I despair whether more Americans will realise this. I keep seeing people commenting “oh under Joe Biden we could sleep easy” or “if we had Kamala we wouldn’t be in a war with Iran”. Wake the hell up America, your cluelessness is no longer cute. The world is dying because of you and they’ve been dying for a long time. Trump is not the reason, he’s the symptom
I hear the rationalization all the time: Kamala would never have done what Trump is doing now! Trump is way worse than any Democrat, way worse then Biden.
My response: No Shit Sherlock. You don't think those of us who follow this shit day after day don't know that? Maybe some of us actually have a fucking conscience and won't vote for a party that supports killing 10s of thousands of children in GAZA.
Makes me so angry that the "Lesser of Two Evils" (even now) still is equated with some kind of valid moral choice when it comes to a Genocide. NO IT DOESN'T.
And yet Americans are still falling for the "Lesser of Two Evils" bullshit yet again. All the Democrat party does is yell Trump, Trump, Trump 24/7 - like that's going to fix everything. Like suddenly the obvious corruption in the Democrat party itself will magically disappear. Bloody idiots.
Unfortunately, too many of those people you’re talking about don’t really care about evil, lesser or otherwise. Out of sight out of mind. Or worse, they don’t really care about Palestinians— or Iranians, or Lebanese. (They’ve had plenty of opportunities to see the photographs and hear the descriptions of returning physicians). Truth be known, they don’t even really care about most of their fellow citizens. This probably sounds harsh, but I’ve seen too many of them up close. “I care about Palestinians, too, but . . .”
“But it’s a ‘distraction.’” “But if we focus on Gaza, Republicans will win.”
The No Kings protested are Dem establishment Psy ops that serve as a pressure valve for an increasingly boxed in and out of option population. There are no concrete demands, no material stakes, nothing that meaningfully threatens the machinery of power. Just a vague, slogan-level rejection of “kings” that somehow never extends to the actual systems or figures propping up the status quo.
It’s protest as performance: loud enough to feel cathartic, harmless enough to be ignored. The same political class that people reliably reinstall every four years remains entirely undisturbed, comfortably insulated from the kind of pressure that might force real change. That is also why these protests dont actually have any concrete demands. The people going to these are the same fools who cling to the illusion that figures like Obama embodied moral leadership, or that “respectable” operators within the system are fundamentally decent rather than structurally complicit.
The Establishment understands in the end people need these rituals every few months to blow off some steam. They understand they have to give people a sanctioned outlet for frustration so it never coalesces into anything disruptive. Let them shout, march, vent, anything to keep the anger diffuse, temporary, and ultimately harmless and therefore the shit at shoe level.
CJ>>"The problem is US presidents, not kings. The problem is the US empire, not Trump."
Well expressed Caitlin!
Trump is a symptom (the current symptom) of what the US Empire has evolved into. Fighting Trump is not about fighting Imperialism or Capitalism or any of the so many important things that matter to real, ordinary people (in the US and across the world).
Like you say, "They just want a more polite, photogenic empire." It definitely feels that way to me too. My only hope is that something more comes out of it...
I had the same reaction. The protests feel performative, choreographed, scripted. I do not see where or how they have had ANY significant affect on slowing the INSANITY. The only "protest" with any chance of affecting change would be a MASSIVE number of folks dropping out of the consumption loop. And, equally important, a NATIONAL ROLLING, ONGOING STRIKE....$$$ is THE ONLY language power understands. But I think American culture is too oriented to me, me, me, instead of to consideration of the common good. I am committed now to spending ONLY for the basics of life. I have stopped attending social events that require paying, I'm trying to "recreate" in nature, library programming, etc. And I try to shop locally, eat only at local restaurants. Any suggestions on moving beyond the occasional protest?
>>"Any suggestions on moving beyond the occasional protest?"
What's your pain threshhold? There are lots of things that are possible (as evidenced from previous upheavals in history). It eventually comes down to 'how much are people willing to sacrifice of their lives, lifestyles, futures, children's futures, etc.' to do what is needed to change the status quo. Here, different people have different 'acceptable levels of commitment' and risk/reward tolerances based on their personal circumstances and life histories.
Usually, real (and significant) change happens when a particular society gets desperate enough and takes seriously the 'what more do I have to lose' question. I don't see American/Western societies anywhere near this 'threshhold area' yet. I wish I could be more positive about where we are heading...
Teach the individuals who inhabit the rolls of their enforcement: soldier, police, security people so that at the right time enough will join us This IS what happened during the Vietnam era! Relatives, neighbors, friends who ae in those areas.
