I'm not even going to go that deep. I'm not American so after moving here, Americans are way harder to reach than I thought. Just the general complete arrogance, overconfidence, American exceptionalism/chauvinism that didn't exist nearly as much even in other Anglo countries I've lived in

Also people are so proud about being un-empathetic here lol. Like literally everybody is like "yea New Yorkers are just so nonchalant and chill that they'll ignore somebody bleeding out or having a psychotic episode on the subway". Like it's literally cool to completely ignore human suffering/crises happening in a public crowded place because caring about others is literally cringe, especially on public transit for whatever reason

It's not just America. All of the capitalist nations have this vibe, everywhere you go. It's like the moment the USSR collapsed, everyone just gave up

Gonna be real with you chief. The reason why the encampments closing up don’t really affect me because I never believed they would work. I only believed they would work for propaganda purposes and pissing off zionists, which succeeded. But had I believed that camping on the lawn would end Raytheon investments, I would also be depressed when they went belly up.

I don’t fault the protestors. Those who had an understanding of material reality should’ve made sure the participants understand that this is another chapter of imperialism, not a case of bad apples. Without that, they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Instead - while well intentioned and fine - the calls for ceasefires and making Biden and Netanyahu the center of attention gives me the impression many protestors think it’s a temporary problem and not a feature of capitalism. I don’t really have a solution to this, by the way. I don’t lead anything. But having your narrative hijacked or overshadowed is how the wrong expectations are set.

Of course many people learn the truth, but if it’s too late and they didn’t adjust their expectations before/during the actions, then that truth will lead to doomerism instead of further tactics and planning.

People who saw the George Floyd protests do absolutely nothing:

America is so cooked

let them cook

I sympathize with your feelings. In my admittedly somewhat vibes-based estimation, the role of the US in the coming decades -- probably for the rest of my life -- is simply to decline and give way to a new world. Or nuke everybody like an asshole.

Our only meaningful job as western leftists -- historically the shittiest, least accomplished leftists -- is basically harm reduction to try and ensure that as many working class people survive into whatever world awaits.

vote

because we're not subject to the worst of the empire's violence many feel no constant need to fight it.

Oh, it's worse. We have a large majority of the population that is begging to bring some of the empire's violence onto us so we can suffer and "look tough" to impress some imaginary observer, and that isn't to mention the absolute brutality that the country does to minorities to the point where you will suffer social consequences from most of the population for saying it's wrong. Sadomasochism is ridiculous here.

Some politician called the student encampments "little Gazas" they're building cop cities while our actual cities crumble. They are widening the gap between haves and have nots. I never thought I'd see anything like this in America. Its only a glimmer, but in many ways what we're seeing today is aftershocks from the civil rights era. Desegregation and breaking the south African apartheid did some damage. The potential is on the periphery of the imperial core. Marginalized and downtrodden people, the homeless, the enslaved. Whatever happens in America to change things, will start from caring for and about the "dregs of society" and finding ways to guard against increasing fascist violence. ¡Viva LA انتافضة!

I share some of the pessimism, but I direct most of it towards the privileged classes and white people because they're the big impediment here.

We're not going to be able to get a real majority mass movement going within a generation. But we can still build up institutions and connections, and take actions that sting the belly of the beast, or maybe even put a band around the stomach.