So, I attended my local protest. 9/10 experience, had a blast and also realized that being anti-Trump and keeping our republic is a waaaaaaaay more popular position (even in my light red area) than I thought it was. The local police department has its priorities straight and they didn’t show up to the protest at all, so there were zero problems with law enforcement. The only thing keeping it from being a 10/10 was what I didn’t see:
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Clear demands. This was what happened with Occupy. It generated a lot of buzz and got tons of attention, and when they finally asked the protestors “what are your demands?”, the answer was basically “idk, everything sucks. Make it stop sucking”. We need some clear, hard, attainable demands or we’re just going to repeat Occupy.
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Organizing. There was almost no organizing happening, no outreach or recruiting for or between political, advocacy, or support groups. People showed up and left with no additional contacts, commitments, or follow ups. That is a wasted opportunity.
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A geriatric protest LMAO 🤣
Wait. Are there people just mad because they don’t understand computers? Oof 😅
Anyway best place to resist is cast your vote. Like in election day
Bit late for that
Beep
Now if only those same 4-6 million people would go on general strike until the government is forced to resign and trigger new elections.
The movement is getting larger and louder each cycle. Protests like this dont bring down the government directly, but are demonstration that a movement has support
We gotta keep the momentum up. History suggests the threshold for achieving change is a turnout of 3.5% (roughly 12 million active participants)
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world
Way way too much stock is placed in that study.
For one, their total sample size was only 323 events, only 3 of which met the “3.5%” level. So the statement that change is inevitable based on only 3 instances is really crazy.
Further, none of those three instances had participants thinking that 3.5% was some sort of goal, it was a correlation. So now you have a lot of protestors treating 3.5% as a goal rather than some organic emergent property of the broader movement. Even if there was something inevitable about having a 3.5% participation rate when no one is aware of that metric, simply knowing of the metric can change a lot.
That number keeps getting thrown around but this admin dgaf. That number only works when the admin believes in human rights and when the admin cares about it’s popularity.
Would you say that Ferdinand Marcos believed in human rights and did not care for his popularity?
Turns out someone who looks like Luigi but is definitely not Luigi proved it takes only one death certificate to initiate change for scores of people
But nothing changed… Can you show a change in healthcare since? have acceptance rates gone up? premiums gone down?
Nothing changed.
Edit: Bunch of downvotes… but nobody can tell me anything that’s changed… interesting isn’t it?
Several health insurers reversed some of their latest shitty policies within days of the event. Like the one that would put a time limit in the anesthesia they’d pay for. That’s an immediate course change from hundred billion dollar companies.
Like the one that would put a time limit in the anesthesia they’d pay for.
Elected officials in Connecticut and New York both said they stepped in Thursday to intervene with Anthem’s new plan before the company announced the reversal. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X, formerly known as Twitter, the change was “outrageous” and she would “make sure New Yorkers are protected.” Connecticut’s comptroller Sean Scanlon said his office had already reached out to Anthem and the policy would “no longer be going into effect here in Connecticut.” Scanlon shared that update hours before Anthem announced the reversal.
Apart from all the claims that were suddenly approved or execs of other companies suddenly removing all personal info from websites?
Fear. Nothing meaningful will change until the rich fear for their lives, and we saw just how much they’re scrambling after 1 CEO.
Apart from all the claims that were suddenly approved
Source this please… To date, I still see United Healthcare at dead bottom. And rate fluctuating only nominally over the past 12 months.
execs of other companies suddenly removing all personal info from websites?
If you’re counting this as a meaningful change to healthcare… Then I guess you found one that I can’t contest. Congrats!
Fear. Nothing meaningful will change until the rich fear for their lives, and we saw just how much they’re scrambling after 1 CEO.
No, this is my point. Even with “fear” nothing changed.
British India didn’t care about human rights
They cared about their public image.
It only works when you are near an election, and the election are coming. This administration is working on a different path: at least one year before the next election and is actively working to make sure (fair) elections might not happen anymore
The cited scenarios were rarely democratic in nature.
Of course, in all the scenarios cited, there was no one telling them “get to 3.5% and things will happen”, so with everyone saying “if we get to 3.5%, things will happen”, that could itself break the “rule”, as a sort of self-denying prophecy.
What do you suppose happens at this magic threshold? I’ll give you a hint- it’s nothing. We still have to do the work to actually make a difference. Protesting and building momentum is good, but we can’t just wait until we hit this magic threshold and pretend that will fix everything and rest on our laurels.
This is the right take. There’s more that goes into than just achieving that number. It is necessary, but not sufficient.
