imprecations seriously after all of this? And yes, I am looking directly at you, certain pastors, other quarters of the clergy and religious communities. You know who you are.

PPS - This may sound vindictive but it's not intended that way. I welcome all who will eventually see the light and resist. But it will be legitimate to ask them, where were you earlier? Are you just bending with the wind again? Or are you genuinely changed? How can we take your

PS - Personally, I find the mental health impact of the news devastating and it may prevent us from taking other actions. The Administration's impact on our collective mental and social health won't be fully appreciated for years. Visible acts of collective resistance mitigate this appalling fact.

7/7 I am being too wordy so I will end here, but I note that there are many other significant, real-world impacts of these demonstrations. I am sure others more capable will continue to pick up on them and provide useful answers to the understandable and heart-wrenching question that you have asked.

6/N Although much of the coverage has focused on costumes and signs (some really clever, I have to say), there were many at the protests who are deadly serious in being there. For many, it required SIGNIFICANT effort to attend. It may look like a trivial act to some, but this assumption is mistaken.

5/N As others have pointed out, what would have happened in 1930s Germany if there were such protests? The visible demonstration of resistance should not be underestimated.

4/N While establishment politicians who should be fighting back so much more urgently than they have been, the protests seem to have help motivate them to be more active. I have seen more political participation and notice on October 18 than in the previous protests.

3/N there are many folks trying to or actually doing the right thing and preventing further ACTUAL harm. I can cite individual judges, civil service whistleblowers, and so forth. The visibility of the protests I believe provides potentially CRUCIAL support to these individuals.

2/N Although folks are rightly horrified at the utter collapse of institutional resistance among many in leadership positions (for example, big law, big media),

1/N There are some really good responses among the replies. I will try my hand at answering this question for what it's worth. You might want to ask, instead of "what did the protests accomplish?" , "how would the situation look without the protests?" Continued>

I agree! And I thank the lone drummers and other instrumentalists along the route. Special shout out to the lady blowing the conch! And very special thank you to the volunteers in blue, red, yellow vests and the woman handing out the "this is fascism" signs and the organizers!

I really admire what you are doing. Listening and responding to voters is key. But so is showing them key issues, drawing connections to their lives. The fundamental, non-partisan issue of the systematic attack on rule of law must be addressed. It can affect anybody and puts us all at risk.

I am a bit slow, but it's now official -- I believe that those Democrats who more vigorously oppose Zohran Momdani than the Trump Administration (1) don't understand the nature of the threat and (2) can't be relied upon to protect democracy from the radical behavior of this administration.

Hello...I just saw this very direct @michaelianblack.bsky.social post and thought it might be of interest as it illustrates the nature of Rep Lawler's character:
michaelianblack.substack.com/p/a-brawler-...

Please vote NO on the GENIUS Act. By not doing so, you are diverting focus from Trump Administration corruption and enabling Mr. Trump and his administration.

We need everyone especially government and private firms to realize that posting on X is supporting someone who is actively attacking democracy! I believe there may be good reasons for doing so but the decision should at least be deliberate, with some recognition of costs vs benefits.

In these times when democracy is under attack, I realize how important it is to vote in all available elections at the local, state, and national levels. I haven't voted in local school district elections, but found out I am already registered due to voting in state elections and need only show up!

Republicans want to restrict access to the ballot and eliminate online and mail-in voter registration. Tell your senators to reject the GOP’s voter suppression bill (especially if your senator is listed here):

KELLY (AZ)
WARNOCK (GA)
PETERS (MI)
SHAHEEN (NH)
HASSAN (NH)
CORTEZ MASTO (NV)
ROSEN (NV)

A corollary hypothesis would be that the firms' stance might change as the short term risks are re-evaluated. Another way to put this is, they may attempt to measure which way the wind is blowing and adapt their stance accordingly.

If I were a cynic I'd hypothesize that they may well have appreciated the longer term risk but decided to choose the course that presented the least risk in the moment to the firm itself (as distinct from their clients). And craft a rationale after the fact that best justifies the decision.

My admiration for @piperformissouri.bsky.social. This thread describes a key longer term strategy to move our country back to sanity:

Even as a semi-informed person of a certain age, I had no idea how frequent elections are throughout the US. IMO, as a primary defense of democracy, we should be highlighting upcoming elections and encouraging people to vote! No matter how small, the habit of voting matters. See @ballotpedia.org