Yes, but that war didn’t end until Congress passed bills to stop the funding. So, unfortunately, much of our work needs to focus on pressuring members of Congress to do the same thing now. If they don’t, it’s our failure as much as theirs. We’ve done relatively little to pressure them. They wouldn’t exist but for us. And it doesn’t help to keep voting for candidates who fund a genocide.
The problem is the US Empire and the acceptance by the leaders of the rest of the so called democratic world: Starmer, Carney, Albanese, Macron and so many other money grubbing "leaders". We need to get rid of billionaires. Sure, Trump is demented and power hungry, but he has lots of support. Without all that support, he would not have gotten away with Iran, with Gaza, with Lebanon and Syria; with ICE, with taking away healthcare, with doing so much harm to the American people and to the rest of the world. If we really live in a world where one person can destroy the environment, the financial stability, healthcare, racial integration, then we need to think about a lot more than what Trump and the US Empire are doing. We need to think about why the others are accepting this.
The "No Kings" ersatz "movement" is paid for, ironically, by the actual kings, the Bill Gates', George Soros', Klaus Schwabs' and WEF types who are currently leading would-be leftists around by the nose...
You are absolutely right. My point for decades. The problem is rooted in the Constitution; created by oligarchs for oligarchs and still controlled by oligarchs.
Exactly. A real parliamentary system works much better, if you Believe in "democracy." China now runs on a meritocracy where the bright young grads go to work for govt. In "democracies," concerned people only get a vote every 4 years then are sidelined again - in China they would already be IN govt.
China’s economic and academic success is very impressive. I am a little skeptical when it comes to domestic politics. It is possible that their system is good for China. I think a real functioning direct democratic system (similar to that of Switzerland) would be better for my political orientation.
The problem, I think, is the Nazi cabal that never lost WW 2 (Germany most certainly did), moved across the Atlantic and made powerless puppets of every U.S. president since Truman.
I am deeply embarrassed/appalled/nauseated right now. I have been for a long time. I've tried talking/emailing friends and family. I've gone to "protests". I was previously engaged in "the political system". Nothing seems to work. WTF do we do?
I dunno. I mean, sure vote Trump out. But Trump is a SYMPTOM of the disease we Americans now have, he is not the DISEASE. But the Democratic party, and those pundits who still are pushing the Democratic party, want us to believe Trump is the problem. He isn't. He's just a symptom of the problem. Getting rid of Trump doesn't fix a goddamn thing, it's like putting a piece of tape over a dam that is already breaking.
Teach the individuals who inhabit the rolls of their enforcement: soldier, police, security people so that at the right time enough will join us This IS what happened during the Vietnam era! Relatives, neighbors, friends who ae in those areas.
bravo again Caitlin. Im worried about the next 3 years. I doubt that the DNC is going to move to stop Trump even if it wins majorities in the midterms. What a lame country.
The DNC won't. I remember the entire movement against George W Bush in 2006. The Democrats won. And Nancy Pelosi and her Dems turned right around and said essentially "Nah, never mind!"
Believe it or not there was actually a time, about 20 years ago, where liberals wanted George W Bush and Dick Cheney to be held accountable for their war crimes. I was a stupid idiot to think they were sincere and became a stench Dem for 20 years. 2016 woke me up.
"Americans of conscience should be feeling deeply embarrassed right now", says Caitlin Johnstone.
.
"Trump is not some freakish aberration; he is the product of the same American political status quo as his predecessors"....
.
"Donald Trump is a US president who is doing US president things. US presidents consistently murder people with unforgivable acts of mass military violence, mistreat immigrants and marginalized communities, and promote tyranny for the benefit of corrupting special interests in defense of the US empire and the capitalist status quo. That’s what their job is. If they weren’t willing to do these things, they wouldn’t get the job".
.
So, here is the thing:
.
In November of 2024, during that election cycle, 99% of active U.S. voters cast their ballot for a U.S. Presidential candidate who had explicitly committed themselves to doubling down on the Genocide of the Palestinian people.
.
When the dust settled, the Genocider-in-Chief who was elected to the Office of the President of the United States, by that 99% of active U.S. voters in 2024, turned out to be the candidate supported the Red State people.... the orange-headed guy with the Republican Party.
.
The other guy -- who in this case (as in 2016) happened to be a gal – was equally willing to be the damn-the-torpedoes, full-steam-ahead Genocider-in-Chief of the Israel-U.S. Empire, but did not get elected to that office.
.
And so, the Blue State people are very unhappy with this state of affairs... because the Red State Genocider-in-Chief is being extremely unpleasant to the Blue State people.
.
