The Hands Off Protests Do Matter And It Happened In All 50 States Blue and Red!!!

Lines up well with population density, if anything, lower population areas might be a bit over represented!

I want everyone to know that on the 5th, a whole lot of the country was under like day 3 of severe storms. I expected no one to show up in Tennessee, especially in Nashville, with all the flooding and the flooded out streets. Apparently, there was still a turnout, and that's kind of a big deal.
- 5k estimated in Knoxville! I was there, it was bangin!

Yes! My city's protest was a sight to behold. I will point out that these protests are just as much for the protestors as anything else. To be around so many people that gave a fuck was really energizing and hopeful. It pulls you out of your online ecosystem and reminds you that your neighbors care about you and you care about them. It builds momentum for the next protest and the next one and then more collective action. People are credibly talking about a general strike. Economic boycotts are starting to make a (small) dent. Our most effective tool is how we choose to spend our dollars and it's going to take a lot of sacrifice and be more uncomfortable than any of us are probably used to but yesterday showed a whole lot of people that they aren't alone.

April 19!!
- Whats happening April 19th? I need to be more in the loop of when and where these protests are happening

Here's my reaction to the protests:

I've been hurt by too many flash-in-the-pan activist things that ended up going nowhere. I'm not ready to believe yet.

I feel exactly the same. I will be convinced when the votes are in.
That kinda depends if semblance of leadership takes form to have actual reasonable goals for the protest.

for anybody wondering, this loosely appears to mirror the population density at a quick glance (which makes sense)

https://xkcd.com/1138/
- yeah, pretty much.
Looks at massive gap in the center of Nevada
Ya don't say.
- central US gaming, really.
Generally, yes. Alaska seems over-represented, while Utah and the deep South are a bit light.

Keep at it Americans. We know you didn't want this.

R/peopleliveincities

Trump and MAGA don't care about people holding signs.

Peaceful protests have proved time and time again they do nothing.

This exact defeatist thinking is what led to all of this nonsense. Banding together gives people a sense of hope and community that gets lost when everyone is so isolated nowadays. These protests remind everyone that there's a like-minded community around them that all support one another, and gives them the strength to do more than just protest. One person cannot do much to make change, but a collective community bandrd together can. Rolling over, going "protests don't work, just give up" is actively harmful to a movement.
- This exact defeatist thinking is what led to all of this nonsense.
  It isn't defeatist. I'm saying ramp that shit up.
  Trump and MAGA aren't the usual government. They hate you. Making you pissed and angry standing outside holding signs is funny to them.
  Start burning and breaking shit.
- Nobody but you is saying "just give up" you're mischarachterizing others by adding that on there.
  Protests can work, but they work via disobedience, inflicting other harms to those with power and (most importantly) threatening violence if things do not change. Anything that doesn't do all 3 of those things isn't a protest, it's a parade.
  Parades can build community, but pretending parades are inherently some sort of engine of social progress is insane.
It's not for Trump's benefit. It can help build momentum and encourage further action. It reminds people they are not alone. Action starts with getting off your ass, and organizing in the real world.
And what are you organizing instead?
- We're not buying American products here in Canada. Almost the entire country is revved up in this boycott.
- That's an incredibly whitewashed history you're going off of. It's not your fault, that's (very intentionally) the version of history that is taught within the US school system, but it is wildly inaccurate.
  You're correct that the women's suffrage movement began in the early 19th century, but the 19th amendment didn't get passed until the early 20th century. It was a century (and arguably still counting) of men not just going “tut, tut, darling…” but using extreme violence, murder and sexual assault to try and supress any sort of equality. It took WW1 (and cross-pollinating with other global suffrage movements), a shift to a "deeds not words" approach, militant self defense and don't forget the women's suffrage and prohibition movements were tightly linked within the US (the 18th amendment passing just 2 years prior). Good luck characterizing the prohibition movement as any form of "nonviolent".
  The "60s and 70s were rife with protests that made a difference, and they were peaceful" is a real nasty piece of, very intentional, amplification/veneration of MLK and deamplification/villification of everyone else. That's not to say he was ineffective, but the carrot doesn't work without there also being a stick.
  If you're instead referencing the hippy movement, then even a cursory glance should be enough to realize those were not effective tactics and not anything you want to emulate...
  If your focus is on the 60s-70s I highly recommend reading Kwame Ture's "black power" speech

New England and the Chicago area look on that map like they're about to cecede to Canada lol

I look forward to being proved wrong, can’t wait to see how this changes the situation.

- Protest movements take time... especially given what we're up against. And people don't go from My First Protest attendee to guerilla freedom fighter overnight.

Maybe Oklahoma isn’t that bad

I was looking all day for protests in my area, southern OK, but the closest I could find was in OKC. I’m stoked to find out that there was one closer, and disappointed I couldn’t find it.

do it now! https://youtu.be/ZXsQAXx_ao0

Hahahaha found the nazi!
- I guess it was only a matter of time until these people started showing up here too, especially with the ahem signal boost we got yesterday.