I follow French politics a lot, as many of you know. Any effort for mass layoffs of public sector employees there would create such huge strikes and marches, the level of disruption and paralysis would be biblical.
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That also gets to something that’s off what’s off at exasperation some people here show when people elsewhere take to the streets to defend what can seem like smaller social benefits; you keep a culture of solidarity & protest that’ll matter in the biggest moment by using it in smaller ones.
Its not just American exceptionalism or size. Each state has its own culture too. If we stopped as a nation you'd have to convince each and the whole reason trump won and thinks he has a divine mandate is because our stupid imperfect system *seems* mostly red
Except it's not- big chunks of our country are pink and there are big blue spots in big red states but if the majority of the electors vote red it goes red so he claims he has a mandate because he thinks he got all of America to actually agree when we didn't.
These people would have taken to the streets if President Obama was doing this. Remember the Tea Party and ACA. White supremacy has frozen them in place and they are unable to defend their rights.
Too right. If the perp, or perps were a different colour they would be flags out in pickups throwing beer cans in a flash. Or far worse, I was just being diplomatic.
Conservatives seem to own a physical political initiative that has died among democrats. Democrats seem to have become slaves to complaining about how hopeless it all is on social media instead of actually protesting.
And!! for the most part US folk didn't have to rebuild, exceptions to the Japanese-Americans who were jailed, and I'm really sorry that was allowed to happen. But my point was that there weren't before/after photos of rubbley streets in our cities - all that was far far away
Exactly! The US worker loses health insurance, 401k, life insurance, and risks unemployment without benefit. Much higher price AND European employers and unions are far more supportive.
Ah! 70 & retired. But I lived where Nazis created hell before & have experienced the "benign superiority" practiced by the male of our species given power over others. Insulated & isolated US citizens have no experience or comprehension of how easily it can be done here. The writing is on the wall.
I wasn’t born in the states. I come from a place where the Brit’s slaughtered and starved millions of my people for literal 100s of years. there’s nothing insulated about my reality. And I can’t find 1 excuse for WHITE USians who always cry about how scary everything is. It’s honestly so pathetic.
What you are describing sounds like more reason to strike, not less. But they have removed your rights to unionise and the culture of collective action. Unfortunately that’s going to hurt bringing it back.
Oh, there's plenty of reason to strike. But, they have made sure focus on economic survival will take priority for most. Employed people can't risk jobs when the govt is slaughtering employment. Feeding/housing your kids can't be responsibly sacrificed at that alter.
I make 10000€ a month. 700€ are immediately deducted from my paycheck. The person who makes 2500€, 175€ is deducted. We both have the same great health coverage. Do I care? No. I'm happy everyone is covered. Healthcare holds a society together.
Losing Healthcare is the least of the Concern. They just put a man with half of his brain eaten off by a worm and an Advocate for Heroin over the HHS Agency. For those with serious Health Ailments and dependent on this Healthcare System, I would be researching where to move by now.
Respectfully, you've no idea what you're talking about. Most countries give extra scrutiny to immigration requests from disabled people. They don't want us "burdening their system." Canada backs disabled people into a corner to get them to MAiD themselves. Often, other places are no better for us.
Most countries w/universal health care will only allow u residency if u can pay for your own healthcare & prove the econ./social benefit u will provide to your new country—That’s about your profession. Americans moving abroad can buy international health insurance to cover medical costs.
Or as I like to say, a country with a system of universal health care does, in fact, have restrictions on pre-existing conditions, just in the immigration system.
We're not stupid. If there was a better place to go and it was doable for the majority, we would already be there. Read about Aktion T4 to learn how little the disabled community matters to fascist societies.
Do you think the rearming of europe in the face of russian aggression and usa trumpisim will lead to leaders to call for cuts to social nets in european countries? I dont follow it enough to have a clear view of that possibly
We've been pitted against each other in so many different directions we have no collective. Add in the amount of guns in this country and a president that encourages an air of civil war, and well - we ain't France, nor South Korea
You have never had a revolution - the country was built on an extension of the Cromwellian revolution, which was never a revolution. This provides for exceptionalism and the allied uncritical swallowing of propaganda over decades.
Unions and a more critical and realistic view of capitalism would help the US to understand the oligarchs, big businesses and corporations only care about their own interests and not their workers or civil society at large.
The media is the issue. Fb insta TikTok twitter are all making sure the reach isn’t reaching. It’s also winter so the protests will be smaller. It’s also gonna take constant protests so everyone can still go to work and show up on their off days.
I disagree. Saying protests do nothing encourages people to sit at home. Every protest builds upon the last one.we don’t protest enough so the systems aren’t there yet but they are growing and they do matter imo.
MAGA is tiny but loud and accomplished a lot. So can we.
I didn’t say protests do nothing. I see no results from it. Protests though have to be in numbers large enough to matter. Take the Million Man March. Result was over one million black men registered to vote. Take the protests in South Korea and we see the results. We don’t have the numbers to matter
The government is generally aware of everything. Media isn’t the only reason. The government is ignoring the protests. They are unconcerned with it, expect protests, but they are if no consequence to the government.
