My wife is planning to go this.
Women anxious that a Donald Trump presidency in the United States could set back or destroy many of their rights are planning a massive march in Washington one day after he is sworn in, organizers said on Friday.
On Facebook, where the “Women’s March on Washington” is being organized, some 35,000 people said they would attend within the first 24 hours after it was announced, said Bob Bland, an organizer based in New York.
The march comes in response to Trump’s attitudes toward women that emerged during his campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, Bland told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Baud
I hope they’ll be registering voters.
fuckwit
This is awesome.
Why did it not happen before the election, when it would have mattered?
Baud
@fuckwit: I don’t think it would have made sense before the election. At least not in DC. Maybe outside of Trump hotel.
ruemara
What Baud et fuckwit said. Don’t get me wrong, I support protest, i just think the right protest march was marching your ass into the voting booth November 8th and pulling the lever for Hillary.
Denali
@fuckwit,
Good question.
Elizabelle
Saturday, January 21.
That’s too late. They need to do it in December.
adminofsystems
@Baud:
I live here in the DC area and it’s sort of go big or go bust. There’s always someone protesting something somewhere. So unless you clog the right persons route to work, or bring big, nobody will notice. And most things are from the left anyways. Abortion protests here are a dime a fucking dozen in most cases.
Tie it to post election Trump and get a lot of people, that will get attention.
Mai.naem.mobile
There was a blurb on the Google on Thurs or Fri about women considering getting an IUD inserted before President Camacho takes over because it’s a long lasting birth control and Camacho may not allow birth control. So, here we are in 2016 talking about regular birth control. Not Plan B or abortion but fucking IUDs. I hope all these BernieBros and Trumpkins are willing to pay for child support when their girlfriends get preggers and are forced to have the kids.
Timurid
No, the day of Inauguration. Accompanied by a nationwide one-day general strike.
Go big or go home.
MazeDancer
For those of you wondering, as I did, why are they doing this the day after inauguration, why not on the day? That would make so much more impact.
Answer: no permits. All protest permits depend on police okay. No peaceful protest permit can happen on a day when all the cops will be tied up with inauguration. And traffic will already be blocked for the ole “walk down the avenue”.
However, every other city and burg can have plenty of inauguration day protests. Because none of us could bear to watch the speech. And my heart continues to break that the Obamas will have to do that.
Lizzy L
@fuckwit: Because we/they all thought Hillary was going to win. Hindsight is 20-20.
@Elizabelle: Friday, January 20 is Inauguration Day. January 21 is perfect. It says to T, We’re here, m-f, and we’re not going away.
Corner Stone
Yeah, but how many of them are nasty?
Someone had to.
eemom
I totally honor the spirit of those who want to do this, as I do the protesters out there now. But the fact remains that protest marches plus the cost of a Starbucks latte will get you a Starbucks latte. The absolute ineffectuality of these things just makes me more depressed than I already am.
Baud
@eemom: I’m not an expert at these things, but I think protests have become ineffectual because they have been seen as an end to themselves, and not simply as one component of a larger movement and strategy.
We’ll see if this one ends up being any different.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
This. Hope all those college-educated white women who voted for Trump because Hillary is Such.A.Bitch. are proud of themselves now.
ruemara
@Baud: Bingo and I doubt it, if the RNC keep things low key for the first year. Complacency and lassitude are their friends. We’ll see.
Miss Bianca
Well, that’ll be nice. I guess. I wish I thought it would matter. unless those million women show up with pitchforks, shotguns, and tumbrels and surround not only the white house, but congress, I doubt it will make any difference at all.
Sorry, does that sound bitter? Defeatist? Guess I’m with ruemara on this one. I’m thinking that protests aren’t going to do one fucking bit of good, because these people cannot be shamed. Maybe some nice-feel good solidarity, but unless women are prepared to take a page from the book of the civil rights leaders – organizing boycotts, directly confronting the PTB – I don’t see anything bein accomplished. Put me down – at least for tonight – as “better than doing nothing, I suppose”.
ETA: And Baud! gets there first. Guess that’s why he had the virtual vote down and I didn’t.
Baud
@ruemara: Big if. I think the white evangelicals who supported Trump won’t be that patient. But maybe they’ll be satiated with his Supreme Court pick.
Hal
One of my old coworkers is going. Safety on her and her bus mates.
