I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.........seriously, you are all so far away...

[a kennedy]

back in the Vietnam War days….we protested…we knew what to do. I just don’t know what to do now…..I can’t find friends that feel the same way as I do, have a few in my lunch group, but how did we ALL hundreds, thousands of us back in the day MARCH against that war with only the touch or dial phone??? I’m just sitting here and reading all these headline topics here on DU. I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

[stillcool]

1. it's one week

and the actions taken have not had the effect necessary for an organized reaction. These days, in some states, you protest you can get run over by a car, or shot by some kid.

[a kennedy]

6. So why are all the headlines and talking points on local TV saying it 's law.

DAMN!!!!!!

[Lulu KC]

9. Things are going to court battles

And some are winning!
The problem is centralized; the solutions are decentralized and too tedious for sound bytes.

I agree. And this time I don't want to go protest because now there are gun risks that there weren't then. (Oh, except for Kent State etc.)

It's a different world and the adjustment is difficult. You are not alone. But we feel alone, don't we?

[Ferryboat]

14. Now that cars & trucks are used against protesters

Its extremely dangerous. Seemed easier back in the 70's. Aside from Billie clubs or teargas never felt threatened.

[Lulu KC]

16. Yes, that, too!

The ongoing threats of violence have changed dramatically in my lifetime. I don't notice them until I do notice them, and then I realize that they are in the back of my mind all the time. It can be debilitating.

But maybe by this age everyone felt this way about their world? I need to ponder this. Great advancements and increased threats may be conjoined twins.

[allegorical oracle]

2. Whereabouts do you live that's so far away?

[a kennedy]

4. Southeast MN, just across the Mississippi River From La Crosse, WI......

I live in a city of less than 400. At least we’re in a city that after this election HAS A BLUE COLLOR MAYOR. Yeeehaaaa might get some local relief. Go Blue Go.

[allegorical oracle]

12. Minnesota is a blue state isn't it? Have a friend who lives in Minnetonka. I live in a red

state (Fla) but I found about 20 fellow Dems (took quite a bit of doing) and once spring comes I'll be able to go to their meetings. In winter, can't drive in the dark because of all the deer on the highways. Maybe you could join a political group, if you haven't. Feel for you, 'tho.

[a kennedy]

13. Blue?? Used to be and gawd love Amy Klobuchar.......

But the most of MN voters are way to the North. Minneapolis and St Paul…..pretty far away from my little City. and not that I couldn’t go there, but it is to far Way. So……looking to La Crosse in WI. Thanks.

[Desert grandma]

3. We are not helpless!

Join indivisible or a similar group in your state or county. Call your congressional reps and Senators, especially if they are Republican and COMPLAIN to them. Tell them how disappointed and upset you are and tell them that this is NOT representing you. This is especially effective if you live in an area represented by one of them.

[a kennedy]

5. I love you......and damn, gonna do it.

Thanks, and

[Amaryllis]

11. Many dont know about Indivisible. Please rec this thread:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219957252
Indivisible just sent email with action items to do right now and more info on funding freeze:

[LeftInTX]

7. Ah the follies of youth when we all hung out together and had all this energy!

Now I have heat intolerance and arthritis.

[edhopper]

8. We did it then

because they were sending us to war. People now don't5 think it will affect them.

[Lulu KC]

10. Huge factor

If there were a draft it would change everything. Although our forces are also decentralized in various pockets instead of all in one general area, it would change things and it would change the threats that are happening.

[yellow dahlia]

15. I hear you.

I too have been trying to figure out what I can do, now that I no longer have the stamina to be part of protests. Although, I am not convinced conventional protests are the answer anyway. Our world has changed.

I am doing whatever I can to get accurate information into the ether. I was going to quit the social platform that is owned by the man with a Z in his name, and which is limiting the political speech it amplifies. But now I am using it to get the truth out there. I am doing what I can to make sure my post doesn't get censored/squashed. I am using a "trick" I gleaned from by William Rivers Pitt (RIP). I don't put the content in the body of the post - I put it in the comments. (He used to put a cute picture in the body of the post.)

I am looking to see which legal watchdog groups are going to court to protect our democracy (such as CREW and Democracy Docket). I will make donations to those organizations.

I am writing to my reps in Congress - regularly. There is so much to get on the record about, this week.

I understand your frustration. We see our democracy crumbling around us, and we want to be a part of the solution. It feels good to be proactive in whatever small ways we can.