[rubecube]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Again, this is such a smug comment you guys keep making. Do you guys lack empathy or something?

This is a weird comment. I can't vote CPC precisely because I have empathy. I'm empathetic towards aboriginals, sex-workers, disabled veterans, drug addicts, the mentally ill, etc., all groups of people who have been negatively impacted by CPC. Am I also empathetic to skilled, upper-middle class, (primarily) white dudes who work in O&G? Totally. I've been laid off before and couldn't find a job for 18 months. It suck. It's just that you guys are a lot further down the list for me because you need a lot less help getting back on your feet.

You know what, no I can't look past my paycheque, and I don't think that's sad at all.

I don't think that part is sad at all. What bothers me is the lack of evidence there is to suggest that another party is going to dramatically your paycheque. Perhaps the NDP would, but there seems to be some pretty massive cognitive dissonance going on when you see CPC supporters pointing out the NDP's provincial record, yet ignoring the fact that the CPC have a worse economic record federally than the Liberal governments who preceded them. That's where the boogeyman comment comes from. There is zero evidence that any of the opposition parties would do worse from a economics perspective than the current iteration of the Conservatives.

Can you look past your paycheque? If so, congrats I guess, but most of us can't because we need them. What a stupid comment and it keeps getting repeated. Pure idiocy.

I don't understand why this is so hard to believe. You know what actually got me more concerned about climate change? Noticing the surge in forest fires over the last few years. The only reason I actually pay any attention to that is because it's part of my job. More forest fires are great for my paycheque. Theoretically, if they were reduced, my position could easily become redundant and I could lose my job. That said, I would quite happily take a massive reduction in forest fires.

I can't speak for evman, but the "can't see beyond your own paycheque" comment to me is actually a question of what your tipping point is. How much environmental degradation, privacy-invasion, mistreatment of the less fortunate, and undemocratic governance are you willing to put up with in exchange for your own economic security? It also seems weirdly hypocritical when I see Canadians going after other countries and their citizens for not sacrificing enough to become more democratic when we we're not willing to sacrifice anything to keep ourselves from becoming less democratic.

*queue CHL whining about my lack of objectivity*

Also completely fair if you don't see any of the other parties as being better in those areas than the CPC. Obviously why would you bother with the risk if you didn't foresee any improvement?

Kind of off topic, but a few pages back someone made a comment about voting out of self-interest because that's what everyone else does anyways, which is complete nonsense, IMO. First of all, that completely ignores the fact that only certain demographics in Canada even have the privilege to vote completely out of self-interest. Secondly, it virtually ignores anyone who puts social policies over economics ones. When I look at each party's platform, the issues I care about most (drug legalization, universal child care, decriminalization of prostitution, aboriginal rights, etc.) have pretty much no positive effect on me personally.

For the record, from an ethical standpoint, I don't agree with the idea of shutting down Canada's O&G sector. If we're going to consume as much as we do, then we have a moral responsibility to shoulder our share of the ecologic fallout that comes with that consumption. It's a big reason why I'm not sure I can bring myself to vote NDP. That and there seems to be a lot coming out that doesn't portray Mulcair as any better for democratic discourse than Harper.

So in summary:

Don't want to vote for Harper because I think he's awful for a litany of reasons.

Don't want to vote for Trudeau because he supported C-51.

Don't want to vote for Mulcair because he might be an ideologue, just one I happen to a agree with on several issues.

Don't want to vote for May because doing so might help Harper win.

Yay!