Today's essay is excerpted from a keynote speech on democracy protection I gave (virtually) at the Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on April 28, 2022. I wrote the talk and this essay, which revisits the January 2017 Women's March and the Black Lives Matter protests, before I heard about the Supreme Court draft of a
I’ve been hesitant to protest, wondering about it’s actual impact. This article points out many examples of positive outcomes. I will be hesitant no longer!
Thank you kindly and I agree. 'Determined bunch' is such an accurate description. Religion is being used as a tool by the pseudo-Christians. Jesus never talked of shake downs or eye-for-eye thinking in my Bible!
1. Non-violent protests are indeed a great way to change minds, but when the protests turn violent (as many of the BLM/Antifa protests did) the protests change minds in the wrong direction.
2. If SCOTUS returns abortion law to the states, it doesn't mean that abortion is outlawed. All it means is that it becomes one of the things people consider when they decide where to live.
This was a profound essay and talk. This is the key. Peaceful organized protests are needed. How? Who takes the reign to organize? Remember the old Hands Across America... how did garner that momentum. Let's find a way. Our children's children are counting on us. When I lose my steam at the end of the day, trying to make a difference, it's good to recall we still above water in this fight -- we just need to strengthen/ rebuild stronger what is already in place. Hope and vigilance & work.
Heather Cox Richardson has just echoed Ruth (and Brooke Harrington on last Sunday’s LUCID zoom gathering) … THIS IS THE BIG ONE. We are the majority and, once again, we can save our experiment in democracy from the extreme minority of white nationalists … by changing the public conversation from the FOX talking points, and participating locally and personally in our democracy … which includes the massive, nonviolent, visible protests Ruth focuses on here, but also includes financial and personal support of pro-democracy candidates in your area. Heather ended with an encouraging reminder: rubbing elbows with your neighbors and discovering (then working with) allies, will replace the natural fear and despair and frustration and anger we feel in response to SCOTUS today, with hope. Over and over and over again!
Many don't realize that overturning Roe does NOT make abortion illegal in many states. Certainly will in many. I can and do stand up for women but it's important that women stand up for other women and themselves. That they need to speak up and also vote. As should the LGBTQ and other minorities. It's on all of us to teach others that don't understand politics that correlation isn't causation. That if they want results the midterms matter just as much and sometimes more than the presidential election year contests. That state elections matter too. Elections have consequences and not voting in 2016 likely will hurt women's rights, LGBTQ rights and can cause problems for decades. My wife aborted because the fetus stopped developing. There are neonatologists and technology that can inform prospective parents to then save themselves the devastation on the day of birth. It's rare but not as rare as many think. Women are scared to bring it up because some have made it a political issue and attack women for making a rational choice. Why carry a fetus for months to term knowing it won't survive? My son exists because we ended the prior pregnancy earlier. Still was very hard to find a doctor or a hospitial in a very liberal state to perform the operation due to the years of attacks on doctors and others in the profession. I'll likely see someone on "Facebook" post that this is a great thing. I will not hold back. A couple weeks ago I spent a few days telling off a woman thinking she was saving "babies" from being murdered. So many can't think that other women might experience a problem and need an operation if they didn't experience any issues. They can't empathize with other women that get pregnant at a time when they are not able to raise a child. That other women don't have a high earning spouse or a great job or supportive family that it takes. If a women needed an abortion she should speak up to let others know that it was important to her and necessary. No shame doing what was right for her. We should all support such women. We should also boycot the states these politicians control that push this agenda. It takes an effort to do so. Boycott the companies that support such politicians. Stand up to the influence of those peddling ancient superstiton as some moral code when it's only about group herd mind control. Nothing moral about superstition. Don't fear them. Don't give them an inch. They take other's passivity and actually use the public sphere to give superstiton some special exemption from being critiqued or ridiculed. It's exempt from government influence and control. Not from millions of rational humans saying enough of this nonsense. It's on the wane but they are fighting to remain relevant. Fight for your right to live your life under a rational government not one guided by superstitous nutters, conspiracy theorists and the wealthy and powerful that use the belief system to control millions of voters. Protest every day and at every opportunity you can. Ask Congress to pass a Federal Law legalizing it. A conservative court is filled with minds that follow the law and can't think beyond what the law says. This is serious stuff. If you are on here you understand. Help others that don't understand.
