Again this is SOOOO relevant! I'm gobsmacked, I was part of most of these protests. I remember the murder of Medgar Evers, Gov. Wallace, Cambodia & Kent State & VN War protests.
You have put together an extraordinary timeline of civil rights history that is now being threatened and erased at breakneck speed. Tanks are rolling over our rights as this becomes a fascist confederacy. The Rubicon has already been crossed.
Thank you for showing the personal sacrifices, the courage, the real meaning of protests and why our democracy is so fragile and dynamic and unique.
Protests help define what it means to be human. And they give purpose to critical flashpoints in history.
June 14 is on the trajectory to dehumanize and to erase this meaning. But there are more of us than them, and the worse they get, the stronger we become.
Thank you for this incredible post, which I will save and restack and reread more than once. Powerful images. You've done it again. Bless you.
Thank you, Shankar. That’s exactly it: clear-eyed doesn’t mean unfeeling, but it does mean honest. We can’t forget the personal costs, but we also can’t let fear stop us from showing up when it matters.
I hear you and I think that willingness is part of what makes protest powerful. But I also believe preparation is about protecting one another, minimizing harm where we can, and refusing to let systems feed on our pain. We show up because we believe in something more than survival.
That’s true, staying vigilant is key. But it’s also important to say this: protester behavior isn’t the only factor in whether a protest stays calm. We’ve seen officers in L.A. smashing car windows, firing rubber bullets at press, and escalating peaceful crowds with force. So yes, we should be prepared and grounded but we shouldn’t internalize blame for outcomes shaped by how power responds.
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to your own reps, as well as those in other states on a specific committee important to a topic you’re sharing.
I am not convinced peaceful protests alone will resolve the Trump dilemma because if Trump disappeared today the apparatus that put him in place would remain and 70 plus million people voted for him.
Both the suffergette and Civil Rights took a few generations to influence attitudes and polices and took place against a backdrop of relative and functioning governments and democracies. Part of the Trump agenda is destroying government as an administrative tool for democracy and replacing it with a network of cronyism and grift where the purpose to to redistribute to oligarchs not frame a civil society. Because of that and the relative passivity of Americans I and not hopeful.
What is needed is a sustained commitment to an on off series of General Strikes that both occupy attention and grind it all to a halt so that the investment classes get uncomfortable and I do not think Americans are currently motivated to do that. They are not uncomfortable enough nor invested enough in the idea of democracy. They will chatter a bit on social media and go back to their sportball and streaming services.
I share a lot of this analysis, Paula, especially the point that removing Trump won’t dismantle the machinery that elevated him. That part is structural, not personal. You’re also right that past movements had the benefit of existing within semi-functional democratic systems. What we’re facing now is a dismantling while trying to resist.
I do think general strikes, work stoppages, and economic disruption will have to be part of any meaningful resistance, but you're also right that many Americans don’t yet feel the discomfort that forces that kind of action. And the system is built to keep it that way.
Still, I try not to underestimate the symbolic power of presence. People showing up in the streets doesn’t just challenge power physically: it disrupts the story they’re trying to tell. It sheds light where they want shadows. Even if it doesn’t dismantle the system overnight, it forces acknowledgment. And it reminds those who feel distant or comfortable that this isn’t background noise, it’s happening now, in public, and on record.
I think it depends on the dynamics of where protest happens. Obviously Trump hates California and he wants to smash what percieves as the big blue cities so if those are the only places where people come out it reinforces the idea that real Americans are okay with this. Unless people in the South and Midwest start to come out then the Trump administration can plant the narrative that only his enemies are against this.
I have no idea what will happen.
He has other groups to disempower, the undocumented are just the easiest to go after at this current moment.
Again this is SOOOO relevant! I'm gobsmacked, I was part of most of these protests. I remember the murder of Medgar Evers, Gov. Wallace, Cambodia & Kent State & VN War protests.
You have put together an extraordinary timeline of civil rights history that is now being threatened and erased at breakneck speed. Tanks are rolling over our rights as this becomes a fascist confederacy. The Rubicon has already been crossed.
Thank you for showing the personal sacrifices, the courage, the real meaning of protests and why our democracy is so fragile and dynamic and unique.
