subotai said:
most protestors don't even know what they are protesting. It's just something to post on Snapchat. Kind of comical tbh
i'm curious what makes you think this is true.
have you ever been to a political demonstration?
people love to put down political activists and people that engage in political protests - but the last thing i would say about most people i've ever known that are politically engaged enough to attend rallies is that they "don't even know what they are protesting". it's very easy for people with a media platform to criticise people that are involved in organised dissent, and "protestors" have no right of reply.
easy - and
popular - targets, who don't have the sort of legal, economic or political clout to (for example) sue for defamation (as a public figure or member of the trump mafia would)
you don't put your liberty and personal safety on the line for the sake of 'snapchat' or whatever shallow cultural phenomenon is the flavour of the month.
take my word for it - when you are surrounded by riot cops brandishing billy clubs, tasers and CS spray, arresting and beating people all around you, you are
forced to consider why you've put yourself in that situation - and if you stay there, it's because you strongly believe it is thge right thing to do.
sure, there are 'weekend activists', or whatever - but i'd suggest this idea that demonstrators aren't well informed politically is simply a smear.
i'm not in the USA at the moment, but as an Australian looiking on, i can't see why anyone
isn't taking to the streets; your country, and your democracy is being stolen from under your noses.
i mix with a lot of politically active people, and have been to lots of political demonstrations myself and i can assure you that in my experience as an activist over the last two decades, people who attend protests and rallies are probably the
most politically well-informed people i know.
we take time out from out lives to get involved because we see things happening that we don't agree with, and hopw - with other likeminded people - to have dome influence over what is going on, or at least to have our voices heard.
it's inefficient, it's dangerous - i've witnessed some horrible injuries and all manner of police brutality over the years - but for the most part i don't think people tend to engage in politicasl demonstrations "something to post on Snapchat.
it's not a social thing, or an ego thing, for the most part. it's a lazy mischaracterisation, which is kinda ironic - considering you're saying that protestors are ill-informed.
the corporate media always accuses activists of being poorly-inforned, because they like to maintain the fiction that only people who watch their
5 second sound byte reporting are those that are 'informed' (as opposed to those that engage in political activism because they are appalled at the narrative).
it's an easy thing to accuse people of, but it's just not true most of the time.
i'm not going to deny that civil disobedience is fun - it is, and i recommend it to anyone with the courage to stand up to powerful scumbags - but i've not met too many politically active people that aren't also very well informed about what they're demonstrating. you have to be, to justify (to yourself) why you are risking arrest and a beating by police - to get a point across.
i'll never forget the first time i was in a crowd that was attacked by a horse charge by the mounted police. it changed my outlook forever, seeing kids getting kicked in the face by police on horses, or seeing the horses trample people.
i really think americans should be out on the streets causing civil unrest
while they still can.
i tend to think that good men and women didn't fight the second world war against totalitarianism, only to have it stolen by a human turd like trump.
how quickly some people forget
fwiw, i think people supported trump because america has such a perverse wealth inequality, and enough people thought that his contempt for dignified politicking meant he would be on their (the "little guys'") side.
unfortunately, that's almost the inverse of what's true - he has no respect for anything except his own ego - but the stubborn cognitive dissonance of his supporters is so great, that they either will never realise - or acknowledge (even to themselves) that he is making things far, far worse for working americans.
USA's cultural is so obsessed with wealth and materialism that most working class people aren't even aware that they're working class - and hence, they vote as though they were rich - because that's what they aspire to - and end up voting against their own interests, as Trump voters did last november.
trump will only make the rich richer and the poor poorer (those that don't die of preventable illness because he made America's diabolical health system even worse). as a fellow westerner, it is sad to watch. i feel for you guys - but please, don't believe the hype that trump
isn't such a bad guy.
he's fucking scum. give him hell.
subotai said:
he said a few racist things. Welp, can't say I never joined him in that endeavor before. But you know something, I always hear from people that they respect honesty over fake ness. At least you know where Trump stands, unlike Hillary who will smile in your face as she smugly looks at all the poor people who voted for her.
i'm no clinton fan - but seriously - trump is the most dishonest politician i've ever come across.
he's so full of shit i wouldn't know where to begin- so i just won't.
i'd say "he insults the american public's intelligence"....but i do wonder sometimes if there is much there to insult.
some people say "you get (ie deserve) what you vote for" - but i don't think anyone deserves trump - no matter how many horrendous wars your country has launched across the globe, or how many innocent people have died because of US "interventions" or trade sanctions.