I am really ashamed that we failed to make space on that stage. That we have time to two sheriffs and many republicans who put Trump in the White House in the first place, but we could not acknowledge the ongoing death and destruction in Palestine in a meaningful way. But as you say, we can hold many things. I will vote for Harris and Walz excitedly because I am excited about their pro-labor stance. I will also continue to hold them accountable for the death and aiding and abetting.
We do have people who have figured out our ethical and moral crisis time and again but we fail to elevate these people into how we govern ourselves.
If any of us reads "Debt: the First 5000 Years" by David Graeber and "Sacred Economics" by Charles Eisenstein (specifically Chapter 8) and "Thinking In Systems: A Primer" by Donella Meadows we get all the answers and solutions to our predicament. We, the working class and historically and present marginalized groups are barely able to survive. Mass layoffs in multiple industries are happening nationwide. Corporations don't feel beholden to the working class nor to our nation and the federal government who is supposed to look out for us is not doing that.
I want to have trust for elections but for the past 40 years out of my 48 years Ive witnessed nothing but lip service, the gutting of our safety nets, more poverty, more greed and wealth and very little being done to stop it. We don't have many on our side.
As for those who are pro-Palestinians and anti-genocide protests - they are doing the right thing to speak up. Maybe our government should stop being death merchants profiting from the deaths of people? The military industrial complex is real and Eisenhower warned us all. We need to do better as a people to be informed about the systems we are engaging in and the despots and autocrats who seek to control it all. Harris and Walz have a very long way to go because corporate apron strings are wrapped as much around them as any other politician.
I agree that we have some wonderful models and visions for what a better world looks like, but what I'd offer is that all of us who dream of that world are still figuring out how to build it together.
I am asking this question in good faith, I swear: Why aren't there any pro-Palestinian protestors at Republican rallies and the RNC convention? Do they lock things down more tightly (especially post-assassination attempt)? Are they there and just don't get the same amount of media coverage? Or do the protestors think only the Democrats are persuadable? If the latter, doesn't that mean they should be voting for the Harris ticket anyway? I was REALLY mad at all the Dems (including President Obama) who said they were against gay marriage, for instance, but eventually those of us who were for it made the party change. (As a Californian, I'm not a big fan of Gavin Newsom, but I have to acknowledge that he played a HUGE role in making that happen.)
More broadly, my sense is that the calculus is that the Democratic ticket is potentially organizable on the issue and the Republican ticket isn’t. As for the protestors, it’s a diverse group ideologically. There are some (and I’d include myself) who are likely to vote Democratic even if demands are not met (but might do so less enthusiastically and organize less). There are others, for moral and strategic reasons, who are withholding their vote if demands aren’t met and others who do not believe in electoral change.
I was there with my kids too! And we had a similar mix of feels. mass rallies are not conducive to nuance and dialogue, so nice work having that with your son anyway. Among people I know who went, there was mostly blunt force enthusiasm which even in this joy-leaning moment still makes me uneasy. I was pleased by the strategy that “USA” has been reclaimed but at the same time huge crowd chanting of any sort always scares me a little, it just seems like there is something irrational and potentially violent beneath it (or maybe it’s my Ohio roots showing, we beat each other up and light stuff on fire for any large sporting event like it’s part of the tailgate). I wondered, when we were all booing Trump, and also when there was that tussle over the free Palestine sign, if we still have the urge as a society for public punishments and executions, and what it would take to flip a crowd that large and jacked up into violence.
I agree. It’s also why I appreciate that Harris seems to defuse negative chanting - as opposed to egging it on - but in a crowd that large it’s hard to control the energy.
I am really ashamed that we failed to make space on that stage. That we have time to two sheriffs and many republicans who put Trump in the White House in the first place, but we could not acknowledge the ongoing death and destruction in Palestine in a meaningful way. But as you say, we can hold many things. I will vote for Harris and Walz excitedly because I am excited about their pro-labor stance. I will also continue to hold them accountable for the death and aiding and abetting.
