Ah, youtube!
Don't give me a million women in pink knit hats.
Don't talk to me about demonstrations across the country on April 5th.
Remember all those marches on Washington during the Vietnam war? Listen to the Nixon tapes or the Johnson tapes. Did you hear either president express concern about these public protests becoming a threat to their own power, or about the possibility these demonstrations may have changed minds?
I've listened. I have never heard that. What you heard from the Presidents was contempt, indifference but never any indication public assemblies to redress grievances ever made them think twice. They were ineffectual group hugs.
But, if you're looking for consensual validation which might, eventually, over time, change a few minds, look to youtube.
Here's the Marsh family on Trump's tariffs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DyNjjSxO8s
And, if you want more than entertainment and a warm and fuzzy feeling that there are other right thinking people out there, you can tune in to a youtube post which actually explains some arcana about tariffs, like, for example there is a Canadian tariff on American milk coming into the country which approaches 200% after a certain volume of milk has been shipped north across the border, but that volume is so high, it's never been reached. One wonders why it's on the books at all--but that's another question.
As usual, there is a sliver of some true thing which Trump fastens on before sailing off into space--like the man who hits you with an axe for inadvertently stepping on his toe.
This will have to play out--Trump is right about that. Because there is nobody who is in a position to thwart Trump--not the Supreme Court (even more right wing than he is), not Senate Republicans, and certainly not House Republicans. There is simply no check in the balance.
Mad Dog,
ReplyDeleteI definitely do not take the dim view of public protest that you do. There’s likely nothing one person or many people could do to change the mind of the narcissistic moron in the White House. However, massive protests can likely send a message to our former allies that much of the American public opposes Trump’s actions. We can also send a message to the press to stay the course. Who knows, large enough protests might even move a few Republicans to do the right thing… Okay, now I’m talking crazy…
Maud
No, actually, those are good points: You may not affect the guy in the White House, but we say to our neighbors to the north, "Hey, we don't like this guy any better than you do." And it gives the papers who want to write stories critical of Trump the means to do that: "Hey, we're just reporting the news and the news is what people in these rallies are saying."
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, you have a point. There are more than a single outcome to look for.
Mad Dog