And no, I'm not suggesting that the Blue State should not be unhappy with this state of affairs. After all, the Red State orange-haired guy is being deeply unpleasant to everyone – well, pretty much everyone, whether at home or abroad, who is not prepared to put $1 billion in his pocket in the next five minutes.
.
That is really unpleasant to be around, and it kind of makes four years feel like a very long time.... and even feel like four years could go on a lot longer than four years.
.
Yet, when all is said and done, those 99% of active U.S. voters all got pretty much most of what they voted for. At any rate, they got a lot of what they voted for. The 99% voted for a genocide and they got a genocide.
.
Now, as the genocide is being expanded to Iran and Lebanon (well, it had pretty much reached Lebanon already), how much more greatly unpleasant such an event is to the people at the tip of the spear – than to the complicit citizens at the Empire's core – is what be the entire nation of the United should be talking about 24 hours a day.
.
But that is not the case. The majority of people in the United States -- when they even bestir themselves to protest – are still talking only about what they have always talked about: how very unpleasant things are for them – such as the increase in the price of petrol at the gas pump.
.
As Caitlin Johnstone says:
.
"Americans of conscience should be feeling deeply embarrassed..."
it is worse than embarrassing. It is infantile performative BS. Walk around a completely prescribed and permitted route with idiotic signs about brunch. My lord.
I despair whether more Americans will realise this. I keep seeing people commenting “oh under Joe Biden we could sleep easy” or “if we had Kamala we wouldn’t be in a war with Iran”. Wake the hell up America, your cluelessness is no longer cute. The world is dying because of you and they’ve been dying for a long time. Trump is not the reason, he’s the symptom
I hear the rationalization all the time: Kamala would never have done what Trump is doing now! Trump is way worse than any Democrat, way worse then Biden.
My response: No Shit Sherlock. You don't think those of us who follow this shit day after day don't know that? Maybe some of us actually have a fucking conscience and won't vote for a party that supports killing 10s of thousands of children in GAZA.
Makes me so angry that the "Lesser of Two Evils" (even now) still is equated with some kind of valid moral choice when it comes to a Genocide. NO IT DOESN'T.
And yet Americans are still falling for the "Lesser of Two Evils" bullshit yet again. All the Democrat party does is yell Trump, Trump, Trump 24/7 - like that's going to fix everything. Like suddenly the obvious corruption in the Democrat party itself will magically disappear. Bloody idiots.
They need to be reminded - Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.
I mean - yeah I get it. Sometimes choosing lesser of two evils can SOMETIMES work. But in this case, after 3 decades of this shit, IT ISN'T WORKING.
Choosing evil NEVER works.
Unfortunately, too many of those people you’re talking about don’t really care about evil, lesser or otherwise. Out of sight out of mind. Or worse, they don’t really care about Palestinians— or Iranians, or Lebanese. (They’ve had plenty of opportunities to see the photographs and hear the descriptions of returning physicians). Truth be known, they don’t even really care about most of their fellow citizens. This probably sounds harsh, but I’ve seen too many of them up close. “I care about Palestinians, too, but . . .”
“But it’s a ‘distraction.’” “But if we focus on Gaza, Republicans will win.”
The No Kings protested are Dem establishment Psy ops that serve as a pressure valve for an increasingly boxed in and out of option population. There are no concrete demands, no material stakes, nothing that meaningfully threatens the machinery of power. Just a vague, slogan-level rejection of “kings” that somehow never extends to the actual systems or figures propping up the status quo.
It’s protest as performance: loud enough to feel cathartic, harmless enough to be ignored. The same political class that people reliably reinstall every four years remains entirely undisturbed, comfortably insulated from the kind of pressure that might force real change. That is also why these protests dont actually have any concrete demands. The people going to these are the same fools who cling to the illusion that figures like Obama embodied moral leadership, or that “respectable” operators within the system are fundamentally decent rather than structurally complicit.
The Establishment understands in the end people need these rituals every few months to blow off some steam. They understand they have to give people a sanctioned outlet for frustration so it never coalesces into anything disruptive. Let them shout, march, vent, anything to keep the anger diffuse, temporary, and ultimately harmless and therefore the shit at shoe level.
YES! YES! YES! 👍👊💪👏
CJ>>"The problem is US presidents, not kings. The problem is the US empire, not Trump."
Well expressed Caitlin!
Trump is a symptom (the current symptom) of what the US Empire has evolved into. Fighting Trump is not about fighting Imperialism or Capitalism or any of the so many important things that matter to real, ordinary people (in the US and across the world).
Like you say, "They just want a more polite, photogenic empire." It definitely feels that way to me too. My only hope is that something more comes out of it...