And my favorite Patti Labelle when I’m feeling down, you’ll never walk alone…
Lizzy L
The NYT — yeah, I’ll still read it, I just won’t pay for it — is reporting that T. is repeating his promise to name a Supreme Court justice who will vote to roll back Roe v. Wade, and return the issue to the states. When asked what would happen to women in no-abortion states who want to get an abortion, T. said, “They’ll have to go to another state.”
I remember the terror of seeking an abortion in the years when abortion was illegal. We cannot go back.
GrandJury
This is what needs to be done. Protest, protest, protest. The media has to report it. The politicians cannot ignore it.
Should not be waiting till inauguration either. Protests start now.
Mnemosyne
@Baud:
Protests are (potentially) helpful when you have people inside the government who are standing by to help with legislation, policy changes, etc. If the government is completely against you, you’re just jerking off.
The Troubles in Northern Ireland started as a Roman Catholic civil rights movement modeled on the one in the US, but when England made it clear that they weren’t going to budge, the blood started to flow.
Let’s try and skip that step and just move straight to getting our folks back in state houses and Congress again, shall we?
Miss Bianca
@Mnemosyne: They don’t think they’re going to be personaly affected. They think they and their daughters are always going to be able to get birth control or a safe, legal abortion, because they’ll be able to afford to pay for it. And they’re probably right.
SenyorDave
@Lizzy L: IOW, wealthy Republicans who live in the south will send their daughters north for an abortion when Goober knocks up Daisy Lou
Baud
@Mnemosyne:
That’s what I was saying. The protest has to be part of something bigger, like mobilizing the vote in this case, not just a one-off.
Baud
BTW, “send it back to the states” is a lie. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, no way the GOP won’t feel pressure to pass a nationwide ban.
Miss Bianca
@GrandJury:
Great gasbags, did you just fall off the turnip truck yesterday? *Of course* the media doesn’t have to report it. *Of course* the politicians can ignore it. Unless there’s some economic impact to the protest – or unless you have legislators or civil leaders who can apply the screws to the media or the politicians – and unless the protests have leaders who are in communication with these other parties, mass protests nowadays are feel-good gestures at best.
GrandJury
@eemom: Then why don’t you go to one of the protests. They will make you feel better. Get it? Understand what protests are for now?
NotMax
Despise the Million [insert word here] March designation. Too easy for the press and the general public to dismiss legitimate protest as ineffectual or a failure because “only” 200,000 showed up.
Also too, January weather can disrupt both travel and attendance.
schrodinger's cat
The states that voted for Hillary are the economic engine of America, the urban areas and the university campuses are what give it its dynamism. We need to find a way to leverage what we have. We are not powerless.
MikeBoyScout
@Timurid: You are a leader worth following
Baud
@schrodinger’s cat: Right, and we are still the dominant culture, which is really what pisses off Trump voters. Hopefully, we can leverage that as well.
Betsy
@Miss Bianca: because they basically count on Democrats the ACLU and Planned Parenthood and naral pro-choice America to keep it all safe and legal so they can vote Republican without worrying too much about it
Mai.naem.mobile
@Baud: I highly doubt the GOP would pass a nationwide abortion ban because it’s a big GOTV motivating issue for them. I seriously think their voters would drop by 5-10 percent if they passed the ban and it didn’t look like it would come back
brighid
@Baud: i think the danger is a protest becomes the action instead of being a prelude to action. I plan to go in order to meet other like minded folks across the country and learn how to recruit racially and economically diverse candidates for local races. i am a cynic so i have my doubts that it will matter. but I am desperate so I am willing to try.
p.a.
Lysistrata anyone?
amk
@schrodinger’s cat: Yup. Dem cong critters have to take a lead on this. Their state and district voters should target them to move their cowardly asses in their interest.
Another Scott
If they get 1M people (I assume men would be welcomed as well) to attend, it would be a big deal because nothing like that has ever happened before – a huge protest on a new president’s first full day in office.
I would like to see it happen, and like it to be the first day of a new dawn of effective activism.
But I think back to the huge, world-wide, protests against the Iraq invasion.
And I think of many protests I’ve been to in DC in the past which did not have a coherent message – you’ve got the Communists, the pot legalizers, the anti-IMF people, Greenpeace, A.N.S.W.E.R, and so on, each with seemingly having more interest in their topic than the one at hand (e.g. stopping Keystone XL). Don’t get me wrong – people have the right to protest and ad-hoc coalitions are fine and necessary. But it helps to have a strong, coherent message. If a march in January just turns into the “usual” grab-bag of groups who mainly talk about their specific issues and try to recruit for their groups rather than trying to build a mass-movement, then it will be a missed opportunity.
