TIL No Kings Protests were the 3rd Largest in US History
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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.
Defeatism has NO PLACE HERE. Pack your shit and leave, fucker! SERIOUSLY fuck off.
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- George Floyd (Police Brutality)
- Earth Day 1970 (Environmental Protection)
- No Kings (Trump)
- Hands Across America (Poverty)
- Women's March 2017 (Feminism)
- Hands Off (Trump)
- March for Our Lives (Gun Violence)
- Women's March 2018 (Feminism)
- #RickyRenuncia (Puerto Rico, Resignation of Ricardo Rosselló)
- Great American Boycott (Immigrant Rights)
Only #9 actually accomplished what they wanted.
Earth day did a lot of good
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The fact that you think the fight for our lives only was an issue under Trump is exactly why you’re a worthless ally.
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.
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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.
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Your first source is about women working in Canada and your second is about poverty in Canada.
Unless I missed something, Canada still is a sovereign nation despite what Trump wants.
Great observation.
You asked for examples and sources - I gave examples and 2 sources. Maybe it's drastically different where you live?
My challenge to you is - what are you doing to change the narrative where you live?
Anyone can sit from the sideline and comment that nothing has changed since these protests took place - it's a lot harder to get out there and make the change happen. Maybe you're already making those changes already, in which case - keep going!
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Says you.
Amazing observation!
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Jeeeeesus
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Getting millions of Americans to go out and essentially shout "F U Donald" is a little bit more than a hang. And is potentially much more effective than a riot or occupy wall street.
America is still a democracy, in that all the roads to power require you to get folk to show up and vote for you.
Alright, so let's say trump is gone, what replaces him? Business as usual republicans who were all on board with his policies but didn't like how boisterous he was. Democrats are all too happy to play along, fellating war criminals like dick cheney and george bush. America is a representative democracy where you vote on which representative will represent billionaires for you.
I hope these protests develop into something more, but realistically I can only anticipate them being used as political points for democrats during their donation drives to raise tons of money to promote billionaire ass-kissers. Things will continue to get worse and then the next villain of the week will appear as the conduit to do all the bad things billionaires want. We'll be told again all we need to do is get rid of this next villain too and then things will be fine, but then the cycle repeats as things continue to just get worse.
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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.
