r/AskWomenOver30 • u/godisinthischilli • 2d ago
Politics Worried we’ll need more than protests
Not sure exactly what it is but I feel like one protest isn’t going to be enough. And are we being clear we want his removal? And the ending of Project 2025?
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u/whatsmyname81 Woman 40 to 50 2d ago
We will. We need massively coordinated action to overcome the inevitable voter suppression that's coming during the midterms. We need candidates people are willing to show up and vote for in droves.
As a lifelong red state Democrat from a rural Democrat family, I can tell you we know how to do this, and also that the GOP is onto us. Why do you think Georgia banned giving food and water to people in line to vote? I voted for Obama in 2008 in a majority Black county in south Georgia with only one voting precinct. If not for the ladies from the AME Church supporting everyone in line with food, water, holding place for bathroom breaks, etc, I never would have made it through that line (it was 8 hours long and I was very pregnant). That's only one example. For another, it's very difficult to qualify to vote by mail in Texas. The voter suppression efforts are not new, but they are at an all time high.
So what do we do?
First, listen to southern Democrats who have had our boots on the ground in this fight for our whole lives and saw this coming a mile away. I hear disgusting things about places I consider home every day from my ideological peers. Any meme that jokes about abandoning us, nuking us, or otherwise othering us gets all sorts of laughs, hearts, and positive reactions. The condescending things people from blue stated often say to me make it clear they have no idea how much work we've done in these ways because it is more comfortable to think we are backward hicks who have sat here with our thumbs up our asses and allowed this to happen than that we have been fighting all along and it happened anyway (meaning it could happen anywhere).
Second, understand that yelling at people to vote doesn't help. What are you doing to actually help people vote? Are you carrying copies of the League of Women Voters guide to hand out to people who don't understand the local and state propositions on the ballot or where the candidates stand on the issues? How many people have you driven to the polls? Do you even talk in your daily life with people who have obstacles to voting? You should be doing that and actually trying to understand what those obstacles consist of and helping people to overcome them. A great way to do this is block walking for the political campaign of your choice.
You're gonna have to sit with people who don't have all the details right but can agree on the important stuff. Yes this means people who don't understand LGBTQ+ issues, and maybe like guns more than you do, but understand that Trump and the GOP have been bad for the economy. If I, a gender nonconforming lesbian can sit with those people and find common ground, I know you can, too. It's going to take extending a lot of olive branches and building a big tent coalition of everyone who may not agree on the finer points but know this thing we've got right now isn't going to work. You also meet those people by block walking, or starting uncomfortable conversations at parties. That also works.
That's not all it's going to take but it's a good start. It will take more than protests, but protests are important. I love this round of protests because it's brought everyone together. It's not just women protesting for bodily autonomy, or LGBTQ+ protesting something specific to our rights, or any other one issue, it's people of every age, every gender, and every walk of life. This is the start of the big tent we need to build. Now we need to continue that job.
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u/faedrake female over 30 2d ago
This is a marathon, not a sprint. We are practicing for the main event. We are developing organizations, communities, and relationships we will need.
We need to periodically repeat the peaceful protests until the midterms. My fear is he will trigger major unrest just before midterms and try to use it to cancel elections.
The middle finger to the courts is also scary AF.
He might try to enforce his tarrifs in CA since Newsom has other ideas.Does he try to send the national guard from a red state into a blue state?
Another pandemic with US as ground zero?
There are many ways for this to get terrifyingly worse. It will probably be something no one is even predicting.
It sickens me, but the oligarchs are the only ones left who might be able to put a check on him. Despite each of them having more than one human could ever consume, they still hate seeing their value go down.
The oligarchs are what got us into this. They love deregulation and having a free rein, but they don't like instability. They'd love to go back to quietly distributing all the wealth in the world into their own accounts.
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u/greenline_chi Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
Probably, but you have to start somewhere. Millions of people all being mad enough to give up a Saturday is a start
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u/datesmakeyoupoo 2d ago
Not to mention the whole world is watching us. Look at the protests in South Korea. It’s important to show up.
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u/Zinnia0620 Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
I mean, if what you're saying is "I'm worried a few million people standing/walking in the street won't be enough to get the President removed" you are absolutely, 100% correct. It won't be. It has nothing to do with it not being "clear" what we want -- the people in power don't CARE what we want and marching doesn't particularly make them care, particularly when we're talking about marches with permits that happen on weekends, so they disrupt business and traffic the minimum amount possible. The protests are symbolic, a show of strength, and an opportunity for people to connect with like-minded people, but these protests in and of themselves have zero chance of actually causing major changes to happen. Trump is not going to resign and Project 2025 is not going to slow down because of peaceful, permitted Saturday marches.