The RW Noise Machine is already ramping up the outrage about people daring to protest. They’re setting the memes now. A protest in January may have too big a hill to climb to sway public opinion by then, unless the organizers find a hook very soon.
My take on this may be all wet, because of my feeling gloomy since Tuesday. But the way our team – so far – is mainly being sensible and reasonable and not pushing back is very disconcerting. They need to be working now to do everything they can to come up with an effective strategy. I hope they’re doing so.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Mai.naem.mobile: I don’t think they’ll try unless Roe is overturned, which would probably take several years. But I also don’t think their voters are that stupid that they would ignore a GOP controlled government’s failure to outlaw abortion everywhere. And their voters always have their racial hatred to fall back on.
Mai.naem.mobile
@schrodinger’s cat: this is above my paygrade but I believe there is some way to hurt the red states by having the blue states jigger with federal and state taxes where they get to keep more of their taxes. The red states mooch off the blue states in general anyway.
Baud
@brighid:
Right. I can see some people the next day saying “nothing’s change” and giving up in frustration. It’s important to set expectations correctly.
Another Scott
If they get 1M people (I assume men would be welcomed as well) to attend, it would be a big deal because nothing like that has ever happened before – a huge protest on a new president’s first full day in office.
I would like to see it happen, and like it to be the first day of a new dawn of effective activism.
But I think back to the huge, world-wide, protests against the Iraq invasion.
(continued because FYWP…)
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Mai.naem.mobile: That would be news to me. Probably a better way is through boycotts.
Another Scott
@Another Scott:
And I think of many protests I’ve been to in DC in the past which did not have a coherent message – you’ve got the Communists, the pot legalizers, the anti-IMF people, Greenpeace, A.N.S.W.E.R, and so on, each with seemingly having more interest in their topic than the one at hand (e.g. stopping Keystone XL). Don’t get me wrong – people have the right to protest and ad-hoc coalitions are fine and necessary. But it helps to have a strong, coherent message. If a march in January just turns into the “usual” grab-bag of groups who mainly talk about their specific issues and try to recruit for their groups rather than trying to build a mass-movement, then it will be a missed opportunity.
(continued because FYWP…)
Cheers,
Scott.
ruemara
@Mnemosyne: They may be too busy trying to get IUD insertions scheduled.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mai.naem.mobile:
fuckwit
@Lizzy L: Actually, I remember the polls showing a clear Obama win in 2008 and 2012, but we were so fucking terrified of the alternative so we were spurred into GOTV action. There was a palpable fear in the eyes of us campaign volunteers in 2012, as if everything we worked for was in danger of being destroyed. They both were clearly existential elections, and people treated them as such.
Then again, I remember the Obama campaign sharing bad internals with their staffers, and the staffers were scared. I don’t know if the Clinton campaign did the same, but I didn’t sense panic in the staffers.
I don’t recall that sense of urgency this election, except among a few of the Latino volunteers. As for voters, I saw widespread complacency this year. It was just assumed that Hilary would win. I know people who held election night celebration parties to ring in the first female President (the events turned funereal quickly).
I think the reason this year feels so much like 2000 is that there is a liberal weak spot: laughing at stupid people and not taking them seriously. Troll exploited that just as effectively as Shrub did. I remember vividly that in 2000 everyone I knew thought both Shrub and Gore were big jokes, with Shrub the bigger joke. An idiot, could never be elected. And he won largely because there wasn’t a sense of seriousness on the other side about how easily it is for a willfully-ignorant person to win election.
So I stick by my question: where was this energy before the election? Why were we not scared into action? Fear is a powerful motivator. The opposition used it. And in 2008 and 2012 we had Hope, but also the fear of the catastrophe Walnuts, Palin, RMoney and Granny Starver would bring.
After Rapey McShitgibbon’s sexist remarks came out, I expected women marching in the street, and straight into the polls to usher in Madame President. Didn’t happen in the states it needed to happen in.
Somebody fucked up. The time to get angry and active was before election day.
Mnemosyne
@Mai.naem.mobile:
If so, it sounds like California is willing to lead the charge. The leaders of our legislature did a very defiant press release right after the election vowing not to let the Republicans turn back the clock.
Another Scott
@Another Scott:
(Sorry if this appears a million times – FYWP didn’t like something…)
My take on this may be all wet, because of my feeling gloomy since Tuesday. But the way our team – so far – is mainly being sensible and reasonable and not pushing back is very disconcerting. They need to be working now to do everything they can to come up with a battle plan. I hope they’re doing so.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Another Scott: The GOP didn’t announce their obstruction plans after Obama was elected either.
