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It is hard to describe how inspired I am by the democracy movements in the Middle East and North Africa. They are real activist standing in the streets, risking the retribution of an authoritarian regime to accomplish what most would think is unachievable.
However, when I comment that a popular uprising will not be coming to the streets of America any time soon, I am chided for my negativity. There are also numerous commenters’ here at FDL that talk about the eventuality of the kind of uprisings we are seeing over there arising here. I reply that American’s aren’t anywhere near hungry enough for that to happen. Here is just one diary and thread as an example but there are many others.
If this community really feels strongly that a populist uprising is on the horizon, then what are you waiting for. How bad do things have to get before you get off your butts and start marching. By saying that it is coming at some future time only supports my point. This site has one activist, Jane Hamsher, and a whole lot of choir members. The fact that you people have computers, electricity to run them and apparently are not starving, (note all of the food posts on the weekends), allows you the convenience of talking a good game but not actually having to do anything other than bitch and complain to each other.
I miss Chisty Hardin Smith.
When I read here about Jane and David House being detained at the gate at Quantico, I wrote a post calling for a march on the base to support Bradley Manning. I got a number of comments in support of the idea and the diary was even promoted to the MyFDL front page. That diary was read by someone in D.C. who contacted me and since then I have been working with people in D.C. and a march is happening on March 20th. I will be there.
When I wrote a part 2 & 3 follow-up, it got a few comments but no one saying they will join in. One person wrote that they are in CA so they would not be there but her heart was with us. Thanks, but that’s not going to do anything to help Bradley. I know there must be a Marine base in CA where a simultaneous protest could be held. It was protests in Alexandria, Port Said and other places in Egypt as well as Cairo that forced their government to buckle.
It’s no work to write diaries, sign on line petitions, donate money to causes and let the real activists do the work. This is why the blogosphere is viewed by the politicians and the media as pajama wearing Cheetos eaters. This is why Obama and DemCo constantly dismiss us. They know we aren’t going to really do anything other than bitch. Real ACTivism demands ACTION.
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One of the best articles I’ve ever read in The New Yorker is this one, by Malcolm Gladwell:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell
I think it speaks directly to this problem. I am not sure what the solution is, but people have got to learn that hitting a “Like” button, or joining a FB cause, or signing an online petition, is not activism. Social media can be a tool for activists, but as long as people rely on it as the primary medium for activism, we’re not going to get anywhere. Religion used to be the opiate of the masses; now it’s Facebook and Twitter.
Personally experiencing hardship is what gets people into the streets. There is a lot of suffering now, but as long as the majority have their creature comforts, the discontent will be managed by politicians with the help of the MSM so that it stays beneath the surface.
I’ll use myself as an example. I am completely against war and empire and one of the reasons I have turned agaisnt the Dem party is because of its continued support of the wars. Am I to the point I will march in the streets? No. If I was young again, yes, but that was then, this is now.
However, if the USG were to re-instate the draft and demand my son register, I’d be in the streets in a minute. There’s no way I’d let the govt take my son as cannon fodder for an immoral, needless, useless, counter-productive war.
Even when we know things are terribly wrong, as long as we are reasonably comfortable, the suffering is somewhat abstract and therefore easier to tolerate, no matter how grudgingly. People complain and contribute money, but don’t get off their duffs.
The flip side is that unless the direction this country is going in changes, at some point, inevitably, the number of people directly suffering and willing to hit the streets will reach a critical mass and you will see Egypt in the USA.
Instead of “People” I should should have written “Most people”.
I do recognize there are people willing to hit the streets, unfortunately, their numbers are not large enough to overcome the effect of the MSM pretending they don’t exist, as well as the force of the unrelenting govt-MSM propaganda machine.
Where have all the leaders gone?
Have any of the “leaders” of the Netroots ever called for massive protests in Washington?
I agree with most of what you’re saying, amghru, but I think your criticism would be more useful if it was directed at Jane Hamsher, Kos, Josh Marshall, MoveOn, et al. If they called for protests and worked together to organize and publicize them, we’d get somewhere, we’d see plenty of people in the streets.
