Yes, although protests can complement that process of building dual power, they don't have to come afterwards. Like you've said, protests on their own accomplish nothing, yet they can still be an important way to gain awareness and introduce a broader range of people to these politics and groups involved.

I am speaking generally, I haven't paid attention to these No Kings ones, but they'd surely be an avenue for fresh faces to meet socialist parties among all the spectacle.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Right, I agree with all that, my impression is that this particular form of protest is entirely performative though. They never seem to translate into actually building things like mutual aid networks, unions, or any other kind of permanent structures. It would be nice if people would start doing those things for a change.

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Some are trying, but it's a slow process going from toothless protests to a serious movement. It took decades for the civil rights movement to reach a point where people took it seriously. It took generations for union labour to gain legitimacy. We let the tools of community organizing and collective action rust away in complacency. It's going to take time to reforge them.

[–] tastemyglaive@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think it actively diffuses people's political energy. Orgs like this weren't effective back when they could organize strikes. Now there's disunity between labor and activism, which are both riddled with opportunists, utter psychopaths if you've been in these movements Too much corruption, SSleazy informants everywhere ruining people's lives in ways that are too odious to describe, deals with the ruling class aligning on foreign policy that eventually became their political goals. Now they're just PR orgs that are financially dependent on a network beholden to the same entities as demokkkrats. In the alt media it is a bit more subtle but just as bad. Even when the messaging is good (it isn't btw), they just tell you to sit around with your thumb in your ass about it.

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A bunch of armchair defeatist rhetoric is definitely going to move the needle though? Networks built in the George Floyd era were critical for organizing anti-ice activity, but clearly that's just coincidence.

If you don't want to go, don't go, but spare us the moral pretention and self-soothing nihilism.

[–] tastemyglaive@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

God forbid someone point out your goal is an alliance with child-rapists who will betray you bruh. This strategy already failed, creating the environment you "organize" in without any standards. There were no "networks" built by people like this via BLM. You are organizing with the people who ruined those protests with pathetic behavior like kneeling before their beloved cops. You're either appalling stupid, or disingenuously butthurt. You will fail again. You won't listen. It doesn't have to be so bad. But this is all you people want, complaining complaining complaining, & to be lauded for complaining, as a reward. Zero self-respect.

Where is the Revenge™? What is wrong with your SOUL?