The same goes for those demanding to know, "Why aren't people in the streets?!" Considering they're people who aren't in the streets, it seems they could answer their own question.

marched, protested and demonstrated plenty against Nixon, the war, for civil rights, where are they now against this criminal, orange imposter/wannabe dictator?

They still have their youth. Better to spend it on deposing trump rather than inter-generational dissings that get us nowhere against trump.

no heightening of awareness of those not previously "woke".

It seems the GenZers are beginning to take up the slack as there was a demonstration by students at the Harvard/Yale game yesterday and there were protests against anti-Semitism and racism at Syracuse University recently.

Good for them.

Powerful, focused, clear message and very strategic. I was proud of them!

Many people expressed outrage over OK Boomer but youth bashing is OK on DU.

Even mocking the word 'woke' which means politically aware.

What is the difference between posting political opinions on Twitter vs posting on sites like DU? Either way we aren't out in the streets.

all he has, he's a coward and a bully. Is that bully/thug going to get the better of us. Fuck that. 243 years is not going by the wayside. All those who fought and died for our country to keep us free. And we now have a grifter beholden to Putin to neutralize us.

We do need to be in the streets, this is our country.

Beware of despair trolls and those who would like us to fight amongst ourselves.

And it’s a great weapon against activism.

Someone gives a lengthy opinion and someone else responds "OK Boomer". That is all it is but all this outrage over OK Boomer is why people say stuff like OK Boomer.

Again bashing millenials for voter turnout is OK on this board. If it was up to millenials Hillary Clinton would be President.

People are saying OK Boomer on social media so nothing to do with trolls.

On edit : my favorite thing about social media is the lack of troll accusations because most people are who they say they are. Of course there are always people who call people that disagree with them trolls. That never goes away.

n/t

WIN = Whip Inflation Now

During Nixon we had high inflation and bad stock market.
Right now stock market is at record high, and inflation is low.
And that is the main difference between then and now.

survival of the republic and spreading disinformation on FOX directly from Putin about Ukraine. IMO it's even more important to make ourselves heard.

very few watch Politics. 75% of Americans can't name their 2 senators and their congressman.

Franklin said we have a republic if we can keep it.

I've been to two protest this year against trump, and I'm old.

It's important.

Here's a link to get started:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10112898

most Americans don't care about the Russian agent. They either are happy with their life or are ignorant.

be happy when it begins to affect them and their way of life.

worry what life will be like next year, much less in 5, 10, 15 or 30 years?
Americans are notorious to live for the moment, and are not prodigious savers
like the Japanese, Chinese or Indians.

Even American companies are concerned about bottom line profits next quarter,
whereas German and Japanese outfits tend to plan for longer terms.

At this point this is an even better economy than the late 1990s. Pocketbook issues aren't going to get people to the polls. Trump knew that; it's why he ran on racial animus.

In the street.

And when I came back from France I in 1994 found myself out protesting again I have back problems now so I protest when I can. Been seeing some more young ones among us gray hairs, so hopefully!

I am lucky to be retired with a decent income, and able to protest.

And I do.

Excellent points.

And those who could not themselves go to the fight supported those who did. The same is true today.

If you know someone who is willing to crawl over glass to save us, watch their children. Feed them. Do whatever it takes.

Everyone can make signs.

When I worked for the USPS, the Hatch Act prohibited many types of action.

But your complaint is valid. One of my issues is the large number of people who say that they do not follow politics, or are not interested.

I find that level of ignorance to be amazing.

And there's hard and then there's hard.

Protesting today isn't all that hard compared to what people before us endured.

First there was a huge war going on in Vietnam.
Second those Whip Inflation Now (WIN) buttons were big, which means inflation was high.
Third, the stock market was bad.

Right now it is opposite. People are working (multiple jobs), there is no draft or war,
and stock market has made their 401-k's at record highs. Inflation is mush lower as well.

I find many of these excuses unconvincing.

I'd add that it is important to do more than march in the streets, although I think that's very important. All of Amendment 1 provides for important opportunities to strengthen democracy. These include calling and writing elected representatives, submitting letters-to-the-editor of newspapers (including their web sites, of course).

When people ask "what can I do? if I can't physically resist?"

I always recommend 1) Join the ACLU and lend your voice to the cause of liberty for less than ten bucks. 2) Support and defend our free watchdog press. 3) Get the slim book by holocaust historian Timothy Snyder (Yale) "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century" that tells us what to do and what to watch for in this fraught time. $7.95

letters to Congress if unable to demonstrate but make yourself heard.

Keyboard warrioring is the least effective as it's easily ignored if seen at all.

jftr - social media is ok but taking to the streets is real activism

The greatest damage is the courts, but even in that system there are checks and balances.

