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Photo I took on Sydney harbour bridge today (hexbear.net)

submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by glimmer_twin@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

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I gotta say, I’ve been to a lot of protests and rallies and I usually leave feeling a bit deflated about just going through the motions of liberal “peaceful protest”, but today felt different. Not different in the sense I think the government is gonna cave to our demands, but I felt such a connection and humanity, I really needed it.

I think the last couple of years has almost forced me to shut off a little part of my empathy, or to try and ignore it, because otherwise I’d lose my mind. But days like today I reconnect with the love of humanity that made me a communist in the first place. Having conversations about Gaza all through the day with random people - “oh are you going to the rally? Have you come from the rally?”, talking about the issues with all kinds of folks from across this city - from lefties to normies, and we all fucking agree. Hell, a bus driver shook my hand when I was on my way home getting off his bus and said “I’m Palestinian, thank you”. I feel like a human again and not someone taking crazy pills. The great mass of humanity is against the genocide. We’re not alone on an island, being gaslit by the media and going crazy. Those in power are the mad ones, they’re the nihilists, it’s their media and their politicians who make us all feel gaslit - the people know the truth. Train drivers were honking at us as they went past on the bridge, people were waving from the trains, the crowd cheered back at them. Amazing. The crowd chanted loud enough to drown out the chopper that was buzzing us and telling us to disperse.

The cops were also absolute fuckwits today but that’s a story for another time, for now I’ll leave y’all with the positive feelings and inspiration I took out of today. I gotta say, coming up over the rise onto the bridge and seeing the entire thing filled with people was inspiring man. I hope this photo captures even 10% of that feeling. I highly recommend people look up some of the aerial shots the news got, the entire bridge was full twice over. There must have been 200-300k people. Seeing shots of such an iconic world famous landmark full of people protesting a genocide is awesome (in the original sense of the word).

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[-] refolde@hexbear.net 16 points 4 days ago

The great mass of humanity is against the genocide. We’re not alone on an island, being gaslit by the media and going crazy. Those in power are the mad ones, they’re the nihilists, it’s their media and their politicians who make us all feel gaslit - the people know the truth.

That's something that's preventing me from just becoming a misanthrope. It's the fact that the vast of majority of people are against the genocide, and its their governments that act completely against their will. But then it also gets me thinking: How the hell did we get to this point? How did so many people come to be ruled by those who not only act against their interest, but actively disdain them as well?

Hell, when I look at Yemen, see how popular support for Palestine is there, and how the government there does what it can to support the Palestinian resistance against Israel, they really come out looking like one of the only legitimate states right now.

[-] Sebrof@hexbear.net 6 points 4 days ago

I agree, i go through the same cycle. I get upset and verge on some hopelessness, but get reminded that the vast majority of people hate this shit. And my hope returns. It isn't the masses that want death and genocide. Don't let the bourgeoisie's ideas deceive us! Don't let them gaslight us! cuddle

[-] Mardoniush@hexbear.net 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

It was a really really good protest. A proper mass action that you rarely see in Australia.

And while yes it was lib and peaceful, it felt like a disciplined peace, not an apathetic one.

We chose not to force police lines even though we probably could have.

Stopping 100'000 people, turning them around, and peacefully marching them back is also a threat but a very different one.

[-] Clippy@hexbear.net 5 points 4 days ago

hey i was wondering if you could please tell me - what were the factors about this demonstration that brought out so many people?

[-] peeonyou@hexbear.net 11 points 4 days ago

you love to see it

i went to get ice cream the other night and was wearing a 'free palestine' shirt and the person behind the counter complimented my shirt, and then we ended up talking for a good 4 - 5 minutes about the state of things and how the protests seem to have died down and no one seems to care anymore, even online the discourse and the social media posts have kinda stopped on a lot of the big platforms like tiktok and instagram (i dont use them so i wasn't aware of that)

but it's good to even wear a shirt like that to remind people that this bullshit is still happening and our government is STILL enabling it

[-] caesarsushi404@hexbear.net 6 points 4 days ago

TikTok has been a very consistent source of news and updates for me. I don't know if they are doing anything behind the scenes to appease the US admin, but my algorithm has been pretty stable. Credit where it's due; thanks for sharing.

[-] Clippy@hexbear.net 6 points 4 days ago

@glimmer_twin@hexbear.net hi, i am so curious - could you please tell me why you think or what was so special about this explicit demonstration that brought out so many people?

some people in my circles are very curious as to what were the special conditions that brought such a massive crowd to this specific demonstration.

some speculations have suggested that the public transit system is better, or that alot of your population live closer, or that voting is mandatory which has resulted with high political involvement - my circles are unfamiliar with this region.