They have kowtowed to him in a shameful and embarrassing way. I wish there was someone who could inspire a huge Ten Million Person March in DC. Set a date and who can come, come. A Saturday or Sunday. But with enough notice and interest to make it happen.
In America, the people fear their government. In France, the government fears the people. The difference is organized labor and the reason why the GOP has been union busting for 50 years.
I dont get why US citizens arent taking out those 500 anti democratic twits and kicking them to the curb. Are they waiting for them to completely cement their take over?????
Until this moment I never considered the concept of the American rugged individual as a tool to divide & isolate. This explains why there is no meaningful protest for what's taking place.
Our culture doesn’t believe in mutual support. That is the monster of this time.
The problem with America is that people don't care about others. It's all zero-sum - if someone is getting something, it's taking it away from "me." People only care about themselves and what affects them - this is the natural conclusion of that: being easily divided and toppled
I absolutely understand. I grew up in Northern Saskatchewan. We had potlucks as a community and we traded farm products with each other. I went back to visit and that doesn't exist anymore. People are consuming so much propaganda that they now hate their neighbours
The American public has never in my lifetime celebrated good governance nor valued the federal workers. We are fed lies about the waste and incompetence while many of them do a great job under difficult circumstances. I failing as a country.
However there are protests starting. On Feb 17, our national holiday of Presidents Day, there was the 50-50-1 protest at all 50 state capitols. I was at one, a state not known for protests. The local organizer told me that it was a huge turn out for their state. I promoted Bluesky for info.
That's because the French don't give up. They don't protest for a day, they protest every day, gathering more people and more press coverage with every day. They close down cities and transport routes. The Ukranians protested 12 days straight in 2004 to have their government thrown out.
No, it's because our police are militarized and they will absolutely shoot us. Plus we've protested for longer than a day, and our government has sent in the national guard on citizens to quell unrest
Brother you have no idea how violent the French Police if you think that, France sells policing weapons to the US and uses stuff that even the US doesn’t regularly against protestors.
The brutality of the French police is known globally.
Of course they will shoot some of you. They will beat and jail many times more.
Do you know how many protesters got shot or ground under tank tracks in so many countries?
That's what such a society costs. It gets often forgotten which leads to repeats.
But how many will they shoot anyway?
But Americans seems historically very positive to loose thousands of young lives fighting around the world? Maybe this time "help" yourselves and fix the horrid working conditions and this destructive administration. More of value then loosing kids in Kabul..
Taking into consideration we also have an idiot class that roughly consists of 30% of the population (they have gone through different names, royalists, lavalistes, frontistes… they side with our enemies for personal gain) we have done quite good.
You're lucky. We can't just do that. The US is huge. It would take millions of people all striking simultaneously across all 50 states to gain that power. If not enough people strike on the first day, those people just lose their jobs.
Nobody is in position to synchronize the entire workforce.
You can't just decide some day to strike b/c the govt makes you mad. There's rules about being protected in your job for striking as part of a collective bargaining process vs your employer.
Same in France: you can only strike against your employer, which is why strikers are mostly gov employees or certain protected employees. In practice few employers take chances as to decide whether the employee exercised its right to strike properly, because if you lose, you are in a world of pain
I've tried telling them this same stuff, but they watch John Wick and think that reality -- they're clearly coddled and don't know what it's like living in a police state.
The French shut down the country when the government tried to raise retirement age from 60 to 62. Our country is trying to end retirement. Forever. Sorry if you can't retire until you're 70 years old what's the point? Work your entire life only to enjoy your arthritis in your efficiency apartment.
The right has been attacking civil servants and the public sector for 40
Years. The public in general does not appreciate what civil servants actually do.
Yep. I was there almost exactly two years ago...a few times my train just didn't come because train workers just randomly strike. And no one that worked there cared that some random american had no train ride because in France you have to plan for this.
In 2022, you could not buy gas for your car easily due to oil refinery worker’s strike. Last year, farmers shut down highways with their tractors protesting cheap imports and regulatory issues. There are websites to help plan life around “Les grèves” here.
i think one factor is the sheer size of the US. makes it hard to coordinate things. it also means that the effects of cuts and layoffs take longer to ripple thru the economy and general awareness.
don't get me wrong, i'd rather we went on strike the way the french do...
On the right. The left is just as inactive. Especially the white middle/upper-middle class with their AUDIs and Bimmers and two-car garages and 85" TVs. There's a lot to lose helping to defend the threatened marginalized. 🤷🏻♂️ That's the truth of it.
It needs to be done, without question. Problem is: the USA is so huge in territory and population, it's difficult to manage.
Solution is: (imo), Governors of each state rally their constituents. One state at a time, every day, 50 days in a row and repeat.
Would love to see it happen
The social contract has been dismantled here. The public is overworked, pacified with convenience, and numbed by social media. Apathy is common. Guns are too easy to obtain.
Both had a revolution
France backslid from monarchy to chaos to imperium to monarchy again twice before democracy got a chance
Perhaps America is about to experience the Imperial option unless people take to the streets
On October 24, 1975, 90% of Icelandic Women went on strike for one day to remind the country of their importance.
It brought the country to a standstill.
Great idea! Which day should we do ours? I think April 15th has a nice ring to it. We could call it Women’s Tax Day because we are taxed emotionally, mentally and physically these days. We should sit everything out. Everything.