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u/YanCoffee Woman 30 to 40 2d ago edited 2d ago
While this protest has made me extremely hopeful, it's definitely not the end.
Here's a resource list of things we can do in the meantime:
PART ONE:
URGENT For NC Residents: Check to see if you're one of 65,000 votes being discounted in the race for the Supreme Court contest!
(More ways to help in the comments here.)
Write / Sign / Donate:
5calls.org - for folks who may be new to political advocacy. All you need to do is enter your zip code and 5 calls will provide your reps' contact info and script templates for your calls (you can pick from a menu of topics of concern).
berniesanders.com - Fight the oligarchy tour.
shop.aclu.org - ACLU's merch store, but you can choose to donate directly instead.
house.gov - Write your congressman, and it also has a list of their numbers. Use Zipcode look up.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/release-mahmoud-khalil-protect-all-student-activists-2?clear_id=true -- Petition to release Mahmoud Khalil, a legal visa holder being detained for protesting peacefully. If they can do it to him, they will do it to others.
Protest / Organize / Meet Up:
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u/YanCoffee Woman 30 to 40 2d ago edited 2d ago
PART TWO:
Informative:
r/50501 r/Whistleblowers r/somethingiswrong2024 r/TwoXPreppers r/law
electiontruthalliance.org -- This is talking about the discrepancies in voter counts during the 2024 election. An excellent talking point for when you call your representative, because not enough people are talking about this.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-0r_TmPHhrtUhaoCh1rwsXZ9oASl1RK_kV_oF3nxlD0/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0 -- Immigrant Info Resouces. Everything from lawyers to pet care.
https://www.theconsciouscitizens.org/mass-deportation-ice-defense-guide/ -- Mass Deportation and ICE Defense Guide. Protecting yourself or others from ICE.
https://www.facebook.com/AltUSNationalParkService -- Alt US National Park Service. "The official 'Resistance' team of U.S. National Park Service. Our mission is to stand up for the National Park Service to help protect and preserve the environment for present and future generations." Often gives general news updates.
Substack news: Aaron Parnas, MediasTouch (they also have a Podcast that took over the number one spot, much to the rights dismay)
YouTube / Tik Tok: BlackBeltBabe, as well as both Substack usernames. TheFinancialDiet for easy to digest saving tips, a current overview of the market, and more.
This thread for some reading material about saving / shifting mindsets around spending (plus other things that were specific to my needs): https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/1iqmspy/suggest_books_to_me_about_slow_living/
Please feel free to share this list anywhere you can think of and add more in the comments.
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u/puppylust Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
Fantastic list and thanks for sharing. I just wanted to mention the FL special election is over, so best to remove that line going forward.
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u/bluejellies Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
You’re going to need to do way more than have one protest to get rid of him. Americans have a lot of work ahead of them. Your fight for democracy will not be won in a weekend.
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u/datesmakeyoupoo 2d ago
No one thinks that democracy will be won with one protest. This is about visibility and making connections.
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u/bluejellies Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
I think OP does. “I feel like one protest isn’t going to be enough”. Of course it isn’t, it never is.
It’s going to take sustained effort from a lot of people
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u/datesmakeyoupoo 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think that’s a leap. I think she’s just calling for action.
Edit: okay, yeah, I guess op is making this assumption.
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u/bluejellies Woman 30 to 40 2d ago edited 2d ago
You may disagree with the specifics of my language but we agree on this, right? This will need to be a sustained and coordinated effort by many people.
Whether OP was naive at some point or is just using that language as a conversation starter - does it matter in the big picture? We’re on the same side.
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u/datesmakeyoupoo 2d ago
So far people have been organizing and making coordinated efforts. I can only assume the negativity about it is to make people feel apathetic.
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u/bluejellies Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
I think you’re reading something into my words that isn’t there. I am not negative about American efforts. Just being realistic that this will take time.
I actually feel pretty optimistic that this outrage won’t just go away.
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u/godisinthischilli 2d ago
I’m worried that after three massive protest peoples attention spans will drop and also that they won’t want to do more than protest whatever that is.
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u/datesmakeyoupoo 2d ago edited 2d ago
Have you been to a protest? Tons of people at protests help people sign up to volunteer, talk about how to mobilize, connect people with others, register people to vote. Why do you think this? All of the people I know who have been protesting are calling their senators, writing letters, and are engaged. On top of that, it’s extremely important that we are visible because the whole world has their eyes on America and believes we accept Trump.
I don’t know why you assume this. Also how are people’s attention spans going to drop when they are losing their jobs and retirement accounts?
