I’m increasingly wondering why people in the US aren’t taking to the streets in their thousands.

I’d also like to share a poem by Martin Niemöller, who was a pastor in Germany during the Nazi regime and even supported the Nazis at the beginning:

First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me (Martin Niemöller)

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
    22·
    2 days ago

    As others are pointing out, there are mass protests going on—but I think there’s more to it than that.

    The general message of all protests is “listen to us or else”. In the US for the last fifty years, “or else” has been understood to mean “or else you’ll lose the next election”—but it’s becoming clear that this threat has no leverage with Trump, either because he’s confident he can manipulate elections (through whatever means) or because he intends to accomplish his goals in his current term and doesn’t care what happens after that.

    So protests need to find some other goal and some other message. Right now they’re looking for other weak points (e.g., Tesla dealerships), but once it’s clear they’ve got a strategy Trump is actually afraid of, the numbers will grow.