Killing The Flowers Will Not Delay The Spring

This country is currently in the midst of a rather brazen power grab. Or in the sterilized language of academia, a constitutional crisis. It's weird, reading about them in the history books, it always seemed like a sudden thing rather than this slow/fast shitshow.

Yesterday, folks headed for Injustice Square Park in downtown Louisville to protest all that's going on. Although it wasn't a record crowd like last month, hundreds still turned out on a muggy Saturday to hear from speakers and take to the streets.

Plenty of familiar faces. Even more unfamiliar ones. Kept hearing variations on the 'this is my first protest' theme.

Welcome to the struggle! Can't promise it'll be fun, but I can promise it'll be a lot.

The No Kings, No Fascism protest was organized by the 50501 movement and BLM Louisville, in conjunction with other local groups. It wasn't just Louisville though, the protest was part of a nationwide day of protests in all 50 states.

Protests are a beautiful thing, but unless they are intertwined with other actions to bring about change, they mostly serve as a convenient pressure relief valve for the ruling class. That point was driven home repeatedly by the speakers yesterday, and to that end numerous local groups were set up in the square to connect with people.

This here is a marathon, not a sprint. On that note, the next protest is already scheduled for August 2nd.

Still a bit amazed that Epstein's list is the thing that can get everyone on the same page. Well, except for the ruling class folks on the list.

Troops in the streets and masked men kidnapping people off the streets seems straight out of some generic dystopian movie. Still, I can't shake the feeling that what we're living through is the death throes of the old order. The times and the planet are changing, and trying to turn back the clock won't do nary bit of good. Small comfort in the here and now...



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6 comments
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Your title reminded me of this tune, also on the topic of protests and revolutions.

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That's a good tune, not sure how I haven't heard it before now.

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Additional thoughts, not necessarily interconnected:

I can't help but notice how Robispierre (mentioned I the song) went from a leader of the French Revolution to becoming another victim of the guillotine. Beware of revolutions consuming their own as much as you watch for agents provocateur on one hand and Napoleons eager to fill the power vacuum with their own egos on the other.

I wonder how many of these "no kings" protesters were demanding more government power over their neighbors 5 years ago during peak COVID hysteria. I like people who stand on a foundation of liberty, but so many protests seem rooted more in partisanship and personality cults. Even with the library mess close to home, people are trying to make it into GOP vs. DNC instead of personal responsibility and opposition to overreach.

People waving signs don't threaten those in power. In a way, it perversely legitimizes the system by making it look like we do have a say. Like voting, people care about it like a religious sacrament rather than an effective means to an end. Meanwhile, the leaders in politics use differences of opinions to drive more wedges between people who disagree with one another. "They think your ideas are bad, and that also means they hate you!"

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Danton too. Really though, revolutionary isn't an occupation that too many folks retire from.

50501 is going with the big tent approach, so there's everything from RINOs to the Revolutionary Communists of America there. Little bit of everything really. Was rather wild (dissonant?), you could tell who was out in the streets in 2020 and who is new to the game just by the chants.

On some level, it's just lobbying. At the same time, it is the entry point for people to find their way to things that do move the needle. They made a point to emphasize that folks needed to do more than just show up with their signs, they had to get involved and build power in other ways, even gave us assigned reading for homework. Many of the community organizers today were just people with signs in 2020.

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