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submitted 4 weeks ago by RandAlThor@lemmy.ca to c/til@lemmy.ca
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[-] FundMECFSResearch 314 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Literally all of these except number 23 and 31 are left wing protests.

Let that sink in 32/34 that’s over 94% of the biggest protests in the US were left wing.

We are the majority. Stop believing in the Reagenesque “silent majority” BS.

The majority of people, dont want oligarchs and conservative bigotry.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 59 points 4 weeks ago

Then why is the government so completely dominated by the right if most politically active people are on what Americans call the left?

[-] growsomethinggood@reddthat.com 155 points 4 weeks ago

Gerrymandering and other structural means of disproportionate representation in federal government are big parts of it

[-] Zenith@lemm.ee 94 points 4 weeks ago

Two words, voter disenfranchisement

They remove the right to vote from our poor, our people of color, our citizens who have made mistakes but paid their debts to society, they remove polling places, making people wait hours and hours standing in lines to vote, giving them water is illegal, they purge voter roles right before elections…. And so so many more things. So many Americans don’t vote because they can’t because our right wing government has put so many roadblocks in the way.

[-] billiam0202@lemmy.world 47 points 4 weeks ago

Because most Americans have knee-jerk reactions to labels as opposed to policies. Like how everyone supports all the protections Obamacare provides, but how they all want to get rid of Obamacare.

[-] FundMECFSResearch 28 points 4 weeks ago

also voter suppression gerrymanderinng élite control of the media etc

[-] nickhammes@lemmy.world 25 points 4 weeks ago

Because while a lot of Americans support a lot of left wing positions, there are no major left wing parties, and a very small number of politicians who run for national or statewide office who actually take action to further left wing policies. There's Bernie Sanders, who isn't a member of a large party. AOC, and a few others qualify, but being a small proportion of those running, they're a small proportion of those elected, and have relatively little actual influence.

Ideas neither major party supports are basically impossible to see happen.

[-] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 24 points 4 weeks ago

Others have commented valid points but I also wanted to bring up propaganda;

A lot of people are unwilling or even unable (i.e. there is only one tv in the house and you don’t get to control the remote most of the time) to get their news from sources that aren’t constantly telling them that Democrats are out to get them and 2SLGBTQIA+ are the enemy and that if they just vote for (wealthy conservative) then all their problems will be solved overnight. Couple that with an education system that has failed to give people the critical thinking skills to ask what trans folk have to do with the economy and you get the 2024 election.

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[-] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 46 points 4 weeks ago

We are the majority.

🌍🧑‍🚀🔫🧑‍🚀 Always have been. That's why conservatives constantly try to make it harder to vote - the more people vote, the more left wing politicians win. Because the majority of people agree with left wing ideals.

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[-] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 45 points 4 weeks ago

It's been clear for a long time that the "silent majority" is in fact just an obnoxiously loud minority.

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[-] someguy3@lemmy.world 83 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

1 George Floyd protests 500,000[5] 15,000,000–26,000,000 2020

2 Earth Day 20,000,000[6] 1970

3 No Kings protests 5,000,000 2025

4 Hands Across America (poverty) 5,000,000 1986

5 2017 Women's March 3,300,000–4,600,000

[-] IhaveCrabs111@lemmy.world 11 points 4 weeks ago

Did any of these have any lasting impact?

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[-] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 77 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I was about to say the list was incomplete as several million attended the Iraq war protests, but it turns out that was global and only a few hundred k Americans bothered to protest the invasion of Iraq based on manufactured propaganda.

The post 9/11 bloodthirsty hysteria, "you're either with us or against us" dissonance, religious nationalism, and ignorant patriotism is what made me believe the US would become an authoritarian dictatorship in my lifetime. Great job teenage me. I hate it.

[-] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 34 points 4 weeks ago

A lot of people forget the shear bloodlust in the USA after 9/11 that lasted for years.

When people compare the Vietnam and Iraq Wars, a lot of people forget there was a large chunk of the country who were rabidly pro Iraq War while there wasn't an equivalent base for the Vietnam War.

[-] Zenith@lemm.ee 15 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

It felt like everyone was like you were either 1000% on board or you were casually on board cause you weren’t “into politics” but trying to find likeminded people who opposed it felt impossible to me. I was 16 when 9/11 happened and shortly after was when I stoped standing for the anthem or saluting the flag in the morning and I was the only kid in my highschool of 1,800 kids to do that and wow I got SO MUCH hate for it

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[-] Sunshine@lemmy.ca 48 points 4 weeks ago

This makes me really hopeful.

[-] Mustakrakish@lemmy.world 14 points 4 weeks ago

Less to me. There are families being kidnapped, seperated, and sent to death camps, and the respinding protests outside of LA were a two hour march on a weekend.

[-] LilB0kChoy@midwest.social 34 points 4 weeks ago

What is good enough for you?

Quiet everyone, Mustakrakish is about to tell us the acceptable number for a protest.

Go ahead, the floor is yours.

[-] Mustakrakish@lemmy.world 16 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Maybe a protest that goes longer than 2 hours, on a weekend, where everyone dispereses and goes back home to watch the game? Maybe one that causes actual resistence and pushback? Not one that amounts to a community day in the park?

Look at the LA protests. More akin to this:

[-] LilB0kChoy@midwest.social 19 points 4 weeks ago

So your mad that protesters in other cities aren't being attacked by local police and federal agents, got it.

Pass the word everyone, if you're not getting hit with tear gas and rubber bullets your protest doesn't matter. Might as well not even try.

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[-] expatriado@lemmy.world 47 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

7 out of top 10 during Trump's presidential terms. My take is that civil duty to protest is stronger than voting for non-Republicans, maybe if elections were on saturdays instead of tuesdays...

