We (you, me & all Democrats in this country) are royally fucking ourselves

[mtnsnake]

We're letting Republicans shift the focus on everything but where it belongs.

People are marching by the umpteen thousands on immigration in more than just a few scattered cities, but where are the hundreds of thousands of AMERICANS marching to protest the worst American EVER, George W Bush? Where are we Democrats and liberals marching in the hundreds of thousands this weekend and in how many cities?

It boggles my mind that there aren't literally HORDES of American people marching against Bush in 100 cities on any given weekend in this country, yet immigrant workers can mobilize in the hundreds of thousands all across this country at the drop of a hat. If half the friggin country is composed of Democrats or Bush dissenters of any sort, you'd think that AT LEAST a fraction of them would be willing get out and protest in kind.

Gasoline prices are once again being artificially raised to obscene levels so they can be conveniently dropped just in time for the November elections, but why are we still driving the same amount of miles on our cars? Why do we bitch about prices in private but still drive the same amount of miles as we always do? Wouldn't it make sense to protest the record-breaking gouging profits of the oil companies by protesting in the streets about the Bush administration's ties to big oil?

Yet we don't march, we drive instead.

Oh, and it's amazing how all of a sudden they're playing these tragic 9-11 recordings of people who were trapped in the Towers. It's disgusting how they're using those poor people's deaths to stir up pro-war sentiment. They waited all this time, but funny how the recordings get released at this particular time. Gets everyone worked up all over again about the war...just in time to sympathize with the Republican war mongers to get them elected again in November. Why are we letting them get away with what's so fucking obvious a political ploy?

Yet we still don't march.

Yup, immigrant workers can get organized in a split second and march in cities all across the country on behalf of immigration laws, yet we can't get motivated enough to rally against the most evil forces ever facing Planet Earth.

If the immigrant workers can mobilize hundreds of thousands to march in so many cities on a particular weekend, we should be able to march in the MILLIONS across this land in hundreds of cities ON ANY GIVEN WEEKEND. Where is OUR passion? We bitch, moan, cry, whine, and curse George Bush, yet for some funny reason we're content to do it from behind our computers or in the private company of like-minded friends as we whisper our discontent in hallways, in our cars, in our living rooms, and on our computers. Then you get those people who have the fucking nerve to say that the media simply doesn't cover protest marches put on against Bush. What a cop-out. If one tenth of the people who despise Bush ever got up out of their chairs to do some actually IN-YOUR-FACE-CARRYING-SIGNS protesting in the form of peaceful protest marches in major cities, the media would be all over it like flies on shit.

Ranting among ourselves is great, blogs are nice, and discussing the way things should be is fine and dandy, but if we could ever get organized enough to march like the immigrant workers do, this lousy administration would be history, and the dignity that Bush has taken away from our nation would soon be restored in better times ahead.

Once every weekend all good Democrats across this nation need to forget about Kerry, Hillary, Feingold, Nader, Kennedy, Boxer, Lieberman, mowing the lawn, the family picnic, or whatever else for a few minutes....and transform our mental energy into physically marching against the corrupt Coward-in-Chief in the streets.

We need to show the country where the focus belongs. If we leave it soley up to our politicians, we'll surely end up in hell for another 6 years. Protest marches, hundreds of them, need to happen ASAP on a regular basis, or we'll be royally fucked again. That's the blatant truth.

mtnsnake

[bowens43]

1. This would accomplish what exactly?

What we should be doing is spending our time and money to take back Congress in November. Sure,protests are fun and exciting but if we intend to change anything , taking back congress is the ONLY way we can do it.

[mtnsnake]

3. The fact you could ask that question shows what trouble we're in

Fun and exciting my ass. This isn't fun and games, it's life or death. If you don't think thousands or millions of people protesting in the streets would have any effect, then I simply don't know what else to tell you. Let's just sit back and do what we've been doing...nothing, right? Yeah, that's working.

How the hell do you think we'll take back Congress? By NOT marching but whining in private instead? Oh, wait a minute, I guess we don't have any reasons to protest this bastard, do we.

[Savannah Progressive]

5. Seems to have worked in France

The people opposed a law passed by the Czarist Elite in office, and protested it until the law was just abolished. Of course, we can't put the tens of thousands on the street that the French do.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. The reason there haven't been the same huge demonstrations re: Bush

is, IMO, that massive numbers of people have not yet perceived that they are being immediately, directly and irremediably screwed. The immigrants are demonstrating because the proposed legislation would result in them or their families being deported and/or prosecuted -- a direct, serious, immediate injury. We demonstrated against the Vietnam war in the '60s and '70s because we or our relatives or friends were being drafted, packed off to war and sometimes killed. Although Bush is causing immense harm, for many people it's still abstract. Yes, he pisses on the Constitution, but unless we've been the victims of an illegal arrest, unlawful search or imprisonment, or the like, we complain but we don't protest publicly. Yes, there's a nasty, illegal war going on in which Americans are being killed, but there's no draft. In other words, it has to get personal. It should be already, but not enough people have figured out yet that they're being badly screwed. Once that happens there will be demonstrations like there were 35 years ago.

[Savannah Progressive]

4. The problem is a vast majority don't care.

I am not talking about just those here. The few thousand active members scattered around the world would have little or no effect. I am talking about the vast majority, those who don't care enough to show up.

