politics

The one I went to had a food drive and a voter registration booth.

Also protest do something incredibly important that people don't seem to understand.

They bring people together. People who have ideas.

People who are maybe a bit more impatient, violent, and reckless than the masses.

They motivate those individuals to take more aggressive action.

Protests make such individuals feel like they have the support of the people (and they do).

Like burning down Tesla dealerships.

Like trying to burn down concentration camps.

Because if you study any history, you know that the oppressors never EVER give up their power because someone asks or even demands.

It will have to be taken. At great personal cost to those taking it.

Such people will be inspired to action from the display of protests. They will feel validated in their illegal (almost certainly) actions. And feel like it's worth the risk.

This is very important.

Could you imagine the difference enlisting 10 million people to run a one day registration drive would make?

You wouldn't even necessarily need to travel far. Groups of 10-15 door to door and 10 million people could basically knock practically every door in a day.

I'll shout this from the rooftops indefinitely: American elections aren't about preference, by and large, they are about turnout. There's very little we individuals can do when the party selects (repeatedly) unpopular candidates. But increasing registration would materially impact turnout.

Like the other comment says, the "protests don't do anything" argument looks like it makes sense, but it really doesn't. Sure, it alone doesn't do anything, but it doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's a stepping stone. It leads to further organization and action. It's an easy, relatively risk free, way to get people involved, and it's easier to get them to go further after that first step is taken.

The 3.5% would still actually have to do something. General strike to end the war in Iran would put additional pressure on the administration and since its position is already very week it could actually make a difference. Getting a win like that would do much more than this vague marching against Trump.

Maybe if those protests did not only happen half a year apart...

Great post! I have been spreading the same message, including the 12 million person goal.

Just don't forget those at home who can't protest for whatever reason. 3.5% is a tiny number of people. Homebound resistors number many times that. We can't forget that, and we have to remind MAGA of that fact often.

Save the doomer BS. It's not for hyper online people like yourself. You're a minority in this.

Have read the 3.5 peoples findings or observations? One it is not a guarantee there have been protests with far higher percentage that failed and two it is becoming more irrelevant as states learn from other failures. Third my option going out once every three months isnt rewlly protesting.

Making a real change takes a number of things, including realizing that there are enough other people that feel the same way.

These protests will not directly lead to change, but they will help move us in the right direction. They are a necessary part.

No authoritarian government cares to listens to protestors. Yet they all fear them. The point isn't to make the government comply but to show everyone how many people are on your side. The more people show up the easier it is to motivate people to resist.

will you strike on May 1?

That's why a strike is needed. He doesn't care about people walking around with signs but a stike will hurt their bank accounts.

Protests and riots are not the same

Fortunately, there's a website called nokings.org and if you were to peruse that "What's Next" section at https://www.nokings.org/whats-next it will answer some of your questions.

Honestly, you don't really sound sorry to be negative, and in fact, it's almost impossible to differentiate your comment from the ones being made by Trump supporters. If you sound just like them and are saying the exact same things, then you're really no different.

These events are currently in the build-up phase. People have to become familiar and comfortable with protesting. Protests can be scary. It takes a lot of bravery to get past that first step and show up to a massive protest in a city. It takes a lot of bravery to get past that first step and show up to a tiny protest in a small MAGA dominated town. But once people do that, it means they're more likely to come to the next and bring a friend. And then the next and bring more friends. For there to be a chance of resisting, there needs to be enough people participating. These things, in the USA, just don't happen by random chance.

Similarly, the people organizing and planning these events -- local people who started with little or no experience planning for this type of thing. They have to learn how to do this. That takes time, practice, repetition. They aren't paid experts who will get everything perfect on the first go.

Why bother? Because to actually pull this country back from the brink, it may very well require rapid response protests, on-going sustained protests. It will definitely require active civilian participation in politics and elections. The groups running these events are getting people signed up to help campaign for local, progressive leaders, to become poll watchers, and so on at record numbers -- especially in these rural areas that have, for decades, been overwhelmingly conservative places. If Trump decides to invalidate the November election because he doesn't like the outcome, who's got a better chance at resisting and stopping that attack on democracy? Unorganized people who've never protested before and local organizations with no ability to mobile people OR an engaged populace of people who know what to do and what to expect and how to make that happen? The outcome isn't guaranteed either way, but I like the odds of that latter group much better.

So you stayed home and scrolled online and did less than nothing. Good job.

will you strike on May 1?

They serve to build networks between the participants and skills for organizing and mobilizing.