• npcknapsack@lemmy.ca
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    7 days ago

    Earth Day, 1970. 200 million people in the USA then, so 10% of the country. And look where the earth is now…

    • cooperativesrock@lemm.ee
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      7 days ago

      That 3.5% number is of sustained engagement, not one and done. A single event with lots of people is the beginning of a movement. The work needs to keep going. But, the 1970s did see a lot of environmental progress.

      • npcknapsack@lemmy.ca
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        7 days ago

        Did you mean to reply to me on that? I was only talking about how crazy the earth day one was, not trying to make a direct comparison. The earth day one was absolutely massive, yet I don’t think the climate is in a good place now.

        Regardless, I do hope Americans throw off fascism.

        • cooperativesrock@lemm.ee
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          6 days ago

          I did. It seemed you were saying that the Earth day 1970 protest didn’t do much to help the Earth. That isn’t so.

          The US EPA was created in July of that year and the Clean Water Act passed in 1972. Banning DDT for Ag in the US in 1972 brought birds of prey lile the Bald Eagle back from near extenction. They were supremely successful at getting legislation passed. The focus was toxic chemicals and pollutants, not climate change as that wasn’t really on the radar then. So yes, the climate is in shambles right now, but it wasn’t really part of their platform. They mostly got what they wanted from that march and activism then the urgency faded away.

  • Jaysyn@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    An astounding number of people in this thread simply do not understand how the math of a two-party FPtP electoral system works.

    Also, If your 3rd party isn’t putting the work in for local elections, your 3rd party isn’t actually a serious political party, regardless of your opinion of it.

  • surph_ninja@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Hands Off is a pro-NATO, pro-war, pro-Israel org. Which is why you saw the likes of Nancy Pelosi as featured speakers.

    • the_elder@midwest.social
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      7 days ago

      Alright, guess we should pack it in. Failed the purity test. Can’t make progress this time around folks, maybe next time we’ll find a pure enough movement.

      (I didn’t see ANYTHING about Hands Off being pro-war or pro-Israel. But I guess not explicitly saying it’s ANTI those things, means they’re pro? Get the fuck outta here with your black and white thinking, asshole)

  • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    I’m so glad the George Floyd protests solved police brutality!

    This is why protesting should only be treated as the initial rallying cry to garner support. Without the millions protesting willing to engage in direct action — like general strikes, permanent boycotts, etc — there will never be meaningful change.

    • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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      7 days ago

      The George Floyd protests were absolutely the reason that Chauvin got convicted and sent to prison. It’s fucked up that that’s what it took, but they at least got a concrete result. Which is more than I can say for any of these other protests. Not that I don’t support them-- in fact I drove 2 hours to DC to participate on Saturday. It was cool to see so many people out, but to make changes, you have to force power to recognize you as a force to be reckoned with.

      • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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        6 days ago

        15 - 26 million people to get one person convicted for an act they clearly did.

        America is so fucked.

    • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
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      7 days ago

      Musk wanted to create a bigger protest by recommending a pardon for his murderer police officer.

      • AThing4String@sh.itjust.works
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        8 days ago

        Honestly actually thanks for this - doom scrolling late at night and feeling 0/10 hopeless.

        Shit’s bleak, but if there’s legitimately nothing we can do about it we might as well lay on the railroad tracks, eh?

        • Match!!@pawb.social
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          7 days ago

          hey hey hey. we got 3 million people out to the protests last weekend. the republican house is getting stymied and criticism is rallying from all directions. trump’s already running out of steam and we’ve barely begun fighting him

        • kreskin@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          there are no functional railroads near me. I’m going to have to fly to get to them. fml.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      I remember when Biden mocked the Defund the Police movement in his first SOTU, and then went on to accelerate the militarization of police. Now, we have cop cities.

      At the end of the day, none of these people are going to vote differently than they have for decades, so nothing is going to change.

      • kreskin@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Coupling his Defund response with his backing of a far right wing genocide, and his absolute bed-defecation in the dem campaign for president, Biden is easily the worst dem president of my lifetime. And I’m not young. I hope history remembers him accurately.

        • Match!!@pawb.social
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          7 days ago

          but what about his brace leadership during the pandemic where he filled our hearts with hope by

          by uh

          uhh

          i guess we got a stimulus check?

  • oxysis@lemm.ee
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    8 days ago

    Remember kids nonviolent protests does not mean you can’t annoy the shit out of the people you want to change things. Don’t make the ruling class uncomfortable and they won’t bother with listening to you.

    • toy_boat_toy_boat@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      let them have their pageants and protests. let them shout their words. let them push a little and get some pepper spray. let a few of them get arrested. they’re young. they have their whole lives ahead of them. they’re more afraid of us.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    God, that’s depressing.

    Protest accomplishes nothing, because all of you are going to ignore the last 44 years of politics and vote Democrat and Republican when the next election rolls around. You all voted for the Bidens, Schumers, Bookers, and Harrises of the world who didn’t do shit about the issues that got Trump elected a second time.

  • ynthrepic@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    We somehow need to explain to everyone who marched for George Floyd that brown Muslim Americans are being deported to El Salvadorian prisons without due process and subject to prison labour. Overt racist slavery is back, and we’re far from outraged enough.