I’ve pointed this out more than once. My next diary will address this issue as well.
The people who were activists during VN war are in their 50s and 60s now. The young people of today have not yet caught on to what is happening but they will when the college bills come due and there are no jobs. We are in the early stages of realizing what the internet can do and it is the tool that can and should be used to get Americans on their feet. We have to work with what we have. The person who is 20 today was 10 when we went into Afghanistan so to him/her it’s one of those things that has always been there. I don’t scoff at what the internet can do. I am amazed by what it has already done.
I am glad that there are like minded people here when it comes to this issue. I can no longer sit on the side lines and hope for the best. I did not do enough when the health care debate was going on and we ended up with a bill that may end up being worse than if they had left things alone.
I lost my brother two January’s ago because he had no health insurance and diabetes won. He was 47. I have tried to teach my children to think beyond themselves.
My daughter, who will graduate from Pitt this spring, has taken it as her life’s work to start a non-profit that deals with human trafficking and women’s rights around the world. She is one of my heroes.
One of my reasons for getting involved with the Bradley Manning Support Group is to promote activism as well as helping a young man who should be hailed as a hero and a patriot instead of being assailed as a criminal and a traitor.
Similar:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/world/middleeast/10youth.html?_r=1&scp=90&sq=egypt%20protests&st=cse
Churches used to be a big source of activists and activism. They would organize protests, provide transportation, etc. The churches have stopped doing this–no doubt for fear they would lose their beloved tax-exempt status. It’s a problem, because you you need resources to transport people,etc. I have protested in my home town and all I get are stares and occasional epithets. Obama remains hugely popular despite his backstabbing. I couldn’t find ONE democrat who would march with over the mortgage crisis.
“I’ll use myself as an example. I am completely against war and empire and one of the reasons I have turned agaisnt the Dem party is because of its continued support of the wars. Am I to the point I will march in the streets? No. If I was young again, yes, but that was then, this is now.”
I think you are too hard on yourself. How would you do otherwise? Paint yourself a sign and go find yourself a street? If you did, who else would know?
If there were to be a march in your neck of the woods, and it was projected that there would be 100,000 people there, my guess is that you would be 100,001. In other words, the fundamental error you make is that you pose the matter as a matter of various individual decisions. Yes, individual decisions exist and must be made, but the problem looks different when we think in terms of collectivities.
If we were to ask why there were not collectivities of organizations organizing various protests, then it would a step forward. Then we could perform a ruthless examination of existing organizations (MoveOn has a lot of members, what’s stopping them from INITIATING such a call?). We could examine why existing organizations don’t operate more collectively? Etc.
This would not solve all the problems we face, but it would move the discussion forward.
p.s. See http://www.docudharma.com/diary/19551/toward-a-psychology-of-activism for some of my further thoughts on the matter.
I’ve been protesting in the streets since the Iraq war drums first started beating. I was homeschooling This Is What Democracy Looks Like. Socialism 101
Early on, when marching with the old DFH contingent, they sneer at the youngbloods, the few I could get to come stand with us.. “Why do you wear those masks? Back in my day..we weren’t afraid to show our faces.”
“Oh MY God, those young masked kids are burning a flag! That’s not what this march stands for!”
” Don’t walk in the “Funeral Procession”, you’re not wearing black or orange like we told you to in the e-mail. But it’s okay if you walk farther back.”
This is what democracy looks like.
On and on whining. Afraid of civil disobedience.
http://my.firedoglake.com/missling/2011/02/14/a-thorn-in-the-side-nader-paul-arundhati-roy/
Second vid from top, is where you’ll find one 77 year old activist. Of course, most of the pups, I believe, revile him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Uh-t9MhuM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soF2uIe8GPk
You really are congenitally incapable of NOT disparaging folks here aren’t you?
Few people that I know at FDL “revile” Ralph Nader. We may not think he’d be all that good a president, especially in his late ’70s (and I for one wouldn’t wish the stress on anyone that age) but most of us do honor his work
But that doesn’t fit your preconceived narratives does it?
There are no calls to organize. Better than 31,000 members on FDL – that’s a significant bully pulpit going to waste.
