Beautifully coincides with May Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers'_Day
They are trying to co-opt May Day and neuter it
FYI to others: I have this tankie from Lemmy.ml tagged as believing China doesn’t ban images of Xi as Winnie the Pooh, lol.
All I ever see them be is antagonistic, sowing apathy, defeatism, or trying to egg people with stochastic rhetoric (but never themselves, of course).
We need to shut it all down for weeks before they realize we’re serious. But to foster change we’d have to shut it down for months.
Ok let’s try one day first. You know, get our legs under us.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It’s cliché, but true and applies here.
“One day at a time” works for people who are recovering from addiction to substances. Why couldn’t it help people recover from addiction to capitalism? Consumption is consumption.
“Just for today, I won’t drink alcohol” can easily become “Just for today, I won’t consume corporate products”, “Just for today, I’ll hold the picket line”, “Just for today, I’ll tighten my belt and live off bare essentials.”
One day gives people a taste of what’s possible without being a major deterrent or barrier to folks who can’t afford to miss work for a week or a month. If it’s successful, it demonstrates proof of concept and makes similar future actions more likely. It also shows the structures of power what we’re capable of, puts them off balance a bit, and builds worker power.
People saying “what we really need is ______” are a bane to the movement that’s happening. I’m not saying you’re doing it on purpose, but don’t fall for that rhetoric. A lot of it is coming from plants attempting to discredit and derail the movement.
Actions being done now are always more effective than hypothetical actions that “should be done,” and they build towards greater action. Don’t expect immediate perfection, because you’ll always be disappointed. It’s necessary to start somewhere, and this is a great place to start. If you want to be part of it, grab ahold and run with it. Otherwise, stay out of the way, and above all don’t cross the picket line.
That’s why nothing will change.
Much as I like this idea, it’s not going to catch on. You think the average non-union retail or office worker will risk being fired? We are locked into the system we have, and sadly, that’s that. Unless and until a plurality of workers lose the entire life they have.
Without existing strong organization you’re probably right, but it’s more likely that the wheels will come off and a general strike would happen naturally with rising inflation and unemployment.
The shitter things get, the less tight your social ties need to be for collective action. Everyone’s implicitly on the same page when you start missing meals.
The general strike will be May 1 between the hours of 12-230pm. Be sure to bring signs and do not inconvenience anyone/anything. This will show them who’s in charge.
“No, not like that!”
Tankies will always oppose any movement that takes away their ability to talk shit about it.
They don’t care about progress or tangible action. They only talk about those things to take steam out of any momentum that’s building, but when tangible action comes they talk shit about that too because now they can’t talk shit about it, and that’s unacceptable to them!
Except it won’t.
