edit: let me put it in even more simple terms. I think the Democrats should be overwhelmingly focused on rebuilding their party right now (in terms of where their energy is going), in extraordinarily strict terms, as the party of civil liberties. No exceptions. If their next President crosses any lines, mass protests must ensue, otherwise their party can't be taken seriously. One of the problems the Dems have right now is the lack of credibility as they intentionally failed to widely protest nearly all of Obama's rights abuses. I won't support them because I have very good reason to believe they're frauds on civil liberties; as a voter, they get my support when they act consistently. That effort would be far more useful, than protesting Trump and the Republicans, who are not going to listen and do not have to for now (and this isn't to say there shouldn't be legal challenges thrown at bad policy).
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I think it's barely worth protesting now (in the style it's mostly being done), because of how ineffectual that will be in obtaining results. Legal challenges are likely the only meaningful thing that can occur at this point. The protestors should be focused almost exclusively on raising money for that purpose, more so than marching or showing up at airports. Sergey Brin could make a difference by putting together a $100 million civil liberties fund, to try to roll back Obama's spying programs, and legally challenging the Trump policies he disagrees with such as this temporary ban. Showing up at the airport won't do a thing, the Republicans have all the power. It's equivalent to putting a bumper sticker on your car.
Unfortunately for most of the left (to one degree or another), they made a massive mistake in three big ways: not turning out for the election in nearly the numbers they should have, turning a blind eye as Sanders was intentionally sabotaged by the DNC, and turning a blind eye to Obama's abuses.
They can't put the genie back in the bottle under Trump. I think the single most important point is: they better remember how this feels, the next time they are fawning over a liberal President, because that's exactly when they should be protesting. Yet I don't see too many people talking about this, and those that attempt to are roundly getting shouted down. It's the same thing/effect John Cusack got to enjoy, as he tried to speak out against Obama and was shunned for it (now he'll be a hero again); that is, the vast partisan hypocrisy.
I think it's barely worth protesting now (in the style it's mostly being done), because of how ineffectual that will be in obtaining results.
It certainly appears that the protests today had some effect. It at least increased awareness. Don't dismiss protests with specific purposes out of hand. The MLK Jr and others of the Civil Rights Movement were very effective when doing just that. And there are those on HN today that participated.
In terms of money, I've read numerous comments where members have made donations to the ACLU and other organizations.
I agree with you that there should have been more done to roll back the infringements on civil liberties that go back all the way to at least the Patriot Act. There were people that did, even though it was very difficult to do so without being cast as unpatriotic. I don't see how it does anyone any good to say "Well, you missed your chance then! Just wait until you get a president you like, you can protest then!"
As for "fawning over a liberal president", have you noticed the contortions some are bending themselves into reconciling the many blatant mistruths and inconsistencies uttered by Trump during the campaign? For goodness' sake. Not everyone on either side fits in either category, but there are those who do. Focusing on that and using such pejorative language does nothing to help the situation.
Certainly people should remain critical of even the politicians they vote for. With a limited number of parties, it's unlikely that any one candidate is going to align perfectly with anyone's particular set of values. But to admonish people to stop now because they weren't adequately righteous in the past is just asinine.
And there are those of us who aren't really happy put in one party or the other, but have issues we care strongly about. Do we get categorized as a Democrat when we happen to align with them and a Republican on other issues? What are we supposed to do, regardless of which party the President aligns with, or which party holds a majority in which chamber of Congress? Let people work together on the issues they care about, regardless of party affiliation.
Unless you have another agenda.
I ask you again: Do you support the Executive Order?
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I think it's barely worth protesting now (in the style it's mostly being done), because of how ineffectual that will be in obtaining results. Legal challenges are likely the only meaningful thing that can occur at this point. The protestors should be focused almost exclusively on raising money for that purpose, more so than marching or showing up at airports. Sergey Brin could make a difference by putting together a $100 million civil liberties fund, to try to roll back Obama's spying programs, and legally challenging the Trump policies he disagrees with such as this temporary ban. Showing up at the airport won't do a thing, the Republicans have all the power. It's equivalent to putting a bumper sticker on your car.
Unfortunately for most of the left (to one degree or another), they made a massive mistake in three big ways: not turning out for the election in nearly the numbers they should have, turning a blind eye as Sanders was intentionally sabotaged by the DNC, and turning a blind eye to Obama's abuses.
They can't put the genie back in the bottle under Trump. I think the single most important point is: they better remember how this feels, the next time they are fawning over a liberal President, because that's exactly when they should be protesting. Yet I don't see too many people talking about this, and those that attempt to are roundly getting shouted down. It's the same thing/effect John Cusack got to enjoy, as he tried to speak out against Obama and was shunned for it (now he'll be a hero again); that is, the vast partisan hypocrisy.