[I originally posted this in chapotraphouse, but it was deleted for being “pro-cop” even though that very much wasn’t the case. (I believe PSL was actually involved in organizing the protest if I’m not mistaken.) The mod that deleted it openly broke the sectarian rule too.]
Been seeing a lot of people hating on what the protest marshals did during the pro-Gaza protests at the DNC and I feel they definitely did the right thing. Instigating stuff like going up against the cops under the guise of “revolutionary” action just gets a lot of people arrested and doesn’t accomplish anything.
EDIT: Users who were present at the protests have said, counter to what is claimed in the screenshot, that the protest marshals did NOT call for the police. Thank you for clearing this up, comrades!
The only thing I've seen out of this protest has been a deeply unserious person flying an anarcho-brat flag and organizers/members of related orgs (PSL, FRSO) celebrating their wide turnout despite little to none material gains. It really feels like protests are the husk of what was once popular mobilization that represented a genuine threat to the ruling classes ability to ignore the popular masses. It's not nothing, but this is barely the baby steps of a real movement and we should all be deeply ashamed we aren't doing more 11 months into a genocide, not actively helping police ID those wanting to escalate!
I've met wreckers that look to escalate in inappropriate scenarios, it's never good to get arrested but I've been following this whole discourse on twitter and this line of "wreckers looking to get symbolically arrested" is completely detached from what actually happened and what people are actually advocating for (ANY kind of genuine disruptment or even threat of disruptment) and feels, ironically, more wrecker than what's being accused
You're right -- these are baby steps. But when you have no existing, large organization, the way you start building one is... baby steps.
If a genocide can't push America beyond the baby steps it's been walking for decades now I really struggle to empathize with anyone that thinks protests should continue to be peaceful. I don't think there's any pride in a protest that serves as an impotent release of our rage that we should be doing much more with, it's like we treat americans as if they're taking their first steps everytime they walk and are surprised when the don't move onto running