Someone brought a guillotine to a city council meeting in Salem, Oregon on July 27, 2026. Not a sign shaped like one. Not a drawing. According to community accounts and social media posts, an actual guillotine structure appeared at the protest outside Loucks Auditorium, where hundreds of residents had gathered to oppose a proposed multi-billion-dollar AI data center. Company representatives reportedly assessed the scene and left, citing safety concerns — though that detail hasn’t appeared in formal news coverage or official minutes.
I believe the consensus is that a successful popular movement needs 3 elements:
Without the popular front, the political and militant groups will lose support of the population as well as their recruitment pipeline.
The political party can reduce the amount of violence and deprivation required to achieve objectives, by setting clear goals.
Without the militants, the opposing power already has a monopoly on violence and has no incentive to come to the table peacefully.
I think too many people think that negotiation is enough it’s not. Unfortunately we do need social tension as the rich recurrently take advantage.
Ethiopia managed to keep the British out with something very similar.
There was a bit of a snafu, and the British sent soldiers to accompany a diplomatic envoy.
The Ethiopians made a big show of marching soldiers around the British while the diplomats negotiated.
The message was clear “we are not interested in violence, we will however use it.”
The British left. They managed to keep the Italians out by kicking their ass. Repeatedly.
Non violent protest can work, if the implicit message is that “We will resort to violence if we need to. We are doing you a favor by being peaceful, do not mistake our kindness for submission.”
I think this is the key, unfortunately.
That’s one model!
Still gotta kill the wealthy.
That can be negotiated! As a century+ of American foreign policy demonstrates, you can’t just ride up and wax the existing power structures and call it a day.
You have to have something ready to replace it or you’ll get the same thing again but worse.
The thing is there’s like a hundred things yo do instead.
I’m not telling you how to live your life. I’m telling you that if you keep going like this, you won’t have one.
I got it. We keep exactly the same system, except every time someone amasses a net worth exceeding say, 100 million dollars, we drag them behind a truck in front of everyone who considers themselves “upper” middle class. Every year we pick someone at random who’s worth at last 50 million and do the same thing.
You know, like The Lottery, but all you have to do to avoid it is not hoard wealth.