I just went down to our local lib demonstration. All I could really feel was depressed. All those people waving signs but I wonder how many are willing to do anything more than that? Shit most of them were pretty old, tbh. I approached some people I clocked as comrades but I was very awkward and we didn’t have a conversation.
I guess I don’t really have a question here. Just feel like everybody has identified (some of) the problems, but have totally misidentified the solutions. Will these protests ever accomplish anything? Can we radicalize the protestors without them having to get beaten by cops? Or is that what it will take?
Can second what most people say here about recruitment or “networking”. Yes, it’s true that a many people at those lib rallies are too lib to be comrades, but it definitely is not true of the entirety and hence the potentials for recruitment and even agitation can’t be written off.
The masses of America are becoming more open to some alternative, or at least know that the crisis calls for some type of action. But due to liberal hegemony, and lack of knowledge or exposure of existing orgs, many people will go to these liberal rallies. But many people are open to and, even want, more than what these rallies themselves provide.
Our org has used these as sites of recruitment as we’ve met people who wanted more but didn’t know where else to go until they connected with us. We met people who went to the protests but were disappointed with them for the lack of mentioning Palestine or foreign policy (not counting the laughable “hands off NATO” slogans). In one case we agitated, as well. The protests weren’t thay well organized, so it’s easy to start making more radical chants and have people join. That serves also as a litmus test for their consciousness.
But all these are tasks of an organization, not a single person. If it is only you acting outside an org, then there it isnt politics, isn’t strategy. If possible, join an org you can see eye-to-eye with*, and together build a strategy for these rising protests.
But if no org exists where you are, or they are all garbage, I get that struggle. That’s how it had been for me for a long time. Building an org at your locale is possible, but lots of work. But again, the existing protests are already getting people together. So you’ll know where to meet them.
Yeah, many are uber libs, but many potential recruits are waiting amongst them. But it requires orgs to get to them.
*(For joining an org, there is definitely an argument for not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. But I foolishly joined an org that I ended up having major disagreements with and there was much needless drama and pain before I had to leave. You want to feel good about the group you are part of.)