Nol Malone ☭Jan 10

If you believe nonviolent protest is more effective, then simply advocate for it. The "don't give them an excuse" line is disingenuous victim blaming. They make shit up. We see it every single day, so please stop embarrassing yourself.

"Our behavior doesn’t drive theirs."

Show threadRobin BartonJan 10
@anolandria I would respectfully disagree because they have tanks and Trump is limited at present to his ICE thugs. Why give him a Christmas present where he has an excuse to declare martial law. This is what he is hoping for and people need to not provide it. Sadly, there will be murders by ICE but it is a fight for democracy and people need to stay strong, courageous and peaceful.
Show threadDressToKILTJan 10

@Robo105 @anolandria It's incredibly naïve to believe that protesting completely peacefully doesn't "give them an excuse." Did you or did you not just watch them gun down an innocent woman and then call her a domestic terrorist?

Let me be perfectly clear: they will declare martial law when and where they want. They are not waiting around for someone to shove a cop or block traffic.

They haven't yet because the majority is still passive and going about our lives. Check back in November.

Show threadRobin BartonJan 10
@dresstokilt @anolandria The question is whether they have public acceptance for martial law. If the public see protesters starting fires and shooting then Trump wins but if it is peaceful then he is seen as the brute he is. Yes, both way incur death but one allows success and the other hands Trump a win. This is why Trump is trying to goad violence
Show threadDressToKILT
@Robo105 @anolandria I don't think you understand - the administration is going to use martial law as a scalpel, not a club. They're going to shut down major cities in swing states in November on election day in order to maintain their hold in the Senate and claim governorships. There have been no pretexts whatsoever for the times they've deployed troops in cities, they manufacture that after the fact. They always do. Those were dry runs and they worked perfectly.
Jan 10 at 11:21pmWeb
Show threadDressToKILTJan 10

@Robo105 @anolandria I would argue that forcing them to declare martial law early would be more disruptive to their plans than singing kumbaya in the streets.

Not that there's been anywhere near enough "in the streets" to begin with. We're debating the finer points of peaceful protest in the context of a nation that simply doesn't care enough at the moment to put up *any* kind of protest.

Show threadRobin BartonJan 11
@dresstokilt @anolandria No more kings is what is needed on an ongoing basis day after day until the regime collapses. Large number of peaceful protests is almost impossible for dictators to defeat as violence only creates more protesters
Show threadRobin BartonJan 11
@dresstokilt @anolandria If the no more kings put protests on the street day after day then it become harder for Trump to isolate people.
Show threadCiferJan 11

@dresstokilt @Robo105 @anolandria It seems to me at least the elections will be the pivotal moment. They're going to try some bullshit and it is extremely important how many people see that it is bullshit, how many people believe the regime and how many people go "Well, who can really tell?" and just do nothing - because people doing nothing is enough for Trump to win.

I can see the argument for keeping one's hands clean, to get mired in the swamp of "Maybe the crackdown was justified, maybe it wasn't" as little as possible, to keep as many people as possible clear-headed about what is happening and have them on your side when the time comes. Moments like Good's killing show that it is still possible to get through to people, to have a majority consensus of This Was Murder.

Show threadRobin BartonJan 11
@Teskariel @dresstokilt @anolandria I would add that getting more and more people to see ICE for what it is will harden the feelings against trump and ice
Show threadChookMother 🇦🇺🦘Jan 11

@dresstokilt
This is what you fear *may* happen. It's not a prediction. Others will have different thoughts and see different possibilities. Best to listen to each other, keeping in mind that no-one really knows exactly what will happen. Not knowing is very uncomfortable; that's the way things are right now. #OpenMind #Logic #CriticalThinking

CC to: @Robo105 @anolandria