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The majority of Americans are over worked, stressed out and do not have the energy to start a general strike or create another 1789. However, an individual AmeriKan will resort to the quick and easy violence with a firearm to solve a problem. Weird. I respect the French and their ability to organize a general strike better than anyone in Europe and the planet.
The American state-oligarch apparatus is REALLY good at unionbusting, strikebreaking, and general anti-solidarity social engineering
So,… maybe set some shit on fire? Intead of beers and football games, try other extra curriculars?
It’s also borderline impossible to organize on the scale needed without getting infiltrated by the feds here. The US is fucking enormous, which means we need large scale organization to really do much, but opsec only gets more complicated and more difficult the larger you organize, especially when your resources are limited.
News organizations will spin shit as well and then propaganda networks will flip things.
It definetely makes it hard, but just a few state-level ones would still improve everything no?
I mean, that’s already happening. To me it doesn’t really look like it’s working, but maybe I’m wrong.
Their dock workers aren’t even inconveniencing anyone.
How’s it even a country?
I like to think this is the real reason the French have been vilified as cowards and weak in the American Zeitgeist.
So we don’t look at our brothers in arms and join with them.
American Liberalism was the basis of the left, and we kicked it right out of the USA after the civil war, The French however took it and ran.
We need to dump some cow shit in front of the White House and set some tires in fire.
I’ve been thinking this too for a little while now. It fits too perfectly. Throughout my adolescence, I hated the French. Proudly, openly, I thought it was funny and edgy for some reason, because I’ve always been disgusted by racism and I am a tiny part French. Edgy teenage bullshit. As I aged out of teen years though, there came a point where something caused me to investigate my own bias with honesty. And when I did, I found it to be totally empty and devoid of substance. I had absolutely no real reason to dislike the French, and these days I feel nothing but love for them.
I’m convinced the only reason I ever hated them was because of propaganda. Never had a bad personal experience. And Parisian ‘rudeness’ is revealed to be, in my opinion, simple straightforward bluntness. The propaganda is incredibly effective. Americans would benefit greatly if we could all take just a few notes from them; they have a cultural understanding that the government works for the people, not against. And if it’s not doing it’s job, take whatever action needed to restore balance. Seeing footage of their protests starting a few years back really opened my eyes to what could be done.
UK here, no-one pretends to hate the French more than the UK. We have literally hundreds of years worth of war and shared inbred rulers between us.
Personally, I have nothing but mad respect for how fast the French are to whip out a quick reminder of how it starts, with the strong implication that everyone remembers how it ends if left ignored.
I don’t understand this either. A few protests that aren’t even in the news after a single day!?
You want to bet, it won’t be any different if trump says there was too much fraud and cancels the midterm results? A week of protests and outrage, but by then he will already do something else outraging to talk about. Americans are neutered.
There’s always the excuse that they can’t take one single day off from work because they’d lose healthcare coverage yada yada. I used to think it was bullshit, that they’re just lazy.
But… remember during covid, when a ton of people became unemployed? Suddenly they were protesting all over the place. Made me reconsider. I think the lack of social security really has them by the balls.
I read many -if not most- live paycheck to paycheck. If so, the problem might go way deeper than that.
By the “official” numbers, at least 1 out of 3 Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
At least
IIRC it’s 1 in 3 households are living paycheck to paycheck.
And if one member of that household loses their job, that means the entire household is fucked, at least probably.
Yes, I agree. The system neutered them, I’m sure otherwise they are normal people. But the education they have. The price they gave to pay for it, theb guarded two party system where officias are bought by the rich, the bought media, the lack of healthcare and it’s price, …
This has produced the perfect cattle. The American aristocracy have made the perfect system, where everyone thinks they are free and are too uneducated, busy and sick to think about how much they are exploited.
Also a fully militarized police force in all 50 states some which rival the power of nations
The NYPD has over 30,000 cops, some 10k+ support staff and similar firepower to the active militaries of some European countries, and that’s just 1 city. Also the us military sells surplus and “necessary” equipment directly to police departments
There are also 50 separate states and each of those states has a rural/urban divide covering over nearly 3000 miles across of diverse geography without including Alaska or any of the islands.
Honestly the police are the real problem. They’re never part of the local community in any real sense, they’ve been too brainwashed into an us vs them mentality.
Which means that every single American is effectively living in ‘occupied’ territory and they can’t even depend on their communities banding together to fend off attacks. They’ll simply be stabbed in the back by their own cop neighbors.
In a sane country, local police would’ve majorly curbed ICE’s activities simply because they were foreign agents messing around in ‘their’ city. Instead we’ve seen time and time again that when it matters, police will always side with our oppressors regardless of the legality or morality of it.
Which is why it seems so hopeless to many of us. How can we fight an entire government, military AND every single cop all at once?
