"Why Aren't We In The Streets?"

"Why Aren't We In The Streets?" asks the headline of Susan Glasser's column in the NY-er this past week. The "we" part was particularly striking coming from someone who I can't say I've ever taken to be much of an advocate for street protest. Needless to say, the new republican admin is a concern for a lot of folks on the side of American democracy and rule of law and other old stuffy "woke mind virus" ideas like that. 

But when I saw that Glasser headline something else occurred to me that I haven't seen in any of these discussions so far. If the bulk share of people who typically turnout for street protests first come from the young, the 18 to 34 demographic, maybe they are slow or hesitant to hit the streets because of the way they were treated by the Dem establishment last time they did so, not very long ago, over Israel bombing Gaza into an uninhabitable pile of rubble? Shutting out entirely the street protest voice over Gaza from the DNC last summer, in particular, seems in retrospect inexplicable and poor judgement, at the very least. 

Street protesters had the good sense to not show up for Grump's Jan 6 coup attempt. They could see the setup. Grump already had plans to impose martial law when street protesters clashed with his violent angry mob. But Antifa stayed home. Now, Grump is "commander in chief" again, he's pardoned all his Jan 6 thugs, and the Dems of late haven't shown much interest in backing up street protesters. 

This situation seems to call for local Blue legal institutions, state and city governments, to not just speak up for protecting immigrants, which they do appear to be doing some, but also speak up for First Amendment street protester rights and clarify for the public how they will protect peaceful protest from Grump's brownshirts. 

Other random notes on the rolling disaster: 

James Carville, former Clinton campaign guru, got killed this past week for suggesting Dems not protest but let the destruction of Trump's "malevolent incompetence" play out on its own. Let Repubs own all of the disaster coming, Carville reasons. In his defense, something I've seldom felt like doing as he's another anti-woke bigot from what I've gathered, I will point out that for many of the rightwing base any opposition at all is just another excuse for Grump: 'He wants to fix everything but the damn liberals and Democrats won't let him do the job,' they reason. 

But doing nothing isn't opposition and opposing this rolling disaster, experts are already estimating the consequence of shutting down USAID could result in hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths, screams out for humanitarian attention. In any way and every way possible: in the courts, yelling at reps at town halls, and/or big numbers of the opposition being counted, all important and necessary. This is an all hands on deck situation; they're selling off the government for parts. Slashing government workers that provide essential services. Sure, there's "waste" in government but reducing waste by contracting a private, unelected, Billionaire to do it, and one who thinks anything that doesn't add to his empire of private wealth is waste, is not the way; and, in fact, not even pro economic growth.  

Another bag of gripes going around is that Dem reps in congress aren't doing enough opposition and reps are whining in return that they're doing all they can and don't have the votes to do anything more. My two cents: Dem reps ought to be going on every media platform available and shouting out alarm bells and explaining as patiently and clearly as possible the lawbreaking and destruction and betrayal going on. 24/7! Pete Buttigieg ought to crash the Joe Rogan show. Meme wars on Instagram and Tik Tok, everything. 

But whether speaking out like this is being maximized I don't know and don't have enough perspective to definitively judge. This is all happening too fast and, as I've gathered it is for many, it's overwhelming. I feel like an old geezer standing in his front yard shaking his fist at speeding cars. But I will say a bazillion fundraising appeals, a financial arms race with corporate elites, and bi-weekly press conferences by well-meaning Dems in congress are unlikely to build an effective opposition. 

Anyway, Grumper's voted for forced deportations and reducing the price of eggs. We know this. Bad and dumb stuff but the democratic will of the people (such as it is); and by only 1.5%, mind you, not a"mandate." But they didn't vote for Musk or Project 2025 or treason with Putin. There are super majorities out there that no way want what these developments will bring, even if they don't realize this yet. So, yeah, how to reach and organize these voters into an opposition is an important question. 

I guess my hot take on this dilemma is that there is no one answer or solution, the courts, calling reps, street protest, online social media and underground organization, everything and anything by any means necessary. It's more an all of the above and more situation, than any one silver bullet solution. And Dem influencers grousing about the lack of street protests in recent weeks feels to me a little churlish.