In the US, the general population is just patiently waiting until the people on the payroll of the billionaires tell them that it is okay to become mad now.
Because their bosses do it with them. Our bosses act like they are part of the 1% so we lose our jobs in a society where we’re all a week away from homelessness anyways
Oh come on, in France the police has weapons considered as grenades and they throw them at protesters. And it's not like you haven't had massive movement of armed protest, it's practically what your so loved second ammendments is for isn't it ??
Haha omg that’s so true. Have you ever watched that Canadian cops show. I forget the name. DUDE!! The amount of shit Canadians get away with from their police is insane. And Canadians HATE the police.
Once at Disney a Disney cop tried to tell a British guy what to do and the British guy mouthed off and called the cop a wanker to his face. In that moment you could see exactly who was American in that crowd.
EU countries are highly unionized. Unions are the best organizers for mass action. Many EU countries are parliamentary so that mass public demonstrations can bring down a government down. We don't have that luxury. Only impeachment could stop Trump but would still leave us with Vance.
And the unions are why they have rights , good living standards, healthcare
Americans could also have this if they buy the lies and hope they will be the one who wins the millionaire lottery
Here we are the enemy. We are all overpaid and underworked. Because the average public worker earns a decent income.
Nobody cares how many dual PhD/MDs I work with. How many engineers with advanced degrees and multiple licenses. How many could make way more in private but love the mission.
Protests are difficult here with our substandard public transportation. A well coordinated strike would definitely get noticed. We need an opposition party (hello Dems) to get behind this.
@thedemocraticparty.bsky.social
Not to mention that the United States is so much bigger than France; it is logistically much more difficult to organize across such a large country, and have individual protests appear significant
It's a great idea, but the sheer continental size of the United States is a huge impediment to French-style mass disruption & labor mobilization. France is 500 miles wide w/ robust public transit. 500 miles from Des Moines gets you to Cincinnati. 😅
And a good portion of the Midwest is trapped in a polar vortex of heavy snow & extreme cold. I hope protest will pick up once we thaw, but again, weather is a boon to French labor mobilization as well.
I think the bigger issue is that the French support all workers seeking a better deal. Striking is also a constitutional right. The US, like the UK, is a race to the bottom, where people are generally only concerned with themselves.
But it's not the bigger issue, imo. The American federal system is completely different from the French. We're 6x wider and a fraction as dense. We absolutely do not have a unified national identity. Economic & political centers are spread across the country. All of this matters!
We don't go to Paris to protest. It happens everywhere, from small villages to cities. Size isn't a problem, but rampant individualism and lack of solidarity is. Stop making excuses as to why it's difficult and just do it. "Impossible n'est pas Francais" as they say here.
"Just do it." Friend, I am 1,000 miles away from the national capital. Geography, weather, material conditions, political systems are all real and matter!
Also, we don’t have time to wait until spring. People can get Kay in the snow all winter, snowblow their driveways, drive to work and back, etc. they can get out and defend democracy.
And, I mean this entirely respectfully, what impact did that have? 😅 I say this as someone who lives in an Iowa town of 4,000 people, a couple hundred people marching around small towns & Midwest capitals in February does have not the same impact as barricading the streets of Paris.
As someone who has participated in dozens of these protests over the years, I'm tired of getting a couple hundred people together, patting ourselves on the back for showing up, and it changes nothing. We need intentional and targeted action, not more opportunities to "show up and be mad."
If Martin Luther king jr took your view, we wouldn’t have ever left the Jim crow days. If railroad workers and all the rest didn’t protest workers’ rights where ever they were, they wouldn’t have gained any more. A whole hallway wall of chronological pictures at my community college shows this.
The civil rights movement of MLK was *highly* trained, targeted, and intentional to achieve specific aims. I totally agree that modern protests could learn a lot from MLK, I'm just not sure those lessons are what you think they are. 😅
All 4000 people in your town need to be inundated with messaging about how dumpy is screwing them. That it WILL affect THEM, not just other people. And they are failing their kids and grandkids if they just say “I don’t do politics” like the Russians do under Putin.
It does. People are unaware of what’s happening. Or they feel unmotivated by just news and videos. We got lots of honks of approval at the intersection, and fewer boos, fingers, and revving trucks go by. 🙄 the more we motivate in every nook and cranny, the more people tell other people.
Eh, if people hear they learn to dress and acclimate. I protested in our small town for the people’s march Andy gloved fingers started to hurt. Most of our fellows were middle aged or elderly.
The roads connecting those miles can be shut down rather easily. So many strikes in France are just trucks parking on freeways and rail lines.
The only real impediment I see is healthcare being tied to employer. Seems like a bigger solidarity fund could cover it, but it's definitely a challenge.
I have always said that this country is too big. It should be broken up into regions. I’ll take care of that as soon as they name me Empress of America.
I admire the French
La saison des grèves. The kinda hostage taking but still allowing family members to bring food and clothes to the hostage is something.
The U.S. needs to coordinate and plan for a full week-long (168 hours) strike of EVERYTHING: no commerce, no production, no school, no shopping, no construction, no transportation. Just silent protest.
Planning would mostly address the needs of vulnerable people in anticipation of the strike.
