Super exciting and inspiring to see so many people out there yesterday. Truly historic numbers of participants. And in spite of my following comments, I think demos like these are critical. If nothing else, they show the world that we are not sheep, that we oppose the fascist regime. It gives the government a taste of how strong we can be. Large demos like these provide a forum for activists to communicate with each other, share ideas, agitate for more radical changes. And it is empowering to be part of large demos, particularly for those who haven't done it before, instilling some hope in these dark times.
But here are a couple of things to consider:
(1) "Hands Off" is a liberal, not a leftist, slogan, devoid of anti-capitalist critique. Consider that the posters included "Hands Off NATO." That piece suggests that at least some organizers and participants actually support imperialist wars and interventions. NATO is one of the most anti-working-class organizations there is. Its entire purpose (contrary to the propaganda) is to pit working-class soldiers against each other in order to protect existing, and acquire new, territory, markets, and workers for the benefit of capitalists.
(2) "Hands Off Medicare, Social Security, libraries, immigrants, trans folks, etc." are necessary and existential short-term goals. But, at best, success brings us back to the pre-Trump status quo, which wasn't particularly good for most working-class people, nor for members of most marginalized communities. We need to be demanding a lot more (which many activists at yesterday’s demos were calling for).
(3) Some of the posters demanded "Fair Elections." But what does this even mean in a representative democracy? Yes, the Republicans have certainly exploited gerrymandering, the electoral college system, and voter suppression to win elections, sometimes even in spite of losing the popular vote. In fact, there are some who think Texas, with the 7th & 8th largest African American communities in the country (Dallas, Houston), would vote blue if not for gerrymandering and voter suppression. But then what? We'd still just be voting for who gets to rule over us and those rulers would still be primarily rich people, whose interests and policies align much more with the CEOs and corporate bosses than with working-class people. If the past is any indication, Democrats would still be supporting Zionism & Genocide, government suppression of strikes and worker movements (e.g., the recent train strike), imperialist & NATO interventions abroad. We'd still have millions living in the streets and millions dependent on food stamps and food pantries. We'd still have snowballing climate change and a government hamstrung by its subservience to capital. Let’s not forget, under Clinton, a Democrat, we got NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the anti-worker NAFTA, and an “End to Welfare as We Know It.” And under Obama we got drone assassinations of U.S. citizens living abroad and a continuation of Bush’s mass deportations and imprisonment of immigrant children.
Optimistically, there were many people at yesterday’s demos who ARE thinking about these issues and fighting for far more than just a return to the pre-Trump status quo. There were lots of anti-genocide signs and posters and solidarity with Palestinians. Many demanding bodily autonomy for all, including both access to birth control and abortion, as well as access to gender affirming care. There were many demonstrators calling for a General Strike, which has far more potential to achieve results than do mass demonstrations. (Direct Action gets the Goods!)
So, let’s continue with these large mass demos. But let’s also start organizing direct actions that hurt the rulers’ bottom line. And let’s also remember that the most enduring North American General Strikes (e.g., Saint Louis, 1877; Seattle, 1919; Winnipeg, 1919; Minneapolis, 1934) all involved incredible organization and coordination, including the delivery of free food to residents; worker control of policing and emergency services; shutdown of corporate media and worker control of mass communication; worker control of transport and shipping.
