You probably shouldn't engage in a discussion if you have no interest in engaging in a discussion.
I've got a lot of respect for you man. Awesome to hear.
Good on you, your work is so important. But why would one thing exclude the other?
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Did you go to a rally protesting Trump in the last few days or weeks? If not, why?
- Thread starter SilentRob
- Start date
You probably shouldn't engage in a discussion if you have no interest in engaging in a discussion.
I've got a lot of respect for you man. Awesome to hear.
Good on you, your work is so important. But why would one thing exclude the other?
Your opinion is factually incorrect because you have decided to form it without educating yourself on the situation in this country beyond the Woman's March.
Because this is America
We don't have to protest an idiot in power because he is not a dictator
He was elected
I have confidence that the other branches of government will stop him from doing irreversible harm
And I will gladly vote against him in 2020 if he somehow hasn't been kicked out / quit by then
What exactly are people supposed to protest for?
To overthrow our democratic government?
Maybe restrict voting to people with an IQ over 100?
We don't have to protest an idiot in power because he is not a dictator
He was elected
I have confidence that the other branches of government will stop him from doing irreversible harm
And I will gladly vote against him in 2020 if he somehow hasn't been kicked out / quit by then
What exactly are people supposed to protest for?
To overthrow our democratic government?
Maybe restrict voting to people with an IQ over 100?
I haven't been to one since the Women's March, really should go to more. There's stuff in DC pretty often, but I just don't feel like I always have time to go downtown, and don't follow closely enough to know about these things in advance.
Where at?
Where at?
I went to a rally on the weekend to show I did not agree with his words about both sides and to express my extreme disappointment and displeasure of his presidency so far.
I am all about going to more protests.
AbortedWalrusFetus
Member
Instead of wasting my time going to protests to make myself feel better I spend my time writing letters to my local representatives urging them to take action to resolve the situation, and donating my time and money to groups that support the victims of bad government policy.
TheCochese
Banned
So fucking sorry that you are impacted by this man. Obviously, we are doing just fine and should stop and ask how you are doing.
How are you doing right now? Should we send someone over? We'll get back to our regularly scheduled protests after we attend to your suffering.
CitizenCope
Member
I'm so conflicted. I'm 15 minutes from Boston and want to go Sat. Have plans with a friend the same day that I made in February. Fuck!!
HammerOfThor
Member
I work hard, and when I'm not I just want to spend time with my 2 year old, watching/letting him be a kid without letting political shit get in the way.
Funyarinpa
Member
No. I live in Turkey
Hitler was elected, too.
People are supposed to protest to show their resistance against a president who supports Nazis. You yourself are saying "if he somehow hasn't been kicked out"...why would he be if the US citizens don't seem too bothered with it all? How can you have any kind of trust in an impeachment process that would require republicans to go ahead with it who still supported him after sexually harassing women and supporting Nazis? It's on the people to show their leaders their demands. And protests, big protests, regu,at protests are one of the oldest, most effective ways for the people to do exactly that. Especially in democratic countries that support this kind of speech and expression.
This is not about me. The mod I answered to made it about me by implying only Americans are impacted and could have any say in the matter, which I disputed. I didn't say "Protest because I'm suffering so bad!" I said "I can take part in this discussion, too, because the consequences are far-reaching".
old manatee
Banned
There are protests all over the place all of the time. It must be nice to be from an adorable little country where you can all meet in the middle and protest together.
Lmao why is the assumption always that people who are protesting dont do all of this already. Protesting is a crucial component in instigating a national dialogue and literally only takes a few hours of one's time every now and then. Theyre also useful networking and coordinating tools for organizations.
Protests didn't stop the GOP from trying to repeal Obamacare. They are a party by and for corporations and the rich.
While I don't agree with the idea that protests do nothing, I understand why some people feel they don't help.
Steve Youngblood
Member
This type of rhetoric sounds more masturbatory than it does prescriptive of genuine advice that can affect change. Like, I'm sure in your mind that you feel like you're doing your part and that this is great advice you are offering and if people don't listen then they're clearly part of the problem and not the solution. And I can't speak for everyone else, certainly. But if your goal is for this to be a call to arms and give people a much needed kick in the ass to get out there and make a difference, it certainly isn't working on me. You sound like a self-righteous prick and if you were preaching this kind of stuff to me on the street I'd tell you to "fuck off" and be on my way.
I've gone to a few protests but came to the conclusion that the best way for me to oppose this administration and its policies was to exploit my most valuable asset: my pretty nice-looking bank account.
Those monthly donations to organizations are doing far more tangible work than my presence at a protest ever could.
Those monthly donations to organizations are doing far more tangible work than my presence at a protest ever could.
...
Anyway, there are thousands at protests and rallies, against what your OP said. Here was one in Philly last night:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/philly-is-charlottesville-march-to-condemn-white-supremacy-20170816.html
You don't live here so I'll forgive you for your ignorance (though not your arrogance) but everyone I know is very concerned. It's what people talk about all the time, it's what's discussed online, it's what people flood our government with letters and calls about. America is very concerned. It is unclear to me what you want except a violent overthrow of the White House by its people.
