Speaking for the general strike, there are arguably a number of reasons why that’s a lot harder to get rolling in the states. Social safety nets are laughable, worker protections are shittier and union busting is greater than a lot of other nations. A lot of people keep their heads down and don’t act up for fear of loosing what they have.
IMHO complacency oversimplifies and ignores the root causes behind collective action or inaction.
And that said, when it came to shit like ICE, and communities literally have nothing left to lose, that shit gets fucking LOUD in a city. Block by block citizen patrols, lots of organization, etc. But that doesn’t seem to get a lot of press in the news, and people assume Americans are just taking it lying down.
I think this is probably the #1,
or close to the top reason why we don't see more from Americans (including myself and my family).
I have medical conditions that would bankrupt me in a year if it weren't for the shitty health insurance I get through work. I'm not quite living paycheck to paycheck, but it's fucking close.
If I stop working, I'll get fired (for cause) lose my health insurance and income and be SOL. My family will get fucked over. Heck, even my life insurance will stop existing because that's through work too.
So what's left? Weekend protests? Let me look up the next "No Kings" in this podunk town...
When your country is the size of Texas, a general strike or mass protest makes sense. When your country's landmass is a bit smaller than all of Europe, but its population is less than half (and arguably 30% of that population thinks Trump is doing fine) - general strikes and mass protests don't work well.
I'm not saying we shouldn't protest, but you've gotta curb expectations and know the dynamic here is much, much less friendly for those activities. (It's a big reason why I'm constantly on edge and having daily panic attacks.)
Yeah look distance isn’t the issue, it’s unity among a large population.
Australia doesn’t struggle holding decent protests and it’s not much smaller in size, with a much smaller population.
Lack of unity, combined with the lack of social safety net, plus individualism, all of which are pretty valid are the bigger reasons. If they were all on the same page or had some unity, the distance wouldn’t matter.
I’ll say this as well; it seems US citizens aren’t willing to do hardship to get what they want. All of these probably make the easy way out, voting, an attractive option but selfishness stops that one.
I’m hoping that people like me that can’t afford healthcare this year will be more willing to strike. Since we don’t have a social safety net or universal healthcare like France or wherever.
When we had that brief social reinforcement during the pandemic BLM happened.
Problem is that for the majority of Americans “join a union” in 2026 means “start a union, and go up against a multibillion dollar company that is going to use endless amounts of money and lawyers to stop you”
Some people pull it off successfully. More fail and end up unemployed with shit unemployment and no healthcare.
historically, revolutions have followed times of great hardship, where the working class (or peasantry if we're going back further) had nothing left to lose. They also frequently had wealthy backers in the shadows and/or charismatic leaders.
None of that is currently true of the U.S. If you want to call that laziness, fine, but then you have to recognize that humans were "lazy" for most of recorded history.
Historically i dont think we had a country/a people that has been flooding the world for decades with propaganda that they are the good guys and believing it themselves. Americans were never too lazy to tell the world how awesome they are.
Americans were also never too lazy to kill people. Probably only the easy kills. Hmm
It's because they have us right where they want us as wage slaves, scraping by to maintain your lifestyle picking up a second job so you can afford higher prices of food and the cheapest health insurance. It's hard to look around when you're just trying to make ends meet for your family.
You will need to compromise. Not voting means your vote goes to the politicians and parties you LEAST agree with (that’s simple math). So pick the party you least disagree with, and VOTE.
Not voting does not give your vote to anyone. It gives your vote to the "did not vote" column, the current undefeated champion of us elections. Do you libs even hear yourselves?
Liberals dont need to hear anything. They have the voting public under the lock and key of First past the post voting. No matter the gas lighting they can muster, these chains are not democracy.
There is no need to post electoral reform videos, that time has passed.
So where’s the general strike? Where are the blockades, the sit-downs?
Europeans don't understand how militarized the US is. They have FBI, CIA, ICE, DHS, Army, National Guard and a few I forget, all with tanks and guns and ready to kill any form of protest. They literally mass murdered singing students in 1970 and no one really cared.
Everyone talks about the right the bear arms against oppressive government...but it's really just fear of visible minorities.
They will just take it because the whole country is afraid.
Roughly 1/3rd voted for him, 1/3rd voted for Harris, and 1/3 of eligible voters didn’t show up at all.
And he didn’t run on invading Greenland or Venezuela. He famously ran on “America First,” and constantly shit on foreign conflicts / nation building. So this literally the exact opposite of what his voters signed up for… which is why some of the big MAGA people are super pissed right now.
