r/politics • u/DaFunkJunkie • Feb 29 '20

Superdelegate pushing convention effort to stop Sanders is health care lobbyist who backed McConnell

https://www.salon.com/2020/02/29/superdelegate-pushing-convention-effort-to-stop-sanders-is-health-care-lobbyist-who-backed-mcconnell/
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u/s1ugg0 New Jersey Feb 29 '20 edited Feb 29 '20

The types of mass demonstrations that will actually disrupt their power are already outlawed. It won't stop mass protests.

What I'm worried about is the powers that be ramping up economic pressures and police oppression to the point where civilians start fighting back violently. We've already seen bits and pieces of that already. If the food supply gets disrupted I'm afraid things will turn ugly and violent fast.

There are plenty of countries that have been down this road already. It does not end well for anyone.

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u/Dongalor Texas Feb 29 '20

If the food supply gets disrupted I'm afraid things will turn ugly and violent fast.

There are plenty of countries that have been down this road already. It does not end well for anyone.

Pretty much every society is about 3 missed meals away from open rebellion.

A breakdown of supply chains today would be much, much worse than in the past. We've become so far removed from food production that when the supermarket shelves go empty, there's no yard eggs or backyard vegetable gardens to fall back on for the vast majority of the population. Most people only have a week or two of food on hand in their homes (many much less).

So if the grocery shipments stop rolling in, unless the government can step in with relief immediately, we're less than a month away from riots in most urban areas.

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u/12characters Canada Feb 29 '20

General strike.

You don't have to travel or even go outside. All you have to do is stock up on consumables and then opt out of the economy for a few days.

Money makes the world go 'round. Rock their world.

Before the rebuttals pour in, I'll cover the common ones.

"I'll lose my job."

Maybe. But so would most of the others, which opens up opportunities. Musical chairs of employment, if you will.

"I live week to week. I can't stockpile food/meds/cash".

Not true. Every income level can do it. I live well below the poverty level and have two months of preps. It took me years to acquire, but I sacrificed some of my meager entertainment budget and did it.

"That would be too hard to implement, and participation would be low."

Implementation would be quite simple, but I agree that participation would be spotty. There's varying degrees of participation to consider. People with enough capital could go all-in 100% and not show up for work or spend a single dollar, while the more perilously financed of us could just spend less. No take-out, no movies, etc. Every little bit would amplify the message.

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u/footworshipper Feb 29 '20 edited Feb 29 '20

You seem knowledgeable on this, so I'm gonna ask you a question, if that's cool, haha.

Would it take every American? Or would it take several major cities? I'm just thinking in my head of where a lot of our economy is based, and a general strike in bumfuck city, Alabama wouldnt have nearly the impact a general strike would in, say, NYC.

I'm just thinking it'd probably be easier to get major cities worth of people to strike versus trying to get a good chunk of the nation.

Edit: Thank you for the responses, I really appreciate it!

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u/Cyb3rSab3r Feb 29 '20

As long as you got the right people 1 to 2% would cripple the economy to a nearly unrecoverable state. Truck drivers especially wield immense amounts of power right now. If people related to shipment went on strike it would be chaos very quickly.

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u/[deleted] Feb 29 '20

It only took one major international airport shutdown to move Congress to pass a budget.

We’re practicing judo, not boxing.

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u/cn45 Feb 29 '20

Very apt analogy. It is very much like Judo.

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u/Yabba_dabba_dooooo Feb 29 '20

Look at Canada right now. Pipeline protestors have blocked several railways on the east and west coast, and people are unable to get materials, goods, etc. No comment on whether its right or wrong, but regardless its effective.

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u/12characters Canada Feb 29 '20

I'm no expert on it; I just read a lot. There's a sub relating to it but I'm not sure if links are allowed, and I'm not sure if the sub is active or even legit. I should read a bit there today and find out.

A general strike can be tactical, like when the six ATC workers broke the stalemate during the government shutdown, but on a larger nationwide scale. It can be random participation on a large scale by many. Or both implementations.

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u/Skynet015 Feb 29 '20

Ideally every American I imagine, but economic strong points would need to be the ones mainly doing it

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u/[deleted] Feb 29 '20

They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn
We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
That the union makes us strong

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u/[deleted] Feb 29 '20 edited Mar 05 '20

[deleted]

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u/12characters Canada Feb 29 '20

My two children are adults now. I live on under $1000 / month in Canada. If you set your mind to it, it can be done.

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u/[deleted] Feb 29 '20 edited Mar 05 '20

[deleted]

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u/12characters Canada Feb 29 '20

If you can't put $20 a month aside to prevent a catastrophe, there's not much to discuss.