Thread by @_AliciaAudrey

Voting is not the only way to be heard. It's one opportunity every five years. Participation in governance goes beyond one X, one day, one sound rejection.

What people complain about daily is not generally changed by voting or changing admin. It takes more than that.

#242votes

No one has to qualify to speak by voting. Voting is one important action. There are many others that, quite frankly, can be more effective just by virtue of being initiated and driven by the people.

Many did not vote on Sept. 16, 2021. They can still be active citizens.

That said, complaining on social media is one thing. It is, at best, cathartic. It, on its own, does not create change.

Learn to go beyond ranting about what is not working.

What will work? How can we get there? What does it require of us? Who do we need on our side?

I have observed that people are fine with complaining, but generally unprepared to make clear recommendations. Complaining is easy. Social media rants are entertaining, but take a lot of energy and can exhaust participants, but still leave us with nothing to act on.

We have a lot of frustration, and not enough substantive criticism. Connect issues to systems. Address the systems. Be clear about what needs to happen to move forward in better ways. Demand it. Use the Opposition. Be the Opposition.

We have another sweep. It looks like the PLP has more than two-thirds of the seats in the House. We will, once again, have a weak official Opposition. Last term, we did not do a very good job of raising our voices and compelling those four people to amplify them. What about now?

We need to be prepared to do more than complain. We need to not only know what we do not want, but be able to articulate what we actually need. And we need to be prepared to take action to get it.

Read the PLP's Charter. Identify how it lines up w/ our needs over the next five years. Engage your MP. Express support and push back as needed. Pay attention to what is happening. Support *and* pressure the media. Read beyond the headlines. Use your platform with sense.

And. I, again, invite people in The Bahamas to contribute to the development of Feminist Standards for Governance which will be delivered to the new administration and guide advocacy led by @Equality242.

Answer as many questions as you like at tiny.cc/feministsg