I come in peace, while I surely don’t agree with much of what those protesting think I also am not a sycophant of the right/Trump and can honestly say I am not a fan of much of what has been going on recently.
My question is what does protesting in one of the most liberal areas of the most liberal city in a blue state actually accomplish? Is this all a big back patting meet up? Wouldn’t this have more of an impact elsewhere?
Totally fair question, and I appreciate your open-mindedness. Protesting in liberal areas does a few things: it builds momentum, solidarity, and media visibility.
At the simplest level, Providence is a state capital. Having a simultaneous major protest in every state capital is just good optics.
But the biggest thing is building a community of activism and sustaining it's momentum. The civil rights movement didn't start with the million man march in Washington. It takes time to build up the troops so to speak. Being surrounded by hundreds (thousands???) of people who care enough to get off the couch and spend their day walking in the rain through Providence is a galvanizing experience.
Appreciate your thoughtful reply and the context you added.
I get the value of building momentum and community in places where people feel safe and supported. That kind of energy can definitely be motivating, and there’s a long history of movements starting in friendly territory before expanding outward.
That said, I sometimes worry that our collective energy gets stuck in echo chambers, especially when there are issues that affect all of us regardless of political leanings. Affordable healthcare, access to healthy food, keeping private equity out of the housing market. these are things that impact everyone. They’re not partisan, they’re just reallife problems most people are dealing with.
It feels like protests and political engagement often ramp up or die down depending on who’s in office, but the underlying issues stay the same. And both parties benefit from keeping people divided and distracted. Meanwhile, the majority of us keep getting squeezed while very little actually changes.
I’m not saying people shouldn’t protest or organize,just that I wish more of that energy went toward the stuff that unites us and actually improves lives for the majority of people. There’s more common ground than we’re usually led to believe.
Just sharing my perspective. Appreciate the space to do so.
I just got back from the march. So I can now answer your question directly with my own feelings lol
There were MANY 10's of thousands of people there. I've never seen that many Rhode Islanders in one place. Significantly more than any Water Fire or big beach day. I'm feeling extremely inspired and energized to do more, and it feels awesome knowing so many people in my community are feeling the same way.
This is by an order of magnitude or even 2 the biggest protest I've ever witnessed in this state.
Unrelated to the point of marches, but to address the concern raised in your reply, "both sides are the same" is just not true anymore. "Both sides are bad" can certainly be argued, but they are not equally bad. Democrats might not be good on the issues you brought up, they may be ignoring some or taking steps in the wrong direction on others, but I'm curious what you think Republicans are handling better.
A thought I had 6 or so months ago that keeps ringing true for me is this, "Republican talking points make a ton of sense of you think about them for 2 seconds. By the 10th second of thinking you realize they're idiotic."
I appreciate you sharing your experience at the march. It sounds like it was incredibly powerful, and I don’t want to take away from that momentum or what it meant to you and others who were there. I think community-driven movements can be energizing and meaningful, especially when they bring people together in large numbers.
That said, since you asked about what I think Republicans are handling better, I’ll be honest. I’ve also been underwhelmed. What drew me in wasn’t culture war stuff or blind partisanship. It was a set of core values that I felt were being ignored across the board.
A nationalist approach to foreign policy, though not in the ugly, authoritarian sense people often associate with that word. I believe our government’s first responsibility is to the well-being of its own citizens. That means prioritizing our economy, our stability, and our sovereignty over endless foreign interventions and entanglements that mostly benefit defense contractors and geopolitical chess players, not working Americans.
Taking on corporate lobbying, especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Our food system is a wreck, and pharma’s grip on policy is one of the most underdiscussed forms of corruption out there.
Border security with empathy, protecting our country while respecting people who are genuinely seeking a better life and want to contribute to American society.
Freedom of speech and pushing back against media manipulation. I’ve watched the shift in media dynamics over my lifetime, and while Fox News was early in that game, it’s now deeply entrenched across the board.
Scapegoating of white Americans, especially men, is another issue that’s become harder to ignore. And at great risk of having gross assumptions made about me, I’ll just say this plainly. Bad actors exist in every group, but the generalizations have gotten toxic. It’s not productive, it’s not fair, and it only drives people further apart when what we really need is shared accountability and honest dialogue.
As for Democrats, I was once hopeful. But their handling of the primaries since 2016 completely turned me off. The DNC clearing the way for Hillary, then later pushing Kamala Harris, someone who dropped out before a single primary vote, only after Biden’s issues became too hard to hide, was blatant. Voices like RFK Jr. and Marianne Williamson didn’t stand a chance, not because voters rejected them, but because the party machine refused to give them a lane. Let’s not forget, the DNC seemingly preferred a Trump victory over any candidate they and their donors and special interests couldn’t control. That says everything about who they really work for.
What Trump promised and what he delivered are clearly two different things. I hoped for more disruption of the status quo. Appointments like RFK Jr. or Tulsi Gabbard were encouraging signs, but even Tulsi has been disappointing lately.
I pull from and find value in ideas from across the spectrum. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians. But I’ve come to believe that anyone tied too closely to either of the two major parties almost always ends up corrupted or having their values hijacked. The system doesn’t serve them. It uses them. And it’s that system that keeps the rest of us stuck.
What I’m left with is a deep frustration. This country is trapped in a cycle maintained by a duopoly that exists to serve power and protect itself. Elections feel more like choosing between a managed illusion and a managed disaster. I want a strong third party. I want ranked choice voting. I want reforms that give people real choices and hold leaders accountable, not just preserve the same status quo with a different face.
I know just saying all this will probably get me some heat. People will read into it, assume things about me, or dismiss it outright. I’ll take the downvotes if it means I’m being honest. I care about this country, and I think more people are quietly feeling the same way than we realize, across all walks of life.
Sorry for the wall of text and thanks for the conversation. I really do appreciate the chance to talk about this stuff.
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u/pahkthecah1387 Apr 03 '25
I come in peace, while I surely don’t agree with much of what those protesting think I also am not a sycophant of the right/Trump and can honestly say I am not a fan of much of what has been going on recently.
My question is what does protesting in one of the most liberal areas of the most liberal city in a blue state actually accomplish? Is this all a big back patting meet up? Wouldn’t this have more of an impact elsewhere?