Why do you not think that he would made a good President? Where is he lacking? I wrote him in, because he was the only one who represents me, and whom I could trust not to lie to me.
If you’re not included in the ‘most’, then please stop whining. I believe Jane doesn’t much like him.
I’d also suggest you ignore the messenger, and attend to the message.
So now you’re privy to Jane’s thoughts? Wow! Who knew you were such an insider at FDL?
oh, buzz off, dakine.
When I used to occasionally lurk around here, there was A Flame throwing Thor, who spewed venom all over Nader. He got no flack from the locals, applause – yes; flack – none. Not from the community, and not from Jane.
Translated, it means, ‘I haven’t the first clue whether…, but I can think of no better way to draw attention than to fire blindly into the air – sure to hit something.”
Norske is still around – and you obviously weren’t paying THAT much attention or you would have seen that he did in fact catch flack from “the locals”
Again, so much for no more browbeating and p*ssin’ on the community
Anyone living in public/HUD housing gets thrown out of their housing for any type of felony charge, including all those phantom “resisting arrest” charges most of the protesters get charged with at a typical G8/G20/WTO Meeting.
“The flip side is that unless the direction this country is going in changes, at some point, inevitably, the number of people directly suffering and willing to hit the streets will reach a critical mass and you will see Egypt in the USA.”
That should be our slogan. “Walk like an Egyptian.”
Missling, how dare you tell dakine to “buzz off”. That is unbelievable. Don’t you have any manners? Dakine has been here forever and you are a late arriving brat. Go Away!
I’ve been on the street to protest before, most recently due to the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York — the lack of transparency regarding the closure, and the lack of replacement in area health care (articles and videos found on dnainfo.com and NY1).
People have put their freedoms on the line, only to end up on the — police blotter. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/nypd_blotter/nypd_daily_blotter_WtlpzoQyjMD0WHhr1tT8eK
As long as there are even a paltry amount of ‘bread and circuses’ still in play, people wont become activists. I agree with amghru’s assessment.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has won 9 struggles against corporations to increase living standards for poor farmworkers. They have marches and pickets every few months and the last one got about 2,000 people in deep red central Florida.
They have marches coming up in Boston and Tampa in a few weeks, I hope you guys show up. I know it’s not a panacea but social movements have to start somewhere. Here’s the link http://www.ciw-online.org/dotherightthing/index.html
Exactly. Social movements are the only way we have left to initiate change. The political system is broken. In a country this large with this large and diverse a population, it will be smaller single issue movements that will ultimately change the political system.
At least I hope it will work this way. I hope that the frequency of elections and the tradition of peaceful transition of power will ultimately win the day and we wont need our military to oust the government.
I don’t come here often, and rarely comment anymore, but I did see the diary about the proposed march on Quantico, and have set the date aside on my calendar. I simply didn’t leave a comment to that effect. Hopefully, more people will show up, but it really isn’t about numbers. The MSM will not cover this protest — don’t kid yourself. I was one of the 131 arrested along with Daniel Ellsberg, Chris Hedges, Coleen Rowley, Medea Benjamin and others during the Vets march on the White House. Despite the fact that there were 131 progressives that, in some cases, risked their careers, livlihoods, visas, etc. to engage in this act of civil disobedience, there was little to no coverage in the MSM or in the progressive blogosphere.
Most of us marched because we could no longer sit idly by while these obscene wars continue. And that’s why I’m coming to Quantico. Just as with the meme on torture, it’s not about who they are, it’s about who I am — so is taking part in demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience. We do it because it is the right thing to do. Period.
Hope to meet you at Quantico. I will be there with my daughter and her boy friend. She is the small cute one.
By working on this in conjunction with the rally on the 19th to mark the aniversary of the Iraq war, we are hoping to have a turn out large enough that it can’t be ignored by the MSM.
For anyone ealse who is interesred, find more info on the march at http://www.bradleymanning.org/
We desperately need an Al Jazeera in the US.
Plus tweeting really helped organize Egypt.
Yesterday, when listening to Thom Hartmann, his broadcast was just….cut off when he started talking some activism. I’ve noticed that a lot here lately; it never happens during the commercials however.
