#power to the people

[one-time-i-dreamt]

Went into a village, realized it was under a dictatorial government, overthrew the government, then left.

[kintothesea]

that’s on everything

[elliehopaunt]

50+ years later...still just as relevant.

[hussyknee]

So...what seems like the entire voting public of Sri Lanka is out on the streets today to demand the President and his government step down, despite the lack of public transport due to the fuel crisis. People are forgoing trains and buses to walk to the protests on foot, and the streets of the capital are already thronging with them, despite massive police and military presence. They're already boxing in them in by the thousands and attacking them with tear gas and water canons. Unfortunately this is shit is old hat by now, even with the weapons-grade tear gas they're using, because state brutality has been a mainstay over the last three months of massive protests. Protestors are even now overwhelming cops in riot gear and hammering against barricades. There's simply too many of them of hold back any more, and I'm guessing supplies of crowd dispersal equipment are running low after three straights months and an empty Treasury.

EDIT: HOLY FUCK THE CROWDS. THEY LITERALLY BUSTED DOWN ALL THE BARRICADES AND SCALED OVER THE PRESIDENT'S MANSION.

EDIT 2: IT'S LIKE THIS IN EVERY SINGLE CITY. PEOPLE ARE RUSHING THE COPS THROUGH THE TEAR GAS, BUSTING DOWN THE BARRICADES.

EDIT 3: THEY GOT HOLD OF A WATER CANNON AND TOOK IT APART LMAOOOOO

EDIT 4: This post got huge so go here to get all the updates.

[slithymomerath]

“I am typing these words as June 2003 surges with Pride. What year is it now, as you read them? What has been won; what has been lost? I can’t see from here; I can’t predict. But I know this: You are experiencing the impact of what we in the movement take a stand on and fight for today. The present and past are the trajectory of the future. But the arc of history does not bend towards justice automatically—as the great Abolitionist Frederick Douglass observed, without struggle there is no progress . . .”

- Leslie Feinberg

[belongstolove]

Utah, U.S March 2nd, 2024

[darkwhimsycreations]

An excellent video detailing what fascism is and how to confront it

[barkwife]

Hey if you live in the USA please sign this!

It's a petition for a movement that's trying to pass a constitutional amendment that would get money out of politics! It would ensure that corporations don't have the same legal rights as people and thereby end the loophole that the rich use to bribe politicians through superpacs!

This video explains how the loophole works, but before you watch it,

GO SIGN THE PETITION!!

[venus-light]

What we seek, however, is not power over people, but the power of control of our own destiny:

ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

// Become Ungovernable, Medium // BLACK PANTHER PARTY’S FREE BREAKFAST PROGRAM (1969-1980) // The Genius of Huey P. Newton, CounterPunch // Abi Thorn’s Trans Power Speech Transcript // Nina Cried Power, Hozier ft. Mavis Staples // Jackboot Jump, Hozier // Backlash Blues, Nina Simone // Be, Hozier // Take Me To Church, Hozier // Tomorrow is My Turn, Nina Simone

[green-elf-magicks]

I want to underscore that the creator of the audio has stated multiple times in their other videos (and in the full length video this audio is from), that she recognizes that voting/demonstrating/calling your reps DOES indeed have an impact, however, they go on to explain that the impact is simply NOT ENOUGH at this point; that by itself, protest is ineffective without making other disruptions to the system. I highly encourage you to check out his other videos. She has a lot of great content that breaks things down.

You can find their videos at this link:

[intersectionalpraxis]

seeing consistent solidarity all around the world for Palestine 🇵🇸❤️

[adventures-in-mangaland]

I've been seeing posts about Scooby Doo popping up, so I thought I'd share this:

(Source: The Scots Magazine, Feb 2023) Full text below.

This actually happened. I am obsessed!

The passion! The energy!

Amazing!

Such signage!

(Images: Daily Record)

A brilliant effort all round! The children of Scotland saved a pop culture powerhouse the world would be poorer without. I can't believe this. I love this so much.

Text of the article:

FROM THE VAULT

Strange tales from the archives. This month – How furious fans of cancelled cartoon rose up in protest.

By CHRIS Ferguson, Jan 12, 2023 (The Scots Magazine)

THROUGHOUT the ages, principled protest has been a hallmark of youth – a rite of passage for many. Today it is Greta Thunberg and her army of teen climate activists, or Extinction Rebellion protesters, who make headlines.

In the 1960s it was the Vietnam War objectors and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament believers who set out their political agendas.

In later decades young people swelled the ranks of those demanding an end to apartheid in South Africa.

They were at the barricades as then-pm Margaret Thatcher introduced the poll tax and back out again to try to stop the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Another generation, too, had the courage of its convictions. In 1971, youngsters rose in anger at a threat to remove cowardly canine Scooby-doo from their television screens.

