(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Proposing a National Summer of Direct Action [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-07 The past week or two, though I hate speaking in the limited perspective of shortened time, have been filled with story after story of the horrifying realization of localized and regionalized fascism in the US. I could talk about that for pages, but what drives this diary is the response. Nearly every fascist move these last couple of weeks has been met with passionate direct action in response by a generation of young people that are being left completely adrift by mainstream progressive interest groups. It boggles the mind; so many of the interest groups that dominate the political left today were formed from aggressive direct actions that forced change. And now, when their support is necessary to force that same change, they respond be revealing how much of a part of the conventional system they really are. Gen Z activists are sticking their necks out in a literal attempt to save the world. Their voice is powerful and the enemy knows it's a threat: that's why they're trying to make it harder for them to vote in Florida. It was their protests in Tennessee that ultimately led to the expulsion vote in the state house because the protesters kept doing their duty for their country even after state troopers were called in to remove them. They are routinely on the front lines of protests, they routinely break turnout records even in red states and even in states like Texas. And yet they so often fight alone. For example, despite Florida doing everything possible to make living while black illegal, the NAACP, once the strongest voice in black activism, has done nothing in response except issue a travel advisory, as if the people of Florida are foreign citizens to be pitied and not fellow Americans to be helped. It be clear at this point to anyone with eyes that the current moment can it be responded to by a ten dollar donation and letters to elected officials who not only won't read them but have made it very clear they would arrest and detain the people writing those letters if they could merely for existing with a different opinion. No revolution in American history has been completely civil or even completely bloodless, and even when we win it's usually the good guys' blood that gets spilled. But as scary as that can be, it's necessary. Thankfully, young people in this country realize that it is their civic duty to correct injustices at any cost, not just when it's easy or when it's legal. It's time everyone else stood up and joined them. We have a unique opportunity this summer for a summer of direct action: forceful, offensive protests formed around specific political objectives in targeted states. National organizations like the NAACP should be helping by organizing a national response, providing training and transportation, and forcing a response that will solicit national outrage, just like the old days. Clearly the police are not any better trained in public relations than they were in the 1960s and clearly the moment we find ourselves in, with the south (though not only the south) once again inching towards legalized genocide, is very similar. But the response, while so far being somewhat similar, must be that much greater to overcome institutional hurdles that exist now which didn't exist then, primarily an enemy that has learned new tricks since last we faced them. This generation of young people are valiant, but they can't do it alone. A coordinated and offensive response is required from the entire left of the country to overwhelm state capabilities and solicit a federal response while we still have a friendly and progressive administration that will negotiate with protest leaders instead of attempt to silence them. Next summer will be too late, the White House will be completely distracted and ant protest will be run through the prism of election coverage. The time to act must be now. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/7/2162747/-Proposing-a-National-Summer-of-Direct-Action Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/