🧩 BND Motif Index · M1224
The lesser evil is still evil
Voting for the lesser evil is said to be voting for evil all the same, accepting harm to others because it spares the voter: the lesser evil 'for them'. The answer to Hold your nose.
- 1claim filed under it
- 1claim retold online
⚠️ A story people tell, not a claim that it's true.
A motif is the shape of a story as its tellers tell it, named the way a folklorist names a tale type, so the same story told about other people, by the other side or in another year lands in the same place. Some of the claims below are true, many are false. Arguing against a story is often a story of its own, its answer (Voter fraud is answered by Voter suppression, Lawfare by No one is above the law), and we file it there; where no answer has a motif yet, the arguments against a story sit with its tellings.
🪜 Its family
what it rests on, what rests on it, and the motifs that answer it
↔️ answers and mirrors:
- 🧩 Hold your nose counter: the answer to hold your nose
⏱️ told here 20 days after its answer (2026-10-05 → 2026-10-25)
🧶 Its claims
what's been told in this shape, newest first, in our words, with where each was heard
- 2026-10-25 “Voting for the lesser evil is still voting for evil: it accepts harm to marginalized people because it doesn't hurt the voter personally.” 🧶 people online
M1224 · first seen 2026-10-25 · what this is · how the index works