Protests help define what it means to be human. And they give purpose to critical flashpoints in history.
June 14 is on the trajectory to dehumanize and to erase this meaning. But there are more of us than them, and the worse they get, the stronger we become.
Thank you for this incredible post, which I will save and restack and reread more than once. Powerful images. You've done it again. Bless you.
Great stuff! Important history. Personal costs can be great. We have to be committed as we go to protest. This is a great clear-eyed look at protests.
Thank you, Shankar. That’s exactly it: clear-eyed doesn’t mean unfeeling, but it does mean honest. We can’t forget the personal costs, but we also can’t let fear stop us from showing up when it matters.
We have to be prepared to be hurt. That’s what it’s about, we have to be willing to be hurt.
I hear you and I think that willingness is part of what makes protest powerful. But I also believe preparation is about protecting one another, minimizing harm where we can, and refusing to let systems feed on our pain. We show up because we believe in something more than survival.
I don’t feel up to the task I feel too broken by my struggle to stay on my feet alone. My anger has drained me.
Every protest I've been to so far has been relatively calm. Gotta stay vigilant.
That’s true, staying vigilant is key. But it’s also important to say this: protester behavior isn’t the only factor in whether a protest stays calm. We’ve seen officers in L.A. smashing car windows, firing rubber bullets at press, and escalating peaceful crowds with force. So yes, we should be prepared and grounded but we shouldn’t internalize blame for outcomes shaped by how power responds.
Absolutely
Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to your own reps, as well as those in other states on a specific committee important to a topic you’re sharing.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit?usp=drivesdk
Thank you for diligently sharing this, Megan!
And stay PEACEFUL. Trump wants you violent, Trump wants you to break the law. Don’t give him what he wants.
I am not convinced peaceful protests alone will resolve the Trump dilemma because if Trump disappeared today the apparatus that put him in place would remain and 70 plus million people voted for him.
Both the suffergette and Civil Rights took a few generations to influence attitudes and polices and took place against a backdrop of relative and functioning governments and democracies. Part of the Trump agenda is destroying government as an administrative tool for democracy and replacing it with a network of cronyism and grift where the purpose to to redistribute to oligarchs not frame a civil society. Because of that and the relative passivity of Americans I and not hopeful.
What is needed is a sustained commitment to an on off series of General Strikes that both occupy attention and grind it all to a halt so that the investment classes get uncomfortable and I do not think Americans are currently motivated to do that. They are not uncomfortable enough nor invested enough in the idea of democracy. They will chatter a bit on social media and go back to their sportball and streaming services.
I share a lot of this analysis, Paula, especially the point that removing Trump won’t dismantle the machinery that elevated him. That part is structural, not personal. You’re also right that past movements had the benefit of existing within semi-functional democratic systems. What we’re facing now is a dismantling while trying to resist.
I do think general strikes, work stoppages, and economic disruption will have to be part of any meaningful resistance, but you're also right that many Americans don’t yet feel the discomfort that forces that kind of action. And the system is built to keep it that way.
Still, I try not to underestimate the symbolic power of presence. People showing up in the streets doesn’t just challenge power physically: it disrupts the story they’re trying to tell. It sheds light where they want shadows. Even if it doesn’t dismantle the system overnight, it forces acknowledgment. And it reminds those who feel distant or comfortable that this isn’t background noise, it’s happening now, in public, and on record.
Courage is needed. And we cannot know how great the risk might be. I pray I will have enough courage to meet the moment
Pharisitic F*cks!!!
I think it depends on the dynamics of where protest happens. Obviously Trump hates California and he wants to smash what percieves as the big blue cities so if those are the only places where people come out it reinforces the idea that real Americans are okay with this. Unless people in the South and Midwest start to come out then the Trump administration can plant the narrative that only his enemies are against this.
I have no idea what will happen.
He has other groups to disempower, the undocumented are just the easiest to go after at this current moment.
We have gone back in time. This is the unimaginable reality. Thank you for sharing this historical info!
😇😇😇
https://www.propublica.org/article/tear-gas-is-way-more-dangerous-than-police-let-on-especially-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=secondary