Don't you only have to do mass protests in a single city? Isn't flooding Paris' streets enough? We can't do that in America. We're so decentralized and so geographically split. There's no amount of cities we can protest in to make rural red America care.
Have been thinking about this in the US.
Firstly, UNIONs are not as pervasive as in France.
Reagan fired Striking FAA employees.
An FAA strike would paralyze the country,
Musk would fire them & run it in his spare time.
Trump is hoping federal workers, VA,& teachers strike so he can fire all of them
Americans will never be like Europe because your brainwashed into thinking the world revolves around you. You've been feed propaganda for years. Collectively you only think of yourself and no one else
America has 340 million peeps and France houses 68.17 million! Size matters, it’s a lot harder to excite a group here state to state then over there! But we can and must do better, our country/children are depending on us!
It is the entire US mindset and culture... From flag worship in kindergarten, to the american dream, poor welfare and health, militarised cops, the 'communist' purges, anti strike and union laws... but the days of high pay and social mobility that maybe justify all that are long gone...
Bullshit excuse. The attendances at the Presidents Day marches/protests were lame, absolutely fucking lame. Disgusting. Maybe a couple of thousand people each in the largest cities.
That's what universal health care is all about but freaking stupid ignorant yanks never wanted it...It's supposed to be "socialist"...Yanks are real retards
Before you can get in that this is an historical artefact from compensation restrictions during WWII,
you have to get past French looking at you with a "What is wrong with you? Having healthcare is not dependent upon employment."
And who is to blame if you don't have the same in the USA ? If Americans were less individualistic they would have fought for this, as a universal right
Bold of you assume we haven't tried in every way we can. I don't think you rightly have any real understanding of how firmly entrenched private healthcare is here.
The US is, by no means, collectivist. The false ideologies of 'rugged individualism' and 'manifest destiny ' were relentlessly hammered into our skulls from early childhood
The insurance lobby, actually. During WW2 FDR & Congress instituted a freeze on employee pay raises. Private insurance stepped up as employer provided health insurance became the new perk employers could use to attract labor
The Truman administration put forth proposals for a national public insurance system, but this was killed and buried by corporate lobbies. Then, as now, private business interests undermined popular reforms that would support the greater good.
That’s what happens when people are not living one paycheck from homelessness.
Americans are controlled to the point of starvation if we resist too much
A dear friend from the Balkans used to repeat his father's words of wisdom.If you have a Frenchman working for your company, you don't need a union. Truer words were never spoken.
The French are the professional protesters of the world. They truly take it to the next level. Just ask the local politicians that are probably still cleaning that trailer full of cow shit out of their offices.
In France the right to strike in the public sector is recognised by Law No. 83-634 of 13 July 1983. In the U.S. 5 U.S.C. §7311, specifies that federal employees may not participate in a strike, assert the right to strike, or even belong to a union that asserts the right to strike against the US.
But in the good old US of A we gasp loudly as we clutch our pearls and say "oh my! It's ok though, those things don't happen here. Someone will stop it"
The difference would seem to be that French police are not widely known to shoot people like American police are. It doesn’t matter if we’re peaceful and carrying signs, they still attack us. Even reporters aren’t safe, just look at what happened to Linda Tirado.
Yes, I have always envied the ability ot the French to build barricades and scare the crap out of their leaders. I know that our leaders will actually shoot us in the street, but at this point I don't care. That is how bad things have gotten.
I m French. This made me laugh a lot. Especially the word biblical.
It’s purely a question of culture.
But you’re right. I’m shocked you don’t march and protest 😛.
Fed employees ALL need to go on strike immediately. He can’t fire everyone. Make them hurt when MAGA misses that SS check or the family can’t go to Yosemite or your tax refund isn’t processed and air traffic shuts down globally.
Ironically they're some of the few employees in the US who are not at-will workers - meaning they can't be fired for no reason. That was the law congress passed when they started forming unions. Their consolation prize is that their union contracts are effectively force of law.
Federal employees are also barred from participation in any partisan political activity by the Hatch Act; I personally know federal employees thusly barred from canvassing and attending protests.
Don't make it your excuse to do nothing. You can protest at lunch, after work and days off. I wasn't allowed either as State employee, but we found out when we could protest.
That's the beauty you people are not seeing; you don't need permission to strike! Worker's rights were not gained by asking politely and playing by their rules. It's impossible to win that way. Just do it. If people are gonna be fired anyway, better go spectacularly and with a fight they remember.
as a devils advocate, municipal employees who were legally not permitted to strike, have struck before and then, when they won, had part of the agreement be no prosecution.
also if the entire exectutive struck, who would be enforcing the law that makes it a felony to strike?
federal workers specifically have highly restricted rights of assembly and speech compared to the average American.
they are not *legally allowed* to just walk out, ON TOP OF all the difficulties that make strikes, union forming and walkouts difficult, which are, in this country, normally legal.
federal workers are terrified rn. they are worried for their livelihoods, their families, their healthcare. some of them cannot even begin to search for new jobs if they get fired until their resumés are manually approved by the govt .
Yosemite just announced they can't take any reservations for campers, they are done. No 2025 reservations, no staff, no protection for the Park and the animals. Saw that earlier today.
