End of Protest

Opinion writer and scholar of social movements Zenep Tufecki writes: "2024 looks like the end of the road " for the era of mass protest. She astutely points to the underwhelming results of protest starting with the invasion of Iraq, Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, Womens March, Black Lives Matter, Free Palestine, and the latest protests around the Democratic National Convention in Chicago: "protesting just doesn’t get results anymore. Not the way it used to. Not in that form. It can’t." Not even mentioned are climate protests, which is sad but telling. With some ntable exceptions, the climate justice movement stuck with a playbook of one-off marches. No risk. Little disruption to capital flows or system legitimacy. Unfortunately, she lumps "civil disobedience" as practiced in the 2000's as part of that "form" and doesn't consider the tactic of filling the jails, used successfully by the civil rights movement. Otherwise she is spot on."considering the popularity and energy of these movements, they didn’t change the world that much. Two decades later, globalization still favors corporations. Wealth is as inequitably distributed as ever." Kamala doesn't mention Palestine, emissions keep rising, same as it always was. As the UN meets in New York, protestors, as always, take to the streets: "The New York marchers on Friday chanted climate protest favorites such as "What do we want? Climate justice. When do we want it? Now" and "The people, united, will never be defeated" as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. They carried banners with messages such as "Tear Down Fossil Fuels" and "We Strike for the Future." The Left is in love with its failed protest playbook. Wave signs, march and chant. Post stuff online. Maybe get a couple people arrested. No one controls the messaging or enforces tactical discipline and a few wacky outliers end up with the headlines. Everyone goes home and prepares to do it all over again. As an aside, I saw this little tid bit about the civil rights leader MLK. When approached by a student who attacked Zionism, Dr. King responded: “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You're talking anti-Semitism.” King believed he could see into people's minds and deduce what they REALLY mean. A real problem.

Totally Unacceptable

Pres. Biden ( you remember, the old guy who fucked up that debate!) is really unhappy that Israel murdered a U.S. citizen in a bombing raid. Really mad. He says it is "totally unacceptable". Like what your old man would say when he found out you took the car last night without asking. Murdering 40,000 Gazans is more acceptable, but he wishes Israel would use more tact, try not to kill so many civilians. But what can he do? He's just a tired old man, watching from the sidelines, relegated to the dustbin. Fortunately for his heir apparent Kamala, the "war" is not a big deal, page 6 in the NY Times, people have moved on to more interesting topics, like Haitians not actually eating pets and shit. People's attention span is only so long, which is why no one remembers Occupy or the "George Floyd Rebellion" , much less the war in Iraq. They do remember 9/11 because, well, we ( The Christian West) were attacked. By Others. That shit we remember. I almost forgot about Ukrain, but now it might lead to nuclear armageddon so I will pay attention for a day or two. Till the next big thing comes along. One Week Later: Lebanon! Exploding pagers and walkie talkies. Biden, of course, was kept in the dark.

Dumb and Dumber and Sex

Just from today's Times: a piece about the strict measures the Taliban are imposing on women, measures derived from Sharia Law, so that men can avoid being aroused. It seems only religious edicts can protect these morons from themselves? Because they have no agency, no self control? Then there is the article about the charismatic Evangelical preacher in the Phillipines, a guy who has built a mega-church empire, and is now arrested for sex crimes. How original! Never saw that coming! He has millions of moron followers who believe he is another son of god or some ridiculous shit. Another piece was about a new report on Europe's failing competitiveness which claims "About a quarter of European companies said they had difficulty finding employees with the necessary skills, especially at the managerial level." Not even smart enough to be a manager? That's pretty bad. Lastly we have an article about some hero of the conservatives because he was breaking up child sex trafficking rings ( they even made a hit Hollywood movie about him) but it turns out he is now accused of being a predator. Add in the global surge of right-wing populism and it is increasingly difficult to imagine the human race having much of a future. Maybe it's all the toxins in the environment or just your basic genetic unwinding. could we just let another species run things? Maybe cats?

