• Carl@anarchist.nexus
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    1 day ago

    Also, you can’t afford time off work to do anything actionable. And even if you could afford it by using accrued time off, the lack of worker protections means you’ll be unemployed as soon as you start doing anything too controversial.

    It’s nice to say “just get into the streets” but the vast majority of Americans are one missed paycheck away from homelessness and food scarcity. The average American is basically living hand-to-mouth, (many are even putting groceries on credit) just to survive. Regime change sounds nice, but a revolt would take months or even years, and your kids will go hungry in a few days. The only Americans who really have the time and means to effect meaningful change are retired or rich enough to not need a job. And those two demographics overwhelmingly support the current regime, because they’re old and rich.

    It can be difficult for Europeans to properly grasp just how dire the situation in America is. The average American would need to travel for at least three days just to reach the capitol. That’s a solid 3 days of driving, only stopping to eat and sleep. All while not being able to take time off of work. Saying “just go protest” is like telling someone in Madrid, Spain to travel to Warsaw, Poland just to protest against their “local” leadership.

    “Oh but you can protest at the state level” I already hear some people typing. Great, my state capitol is 450 miles away. That’s not even an exaggeration, it takes a solid 8 hours of driving to reach my “local” capitol building. It’s not something the average person can just do on a whim, nor can they do it regularly. It’s not like the average person can just pop over to the capitol for a protest, then be back home in time for dinner.

    Maybe go make some noise at the city level. But that’s not going to do anything at the national level (or even at the state level) because they’re far away and easy for the lawmakers to ignore.

    Lastly, good luck revolting against the federal government. I’m sure the average gun-nut’s AR-15 will be extremely effective against drone strikes. Oh wait…