This
Anyone else remember how the Women’s March saved reproductive rights? Of course not, and now women are dying in Texas because doctors are afraid they’ll be arrested for murder if they treat them for life threatening conditions.
Of course, that was well below the claimed “magical” 3.5% level.
I attended my first protest yesterday, alone, while my wife watched my boy play at a park. Minus a couple of neckbeards in raised trucks sporting Confederate and tRump flags, it was a great experience. Lots of support from drivers as they passed by!
I was surprised at how many older people were there. No offense to anyone over 60 here, but until yesterday it felt like many older folks were fine with shit going down this way. I’m in a blue state, in a purple to blue location. I saw way more tRump shit last year than I had hoped to see.
I plan on making yesterday a regular event!
in my suburb the local stuff was sorta sad because it was mostly old, but granted younger folks are more likely to trek downtown.
That’s interesting, I’m in a red state, purple location, and it was the other way around. The first 2 protests I went to in April (Hands Off and another one), it seemed like over 80% were (myself included) 50+ yo white people. Then yesterday I was happy to see lots more younger people and more ethnic diversity (though still whiter compared to proportion of the population). I saw more couples with their kids there too, and there were twice as many people overall.
I had the same experience. First protest I’ve been to and besides one dude that drove by flipping everyone off and one crazy old dude with a “dems are pedos” sign (yes, with what’s happening in South Carolina literally right now, the irony was lost on this person), a very positive mood all around. Loads of folks driving by, waving and honking horns, some kids in attendance, and everybody getting along very well in support of a common cause.
I’m a firm believer that many in MAGA are under a spell. The only hope we have is helping them identify that brainwashing and welcome them back to humanity once they do. However, as I’ve discussed with my therapist, we can’t force them. They have to want to change. It really starts with pushing them from the hateful rhetoric of Faux News and the like. That propaganda is a powerful funnel for their hate, vitriol, and lies. It’s the hydra that we must slain if we are ever to fix this without more bloodshed.
I’ll see you out there in solidarity with the others who still see humanity as a fighting cause. I bounce between hope and despair, but the bounce on the hope side doesn’t seem to go as high as it used to.
You’re a brave person. If I had a kid and a wife I would have thought twice. Which I’m sure you did. Thank you for your service. I hope you had a nice time with your family after. Feel proud. Be safe. I’d buy you a beer if I wasn’t hundreds of miles away.
I appreciate the sentiment. I joined the Guard out of high school in 2004 to help my community and have a sense of purpose. Yesterday showed me that maybe it wasn’t in vain. I hit a pretty low place this week so seeing some positive affirmations of human commradery was a welcomed sight.
Stay safe and stay hydrated. Much love from the midwest!
Lots of kids joined their parents at the one I was at. These were by design peaceful events. Cops and haters did things at a few, but that was it
I sure hope its outpacing it. in 2017 he was a nuissance but now he is tearing apart out democracy.
This is a totally unfair and inaccurate comment. He already tore apart democracy when he deliberately incited jan 6th. Please give the megalomaniac appropriate credit in future
And what year did that happen?
2021
Right, and the original comment was talking about 2017.
He tried his damndest to tear apart democracy back then too. It’s just that there were still some safeguards in place, and people running things who weren’t his sycophants. His first term would’ve gone exactly like this if he’d been able to. He wasn’t a nuisance. He’s an extremely dangerous man.
Not to sound ungrateful, but where were these people on election day?
Most of them likely voted. The 2024 general election had about 65% turnout. The protesters only make up a few percent of the population.
The ones I was with had voted early, and were out canvassing. The kids were under 18.
That said, a lot of people are sufficiently disconnected from the news that they didn’t get how much worse Trump would be this time.
This is a bit OT from the main point of the article, but since they brought it up and used the standard "The worst ratings for any president!!!1! hype [always with qualifying statement like “at this point in their term”| “since some convenient year”]
Trump’s approval in our polling average is 44% today, the worst for any president at this point in their term (except Trump during his first term) going back to 1935.
It’s 44% today, 44% yesterday, and 44% tomorrow. It’s always in the low-mid forties (40-45%). It’s steady as a rock, no matter what happens. Yet I’m continuously seeing articles titled “Trump’s ratings nosedive/plummet/crash!” whenever it fluctuates down by a point or two (never “Trump’s ratings skyrocket!” when it goes back up a point). It’s all for feel-good propaganda.
This is just to say, don’t depend on his followers to turn their backs on him–they won’t. It’s up to the rest of us.