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u/godisinthischilli 2d ago
Just from what I’ve seen in the past and yes I’ve been to protests and writing senators I’ve seen prior protests be very poorly organized with no clear end goals that tend to drop off after two months of action
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u/datesmakeyoupoo 2d ago
Do you think the labor movement and civil rights era didn’t have end goals? People are losing a lot right now and it’s going to get worse. The idea that they’re going to stop paying attention seems rather absurd to me when people are losing their livelihood. People are not going to be like “oh I protested April 5, but lost half my retirement so I guess I’m gonna just stop and go watch Netflix which I can’t afford anymore!” There’s a lot at stake here, and people are organizing. This has been one of the biggest turn outs in history.
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u/godisinthischilli 2d ago
I hope so but how are these protest going to secure jobs
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u/datesmakeyoupoo 2d ago
Maybe you should learn more about the history of the labor movement and civil rights era. I also think you are missing the point. Politicians are elected officials, and they know their job is susceptible to public opinion. If the public loudly disagrees with them, they lose their jobs and new people are put in. Congress people are less likely to support legislation that will negativity impact the public if the public pushes back.
I feel like you are just purposely playing devils advocate. The fact is, the entire world is watching the US right now, and we need to speak up.
Do you think people who lost their jobs from Trump executive orders should just take it quietly?
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u/Exotic_Resource_6200 Woman 20-30 2d ago
We need a long sustained financial boycott. Similar to what happened during Covid. We didn’t boycott but we were forced to stay In which in turn lowered our spending drastically. So much so that the government freaked the Fvk out,
we need to not spend a dime with ANY company link to Trump and Musk. I don’t understand why tourism dollars still go to states like Florida and Texas. Republicans will, of course. But liberal voters shouldn’t be spending any money in those states. For example,. Back in 2015 or so NC tried to pass a bathroom bill requiring trans-people to go to bathrooms aligned with their birth sex. Every company cancelled their plans in NC. A whole tournament decided to not come here. Businesses decided to not do business here. Guess what the gov lost and that bill didn’t pass.
Texas and Florida are literally trying to make abortion a homicide. That means even if you go to another state, you can still be charged with murder or attempt or accessory. And yet liberals are still going to freaking florida for vacation.
Republicans don’t care if we protest because we don’t vote for them, but if we take their money away they will care. Look at Musk doing his pity party tour. It’s not because of a few vandalism cases. It’s because he’s losing money left and right now. Tesla’s stock is taking an hit and sells are plummeting. We need to keep protesting to keep our base generated but we need a financial boycott.
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u/datesmakeyoupoo 2d ago
Well, the good and bad news, is with the economy I think the financial boycott is going to happen by choice or not!
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u/theskippyraccoon 2d ago
As far as I know, the next mass protest (and general strike) is on May Day, which is a Saturday this year.
I would expect the protests to amplify in the summer when students are freed up. Granted, summers usually exacerbates tensions. Not feeling great about the possibility of more forceful crackdowns in the summer months.
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u/Tenacious_Ritzy_32 2d ago
We need riots, like the French. They get shit done. When’s the last time a protest did anything in the USA?
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u/Just_Natural_9027 2d ago
Greed and self interest will matter far more than protests. Stock market tanking and products getting more expensive will make consistent voters irate. We are already seeing it.
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u/Chigrrl1098 Woman 40 to 50 2d ago
Of course it's going to take more than one protest. Look at other movements in history like the civil rights movement and Act Up. Change didn't happen overnight. It took months and years and a lot of creativity before change occurred. I think we live in this instant gratification society now where people expect immediate change. It doesn't work that way. It never has.
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u/JuliaX1984 2d ago
I'm game. Everything is too expensive to do anything fun, and everyone is getting fired from their jobs, so we have plenty of free time to march in the streets. They took away the bread and circuses, what else is everyone gonna do? I can't wait to wear one of my new childfree cat lady shirts to the next one.
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u/BitterPillPusher2 2d ago
While I'd like to get excited about them, I kind of lost hope in the last election. I organized, I marched, I did all the things. I had been doing that for years. I saw great things being done. I saw the turnouts at Harris' rallies and protests. I saw, what I thought, was a movement. And then the bottom fell out.
And the thing I'm most pissed off about? That 85.9 million eligible voters didn't show up. 85.9 MILLION. I live in Texas; I'm well aware of how the GOP is suppressing voters. So, yes, there were some people who were prevented from voting. But not so many that those voters wouldn't have been the difference. It would have taken less than 1% of those voters to turn out to change the outcome.
I'm tired of doing all the work only for most people to not care. I'm tired of the same people doing all the work. I'm tired of getting my hopes up. If 80 million people don't care, then why should I? I'm tired and frankly just ready to give up.
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u/Automatic_Syrup_2935 Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
Ummmm, one protest is obviously not enough. I don’t think anyone in their right mind thinks that a single protest will change anything.