Appreciate all this, Shervyn
Thank you for this. Parenting is hard, but in this world it seems nearly impossible sometimes. Thanks for shining a light on what’s possible.
Thank you!
We do have people who have figured out our ethical and moral crisis time and again but we fail to elevate these people into how we govern ourselves.
If any of us reads "Debt: the First 5000 Years" by David Graeber and "Sacred Economics" by Charles Eisenstein (specifically Chapter 8) and "Thinking In Systems: A Primer" by Donella Meadows we get all the answers and solutions to our predicament. We, the working class and historically and present marginalized groups are barely able to survive. Mass layoffs in multiple industries are happening nationwide. Corporations don't feel beholden to the working class nor to our nation and the federal government who is supposed to look out for us is not doing that.
I want to have trust for elections but for the past 40 years out of my 48 years Ive witnessed nothing but lip service, the gutting of our safety nets, more poverty, more greed and wealth and very little being done to stop it. We don't have many on our side.
As for those who are pro-Palestinians and anti-genocide protests - they are doing the right thing to speak up. Maybe our government should stop being death merchants profiting from the deaths of people? The military industrial complex is real and Eisenhower warned us all. We need to do better as a people to be informed about the systems we are engaging in and the despots and autocrats who seek to control it all. Harris and Walz have a very long way to go because corporate apron strings are wrapped as much around them as any other politician.
I agree that we have some wonderful models and visions for what a better world looks like, but what I'd offer is that all of us who dream of that world are still figuring out how to build it together.
I really appreciate you writing this. It brought tears of relief to my eyes just knowing we're in this incredibly difficult moment together.
So glad it was useful. Thanks for being in this moment together as well.
I am asking this question in good faith, I swear: Why aren't there any pro-Palestinian protestors at Republican rallies and the RNC convention? Do they lock things down more tightly (especially post-assassination attempt)? Are they there and just don't get the same amount of media coverage? Or do the protestors think only the Democrats are persuadable? If the latter, doesn't that mean they should be voting for the Harris ticket anyway? I was REALLY mad at all the Dems (including President Obama) who said they were against gay marriage, for instance, but eventually those of us who were for it made the party change. (As a Californian, I'm not a big fan of Gavin Newsom, but I have to acknowledge that he played a HUGE role in making that happen.)
There were! I marched in them!
More broadly, my sense is that the calculus is that the Democratic ticket is potentially organizable on the issue and the Republican ticket isn’t. As for the protestors, it’s a diverse group ideologically. There are some (and I’d include myself) who are likely to vote Democratic even if demands are not met (but might do so less enthusiastically and organize less). There are others, for moral and strategic reasons, who are withholding their vote if demands aren’t met and others who do not believe in electoral change.
Thanks for holding space for complexity here, Garrett. Really appreciate it.
Always appreciate you, Stephanie
Thank you for this, Garrett! The humility is so bracing.
Thank you!
I was there with my kids too! And we had a similar mix of feels. mass rallies are not conducive to nuance and dialogue, so nice work having that with your son anyway. Among people I know who went, there was mostly blunt force enthusiasm which even in this joy-leaning moment still makes me uneasy. I was pleased by the strategy that “USA” has been reclaimed but at the same time huge crowd chanting of any sort always scares me a little, it just seems like there is something irrational and potentially violent beneath it (or maybe it’s my Ohio roots showing, we beat each other up and light stuff on fire for any large sporting event like it’s part of the tailgate). I wondered, when we were all booing Trump, and also when there was that tussle over the free Palestine sign, if we still have the urge as a society for public punishments and executions, and what it would take to flip a crowd that large and jacked up into violence.
I agree. It’s also why I appreciate that Harris seems to defuse negative chanting - as opposed to egging it on - but in a crowd that large it’s hard to control the energy.