One might think that... but no. Unfortunately, most voters get their information from cable news sound bites. It's also worth remembering that the average American can't read above a 6th grade level. Critical analysis is not a skill they are well-versed in.
I base who I vote for on personal research into the background (and often voting records) of every person that I expect to see on my ballot. I get nervous about city elections because I usually only have a single newspaper article to summarize all of the candidates to go on and it's not enough. I'm an extreme minority in this case. Most educated people may do a little research over big-time candidates but almost nobody looks very deep. Hell, I find myself inadvertently bashing the former president Joe Biden specifically because he never would have won if his constituency were more familiar with his voting record as a senator. They just mark down whichever candidate has the correct team designation next to their name.
Go! Team! Win!
Dems are gonna win Super Bowl LXII!
If you already know that you wont do anything against the Nazis i can only suggest that you join the Nazi Party rather sooner than later. Theyll come for you anyway If you dont
Understand the difference between substantive and bourgeois democracy, read history and theory, join a communist party, engage in direct aid for their immediate community, start a bail fund for their community if they have money, maybe start a library of things if they have a bunch of old, usable stuff, etc... There's tons of things to do, but they're hard to do while throwing up your hands and quitting before you've started.
Nah. "What do you expect someone to do that changes anything" was the question. One must win the battle in one's own mind. You're the one using the word concrete now, for the first time.
What's the matter BBC (and western Europe more broadly)? You were all for this kind of thing when it was being done by Israel. Bit late to cry about it now that the leopards are eyeing your face
Shitlibs need to get it through their head that people won't stop calling out their rank hypocrisy just because they made up some shitty redditism for it and declared it "against the rules"
There's less condemnation of EU politicians for the kidnapping of Maduro or for this,
which is EU territory than the heavily provoked Russia's invasive retaliation
against Ukraine's civil war on Russian-Ukrainian separatists after a coup,
to which people, at least in my EU country,
held a referendum against Ukraine for even attempting to join the EU.
Yes to corruption.
Liberal democracy is corrupt to the core.
It has corruption embedded in the electoral system,
as it serves the merchant class, rather than the people,
of which the majority of merchants are from the US.
55 Comments
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world · 37 pts · 211d
The Trump and his cult of personality have. The majority of the US doesn’t want any of this and think this is bonkers.
https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/52879-few-americans-want-to-take-over-greenland-most-oppose-covert-operations-military-action-poll
notsosure@sh.itjust.works · 27 pts · 211d
So where’s the general strike? Where are the blockades, the sit-downs? Sorry, from over here it looks as if the USA is pretttty complacent!
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world · 32 pts · 211d
Speaking for the general strike, there are arguably a number of reasons why that’s a lot harder to get rolling in the states. Social safety nets are laughable, worker protections are shittier and union busting is greater than a lot of other nations. A lot of people keep their heads down and don’t act up for fear of loosing what they have.
IMHO complacency oversimplifies and ignores the root causes behind collective action or inaction.
And that said, when it came to shit like ICE, and communities literally have nothing left to lose, that shit gets fucking LOUD in a city. Block by block citizen patrols, lots of organization, etc. But that doesn’t seem to get a lot of press in the news, and people assume Americans are just taking it lying down.
plateee@piefed.social · 22 pts · 211d
I think this is probably the #1, or close to the top reason why we don't see more from Americans (including myself and my family).
I have medical conditions that would bankrupt me in a year if it weren't for the shitty health insurance I get through work. I'm not quite living paycheck to paycheck, but it's fucking close.
If I stop working, I'll get fired (for cause) lose my health insurance and income and be SOL. My family will get fucked over. Heck, even my life insurance will stop existing because that's through work too.
So what's left? Weekend protests? Let me look up the next "No Kings" in this podunk town...
When your country is the size of Texas, a general strike or mass protest makes sense. When your country's landmass is a bit smaller than all of Europe, but its population is less than half (and arguably 30% of that population thinks Trump is doing fine) - general strikes and mass protests don't work well.
I'm not saying we shouldn't protest, but you've gotta curb expectations and know the dynamic here is much, much less friendly for those activities. (It's a big reason why I'm constantly on edge and having daily panic attacks.)
stylusmobilus@aussie.zone · 3 pts · 210d
Yeah look distance isn’t the issue, it’s unity among a large population.
Australia doesn’t struggle holding decent protests and it’s not much smaller in size, with a much smaller population.
Lack of unity, combined with the lack of social safety net, plus individualism, all of which are pretty valid are the bigger reasons. If they were all on the same page or had some unity, the distance wouldn’t matter.
