More than 70 recipients of The Game Awards’ Future Class are calling for a statement to be read at next week’s The Game Awards, on their behalf, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
More than 70 recipients of The Game Awards’ Future Class are calling for a statement to be read at next week’s The Game Awards, on their behalf, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Understood. FWIW I wasn’t planning on reading about Gaza this morning, I was just reading game news and now they’ve got me thinking about Gaza at least.
Reps aren’t actually listening to you at all, they’re just trying to shut you up. So in this example they’d agree with you in person, then maybe provide limited aid in Egypt while continuing to fund the Israeli military.
They can do their jobs first, and then the protests will stop. Do not assume good faith.
I’m not. I’m proposing a mix of diplomacy (lobbyists meeting with reps) and public demonstrations (protests to get popular support). If bigger and more frequent the protests, the more the lobbyists can get from reps.
When a bill is considered, that’s the point where individuals should get involved. Calling/emailing doesn’t do much, but showing up at public hearings absolutely does, and a regular member of the public has way more sway there than a lobbyist. The goal here is three-fold:
An open letter isn’t a protest, it’s virtue signaling. Instead of that, actually protest.
That is assuming good faith. They will not engage in diplomacy with you, or work with you to draft legislation. They will lie to your face for as long as you’ll let them. They. Do not. Work. For you.
You can call this protest not an Actual Protest or whatever, but it made this conversation happen where it otherwise wouldn’t have. When we take to the streets, we’ll be told that we’re still “virtue signaling” 🙄 and the right time and place isn’t blocking traffic.
This conversation only happened because someone who already agrees with the topic posted to a site where the majority already agree with the topic. That’s the only reason we’re discussing it. An open letter only scratches the backs of supporters, and nothing else. It’s worthless.
Real change happens on the streets with protests (think Civil Rights movement, Vietnam protests, etc) and with lobbyists on Capitol Hill. It doesn’t happen with open letters, social media posts, or emails to reps.