Millennials don't believe protesting works.
I've seen a lot of discussion about why millennials aren't coming out. Yes, they work and have young children. They are taking care of their elderly parents. All of these things are true and valid.
But also millennials have gone to the Occupy Wall Street protests, which accomplished nothing. The BLM protests, which accomplished nothing. The Women's March, which lol. I protested during all of these things only for our country to slide even further into capitalistic greed and corruption. When Bernie was running, someone we could get excited about, he was undermined by his own party.
Many millennials don't even believe their vote matters anymore in the face of gerrymandering and the electoral college.
I still want to believe protesting can effect change. Or frankly that American citizens have any power at all anymore. I'll be protesting on the 5th, but man is it hard to keep hope alive when our generation has been crushed under the establishment for our entire lives. Combine that with how oppressive the 40+ hour work week is and can you blame people for not protesting? Millennials barely even have the energy to do their laundry.
I'm not sure how to energize people. I'm not even sure how to energize myself. The Democratic party offers no leadership or hope whatsoever.
Please offer your local millennial (and me!) some hope. Please tell me we aren't just screaming into a void.
Originally Posted By u/duckhunt420 At 2025-03-31 11:47:11 AM | Source
I think there is hope. The movements you mentioned are all recent or were very short lived. Fourteen years elapsed between brown vs. board of education and the civil rights act of 1968. women’s suffrage in the us was a battle that raged from the declaration of independence to 1920, nearly 150 years. i think that we are seeing the first reversal of BLM progress. the me too movement definitely caused some change, but the fuckers are naturally fighting back. there will be more protests and more reversals before real change sticks. the arc of history bends slowly, but it bends. every time you protest, you help keep hope alive.
Occupy Wall Street inspired the movement towards a $15/hr minimum wage and educated people about income inequality. So it didn’t do anything flashy, but it wasn’t useless.
Wait, remind me what the minimum wage is again?
Oh that's right, still $7.25/hr.
Guess it didn't accomplish anything then.
Oh wait! I completely forgot! It taught news networks to never ever bring up "class warfare" again. Great job everyone!
A lot of states changed to $15/hr. And a lot of jobs offer $15/hr to start even in states with a low minimum wage.
i also think the antiwork movement is a product of occupy wall street, and that is percolating through the public consciousness as well!