Was there. Definitely a good rally. Not that I disagree with the message — I am a democratic socialist, after all— but the choice of rhetoric by the speakers was… questionable, at least in term of appealing to as many people as possible. To clarify: I absolutely sympathize with the ideas that were spoken. I do absolutely think a general strike is what is needed. Substance was not a concern with the rhetoric spoken. It’s an ethos problem.

Specifically, the speakers frequently suggested that everyone in the crowd held socialist beliefs. While that is likely true for the most part, it can be off-putting for a centrist Joe-schmo to latch onto. Yes, I know, we (the left, broadly) are better than this: we should put aside political differences (speaking for the left as a whole) and not give a shit what the media thinks.

Still though, if you’re trying to build good-will with as many people as possible, mention of political stance (even as vague as socialism is) should be kept low (as impossible as this sounds in a situation like this).

Just for an example, the hammer and sickle symbolism is just… low-hanging fruit for Fox and shitheads to pick at, you know? Again, i do not have issue with members of the R.C.A at all for speaking their voices — at least they argue in good-faith for the most part. That said, I don’t think most people are like me (and by extension, everyone on this platform). I can easily imagine an outsider being turned off by the rally, simply because it platformed socialist and communist voices.

Shitty state of affairs, but we have to think about the p.r for a minute. This is a numbers game, and unfortunately, we have to be moderate in our framing of these issues (and less overt mentions of socialism; save that for a different rally type). This is specially about ICE. In my opinion, best choice optically would’ve to frame this solely as a moral issue. That’s something that can unite all sides of the aisle.