- They help individuals channel their frustration, isolation and desperation
- They are a show of strength
- They typically lead to more political involvement
- They have already produced wins
- They must remain nonviolent to be effective
- They must be in small towns in the heartland, not just big coastal cities
Find one near you at nokings.org
This post uses a gift link, but some people do seem to be prompted to register. I can’t change SF Chronicle policy about that. They also have a history of sending lawyers after people who post archive.today links to their articles, so whatever you do, don’t plug the URL into that site.
Well this seems like a great way for all these folks to be able to safely meet up in public and and spread their information on their local organizations and coordinate goals.
And I wasn’t going to make a sign that says that but not the worst idea.
I guess you will be there. 😉 Japes aside, this is complete bullshit, people won’t even cover their faces or leave their phones behind for this.
This is like people saying Sanders rallies were great sites of political organization, or protests in Free Speech Zones stopped the Iraq War. At Sanders rallies nobody spoke to each other and they went home with renewed passion to vote blue, just like this rally will result in. It’s easy to make shit up on the internet.
I just don’t think bringing folks down for at least attempting to do something positive and en masse is going to inspire any further actions.
Media, and much social media, paints the picture that “anti-trump” is a minority view. For people in small social circles it may be very reassuring to be able to SEE that their neighbors aren’t all maggat supporters, could even be encouraging and hopefully inspiring to now want to do more.
Think of the average person you know. Half the world is dumber than they are. - badly quoted George Carlin
My intention is not to bring people down. That sinking feeling could be the realization of how much time has been wasted on ineffectual tactics, when the bare minimum would be blocking & striking like I said, which requires a lot of discipline and motivation. These protests are explicitly condemning violent resistance and their intended effect is “exposing hypocrisy” of people who are visibly aroused by people calling them Nazis. This is a serious obstacle to collective resistance, people who are just as likely to hand you over to the cops as simply bowing down in front of them. Literally bowinf down; remember the liberal-organized parts of George Floyd protesting? Yeah, this is why I say it is a counterrevolutionary tactic the democratic party selfishly uses to try to sap some political energy for itself.
Being anti-Trump is absolutely not a minority view it’s that MAGA is supported by the petit boug, highly-paid salaried workers, police forces (more powerful than municipal/state govts or the federal judiciary depending on their level, with a hierarchy leading up to military intelligence via fusion centers and Silicon Valley tools), and the bourgeoisie including the private banks and zillionaires that fund both parties. These are the tactics of class warfare, primarily through ideological blinders. It’s totally palatable for everyone to go out and demand New Deal style benefits to them, because nothing will ever come of it, they don’t need to make those concessions since the 90s, and now they need to put the squeeze on everyone with insurance and other unavoidable ripoffs that are required to live in the core countries. The middle classes were artificial anyways, they have no means to resist their destruction by their creators without becoming class traitors.
Most people are dumb, at least half of 'em out there (why I referred to the Carlin quote earlier) and, are not on lemmy.
Anyone knowing things doesn’t help those who are dumb or just ignorant and sheltered learn them. They don’t even know to go seek the information, they accept what they are given.
There are a LOT of rural areas in the US, a lot of home schooled kids who never leave the towns they were raised in. Those younger folks, at or near adulthood, could actually be revolutionized with knowledge provided. Going to town to grab stuff not available at the local seed-n-feed, SEEing crowds of local people gathered in protest could cause a couple to finally think a thought. That could start a wonderful chain reaction.
I grew up in a sheltered “Christian” nowhere town. Information is HARD to come by out there in those places, anything/everything quickly demonized, and from perspective there, very popularly by everyone. It is a very weird distorted feeling coming out of, and getting to a level of actual reality. The brain resists. Having the internet available doesn’t even help anymore, every side has “proof” the other sides are producing “fake news!” and the masses are funneled into their social echo chambers.
Bible-thumping Christianity is a huge obstacle to any solution, that’s true. But because I know MAGA is not popular on here, but rather the kind of liberal Christian sensibility that was forgiving to slaveowners despite posturing as abolitionist (if you read Liberalism: A Counter-History you would be shocked how little has changed ideologically), my criticism is aimed towards, unfortunately as much as I used to like his stuff, that kind of Gen X George Carlin snarkiness about Bush and now Trump, which is well past its expiration date. For sure there is tremendous ignorance, but half-measures against ignorance aren’t solutions.
Picket line is the best place to educate. I don’t think most US workers in the most strategic positions are interested in the kind of action I am talking about, even compared to Euro libs sometimes. For instance the longshoremen make accomodations for weapons shipments to Israel and their only collective action is for maintaining the salaries of their practically hereditary membership. So-called worker action in the US is invariably isolated and has no relationship to declassed workers who cannot get employment or sufficient hours or are prison slaves. Here its marooning of uncitizen immigrant workers from the movement is starker than ever. “We promise not to do anything about your fascism, so please stop!”
Ugh, yes, mass picketing (unless/until everything has entirely broken down) I don’t see as a US possibility. As you said, those with the stratigic positions don’t seem interested. Way more of the country has people working in restaurants, fast food, retail, call centers, all kinds of “essential” but severely underpaid work. Factory labor being replaced by prison labor, folks terrified of losing their healthcare, because it’s tied to your employer, losing their homes as most are 1 paycheck away from homelessness.
It’s been decades in the making to remove our abilities to feel enabled to fight back. So many accepted for so long the “We’re the best!” while distracted with their sports and shiny baubles with their decreasing free time for thinking and learning and real socializing.
I will take all sparks of hope. I will believe that more than one pair of people will meet, and have ideas ignited that could bring energy and spirit back to fight against the growing tyranny.
I am often called a pessimist, I always say realist. HOPE for the best, even better than expected! Plan for the worst, it’s often inevitable.
From the blurb, I feel I am familiar with material related. I remember being very young in Sunday school and being taught the whole “turn the other cheek” and forgiveness unconditionally, and the confusion when I asked “no matter how many times?” - I had gotten “picked” on a lot, real early (I now know the word nuerodivergent, didn’t exist then or at least there). They were adamant, everytime, all the time. Then their disgust and horror when I said that “was stupid. That won’t make them stop.” …Babbling about riches in heaven, heathens in hell or some shit, as they removed me so we could “have a talk with my parents”. …With suuuch a far spread, fast (or I’m old and everything just seems fast anymore?) soo far right, I’ll fight the liberals again once the fascist are squashed back in their stank hole.
It’s really approachable imo because a lot of USonians at least remember some of the history classes they took on the failed reconstruction. WEB Dubois has a good ass book on the reconstruction good complement to Losurdo’s book, anywyas, if anything stumps you ask Lemmygrad. I’m putting a cork in ths arguing abt No Kings bc I promised to write up shit abt why I think that Mangione guy is innocent + the journalist who put his manifesto out is really suspicious + the relationship between the CIA and alt media. Read Doug Valentine’s CIA As Organized Crime (just search it on that same site) he’s a huge liberal but the book still rips a pretty big hole in the facade of the alt media
I will be back in like 4 days im looking at my notes in 2021 and i think i was able to See It