This was in February after the cartoon had been running for two years. Although the decision not to commission another series had been taken in the US, the BBC was the target of fans’ fury because it had to pass on the bad news to young viewers.

Within days of the announcement, an army of parka-wearing children sporting knitted jumpers and questionable hairstyles was formed.

Across Scotland children grouped together with placards, just like so many other worthy protesters before them. In Glasgow, the massed kids marched on the BBC Scotland headquarters and, in Dundee, they gathered in outrage in City Square.

Petitions were raised and demonstrations took place across the country and, by April, the BBC announced a further series had been commissioned in the US.

Legend has it these Scots Scooby fans had persuaded the American television executives to reconsider.

Hanna-barbera, the animation company behind Scooby-doo, never forgot the Scottish reaction.

A spokesman for the company said, “We’d never had a response like that before, it was very exciting.”

[Beneath the main text of the article is an illustration of Scooby Doo and the gang accompanied by the pull quote: “An army of parka-wearing children was formed”

The title and byline of the article are also accompanied by a black and white photo of a boy in school uniform sitting with a little black dog in his lap, grinning and holding a sign reading "We've saved Scooby Doo" with an illustration of Scooby. The caption reads: Jimmy Brown fought to save the cartoon."]

[defleftist]

Amusingly I keep getting targeted ads from the army on various social media apps. Me, a mentally ill, physically out of shape, communist in the Army? I don’t think so. Let them waste their money though.

[alpaca-clouds]

Great Men Theory - And Why It Sucks

When I already rant on my Sundays about historical misconceptions and how history is taught wrong, I cannot help but also talk about the entire Great Men Theory and how much it has influenced how we teach history to... basically everyone. This entire fucking theory goes back to a dude called Thomas Carlyle, who wrote in one of his books:

Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. They were the leaders of men, these great ones; the modellers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain; all things that we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, the practical realisation and embodiment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world: the soul of the whole world's history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these.

And sadly... This way of talking about history is nice and convinient, no matter how factually wrong it is. Because instead of having to explore historical society and what made people back then "tick", you can can do: "And then this one dude did this. And this other big dude did that." And done.

Before I knew about this theory, I already encountered it. In the way many German kids will encounter it. Nazi Germany. Because while we have this big thing going about "rememberance culture" and what not... Yeah, we mostly talk about Nazi Germany, as if Hitler and some of his dude friends, like Himmler and Göbbels, did stuff and nobody else could've done something about it. And we will talk about the few folks who tried to do something about it. This leaves many under the impression that actually Hitler and his fellow friends were subjucating the German populus, who were unable to do a thing about the Holocaust or the war. And that... Just is not how it played out in reality. Most people in Germany at the time supported Hitler, knew about the Holocaust and were A-Okay with it.

And this is something that happens again and again in the way we talk about history. We talk about the big dudes and whatever they did or didn't do. Either as heroes or as villains. But we leave out all the people who were there to either enforce their policies, suffer from it, or rise up against it.

This creates a version of history, in which 99,99999% of all people were basically just "NPCs" in a game played by the few. Which not only does wrong by this majority of people, who might as well have had a hand in some of the things happening, but it also is used as a constant propaganda tool. Be it to ignore, how many attrocities have been supported and partaken in by a lot of people, so folks today do not need to deal with that fallout. Or be it to ignore the man, who have fought for a better outcome - often to either make protest seem senseless, or to make those few great man seem more heroic. (See also: Basically any anti-colonialist movement that got erased from history.)

I am not even denying that those in power had a bigger influence on history than anyone else. But not because they were born with some traits that made it so, but for the most part, because they were born into power through their bloodline, or at least into riches.

And it does not mean that nobody else had an influence, even if we like to forget the "everyone else" usually.

[hussyknee]

“You will not kill the hope in us. Freedom for Palestine”

Baladicenter, a continuation of Baladi Dance Group, was established in 1991 in Beit Jala, Palestine. Founded by a group of promising young people, with a mission to preserve and pass down their rich Palestinian heritage through generations, consolidating and strengthening the Palestinian identity. The group emerged in response to the occupation authorities' attempts to deny and erase the ancient roots and heritage of the Palestinian people.

Please consider buying a Keffiyeh* to support expanding local productions and keep the traditions of Palestine alive. They're currently restocking and hope to get orders out soon.

*Either spelling appears acceptable.

The dance is interspersed with footage of the Great March of Return where young men danced a Dabke circle under gunfire and tear gas from the Occupation Forces, and the civilian defiance of First Intifada, whose 36th anniversary was commemorated on December 8th.

Glory to the Martyrs! 🇵🇸

Glory to the Resistance! 🇵🇸

From River To The Sea Palestine Will Be Free! 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[sussex-sweetheart]

Despite the government, police, and right wing media's best attempts to strip citizens of their rights to protest and free speech, protesters have turned up to the coronation! Multiple people have already been arrested for simply exercising their constitutional rights but that won't stop them. 💪