Oh you sweet summer children.
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
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.
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
British India didn’t care about human rights
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 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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.”
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]
What’s the minimum something worth waking you up over?
