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I went to the last Chicago one... And while there is some solace in the feeling of being there and seeing a massive crowd of others opposing this fascist movement, I really couldn't shake the feeling that it feels like a glorified parade.
The route is planned out, the police cooperate to close the roads, everyone marches together and chants and then goes home.
Peaceful is one thing but a planned out disruption that's barely a disruption is just... Are we honestly doing much?
Are we honestly doing much?
It's a relief valve.
You go out, accomplish nothing, get a warm fuzzy feeling, and then you won't do anything "crazy" that might actually enable change
i disagree. i think connecting people is by far the most important function of protests like these. you can find all sorts of groups doing real work on the ground, both in opposition to the current regime & for the good of their local communities. events like protests bring them together to help them recruit, cross-pollinate, and share ideas and resources.
if you're just going to protests and leaving without interacting with anybody then yeah it's not gonna be an effective use of your time.
if you’re just going to protests and leaving without interacting with anybody then yeah it’s not gonna be an effective use of your time.
At least where I'm from, most people treat it as a mix between tailgating and a parade...
Which is fine and all, it is pretty fun.
But anyone who tells you it's productive, is at best ignorant. And if they're on TV they're likely paid by billionaires to manufacturere an environment where the worst that happens to billionaires is their drone employees are mildly inconvenienced.
last i checked i was on lemmy, not tv. and like i said, it's as productive as you make it. if you just wanna have a good time and shoot the shit then good on you. if you're pissed off and you want to do something about the current situation, then there's no better place to meet people who are in the same boat and are trying to band together.
last i checked i was on lemmy, not tv
...
Welp, thanks for trying I guess.
But clearly this isn't productive
maybe don't raise irrelevant strawmen if you don't want them summarily dismissed? idk bud it's a shame to hear political activity isn't working for you.
Protests are an opportunity to engage people in deeper activism. Any org worth its salt will be there trying to recruit people to get them involved in stuff that actually matters.
Well, what would you do if you didn't go? If the answer is nothing, then yes. You are achieving far more attending, and showing the world just how many people oppose this evil regime.
But sure, go start a riot instead. I'm sure that won't backfire during a time when Trump is painting blue cities and people as violent and in need of his authoritarian intervention.
I'm not surprised it feels that way in a liberal city, but we elsewhere in the United States really do look at numbers from your large protests as a litmus of general disatisfaction and willingness to act. People are still taking about the collective size of the first round of protests that happened.
Anyway, I went last Saturday and handed out tiny flyers with info on the gen strike. That felt productive.
The point of these protests is networking. They’re not supposed to solve the problem, they’re supposed to connect you with like-minded people so you can organize actually meaningful actions like sabotage a la Palestine Action.
Resistance is hard work, you don’t get to just show up and light some shit on fire and expect the fascists to go home.
which movement is the violent one?
Trumps bowel movement after eating too much McDonalds.
Got my stomping boots on and ready!
At this rate they'll hold does math nine more protests before the midterms. What exactly is any of this supposed to accomplish?
Primarily get like-minded people in the same location so they can network with one another.
I mean, that requires enough people involved to want to do something, which is clearly not the case.
Why do you say that?
Because there's no evidence a significant number of people are willing to escalate beyond holding a parade every month and a half. With no credible calls for striking, civil disobedience, obstruction or armed resistance, what is the "networking" realistically supposed to lead to? There've been enough "protests" that, if there's real progress happening, we should be able to see it.
With no credible calls for striking, civil disobedience, obstruction or armed resistance, what is the "networking" realistically supposed to lead to?
Developing the relationships necessary to actually plan any of those actions.
And when can we expect anything concrete to happen? The clock is ticking.
Are you just... waiting for someone else to give you a gameplan? Maybe go to these events and find like-minded individuals to make these plans with. It seems pretty silly to criticize this stage of organization if you're not doing anything better yourself. Organizing millions of people takes time and effort.
Being not American, my game plan is to watch this shitshow unfold from the other side of the world.
Well hopefully the shitshow doesn't make its way to your side of the world.
What does it hurt? I mean, besides the egos of everyone who thinks Trump is making this country "great".
This is such a silly thing to complain about.
I thought I lived in a split small town until the last protest. I prepared for a lot of arguments and shitty behavior. There turned out to be hundreds of protesters, and less than 10 counter-protesters. It was extremely eye-opening, and pivotally important to how I see my town now. I met a lot of people, and heard their stories. It was massively important because it made all of us realize just how many people oppose this evil regime.
This protest was one of the largest in US history. It showed the WORLD how many of us oppose the disguising behavior we're all witnessing.
This is such a silly thing to complain about.
Lack of effective resistance to fascism is absolutely not a silly thing to complain about.
I met a lot of people, and heard their stories. It was massively important because it made all of us realize just how many people oppose this evil regime.
This protest was one of the largest in US history. It showed the WORLD how many of us oppose the disguising behavior we're all witnessing.
We've known that since April, and again since May, June, July and now September. How many of these do you need before something happens?
What does it hurt?
Fascism running unopposed while the people who should be opposing it think their parades are going to stop it is a bad thing. It means you're still going to get fascism.
Ah there it is, someone doing absolutely nothing whining that other people aren't doing enough
At this point we need to take the Malcolm X approach.
As that particular wise man once said: It'll be the ballot, or it'll be the bullet.