I’ll say this as well; it seems US citizens aren’t willing to do hardship to get what they want. All of these probably make the easy way out, voting, an attractive option but selfishness stops that one.
anomnom@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 210d
I’m hoping that people like me that can’t afford healthcare this year will be more willing to strike. Since we don’t have a social safety net or universal healthcare like France or wherever.
When we had that brief social reinforcement during the pandemic BLM happened.
notsosure@sh.itjust.works · -6 pts · 211d
I guess the best thing to do is join a union, and make sure to always make use of your opportunity to vote
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 211d
Problem is that for the majority of Americans “join a union” in 2026 means “start a union, and go up against a multibillion dollar company that is going to use endless amounts of money and lawyers to stop you”
Some people pull it off successfully. More fail and end up unemployed with shit unemployment and no healthcare.
spionspion@lemmy.ml · -14 pts · 211d
I wonder how people were able to ever revolt and kill their masters when healthcare, etc is a pretty new thing.
I think US americans are just lazy, complacent and do want all this
ZeroHora@lemmy.ml · 15 pts · 211d
You're forgetting that the weaponry and surveillance are better now too.
djsoren19@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 210d
historically, revolutions have followed times of great hardship, where the working class (or peasantry if we're going back further) had nothing left to lose. They also frequently had wealthy backers in the shadows and/or charismatic leaders.
None of that is currently true of the U.S. If you want to call that laziness, fine, but then you have to recognize that humans were "lazy" for most of recorded history.
spionspion@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 210d
Historically i dont think we had a country/a people that has been flooding the world for decades with propaganda that they are the good guys and believing it themselves. Americans were never too lazy to tell the world how awesome they are.
Americans were also never too lazy to kill people. Probably only the easy kills. Hmm
Vertelleus@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 12 pts · 211d
It's because they have us right where they want us as wage slaves, scraping by to maintain your lifestyle picking up a second job so you can afford higher prices of food and the cheapest health insurance. It's hard to look around when you're just trying to make ends meet for your family.
notsosure@sh.itjust.works · -4 pts · 211d
I guess the best thing to do is join a union, and make sure to always make use of your opportunity to vote.
BrainInABox@lemmy.ml · 8 pts · 211d
Vote for who?
notsosure@sh.itjust.works · -7 pts · 211d
You will need to compromise. Not voting means your vote goes to the politicians and parties you LEAST agree with (that’s simple math). So pick the party you least disagree with, and VOTE.
BrainInABox@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 211d
Greens it is then
DeepSpace9mm@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 210d
Not voting does not give your vote to anyone. It gives your vote to the "did not vote" column, the current undefeated champion of us elections. Do you libs even hear yourselves?
UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 209d
Liberals dont need to hear anything. They have the voting public under the lock and key of First past the post voting. No matter the gas lighting they can muster, these chains are not democracy.
There is no need to post electoral reform videos, that time has passed.
notsosure@sh.itjust.works · -1 pts · 209d
It’s math. Math is difficult, but anyone can figure it out. I’m not a lib.
spionspion@lemmy.ml · -11 pts · 211d
Lazy lazy bullshit talk.
You are doing nothing because youve got too much lifestyle you dont wanna loose. And the only thing you seem to care about is "yOuR fAmIlY"
bonsai@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 211d
Yeah, most people do tend to care about their family? Was that supposed to be some gotcha?
spionspion@lemmy.ml · -3 pts · 210d
The world is more important than mine or yours family.
Yes obviously this is a gotcha. US americans dont give a fuck about the world
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 209d
Europeans don't understand how militarized the US is. They have FBI, CIA, ICE, DHS, Army, National Guard and a few I forget, all with tanks and guns and ready to kill any form of protest. They literally mass murdered singing students in 1970 and no one really cared.
Everyone talks about the right the bear arms against oppressive government...but it's really just fear of visible minorities.
They will just take it because the whole country is afraid.
SparkyBauer44@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 210d
LadyMeow@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 14 pts · 211d
Apparently, the majority of people ‘in charge’ are just fine and want to continue…
BrainInABox@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 211d
One Day everyone will have been against this. And for a lot of American liberals, that day has come
PostaL@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 210d
Didn't the majority of US vote for Trump?
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 210d
Roughly 1/3rd voted for him, 1/3rd voted for Harris, and 1/3 of eligible voters didn’t show up at all.
