When I hear protesters shut down the city of Oakland Port I wonder about the companies and workers this disruption impacted. Sure, it brought attention to the cause and lost revenue to the rich. But I bet it also hurt small business and poor workers who depend on the port directly and indirectly all the way down the line. How many humble enterprises and lives were disrupted for want of a nail because of this protest? I've been thinking a lot about the dismal historical outcomes of mass uprisings where the outcome usually seems to be a different small group at the top and the masses hurt, killed and worse off than before. I hope to write more about possible different ways to approach creating widespread prosperity. The Oakland incident makes me think that truly constructive means are key: not just non-violent means, but means that add real value rather than destroying wealth and the ability of others to create it.
Below are songs that speak to me of the of the dismal historical record of revolution in freeing the masses and the realities of class distinction.