TIL No Kings Protests were the 3rd Largest in US History
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And if things won’t get better, why bother?
I’ve been voting as much as possible and doing the other things for a quarter century and we’ve always gotten further from what I’m hoping for.
I wasted all that time and money and stress and have nothing to show for it.
Politics is dumb and people are terrible. I want to leave the planet.
You've got extremely valid feelings. Mine are quite similar. I do find myself asking "what's the fucking point?" far more often than I'd like.
Rather like the classic "what's the meaning of life?", I don't think that anyone can answer that for anyone else. For me, it's a love of my fellow human beings and belief that, based upon historical evidence, authoritarianism's grip on society always crumbles. It might take a World War, or it may take centuries of insurgency, but it is inevitable. In order for that to happen, people need to experience kindness and empathy. And people need to be willing to be builders, rather than just violent fighters (every society founded in violence and bloodshed has been vulnerable to authoritarians coopting the movement). So, I keep pushing because it might help others when I'm gone. Hell, maybe it will help lead to the cultural and psychological changes necessary to approach the anarchic society of my ideals (I don't think I'll ever directly have that much influence or desire it but every small bit helps).
And there's also spite. Authoritarians of all flavors are fundamentally cruel douchebags and the current ones are exceptionally stupid to boot (and revel in their anti-intellectualism). Continued resistance and standing up for people and showing them kindness really gets under their skin and I'm a big fan of that.
Politics is dumb and people are terrible. I want to leave the planet.
Yup. Me too buddy. Me too.
I might suggest, if you're able, looking about for local (non-political) nonprofit orgs to see if there are any that really align with what you think is important. Helping others in a tangible manner can really help to stave off apathy.
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Ok but it's crazy that the George Floyd protests were 5x bigger than this, even with COVID in full swing.
Nobody had anything better to do back then
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A general strike would be devastating. But we ain't there yet.
Not that I don't love the idea. It requires a robust support network. Start building a small local community that can be self sufficient. Grow food. Make tools. Sell things to neighboring communities.
The owners will still expect rent during a general strike. We have the numbers, they have the funds to we wait us out. They'll do everything they can to make it hurt us more than them.
A 1-week strike ahead of the mid-terms would be enough to make the GOP turn on Trump.
But that's over a year out.
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A 1-week strike ahead of the mid-terms would be enough to make the GOP turn on Trump.
But that's over a year out.
wouldnt the Rs have to strike too, that would be effective. but we know Rs will never strike or protest on thier own.
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Ok. I'm too chicken shit to actually show up in person to one of these protests.
What's the next best thing I can do to meaningfully help?
I've gone to protests and stayed near the edge/outskirts so I can feel the vibe and keep an eye out to leave if it feels bad at all. You could do that if you wanted to try it out. I think massive popular protests are usually fine, it's the smaller ones that are more risky IMO.
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Cool
Do the next one next Saturday, PLEASE
Do not lift the pressure, keep going at it
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When multiple biggest protests are against your presidency, then you seriously fucked up.
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I am profoundly well aware of how marginalized people have been victimized for the entire duration of this country's existence. I work in medicine, and most of my experience has been in emergency medicine. I have more experience than I ever wanted to have with trying to save people from the maw of poverty and destitution and I have been involved in social services in one way or another since childhood. My life is one of the ones on the line if shit goes sideways enough, but that doesn't stop me from standing up to my superiors to fight for the rights and humanity of my patients, especially those who are members of marginalized groups that face more structural barriers to health than others.
I am not just an ally. My head's on the chopping block too, and your assumption to the contrary is insulting.
You may be useful, but you’re not a trusted ally. Your eagerness to join causes funded by billionaires, paired with your refusal to examine their motivations, make you a significant liability.
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Defeatism has NO PLACE HERE. Pack your shit and leave, fucker! SERIOUSLY fuck off.
Fuck you too buddy.
You guys wanna walk off the job don't let anyone stop you. But maybe spend some fucking time preparing?
Are we mad about being prepared to walk off the job now?
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A 1-week strike ahead of the mid-terms would be enough to make the GOP turn on Trump.
But that's over a year out.
All I'm saying is build a support network before calling for a general strike.
Most people can't afford to strike even if they wanted to.
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wouldnt the Rs have to strike too, that would be effective. but we know Rs will never strike or protest on thier own.
The R's are stupid and lazy. They don't want to do all the work themselves. They'll fold. Except the rich ones.
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All I'm saying is build a support network before calling for a general strike.
Most people can't afford to strike even if they wanted to.
A year is a nice long runway for that.
It sucks, but we aren't getting rid of the fascists over the weekend. They're in this for the long haul, and we need to be strategic about when and how we proceed. A general strike is a HUGE offensive in the fight, and it needs to be planned well. If we just mass buy shit before and after it doesn't do anything.
Targeted boycotts are similar. They need to be strategic in their timing. Refusing to shop on Amazon for a week doesn't do anything if we just go back to purchasing from them a week later. But what we can do is time it so it hits right before a fiscal quarter. That way it impacts the stock price and doesn't fully bounce back until the following quarterly report.
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You may be useful, but you’re not a trusted ally. Your eagerness to join causes funded by billionaires, paired with your refusal to examine their motivations, make you a significant liability.
I'm not eager to join them, and she spent her money in a way that was impossible to refuse. Are you saying that everyone should have abandoned the planned protest as soon as she took out that ad? Are we supposed to throw hissy fits and cancel everything we try to do because someone that doesn't pass a purity test participates?
Unless you're out there interrogating every single protest attendee and refusing to participate in any political action that your "undesirables" are also participating in....you're just as much of a hypocrite as you are claiming that I am.
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I'm not eager to join them, and she spent her money in a way that was impossible to refuse. Are you saying that everyone should have abandoned the planned protest as soon as she took out that ad? Are we supposed to throw hissy fits and cancel everything we try to do because someone that doesn't pass a purity test participates?
Unless you're out there interrogating every single protest attendee and refusing to participate in any political action that your "undesirables" are also participating in....you're just as much of a hypocrite as you are claiming that I am.
Can you even articulate with the protest was for? What were the actionable demands? What did it stand for?
Opposing genocide is a perfectly acceptable “purity test” that anyone should be able to pass. It’s just basic human decency.
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Grow a pair.
Yes, Im sure more toxic masculinity will solve OP's problems.
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Rand is not a king. He is the dragon reborn and the chief of chiefs, but not a king.
The Car'a'carn is not one of your wetlander kings
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Oh, nuh-uh!
FOX News said it was a lightly attended failure. Who am I gonna believe, FOX:News or every local news sorce, that actually was there, in the country?Eats another paint chip: Foxsch Newsgh
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When multiple biggest protests are against your presidency, then you seriously fucked up.
News flash, neither Trump nor his Republican allies care. Literally at all.
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Wikipedia is weird. In an article that lists the largest protests that have occurred in the United States, they still feel the need to tell you that each one of these protests, that are on a list of protests that occurred in the United States, in fact occurred in the United States.
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Eats another paint chip: Foxsch Newsgh
They've got news in the title. They wouldn't lie.
