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In northern Spain, hospital janitors were angry. They worked long hours; weren’t given enough breaks; and didn’t get the supplies they needed to do their jobs. For months, working conditions deteriorated as union leaders met with hospital representatives to negotiate a better deal.
Hospitals rejected union demands. “Take what we offered or leave it.”
Hospital janitors left it; they went on strike.
But this strike wasn’t what Americans have grown accustomed to: Picket lines and people with signs.
The janitors assigned members to each hospital and divided the day into shifts. Twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, they carried bullhorns through hospital corridors and shouted their demands. They shredded tons of paper and threw it on hospital floors. Janitors trashed hospitals and forced medical staff to clean up the mess.
Yes, patients were in the hospital. Yes, families visited their loved ones. Yes, some patients were dying. Yes, the quality of medical care provided was impacted. Yes, everyone was inconvenienced. Yes, the last sound a few dying souls heard was probably a mad janitor screeching into an indoor bullhorn.
The janitors did not care.
They also marched. Every day, they took their bullhorns and trash/confetti into the streets and made noise and mess. City parks were littered with their terms because city workers couldn’t keep up with the volume of paper they tossed. Outside City Hall, the scene resembled the city dump.
The union kept up this destruction and noise FOR WEEKS until hospital representatives finally said ENOUGH and yielded to the janitors’ demands.
On No Kings Day, Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson called for a nationwide General Strike. Most Americans have no idea what a General Strike is. We’ll get into the details later this week.
Today, I’m tackling a more baseline issue: AMERICANS DO NOT KNOW HOW TO STRIKE.
Strikes mean other people are inconvenienced.
Strikes mean lots of people go without necessities.
Strikes create maximum discomfort and pain for as many people as possible.
Strikes are meant to grind things to a halt; they’re supposed to be an insurmountable barrier to business and commerce.
Strikes don’t happen once a month or on a Saturday every-so-often. They are sustained, constant expressions of discontent designed to squeeze complacent and/or obdurate citizens and compel the overlords into yielding to strikers’ demands.
For Americans to defeat fascism, one thing must change: Our love affair with convenience. The whole point of a strike is sustained disruption and inconvenience. It’s being willing to say, “I will burn it all down to get what I want.”
We will not topple this government by marching on the occasional Saturday. We must devote ourselves to sustained protests that grind everything to a halt.
Yes, it means supply chains break and millions of people don’t get things they need. Yes, it means planes don’t fly. Yes, it means trucks and trains don’t move as scheduled. Yes, it means traffic jams. Yes, it means going without basic comforts we think we can’t live without. Yes, it means blackouts and brown-outs. Yes, it means spotty internet. Yes, it means empty shelves and scarcity. Yes, it might even mean losing one’s job for refusing to work.
WE WILL NOT DEFEAT FASCISM WITHOUT PAIN. We can have the pain of inconvenience now or the boot of fascism for years or decades.
Please, Americans. I’m begging you. Choose inconvenience and pain now. Much like I said Americans wouldn’t like what was behind Door Number Project 2025, they won’t like what’s behind Door Number Full-blown Theocratic Christian Nationalist Dictatorship.
Last night, I spoke to Harvey Wasserman’s Grassroots Green group. One of the attendees said it better than I have: Air traffic controllers are working without pay through a government shutdown.
They should all refuse to come to work. Every sector of the US economy that relies on planes would grind to a halt in 24 hours.
Russ Vought can have one of his passive-aggressive hissy fits, but he can’t fire them. Stephen Miller can get in front of a camera and shriek about how they are the New Antifa, but he can’t force them to work without pay.
Air traffic controllers can’t be replaced with loyalists, because there aren’t enough loyalists who can do their jobs. They have real power, if only they will wield it.
If you’ve read this far, I want you to know something: JUST LIKE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS, YOU HAVE REAL POWER.
Your attention is your superpower. Whatever you ignore can wilt, lose money, and go out of business. Stop giving your attention to things that benefit this regime: Social media; fascist companies; ring-kissing corporate media; sports teams owned or propped up by fascists; entertainment controlled by fascist investors and overlords.
Your money is your agency. No matter how much or little one has, every dollar spent is a vote. Make sure every dollar you spend is a vote for freedom, not fascism. Buy food from like-minded farmers and outlets. Delay big household projects to choke fascist building supply companies. Don’t upgrade electronics, and become a thrifting pro. Cancel fascist subscriptions and services, and let them know you will never return.