And he didn’t run on invading Greenland or Venezuela. He famously ran on “America First,” and constantly shit on foreign conflicts / nation building. So this literally the exact opposite of what his voters signed up for… which is why some of the big MAGA people are super pissed right now.
jerkface@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 210d
Voters have more than just the things a candidate says to base their decisions on. You had to want to be lied to, to believe the things he says.
NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 210d
One might think that... but no. Unfortunately, most voters get their information from cable news sound bites. It's also worth remembering that the average American can't read above a 6th grade level. Critical analysis is not a skill they are well-versed in.
I base who I vote for on personal research into the background (and often voting records) of every person that I expect to see on my ballot. I get nervous about city elections because I usually only have a single newspaper article to summarize all of the candidates to go on and it's not enough. I'm an extreme minority in this case. Most educated people may do a little research over big-time candidates but almost nobody looks very deep. Hell, I find myself inadvertently bashing the former president Joe Biden specifically because he never would have won if his constituency were more familiar with his voting record as a senator. They just mark down whichever candidate has the correct team designation next to their name.
Go! Team! Win! Dems are gonna win Super Bowl LXII!
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · -4 pts · 209d
Nah. You don't get a pass, 77 million voted for this cunt, and 90 million didn't care about democracy at all. Now you're all like...
Yeller_king@reddthat.com · 20 pts · 211d
Europe should seize the personal assets of Trump and other GOP members.
0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 13 pts · 211d
Lmao. They're more likely to buy him a private jet, yatch and a golf course than even point finger at him.
HubertManne@piefed.social · 15 pts · 211d
I hate seeing the term americans used. We have been taken over due to a combined minority coallition of the corrupt and stupid.
spionspion@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 211d
Every (US)american i know is guilty for that shitshow.
They are doing nothing. The lethargy is insane.
figjam@midwest.social · 11 pts · 211d
What do you expect some 40 year old in Kansas to do that actually changes something? Start burning down vacant buildings?
PostaL@lemmy.world · -6 pts · 210d
Vote for Kamala ;)
spionspion@lemmy.ml · -12 pts · 211d
If you already know that you wont do anything against the Nazis i can only suggest that you join the Nazi Party rather sooner than later. Theyll come for you anyway If you dont
figjam@midwest.social · 3 pts · 210d
Thats just throwing mud. What do you want them to do?
DeepSpace9mm@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 210d
Understand the difference between substantive and bourgeois democracy, read history and theory, join a communist party, engage in direct aid for their immediate community, start a bail fund for their community if they have money, maybe start a library of things if they have a bunch of old, usable stuff, etc... There's tons of things to do, but they're hard to do while throwing up your hands and quitting before you've started.
figjam@midwest.social · 1 pts · 209d
Next time you are asked for concrete ways to take action "read theory" should probably not be ahead of practical tasks.
DeepSpace9mm@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 209d
Nah. "What do you expect someone to do that changes anything" was the question. One must win the battle in one's own mind. You're the one using the word concrete now, for the first time.
spionspion@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 210d
BrainInABox@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 211d
That's because they have always supported this kind of thing, they're just uncomfortable with Trump taking the mask off
HubertManne@piefed.social · 1 pts · 211d
The people I know are but then again im not confident the people I know are anywhere close to the majority.
BrainInABox@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 211d
So, Americans
BrainInABox@lemmy.ml · 14 pts · 211d
What's the matter BBC (and western Europe more broadly)? You were all for this kind of thing when it was being done by Israel. Bit late to cry about it now that the leopards are eyeing your face
notsosure@sh.itjust.works · -2 pts · 211d
Whataboutery.
BrainInABox@lemmy.ml · 11 pts · 211d
Shitlibs need to get it through their head that people won't stop calling out their rank hypocrisy just because they made up some shitty redditism for it and declared it "against the rules"
folaht@lemmy.ml · 10 pts · 210d
And EU Europeans are losing everything.
There's less condemnation of EU politicians for the kidnapping of Maduro or for this,
which is EU territory than the heavily provoked Russia's invasive retaliation
against Ukraine's civil war on Russian-Ukrainian separatists after a coup,
to which people, at least in my EU country,
held a referendum against Ukraine for even attempting to join the EU.
causepix@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 209d
I had a stroke reading this
NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 210d
To corruption? Your analysis sounds like symptoms of systemic corruption. There's a lot of that to go around at the international level.
folaht@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 210d
Yes to corruption.
Liberal democracy is corrupt to the core.
It has corruption embedded in the electoral system,
as it serves the merchant class, rather than the people,
of which the majority of merchants are from the US.