On the Iraq War of Imperialism 3rd Anniversary, there were more police than protesters present. Not unusual. In Savannah, during the G-8 summit, it was the same thing. A few high profile folks set off walking towards Sea Island to confront the President and the leaders. FYI, Georgia Afternoon heat is something you DON'T walk any long distance in. When tempretures are above 95, with high humidity, well the walkers fell out long before they covered the 20 miles to confrence site.

If we do protest, it's usually something ineffectual like that, a dozen or so conciencious people who launch off on an ill conceived, ill considered action that fails miserably.

I have to give the Immigrants my respect, because they have shown far more organization, and dedication to their principals than we have.

Of course, our side was declaring it a distraction when the first ones showed up to protest. Telling us here and across the net that 50,000 people marching in LA wasn't anything but a distraction from W.

[mtnsnake]

6. The vast majority DOES care, & that's why it drives me silly that we don't

have marches like the immigrants do, not even close.

I agree with you that you have to "give the Immigrants respect, because they have shown far more organization, and dedication to their principals than we have."

[Savannah Progressive]

9. That frankly is an unsupportable conclusion

The Vast Majority Care? Where is some proof, any proof. Are we out raising the Repugniks in donations? NO we aren't. Are we have huge sit in's, or other protests? NO, we manage to get a few hundred in Salt Lake, mostly friends of the first few who showed up, who called and insta-organized a few hundred.

As I said above, I live in Savannah Georgia. We had about 100 protesters for the G-8, that is from around the nation, even world.

Last weekend, 1000 showed up in a park to talk and protest for Immigrant Rights.

Obvious conclusion, The Immigrant Community cares at least ten times as much as we do about their issues. Anti-Iraq Imperialist War protests were NON EXISTANT in this city.

Before you ask, where were you? Unless I wish to lose my job, I was at work. We work six or seven days a week most weeks. Most often the average is 10 hours a day, occasionally up to 14 hours in a day. It seems that it's cheaper to pay overtime than it is to hire a new employee you see. That leaves precious little time for anything except eating and sleeping.

[mtnsnake]

15. Point well taken. What I should've said

is that the vast majority cares, they just don't care enough to do anything other than complain as an individual. We either lack the right kinds of leaders who can organize massive public protests, or we simply are doing like our Democratic spokespeople do all the time...sit back hoping the Bush machine self destructs on its own.

Say whatever you want, but like I said, we're royally FUCKED because it's obvious to me right now that there aren't enough people who are willing to take things into their own hands when it comes to protesting in the form of peaceful marches, marches that WOULD get the country's attetion just the same way the Immigrant marchers did. There are no leaders. If we don't march in massive numbers to protest that ugly bastard Bush, we deserve to sit with our Democratic leaders as the silent minority, AGAIN.

[mattclearing]

7. I've marched dozens of times. Did you? n/t

[mtnsnake]

12. Yes in front of a post office protesting Bush for a total of 30 hrs this

winter over the course of 4 or 5 different protests on some random Saturdays, just to answer your question. It was the ONLY opportunity for me to do some sort of protesting in my area.

BTW, I don't appreciate the tone of your question, almost implying that I don't practice what I'm preaching. I live in rural upstate NY, and I'd LOVE to join in some MASSIVE-sized marches....if only there were any.

Show me were they're planned for this or next weekend, within a 5 hour driving distance, and I'll be there.

[mattclearing]

14. I can appreciate your predicament.

And I apologize for the tone of my question.

I think a lot of people are just not interested in protesting. They think it's a quaint thing. They feel so insulated from war that it just doesn't affect them personally.

Part of that is the media's refusal to shock anyone with actual war imagery.

And part of it is denial.

But the long and short of it is that most people are simply not angry enough to take the day off and travel many miles to express their outrage.

Perhaps that will change soon.

[mtnsnake]

16. Thank you for your reply

I appreciate what you said.

I guess I'm just frustrated, as well as totally perplexed, as to why there aren't mass protests against this monster on a regular basis.

Peace

[chaumont58]

8. I don't think so

The repukes aren't just shooting themselves in the foot, they are cutting off their own legs. Let them have at it.
Atrios, this morning, has a thread about what he terms repukes incompetence regarding immigration. I don't think it is so much incompetence as it is inherent cruelty. They can't help themselves. They have been like this their entire lives. They were born this way, and bred this way. I've seen it all my life and I am 68 years old.
I don't worry too much about Dems not having an overriding slogan. The best thing the Dems have going for them is the repukes.

[Child_Of_Isis]

10. Maybe we could get the immigrant workers involved?

The media doesn't cover us though. The last march, I don't think the crowds were ever shown. Just the speeches.

[dogday]

11. The M$M covers only what it is instructed to cover

and the over 700,000 people that march during the RNC only made it to CSPAN... The over 1.25 million women who marched for choice did not make much news either....

The protests have been there, the M$M won't cover it.. Can't let the sheeple see what is really going on now can we?

[Arugula Latte]

13. Exactly. The media won't cover protests -- or if they do, it's to ridicule

a couple of "freaks" or "anarchists" and make them seem representative of the entire protest. Then if 500,000 people come out to protest the Iraq invasion, newspapers report that "thousands" of people protested.

[blindpig]

17. We are comfortable.

We are fed and entertained, we got gas in the car and cable TV, what more do ya need? Politics are something you can throw some dollars at and blow off some steam on the internets. Although we are somewhat aware it is not part of our daily lives.

These immigrants, their daily lives are threatened so they act. As it was during Nam, when getting drafted could really fuck up your day.

Such is the trick of controlling the masses, bread and circuses, leavened with a generous dose of propaganda. The dictum that things won't get better until they get worse seems to apply.