I don’t do enough clearly and while I am being pessimistic I’d like to point out that I’m just saying I don’t think it’s going to progress past these protests not that it’s a worthless endeavor entirely.
I am still very hopeful that something does end up happening I’ve not given up entirely. But most of my opinions based on this have come from direct interaction of many people in these protests several of them have told me that they simply cannot monetarily commit to anything longer they have pooh-poohed the idea of multi-day protests lest a full strike.
I even had some of these people at these protests tell me that they thought the end goal was the protest that this was the win not all of them though but many like I said said they couldn’t even go a single day without the possibility of either losing their job or otherwise and none of them even considered it said it was too risky for them.
For the middle-class organizers of these protests, who lack a serious political perspective, the protest is their victory. They have no concept of the independent organization of the masses doing anything, besides protesting and calling it a day. They believe and promote the belief that mass rallies will be sufficient to pressure the Democratic Party, some Republicans, and the trade union bureaucracies to oppose Trump more vigorously. They will not.
It can be difficult to imagine the possibility of general strike when we haven’t seen a real organized mass movement in at least two generations. It’s not enough for isolated individuals convinced of the necessity to simply strike of their own initiative. That would be a recipe for disaster, with the participants facing certain reprisal and victimization. The movement must be prepared, starting with the most advanced sections of the working class organizing the leadership.
The protests express a broadly felt desire for action, but that cannot spontaneously generate the necessary movement. It will take the input of people like you, talking to your neighbors and coworkers, organizing action committees in your neighborhoods and workplaces, reaching out to people from other neighborhoods and workplaces, and organizing in preparation for a struggle. The protests provide a prime opportunity to do just that.
I don’t do enough clearly and while I am being pessimistic I’d like to point out that I’m just saying I don’t think it’s going to progress past these protests not that it’s a worthless endeavor entirely.
I am still very hopeful that something does end up happening I’ve not given up entirely. But most of my opinions based on this have come from direct interaction of many people in these protests several of them have told me that they simply cannot monetarily commit to anything longer they have pooh-poohed the idea of multi-day protests lest a full strike.
I even had some of these people at these protests tell me that they thought the end goal was the protest that this was the win not all of them though but many like I said said they couldn’t even go a single day without the possibility of either losing their job or otherwise and none of them even considered it said it was too risky for them.
For the middle-class organizers of these protests, who lack a serious political perspective, the protest is their victory. They have no concept of the independent organization of the masses doing anything, besides protesting and calling it a day. They believe and promote the belief that mass rallies will be sufficient to pressure the Democratic Party, some Republicans, and the trade union bureaucracies to oppose Trump more vigorously. They will not.
It can be difficult to imagine the possibility of general strike when we haven’t seen a real organized mass movement in at least two generations. It’s not enough for isolated individuals convinced of the necessity to simply strike of their own initiative. That would be a recipe for disaster, with the participants facing certain reprisal and victimization. The movement must be prepared, starting with the most advanced sections of the working class organizing the leadership.
The protests express a broadly felt desire for action, but that cannot spontaneously generate the necessary movement. It will take the input of people like you, talking to your neighbors and coworkers, organizing action committees in your neighborhoods and workplaces, reaching out to people from other neighborhoods and workplaces, and organizing in preparation for a struggle. The protests provide a prime opportunity to do just that.
For what it’s worth, in case you’re interested, this is the statement we distributed at No Kings: Mobilize the working class against Trump’s dictatorship!
I’ll also recommend this perspective following the protest: The mass protests against dictatorship in the US and the way forward in the fight against Trump’s coup.
If you read something in there that strikes a chord, I would suggest reaching out through the contact form.