
Exactly. Consider repercussions for not acting like the rest of the group. While your vote is supposed to be private, not everyone is good at lying. And maybe if the local polling place is run by these same people, maybe that privacy is in question?
And to drive home the point, let’s go to the worst case. Imagine choosing to risk a beat-down from someone twice your size and way stronger than you, by breaking rank on a single election. Especially if you’re convinced that vote will get outweighed by every other spouse in the same situation. You might toe the line too.
And this is why I’m generally against voting at home / via the internet (except for very, uh… exceptional situations), and that’s without considering the boondoggle that is ensuring vote accuracy and privacy in an online system.
I think it’s usually less explicit than that. Human survival is predicated on being part of a community. Exile is an existential threat. And for most of our existence, you couldn’t just change communities. So you want to think like those around you. There doesn’t have to be a threat of physical violence, just a threat of no longer belonging.
Sounds like school.