Lizzy L
@fuckwit: I was working for the campaign — phone banking from CA. I know people who traveled to other states to knock on doors. But obviously, we should have been scared, and we were not. Part of that was PEC and 538 all saying (until the very end) that it looked, she was going to win. Part of it — clearly — we we truly didn’t realize what was happening. We know now.
gogol's wife
@Baud:
Yeah, it’s just one piece of a larger movement. People have to make it clear that this is not okay, in any way they can. One protest by itself will do nothing, but lots of stuff (of various kinds) happening all over the place might. My first step tomorrow is to call my senators and representative and ask what their plan is for resisting the evil. I will promise contributions all round if they have good ideas for resistance. I’m hoping to think of more things in the coming weeks, and I hope we all will.
Another Scott
@Another Scott: Testing…
effective strategy
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabeth
@Mnemosyne:
We actually need to be prepared to do two different tracks and I am not sure if Americans really understand how to do it.
1. mass protests might be useful. But people need to start showing up en masse to tell their Congressperson that they better toe the line or else. https://storify.com/editoremilye/i-worked-for-congress-for-six-years has tips.
2. Work on getting back the state legislatures. Organize your neighborhood and make sure every single person you think will go your way or you can talk into going your way knows who to vote for, when to vote, what is needed to vote and how to get to the polling place. Expect massive resistance by Republicans and no help from the judiciary.
3. If this means you run for office, good. Do it.
The other track is this: civil disobedience.
1. Start organizing groups to do the same old thing that the civil rights movement did back in the day. Obtain the books before they disappear and study what they did. Al Giordano is kind of a dick in a lot of aspects but he knows what you need to do to get change and he said read what they did.
2. Practice, practice, practice. Be ready for the violence, learn how to passively resist. Be ready to be arrested and have a plan to deal with it.
3. Have someone on hand to record this and make sure it gets uploaded instantly to the cloud with an offsite person to get the video out. People recoil when they see very patient and passive people being harmed.
4. Be prepared to do this while dressed neatly and professionally. One big reason all of those civil rights movement people were so neatly dressed is because it sent a message: “we are respectable people seeking a respectable goal.” It makes the police action look all the worse. It isn’t about freedom of expression but a symbol of “we are good people who simply want justice.
And always back both of them up with support networks. For those who can’t keep going, have someone ready to stand in their stead. What I am saying is horrifying in 2016. But it was done once, it shall be done again. As Maya Angelou said-still I rise and so shall we.
gogol's wife
@p.a.:
The problem with that is that the women with Trumpian husbands voted Trump. You don’t want to punish guys who voted for Clinton, do you?
James E Powell
@Mnemosyne:
Serious? Because I’m thinking that if they had the capacity for that kind of thought, self-reflection, they might have checked themselves on their middle school response to the one candidate that respects them.
GrandJury
@Miss Bianca: Oh what short memory you have. Better get a doctor to check that. Occupy wall street was reported quite a bit. A lot of Sandernistas will probably tell you that it made a difference.
The protests currently happening daily are being reported daily. Doesn’t matter what they say about the protests. Just that they report it.
Sitting around silent is acceptance of someone who is unacceptable.
Emerald
@Mnemosyne:
Howdy neighbor! Where are ya at in our fair golden state? I’m in northern San Diego County (yeah, Issa’s district).
Gvg
@fuckwit: people I knew were plenty scared this time. I believed the polls and thought he would lose pretty badly too but other people were worried. Heck I was worried because he was such a bad guy and it wasn’t showing blowout when I thought it should but I did think she had it. So did mattel and Walmart as I have just seen the latest Barbie and it’s a female President and Vice President. Depressing. Anyway there was urgency around here but boy were the pols wrong. Ever since 2004 when I hoped the polls were just slightly wrong I have tried to be logical and face the polls…of course since then the polls have said mostly what I wanted but they also turned out to be right or close so….
It’s going to be hard to figure out a strategy going forward if we can’t make accurate polls anymore. I assume it’s something to do with caller id?
dogwood
I’d be cautious about getting excited about these protests as anything more than venting. I have a good friend in Seattle. Smart, somewhat self-absorbed, and completely disengaged from politics. Votes democratic every 2 years. Like all of us she was crazy mad on election night, but she went to the Seattle protest and now she feels better. I’m glad it made her feel better, and I have no doubt she will be back to normal life soon. Venting isn’t action, venting isn’t a plan, and venting isn’t commitment. I don’t know if anyone here has ever read “Dreams From My Father”, but in it Obama talks about his decision to attend the Million Man March. He left feeling that the big protest wasn’t going to amount to much, and that change required getting more control of the levers of power, not simply protesting the powerful. The republicans have let loose chaos upon this land. I’m not sure democrats adding to the chaos is a good idea right now.
opiejeanne
@Emerald: Did Issa lose? I forgot to check.
