I understand why the “Free Palestine” protestors want attention, but why do they need to block a road to prove a point? 1) it doesn’t help to prove your point and 2) it neglects your initial cause. I believe these are chaos actors trying to disrupt “normalcy” for attention. You’re going to see this a lot in 2024. I’m with the Palestinians to call their place their own and be free, so do Israelis, but this is not it.
@MookyTroubadour Yes, but what’s their actual meaning? It makes sense what and where you’re protesting. If you’re protesting in front of Congress for change, ok, I get it. If you protest on the streets or at a black church to “Free Palestine,” then you’re focusing on the wrong thing. It’s interesting these people will protest in the streets or at a black church, but not anything from the far-right.
@tracytran Because otherwise you and everyone else will ignore them.
People seem to think that protesting should be done quietly and out of the way.
That's not how you protest. Protest is not supposed to be quiet and out of the way where it can be ignored.
You're worried about traffic. They're worried about mass murder.
@AskTheDevil Protests should be loud, but it also needs to make sense. Kids in Iowa protesting about guns in the State Capitol? Yes, that’s acceptable protesting. “Free Palestine” people protesting to Occupy Wall Street and shouting at black churches? You’re asking for the spotlight, not the attention to the cause
@tracytran Protesting is exactly about getting the spotlight for the cause.
If you actually go talk to the people who do those protests, you'll typically find that they're honest and sincere and local.
@tracytran Wait, are you saying that "Free Palestine" people have been protesting against Occupy Wall Street?
Ordinarily, I would suspect that was a straw man, but people have been pretty ridiculous lately.
@tracytran You think those are chaos actors, meaning people who have been hired to pretend to be protesters, so as to sow chaos?
Who do you think they are working for?
@tracytran That looks like some person's twitter feed.
@AskTheDevil it is, but she’s in the frontlines of this seeing other feeds, here are some articles about it
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/14/2211720/-Chaos-Agents-Everywhere
@tracytran I'm sorry. I don't form opinions based on someone's twitter feed.
I would be very surprised if there's a lot of people paying people to pretend to protest in favor of Palestine.
The first two "articles" are opinion pieces.
And neither are likely about whoever got in your way in traffic.
Pieces like that are written to push an agenda, or to push your emotional buttons, and make you fear your neighbor.
@AskTheDevil that’s fair, but also try to make sense: why would you protest about Palestine in a black church, especially they witness a tragedy several years ago? I mean, what exactly are they achieving?
@AskTheDevil also, why protest about Palestine to shut down Wall Street and close the streets when people can go on their phones to make trades? The protests in the 60s work because people dressed up and did their job and were abused by others (white people) and it was captured. These people today will block roads to yell and demand to join their cause, which is not the best way to go. Yeah, people will be emotional about it
@tracytran What I'm hearing is "it worked".
@AskTheDevil not really, they lost the argument supporting to “Free Palestine”. If they got attention, sure, it’s a win, but not for helping Palestinians.
@tracytran let’s also get a ruling on *which* illegal acts are valid forms of protest while we’re at it. I mean, can I just go beat the shit out of some rando’s for “Free Palestine”? (/sarcasm)
This is all so absurd. Part of Civil Disobedience is the getting arrested/going to trial/going to jail part.