It’s educate, AGITATE, organize

edit: putting this at the top so people understand the basis for this:

You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.

Letter from Birmingham, MLK

  • infinitevalence@discuss.onlineEnglish
    3·
    5 months ago

    I dont think you get it, I can’t vote against any of these things, they are not options in my state. I dont get choice, we did not have a primary, the democrats are NOT viable in my state.

    My plan is to stand between the fascists and my neighbors who are identified as part of any “other” group. Fascism already runs my state, and they are just waiting for the rest of the country to get on board.

    The only choice left to me is to physically risk my life and the life of my family, because even protesting is against the law in my state. So when it gets to that point, it will be what I have to do.

    • PugJesus@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      5 months ago

      I dont think you get it, I can’t vote against any of these things, they are not options in my state. I dont get choice, we did not have a primary, the democrats are NOT viable in my state.

      If they were, it wouldn’t matter - you made it clear that you won’t be ‘held hostage’ by them if your vote WAS the difference between fascism and non-fascism. What a heroic stand you’ve made in favor of fascism!

      The only choice left to me is to physically risk my life and the life of my family… So when it gets to that point, it will be what I have to do.

      How convenient it is for every would-be martyr that martyrdom is the only option they’re willing to go through with, and not any of the long, boring, tedious, thankless work the rest of us do day after day to stop things from getting to that point. If we succeed, you don’t have to do anything except crow about how nobly you were ready to sacrifice yourself. If we fail, we won’t be in any position to demand you follow through on your rhetoric.

      because even protesting is against the law in my state.

      I somehow doubt that.