• DandomRude@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that there won’t be a next election if you don’t fight back.

    Why do you think ICE needs a budget of 100 billion? Are you seriously so naive as to believe that it’s about illegal immigrants?

    Edit: This is not a call to violence, but merely a warning to finally wake up. I don’t think you can still rely on your legal system as it is obvious broken beyond repair, but I do think it is possible to remove this despot by civil means. My suggestion: a general strike across all industries – if there’s one thing that scares your rulers, it’s loss of profit.

    • Sciaphobia@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      What would you have a normal person who likely can’t afford to miss much in the way of work do? I am asking sincerely.

      Outside of throwing everything away to Luigi it up, I’m not sure what a single person could hope to accomplish.

      Even considering the protests, which one would think have had enough people to accomplish something an individual could not… what exactly are they to do that would make things better? Seems like the nonviolent protests are just being ignored to me, but even if they were violent, what exactly are they to direct it towards?

      It’s a thing I have been wondering in the face of the calls to “do something”, and I don’t know the answer to what this “something” is.

      • DandomRude@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Organize a general strike - on the biggest scale possible, a scale that cannot be ignored by your news outlets (social media giants included, of course).

        Your employer won’t be able to do anything about it if there are enough people participating.

        Find allies even in the ranks of the conservatives as there must be people not ok with this wreched course.

        I have nothing better to offer. Only the warning not to remain inactive like my great-grandparents, Germans who were not Nazis but who did not act when it was still possible.

        But yes, this will take courage and might mean hardship. I’d say it’s still the best option - but yes, it’s easy to say for me as I’m not involved.

        • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          General strikes don’t work if you are living paycheck to paycheck. Most people in America are in a bad situation financially.

          • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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            2 days ago

            I interviewed old timers who were involved in the early unionization struggles of auto workers and other industries. Those folks really lived under the thumb of landlords and employers and segregation and so much more bullshit than people remember.

            Resistance to employer shit and abuse develops by people being neighbourly and helpful, by building bonds, by sharing their common outrage, and by connecting the dots.

            Talk about pay with coworkers, it’s illegal for an employer to restrict such talk. You don’t necessarily have to unionize, but you do have to organize. This means finding solidarity at work, even if the coworkers are boring or misogynistic or different.

            You know, apes strong together and all that. Build community around resistance to authoritarianism.

          • joostjakob@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            General strikes worked in 19th century Europe. I think y’all might have it a little better then they did. More to the point: union memberships are used at the time of strikes exactly to break the cycle of not being able to protest for being too poor.

          • DandomRude@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            Then it will probably end up in a system like today’s Russia. Trump or Vance as the sole ruler above the law.

            That would be disastrous not only for US citizens, but for the whole world.

            • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              I don’t disagree, I’m just saying there are practical reasons why general strikes are hard to organize, compared to say protests or riots.

      • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        What would you have a normal person who likely can’t afford to miss much in the way of work do? I am asking sincerely.

        Thank you for honouring the spirit of a forum. The honest answer, from an old fuck’s perspective, is that it entirely depends on

        • what you know
        • what you are capable of
        • what opportunity you have
        • and who you know

        Outside of throwing everything away to Luigi it up, I’m not sure what a single person could hope to accomplish.

        Ah, then that suggests is the first few steps should be seen as ‘helpful training’, until you develop a sense of the first item, what you know. A single person can in fact achieve a huge amount, even without thinking so.

        So read and watch about resistance to authoritarianism, wherever it arises. Develop a personal curriculum. Ask old folks like me who have been involved in people’s resistance to authoritarianism for a long time, who they like to read.

        Unless, of course, if studying history or political thought isn’t your thing.

        In that case, start at grassroots in a service position so you can connect with the issues of the people who are the worst victims of abuse, find out how they got there, and what they need. A soup kitchen or something. Maybe stick to secular organizations.

        Even considering the protests, which one would think have had enough people to accomplish something an individual could not… what exactly are they to do that would make things better? Seems like the nonviolent protests are just being ignored to me, but even if they were violent, what exactly are they to direct it towards?

        Antonio Gramsci was imprisoned by the OG fascists for years, but he smuggled out his writings, which included an analysis of how social movements turn into hegemonic power, which kind of answers your question.

        TL;DR: think of social change as walking like a millipede, not a person. There are many leaders, many strikes and protests, many interests coming together, and culture or propaganda is a big part of it working. Educate yourself and your peers.

        It’s a thing I have been wondering in the face of the calls to “do something”, and I don’t know the answer to what this “something” is.

        Yeah, if you’re a lawyer you don’t really have to ask this question. If you’re a retail worker or a warehouse gnome, okay then, those are limiting circumstances so just bide your time and listen to audiobooks or lectures on the bus, then put in a couple of hours a week or month at a soup kitchen etc…

        That ‘something’ just boils down to actively making a better society, however you can, but you know, all the time really. It will develop from there.

    • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Dude, you are getting angry at the wrong person, and also preaching to the choir. 99% of people on this site agree with your point. So why are you yelling at me over an innocuous comment?

      • DandomRude@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I’m not so sure about that. It seems to me that the majority here believe that a few lawsuits from the Democrats could settle the matter — I don’t think so.

        Edit: How do you think I’m yelling?

      • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        I think that was an actual question and invitation to dialogue, and your first response is to disavow? You mistake genuine concern for anger?

        Why?

        • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          OP called me naive and implied that I think this is actually about immigration. How is that a genuine question? Insulting someone’s intelligence right off the bat isn’t asking for genuine dialog.

      • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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        2 days ago

        Can’t exactly make such comments on other platforms or you just get shadow banned.