Then hope

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, January 31st, 2017 - 8 comments
Categories: activism, political alternatives, us politics - Tags: ,

Need some reprieve from the chaos? I’d like to offer this space to post about the resistance, where we choose the proactive and supportive over the reactive and discouraging. What are the best actions happening globally this week? Are there signs of a not-so-slow fuse having been lit?

Maybe it’s time we were kinder to ourselves and each other, and set to building something we can rely on.

Some signs of hope,

Thousands of people spontaneously occupied and protested at airports across the US in response to the Tr*mp administration’s ban on Muslims entering the country.

 

But because shock events destabilize a society, they can also be used positively. We do not have to respond along old fault lines. We could just as easily reorganize into a different pattern that threatens the people who sparked the event. A successful shock event depends on speed and chaos because it requires knee-jerk reactions so that people divide along established lines. – US Historian Heather Cox Richardson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeQD9QwYC5M

8 comments on “Then hope ”

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  1. weka 1
    31 January 2017 at 9:53 am

    Linda Tirado Retweeted
    Van Jones ‏@VanJones68 7m7 minutes ago

    This is no longer “left v right.” The #Resistance is now a pro-democracy movement against a would-be authoritarian regime. Dems & GOP unite!

    Plus, independents and non-voters. Dems/GOP is a big part of the problem.

  2. One Anonymous Bloke 2
    31 January 2017 at 10:07 am

    “Set to building something we can rely on”.

    In this case, in the USA, it’s the law itself, built up over generations, that is simultaneously under attack and being relied on for defence, and counter-attack.

    Statements from the authorities in New York, Washington, California etc. demonstrate quite clearly that this coalition includes large parts, if not the majority, of the establishment.

    So yay, it looks like all those generations of building might turn out to be good for something. They still need our support too.

    Edit: *snap* at Van Jones 🙂

  3. Andre 3
    31 January 2017 at 10:08 am

    There’s big departments that will put up big institutional resistance. As it becomes clearer that this something very different than a normal transition between administrations, the bureaucracies will find and dust off their hidden weapons.

    http://time.com/4650144/trump-science-war/?xid=homepage

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/29/trump-america-parks-employees-enemies-of-state

  4. adam 4
    31 January 2017 at 11:08 am

    Look the occupy movement did not go away. The state beat it down, but it did not go away. It is alive and well.

    Also protest against this administration is wide spreed. Here is just one example of that, not very well covered by the MSM.

    http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-teachers-demonstration-20170128-story.html

    http://www.newyorkupstate.com/schools/2017/01/video_100s_of_ny_teachers_elected_officials_protest_devos_as_education_secretary.html

  5. Carolyn_nth 5
    31 January 2017 at 11:15 am

    thanks, weka. I’m for the solidarity approach, but with some questions to ponder.

    Pondering on the rest of Heather Cox Richardson’s quote:

    A successful shock event depends on speed and chaos because it requires knee-jerk reactions so that people divide along established lines. This, for example, is how Confederate leaders railroaded the initial southern states out of the Union. If people realize they are being played, though, they can reach across old lines and reorganize to challenge the leaders who are pulling the strings. This was Lincoln’s strategy when he joined together Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, anti-Nebraska voters, and nativists into the new Republican Party to stand against the Slave Power. Five years before, such a coalition would have been unimaginable. Members of those groups agreed on very little other than that they wanted all Americans to have equal economic opportunity. Once they began to work together to promote a fair economic system, though, they found much common ground. They ended up rededicating the nation to a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

    This kindof worked for a while. But the end result is Trump. So, how do we built a democratic system that doesn’t allow a Trump team to run roughshod over the rule of law, the constitution, and democratic processes?

    There seems to be too much power in the presidency. There needs to be proportional representation. There needs to be in-built checks to reign in a renegade presidency. Actually, this is the end result of rule by and for the gangster bankers.

    It’s also the end result where celebrity culture dominates, and bleeds into politics.

    So, sure we need solidarity. But there needs to be some clarity about what we the people are aiming for.

  6. Glenn 6
    31 January 2017 at 4:07 pm

    Conservative kingmakers the Koch brothers blasted President Trump’s strict immigration ban as the “wrong approach” that violates their dedication to “free and open societies” and put him on notice they will work to kill an import tax being floated to pay for a wall on the Mexican border.

    “The travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive,” Koch network co-chair Brian Hooks said Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

    “Our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds,” he said. “This is a hallmark of free and open societies.”

    The billionaire Koch brothers did not support Trump’s candidacy, and in April Charles Koch called Trump’s support of a Muslim registry “reminiscent of Nazi Germany.”….

    Charles Koch, without mentioning Trump by name, said the nation is at a point of “tremendous danger,” adding that America can “go the authoritarian route … or we can move toward a free and open society. So this is our opportunity.”
    http://nypost.com/2017/01/30/koch-brothers-slam-trump-travel-ban-as-wrong-approach/

    Even the grubby super rich brothers that have bank rolled republican presidential candidates over the years (except for this one) are pissed off.

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