Much love and thanks Caitlin! ❤️🙏
I had the same reaction. The protests feel performative, choreographed, scripted. I do not see where or how they have had ANY significant affect on slowing the INSANITY. The only "protest" with any chance of affecting change would be a MASSIVE number of folks dropping out of the consumption loop. And, equally important, a NATIONAL ROLLING, ONGOING STRIKE....$$$ is THE ONLY language power understands. But I think American culture is too oriented to me, me, me, instead of to consideration of the common good. I am committed now to spending ONLY for the basics of life. I have stopped attending social events that require paying, I'm trying to "recreate" in nature, library programming, etc. And I try to shop locally, eat only at local restaurants. Any suggestions on moving beyond the occasional protest?
>>"Any suggestions on moving beyond the occasional protest?"
What's your pain threshhold? There are lots of things that are possible (as evidenced from previous upheavals in history). It eventually comes down to 'how much are people willing to sacrifice of their lives, lifestyles, futures, children's futures, etc.' to do what is needed to change the status quo. Here, different people have different 'acceptable levels of commitment' and risk/reward tolerances based on their personal circumstances and life histories.
Usually, real (and significant) change happens when a particular society gets desperate enough and takes seriously the 'what more do I have to lose' question. I don't see American/Western societies anywhere near this 'threshhold area' yet. I wish I could be more positive about where we are heading...
Teach the individuals who inhabit the rolls of their enforcement: soldier, police, security people so that at the right time enough will join us This IS what happened during the Vietnam era! Relatives, neighbors, friends who ae in those areas.
Yes, but that war didn’t end until Congress passed bills to stop the funding. So, unfortunately, much of our work needs to focus on pressuring members of Congress to do the same thing now. If they don’t, it’s our failure as much as theirs. We’ve done relatively little to pressure them. They wouldn’t exist but for us. And it doesn’t help to keep voting for candidates who fund a genocide.
No objection to that either. "All roads lead to Rome (DC)' as they say. Their assault is all-sided and so must be our response. Division of labor.
The problem is the US Empire and the acceptance by the leaders of the rest of the so called democratic world: Starmer, Carney, Albanese, Macron and so many other money grubbing "leaders". We need to get rid of billionaires. Sure, Trump is demented and power hungry, but he has lots of support. Without all that support, he would not have gotten away with Iran, with Gaza, with Lebanon and Syria; with ICE, with taking away healthcare, with doing so much harm to the American people and to the rest of the world. If we really live in a world where one person can destroy the environment, the financial stability, healthcare, racial integration, then we need to think about a lot more than what Trump and the US Empire are doing. We need to think about why the others are accepting this.
The entire system is BRITTLE--hard but fragile!
The "No Kings" ersatz "movement" is paid for, ironically, by the actual kings, the Bill Gates', George Soros', Klaus Schwabs' and WEF types who are currently leading would-be leftists around by the nose...
The problem is…CAPITALISM. The figurehead presiding over the system is just a face that changes every 4/8 years.
Democrats want a less ugly face- a friendly face on an extremely ugly nation.
You are absolutely right. My point for decades. The problem is rooted in the Constitution; created by oligarchs for oligarchs and still controlled by oligarchs.
Exactly. A real parliamentary system works much better, if you Believe in "democracy." China now runs on a meritocracy where the bright young grads go to work for govt. In "democracies," concerned people only get a vote every 4 years then are sidelined again - in China they would already be IN govt.
China’s economic and academic success is very impressive. I am a little skeptical when it comes to domestic politics. It is possible that their system is good for China. I think a real functioning direct democratic system (similar to that of Switzerland) would be better for my political orientation.
Yes, and who can name the President of Switzerland? It's an administrative, not a CEO like in U.S., and the CEO-style of govt is a total failure.
The problem, I think, is the Nazi cabal that never lost WW 2 (Germany most certainly did), moved across the Atlantic and made powerless puppets of every U.S. president since Truman.
Fascism migrated and materialized elsewhere in numerous locations.
Very astute!
I am deeply embarrassed/appalled/nauseated right now. I have been for a long time. I've tried talking/emailing friends and family. I've gone to "protests". I was previously engaged in "the political system". Nothing seems to work. WTF do we do?
strike!
I dunno. I mean, sure vote Trump out. But Trump is a SYMPTOM of the disease we Americans now have, he is not the DISEASE. But the Democratic party, and those pundits who still are pushing the Democratic party, want us to believe Trump is the problem. He isn't. He's just a symptom of the problem. Getting rid of Trump doesn't fix a goddamn thing, it's like putting a piece of tape over a dam that is already breaking.