I’m not saying we shouldn’t do more, but there are plenty of ongoing protests. Just because you don’t see them in the news everyday didn’t mean they aren’t happening. Minneapolis, Portland, LA, DC and more all have protests that have been more or less ongoing since the shit hit the fan in their respective areas. The difference between this country and Franve can’t be understated im terms of geographic size and population density. It is MUCH harder to sustain protests when we’re all so spread out compared to am entire country the size of Texas.
It’s not about that. Your protests are meaningless. They don’t do anything. They are just pointless parades. The officials don’t need to care about them.
I don’t think people outside the country realize how much the establishment and the right wants violent demonstrations. That’s what they’ve been trained for and what they’re salivating for. We have a lot of experience with the entire machine pivoting on a dime to turn a single dumpster on fire into an apocalyptic event that justifies any and all violence against the protestors. Just look back at the coverage in 2020 to see just how absolutely bloodthirsty the establishment is.
And you know what the wildest thing is? Even without something that the news can paint as “violent riots burning the cities down”, they shot and killed so many people and have done such casual atrocities, that people aren’t on board with. I saw a clip of news casters talking with glee about how exciting the election season will be, because the violence has push people away from the establishment and the right.
So, maybe we are all kinda holding our breath while finding ways of fighting back that don’t immediately being the force of the U.S. Government down upon our communities’ heads, and maybe that makes for worse television, but I’m not sure television coverage is on our side right now.
They don’t need to be violent. There are other ways, but mostly its about numbers and leadership. You don’t seem to have either.
I really wonder what you must see when you look at the Minneapolis protests. I wonder what you think is missing there. I wonder what you think of all the protests, big and small, across the country that get no press. I wonder if you think what they’re missing is, as the post we’re under posits, the news painting protestors as burning down their cities.
A few protests that aren’t even in the news
Depending on how much you rely on main stream (especially legacy) news, you’re highly unlikely to see one protester on the news for every ten thousand on the street.
Turns out that the billionaires and hectomillionaires that own all of the biggest media outlets don’t like to draw attention to people criticizing their golf buddies when they don’t have to.
In France, the worst they will likely be met with is water cannons, tear gas, and potentially rubber bullets/beanbag rounds.
In America, it’s more likely to be automatic assault rifles.
I have breathing issues due to being tear gassed too often, my left shoulder suffers from very painful tendinitis that will probably never go away due to being tossed on the ground / beat up, got an acquaintance who lost an eye to a rubber bullet, that’s the life of a regular french demonstrator.
You are severely underestimating the violence of french anti-riot policing methods. Those weapons might sound chill due to being labeled “non-lethal”, but they’re actually quite lethal (people die regularly) and violate the Geneva protocol (tear gas usage is theoretically banned on civilians).
If you believe it’s that relaxed, come demonstrate in France, see what it’s like to be charged at by 100 dudes in full body armor swinging at you trying to do maximum damage while you’re caught in a cloud of toxic gas with nowhere to run. You thought the press could cover your ass by filming the police violence, or that the government would do something about police brutality? Guess what, they target journalists too, and our govt encourages police brutality.
If you’re looking for excuses, don’t drag us into it. Protesting in France isn’t an easy affair, we genuinely put our lives on the line every time we go out there. It’s the police that decides how violent protests are, the reason you hear so much about french “riots” is because our police keeps escalating the violence. We have a peaceful nature.
Americans need to shut the fuck up about the rest of the world I swear. You’re not that special.
Rubber bullets banned in many countries, people lose eyes to them in France
Tear gas long term health effects
Casualties from the yellow vest protests
Police violence on journalists
This documentary’s trailer should tell you enough about our riot police situation
You’re not special either. Plenty of people here going through the exact same shit you did yet nobody gives a shit and has to just keep piling on like idiots
I’m UK based btw. I had my tangles with the police at protests in my younger days. It’s intimidating, even when nominally peaceful. I have a lot of respect for those of you willing to face off against the nastier crowd control methods.
It’s worth noting that there is still a huge difference between what you dealt/deal with and shoot-to-kill military weapons fire.
If I thought it would help, I would (unhappily) deal with tear gas etc. I’m too old, with too much to lose to risk rubber bullets etc, but respect those that would. VERY few people would face gunfire without the ability to fire back. The American Left is not at the point where they are willing to escalate to that point.
French cops also shoot people who just drive away.
On 27 June 2023, Nahel Merzouk (25 February 2006 – 27 June 2023),[1] a 17-year-old French youth of Moroccan and Algerian descent,[2] was shot at point-blank range and killed by police officer Florian M., when he did not comply with an order to stop and instead attempted to drive away in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, France. Initial reporting on the incident (informed by police statements) was later contradicted by a video posted online, which led to widespread protests and riots. Symbols of the state such as town halls, schools, police stations, and other buildings were attacked.[3] The Interior Ministry reported that more than 5,000 vehicles had been set on fire, along with 10,000 garbage cans; nearly 1,000 buildings had been burnt, damaged or looted; 250 police stations and gendarmeries had been attacked; and more than 700 police officers had been injured.[4][5]
The killing—condemned by President Emmanuel Macron as “inexplicable” and “inexcusable”[6]—became part of a broader public debate regarding aggressive French law enforcement,[7] racial profiling,[8] immigration,[9] and the stakes of naming the subsequent suburban violence “rioting” rather than “revolts”.[10] On 28 June, the president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, asked deputies “to respect a minute of silence in Nahel’s memory”.[11][12]
Police kill someone in France:
Massive violent protests, burning police stations and police cars
Incident condemned by governmentPolice kill someone in the USA:
Nonviolent protests
Government defends the killer
automatic assault rifles
This is redundant, by definition all assault rifles have auto or burst fire modes. Anyone (including lawmakers) in the US who claims otherwise is incorrect.
