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This is exactly how every single popular uprising in history has started: by overwhelming numbers of people getting out in the streets to have their voices heard. They always start off as peaceful until drive past that by elite/institutional reaction.
If this were a single instance, then, yes, it would seem feeble and ineffectual. But it's not. It's the early days of a large movement. We're less than 3 months into the regime and this past Saturday was already the single largest day of protest in American history. And there's another one scheduled in 2 weeks on the 19th.
I was at the protest in DC. There was 100k+ people there. I've been a political activist since the protests against the Iraq War in 2003. This event on Saturday was notably different than any other I've attended in 2 ways. One was the sheer size, larger than any other protest in DC I've seen. The other was the demographic composition of the crowd. All previous protests I've been to were primarily filled with male-presenting young people. This was very different. At 38 years old, I was definitely younger than the majority of the people there. It was also far more racially diverse than any other events I've been to except for the 2020 uprising.
What do you expect a giant crowd of people mostly in their 40s-60s to do? You think they were all going to storm the White House or Capital?
For that matter, what are you doing? You say these demonstrations are pathetic? Then surely you must be taking more radical actions that have a much higher chance of effecting change. I'd love to join in, so, please, tell me what you're doing that's puts the 5 million people out in the streets on Saturday to shame?
I was in DC on Saturday too, and I also have been going since W Bush's first inauguration, and several anti war protests after that. I always enjoy seeing people out on the street, but I also feel like these protests don't really accomplish anything as such. They are just really easy to ignore, unfortunately. Participants feel good about themselves, and hopefully build relationships with new people. But did that crowd on Saturday threaten anyone? Did any elected officials (R or D) feel nervous about it? Were there any demands made that will be met? Again, I do appreciate so many people taking the time to protest, but I hope that plenty of them have a line at which they will take stronger action, and that it doesn't come too late.
Well not wrong but without clear demands there can be not even a chance for anything to happen. Then it's just a big angry party. So something like call for new election. Because this one was fraud based on lies and the current administration is engaged in treason / economic terrorism.
There is no mechanism within American politics to run a new election. If that's the demand, we first would need to amend the Constitution, which isn't going to happen, or violently overthrow the government. Just demanding, "run a new election" is as empty a demand as anything else you could imagine.
Take a look at how the US facilitates regime change. It's always extra-legal. If you can't even imagine it, then it's just a pathetic and empty show of frustration. And that's on the people of the USA (and the media of course that manipulates and indoctrinates them).
Sure. And the US government has the CIA and military to enact that regime change. Plus they have all the cops and military to defend against a popular uprising overthrowing the government.
I'm not saying it can't be done, but we're still in the early stages of a popular uprising. That's what these protests are about. This one on Saturday got, reportedly, ~5 million people on the streets at the same time. That's ~1.5% of the country's population. According to the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, it takes ~3.5% of the population mass mobilizing at the same time to effect political change. That's ~12 million people. That's why this wasn't a 1 and done protest. The next one is already scheduled for April 19. And there will be another after that. And another after that.
Let's not just aim for 3.5%. Go higher. What can 5% of the country, 17 million people, do if we're all out in the streets together? Rather than just complain that one single protest didn't immediately result in widespread political change, why don't you get out there and join us on the 19th? Bring your friends. Bring your family. Help make a change rather than just complaining that others aren't doing it for you.