I hear you, sister 👍
As I cite above:
Teach the individuals who inhabit the rolls of their enforcement: soldier, police, security people so that at the right time enough will join us This IS what happened during the Vietnam era! Relatives, neighbors, friends who ae in those areas.
bravo again Caitlin. Im worried about the next 3 years. I doubt that the DNC is going to move to stop Trump even if it wins majorities in the midterms. What a lame country.
I keep hoping the coming global recession will finally shake them out of their apathy.
Get help. The DNC is far worse. Do you have attention deficit? Remember a guy named "Biden"?
The big worry is will there even be any Midterms.
Yeah that worries me too. :(
....and in 2034 we'll have an ACTUAL REAL, THINKING NAZI in what's left of the WH.
The DNC won't. I remember the entire movement against George W Bush in 2006. The Democrats won. And Nancy Pelosi and her Dems turned right around and said essentially "Nah, never mind!"
Believe it or not there was actually a time, about 20 years ago, where liberals wanted George W Bush and Dick Cheney to be held accountable for their war crimes. I was a stupid idiot to think they were sincere and became a stench Dem for 20 years. 2016 woke me up.
exactly
the student council will never change anything with their scheduled pep rallies
What became of "No king but Jesus!)?
It turned into: lift yourself up by your own bootstraps, and if you get sick, we will take your home and repo your SUV.
Glad I’m not the only one saying this. There’s some real weak ass energy here in the U.S.
I went to that last No Kings Protest. It felt like I was at a Boomer block party.
I'm a Boomer and it definitely felt like that. We had singing of peace songs at our protest. I just couldn't take it. Where's the anger?!
No offense Barbara 😬
No Kings but for Hillary Clinton it was "Yaz Qween!" I honestly don't pay attention to these.
The real problem is the U.S. is under the complete occupation of foreign blackmailers, thieves, and murderers. No point in dancing around it.
Nailed it again …
.
"Americans of conscience should be feeling deeply embarrassed right now", says Caitlin Johnstone.
.
"Trump is not some freakish aberration; he is the product of the same American political status quo as his predecessors"....
.
"Donald Trump is a US president who is doing US president things. US presidents consistently murder people with unforgivable acts of mass military violence, mistreat immigrants and marginalized communities, and promote tyranny for the benefit of corrupting special interests in defense of the US empire and the capitalist status quo. That’s what their job is. If they weren’t willing to do these things, they wouldn’t get the job".
.
So, here is the thing:
.
In November of 2024, during that election cycle, 99% of active U.S. voters cast their ballot for a U.S. Presidential candidate who had explicitly committed themselves to doubling down on the Genocide of the Palestinian people.
.
When the dust settled, the Genocider-in-Chief who was elected to the Office of the President of the United States, by that 99% of active U.S. voters in 2024, turned out to be the candidate supported the Red State people.... the orange-headed guy with the Republican Party.
.
The other guy -- who in this case (as in 2016) happened to be a gal – was equally willing to be the damn-the-torpedoes, full-steam-ahead Genocider-in-Chief of the Israel-U.S. Empire, but did not get elected to that office.
.
And so, the Blue State people are very unhappy with this state of affairs... because the Red State Genocider-in-Chief is being extremely unpleasant to the Blue State people.
.
And no, I'm not suggesting that the Blue State should not be unhappy with this state of affairs. After all, the Red State orange-haired guy is being deeply unpleasant to everyone – well, pretty much everyone, whether at home or abroad, who is not prepared to put $1 billion in his pocket in the next five minutes.
.
That is really unpleasant to be around, and it kind of makes four years feel like a very long time.... and even feel like four years could go on a lot longer than four years.
.
Yet, when all is said and done, those 99% of active U.S. voters all got pretty much most of what they voted for. At any rate, they got a lot of what they voted for. The 99% voted for a genocide and they got a genocide.
.
Now, as the genocide is being expanded to Iran and Lebanon (well, it had pretty much reached Lebanon already), how much more greatly unpleasant such an event is to the people at the tip of the spear – than to the complicit citizens at the Empire's core – is what be the entire nation of the United should be talking about 24 hours a day.
.
But that is not the case. The majority of people in the United States -- when they even bestir themselves to protest – are still talking only about what they have always talked about: how very unpleasant things are for them – such as the increase in the price of petrol at the gas pump.
.
As Caitlin Johnstone says:
.
"Americans of conscience should be feeling deeply embarrassed..."
.
it is worse than embarrassing. It is infantile performative BS. Walk around a completely prescribed and permitted route with idiotic signs about brunch. My lord.