I think they are working to rally energy for a general strike; they should at least be considering it.
She keeps using this "common sense" sequence in her rally speeches. But honestly, it doesn't do anything for me. I hate the term "common sense".
this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2025
10 points (91.7% liked)
Political Videos
167 readers
100 users here now
For sharing interesting / important political videos from around the Web! Rules
- Videos only
- Follow the global Mastodon.World rules and the Lemmy.World TOS while posting and commenting.
- Link directly to the video source and not for example an embedded video in an article.
- Don’t be a jerk
- No advertising
- Avoid clickbait titles. (Tip: Use dearrow)
Note: bans may apply to both !videos@lemmy.world and !politicalvideos@lemmy.world
founded 5 months ago
MODERATORS
I think people are far far too quick to call for general strikes in our current era. For those close to unions, strong strikes are ones that are well coordinated, funded, and supported. They have strike pay, food networks, and daycare services. We can look at calls for general strikes from established unions, like the UAW. They set it years in advance to let people plan.
A poorly supported strike can lead to scatterings of people losing money, their jobs, and faith in the power of unions. I think it's wise to not push for action outside the ability of the current state of labor in the country.
That's interesting.
Because what you are outlining in terms of urging caution around a general strike, its pretty much the identical arguments that were made by the Social Democrats during Hitlers rise to power. Its an incredibly relevant example, because it was the Social Democrats who effectively argued for your strategy when the communists and other antifascist groups were calling for a general strike.
Anyways, this strategy blew up in the Social Democrats faces and effectively because they wouldn't join with the communists in a general strike, Hitler was able to roll over all of them.
Caution is one of those things that sounds good on paper, but when it comes to tactics, sometimes there simply isn't two years to shuffle a resistance together.
An adequate plan implemented early and aggressively is always better than a perfect plan implemented one day too late. The urging of caution empowered the accelerationist approaches the fascists were using.
Oh, sorry. Please don't mistake me for a social democrat, my description is nebulous because my politics are a bit beyond your instance's tastes. 😅
I have seen far too many half hearted attempts at general strikes with poor planning amount to near nothing. To me it seems that there are strata of political discordance, and each strata requires a greater number of participants. While strikes are a a very powerful tool they require a sizable buy in, and prolonged efforts to take effect. Further they exist as an appeal to the current system to allow concessions, rather than a deconstruction of the current paradigm. I ask this genuinely, what would you see as reasonable concessions for a general strike that would be achievable enough to be met, while still powerful enough that it would reshape the fundamental white supremacy and fascism that has been cultivated in the US since reconstruction? Not to mention the issues of the status quo before Trump, police militarization, climate change, military industrial complex, to name a few.
To me a more meaningful effort would be to build paths that help others divorce themselves from the old systems, while they destroy themselves. As opposed to trying to organize a country wide general strike.
I have seen far too many half hearted attempts at general strikes
Cool. So what general strikes have you seen or been a part of? Because my count of the general strikes since the year 2000, 6 out of seven accomplished their goals, at least in part.
they exist as an appeal to the current system to allow concessions
I mean. They can be that. They can also be the starting point for something far more. The reality that we face is that we either gum up the works and stop this machine before it gets any more ramped up, or become too disabled to stop it. Time is not on our side.
I ask this genuinely, what would you see as reasonable concessions for a general strike that would be achievable enough to be met, while still powerful enough that it would reshape the fundamental white supremacy and fascism that has been cultivated in the US since reconstruction?
I think what you are asking for is something that can't be built until a process begins. I don't know even in part what that might look like. However, as civil society continues to erode, even beginning that process becomes more difficult to impossible. You don't always get to know how you'll accomplish something when you start. Its a situation of either do it poorly or accept the worst possible outcome.
I advocate that Sean Fein consider significantly increasing their timelines. I think April. The unions represent a starting point, and especially groups like teachers unions. If kids aren't going to school that suddenly makes everything much harder for parents, who can be forced into a position of a defacto strike.
If Bernie Sanders and AOC, along with Randi Weingarten, Sean O'Brien, Shawn Fain, came together and called for a general strike, along with setting a date, there is enough disgust in the current political climate; its about as good a shot as any that you would have.
I cannot list them off the top of my head, but I am curious about the 6 you mentioned and their goals and how they met them.
nowhere to be found when they were needed the most but when a trendy word shows up they immediately try to cash in on it
we the citizens are the only ones that can save us now
Don't know why you're downvoted, friend. Democrats will not save us.
This is a valid criticism, and good reason to be skeptical of their actions, but I think it's really hard to ignore that they are doing good work to get messing out there and help focus the energy brewing in a worth while direction. Even if they are not the end, they are doing important work and are at the very least a stepping stone.
been a stepping stone
my grandfather was told this his entire life and he told his kid this horseshit and then I was told this my whole life
when the fuck do we get done stepping?