I’m not sure one day is enough . . .
Wait, May day isn’t a public holiday in the US?
No, the US has a separate labor day in September. Instead, May day is officially “loyalty day” in the US.
I love the idea of general strikes, but for no kings!? It’s just going to deflate the tool because there are no demands and nothing will happen.
Makes me angry that people fall for this shit.
Describe to me the kind of action and purpose that you wouldn’t get upset about…
I like how they stated their problem with No Kings is that it doesn’t have a clearly stated and defined end goal they want to see happen and you replied with “You people will never be satisfied”.
No Kings is a goal but now the complaint has shifted to “it’s too vague”. The protests stop once Trump is gone. Are they saying a left-wing version of Jan 6, to stage a coup is the concrete action they are looking for?
Every bit of organization and action is inevitably met with complaints of not being good enough, which is why I’m trying to figure out what is. You have to get the people together before you can agree on a collective course of action.
The droning on of “its not enough” across Lemmy has been going on for years at this point. alyaza of beehaw has touched on it last year, and even before Trump 2.0, there are still commenters saying actual job strikes aren’t demanding enough. I generally try to be reasonable but I’m just tired of this framing, specifically.
Do I know there is more that can be done? Yes, of course! But the refrain of “this is controlled opposition”, “this is a waste of time”, like that’s your opinion sure, but it’s more frustrating and discouraging any participation at all, than what could be a more encouraging “Yes, and”.
It’s also hypocritical because complaining on the internet about it is doing even less than what you could characterize as a political street concert. May 1st is literally is a strike with the goal to restrain Trump and resist his paper thin authoritarian projection of power. I went out last weekend to one in Canada. I’m boycotting Hootsuite, and keeping the pressure on Roshel to stop supporting ICE, telling people and the government on the street to invest in renewable energy not oil. I’ve cancelled several trips to the US, will continue to stay away until Trump’s dead, and go a lot less than previously even after.
Honestly it doesn’t seem fully focused on that singular goal. Sure that’s what many want, but then there’s signs for releasing the Epstein files, getting rid of ICE, getting other conservatives out of power, stopping the war, providing healthcare. The message is scattered which doesn’t help with how infrequent and short the protests are. BLM is a better example. They wanted police held accountable for their actions and to stop doing prejudice against non-white people. That’s it and those protests, both in 2020 and in 2014, lasted a long fucking time. They weren’t successful as we still see corrupt cops and the government/presidents during both of those sided with the cops, but it was a lot better than No Kings.
Think about the Civil rights movement. People did various demonstrations to end segregation of schools, transportation, housing, but also to end voter suppression and disenfranchisement. The overarching theme is “End Segregation/Apartheid” but you could point to a collection of demonstrations to say the goals were scattered and vague. Like the bus boycotts is just one of many aspects to de-segregate, bringing people towards the overall civil rights movement, No Kings is gathering people aggrieved to any one of the issues to be part of a movement that wants to end authoritarianism.
The zone is flooded by the Trump admin with Iran, Palestine, Epstein, ICE, Venezuela, Cuba, Caribbean attacks, Greenland threats, crypto and oil company bribes to name a few. None of which the people can really influence directly through co-ordinated action (some things have already been tried like the aid flotilla). People are overwhelmed, and need an outlet and a way to share the message that this isn’t normal and authoritarian fascism will not become our new normal. But there’s no way that you can get everyone to agree to a singular cause immediately, that’s probably why the headline is “No More Authoritarianism”, rather than a specific set of demands. These events will help people find other people that care about the same issue. That’s what organization is all about, it’s the first step in a long list of steps. A strike is a few steps ahead but not the goal in itself either.
eta: jordanlund’s criticism is an example of one that is more nuanced and clear.
a general strike demanding universal healthcare, or ending the war and or genocide, or tying the minimum wage to inflation. Concrete policy initiatives. No kings is clearly a psyop to divert activist energy.
At least this time it’s not during the weekend I guess 😂
Finally
