Young people (some were killed) were a force againts the system in the 60's

[SoLeftIAmRight]

And some changes were forced.

I see a strong force building in the young voters now. That force is going to vote for Bernie.

[Hoyt]

1. That's true. But, I also remember how George McGovern came out in the election.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

2. yes - half the people are below average

that other half needs to vote in mass

[comradebillyboy]

5. I remember the 60s too, Nixon was elected in 68 and

re-elected in a landslide victory over McGovern in 72. There really aren't many revolutionaries in America.

[RKP5637]

3. K&R!!! n/t

[rug]

4. Can we keep Star Wars out of this?

[workinclasszero]

6. Young people were getting killed in vietnam too

And the military was not a volunteer force as it is now.

So lots of draft age kids chose to fight it out in the streets of america vs the jungles of vietnam.

The economy we have today for regular americans stinks but with the young especially, there is no imminent threat of death because of it.

Probably the reason young folks are the least reliable group of voters.

[Luminous Animal]

15. Really. Black Lives Matter. Some people are under imminent threat of death every time

they walk out their front door.

Black Lives Matter and every other org that supports their goals ARE on the frontline of racial justice. It is a new civll rights era.

Fight for 15 is the emergent new economic justice era.

[randome]

18. I don't see this new civil rights era.

I see sporadic, short-lived bursts of enthusiasm but nothing like the sustained effort that is needed. I want it to be otherwise but I don't see it now.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[Luminous Animal]

23. There is a lot more than what you see on TV. 2 examples of the beginnings of sustained efforts

Campaign Zero http://www.joincampaignzero.org

And Check The Police http://www.checkthepolice.org

They are excellent tools for local activists to use to push for reforms locally.

The people who worked on both these projects will roll out more tools for activists in 2016.

[workinclasszero]

22. I agree

This is a very dangerous country for black males in particular.

[oasis]

7. Bad vs. Good doesn't work in 2016. It's about effective leadership. nt

[mwrguy]

8. There is no equivalent of SDS or the Weathermen now, though

That might change if the rethugs take the white house.

[Blue_Adept]

9. Yes, and most screwed the pooch afterwards

They're also the ones in control of the levers of power today. go figure.

[workinclasszero]

11. Right....I think many of them were

White upper middle class collage kids and once the threat of getting drafted and sent to die in some third world hell hole was over, they just went back to their privileged lives.
Abbie Hoffman became a wall street stockbroker if I
remember right lol.
The ending of the draft actually hurt the left badly in a way. Just think if kids today were being drafted for Afghanistan or Syria or Iraq.
There would be massive civil unrest just like the Vietnam Era I bet. Not that I'm for a draft but people with real skin in the game are far more likely to vote, to protest, to demand real change in society

[onenote]

19. Abbie Hoffman did not become a stockbroker

Last edited Sun Jan 3, 2016, 03:20 PM - Edit history (1)

Abbie Hoffman remained a social activist his entire life.

You are confusing him with Jerry Rubin, who went to work for the John Muir & Co. brokerage house for a few years in the early 1980s.

[workinclasszero]

21. My bad

Thanks for the info

[Luminous Animal]

13. Most went on to live quiet lives. The masses of protesters in the 60s?… a scant few became

those who control the lever of power.

Direct action is difficult. It is draining. It is fraught with danger.

[Blue_Adept]

17. They voted 'em in

They're responsible.

Direct action is voting. These are the consequences of it.

I respect a great many protesters for what they did in the 60's. But the majority of them failed to follow through and in the end became establishment themselves.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Young wolves, show us your teeth. John Steinbeck K&R

[SoLeftIAmRight]

12. do not remember that one

what book?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. It was while he was in the USSR speaking to young writers.

It was the time of Brezhnev and repression. I don't recall if it was in a book.

[postatomic]

14. Funny story

I made a fake 'Flyer' for the Students for a Democratic Society and posted it in on the school bulletin board. A friend of mine thought it was cool and took it. A teacher later saw him with it.

2 days later 3 FBI agents come to the school to talk to him.


Nothing happened to him.

[brooklynite]

20. I don't see it...

Some people have equated Bernie Sanders to Gene McCarthy taking on LBJ in 1968. The reality is that Primaries were relatively rare and campaigns were relatively short, so McCarthy's movement appeared to come out of no where. Sanders has been running since May and has gotten his support level up to about 30%. There's been no indication that millions of hidden voters are ready to step up and surprise people.