i don't know that i agree that the protests are pointless - imo the purpose is not really to contest the results of the election (tho i know for some the dream lives on...), but rather to have a visible public presence against the bigotry that trump mobilized to get elected? i know that in my town, there have been several hate crimes and incidents surrounding the election, so being able to come together with allies helps to combat some of that fear & build the community connections necessary to stand against what's coming is important right now. i think it does do something when a large enough group of people comes together in the streets and says that racist and homophobic attacks are not supported. and i don't think it's wrong to lay a good portion of the blame on trump & his campaign.
however, i definitely agree that shifting our focus away from the sensational & personality-driven scandals is necessary, since eg: pence going to hamilton is not where the real damage is going to be done, but rather in appointments (again, a legitimate reason to protest trump), legislation, foreign policy, the continually expanding executive powers & so on.
Yeah, the article raises some interesting points, but its dismissal of the protests is off. They're effective and needed for many reasons, not least because the right has pushed this "silent majority" crap, and I think visibly seeing opposition is an important counter. It's also as much about building momentum and getting people active, just as it is about protesting X.
The article veers into "passive left" territory imo, I don't see protesting and focusing on the issues as an either/or situation. Plus Trump didn't win the popular vote, and he's unlikely to ever. So this isn't a straight issue about popularity.
What I do agree on, is that criticism doesn't need to be so personality-driven. It was raised in another article, but the dems relied too much on painting Trump as unacceptable. Which I think just feeds into his supporters beliefs about SJW needing to put in their place. There needs to be balance between that and pointing out the issues. Not just in terms of critiquing his government, but also establishing the dems own message.
On the Hamilton front, I don't entirely agree with those saying it's a distraction. Maybe Trump is trying to use it as such, but that's always the risk, people don't have to stop expressing dissent altogether. Which I think is important.
Yeah, I probably am being too harsh on the Hamilton thing. To some extent, I do think trump is using it as a manufactured distraction, but I don't think it shouldn't have happened. Mostly, I'm just personally sick of hearing about it. But then I'll watch that video of Christoph Waltz ad infinitum, so I'm def not being fair.
however, i definitely agree that shifting our focus away from the sensational & personality-driven scandals is necessary, since eg: pence going to hamilton is not where the real damage is going to be done, but rather in appointments (again, a legitimate reason to protest trump), legislation, foreign policy, the continually expanding executive powers & so on.
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The article veers into "passive left" territory imo, I don't see protesting and focusing on the issues as an either/or situation. Plus Trump didn't win the popular vote, and he's unlikely to ever. So this isn't a straight issue about popularity.
What I do agree on, is that criticism doesn't need to be so personality-driven. It was raised in another article, but the dems relied too much on painting Trump as unacceptable. Which I think just feeds into his supporters beliefs about SJW needing to put in their place. There needs to be balance between that and pointing out the issues. Not just in terms of critiquing his government, but also establishing the dems own message.
On the Hamilton front, I don't entirely agree with those saying it's a distraction. Maybe Trump is trying to use it as such, but that's always the risk, people don't have to stop expressing dissent altogether. Which I think is important.
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Yeah, I probably am being too harsh on the Hamilton thing. To some extent, I do think trump is using it as a manufactured distraction, but I don't think it shouldn't have happened. Mostly, I'm just personally sick of hearing about it. But then I'll watch that video of Christoph Waltz ad infinitum, so I'm def not being fair.
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