We can peacefully protest, but not on official time so it’s not quite as effective (esp since the protests are being scheduled for mid-workweek). We need the general public to help us - talk to your reps for us, share our stories with your local news especially if you aren’t in the DMV.
I’m a state employee so I feel u, but do you want to be terrorized for the next 4 yrs or take the power back? Just ask for normal things like an orderly HR process and terminations that accurately reflect its a RIF and not firing for cause. As long as its peaceful 75% of public will support it.
They can’t fire them all. That is the point. They keep having to back track now when people point out we need FAA workers, and bird flu specialists and the guys who guard nukes…
But I’m not sure why it isn’t in America?! Other countries come out and stand up against the far right and we are trying… Lord knows we are trying.. but not quite hard enough it feels like. The media is against us, for fear of Trump retribution. It’s just crazy!
Because you’ve been brainwashed into thinking if you only worked hard you could become a millionaire not knowing the system relies on this to subjugate you with fear of losing your health care
Americans simply don’t believe they can change anything because our laws have been written directly by lobbyists and we have two parties that enable it. There’s no working class leadership. None.
Fox News and podcast like Ben Shaprio's and Joe Rogan's have melted the brains of so many Americans that some of the people I fucking work with who would 1000% get laid off are in support of it. 🫠
The big difference btwn EU & USA as far as general strikes go, and in the biggest fan of GS!! is the level of worker protections & social benefits available to unemployed! If we strike here esp wildcat or general, we can easily be fired,
if fired most lose their healthcare. If fired one is ineligible for UI. So… let’s extrapolate out from there … then add in the vigilante element now bolstered by the 🍊 & the fact that US civilians are armed to the gd teeth… and we have a very dif playing field … its not really a fair comparison
Exactly it’s a dispute and you get what like a bit over half of your reg pay for 6 months max. Not really a sustainable strategy. Dont get me wrong I am v pro protest / resistance, this was in response to peeps wondering why we don’t go ham like the euros.
We do protest, protests, many of them, are happe ing eight now. The problem is all our major media sources are owned by the oligarchs and either won't report or won't report accurately, propaganda is highly effective here, our system is purposefully designed to keep people overworked/too poor>>
To have time or chance going out, people who do protest..we'll see what happened summer of 2020 and with the Stop Cop City protests, and the Free Palestine Student Encampments. Our cops have hand me down military equipment, tanks, they will seriously injure you (upwards of a dozen people lost an eye
In 2020. Other protestors or community action groups were slapped with Rico charges or arrested on bullshit reasons. Protestors were kidnapped off the street and held for 10+ hours. A Cop City protestor was straight up murdered. We can just go out, set a Cop car on fire and have our government cave
It's also, where I am, 9 degrees outside and not insignificant parts of the US are also dealing with the fallout of major environmental disaster (Hurricane Helen, the LA fires, ect)
Also pur supposed "opposition" party is incredibly weak,(see their lack of action right now, despite a record number of people calling/writing/screaming at them) even when they do have majority power, and are just as likely to have protestors battered as Republicans.
The 2020 protests were the largest civil rights movement since the '60s, and it was met with extreme violence. A lot of our population was also killed or disabled b/c of government inaction with COVID. We are dealing w/ issues European countries just don't have (or to the same extreme)
I don’t think it’s even possible to compare employment standards between the US and France (not just now with all the turmoil). What is considered normal is beyond comprehension to most French employees.
We are MUCH more militarized. We are much more spread out geographically and ethically. Americans are fearful and living paycheck to paycheck without subsidies and social programs like the french. There are many reasons why we don’t protest like them. And when we do, the majority doesn’t support it.
It was on social media and independent news sources. Tennessee National Guard put their shields down and joined protesters. If millions or hundreds of thousands they will have to pay attention. Even Maga is starting to get fed up. Wait until Medicaid, Medicare, & social security get cut.
the leftist hotspots (ie cities) are where the population of the u.s. actually lives, not in some vacant rural farmland. But yea protests need to get bigger.
Yes. There was a big demonstration against the new government in Belgium last week (to protest against bad things but it's nothing compared to what is happening in the US). There were 100,000 people for a country with a population only about 40% bigger than New York City.
We are a massive and diverse country. We have suffered decades of psyop and bad education. In the next months, you will see protests build. And then very possibly you will watch us slaughtered. That is what is going to happen. Our own military is going to be used against us.
Netherlands here. I follow everything. Various news outlets. Everyone has a right to information but also the duty to look for it.
(And a couple of 1000 protestors here and there with cute cardboard signs is not a whole lot).
During the BLM protests, multiple people were permanently injured by Austin police firing “less lethal” rounds, people on both sides carried guns, and someone deliberately drove into the crowd, then shot someone trying to stop him. Guy got pardoned by the governor.
Yes. The protests until now have been way to small. We should be studying what South Koreans did recently to oust their president. We are going to need prolonged, massive protests, walk outs, economic boycotts, etc. I don’t get why we don’t seem able to pull that off.
