The president-elect’s first term brought a wave of protest. This time, visitors to New York’s Washington Square Park are struggling for energy to resist

Summary

Anti-Trump Americans, especially on the left, are showing a more subdued response to Trump’s 2024 reelection compared to the activism of 2016.

Exhaustion, disillusionment with repeated setbacks, and negative media coverage have led many to disengage from politics or shift focus to personal priorities.

Activist groups, like Women’s March, are planning protests but acknowledge lower enthusiasm and more localized efforts.

Experts suggest this “tune-out” may be a coping mechanism, with some hoping new, non-political participants will lead change.

Many feel drained but believe activism will eventually regain momentum.

  • blazeknave@lemmy.world
    5·
    13 days ago

    I figured this out in The Tombs in Brooklyn 20 years ago. I was the only white guy and hearing these kids talk about conspiracy theories even back then… 9/11… David Icke… Aliens… etc… I knew then “if stones get thrown, it’ll be from the streets, the hungry, not the over educated upper middle class suburban whites.” And also not at all surprised when people of color went hard right last couple elections bc they haven’t trusted the govt … ever…

    • Asafum@feddit.nl
      2·
      12 days ago

      Funny enough the conspiracy theories were how I even got interested in politics to begin with! I always had a special hatred for Bush, but after being exposed to the 9/11 conspiracies I fell down a rabbit hole, crossed paths with Infowars for a bit, and finally dug myself back out to “reality” taking a brief tour of “maybe the Democrats actually give a shit about people.”

      …yeah. We don’t actually have a party for the working people. Things are going to have to get rough for things to change :(

      • blazeknave@lemmy.world
        2·
        11 days ago

        School report on the Ross Perot election and then reading Rage Against the Machine liner note lyrics (and going to the library to research every historical reference). By the time I was in high school in Manhattan with proximity to activism, I was grabbing the bullhorn at the protests.

        Yeah… That was the 99% movement. Leftist and tea party… unity? (Anger at being fucked by banks) Have you read The Great Derangement? Check out the synopsis. Might be up your alley.