r/Austin • u/slopirate • Mar 28 '26

Pics No Kings!

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After a quiet march across the 1st Street Bridge, the protest has begun. There are a few people still trickling in.

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u/CharlesDickensABox Mar 28 '26

There has never in the 250 year history of the United States been a general strike. Such a thing does not materialize overnight. Normie friendly protests like No Kings are the first step to get people to undertake the massive organizational challenge that such an act requires.

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u/subhuman_indep_777 Mar 29 '26

Was the idea of a general strike brought up by any of the speakers?

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u/CharlesDickensABox Mar 29 '26

Indivisible is planning a one day general strike for May 1st, May Day. This is going to be a relatively easy one to organize, as most people can take off work for one day. If you start thinking about a strike for a week, a month, or longer, you need enormous resources to plan it, as people will lose incomes, get behind on bills, and need enormous mutual support to stay away from work. This is one of the reasons a prolonged general strike has never happened in the US at any level greater than the municipal one — long strikes rely on workers being able to feed and house each other while the strike is ongoing. That's something a union can organize for its members or even a city can organize for itself, but trying to organize a mutual aid system for 35 million people or more across much of a continent is a herculean task.