Thank you Ruth~ the protesters outside the Supreme Court gathering instantly after the leaked info that SCOTUS is actively considering overturning Roe vs. Wade is a heartening move~ Protest is as important as you say to fighting the active virus of fascism infecting today’s Republican Party, a Putin led Russia and in other autocratically dominated or threatened nations . The fight for freedom against fascism is full on. That is why I subscribed when I heard of your newsletter. Truth is essential to know and transmit.
Thank you Ruth! What the new draft opinion from SCOTUS reminds me of is Rev. Martin Niemoller:’First they came for the Socialists….’; but as applied to various constitutional rights such as abortion, choice, right to marry whom you love etc. It’s all on the line now. Mobilized nonviolent protest should be the order of the day. Prayers for the country and every woman in it.
Our authoritarian information stream is so powerful now that folks on the right believe that our proto-fascist movement is the solution for this nation. Tragically, what they are missing is that once fascism is accepted in a society, it becomes entrenched and remains a stain on the moral fabric of society. The increased acceptance of social Darwinism by the right is a dangerous symptom of fascism. Protests by the left are our powerful information stream to combat the lunacy of fascism.
The USA is literally 6 months and 5 days away from the midterm elections. What goes on between then and now will have an impact for generations to come. Maybe some of the 100,000,000 Americans who don’t vote will finally get off their butts? Truthfully, I am not holding my breath. The Republicans promised their constituents they would fight to overturn Roe vs Wade along with a host of other major changes. I am not surprised in the least and truly saddened to watch the USA turn into a theocracy.
Roe is just the first right to be gleefully taken away by our 6-3 far-right, blatantly partisan and theocratic Supreme Court. Which one is next in line?
Thank you Ruth. This is a wake up call for civic action and protest now in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned and the loss of not only reproductive rights for women but many privacy rights as well. The tragedy of Roe v. Wade being overturned is that state legislatures now will become the arbiters of privacy rights and individual freedoms that we have taken for granted for 50 years. No longer can we expect the federal government to be the protector of our privacy rights or civil liberties.
Ahead of the midterm elections, now is the time for action and national protest all across the country like never before! Our freedoms, our liberties our very democracy are all on the chopping block!
I’ve been hesitant to protest, wondering about it’s actual impact. This article points out many examples of positive outcomes. I will be hesitant no longer!
Thank you kindly and I agree. 'Determined bunch' is such an accurate description. Religion is being used as a tool by the pseudo-Christians. Jesus never talked of shake downs or eye-for-eye thinking in my Bible!
Let our actions be that of listeners and educators as democracy whisperers, sharing what we know.
Just a couple of key points to think about:
1. Non-violent protests are indeed a great way to change minds, but when the protests turn violent (as many of the BLM/Antifa protests did) the protests change minds in the wrong direction.
2. If SCOTUS returns abortion law to the states, it doesn't mean that abortion is outlawed. All it means is that it becomes one of the things people consider when they decide where to live.
This was a profound essay and talk. This is the key. Peaceful organized protests are needed. How? Who takes the reign to organize? Remember the old Hands Across America... how did garner that momentum. Let's find a way. Our children's children are counting on us. When I lose my steam at the end of the day, trying to make a difference, it's good to recall we still above water in this fight -- we just need to strengthen/ rebuild stronger what is already in place. Hope and vigilance & work.
'Democracy is hard work, it's up to each of us'
Heather Cox Richardson has just echoed Ruth (and Brooke Harrington on last Sunday’s LUCID zoom gathering) … THIS IS THE BIG ONE. We are the majority and, once again, we can save our experiment in democracy from the extreme minority of white nationalists … by changing the public conversation from the FOX talking points, and participating locally and personally in our democracy … which includes the massive, nonviolent, visible protests Ruth focuses on here, but also includes financial and personal support of pro-democracy candidates in your area. Heather ended with an encouraging reminder: rubbing elbows with your neighbors and discovering (then working with) allies, will replace the natural fear and despair and frustration and anger we feel in response to SCOTUS today, with hope. Over and over and over again!