Low on the List

If you want a perfect example of what Richard Seymour calls "the liberal defense of murder" , read the comments after this opinion piece in the NY Times. Here you will read every form of craven excuse-making for Harris' support of genocide in Gaza. "the questions ( Palestine) do not rank in the top ten" "first you need to condemn Hamas", "first you get the candidate in office, then you make demands" "Trump would be much worse" etc etc. The auhtor of the piece, a Palestinian-American, represents the Uncommitted movement, which really rankles these liberals. They don't want to see outsiders threatening the chances of their beloved new "hope for change". Like Charlie Brown believing that THIS TIME Lucy will hold the ball so he can kick it, they never will understand the trap they are ensnared in. They must believe in representational, electoral "democracy" as it underpins their entire ideological framework. All while knowing deep down it is a con, a sham, and they will always end up flat on their back. As for Palestine, they only just heard about it on Oct.8th and it is some place overseas that is always having problems, like Africa. Lots of brown people who can't get along. We have our own problems to worry about. yada yada. Now it spreads to Jordan and Syria and Lebanon but most people can't find these places on a map. They are more engaged with the NFL Sunday ticket and picking their fantasy team.

Lobsters

“There is definitely something going on,” Dominic Zanke, who has fished for lobster for 34 years, said at his home in Deer Isle. “It’s kind of scary,” In truth, scientists have made dire predictions about the future of the lobster fishery in Maine for decades — predictions that lobstermen have routinely dismissed. When I pointed out the stark difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties on climate change, Ms. Olsen waved away its significance. “Fishermen are very — they want facts and information about their fishery, right?” she said. “They could care less about politics until it affects them on the water.” Claqssic disavowal: they know but act as if they don't. It is also classic capitalist short term thinking: "I'll get mine and let the future worry about the future. Pray for a miracle. Maybe some tech will save them. yada yada. Transactional "politics" in a nutshell: show me the cash and get my vote. “I care a lot about nature,” Mr. Amaro said, “but also I think about my future and how I can take care of my family, and what would benefit me, in the long term, financially. And it kind of sucks to think like that.” Exactly.

The Other

A piece in the NY Times about the protests they expect at Dem convention has drawn some interesting comments. Dem stalwarts are outraged that "the far Left" will disrupt the "unity" by mentioning the ongoing slaughter. Not that many people even care about the War on Gaza. Polls show it way down the list of issues motivating voters. After all, Palestinians are Arabs and Muslims for the most part, so why give a shit? "Palestinian rights organizers say that the requests of “uncommitted” delegates for prime-time speaking spots at the convention have been rebuffed, as have their demands for credentials to bring activists into the United Center." The protestors believe they can appeal to the American conscience! So naive. Post script: Demonstrations proved one thing: how weak the movement actually is. Bottom line: no one cares

The More I Learn the Less I Know

John turned me on to Nate Hagans and his channel The Great Simplification. One of his latest guests spoke of the many risks of AI, not the least of which is the way it facilitates more efficient fossil fuel exploration and extraction. Just what we need. And just what Trump promises for his second term. From today's Times: "He also said that his chief tool to fight rising prices would be boosting oil and gas production, even as the U.S. is currently producing significantly more crude oil today than it did under the Trump administration." In any case, we won't have to worry about damaging coral reefs in the Carribean because they will be gone. As a marine biologist explains: "In the 18 years I’ve studied reefs in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean, coral populations have continued to decline such that they can no longer recover naturally". This scientist wants to freeze some coral in a "seed bank": "The goal is to buy time while we wait for the world to slow, and hopefully, one day reverse climate change." Yeah, sure. Maybe AI will figure it out. While "we wait". This, of course, is the problem in a nutshell. Everyone waiting for technologies they can't comprehend to save them. From technologies. Anxiety manifests in many forms, mostly a negative Localism. Xenophobia, chauvinistic nationalism, fear of the Other. The World they know no longer exists, but this fact is disavowed. Leaving the crises to compound. Kamala Harris has already backtracked on her committment to end fracking. Shocker. As my comrade Ted Franklin puts it: "Under capitalism, it is illegal to save the world."