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."

@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.

@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.

@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
@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.

@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.

@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