For comrades wanting to protest the war in Ukraine without fear of supporting fascists and reactionaries, there will be a rally on March 18.

EDIT: link https://www.answercoalition.org/protest_march_18_19_peace_in_ukraine_say_no_to_endless_u_s_wars

  • AssortedBiscuits [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    To repeat what I posted in another post with 300+ fucking comments:

    Unless your rally is willing enough to engage in rioting or other forms of illegalism and adventurism, then it's nothing more than a glorified parade and a recruitment drive for the orgs that organized the event. This is regardless of whether the rally is a Sanders rally or a pro-Ukraine rally or the "bad" anti-war rally or the "good" anti-war rally. The George Floyd riots were effective precisely because they were just that: riots. Not every BLM rally in 2020 became riots, but it's the threat of rioting that kept the pigs on their toes. Once the ops came in to sabotage the rallies from within as part of a counterinsurgency strategy, then the rallies became glorified parades and hence useless.

          • WoofWoof91 [comrade/them]
            ·
            2 years ago

            i do, i just don't put much stock in how much they actually accomplish
            they're good for meeting like-minded people who have a small chance of being up for something more useful
            but not much else

          • ShimmeringKoi [comrade/them]
            ·
            2 years ago

            and I’m sad so many people here, probably due to the sheer alienation of being american, can’t even comprehend that.

            Imagine, if you will, a hog with shit on it's testicles

      • AssortedBiscuits [they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        They were what? What changed? Cops never stopped killing black people people just stopped caring, police budgets got higher too.

        I would say they were effective or had the potential to be effective up until the ops commandeered control over the movement and turned it into glorified parades. From a more strategic viewpoint, yes you can argue that the entire protests, even the riots, were not effective in the end. However, I see that as more an indictment against spontaneity and the skillful deployment of counterinsurgency tactics than protests themselves.

        You’re saying there’s no point in protesting the war unless they invade the capitol or something? That’s insane.

        How does a bunch of people meekly holding up a bunch of signs materially lead to the people of the Donbass region not being shelled by Ukrainian fascists? A whole bunch of people meekly holding up a bunch of signs didn't materially bring relieve to the people of Iraq.

        I think people need to face the music and accept that anti-war protests don't work anymore, if they ever did. The complete nonfactor of the anti-war protests during the Iraq war should be a wake-up call to come up with a new anti-war strategy.

    • elgonzalors [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I do not agree, I've been in peaceful protest that have turned into riots here in Chile, peaceful protests can be a radicalizing moment for a lot of people, because they can see without the news filter how the pigs react. In this protest I can believe you that cops would not react because there a lot of right wingers, but if enough leftist show up, they are definitely going to do something dumb, that can radicalize baby leftist and libs into better politics.