usernamesAreTricky

Aside about Rwanda - not only are they another dictatorial country, but they are also heavily backing the M23 militia in the DRC who have been committing some pretty horrible war crimes. Rwanda claims they aren't tied to M23 at all, yet things have been happening like Rwanda suddenly exporting resources that it doesn't have (that do exist within the DRC)

The war in the DRC has substantially less attention in the west than that of Ukraine and Gaza, but is still pretty horrifying

Not fully free from similar issues here. For instance, the BBC is massively downplaying turnout

The BBC is saying "thousands" were protesting on April 19th when others estimate in the range of 4 million. Counting people in photos on social media in just a handful of cities gives a figure higher than thousands. There were hundreds of protest locations

The BBC also claims there were "tens of thousands" on April 5th when it was estimated at 3-5 million. There were over 100 000 in DC and 100 000 in NYC alone on April 5th!

Blocking roads is not the only method of disruptive protest. There are a lot more options than that. Everything from sit-ins to much more creative disruptions

For instance, one technique that animal rights activists have successfully used before is gluing hands to tables to protest various things. May sound silly, but it gets outsized attention on both traditional and social media. For instance, it's been a factor to help get over 330 coffee chains to drop their non-dairy milk upcharge (including some major ones like Starbucks, Dunkin, Tim Hortons, etc.)

Protests too can be disruptive. They don't have to be just people along the side of the road, building, etc. For instance, here's thousands of people blocking a freeway in downtown LA as part of anti-ICE protests in February

https://abc7ny.com/post/la-protest-thousands-anti-ice-protesters-block-101-freeway-streets-downtown-los-angeles/15858620/

(Did get more media coverage indeed due to being more disruptive)

Organizing a general strike is also more difficult in the US with union membership being so comparatively low. Greece and the UK both have around double the unionization rate (~20% vs ~10%). Not impossible, and would be great to see, but protests themselves are a tool that can help get there. Help people see that people within your community are just a pissed as you are and you'll have a lot more people willing to join in. Unions are some of the people organizing various protests too. They are able to drive membership up because of it

Protests take time to work. If you think that one day of protest is going to change it all, look to other movements. You can succeeded; it just takes much longer than people think they take. They want you thinking it's hopeless so when you don't get immediate results, they're happy to call them failures

Estimates are far higher than 100,000 people. Not just a small number. It was ~4 million on April 19th and ~3-5 million on April 5th depending on the estimates you look at

They are claiming it's "thousands" across the limited US media coverage, but you can find photos online of those kinds of numbers in various smaller cities alone

Oh hmm, maybe I had just heard people misuse it in the past? Had only heard it being used as a synonym for possibility in the context of "every eventuality" but other times meaning something definitive. Looking it up I see that it's supposed to just always refer to possibility

It is not an eventuality, it is a possibility that he tries

Thinking that everything is 100% certain to happen is how we get ourselves too paralyzed to act. We can reduce the odds of many things from happening by showing up and building pressure

Join protests, boycotts, strikes, etc.

EDIT: or maybe I apparently have misunderstood how the word eventuality is supposed to be a synonymy of possibility. My bad on that one

Musk will likely control elections going forward

Elections are run by the states themselves even for federal office. Notable race in particular for Musk was the Wisconsin Supreme Court race earlier this month. Musk poured millions to try to make it go the other way and tried to bribe voters with $1 million lotteries if they "signed a petition against activist judges". The Musk backed candidate still lost by 10 points

Don't do his dirty work for him and suppress the vote before anything happens. The fight ain't over till it's over

Lopez-Gomez was reportedly released Thursday evening after protestors gathered outside of the Leon County jail, where he was being held.

In good news, they were released after public backlash and protest. Protesting can work, boycotts can work, and so on. Don't let anyone think we can't act because we the people can

They want to take our rights, but we are not powerless to stop them. Fight back!

Don't give into the doom that Trump & Musk want us to have. They want us thinking we've already lost so we don't try to stop them, but the fight ain't over till it's over. We the people have power if we're willing to use it

Join on the streets, take a part in boycotts, join strikes, etc.

Don't just hope, join the fight back! April 19th is the next day of nationwide protests

Don't play into the doom that Trump & Musk want us to all have. The fight ain't over till it's over