from what i’m seeing of report backs from the airport protests, there is a significant shift in behaviour and attitudes compared to the normal protest culture, far more significant than a broken window or slightly larger black bloc.
these are spontaneous protests in countless cities not normally known for protest including many people who have never protested before or who have only attended sanctioned protests before. people are directly contesting the actions of government and its enforcers at the site they are being carried out; this is as close to mass direct action as we’ve seen in a long time. while there are exceptions, many crowds are spontaneously occupying and shutting down infrastructure, terminals, and roads, breaking out of caged “free-speech zones” and disobeying direct orders of police.
liberals and previously “nonpolitical” people are joining in chants linking american borders to palestine, calling for “no borders no nations” and challenging the police with “who do you serve” and “who protects us.” they are (again with exceptions) realizing that law enforcement in the police and DHS may not be on their side and challenging that authority. they’re also not being pacified by concessions and constitutional measures. a legal stay has been disobeyed by law enforcement and people are taking note of that, and not dispersing to place their faith in the normal processes of government.
this is what radicalisation looks like. not as we’re perhaps used to seeing it, but in a new and more open form. maybe it dissipates briefly but i’m not convinced this is just a momentary flare-up. i think real changes in people’s belief systems and how they relate to power and authority is occurring right now as they gain these new experiences and internalize them.
people are flexing and testing power and authority, and realizing they have far more ability to contest it than they previously thought
like the police set up set up the area around trump hotel in dc as a ‘no-protest’ zone for the duration of his presidency and people immediately took that area in the dc protests. it took one week of his presidency for that space preserved for authority to be overtaken