Yes, it’s what we need but we aren’t France, or South Korea. France is the size of 2 Colorados. Very easy to get everyone on the streets when your cities are built to be walkable. It’s far more difficult when you’re talking about the U.S. and none of our cities meant to be walkable, for a reason
I think you're missing that you don't have to walk to protest the very first time I went to France I was driving along the highway & suddenly there was a huge traffic jam. Farmers had blocked the route to protest. Within ten minutes drivers were getting outta their cars. Chatting, smoking etc..
Then after a brief plan they all started peeling off the road into farmers fields & taking another route. As they exited the field TV crews waited to interview ppl. They didn't seem angered by the protest. It was just how they got stuff done. Send in the elderly in RVs I say. Stop the flow of goods
A key point in SK was the army were unwilling to attack the civilians that took to the streets, also 'cause the regime's still fresh (lots of families lost loved ones during protests in 1987 & they're not willing to let it happen again). You need to remind your military that you're not the enemy.
SK is very different, everything is in the capital city and it's a simple walk or ride to where the protestors needed to be and the politicians literally fought with the protestors. If you're expecting @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social or @schumer.senate.gov to march with you, you're shit out of luck.
We are getting there, my friend... America will only take so much. I'm ready right now, but the momentum needs to build a bit longer here. Many Americans are still expecting a savior. But no one is coming to save us. Many won't move until there is no doubt that we're being screwed. Patience.
I was convinced years ago, but for a large part of the population, I think they will only have "no doubt" when things start to affect them personally - it's just how some people learn. The hard way.
It is interesting how America, with its suspicion of 'big government' never really developed a proper protest culture. I suspect it's too focused on the individual rather than the collective, regarding the latter as a bit 'communist'. They prefer to use people.
Because we care. Strike will not work against the current american regime because the elite do not care if people starve to death. They just wanna play king of the mountain.
Sadly the only legal way i know to deal with an unwanted employer is quitting. Striking will only get a handfull of promises and lots of other problems.
Then again, if "he who saves his country does not break any law" maybe there is another option... but I bet its gonna involve violence and death.
Raegan -> Now = 45 years of relentless Right-wing government-bashing propaganda. And anemic, almost apologetic, Dem response. The US populace has been indoctrinated.
Millions of Americans showed up for the Women’s March in 2017. It was the largest single day protest in American history. What happened since then? Did people give up?
For MAGA, it will take six months of deprivation and pathetic attempts at blaming “Woke” and “DEI” for the problems their MAGA politicians and minions created in the first 100 days. Slow but usually catch on when they are suffering.
It's disturbing how such a “free” and “strong” country is being cold-cocked and mistreated by its own president, and it can't do much about it. I don't think that's freedom.
Apparently there isn't even enough public infrastructure to support the hundreds of thousands of people coming into and marching through cities. And since there are practically no workers' rights you always run the risk of losing your job if something goes wrong or just like that. Perplexing.
There needs to be more now. Things need to grind to a halt. This is beyond a state of emergency. The country is under attack but this is obviously having international ramifications.
But also federalism. If you're fired from a public sector job in California, your government is on your side. Paralyzing this government doesn't do anything except aid the Feds.
Absolutely - things would be on fire, farmers and truckers would be blocking all routes into Paris, and all ports out of France...
The French do outrage particularly well - but then they have lived under Fascism within living memory (just), suffered occupation, and been on 2 world wars' frontline
It took time to get to the point where Stalin was powerful enough to have purges.
That is the thing, it is always "not that bad" right up until the moment it is too late.
We do not know where the train is going, it may turn around.. it just seems to be the train that rarely turns around.. 🤦♂️
That's what I was saying the other day. The French would have been out full force in the streets on January 21st. Things would either be over and Trump would be out, or they'd still be out full force in the streets tonight. But the reality.....friggin' crickets.
I'm sorry to say it, but Americans are too lazy to turn off the TV and get off the couch to save their democracy. They will watch DC burn on the news and troops clearing Gaza with their supper.
But France takes it too far the other way. Firing anyone - even for incompetence - is a nightmare. There of course should be worker protections and a safety net if something bad happens, but we also shouldn't be protecting the lazy and clueless.
They want us to protest, so they can kettle and arrest us for rioting. They want us fighting with each other in the streets so they can declare martial law. Join the economic boycott on Feb 28th. Billionaires are nothing without the people. Time to remind them that the people have power.
We’ve been here before. We occupied Wall Street for months. They just drove around us or telecommuted. During BLM protests, they kettles us and labeled us terrorist. Economic warfare is the only language these people understand. You can’t appeal to their better nature because it doesn’t existent.
You do what you gotta do. Honestly I’d love to see Americans take to the streets in mass again, but until you combat the mainstream apathy, that’s sadly already a forgone conclusion. I’m opting for pressuring our reps through constituent driven efforts, lawsuits and economic embargos.
Spending needs to fall off of a cliff on #Amazon, #Walmart, #Spotify, #Uber...
The #broligarchs need to lose their income stream so that their stock value will plummet. Government has given them the keys to the castle, this us how we get them back. We are dependent on foreign countries because they
Corporations outsourced good jobs in the 80s, thanks to Reagan's NAFTA. Wages have stagnated since then, profits have soared and wealth has concentrated. Buy local. Buy direct. Save your money, buy less.
Consumption habits can work better than tarrifs and you control them. https://youtu.be/6nWNiCjtYXM?...
