Effective Protest (Some Readings)

So what can we do? Protest wrongs for starters. What are effective forms of protest? Consider the following:

Five Ways to Effectively Protest According to Activist Carmen Perez

Glossary of Nonviolence
 
Dear resistance: marching is not enough

Protests in France

Know Your Rights: Demonstrations and Protests

Watching the Fire

Warning: Possible F-Bombs Ahead!

I'm sitting safely at home, well fed and more or less secure watching the world burn. It is easy to bitch about all that's going wrong. Our leadership is disjointed, the Covid 19 death toll is continuing to climb and the wage slaves are protesting to get back into their cages. Each one of these is a blog post in it's own right. Easy and plentiful pickings for sure for a disgruntled leftist like myself. If you are going to criticize something, have the common courtesy to have an alternative. Okay, challenge accepted.

Leadership.    

It should be painfully obvious to anyone leadership is lacking. I'm no fan of The Donald but this is not all his fault. It is always easy to look back and say what he should have, could have done. Dido on our congress. Not a big fan. Taking care of the .01% is likely going to backfire spectacularly. It may indeed be the undoing of what was once known as the USA. Creating a feeding frenzy for fat cats and throwing crumbs is not much of a long term solution. Then there is the Federal Reserve. I don't profess to know a lot about economics, but pumping money into a crashing market keeping it artificially afloat for the sake of "stability" cannot end well, can it? Let's go more local.

Each state is running it's own experiment on the citizens living there.
Georgia- aw fuck it, let's just reopen and see what happens.
New York- No thanks.
North Carolina- Maybe?
Our country is not well built to deal with such a crisis on her best day. Nobody likes big government until we need big government. With the party of, "drown the government in a bathtub" in charge, you can see how this went so bad so fast. Fuck you Democrats, you would have done only marginally better also taking care of Wall Street first and foremost. So here's the deal.

We have no reliable leadership. You are on your own. Socialism is for the rich casino capitalism for you. Three Doors now stand before you:
Door Number One. So stay home and prepare yourself for casino capitalism 2.0. 40% less small businesses, less real choice and even shittier working conditions with even less pay. Don't worry! If the TV and Internet stay on, you can take refuge in the worlds of "reality TV," Youtube stars and rapist athletes just like before.
Door Number Two. The grid goes down taking communications, electricity and food supply chains with it. I think this is unlikely but better to acknowledge a fear and prepare for it than just hope it goes away. Millions of guns laying around and a dwindling food supply is not exactly a recipe for Utopia.  Hey, I'll be dead in the first wave unless the local warlord chooses to keep me around for comic relief. Either way I'm good. I hope you have started your garden and are learning how to can food. The winters are long and cold.
Door Number Three. We can make a better world. This too is unlikely but we can dream right? More of us stay working at home, we curb our consumption and we let mother Earth start to breathe for once. We rethink our priorities and unite against threats cant put us all in harms way. It is stunning how fast this became a left vs. right issue complete with conspiracy theories and other unhelpful nonsense.           

Death Toll.
 
As of this writing the Covid 19 death toll in the USA is climbing above 75,000. If anything, it's an under count. No this is not the flu, car accidents or even gun deaths. None of those grow exponentially nor does a larger second (and or third?) wave loom just over the horizon. We already have two simple tools to stop Covid in it's tracks, stay at home and masks. We simply lack the will as stay at home recommendations are ignored by more and more people with each passing day and simply donning a mask makes you compliant with something called the "Deep State." Some people are like, "Fuck the scientists, fuck the government trying to tell me what to do and fuck you and your safety, nobody is gonna tell me what to do. I'm free!" Watch the number listed above continue to climb.     

Reopen Protests.

This is killing the economy. That's true. No job, no income and getting unemployment is a nightmare. How in the hell can I feed my family, pay the mortgage, put gas in the car? Credit cards, car payments, financed fancy beds, couches and high end TV's are going to have to  wait. This is killing my business! These are all legitimate concerns. People are freaking out and it did not take long. I'll pass on name calling as it solves nothing. But dressing up in flag waving attire, sporting AR-15's and joining a mob at the state capital may not be the best way to make these points. Your fellow citizens look on with horror as you draw attention to yourselves and not the problem. Bringing weapons to political protests is only something only white people can to. What happens if any other group tries such shenanigans? Bad things... Here's an alternative.
Show up dressed for work, with masks, ten to fifteen feet apart and say, "We cannot kill our livelihoods and economy. Hey, we can do this safely and effectively. The sooner, the better." This is called Adulting. Nah, flag waving and AR-15's are too much fun! Why?

Most people feel so utterly powerless and helpless, they cannot help to be drawn to an event that's a big Fuck You! I WILL BE HEARD, I WILL BE LISTENED TO! The guns are there for intimidation, agitation and outrage. So congrats on that. Guns provide their owners a feeling of power, security and courage. All illusions. You will lose any shootout with police, the gun also makes you a target and are you so scared you have to carry a battle rifle? Here is a picture of a courageous protestor. 

               
Let's see somebody here face down an American M1 Abrams Tank even with their AR-15. The person pictured above drew attention to his cause the right way.

Make GOOD decisions Friends!