Protesters in Los Angeles are shifting their tactics as ICE detentions spread fear
Protesters in Los Angeles are shifting their tactics as ICE detentions spread fear
they (we) need to do something before there's no one left to do anything. peaceful protesting was a good effort, but changed nothing. same as occupy wall street, BLM, #metoo. no kings was nationwide, and changed literally nothing
A LOT of important lessons, orgs, new theory, and new praxis grew out of both Occupy and the uprisings of 2020. I promise you, people are ready to use a diverse array of tactics to win this fight, but there's one crucial thing still missing: critical mass. If you don't have a large enough group of people, you get bowled over.
Things like No Kings (a reformist effort from well meaning, but status quo-protecting liberals), are largely toothless, but they DO have the positive side effect of radicalizing liberals. It's like revolutionary Kindergarten.
So stuff like No Kings, while kind of annoying and not really anything, feed into that pool of people necessary to achieve that critical mass.
We're getting there, but moving too fast can ensure a bloody and ultimately defeated revolution and help to cement authoritarian rule, if you're not careful.
Start building networks with the people around you. Get to know your neighbors. Lend out your tools. Feed hungry people in your neighborhood. That's how you build a revolution. The fighting can't start without people taking care of people.
one crucial thing still missing: critical mass
yea, i mentioned this in another reply below. too many people still think somehow things will just get better on their own. we are on a trajectory that has happened before, and can clearly see the endpoint. but there's still too much "that could never happen, this is america!"
moving too fast can ensure a bloody and ultimately defeated revolution
it's already bloody. the bloodshed will increase either way. the thing is, they are systematically removing the very people who might be in a position to do anything
Start building networks with the people around you
agreed, but with caution. you need to be aware that everyone has a price, and to be asking yourself "what would be this person's price for selling me out?" because yea, if it's either your neighbor or your kids, then the answer is obvious.
these are ugly conversations no one wants to have, but here we are, forced to have them.
To add on to that theres things you can do for yourself too. Self care is also very important. Getting in shape, eating better, and being mentally sound are all critical parts of being ready when shit does pop off. You're gonna be of no use if you aren't physically and mentally capable. Take a basic and combat first aid class as well. Learn how to use a tourniquet and learn CPR. I don't know how necessary this knowledge will be but it could also be a good idea to familiarize yourself with your 2A rights and some basic firearms. There's some great youtube channels out there if you can't be hands on. I also recommend learning about steel and ceramic ballistic plates and plate carriers. Not that you'll need them but the knowledge will be good to have in case things do go that way. Most important of all though is to be kind to yourself and others (unless that other person is a fascist).
I agree with everything except metoo. That movement had a profound effect on corporate America. The reason it had an effect is because it had teeth. If you got outed as a predator, the online lynch mob would cancel the fuck out of you. They'd call your job and flood them with bad PR until they fired you. You would become radioactive.
Everything else. Every other protest has little to no consequences attached. No consequences, no results.
No Kings would have been a weak-ass protest even in the Bush era. I can’t think of any better way to illustrate how useless the “resistance” is. If I was an alt-right piece of shit, those protests would have made me downright ecstatic.
too true. a critical mass of people need to stop living in denial of how bad it is, and how much worse it's going to get, before anything can happen. there's still too much "they can't do that! it's against the law!" going on. laws are meaningless when the only ones enforcing them are the ones who are ignoring and breaking them
edit: "alt-right"--let's not give them more power by referring to them by the bullshit name they chose for themselves, and instead call them what they are: fucking nazis
That's a poignant image. Dude's just gone, his existence has been erased from the USA. These fuckers are trying to say it's an economic thing but who's running that ice cream cart now? No one. No one is now paying the taxes that he used to. No one is now circulating currency in the local economy. That's gone now.
And this whole Iranian thing. HOLY SHIT. These people DON'T LIKE the Ayatollah. NONE OF THEM. That's why they are here. But noooooo, country of origin is more important than belief.
Holy shit that photo hits hard.
Reminds me of the trailer to A Day Without a Mexican, a film that is now more relevant than ever.