Another Scott
@opiejeanne: Applegate’s campaign is saying 100,000 ballots still have to be counted.
Cheers,
Scott.
geg6
@Elizabeth:
Funny that you’ve brought up Angelou’s poem. It’s been on my mind ever since Wednesday morning. I sat down to read it yesterday, but only got a few lines in before crying my eyes out. So I tried again today but failed to get through it again because I couldn’t see to read through my tears. I’m going to persist until I can get through it without even welling up. That’s when I’ll know I’m strong and calmed enough to start to fight back. I just can’t yet, but I will. Maya tells me that I can.
Jesus, I never imagined this. Never.
O. Felix Culpa
I don’t know if there was a lack of urgency elsewhere, but we worked our butts off in NM and never let up until the polls closed Tuesday night. As a result New Mexico not only went for Hillary (alas, our meager population merits only 5 electoral votes), we also retained our Dem congressman, took back the state house for the Democrats, retained the state senate, and elected Dems to several other statewide offices. We’re already organizing for 2018, interspersed with and motivated by a hell of a lot of grieving, raging, and fear about the incoming president.
My wife and I are considering going to the march. Perhaps by itself it will be “only” symbolic, but symbols have power. Plus, there is value in solidarity and creating networks for future collective action. It’s better than sitting at home in despair and is potentially powerful if coupled with effective organizing at the local, state, and national levels.
Miss Bianca
@GrandJury: Occupy Wall Street made no effective difference. Sure, it was cute and inspiring and all. It got people talking about “the 1%”, but that’s it. A lot of Sandernistas might think that was enough. I don’t.
Because there was no leadership. OWS had no plan for what it actually wanted to accomplish – just a lot of hot air about what it didn’t like. “Revolution!!11!!” is not a plan. Hope, as our own Adam L. Silverman has pointed out, is not a strategy.
What *happened* was that the most progressive Democratic platform – and candidate – in decades got shot down. And a lot of that is on the shoulders of all those OWS types who refused to recognize what they had. “Don’t it always seem to go/that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
if people are getting pissed about it now, well…too late. And probably too little. Not that we should give up, but protests are going to do no fucking good unless there’s leadership, strong leadership, and people are willing to agree on what their goals are.
Suzanne
@gogol’s wife: Jeff Flake is one of my senators. He is GOP, but was always anti-Trump. I am going to call his office this week and see what he will do to stand on the side of right. McCain just got re-elected, and he is probably going to roll over.
There is a local protest at the AZ State Capitol on the same day as the national protest, and I will probably attend the local one. No, it is not enough, it is never enough just to go and yell and scream, just as wearing a safety pin isn’t enough.
But I am really at a loss for what to do. I have a full-time job and family responsibilities. I make small donations to the usual suspects (ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Medicins Sans Frontieres, etc.). I volunteer for my local Dem party branch when I have spare time (hahaha “spare time”). I send Sternly Worded Emails to my lawmakers. I engage in discussion with right-wingers often. None of it made a whit of difference. The left wing internet is full of “what you’re doing isn’t enough!” right now, and that is true, but what we have not come up with yet are solutions. What is the most effective, united way to make change?
When I ask that question, I am hearing crickets.
Elizabeth
@geg6:
Read the things I suggested. We can win if we do so by working our tails off. I coasted way too much in the past two years because I could trust those in charge. And I am partly to blame for what happened because I could have worked harder and I didn’t.
So now, we have what we have. Let’s fight to keep our gains and stall them. Stall them so they can’t do it ever again.
Doug!
@eemom:
I think it’s a foot in the door towards being an engaged local activist. Not the idiotic Jon Stewart protest, but a protest like this can be a catalyst for grassroots involvement.
O. Felix Culpa
@Elizabeth: Agree with every action step you cite. We are working on the same track here in NM. Local grassroots organizing, making our voices heard in D.C., and preparing for civil disobedience if and when it’s needed.
Elizabeth
@Suzanne: Start writing letters. The link I gave up thread about how to contact your legislators recommends doing in person organizing and letter writing campaigns. When the LD18 peeps ask you to write a letter, please, please do. Handwritten and neatly.