Master Yoshi
Member
I live in Southeastern Georgia. I'd literally stand a 50/50 chance of being killed if I protested locally.
I'm sorry Americans aren't attending enough general anti-Trump protests lately. Could have something to do with the fact that many of us were busy scaring the shit out of our representatives at town halls over the last month or two. But yes, I guess it's time to get back to impeach Trump shit now that brave activists have protected 20 million Americans from losing their insurance in exchange for a tax break for the rich.
Also I want to point out the Women's March wasn't the end of the protests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_Donald_Trump
Also I want to point out the Women's March wasn't the end of the protests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_Donald_Trump
Aaronrules380
Member
if Trump was as bad as Hitler we wouldn't be protesting because such actions would meet with a hail of bullets. Trump is bad, but he has nowhere near the power or reach of a true dictator. This isn't to say his ideology isn't similar or that he isn't a huge threat, but to point out that the realities surrounding each situation are not equivalent
If your president being or at best supporting a Nazi/s isn't enough of a call to arms a thread on Neogaf certainly won't be and it wasn't intended as one. I was interested in hearing the reasons. Stuff like "I rather spend money supporting existing networks and organisations" make total sense to me. What I seem to gather from quite a few responses is that protesting in general seems to be regarded as not effective by some, which is both enlightening and scary to me, because it seems totally at odds with what history has taught us over and over again.
I also didn't want to imply that there weren't protests. Of course there are. I simply would have imagined that a US President doing and saying what Trump does and says would have led to a bjgger response by the people and protests that would be all-encompassing, not ignorable and country-wide. That's where I'm coming from. It's entirely possible it's just because international media doesn't pick up on them, but stuff like the women's march was everywhere and that's the scale of protests I'm talking about.
I completely agree.
Funyarinpa
Member
As a Non-American, that sentence is a lot more fucked up than what you make it sound like
because to my knowledge there hasn't been any in my area, Houston.
go report on the events?
go report on the events?
Not to mention the Trump administration is unable to do anything significant due to infighting and his inability to control his party.
Byakuya769
Member
Fuego.
meltingparappa
Member
The tone of the OP is pretty definitely amazing considering we're not even a week out of it.
Opposing protests planned for Spirit of Confederacy statue in Houston
Houston groups duel over SB4 law
Cheers.
Fort Worth has been confronting the SB4 thing itself recently, with people pushing the city council to join neighboring Dallas in the lawsuit against it. Sad to say the council voted not to join.
Large blocks of free time are hard to come by. Mice and cells don't take off-days for designated Trump protests.
Yeah, I want to see the response to this too.
I don't go to street protests because I don't perceive power and policy working that way in this country. Our representatives overtly disregard the will of their constituents in favor of corporate and private funding, so I don't understand who signs and marches are for. Crowds used to represent the physical strength of a population to resist violent oppression or the potential for violent revolution. I don't believe that voicing a position alone changes anything without a further threat implied to the dominant body of power, whether physical or monetary.
This is some bizzarre bullshit to project.
Because protesting isn't the be-all and end-all of political participation in the U.S. Voting is. There is no law that says an elected official has to vacate his or her position on a topic because protesters showed up for a rally. Protests are good in that they make otherwise politically illiterate people active, but they're meaningless if the participants aren't also registered to vote.
To anyone doubting the usefulness of protests, I would like you to imagine the national conversation around police brutality if the Black Lives Matter protests hadn't happened at all.
Do you really think there would have even been a national conversation if white people weren't constantly reminded of it when they turned on their local news channels? A lot of people in this country have the privilege of ignoring matters that don't directly impact them. Forcing ourselves into their news feed is often the only way they find out there is a problem.
Protests are a useful tool for pulling in the media who broadcast us to the people less engaged in particular issues. Whether these people end up agreeing with us or not is another matter, but the point is to ensure they are confronted with it, to force them to think about it and make a choice.
I'm glad you'll be there.
Do you really think there would have even been a national conversation if white people weren't constantly reminded of it when they turned on their local news channels? A lot of people in this country have the privilege of ignoring matters that don't directly impact them. Forcing ourselves into their news feed is often the only way they find out there is a problem.
Protests are a useful tool for pulling in the media who broadcast us to the people less engaged in particular issues. Whether these people end up agreeing with us or not is another matter, but the point is to ensure they are confronted with it, to force them to think about it and make a choice.
I'm glad you'll be there.
You're free to not protest (I haven't) but I don't think "I'm better than these people" is a good reason
This is a good post. Thank you for raising these points.
America is in a dark dark place of your view of protests is that reductionist.
Suburban Thug
Member
That's a good question. I tend to work long hours and want to relax on the weekends, but that's isn't a very good excuse. I guess I prefer to spend my free time trying to escape from reality through video games, friends, drinking, etc than go protest. I'm also scared that some psycho right wingers are going to ram a car into me or show up with AR's.