I’m afraid this fascist lot doesn’t give the tiniest shit about protests. At some point, what needs to happen will have to involve violence, meaning the fuzz - and possibly the army - will have to side with the dissenters, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
But yeah, it’s a start and that’s something.
In at least a couple states, the police have said they won’t follow demands from ICE without a court order. It could be a lot worse. Progress is still progress.
There are plenty of examples where protest movements have forced the resignation of authoritarian leaders without major acts of violence. So this is not accurate.
Also, the most effective movements violent or nonviolent are large and diverse. So the main actions need to be building the movement first rather than direct confrontation—unless that confrontation is strategically designed to further grow the movement.
Slow?
This “slow rolling coup” is burning down all the societal protections and counter measures until the only thing protecting you will be the fascists themselves.
Protesting isn’t going to stop that.
Sure, but is protesting hurting us?
If you want to warn people that more than just protesting is necessary, that’s fair. But it sounds like you’re dunking on the protestors, and that will if anything just discourage people. Not helpful.
Peaceful protesting is a red herring, intended for people to blow off steam, then go sit back at home and congratulate each other on TikTok… while a highly organized and focused group is dismantling the whole State around them.
Keep protesting, and soon you won’t have the right to protest anymore.
I’m talking about protests, not parades.
Protests are almost always disruptive, and they should be. They’re one tactic among many and shouldn’t be discounted. If you want to do more than just that, I encourage you to do so. But verbally flogging people for taking action just because it’s not the kind of action you’d personally prefer is just going to demoralize them at a critical moment. If you want people to do more, say “Yes, and” instead of “Shut up.”
Let’s not destroy our own momentum.
“we” couldn’t even turn out in large enough number to vote against the fascist retaking control, in a safe, free, and fair election, i have no faith in this “we” you’re referring to
fair election
Except for first-past-the-post, the electoral college, Citizen’s United, several elections’ worth of voter suppression, the general bias of the election towards privileged groups, etc.
The U.S. has never once had a fair election. Don’t assume we can’t win just because we couldn’t beat a rigged system.
Have fun stormin the castle with an active sustained “resistance” looking to the same people who couldn’t be bothered to vote in a safe, free, and fair election in large enough numbers to insure the Fascist couldn’t take control … AGAIN. All they had to do was vote, the lowest bar simplest effort action asked of anyone ever. “resistance” you’re killin me smalls
Enough doomposting. Fatalism is fatal. Even if you’re right, would you rather go down fighting or wait for the knock on the door to come to you? Here are some tangible things Dem reps can actually do right now, even as a minority party. These are the things voters should be demanding of them, other than just vague calls to “do something”:
- Grind the Senate to a halt. Not one Dem vote for any confirmation. Filibuster everything. Put holds on everything.
- Not one Democratic vote for a continuing resolution or debt ceiling increase without major concessions. The federal government is better shut down than run by Trump/Musk.
- Participate directly in street protests. Sitting reps can participate in these with little risk for arrest or assault by cops, and they have the resources and clout to not be destroyed by being arrested.
- Purge anyone who dares utter the word “bipartisanship” from the party. Anyone who votes on a single Republican bill should be ineligible for a penny of Dem campaign funds come the next cycle and should lose any committee seats they have.
These are the things we should be demanding of Democratic representatives right now. Give up on the doomerism. If you want to crawl into a hole and die, fine. Go do it and quit bitching.
Oh, and quit trying to relitigate the prior election. Yes, there were errors on both sides of the left. The centrists should have stopped the genocide, and the Palestine supporters should have voted for Kamala anyway. It’s a moot point now. We have bigger problems to worry about, and picking at these old wounds does nothing but divide the left further.
The resistance
This is just the beginning.