At the end of this term, George W Bush had around 30% approval. By that point, his administration had so obviously failed in multiple avenues that even Republicans were disowning him. By mid 2009, the Tea Party was pretending they weren’t the same exact people who supported his every major action in the first place.
That 30% number can be taken as close to an absolute floor of support for any sitting President.
I attended the Warped Tour 30th anniversary festival in DC instead of giving Trumps dumbass military parade any attention. Does that count as a protest?
And DC was barricading the shit out of the parade route the day before, almost expecting a riot to occur.
Trump was begging for violence yesterday. Any excuse to send troops in. He got jack shit. It was a good day.
I love America and its service men and women. They deserve a parade and acknowledgment. But not a parade masked as a tyrants bday.
thats fine but then screw the equipment and uniforms. Appreciate them as people.
Exactly. No need to roll out the tanks for it
Okay but here me out, a military parade where they can wear anything they want so long as it was at some point a uniform of their branch. IE if someone in the Navy wants to dress in a Barbary war era uniform let them. I want to see what bullshit people could dig up.
no way man. we are celebrating these people. why inflict restrictions on them when we are honoring them. Im fine with those who want to wearing their uniforms.
You misunderstand me, the ONLY restriction is that it has to have been a uniform from their branch at some point. In theory depending on the branch you could have people dressed up as basically NCR rangers from Fallout New Vegas, I basically want to harness the controlled chaos of Halloween but with military uniforms.
Zouaves!
I really did not misunderstand. I want the people we are celebrating to wear anything at all they want with zero restriction. jeans and t-shirt, nice dress, uniform, whatever. If we are celebrating them then it only makes sense they do what they want to do. Attendance should not be mandatory but there should be nice perks for them if they come like food and drink and maybe a bit of swag gift bags. Let them self organize things they want to do like a school talent show. Maybe some play instruments and maybe some like the pugilist stuff they do a little choreographed presentation as they go. Let them design floats as they like and provide enough resoures to do this stuff.
Yeah, the city of DC tried hard to ignore his stupid parade. Instead they protested peacefully. <3
Awesome. Now, do it next weekend too. Because once per year isn’t going to do anything.
This has been the fifth major organized protest this year, each has been much larger than the last. There will definitely be another one within the next month or two. Keep an eye on 50501 for details to stay in the loop.
Don’t worry, that one won’t be good enough for some people either! 🙄
I think the measurement for “enough “is when Trump is gone, therefore anything but that would not be enough. Basic math, maga.
It absolutely is not good enough.
Then get offline and go do whatever it is you think is better.
What OP said was enough was to keep doing this. It’s not a one and done nor is on the wrong path.
I’m not in the PSL but they’ve been working hard.
Damn, we were ALL convinced we only needed to do it once.
From a lot of the comments I see around Lemmy, I would definitely think that’s what people think
Oh you sweet summer children.
Let’s hope we can keep it up this time. Americans in social movements are famous for a big countdown, then no blastoff.
I’m sorry to be a downer but, wake me up when something comes of it. I don’t think the Nazis were defeated last time with peaceful protest.
Whatever you need to tell yourself to justify your preferred mode of sitting on your ass and doing nothing.
I don’t live in the States.
Whatever you need to tell yourself to justify your preferred mode of sitting on your ass and doing nothing.
Justification:
I don’t live in the States.
Result:
sitting on your ass and doing nothing [while complaining online about how other people are not doing enough]
wake me up when something comes of it.
I don’t live in the States.
What is the point of posting that then? Are you being paid to suppress opposition to the regime by by fomenting hopelessness or apathy, or is trying to discourage people during a time of crisis in their country just for your own amusement or ego-stroking.
Things lead to more things, and it starts with people coming together, organizing, and protesting. The Trump+Christian Nationalist regime wants us to shut up and sit down, to nip any resistance in the bud. You’re helping them.
Sure, I’m trying to get people to shut up and sit down with the strong implication in my original comment that more action is required to fix a fascist regime.
What is the point of posting that then? Are you being paid to suppress opposition to the regime by by fomenting hopelessness or apathy, or is trying to discourage people during a time of crisis in their country just for your own amusement or ego-stroking.
If you guys want to take action and fight, I’ll join you. I’m British-Canadian. I’m always in for a good White House burning.
If you want to wave stupid signs that change nothing, I’ll point and laugh.
I’ll just respond by quoting someone from another thread replying to someone like you: “Keep your doomer bullshit to yourself, shut the fuck up, and get out of the way.”
What’s the minimum something worth waking you up over?