Sick to realize why it's not happening here. Local police departments are still paying out settlements for BLM abuse. But "real" Americans don't understand how safe it to protest now. And protests really matter.
Ok, but has ur president asked the military to shoot protesters in the legs or given the go-ahead to armed (extremist) militias to get out there and do anything they think is necessary to "save the country" and not to worry about being held accountable for breaking any laws? RU afraid you'll die?
Can we please stop using the term layoff? Fed employees are being summarily dismissed or terminated, not laid off. The words we use to describe what is happening matters. Saying your employment is ending due to “poor performance”, no matter your performance hx, is quite literally a termination.
In a civilised and intelligent country that is what would happen, unfortunately in the US workers right are near non existent. You strike and you get fired. So much for the idea that the US is the greatest nation in the world, oh and did I mention the only country without universal healthcare.
Trump approval increases. A colonial America first approach is all that matters to the majority. Might just be as simple as that. Egoism, capitalism, maybe it can go too far.
US will not strike. Every one is too busy surviving. Majority of people just keep their heads down working until they are dead.Its called Big American Dream
Les Miserables may be in the book ban. Maybe not, considering they may not be able to pronounce the title. I’m leaning on hope that the ruthlessness will unite multiple factions of opinion (not theirs) to start bringing critical mass. We saw that to a degree during the 1st term. It needs to grow.
That’s because France is the size of one of our states. Our federal workers are not united. They are divided into divisions and divided over 50 states.
Syndication rate is getting lower and lower in any sector in France since 50's.
We're at a 7% overall labors affiliations and in public sector is not that much more except for very specific area like cops (75%) because politics delegate them the pay-rise procedure (and also you need fascist militia)
Likewise, so are our citizens. It's impossible to protest in our Capitol, for Americans who live thousands of miles away. Missed pay/ travel expenses are too much for the average American, when 60% live paycheck to paycheck. Just getting to one's state capitol may be a hardship for many.
If you couldn't do that as you say, you would never have a country, you would never have desegregation, Civil rights act or any end to the war in Vietnam.
I think you can.
Rural China and tzarist Russia with almost no infrastructure could do it when the situation was bad enough. What is your limit?
I was responding to why protesting in a country this large is difficult, compared with France. There are protests here, but they are spread out, largely by necessity.
Bring your cities to a standstill. That's what happens in France. We don't all go to Paris to protest. It happens in every town. There's no reason you can't do the same.
Yeah, there's just a lot of bad faith arguments being thrown around here by people who know nothing about the U.S. beyond what they've seen in action movies. They think the U.S. is the size of a country in Europe and we're all John Wick.
Not completely true France may be about to elect a far right leader at its next presidential election. But even if Le Pen were elected, if she tried to go after public / state workers there would be a general strike nail she was removed.they mean Libertie, égalité and Fraternité
The problem I am having is this. 1)not everyone is standing up and walking out. Without all of us it means nothing. 2) Unless everyone walks at once then I still risk losing a job that I don’t actually hate.
Generations of Americans have been conditioned to think they owe their labour to the wealthy world, holidays are for the weak, employment is a gift donated by their wealthy masters, & they must do anything in an attempt to become one of the elite. They may take a while to change.
Very true. When in 2006 the government tried to loose employment condition for young first time employees they torched Paris for weeks. I would wake up in the morning and check how many trash cans were still burning. Or cars.
He sure loves that guy. Must have been the shirtless horse riding in camo pants, that was epic.
Tmurph hasn’t been seen shirtless ever I think, for good reason .
Comments
☹️ “my 401k” ☹️ LIKE WAT MY DOOD?!?!
We've also taken demonization of our incoming melting pot while destroying the indigenous population to extraordinary degrees.
We're a shit country - and the closer we get to telling that story, the more white men don't want that story told. And here we are.
The media is the issue. Fb insta TikTok twitter are all making sure the reach isn’t reaching. It’s also winter so the protests will be smaller. It’s also gonna take constant protests so everyone can still go to work and show up on their off days.
MAGA is tiny but loud and accomplished a lot. So can we.
Protests aren’t even enough anyway. They always need to just be the more visible left foot. The right foot is organizing and gaining actual power
Until this moment I never considered the concept of the American rugged individual as a tool to divide & isolate. This explains why there is no meaningful protest for what's taking place.
Our culture doesn’t believe in mutual support. That is the monster of this time.
Rush Limbaugh's true legacy is how he persuaded people to embrace their worst selves
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/rush-limbaugh-s-true-legacy-how-he-persuaded-people-embrace-ncna1258297
Even in Philly, my childhood home that's somewhat known for its love of conflict and clannishness... There was a sense we were all in this together.
I don't feel that way about my neighbors now, and we live in deep, deep blue Maryland.
The brutality of the French police is known globally.
Do you know how many protesters got shot or ground under tank tracks in so many countries?
That's what such a society costs. It gets often forgotten which leads to repeats.
But how many will they shoot anyway?
In most US jobs, you walk out, you're done. Even in a unionized position, there are rules about what constitutes a protected strike.
If most Americans struck even one day, they'd lose their jobs, healthcare, and maybe their homes.
