ST Alpha - "the idea that direction action turns people against you is just not true." (Reading a Post)

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the idea that direction action turns people against you is just not true.

Posted by colin (aka colinski) Aug 22 '24, 09:37

they are not always successful or have the intended outcome, but there are many examples of successful action that helped further causes in a way that "peaceful" protesting could not.

destruction of pipeline building equipment and offices has brought more attention to the issue of their ecological impact. burning the daughters of the confederacy brought a ton of attention to that group in Richmond, with groups now looking to strip it of tax rights due to their history as a hate group. the direction action by environmental groups in the 90s essentially shut down the fur industry in north america.

while i don't agree with methods this extreme, the assassination of Abe was one of the most successful as it kicked off investigation of Unified Church.

some action is really unpopular, like shitting in a homeless shelter's food.... but if you have some level of popular support already, these things can jolt people into action.

Responses:

Intentionally putting a potential pathogen or allergen in someone's food is assault, not protest. -- nm - Max Aug 22, 10:17
also honestly it would be super traumatic to bite into a bagel and find maggots in it. certainly nobody's dying, but the trauma would be real. -- nm - ☀️ mandy chem ☀️ Aug 22, 10:12 2
- And the knock-off damage of the caterer / hotel reputation. - Will Hunting Aug 22, 10:20 1
  - oh for sure. -- nm - ☀️ mandy chem ☀️ Aug 22, 10:24
As I said, you've lost the plot. - David Aug 22, 10:09 1
- A fine blueprint for how to chatter about it. Colin is referencing results. What matters there is who's in a collective and who's just complaining. -- (edited) - con_carne Aug 22, 11:07
Nonviolent direct action? Or violent direct action? Or both? -- nm - ReluctantCynic Aug 22, 10:07 1
- Both. Nonviolent has a better chance of success, but violent actions are sometimes effective. -- nm - colin Aug 22, 10:57
So then blowing up an abortion clinic as long as no one is in it at the time is a valid protest. -- nm - Dano Aug 22, 09:47 5
- It's direct action, which is different from protest... At least as it seems to be defined here. -- nm* - colin Aug 22, 11:02
- Whether Tom, Dick or Harry think it's valid is moot when it's one set of organized people duking it out against another. -- nm - con_carne Aug 22, 09:58 2
  - It's not moot. Actions are real, not abstract. War crimes are a real thing for a reason. -- nm* - Andie Aug 22, 10:25 1
    - So public sentiment could be moved, I agree. What ST is doing right now in these threads does not amount to public sentiment. - con_carne Aug 22, 10:34
- at least the forced birth movement can point to Dobbs as ultimately achieving their goal, politically, when bombing clinics didn't work. the anti-war - mr mooch Aug 22, 09:56
Like robbing a bank… to help underline much needed prison reform - Al Pacino Aug 22, 09:44 1
- and trans rights! -- nm - mafic Aug 22, 09:47

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the idea that direction action turns people against you is just not true.

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