When you can, show up at the local in office protest. Make sure you show up at any of the town halls held by anyone in office. JD Hayworth once got his ass handed to him by a Fountain Hills crowd during the SS privatization attempt in 2005. It does work.
And finally, work on making sure that the language you use is not the right wing language. If they say “pro life” don’t call them that. Call them what they are- anti-choice. Be polite but firm. It is little things small and large.
Elizabeth
@O. Felix Culpa: *hi fives*
Thank god for New Mexico. Now if I could just figure out how to do that here in AZ…
Grace
@schrodinger’s cat: We need to find a way to leverage what we have.
Do the states send any money to D.C.? Money is the only thing that matters to those fuckers. Is there any way for the states to withhold money from D.C.?
Suzanne
@Elizabeth: I do go to a lot of the town halls. But once again, most of us have jobs and families, and have only a few hours of spare time here and there or on weekends.
I will try to be better about actually writing letters rather than emails or phone calls. I do spend some of my lunch hours writing to my lawmakers, which is why I usually do email and phone calls, but if handwritten letters are that much more powerful, then I’ll try it.
The point is that I am just seeing a lot of “That won’t work! That won’t be enough! ORGANIZE!”, and that is definitely a true statement. But remember that most people have many other obligations, yet want to contribute in some fashion, and it would be helpful if some of the organizations or leaders could say, “HERE is what to do. HERE is what we need.” If protesting is dumb, and safety pins are pointless, then what else is better for the average person? We need some leadership.
Seth Owen
Long list of cynics and Debbie Downers.
No, protests alone won’t do much. It’s going to take a full court press and protests are part of this.
If my chemo allows I hope to take part in this Jan. 21 event with my daughter.
Slaughter
Suzanne, what you’re doing is a lot — and a lot more than most do. I knocked on doors, hung fliers on doors and did phone banking, in addition to monthly giving to ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and St. Mary’s Food Bank. My daughter and I are talking about attending the inauguration to protest and to march the next day. She also said she plans to make donations at the holidays tpo Planned Parenthood, possibly in the name of family members we think voted for Trump.
rikyrah
@Mnemosyne:
Awe… You are being mean, bringing up their voting for the racist fascist.
fuckwit
@Miss Bianca: Accomplishing that was a big fucking deal. They got people talking about income inequality and the 1%. And they laid the groundwork for Bernie’s movement. Of course that’s just the beginning.
It took the Reaganites 30 years to fuck this country up; we’re not going to turn it around in 5.
fuckwit
@Slaughter: That’s a good one. I was burned out by all the politicians email-spamming me asking for donations, but now I’m putting Planned Parenthood, SPLC, and ACLU on my donation list. Fuck politicians; I’m giving to causes instead.
joel hanes
@Baud:
and we are still the dominant culture
Not in the places that Trump voters live, not in the restaurants and bars they favor, not on the TV they choose to watch.
Deborah
@eemom:
Marches and protests were very effective in the 1960s. There were the student movement, the feminist movement (reformers and radicals), the anti-war movement, the civil rights movement (Latinos and American Indians had their own organizations also), the gay movement and the environmental movement. These movements changed how Americans live today. After the conformist 50s, people (young, women, AAs, gays etc) began to question authority, to challenge tradition, to denounce injustice. Charismatic leaders rose to the surface and groups created effective organizations. And they got press attention. Look at the videos of John Lewis and others being beaten on Bloody Sunday. Look at videos of the Miss America protest in 1968, the abortion “speak out” in 1969. Maybe these won’t work today, but it is worth looking at their tactics.
Msb
@ Seth Owen
You’re right. I can’t get to D.C. For the 21st but I can send financial support and perhaps we can do something where we are.
matryoshka
I think our only power is economic, and that silence and non-participation will be a more effective protest. Initially I thought Jan. 20, but maybe Black Friday? Yeah, I know, shut up because reasons. I have been in lots of marches (Take Back the Night, March for Women’s Lives, pride marches, march against the Iraq war) and I think they are great for visibility and a sense of connection, but this time is different. Fact is, we ARE the majority and the only thing that will get their attention is a blip in the economy. But maybe America having a day without shopping is a nightmare too many can’t imagine.
Valerie
@dogwood: Protesting may have more consequences than you think. Trump is very thin skinned and is obviously moved by what it said about him. There is a possibility that the best way to get Trump’s ear is not to even try to do it conventionally, but simply show up in protest with a little bit of truthful criticism thrown in. It is very important to him for people to like him.