Burst fire is not available on civilian models out of the box in the US
Those are not assault weapons. Any legislator who says so is wrong.
If they want to ban weapons, fine, but use the correct terminology.
Yeah that’s not true. Semiautomatic assault rifles are very common in the US, more available by far than full auto.
Assault rifles have select fire, by definition.
French cops: using less lethals according to the manual.
'Merica cops: point blank, headshots (unless you’re preggers), gas the kids
If you think french cops follow the manual I have a bridge to sell you
checks the Internet search engine
American police are significantly more lethal, with fatal shooting rates in 2019 being 22 times higher (3.1 per million) than in France (0.14 per million).
… … I dunno, that feels like a pretty significant difference
That still doesn’t mean french cops are not also dangerous during protests. I’m not trying to say they’re more dangerous than your brown shirts, I’m saying that protesting also isn’t risk free in France, and claiming that french cops follow the rules is simply incorrect.
When you look at the damage French protests cause vs the violence they incite in cops, it’s relatively safe compared to the violence us cops perpetrate in retribution to completely peaceful protests in the us, or even just violence top bystanders in the US. Add in that French protests actually accomplish something and the risk benefit calculations are so totally different.
If you’ve only experienced french protests through international medias, you probably have a very skewed view of both the actual damage they create and their effectiveness.
Protests are famously attractive for the kind of person who enjoys hurting others, on both sides. Difference is that only one side can hurt others while being protected by the system.
They don’t even wear high-visibility vests. Are they stupid?
As an accomplished wizard, I can definitively state that fireball is the first, best solution to all problems.
Also the second, and depending on your level, third. Depends on available spell slots.
Dictators use instigators to escalate the situation and remove personal freedoms. People are being smart and not falling for instigators, all history books shows how they use infiltrataded people to cause the authoritarian regime to attack protester. So I think people are being smart and they afraid from midterms and trying everything to see if they can have a provocateur before the midterms.
I mean, they use all of those things in the US too, but that stuff is the floor for anti protest/riot cops, not the ceiling.
At this point, I can only imagine it’s out of spite. The regime wants violence, and we are certainly capable of it. But denying them the response they are begging for seems to really blue ball them.
We’re going to die probably. But on our terms, not theirs.
There is something to this, though. If people start behaving violently, the administration will label them as some kind of radicalized terrorist and respond with military force, and then probably blame black or indigenous or immigrant or trans/nb people as the reason for the radicalization and come down even harder on these marginalized populations
Entrée Madame la Guillotine
Blatantly copied it…
Goddamn IKEA. Have they seen oligarch necks?! This thing has maybe 5-10 good chops in it.
But then again, could make for a lovely spectacle - hear me out.
10 of these delivered by pallet, efficiently flat-packed, to the stage. The oligarchs, milling about in their corral, cast their eyes up at the sudden disturbance, lick their lips at the raw, delicious shareholder value on naked display.
The Executive Executors, unhooded, unhurried, and unafraid - begin to unbox, and then to build. The livestream is immaculate.
Wasnt the the last French protest and riots about the raising of retirement age? And didnt that happen anyway?
Im really asking, I think Im correct.
Yes. But at least they went and protested en masse.
They didn’t go far enough
Yeah because France is fine
France burned stuff because the president wanted to increase the age for retirement. Multiple times.
Who’s the exceptionalist country now?
But that doesn’t mean they actually raised taxes or did anything to solve the budget shortfall that the retirement change was for. That’s just kicking the can down the road.
Yep they didn’t solve that problem, but they’re also still not full nazis, so they’re ahead of these exceptionalist people, who believe they’re exceptional for good reasons while the rest of the world knows they’re exceptional for bad reasons.
let’s see: macron didn’t send terrorists to kill french people on open street ✅ damn, french people seem to be so good at reminding their leaders how they check power that their leaders don’t try that shit… maybe american people need to chop some heads with the ol headchopper
Errr… Macaron is making sure that the nazis win and no one gives a shit
yes, we have the same problem in germany. yet we are talking about a completely different magnitude. trumps people literally are the fascists.
Yes, it’s one step away from it. And that’s when reaction is needed, not after the nazis start executing people, but yet no one cares
Aren’t they also patiently waiting for Chat Control to pass, or are the French fine with it?
