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@ Chad Lupkes
2024-05-01 00:30:09According to Wikipedia, a "protest" is a public expression of objection, disapproval, or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate by attending, and share the potential costs and risks of doing so. And at the same time, a "contest" or competition is a rivalry where two or more parties or systems strive for a common goal which cannot be shared, where one’s gain is the other’s loss.
I started this essay in my head with completely different definitions. To me, “pro-” is a positive prefix, and “con-” is a negative prefix. I was reading headlines and articles about the college protests, and thinking that they were positive things, showing support for this or that cause. The protests are of course anti-war, just like the ones in the 1960’s and early 70’s were. But thinking in positive terms, it seemed to me that the students and their supporters were trying to reach towards a better tomorrow.
In contrast, again in my own head, if what the students were trying to do was oppose the existing system just to point out that it is wrong, that didn’t seem to be an effective strategy. To be anti- is to be against, without any real guidance in a better direction.
The student protests on college campuses are trying to draw attention to what Israel is doing in Gaza, and by proxy what the United States is either doing or allowing to be done. They are protesting the deaths of innocent men, women and children at the hands of an invading force. The reasons or justifications used for the violence is a separate conversation, something to be worked on after the shooting is stopped and people receive the food, shelter and support that they deserve as human beings. Whether any individual in Gaza is guilty of a crime is a matter for courts, not military invasion or occupation. Their position is simple to state, and much harder on the ground to turn into reality.
But we have to think hard about exactly WHAT the students are protesting. Who is making the decisions that they object to? Is it the Israeli government under Netanyahu? If so, then staging events on US soil is meaningless because Netanyahu does not care what anyone in the US thinks or says about his actions. Is the objection about what the US is doing in Gaza? Other than the questionable dream of having the United States cease any and all aid to Israel completely, the stated positions of the current administration seem solid and worth supporting. That position is a desire to see a resumption of Palestinian Authority rule in Gaza, removing Hamas from any kind of leadership position and providing a government solution that meets the needs of the people of Gaza. That is honestly counter to the goal of the current leadership of Israel, who have stated clearly their desire to see Gaza under the control of a military occupation with a US led international task force responsible for rebuilding the infrastructure, with the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank having no role. And that’s the middle ground position, with far Zionist calls for the removal of ALL Palestinians from Gaza, entirely.
The ability of student protesters in the United States to influence any of this directly is questionable at best. Israel doesn’t care what they think. The US administration can only give lip service. So we have to ask again the basic question. What is this “protest” trying to accomplish? What are the goals, and what are the milestones and resources needed to achieve those goals? What can students do to influence events, and reach their hands and wills towards a better tomorrow for the people of Gaza, for themselves and for the world?
I believe strongly that the way to accomplish a better future is not to protest against systems and people that we have no influence over. But instead to contest those systems by building alternative systems that work the way we want them to. The common goal that cannot be shared is the final end point of systems evolution, showing which type of system will succeed in building the future that we want to see.
It is painfully obvious to me that the current systems of nation state governments, fiat monetary systems and international war are incapable of doing anything during the 21st century that is different from what those same systems were doing throughout the 20th century. More wars, more death, more destruction and more lost hope. Protesting against this is meaningless. We need to actually engage in a CONTEST here, and the only way to win that contest is to build and utilize the alternative communication, monetary and governance foundations that are completely different from the ones that have been dragging us into the abyss.
So I think that the protests should stop. Not because they have failed or succeeded, but because they are completely ineffective in accomplishing the goal of a peaceful resolution to the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere around the world. Instead, move away from the corporate controlled social media networks that control what we see with algorithms and advertising. Contest the actions of these nation states and corporations by using the alternatives that already exist, that they cannot touch or control. Communicate directly, peer to peer, on a global stage. Transact directly, peer to peer, on a global stage. Take away the power of nation state governments to control your capital by moving it into forms that do not feed them.
I’m not saying to not pay any taxes on income that is due, or taxes on property, sales, or whatever. Operate within your countries as normal as possible, taking responsibility for your debts, earning an income and paying your expenses.
Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
But when you build your collection of assets, use that opportunity to convert your capital into a form that does not feed the monster. If we make transactions directly, peer to peer, in much the same way that non-corporate social media allows us to communicate, profits dry up, and corporations feel the sting. Let their advertising fall onto deaf ears. Let their algorithms find no purchase in our minds.
This is not their future to give to us, it is our future to build. Give them no say in that future. They can either catch up and join, or fall into history.
Render unto humanity the things that are humanity’s.
Peace, love, cooperation and competition that builds a civilization.