this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2025
17 points (100.0% liked)

Political Discussion and Commentary

480 readers
194 users here now

A place to discuss politics and offer political commentary. Self posts are preferred, but links to current events and news are allowed. Opinion pieces are welcome on a case by case basis, and discussion of and disagreement about issues is encouraged!

The intent is for this community to be an area for open & respectful discussion on current political issues, news & events, and that means we all have a responsibility to be open, honest, and sincere. We place as much emphasis on good content as good behavior, but the latter is more important if we want to ensure this community remains healthy and vibrant.

Content Rules:

  1. Self posts preferred.
  2. Opinion pieces and editorials are allowed on a case by case basis.
  3. No spam or self promotion.
  4. Do not post grievances about other communities or their moderators.

Commentary Rules

  1. Don’t be a jerk or do anything to prevent honest discussion.
  2. Stay on topic.
  3. Don’t criticize the person, criticize the argument.
  4. Provide credible sources whenever possible.
  5. Report bad behavior, please don’t retaliate. Reciprocal bad behavior will reflect poorly on both parties.
  6. Seek rule enforcement clarification via private message, not in comment threads.
  7. Abide by Lemmy's terms of service (attacks on other users, privacy, discrimination, etc).

Please try to up/downvote based on contribution to discussion, not on whether you agree or disagree with the commenter.

Partnered Communities:

Politics

Science

founded 7 months ago
MODERATORS
 

I can't be the only one who is seeing this fucking pattern on damn loop every few years. First, leftists managed to clobber together a movement. Lets say Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter. Or we can go more recent and talk about 50501 or TeslaTakedown.

Look, I get it. Its a lot of work and coordination to build up these movements. But time-and-time again, the movement rises up. Then the right attacks it.

Then mysteriously a few very violent actors show up (maybe its far-left. Or maybe its right-wing false flaggers). I dunno, but the violence ALWAYS shows up. BLM had groups trying to take over parts of town. I know Trump agitated the protesters with unwarranted acts of force (see the Laffeyette clearout).

But it doesn't matter "how" the violence begins. The point is some level of damage starts to occur. Its inevitable and we need to not only accept it, but plan for it.

Now what? The violence gets amplified by right-wing media and then... the movement is defeated. I shit you not. Its the death of every leftist movement for the past 15 years. The movements become a symbol of violence in the mainstream's eyes and loses all power.


We're entering the same period right now with 50501 and TeslaTakedown. The violence has begun: lots of Tesla vehicles have been smashed and arsons have started to spread.

What we need is a spokesman, who can navigate and sell the situation to the public. Martin Luther King Jr. was the spokesman of the Civil Rights era, and his "branding" was the most important element of all. If you want a violent movement, that's fine. But create a spokesman. Malcom X, to counter-act and differentiate between philosophies.

Without spokesmen (like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X), we conflate the violence and the messages. And ultimately, that destroys our movements.

Please, for the love of whatever diety you worship. Get a fucking spokesman. Now. Sooner is better. Maybe its too late for TeslaTakedown and 50501, but we need movements that truly are rallied behind a singular face who can serve as the ideological leader to the general public.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Being headless means it’s more difficult to launch ad hominem attacks based on oppo research

Laughs in BLM.

You're shitting me. Or are you serious? I'm having difficulty trying to figure out what's funnier.

BLM is seen by the mainstream as an angry mob who takes over cities and causes riots. Oppo-research? They don't even bother. Without a leader, movements like BLM cannot hold onto a brand at all.

Its impossible to 'prove' to the public that BLM is a peaceful group if they don't even have a leader.

And give it... I dunno.... 6 months? 12 months? And 50501 and Tesla Takedown will be similarly wiped out in the public eye. Your opponents know how to fuck a leaderless group. Just say shit in public, and there's no one there who can possibly opposed Donald Trump's bullshit because there's no leader to BLM to say what the group stands for on TV.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Do you think the conservative media would give an actual leader any airtime? There are protests and marches going on - I'd forgive you not knowing about them since nobody (including "left leaning media") covers them. You'll only see coverage in non-domestic outlets.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

No.

But the #1 podcast is now the anti-Trump MeidasTouch network. They'll run your leaders.

There are protests and marches going on - I’d forgive you not knowing about them since nobody (including “left leaning media”) covers them. You’ll only see coverage in non-domestic outlets.

I'm talking about 50501, Tesla Takedown and Latino Freeze.

I'll forgive you for not knowing about these protests because they don't have spokespersons. Also, it's probably irrelevant to learn about these leaderless groups because they're inevitably doomed to fail without a leader.