UltraMagnus

As this continues, I would highly recommend folks support their local food pantries as they are able. Cash is better, but there's nothing wrong with a food drive to collect cans from your neighbors. Some pantries also accept fresh produce, if you have some left from your garden this year.

I was about to say, almost sounded like you were speaking from experience XD You'll be the first suspect if a supervillain with your powers ever pops up

Superspeed- quick commute, get chores done fast, visit the world

It would be neat to have some sort of public survey/contest to name these

I wouldn't rule out things being better in, say, 100 years, but it would take a lot of luck and effort to get to that point.

You mean we're supposed to actually read the articles before talking about them?! ;)

"Staying peaceful" and "fighting back" aren't mutually exclusive. Anyone who thinks nonviolent tactics don't work hasn't read up on their history (East Timor, Philippines, etc.). Every time ICE shows up to pepper spray cops and shoot at priests, local police gets more pissed, and they drive a wedge between local and federal law enforcement, weakening the administration's ability to project power. Don't underestimate that opportunity.

That being said, current actions are far more symbolic than transformative. No kings protests don't do anything on their own, but could easily be leveraged into an enabler of things like boycotts and general strikes which will have a strong impact.

Stuck in the planning phase of a novella (book? novella series?) about space outlaws with themes of community, escapism, and impossible dreams

The tricky part about a general strike is that you dont have much room for do-overs if it turns out you don't have the numbers you need. Protests are largely symbolic, but are also a good way for organizers to gauge how willing/able folks are to engage in more drastic action.

If a general strike is what you think the movement should go towards, I recommend your next steps be strengthening community support systems - food banks, free clinics, shelters, etc - since these things will be needed to support a general strike (folks will choose feeding their children over political action, so make sure they can accomplish both). In the mean time, it also helps out folks who have been hit the hardest by republican and trump cuts to services.

I highly recommend folks read up on some of ICNC's stuff, since they focus on the practical side of nonviolent conflict.

That is the tricky thing about basing predictions on historic trends. IIRC, is was Arab spring in some countries that broke the rule (and that "rule" was calculated based on data from 1900-2006). I'm also curious how Nepal and Madagascar stack up compared to historic trends.

Other aspects of Chenoweths research (such as the importance of "converting" certain factions such as police or military - or at least getting them to be neutral) are important as well but don't get as much traction as the clickbaity 3.5% number does

ETA: Nepal's discord had about 100k members, and it's population is 29 million. So that was well below 3.5%. Like No Kings, Nepals protests were decentralized, which is potentially a factor compared to historic protests which tend to be focused on a single location or march

Ah, but they were wearing a bright yellow vest! Be honest - would you think twice if you saw someone wearing a safety yellow vest and carrying a drill? Apparently there was construction going on nearby as well, so the basket lift didn't really stand out.

I suppose you could do it a la "The Dispossesed" where you spend one day/week doing community service