That being said. I never forget that millions of people approve of Trump, like what he’s doing. That hundreds of thousands hated Hillary more than they feared Trump.

Republican ideology has been completely exposed. They support Trump. He’s the best they had to offer. He comes corruption and crime ridden, uses fear mongering but in their minds the end always justifies the means.

I actually know of a couple of good things this administration has done. He’s redirected funds into kidney disease research, and has opened up a path for more transplants to be available. I think he picked this topic because kidney disease is the only chronic disease automatically covered by Medicare. ( in fact, proponents of Medicare for all might want to take a look at how this works)

How guns, abortion and the right for humans to love one another, immigrants as well as the dismantling of governmental safety nets (ie “shrink government “) came the rallying cry of the Republican Party is beyond my ken.

But it’s not over. America is not done.

Pissin' off the libs while barely making ends meet on SS or working 3 jobs?

What is in there for the RUSSIAblican cult? Winning?

Winning what? A miserable future?

Frivolous pleasures playing the MAGAt Reality TV show?

However, I need a hip replacement...so now I am a keyboard warrior!

I don't subscribed to the "we're DOOMED" lament, but neither do I believe that "street action" is a critical part of the response.

deciding, installing, testing and implementing anti-fraud software or paper trail systems.

They're a critical part of movements against corrupt power—proven by history of social change.

Not for the fearful though.

A response in kind has to be the answer here as well.

If someone says something that violates a social media site's TOS, don't let it just float there, report it!

When people were making threats against Rep. Ilhan Omar on Twitter, there were people out there not letting it stand, we saw right wing accounts fall left and right because troglodytes thought it would be cute to send Rep. Omar those threats.

Groups like the SPLC and Right Wing Watch are keeping track of what they say too. So they need support, especially when we have a White House itself trying to broadcast against the SPLC.

And there used to be a Neo-Nazi group called the ANSWP complete with state affiliates... *used* to be... I was a part of that effort. If I have to toot my own horn to say resistance beyond the voting booth is possible then I guess I have to toot my own horn.

from Iraq to Guns to Climate Change to Women's Rights.
Some of these had close to 1 million people.
They changed nothing.

To change things we must vote and make sure everyone has the chance to vote.
We must make sure votes are counted.

That is how we make changes.

Sorry, this Boomer sees protests as ineffective.

They may not like it but they are not willing to put in jeopardy their standard of living, leisure time or freedom trying to change it.

I think many here would agree that the behavior of most of us DUers is not much different then when Obama was president and Democrats controlled Congress. We post, we email, we call, we fax, we tweet and attend the occasional protest. About what we did in 2009.

I am grateful for the Woman's March on Washington ----it led to some pretty significant events---exit stage right Bill O'Reilly---Roger Ailes--and a few others----it also led to a Democratic landslide in the 2018 mid terms----politics is a video---not a snapshot--------Regardless of what some may think of Speaker Pelosi ---her strength now comes from that landslide----I am working for the removal of Susan Collins.GOP Senator in Maine---trying to build a blue wall in New England-----If I could get to GEorgia during the 2020 I would join the FAIRFIGHT down there --- pick a GOP vulnerable state and help the Dem win-----2018 shows us how powerful we are-----just Carry On----

This is a bleep in our history that will play out long, long after we are gone. A Great Depression. A Civil war, slavery, two world wars. This old girl will continue on, sometimes shining bright and sometimes not. Our kids, not us will determine the next 100 years. We have spooo much to be thankful for. I travel through Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and we are spoiled. We will be fine just keep fighting.

Your 4 weekly to-dos :

1. Sign up to make some calls connecting voters to senators to connecting voters to sen ators to demand a complete and fair impeachment trial. We’ve said this already, but we’re halfway to our goal of calling one million constituents of the 13 senators who really need to hear from them (senators who are vulnerable because they’re up for reelection next year and folks who are retiring and worrying a lot about their legacies). We're asking you to call voters in those states to turn up the pressure on their elected officials. It’s a simple four-part process:
2. You call a progressive voter in a key state with one of these 13 Republicans. These folks are your friends—they attended the Women’s March and/or fight for progressive causes.
You explain how they have power now. You’ll remind them why the continued fight for impeachment is so important—and why they have particular power in this moment.
You ask them to use their power. Then, you’ll ask them to call their senator and make their voices heard on why we’re demanding courage in this moment.
You push a button and connect them to their senator’s office. The call tool will allow you to automatically patch them through to the senator’s local office.
3. Register or find a Trump is Not Above the Law Impeachment Eve event now. The night before the House of Representatives takes a historic vote to impeach Trump, we'll head to every congressional office and public square to declare that Nobody Is Above the Law as representatives finalize their positions and senators look on. There are more than 265 events on the map as of now with more being added every day. Take a look to find (or host) one near you.

