this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
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[–] takeda@lemm.ee 44 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Peaceful protests actually work better, but requires actual action not just sitting at home and upvoting shit.

Poland was able to overthrow authoritarian regime via peaceful protests, general strikes. Yes, at moments they turned violent, but it is because the government escalated it.

We don't want this administration to use protest's violence to be used to consolidate their power, instead we want the violence caused by the government to encourage more people to join protests. It is more of us than them, we actually have more power and it is a matter of everyone realizing this.

I encourage everyone to take Resistance Lab training: https://www.pramilaforcongress.com/the-resistance-lab

[–] untorquer@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

...general strikes. Yes, at moments they turned violent, but it is because the government escalated it ...we want the violence caused by the government to encourage more people to join protests

Maybe it's just the difference between countries and media landscapes but that's not what's meant by "peaceful protest" in the US. The government escalates, blames the protestors (often false claims of rioting), and the media runs with the narrative. In an American context your describing mass violent riots.

"Peaceful" protest means you haven't elicited a response from law enforcement beyond standing on the side of a road babysitting the crowd.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

yeah that sounds like an education failure. a peaceful protest is like when India won its independence, where protestors stood their ground even as police were beating them to death.

[–] untorquer@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Of course! The narrative taught in school about the US civil rights movement or the Indian independence movement is that the empires were having tea and crumpets then because enough people asked very politely and walked courteously near the nexus of power they got their rights/independance. Oh and also because one person sat somewhere on a bus, or a few people did a hunger sit /not a strike/.

We're taught from childhood that you can make change by inconveniencing no one. It only makes sense that the narrative would survive where it's left unchallenged.

[–] Dojan@pawb.social 17 points 1 day ago

The left needs a much stronger tone in the narrative. When the military shot strikers (and innocent bystanders) here in Sweden, the left pushed hard. The Ådalen murders is an infamous event in our history, and spurred our worker's rights movement.

In the U.S. it happens all the time and the general view from the outside is that people are by and large apathetic because nothing is being done politically about it. There was some push-back during Covid but few people talk about it anymore.

[–] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

Peaceful protest includes property damage fyi. Shit still needs to be disruptive to be effective, a lot of people forget that

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The admin will arrest innocent citizens and declare martial law no matter what we do.

Fight back

[–] takeda@lemm.ee 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It is much harder to get a buy in from general population that arrests and natural law was necessary if the protests are peaceful.

Escalation caused by the government motivates more people to join the protest. While of protest was violent from the start more people will be against it and will avoid being part of it.

Another example, Ukrainian orange revolution and Euromaidan. It was started by students (BTW this is why trump attacks students) and as the government started being violent, made other Ukrainians join.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

"People are afraid of opposing the police state because the police state oppresses them" is not an endorsement of peaceful protest.

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

So what violence are you planning?

[–] miraclerandy@lemmy.world 37 points 1 day ago

That last line reminds me of a video during the Occupy Wall Street movement where it showed a bunch of hedge fund managers or something holding a galla above and they were seen pointing and laughing at the protesters below. It was simply entertainment to them.

[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 27 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Personally I generally agree with this statement. But there's a very big Asterix on it.

The protests didn't work due to it being violent alone, they were heavily supported by peaceful protests. Violent protest will only work if you have the support of the majority. Violent protest does not work with making meaningful policy change. Policies made out of fear are very sloppy and generally not permanent. However is very good at reaching the news and spreading awareness. It is a short term solution to a long term problem and it very easily can end up harming the chances of meaningful change happening more than gaining so it's a massive double-edged sword.

Peaceful protesting is more effective at making permanent change however is very difficult to raise awareness on, this is especially more so with news media and social media becomming more and more corporatized and starting to actually suppress any type of news that isn't considered extreme or it doesn't follow the parent company's ideology.

If and this is a big if a protest is able to make it into the new cycle and have prolonged coverage, peaceful protesting that ends up impeding day-to-day operations such as a general strike or traffic shutdowns, will have much better odds at succeeding then said same operations via violent means. It's just the world is increasingly starting to criminalize said actions of peaceful protest, which is a very dangerous action. When you take away the humans ability to have a voice, when they become lost at what they /can/ do, it becomes dangerous because at that point all you have is violence.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We started pretending Covid didn't exist so we could force everyone back to work, because BLM was making progress on police reform.

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 13 points 1 day ago

An idle population has time to ponder why their lives are shit.

Gotta keep them working, tired, and focused on bullshit like gender definitions, or they might start getting uppity.

[–] untorquer@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Protest failure is often blamed on failing to have a unified message. Peaceful protests allow a wide selection of interests to add to the message. As sustained uprising requires a common goal because it requires more solidarity and mutuality to survive conflict. Those are easier to achieve when the message is plain and clear. Part of why the extreme flank is so effective is that it forces then peaceful protests onto a specific topic where they might otherwise just be noise.

Violence is also pretty much the only way to break into the mainstream news cycle.

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Is Asterix™ a brand name?

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Birch@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

MattDamonTurningOld.gif

[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No idea, I know that my autocorrect kept insisting that was used instead of asterisk so it likely is

It's definitely asterisk

[–] Jomega@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

What did this say originally?

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago
[–] Ascend910@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago

From the character count, likely Revolution, but the last poster might have self censored to be mor acceptable of other socials

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts – and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.

Don’t believe the doubters: protest still has power

[–] takeda@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

This.

musk went into hiding, the administration toned down, we need to continue and encourage others to do, otherwise all that effort was wasted.

The protests are happening all the time, especially on weekends. I unfortunately see mostly older folks there, and this affects us much more is than them as we will have to live with this for decades of we don't do anything. One time me that he lived here for 76 years and this is unprecedented. Please continue to show up https://mobilize.us/indivisible

Continue protests at Tesla, he is in hiding but still involved.

Also please join the training https://www.pramilaforcongress.com/the-resistance-lab

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

The administration toned down? When the shit did that happen?

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

they stop talking about doge cuts, at least in msm. he hasnt aggressively push the el salvadaor, age, also the tariff talks its just almost vanished from the msms overnight in the last few weeks, most of it.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You realize all that still happening right? That didn't change y'all just got distracted by new stuff. He kept doing loud stupid things and y'all moved on. Almost like that was the plan.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 1 points 6 hours ago

it was done by the MSM on purpose.

[–] takeda@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

Musk saying he is stepping down when week earlier was saying he will be there for a year (yes, I know he is behind the scenes, but was forced to not be public).

The narrative about Ukraine, Canada, Greenland softened.

Politicians who went to El Salvador.

The problem is that when this admin softened so did the protests and that's bad.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So when does standing around and chanting once a month make them step down?

[–] match@pawb.social 3 points 1 day ago

When the standing around happens outside the ICE detention center and blocks ICE from kidnapping people

[–] CluckN@lemmy.world -4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Slackavists are so lazy they are editing tweets. All they know how to do is eat hot chip and lie.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

those are resistance grifters too.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

You do less than a slackavist