American Protest
I see the protests in Hong Kong and Puerto Rico, where entire populations seem to flood the streets day after day, and wish we'd see that here more often. I know people say it's because we're too lazy or apathetic or ignorant but I don't know if that's the whole story. I think we are:
1. Too spread out. We can have hundreds of small local protests that will be ignored. Most people will not travel 6-8 hours to go to a protest.
2. Our economy is set up to disallow protest. The people most likely to protest or who need to protest the most are most likely not in charge of their own schedules at work. You protest for days, you lose your job.
3. Related to number 2, there is no affordable child care. In these countries with large, sustained protests, either it's young people without kids or extended families are the rule and the kids are all home with grandma.
4. Our police will arrest us if we don't have the right permit. This is insane. What kind of protest gets a permit and thinks that's going to change anything. But, that's how America works. Not many people are willing to take on the police.
5. The media ignores or downplays the protests that do happen because their corporate overlords have a vested interest in not fomenting dissent.
Those, among other things, work against mass protest in America. How do we work against them?
BTW, what happened to the gun protests from the organization started by the kids from Stoneman-Douglas? Where'd they all go? Did the media get bored? Did those kids give up?
by Anonymous | reply 9 | July 26, 2019 3:55 AM
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Americans protest everything constantly. Where have you been?
by Anonymous | reply 1 | July 23, 2019 6:51 AM
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Americans have been successfully brainwashed to believe that you have to be a smelly hippie in order to protest.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | July 23, 2019 7:02 AM
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The Women's March was the largest protest ever and based in the United States. We have large protests. The large protests in Puerto Rico and Hong Kong are a sign of desperation. Right now the focus in the U.S. is pulling together for the 2020 election.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | July 23, 2019 7:09 AM
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The big marches we do have are still one day events that are pre-planned down to the port-a-potties and walking route. They are also very, very rare. There should be a huge sustained protest that grows every single day outside the White House and it should have been there for over two years at this point. I disagree that the Puerto Rico and Hong Kong protests are signs of desperation. Puerto Rico wants their corrupt, misogynistic, criminal asshole leader removed for social media posts and emails where he denigrated citizens and innumerable others. Sound familiar? Hong Kong is protesting becoming a complete pawn under the "justice" system of China. Sound familiar?
I don't think America can sustain protest like we need for the reasons I stated in the original post above but I think we need to try to figure out how to overcome those issues and get it done. Can you imagine if slowing, over the last two years, a growing protest had encamped outside the White House. Every single day, more and more people. A million people swarming constantly against the injustices and crimes committed by this administration. The national mall filled, daily. That might change things. I'm not sure anything else will at this point.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | July 24, 2019 1:59 AM
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Can we protest now? Did someone drug Mueller or did this investigation just age him past the point where his balls shriveled up and now he just wants to nap while the country burns down?
by Anonymous | reply 5 | July 25, 2019 2:03 AM
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I like your post. I think why does Trump get away with horribleness everyday and nothing happens. The PR governor was ejected from protesters. Maybe their should be a get Trump out of office protests. They would’ve ousted Nixon if he hadn’t resigned.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | July 25, 2019 4:02 PM
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Puerto Ricans are Americans
by Anonymous | reply 8 | July 25, 2019 4:03 PM
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They aren't part of our federal government, though. That's what we're talking about protesting.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | July 26, 2019 3:55 AM
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