Taking into consideration we also have an idiot class that roughly consists of 30% of the population (they have gone through different names, royalists, lavalistes, frontistes… they side with our enemies for personal gain) we have done quite good.
Nobody is in position to synchronize the entire workforce.
Short term, avoid - if possible - buying anything from Magaland, in doubt, buy Canadian or Mexican.
Advice of the form "I would simply transform into a legendary iconic politician" (or "sacrifices must be made") gets you insta-blocked.
Years. The public in general does not appreciate what civil servants actually do.
don't get me wrong, i'd rather we went on strike the way the french do...
Solution is: (imo), Governors of each state rally their constituents. One state at a time, every day, 50 days in a row and repeat.
Would love to see it happen
the actual answer, of course, is that france, as a nation, started under completely different circumstances than the US.
France backslid from monarchy to chaos to imperium to monarchy again twice before democracy got a chance
Perhaps America is about to experience the Imperial option unless people take to the streets
"In the US, people are afraid of the government, in France, the government is afraid of the people."
It brought the country to a standstill.
Americans could also have this if they buy the lies and hope they will be the one who wins the millionaire lottery
Nobody cares how many dual PhD/MDs I work with. How many engineers with advanced degrees and multiple licenses. How many could make way more in private but love the mission.
@thedemocraticparty.bsky.social
The only real impediment I see is healthcare being tied to employer. Seems like a bigger solidarity fund could cover it, but it's definitely a challenge.
La saison des grèves. The kinda hostage taking but still allowing family members to bring food and clothes to the hostage is something.
Planning would mostly address the needs of vulnerable people in anticipation of the strike.
Firstly, UNIONs are not as pervasive as in France.
Reagan fired Striking FAA employees.
An FAA strike would paralyze the country,
Musk would fire them & run it in his spare time.
Trump is hoping federal workers, VA,& teachers strike so he can fire all of them
Most Americans dgaf.
(Also, we frenchies are not the only ones in the world where both are distinct, but i guess for US eyes, this is marxist/leninism/socialism then...=
you have to get past French looking at you with a "What is wrong with you? Having healthcare is not dependent upon employment."
Fuck off with this bad faith nonsense.
Americans are controlled to the point of starvation if we resist too much
And that's why we don't stand a chance.
It’s purely a question of culture.
But you’re right. I’m shocked you don’t march and protest 😛.
So am I
( bon, et Français aussi)
they don’t.
Why not, are they slaves?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Service_Labor-Management_Relations_Statute#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20Statute%20specifically,operation%20of%20a%20federal%20agency.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Service_Labor-Management_Relations_Statute#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20Statute%20specifically,operation%20of%20a%20federal%20agency.
https://www.doi.gov/ethics/political-activity#:~:text=The%20Hatch%20Act%2C%205%20U.S.C.,party%2C%20or%20partisan%20political%20group.
also if the entire exectutive struck, who would be enforcing the law that makes it a felony to strike?
Also it's their right to express themselves without government interference
they are not *legally allowed* to just walk out, ON TOP OF all the difficulties that make strikes, union forming and walkouts difficult, which are, in this country, normally legal.
federal workers are terrified rn. they are worried for their livelihoods, their families, their healthcare. some of them cannot even begin to search for new jobs if they get fired until their resumés are manually approved by the govt .
not exactly circumstances beneficial to a strike
It’s the “Oh yeah? Then f#%k you” approach
Reagan fired every ATC
they aren't going to strike, especially now. some are trying to hang on for dear life and won't jeopardize what chance they might have
We learn in humility
Bonus if you shame the organized media while you're at it.
It's odd to see protests to keep the status quo. I remember when the left wanted change. Now they rage on behalf the machine.
(And a couple of 1000 protestors here and there with cute cardboard signs is not a whole lot).
Jesus Christ, what more convincing do you need?? 😯
Then again, if "he who saves his country does not break any law" maybe there is another option... but I bet its gonna involve violence and death.
Only at exec level
Much more militarized?
The French do outrage particularly well - but then they have lived under Fascism within living memory (just), suffered occupation, and been on 2 world wars' frontline
It's a twisted word we live in.
That is the thing, it is always "not that bad" right up until the moment it is too late.
We do not know where the train is going, it may turn around.. it just seems to be the train that rarely turns around.. 🤦♂️
The #broligarchs need to lose their income stream so that their stock value will plummet. Government has given them the keys to the castle, this us how we get them back. We are dependent on foreign countries because they
Consumption habits can work better than tarrifs and you control them.
https://youtu.be/6nWNiCjtYXM?...
French farmers would lock down Paris with their tractors.
Majority of US'ians don't seem to give a fig for the plight of most others.
Only willing to "rise up" when they perceive a measurable affect directly on themselves.
And by "rise up" I mean "write a letter" or "make a phone call".
🤷🤷
We're at a 7% overall labors affiliations and in public sector is not that much more except for very specific area like cops (75%) because politics delegate them the pay-rise procedure (and also you need fascist militia)
I think you can.
Rural China and tzarist Russia with almost no infrastructure could do it when the situation was bad enough. What is your limit?
One of my partners is French so she's my tactical adviser to decide if I should work or riot today 😆
Putins his kind of criminal
Tmurph hasn’t been seen shirtless ever I think, for good reason .