The protests changed me in a lot of ways. One way was, I was by no means a class reductionist before. But the protests really woke me up to the real struggles of oppressed communities in the US and importantly, the revolutionary potential in those communities. I remember listening to Rev Left in my car and had to pull over for a minute to absorb it when Breht said something to the effect of "what did white socialists in America ever give us?! Bernie Sanders!? Fuck that! The real revolutionary potential is with oppressed communities."
It's nice to see so many people have so much to say. Two things stand out to me.
1 - I fucking hate cops now. I have hated them for most of my life, but it is a seething, visceral daily disgust now. I flip off every cop I see and have seen public spaces decorated with similar sentiments.
2 - any notion of incremental change or change within the system seems impossible. Remember when Minneapolis voted to abolish their police department? Remember when Portland and LA defunded their cops? Yeah, how's that going for them?
3 - bonus answer. I'm more ready to defend myself when I leave the house now. Too many chuds out there
I also flip off cops now and have also told them to quit their jobs to their faces, thus far without any consequences. I carry pepper spray every time I go out.