Protest is Not Terrorism, No Matter What the DOJ Tries to Tell You

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/04/17/protest-is-not-terrorism-no-matter-what-the-doj-tries-to-tell-you/

The Responsibility of the Intellectuals-Is It Still a Thing?

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/02/10/the-responsibility-of-the-intellectuals-is-it-still-a-thing/

A CALL TO PROTEST

PLEASE SHARE!!!!!

Our original intention with this call was to get the signatures of academics, political activists, organizers and others known to various elements of the US public.  However, given the urgency of the moment, it seems best just to put it out there in the hope that it will inspire people in the United States to begin organizing among their friends and acquaintances to protest any potential Trumpist theft of the upcoming US election.  So, please read this, share it far and wide, and get a group together to protest if/when the need arises.—Peter Bohmer and Ron Jacobs

 

This is a call to the people of the United States who believe in fair elections, wish  to preserve what remains of our democratic process and want  to join the struggle for a nation where democracy and justice come before profits.

It is becoming clearer with each passing day that the Trump administration and its supporters in Congress, the government bureaucracy and certain state capitals do not intend to let all eligible voters in the US vote in the November presidential elections.  They are tampering with the mail, lying about mail-in ballots, practicing various types of voter suppression, and generally laying the foundation for a rejection of any outcome that does not give Donald Trump a popular and electoral victory.

Understanding the high stakes involved, it is time for those in the US  to act.   It is imperative we protest in the streets if Trump attempts to steal the 2020 election and stay in power. The 2000 election stolen by George Bush showed the limitations of a purely legal strategy which the Democrats unsuccessfully used.

 

Therefore:

If Donald Trump rejects the results of the November 3, 2020 election in any manner, and/or if he refuses to leave the White House--we call on people around the nation to gather at their local Federal Building, their parks and town squares, their campus greens and auditoriums, their churches and their schools and protest until Donald Trump and his administration leaves.  We also call for a simultaneous protest and occupation of the National Mall in Washington, DC.

We should also begin now to prepare for a General Strike in case this violation of democracy occurs. In a general strike, workers go on strike and stop all production and distribution and then produce for general distribution, essential goods and services.

This General Srike should begin the day it is clear that Trump and his supporters illegally attempt to stay in power and continue until Trump accepts his defeat. For a general strike to be successful and effective, it will require a lot of organizing, beginning now.

A general strike and mass protests in the streets could be very powerful  and even more important, effective, to end Trumpism.

This is not an endorsement of any candidate.  It is a plea to salvage what remains of the democratic process.  We understand removing the Trump administration is not a panacea.  However, it is a step back from the fascist trajectory the Trump administration has been following the past four years.  Indeed, we support calls to continue and step up protests for economic, social and racial justice after the election no matter who wins.

Paul L. Atwood, Veterans for Peace, Mass Peace Action and UMass Boston

Ron Jacobs, writer and library worker, Vermont

Peter Bohmer, Faculty Emeriti Evergreen State College

Brian Tokar, Lecturer, University of Vermont

Marc Estrin, writer, editor and publisher at Fomite Press

 

White People Must Destroy White Supremacy

https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/08/29/white-people-must-destroy-white-supremacy/

A Change Has Gotta' Come

"Ideally, Demand the Impossible! would be distributed for free at every rally and meeting called to discuss the issues explored therein.  It is not the only book or article that provides an outline of what must be done, but it is certainly one of the most concise and evocatively written ones.  Imagine a series of speeches designed to inspire and teach; to move us from frustration and apathy to the streets; that is what this book is all about."
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/09/23/a-change-has-gotta-come/

If Daydream Sunset:60s Counterculture in the '70s had a playlist, this would be it

