Thank you Sam for your first and last paragraphs plus everything in between. It reminds me of the time when older intellectuals pretended they were the ones mapping strategy for those living on the sidewalks and parks during the Occupy Wall St protest.
I agree that more is required. Performative protests may be what you claim, but they may also indicate a failure of imagination, a fear of arrest, uncertainty as to what is effective, and other, not quite as complicitious in both intention, and nature. It may be a starting point for some, other people may see those performative protests and be motivated to do more.
One form of protest I think might be effective if properly promoted amongst interested individuals actual comes from a protest which many Western outlets are promoting amongst young people in China, and that is the concept of "laying flat". The notion is similar to that of a general strike, though not so direct. It's more of a way to convince people to be as unproductive and anti-consumerist as possible while still making a living. Mostly the idea is spread on social media, though you might also organize in-person gatherings around the concept The effect, if reproduced effectively on a large scale, would be a general slowdown of the economy and a reduction in tax revenues for the US.
Is this likely to happen to a degree which is noticable on a macro-economic scale? No, but when compared to expecting politicians to grow hearts or spines, it feels much more productive.
I wonder if the infrastructure can be used to spread a message, like putting stickers on the electric scooters, What ever happened with anti-war messages written on dollar bills?
Thank you Sam for your first and last paragraphs plus everything in between. It reminds me of the time when older intellectuals pretended they were the ones mapping strategy for those living on the sidewalks and parks during the Occupy Wall St protest.
I agree that more is required. Performative protests may be what you claim, but they may also indicate a failure of imagination, a fear of arrest, uncertainty as to what is effective, and other, not quite as complicitious in both intention, and nature. It may be a starting point for some, other people may see those performative protests and be motivated to do more.
One form of protest I think might be effective if properly promoted amongst interested individuals actual comes from a protest which many Western outlets are promoting amongst young people in China, and that is the concept of "laying flat". The notion is similar to that of a general strike, though not so direct. It's more of a way to convince people to be as unproductive and anti-consumerist as possible while still making a living. Mostly the idea is spread on social media, though you might also organize in-person gatherings around the concept The effect, if reproduced effectively on a large scale, would be a general slowdown of the economy and a reduction in tax revenues for the US.
Is this likely to happen to a degree which is noticable on a macro-economic scale? No, but when compared to expecting politicians to grow hearts or spines, it feels much more productive.
All good ideas. How about hitting them in the pocketbook with a stay at home general strike for one day (say Sept. 1) or a week?
The US obviously has NO imagination when I look at how the British are 'following through' against the BBC.
What are you doing USA? Stop the propaganda.
I have written time and time again......stop walking down streets protesting.
HIT the propaganda News stations first.
I wonder if the infrastructure can be used to spread a message, like putting stickers on the electric scooters, What ever happened with anti-war messages written on dollar bills?
Oh, Susan Benjamin! Do you really believe her controlled opposition , as Vanessa Beeley put it, will accomplish anything ?
Dear Susan uses the $18 million she controls to promote herself