Chained Protesters Blocking Expressway North & South

I have a better tactic... Protest in front of the police station. Storm city hall. Fuck it, do what that comedian whose name I can't remember suggested and bring a bunch of people into Bank of America and waste their time applying for a variety of ridiculous loans. There are so many effective protest techniques that don't make these groups and the people who support these causes look like a bunch of whiny, privileged children.

The people who got held up in traffic on 93 this morning aren't the people who are responsible for these problems. In fact, as another commenter pointed out, a lot of the people commuting into the city are people of color and working class people who have been driven out of Boston by crazy housing prices.

There are really serious issues of race and class affecting this country right now, and those issues need to be addressed. I agree with a lot of the things these protesters are saying: our police have become too militarized; there needs to be significantly more accountability for police action; our court system has become a funnel for young (primarily) minority (primarily) males into a never-ending cycle of prison and poverty which is making a few people very, very rich; we're seeing a wealth gap re-emerging in this country that hasn't existed since the fucking Gilded Age or some shit; other stuff.

But when I see some white chick with her hand chained to a barrel shutting down a highway and read a story about how ambulances can't get through and people almost died, and people were late for work and their jobs were put at risk (because when you're a low-skilled, low-wage employee you don't have the luxury of telling your boss to "just deal with it" if you're late, as fucked up as that is), I lose respect for the group that did it. It's selfish and childish and pointless. It changes nothing, it alienates the very people you need to win over if you actually want to see some sort of a difference made.

But the worst part of it is, the very worst part (at least for me), is that it probably didn't impact any of the people you want it to impact. A good chunk of the wealthy and powerful are already living in the city and didn't see a bit of that traffic. Even if they did get caught up in it, it was, for them, a minor inconvenience.

Protests like this only make enemies. The cops don't care if we're pissed. Bankers and politicians don't care if we're pissed either. They already know, I promise you. They just don't care. And then your (not in any way direct) action, which was little more than a tantrum, just convinced a whole lot more people that you have nothing worthwhile to say and can be safely ignored.

Because you're the kind of asshole who shuts down a highway when some little old lady with severe burns is trying to get to a trauma center.

/r/boston Thread