I’m thinking of having a bumper sticker made up. My old one “Change: Before it’s too late” is sort of dated as it’s more like, “Change: it’s too late” when my rear wiper covers the “before”
But congress is in the process of giving the president a “kill switch” on the internet or selling it to Comcast.
Obama put the activists to sleep. Amazing how people were geared up for it and then, along he came and they’re all still behind him….whatever he’s behind. I don’t get it. Plus, people do NOT want to hear about it anymore.
The”D” makes all the difference, I guess.
It’s the HuffPo effect
Might part of the problem be the perception that traditional activism doesn’t seem to work here all that well any more?
I think it’s going to have go state by state. there’s that guy in FL turning it into a police state; Walker in Wisconsin threatening to call out the Nat’l Guard if the public employees revolt and then, this which just popped up this morning:
South Dakota Moves To Legalize Killing Abortion Providers
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers
One state at a time going down. so, I think it’s going to take local movements to get going on anything. this country is too big to be flying to hot spots all over. Plus, we’d get on a no-fly list anyway. I probably already am
Well, yeah, since the media doesn’t cover anything that their corporate masters don’t want covered.
Even the massive Iraq War protests were covered up to the extent that the people of the world thought we were all complicit
The Manning cause could very well be transformed into a nexus. Does it not represent the essence of the conflict: power suppressing truth and freedom of speech to hide its corruption? It’s as good an opportunity as is likely to come along, is it not?
Showdown in America and One Nation Working Together have tried getting people out; not so much luck so far. The Left is asleep, as someone said above. Most simply can’t believe what’s really happening under his administration, and really don’t want to. ‘Baby steps’ are good enough, even if they are backward, I guess.
Do most Bots believe there is justification for cutting funds to LEAP? Really?
Anyhoo, I just got this email a few minutes ago from an apparent Tea Party member from whom I bought a used laptop. Guess she didn’t consider customers when she sent it to everyone on her email list.
The pity is, they get a few things right… ;o) But they are Activists!
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=JVAhr4hZDJE&vq=medium#t=19
Most churches in my area have morphed into the Reich wing, hate the gays,hate the foreigners,hate illegal immigrants, and the damned liberals(socialist, facist, communists).They have no pity and only pretend to follow the teachings of their Messiah. I am speaking of three mega churches, and probably more smaller churches. When the pastors and leaders of these churches make no bones of telling their congregants who to vote for, they only give lip service to the struggles of others. Bitter? Oh yes…
There may be an even more fundamental issue than media coverage. Even if the media did start covering protests, and did so in terms that were actually even neutral instead of “those people are a bunch of nuts/always protesting”, what exactly is the path connecting our protests to the people that have power now actually changing their minds, or even better, not having them in power any longer?
My contention is that this was the very reason for which he chosen to be our illusion. The powers that be knew damn well that the “D” made the difference. And they picked one who could even assuage the most activist amongst us. A “community organizer” himself. What a foil. Yes, his selection was key. Had Palin/McCain won, do you not think Cairo would have already happened in this nation? It absolutely would have. And thus was Obama needed to put the powder back in the barrel and wash it down with ice cold water.
I almost upchucked just listening to that authoritarian-tainted voice.Sinclair Lewis has been turning in his grave for the past few years,huh.The flag and the cross are certainly being worn for any fascist, insane,right wing idea.
Politicians ignore demonstrations because they know that the demonstrators will go home after a while.
There is one thing that politicians fear most: losing an election. Even though some go on to far more lucrative lobbying careers, they still fear losing an election. I am fully aware of the difficulties involved in unseating an incumbent Congresscritter, but the only way to change an MC’s mind is to elect a new MC.
Does anyone know of comparable lefty videos? Isn’t there another Dorothea Lange around?
Prosperity Gospel is the new thing – where Ayn Rand meets Jesus the Capitalist.
Yeah, same thing here in Houston too. But its not just churches. Its a lot of places of worship. There are a few holdouts of social activism here in town though. Won’t name names. But I have a few good activist friends in some good activist churches. But you’re right in general – the Glenn Beck effect…