Wikipedia page "List of protests and demonstrations in the United States by size" says the Hands off protests were the third largest protest in US history
cross-posted from: https://50501.chat/post/97685
Originally Posted By
u/Northwest_ThrillsAt2025-04-07 01:34:57 PM| Source
I'm so glad the George Floyd protests solved police brutality!
This is why protesting should only be treated as the initial rallying cry to garner support. Without the millions protesting willing to engage in direct action — like general strikes, permanent boycotts, etc — there will never be meaningful change.
The George Floyd protests were absolutely the reason that Chauvin got convicted and sent to prison. It's fucked up that that's what it took, but they at least got a concrete result. Which is more than I can say for any of these other protests. Not that I don't support them-- in fact I drove 2 hours to DC to participate on Saturday. It was cool to see so many people out, but to make changes, you have to force power to recognize you as a force to be reckoned with.
15 - 26 million people to get one person convicted for an act they clearly did.
America is so fucked.
I remember when Biden mocked the Defund the Police movement in his first SOTU, and then went on to accelerate the militarization of police. Now, we have cop cities.
At the end of the day, none of these people are going to vote differently than they have for decades, so nothing is going to change.
Coupling his Defund response with his backing of a far right wing genocide, and his absolute bed-defecation in the dem campaign for president, Biden is easily the worst dem president of my lifetime. And I'm not young. I hope history remembers him accurately.
I did. I watched. I listened. I learned.
I changed. Others will. Yet more can.
Musk wanted to create a bigger protest by recommending a pardon for his murderer police officer.
Remember kids nonviolent protests does not mean you can’t annoy the shit out of the people you want to change things. Don’t make the ruling class uncomfortable and they won’t bother with listening to you.
Blocking traffic on the freeway is nonviolent
"Since the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, more than 100 incidents of hostile drivers ramming into activists have been documented. These assailants have included police officers, gun-toters, and even, in one instance, a Ku Klux Klan leader. Many, though not all, of these aggressors were charged under local statutes—but now, a growing number of Republican state lawmakers are trying to ensure that, in the future, such vehicular attacks get a pass."
https://slate.com/business/2021/04/drivers-hit-protesters-laws-florida-oklahoma-republicans.html
let them have their pageants and protests. let them shout their words. let them push a little and get some pepper spray. let a few of them get arrested. they're young. they have their whole lives ahead of them. they're more afraid of us.
Earth Day, 1970. 200 million people in the USA then, so 10% of the country. And look where the earth is now...
That 3.5% number is of sustained engagement, not one and done. A single event with lots of people is the beginning of a movement. The work needs to keep going. But, the 1970s did see a lot of environmental progress.
So far. I really hope the 3.5 percent rule works for a country as large as the US.
We somehow need to explain to everyone who marched for George Floyd that brown Muslim Americans are being deported to El Salvadorian prisons without due process and subject to prison labour. Overt racist slavery is back, and we're far from outraged enough.
Where’s the MLK speech in this list?
An astounding number of people in this thread simply do not understand how the math of a two-party FPtP electoral system works.
Also, If your 3rd party isn't putting the work in for local elections, your 3rd party isn't actually a serious political party, regardless of your opinion of it.
God, that's depressing.
Protest accomplishes nothing, because all of you are going to ignore the last 44 years of politics and vote Democrat and Republican when the next election rolls around. You all voted for the Bidens, Schumers, Bookers, and Harrises of the world who didn't do shit about the issues that got Trump elected a second time.
Hands Off is a pro-NATO, pro-war, pro-Israel org. Which is why you saw the likes of Nancy Pelosi as featured speakers.
Alright, guess we should pack it in. Failed the purity test. Can't make progress this time around folks, maybe next time we'll find a pure enough movement.
(I didn't see ANYTHING about Hands Off being pro-war or pro-Israel. But I guess not explicitly saying it's ANTI those things, means they're pro? Get the fuck outta here with your black and white thinking, asshole)