“I’m Free”----The Who from Tommy

“Good Times, Bad Times”----Led Zeppelin

“The Israelites”---Desmond Dekker and the Aces

“Gimme Shelter”----Rolling Stones from Let It Bleed

“Okie From Muskogee”---Merle Haggard

“New Speedway Boogie”---Grateful Dead from Workingman’s Dead

“Luv & Haight”---Sly and the Family Stone from There’s a Riot Goin’ On

“For Everyman”---Jackson Browne from For Everyman

“I Threw It All Away”---Bob Dylan from Nashville Skyline

“God”---John Lennon from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

“Them Changes”---Jimi Hendrix from Band of Gypsys

“Ohio”---Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

“Out of Gas”---Prairie Fire

“Here’s to the State of Richard Nixon”---Phil Ochs

“H₂0 Gate Blues”----Gil Scott Heron/Brian Jackson from Winter in America

“Hurricane”---Bob Dylan and Rolling Thunder Revue from Live 1975

“Break It Up”---Patti Smith Group from Horses

“Before the Deluge”---Jackson Browne from Late For the Sky

“Rebel, Rebel”---David Bowie from Diamond Dogs

“Backstreets”----Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band from Born to Run

“Simple Man”---Lynyrd Skynyrd from (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)

“Red Headed Stranger”---Willie Nelson from Red Headed Stranger

“Sitting In Limbo”---Jimmy Cliff from The Harder They Come

“White Riot”---The Clash

“Rebel Music”---Bob Marley and the Wailers from Natty Dread

“Long Hot Summer”---Tom Robinson Band from Power in the Darkness

“God Save the Queen”---The Sex Pistols

“Less Than Zero”---Elvis Costello and the Attractions from My Aim is True

“What About Me?”---Quicksilver Messenger Service from What About Me?

“Estimated Prophet”---Grateful Dead from Dick’s Picks Volume 15/Live Englishtown, NJ 9/3/1977

“Respectable”---Rolling Stones from Some Girls

“Vicious”---Lou Reed from Transformer

“The Pretender”---Jackson Browne from The Pretender

“Factory”---Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band from Darkness On the Edge of Town

 “Jimmy Jazz”---The Clash from London Calling

“California Über Alles”---Dead Kennedys

“You Gotta’ Serve Somebody”---Bob Dylan from Slow Train Coming

“Comfortably Numb”---Pink Floyd from The Wall

“US Blues”---Grateful Dead live 1/15/1980 Cambodian Refugees Benefit, Oakland, CA.

Ishmael Reed Gets in the Ring

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/06/19/ishmael-reed-gets-in-the-ring/#

Deadly Eye Contact: Freddie Gray and the Baltimore Police

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/27/deadly-eye-contact-freddie-gray-and-the-baltimore-police/

The Tragedy of Capitalism

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/10/the-tragedy-of-capitalism/

No Hope, No Change

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/11/11/elections-make-things-worse-again/

A Sordid Mix of Murder and Racism

http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/10/a-sordid-mix-of-murder-and-racism/#more-56018

Haven't We Had Enough?

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/20/havent-we-had-enough/

Dance with the Devil: Breaking Down Brazil’s Games

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/05/09/breaking-down-brazils-games/

Economic Justice-The Final Frontier?

Originally published as a column in TORTURE: Asian and Global Perspectives

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/25/economic-justice-2/

On "Acceptable" Resistance: What Makes a Protest Violent?

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/18/what-makes-a-protest-violent/

Was That Really an Antiwar Movement? A Look at the Movement Against the US War in Iraq

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/07/12/a-look-at-the-movement-against-the-us-war-in-iraq/

Onward, Through the Fog of War: On Obama and the Syrian Rebels

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/21/on-obama-and-the-syrian-rebels/

New Novel Available for Pre-Order

http://www.amazon.com/All-Sinners-Saints-Ron-Jacobs/dp/1937677397

A Look at Dave Zirin's Latest The Man Who Politicized the Sports Pages (Again)

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/02/01/the-man-who-politicized-the-sports-pages-again/

When Police Attack

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/08/03/when-police-attack/