Quote:
Originally Posted by roachboy
there is no culture of popular demonstration to speak of. even during the last period of intensive street protest, actions were discrete in terms of organization and duration and were organized outside the system of production so that they posed no particular threat by having no ability to affect the operations of the system as a whole.
|
Can someone explain why this is? I'm guessing that the US is somehow just immune to strikes, so most don't even try? I can't explain how frustrating that is. I've been protesting for over 10 years now, over various things that I happen to believe are important. When I tell people this most of the time, they look at me as though I were lighting up a bong in front of them. It's insane. Has "the man" simply won the battle over the definition and status of protesting here?
The scary thing is that, in a system where protesting doesn't exist, there's no real step between inactive dissatisfaction and terrorism. That's why protest and free speech are so important. Does anyone else remember the LA riots? Protesting didn't work, so it turned into violence and vandalism.
RB, you're a bright man who's been around a bit more than I. What if anything can be done to repair the void between dissatisfaction and rioting? How can we make protesting something functional, as it should be?