+bonifartius 𒂼𒄄
imagine all the people who go to "protests" would instead just stop enabling the state to do oppressive shit. a few weeks and things would be fixed, or at least be much better.
instead they just hope for being in charge next turn, which never happens of course.
only winning move is not to play.
@bonifartius@qoto.org
To be fair, part of the point is to draw a red line regardless of what the wider public tolerates/accepts.
In a functional society an engaged minority should be able to correct wrongs that the majority are fine with.
There will always be circumstances where it's too late for prevention.
That said, I share your skepticism that protests are useful for anything other than job security for the 'domestic terror' intelligence apparatus.
@gabriel drawing the red line hasn't worked for a long time now, probably because society isn't functional.
i think protests are used as a kind of 2 minute hate. it keeps people busy with things that are irrelevant. it also enables registering people who might make problems in the future, be it through video surveillance, IMSI catchers, etc.
another point against protests: one protest can torch cities and is considered TOTALLY FINE, another is truckers parking wrong, honking a bit and those get their accounts frozen and kids taken away. pretty obvious which protest is more dangerous to society, yet the response is the opposite of what one would expect. really makes you think!
hence i consider all protests which don't get instantly beaten down with iron fist to be artificial movements or at least carefully channeled into causes which are irrelevant for those in power.
so, the non violent alternative is to not participate anymore. don't work in jobs which keep up the power structure, stay under taxation limits, take every possible social funds you can, etc. if all the people who go to protests would do this, things would have to change just because of the gigantic money drain happening.