Many don't realize that overturning Roe does NOT make abortion illegal in many states. Certainly will in many. I can and do stand up for women but it's important that women stand up for other women and themselves. That they need to speak up and also vote. As should the LGBTQ and other minorities. It's on all of us to teach others that don't understand politics that correlation isn't causation. That if they want results the midterms matter just as much and sometimes more than the presidential election year contests. That state elections matter too. Elections have consequences and not voting in 2016 likely will hurt women's rights, LGBTQ rights and can cause problems for decades. My wife aborted because the fetus stopped developing. There are neonatologists and technology that can inform prospective parents to then save themselves the devastation on the day of birth. It's rare but not as rare as many think. Women are scared to bring it up because some have made it a political issue and attack women for making a rational choice. Why carry a fetus for months to term knowing it won't survive? My son exists because we ended the prior pregnancy earlier. Still was very hard to find a doctor or a hospitial in a very liberal state to perform the operation due to the years of attacks on doctors and others in the profession. I'll likely see someone on "Facebook" post that this is a great thing. I will not hold back. A couple weeks ago I spent a few days telling off a woman thinking she was saving "babies" from being murdered. So many can't think that other women might experience a problem and need an operation if they didn't experience any issues. They can't empathize with other women that get pregnant at a time when they are not able to raise a child. That other women don't have a high earning spouse or a great job or supportive family that it takes. If a women needed an abortion she should speak up to let others know that it was important to her and necessary. No shame doing what was right for her. We should all support such women. We should also boycot the states these politicians control that push this agenda. It takes an effort to do so. Boycott the companies that support such politicians. Stand up to the influence of those peddling ancient superstiton as some moral code when it's only about group herd mind control. Nothing moral about superstition. Don't fear them. Don't give them an inch. They take other's passivity and actually use the public sphere to give superstiton some special exemption from being critiqued or ridiculed. It's exempt from government influence and control. Not from millions of rational humans saying enough of this nonsense. It's on the wane but they are fighting to remain relevant. Fight for your right to live your life under a rational government not one guided by superstitous nutters, conspiracy theorists and the wealthy and powerful that use the belief system to control millions of voters. Protest every day and at every opportunity you can. Ask Congress to pass a Federal Law legalizing it. A conservative court is filled with minds that follow the law and can't think beyond what the law says. This is serious stuff. If you are on here you understand. Help others that don't understand.
Thank you Ruth~ the protesters outside the Supreme Court gathering instantly after the leaked info that SCOTUS is actively considering overturning Roe vs. Wade is a heartening move~ Protest is as important as you say to fighting the active virus of fascism infecting today’s Republican Party, a Putin led Russia and in other autocratically dominated or threatened nations . The fight for freedom against fascism is full on. That is why I subscribed when I heard of your newsletter. Truth is essential to know and transmit.
Thank you Ruth! What the new draft opinion from SCOTUS reminds me of is Rev. Martin Niemoller:’First they came for the Socialists….’; but as applied to various constitutional rights such as abortion, choice, right to marry whom you love etc. It’s all on the line now. Mobilized nonviolent protest should be the order of the day. Prayers for the country and every woman in it.
*write
Our authoritarian information stream is so powerful now that folks on the right believe that our proto-fascist movement is the solution for this nation. Tragically, what they are missing is that once fascism is accepted in a society, it becomes entrenched and remains a stain on the moral fabric of society. The increased acceptance of social Darwinism by the right is a dangerous symptom of fascism. Protests by the left are our powerful information stream to combat the lunacy of fascism.
Let's make voting Republican a scarlet letter of shame.
The USA is literally 6 months and 5 days away from the midterm elections. What goes on between then and now will have an impact for generations to come. Maybe some of the 100,000,000 Americans who don’t vote will finally get off their butts? Truthfully, I am not holding my breath. The Republicans promised their constituents they would fight to overturn Roe vs Wade along with a host of other major changes. I am not surprised in the least and truly saddened to watch the USA turn into a theocracy.
Roe is just the first right to be gleefully taken away by our 6-3 far-right, blatantly partisan and theocratic Supreme Court. Which one is next in line?
Thank you Ruth. This is a wake up call for civic action and protest now in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned and the loss of not only reproductive rights for women but many privacy rights as well. The tragedy of Roe v. Wade being overturned is that state legislatures now will become the arbiters of privacy rights and individual freedoms that we have taken for granted for 50 years. No longer can we expect the federal government to be the protector of our privacy rights or civil liberties.
Ahead of the midterm elections, now is the time for action and national protest all across the country like never before! Our freedoms, our liberties our very democracy are all on the chopping block!
Excellent Professor Ben-Ghiat...you right truth both bold and unequivocal....