The Left Loses a Lot. But Sometimes, We Win.
It's a dark time in the US and across the world, but the last two weeks actually give us some cause for hope. Cities are pledging to shift money from cops to public services, violent officers are being disciplined and fired, and a wave of left victories came in last week’s primaries.
Protesters march on Hiawatha Avenue while decrying the killing of George Floyd on May 26, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
Welcome to the uprising. We’re beginning to learn that we can take on the ruling class — and its deranged, murderous servants — and win.
Protest doesn’t accomplish much if you only do it once or twice a year. That’s why, in ordinary times, most people don’t bother. But these are not ordinary times. All over the country people have been flooding the streets, every day and night for some two weeks, protesting the racist murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. In the past, protests would have raged for a few days, and most often, homicidal police officers would not only have walked free, but kept their jobs.
But this isn’t the past. Four officers have been fired and charged in Floyd’s murder. An astonishing number of police officers have been disciplined, fired and even charged in violence against protesters. In Louisville, where police shot and killed a black man over a curfew violation on June 1, the police chief has been fired.
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