I fully agree with everything you’re saying except that boycotts are not worthless.
There are many great reasons to prioritise mutual aid and workplace organizing that you have laid out since it has much more value.
But it’s a waste of time to discourage people from the most low-effort actions and it only causes unnecessary conflict.
Arguments over the “best”, most pure way to oppose fascism and capitalism only sow division in an already fractured left and discourage people from potentially taking their first step.
Make a good case for the action you want to prioritise, then embrace a diversity of tactics where people can make their own informed decisions on the action(s) they want to take.
I agree that fascism cannot be overcome by boycotts alone, but discouraging boycotts doesn’t benefit anybody. And in this case, boycotts are actually helping to chip away at Musk’s power - Trump just had to do an infomercial at the White House for Musk because his stock is tanking so hard.
We need a diversity of tactics.
I’m suggesting that instead of saying don’t do X, do Y. Just say do Y with the great reasons you provided.
Yes, and. Boycotts are one of multiple tools that do work. Do not discourage people from one tactic in favour of another. They can both be done together and people can choose. We need options and to go at this from more than one angle.
It is still a great idea to unionise and join mutual aid orgs and I encourage everyone to do so.
Most speed cameras are either revenue-neutral or generate a small amount of revenue for the city.
Can we stop it with the low effort dunks?
Sharing tactics does not mean people will suddenly show up at the next protest lobbing paint. Ideally, nobody ever has to do that.
But if cops escalate against peaceful protestors weeks, months or years from now. Then at that point you either resist or lick the boot. Knowledge is power.
Protest however you want. Direct your energy towards organizing against the fascists instead of wasting it on acting like a cop towards people sharing resources for if things get worse.
Cops will make up any excuse they want to deem a protest a riot and use riot munitions.
People in the USA, however, need no excuse to protest right now.
A big part of the plan was that in addition to reducing car usage, the revenues collected by congestion pricing would be used to make huge investments in improving public transit, thereby reducing car dependencey even further. Win-win!
Cars should not need registration, licensing, or insurance.
Waaaaait a minute, what?
Sure, I can ride a bike, but I could never ride a bike 300 miles for a weekend trip to any arbitrary destination
This is a strawman argument. 300 mile trips are better suited for trains.
Better for people with physical handicaps
The majority of physical disabilities prevent people from driving, resulting in a loss of mobility and freedom when they do not have viable alternatives. Many people who do not bike for transport and do not talk to people who bike for transport see a handicap parking spot and assume that everybody with a handicap drives.
People cycling and using public transit free up road space for the minority of people with handicaps who drive. I know two utilitarian cyclists with disabilities who cannot drive but use a bicycle as their primary means of transportation.
Can be more easily/comfortably used in extreme weather
Wear a jacket. Many of us go for walks in extreme weather. There are very cold and hot countries all over the world that have high rates of bicycle usage for transport. The problem usually lies in cities designing and maintaining their roads in a hostile way to all forms of transportation other than bicycles in the winter. Look at Montreal and Oulu for counter-examples. Even the Netherlands gets constant rain.
This is a great video on the topic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU
Doesn’t leave you as hot and sweaty, especially when going to work
See above
Another active community is: !resist@fedia.io
Archived link so we do not give him traffic.
https://archive.is/vzZ8k
Do not comply in advance.
Everybody, do yourself a favour and actually read this article.
LibreWolf relies on Mozilla’s Gecko engine, so LibreWolf mostly doesn’t exist without Firefox/Mozilla. I wish there was a way to just donate to the Gecko engine maintenance to keep a Chrome alternative running without supporting all the other Firefox/Mozilla stuff.
Also, know your limits before the protest. If it escalates, know what you are or aren’t comfortable with. Do not let anybody convince you to do something that you are not comfortable with in the heat of the moment