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Tom Rinaldo

(23,015 posts)
Tue Jul 23, 2024, 11:12 AM Jul 2024

Remember how the "Black Lives Matter" movement swept across the nation...

...after George Floyd's murder? Yes, his killing was a horrendous instance of racism and police violence, but it was far from the first horrific instance of racism and police violence we've witnessed as a nation (nor of course the last.) We can analyze what about it triggered such a massive response at that moment in time (the video tape of Floyd's murder being one obvious reason) but it is secondary to the point I'm making:

It was a fundamental societal inflection point that triggered a massive activist response that brought millions of people into the streets, including in towns and cities that rarely if ever had experienced such wide scale activism concerning racial justice. The conditions for such an explosive reaction had been building up for decades. A spark finally set it off, and masses of people were moved to take action.

Trump and his authoritarian MAGA movement, with its blatant White Christian Nationalist overtones and it's overt appeal to a return to the way America was run in the early 1950's, when women and minorities still "knew their place", has been casting a pall on hopes and dreams ever since Trump descended down that escalator ranting about "Mexican rapists." At times it resembled an evil tide that we were virtually powerless to prevent from sweeping over us. with the 2024 presidential election contest, prior to this past weekend, taking on the feel of a slowly evolving nightmare as a Trump victory became more and more possible, even likely.

And then Joe Biden made the monumental and personally courageous decision to stand down for reelection, choosing instead to pass the torch of leadership on to a younger generation in the person of Kamala Harris. Old fears flickered for a moment; could America accept a woman, a black woman at that, as it's next president? That's a question that can't be definitively answered until after the November election. But the pessimism that question embodies could not hold up under the avalanche of hope Kamala's candidacy has unleashed.

Younger generations of voters in particular, and millions of women in America who were poised to celebrate the election of America's first female president in Hillary Clinton before Trump narrowly defeated her in the electoral college with the help of the media's obsession with "her emails", have woken to the renewed potential that the future is ours to mold, if we work for, fight for, and believe in it hard enough.

A switch has been flipped. Progressive forces are mobilizing and taking to the field of battle. Lethargy born of depression is falling away. Activism is surging. Kamala is rising.

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Remember how the "Black Lives Matter" movement swept across the nation... (Original Post) Tom Rinaldo Jul 2024 OP
Excellent situational analysis! LearnedHand Jul 2024 #1
A change is coming. republianmushroom Jul 2024 #2
A critical change for the better Tom Rinaldo Jul 2024 #7
Agree republianmushroom Jul 2024 #8
What I'm loving is that I see young people's interest exploding. Elessar Zappa Jul 2024 #3
Yup. ismnotwasm Jul 2024 #4
Much as I like her, I was one who expressed my fears that our country is too Scrivener7 Jul 2024 #5
Democrats Now Control The Narrative gab13by13 Jul 2024 #6

LearnedHand

(4,221 posts)
1. Excellent situational analysis!
Tue Jul 23, 2024, 11:14 AM
Jul 2024

I think you are right! I can feel something electric about this shift!

republianmushroom

(18,179 posts)
2. A change is coming.
Tue Jul 23, 2024, 11:17 AM
Jul 2024

One hell of a change, young people and woman are now involved.
A change for the better.

Tom Rinaldo

(23,015 posts)
7. A critical change for the better
Tue Jul 23, 2024, 01:48 PM
Jul 2024

The falling off of youth enthusiasm for our ticket in particular had me really, really worried. To tap back into all of that energy now I think will make a world of difference. After all, for all practical purposes, it is their future that is on the line now.

Elessar Zappa

(16,079 posts)
3. What I'm loving is that I see young people's interest exploding.
Tue Jul 23, 2024, 11:17 AM
Jul 2024

I’m on TikTok and X and I can’t tell you how many young people have gone from ‘I’m not voting” to “I can’t wait to vote for Harris!”. If this holds, we’re going to win, no doubt in my mind.

Scrivener7

(53,199 posts)
5. Much as I like her, I was one who expressed my fears that our country is too
Tue Jul 23, 2024, 11:19 AM
Jul 2024

racist and sexist to elect Kamala.

I no longer fear that. The reaction to her has really restored some of my faith in my fellow citizens.

She will win.

gab13by13

(25,407 posts)
6. Democrats Now Control The Narrative
Tue Jul 23, 2024, 11:47 AM
Jul 2024

that is what is scaring Magats.

We need to keep the narrative and stop talking about what TSF or Vance just said. I want to talk about Kamala and Joe and how Kamala just punched the bully right in the face.

Fuck the polls, if the election were held today, Kamala would win.

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