Just need to vent, I swear to god the revolutionary potential in America is just not there. So many people just have zero ideological conviction and because we’re not subject to the worst of the empire’s violence many feel no constant need to fight it, an encampment can end and so many people just go to brunch. The constant need to fight against the empire’s propaganda, infiltrated orgs, and most of all the powerful combination of privilege and individualism is so incredibly exhausting. All that feels good to do is sit home, read theory and talk with my closest comrades, I can’t be led into another unprepared police raid by people who had just collaborated with the kops, or in an org led ultimately by some undemocratically elected leader, or talk to another “ML” or anarchist white boy that can’t even admit racism and imperialism still fuckin exists.
I’m normally a pessimist, but I’m gonna go against the grain a bit here. The George Floyd protests didn’t result in a revolution, but that doesn’t mean they did nothing. As someone who’s maybe a little older than a lot of people here, the George Floyd protests were the largest sustained protest movement in the US I think I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, and compared to how events in the 90’s (like the Rodney King beating/trial) were treated, there was a world of difference in the response, and especially coming from young people. Also, let’s look at the Gaza protests going right now. I would have never in a million years imagined I’d see so much support for Palestinians in the US, and this is especially true when compared to the early days of the “War on Terror”.
So yeah, these movements aren’t turning into revolutions. I don’t think anything has a remote chance of turning into a revolution unless things get really bad. However, I do think these movements are laying better groundwork for what happens when things do reach that point. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like each time a movement like this comes up, the people pushing back get a little more bold, a little more organized, and a little more aware that something more radical needs to happen in order to fix these problems.