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[-] riquisimo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 41 points 4 weeks ago
[-] barkingspiders@infosec.pub 16 points 4 weeks ago

Seriously, there will be more, I don't think we've seen the biggest ones yet either.

[-] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 35 points 4 weeks ago

We clearly have the numbers against traitorous conservatives.

Would be really cool if we could use those numbers before allowing them to destroy our society.

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 33 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

You guys think that merely walking around in your own time holding up a board and shouting a bit, all focused on the mango puppet instead of the puppet masters, is going to change anything given that there is no single Historical event in the US ever of the lower classes rebelling against and deposit the upper classes (even the Revolution was literally the American plebs led by the American upper class fighting against the English plebs controlled by the English upper class)?!

The murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare had more impact, if only temporary because it wasn't followed by more similar murders.

Even millions of people marching and shouting a bit (and so polite that they do it in their own time) will cause no fear for the elites because that's in no way a warning that the heads of the elites will soon start getting separated from their shoulders if nothing changes.

You need at the very least a General Strike and/or targetting the economic and propaganda interests of the elites (trashing the TV studios of certain channels or certain newspapers would send a powerful message).

I mean, just notice the impact on police violence of the greatest demonstrations in the US - the George Floyd protests: nothing or even worse than nothing as the pigs have never been this violent.

[-] wanderingmagus@lemm.ee 13 points 4 weeks ago

Come over and lead the revolution then, if you think you've got what it takes. Otherwise, you're also doing nothing of note.

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[-] Jhex@lemmy.world 29 points 4 weeks ago

Good... now repeat it but as a General Strike

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[-] LostWon@lemmy.ca 29 points 4 weeks ago

Cool. I just hope your leaders take the hint. Maybe now that they're getting directly threatened they'll show their true colours. Either they stand up for themselves as they see their colleagues start to get attacked (at events or in their own homes), or they cower and come to heel. (Sadly, I have little faith most politicians in most countries these days will do much if it's not their own hides at risk.)

Incidentally, something weird is going on with that list. I'm not sure how the ordering works but much more important, it says only "500,000" for the protests over George Floyd even though one of the references says 15-26 million over the entire course of that movement.

[-] omgitsaheadcrab@sh.itjust.works 16 points 4 weeks ago

Yeah I'm afraid the US and all its allies are marching straight into another set of wars and the consequences they'll bring. Apparently we're all the baddies now

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[-] barkingspiders@infosec.pub 24 points 4 weeks ago

It feels good to know that lots of other Americans care about what's going on. I don't know if we're going to make it but I felt like part of a country out there and I hope we figure it out.

[-] glitching@lemmy.ml 23 points 4 weeks ago

not to rain on the parade or nothing, but a protest that hasn't the implicit threat of "...or else" is just a hang

[-] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 22 points 4 weeks ago

All the other benefits of a non-violent protest aside, there's also immense value is reminding people that they're not as singular in their viewpoint as they feel.

For a lot of people, it's been very easy to feel like everyone else must be in board with this.

I'm not sure what you're looking for to codify the implicit threat. A couple million people calling you a king at an event called "no kings day" in a country whose founding narrative is "violently rebel against kings" seems pretty implicit to me.

Also, I just realized that there's a red coat/red hat parallel I haven't seen leveraged yet that has a lot of potential.

[-] huppakee@feddit.nl 11 points 4 weeks ago

there's also immense value is reminding people that they're not as singular in their viewpoint as they feel.

This destroys the narrative of the protested party. They cannot convincingly talk about 'a few misguided people disagreeing' when you see so many others who feel like you. Even if nothing would be achieved by the protest, this is an immensely powerful confirmation of an individuals beliefs. 100% agree.

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[-] DomeGuy@lemmy.world 16 points 4 weeks ago

Getting millions of Americans to go out and essentially shout "F U Donald" is a little bit more than a hang. And is potentially much more effective than a riot or occupy wall street.

America is still a democracy, in that all the roads to power require you to get folk to show up and vote for you.

[-] Draedron@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 4 weeks ago

America is still a democracy,

Not much longer if americans dont fight harder.

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[-] nednobbins@lemm.ee 20 points 4 weeks ago

That's great news. The other 9 of the 10 biggest protests were were extremely successful at affecting change.

Since we made such massive progress on all the others, this is clearly a harbinger of social and political progress.

[-] CanadianCorhen@lemmy.ca 23 points 4 weeks ago

Until we start seeing general strikes, or other action, they will continue to ignore the people.

A week of general strikes, and the stock exchange tanking acordingly, would actually have an effect.

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[-] droans@midwest.social 21 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)
  1. George Floyd (Police Brutality)
  2. Earth Day 1970 (Environmental Protection)
  3. No Kings (Trump)
  4. Hands Across America (Poverty)
  5. Women's March 2017 (Feminism)
  6. Hands Off (Trump)
  7. March for Our Lives (Gun Violence)
  8. Women's March 2018 (Feminism)
  9. #RickyRenuncia (Puerto Rico, Resignation of Ricardo Rosselló)
  10. Great American Boycott (Immigrant Rights)

Only #9 actually accomplished what they wanted.

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[-] mathiouchio@sh.itjust.works 20 points 4 weeks ago

Match the energy during election day ballot yeah?? Thanks

[-] jsomae@lemmy.ml 19 points 3 weeks ago

Ok but it's crazy that the George Floyd protests were 5x bigger than this, even with COVID in full swing.

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[-] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 17 points 4 weeks ago

Earth Day needs to keep happening too.

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this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2025
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