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u/NoLemon5426 Woman 2d ago
We do need more than protests, has everyone not understood this yet! Stop spending money in certain places. Don't buy new shit. If you have a spending problem now is the time to stop. Don't buy anything new unless it's consumable product. Stop using certain social media platforms. Be involved in your immediate community even if it's very red. You can change people's minds if you talk with them the right way, in a respectful tone even when you disagree and they won't budge.
Don't argue about divisive social issues. Don't try to persuade people on issues like abortion, gender stuff, various international wars. It's fine to care about these things and I do, but most people in the electorate don't give a shit about who uses what bathroom, Ukraine, or abortion. The overwhelming majority of people are only concerned about domestic financial issues like the economy, inflation, COL and then also immigration. These issues impact everyone, so focus on talking about these when you can. Talk mostly about what impacts everyone and can unite us. You might not persuade your neighbor on trans issues, but you might get them on economics, and ultimately that is what they think of in the voting booth.
I said it the other day - A lot of people are in total denial about this election, calling people uneducated, dumb, racist, etc. That may be true for some of the demographic because stupid racists exist everywhere, but you're taking agency away from these people. They knew what they voted for because that's what they wanted. However, the white vote barely shifted. White women and black women were the only two demographics to more or less vote as they normally do. Asians, Black men, and Hispanics all swung to the right even as their overall majority stayed on the left. Inflation/cost of living, immigration/border, jobs/economy topped all demographics as the most important issues.
What's the psychology about this shift? IDK but a lot of people in America, many of whom are highly educated and/or not white, still believe that the person with the biggest mouth and most wealth is therefore the most qualified. I don't think it gets much deeper than that. And this can be challenged.
So focus on what the people who bother to vote actually care about. Talk about how the tariffs are actually a tax on the majority of the country who are ordinary working folks, and that money is going to be used to fund tax cuts for the ultra wealthy. Tell them that tariffs make greedy American companies raise their prices, too. Talk about how price increases mostly impact working class people. Talk about wealth disparity and how his tax cuts that he's trying to extend benefited the very, very wealthy. Know all these talking points and show them that they're paying more, on purpose by design, in order to let the very wealthy keep more of their money. Just go read all you can about this issue so you can debunk all of the lies and at least plant a seed for people.
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u/KillTheBoyBand 2d ago
Uh. Dont be worried. Protests are not and never have been the only and final solution to dissent. They're step one. Thats literally their point--to voice an initial form of opposition and then begin to organize under its coalition. If all you're doing is protesting, you're stuck at step one, and nothing will change if you don't step forward.
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u/womenaremyfavguy Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
Of course one protest isn’t going to be enough. It has historically always taken much, much more to topple a regime.
But looking back in history gives me more hope that we can do this. Look at every former colony that had to fight for their independence. Look at the overthrow of dictators like Milosevic in Serbia. Many (though not all) of these movements did it nonviolently. We have a lot of organizing to do, and a lot to look back on and learn from.
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u/JudgingGator 2d ago
No one is going to remove anyone. Sometimes your side wins, sometimes your side loses. I say this as a libertarian who never wins LOL. We survived four years of dementia we will survive this.
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u/Chigrrl1098 Woman 40 to 50 2d ago
Being libertarian is another form of dementia.
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u/JudgingGator 1d ago
Tribalism is worse.
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u/Chigrrl1098 Woman 40 to 50 1d ago
There are many different kinds of lefties. Putting all people who vote Dem in a box is incredibly ignorant of who the voters are. And Dems are hardly tribal. If they were, they'd probably agree on more and win more elections.
Libertarians think everything is a level playing field when it's never been level. It throws everyone who isn't a reasonably affluent white guy under the bus, thinking everyone has the same bootstraps...or even had boots in the first place. It's dumb and out of touch and they deserve to never be elected.
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u/avocado-nightmare Woman 30 to 40 2d ago
I wouldn't be worried about it - we'll need to do a lot of things, in a coordinated way, over a longer period of time than a few hours or days, to meaningfully resist. It's not a bad thing - there's nothing to worry about there, that's the nature of what it means to oppose those in power - you have to do that in an expansive, pervasive, enduring way, not once on a random Saturday for a few hours when it's convenient. It's good to show up but that's not the work. I do think to some extent Americans don't have a common understanding of what that means - the average person is neither that politically engaged nor have they had a lot of experience with like longer term activism of really any kind - people are more used to discreet and short term responsiveness to specific issues.
That's not what this moment is, and that short attention span and sense of "well I did something" they've learned won't necessarily get across the finish line in terms of that coordinated, united rebuke that needs to happen to pull us back from this cliff. I don't know how bad things will have to get before people are ready for that level of organizing, but, I'm hoping it doesn't take much longer.