Go to Indivisible for more...

https://indivisible.org/home

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Protests planned across US "NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!"
https://act.moveon.org/event/impeach-and-remove-attend/search/

Spread the word, sign up, go to the link for a protest planned near you. RESIST! Persist!

Hundreds of Thousands Expected to Join 'Historic Nationwide Mobilization' on Eve of Trump Impeachment Vote

"The night before the House of Representatives takes a historic vote to impeach Trump," progressive groups said of the anticipated action, "we'll head to every congressional office and public square to declare that nobody is above the law."

A coalition of progressive advocacy groups on Friday announced plans for a "historic nationwide mobilization" across the U.S. on the eve of the House's yet-to-be-scheduled vote on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets around the country, said the "Nobody Is Above the Law" coalition, which includes MoveOn, Public Citizen, Indivisible, and Stand Up America, as well as more than a dozen other organizations.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/10/25/hundreds-thousands-expected-join-historic-nationwide-mobilization-eve-trump

But it's not feasable other than daily K n R, and then some.

I posted both of these activities/events there before and usually do so when I get word of new info.

one's participated in. The people who can't maintain perspective and are floundering in premature despair would do far better to read a good book on understanding where we are than to attend a rally or march.

Also, no number of marches will match the power of, or take the place of, the vote. Those who went to a rally in 2016 but didn't vote may think they participated. They did not.

Also see Hong Kong right now. You can read a book while participating.

but those who give up easily. It takes conviction and moral strength to use our power every 2 years, and sooner, to do our best to decide who will have power.

And I'm not putting down attending marches, by a long shot. But they're are what they are and not what they are not. If those people in Hong Kong could vote control of their lives, they wouldn't be in the streets.

to be very effective so I don't get your point at all. And with present-day tech—internet, social media, cell phones—much easier to organize by those who have the commitment and courage needed.

True it's not for everyone.

to put our lives on the line, or even go sweat virtuously and happily in a parade, just get our asses out of our chairs and off our fingers once every 2 years or so.

The mass protesters around the world are risking death to have what we have. Please don't imagine any of them would admire foolish Americans who mistake what they're doing for what they're trying to achieve.

Last edited Sun Nov 24, 2019, 08:38 PM - Edit history (1)

and the voting base as vote registration is always part of it. It sounds like you've never ever participated in protests at all.

As I've said, not for everyone but for those who are not fearful it's a very rewarding and enlightening experience to make connections with other like-minded, committed people. And please, stop with the "risking our life" bit. That's not the case at all.

in Puerto Rico, the protesters have been fighting crooked and/or autocratic people in power. Citizens who disagree are not very actively involved.

Here in the US the protesters in the streets would face not only the administration, but fellow citizens. The division here is nearly 50/50. It would be a civil war, with all the fire power in the hands of Trump and his followers.

There might be more creative ways to resist than open street violence. More productive, too.

By all means we should protest when and where necessary. Massive, organized protests without violence. Beware of people urging violence in such protests, too. For more info on that, look up the COINTEL program of the 1960 protest periods.

I noticed very few obese people. In our America obesity is a big problem.

It was in response to Jeff Session resigning and the future of the investigation.......

It was extremely vague and participants started airing every greviance possible. People who were watching it were making horrible comments about it like, "Get a job" etc. The Mueller investigation was no longer part of the protest.

The protest really lacked focus. I didn't want to go, but my friend kept saying it was "Our Saturday Night Massacre".

I haven't been too many since. I went to one after the El Paso shootings because it is obvious that it was an urgent event in need of protesting. I also went to one over domestic violence. (A mayoral candidate had done something to a police report involving a police call involving him and domestic violence) I held up a sign that said, "Where is the police report?"

Protests need to have a focus.

----------------------

I am very focused on electing Democrats. It keeps me very busy.

Sometimes I wonder about the 'home of the brave' after seeing so much pressimism

I've been in jail twice for my beliefs. Maybe I should say anyone who didn't go to jail over Vietnam or whatever has no right to speak.

You may have a good point to make but setting it up in this fashion is just silly.

I participate every year at the Pride parade.
I used to protest the injustices I see every chance I got.
My late mother and I brought pots of spaghetti to the Occupy protesters.
I'll be retired in 4 years, and I'll be yelling "we're here, We're queer, get over it" and such... again.
I wish I were wealthy, and could travel around, maybe drive to washington and hold an anti-MAGA sign.
But I'm lucky just to bring home the week's groceries.