@npub1nnn3...kzrt
@sms from Spooner
I wanted to break my reply into a top level post, since it would be kind of long for a comment.
To clearly state my point, it is not impossible to prompt some sort of change to happen collectively, but at a grassroots level, the price of social change is too high for most individuals to consider paying it.
The Texas Secession Movements are a perfect example. These movements have happened in Texas since they joined the union, and have gotten nowhere. They grow to the level of collectivity pretty quickly, the desire is there, they can raise funds, they can convince politicians, they can sway public opinion. But the way the cards are stacked against any sort of change, they need a lot more money, in order to run a sustained campaign, as well as the necessary lawsuits, over a long period of time, even to win some small victories.
Working class people cannot raise these funds, or sustain this amount of spending, over the length of time that is necessary. And so these movements will only succeed if they can get corporate and/or government backing, which is not easy when you want to make life more difficult for government and corporations.
I referenced the Whiskey Rebellion because it highlighted this fact early on in US history. The people that rose up where small farmers on the frontier who were being unjustly taxed to the same extent as large manufacturers. Their grievances were dismissed and ignored, and when they finally fell back to violent means of protest, the federal government responded with overwhelming force.
The tragedy of the US is that though it was formed through violent protest and revolution, since that time when any group tries to do something similar, they are silenced.
And the repercussions are often not terribly visible to those outside the local community. Try to fight city hall, and all the sudden you start getting pulled over all the time whenever you drive somewhere. Your property gets reassessed at a higher value and your taxes go up. Your utilities become unreliable. Emergency services don't respond to your calls.
I said disappear, but I didn't mean killed. That does happen, but most of the time it's easier to shut people up by making their life hell. They disappear because they learned it's better to shut up.
Marvin Heemeyer and his killdozer are another good example. The frustration of trying to work with government bureaucracy makes most people just quite trying. In Marvin's case he decided to go out with a bang, but for the vast majority, they don't have enough capital and determination to keep fighting in the face of constant setback and frustration. And who can blame them.
I've stuck with mostly well-known cases for example, but I know about so many from the local communities I've lived in that are not recorded anywhere. The crushing weight of inability to do anything meaningful to even change something on a local level is insidious and it breaks your soul. The wide-spread drug use in this country makes complete sense. The only thing left is getting high and forgetting about this hell for a while.
While I understand the drug use, it's not for me. Subversion is the only realm of protest that makes sense to me. Build small things locally that make government redundant, with the understanding that if it becomes too well-known you will get punished. As long as you're willing to play dumb and pay the fine, you might make it out with just that. Worst case is jail, but that can be a method of protest. Live on the state's dime, and realize you're just living in a slightly smaller prison than you inhabited previously.
