Written by Gina Goodfellow.
A violently fascistic man has just been inaugurated as the president of the USA, which seems to be falling quickly into a fiercely right-wing oligarchy - what can we do about it?
Historically, revolutionary movements have originated from economic strain, perceived injustice, and alienation among the elites. In the USA, at a time where inequality is rife and the newly elected president is popularly viewed to be the physical embodiment of all things wrong with the ruling class, it seems like the prime time for protest, radical direct action, and even revolution. The internet has complicated the way these movements might begin.
A recent TikTok trend refers to ‘cute winter boots’ in what claims to be an attempt to bypass algorithmic restrictions on what content is pushed to wider audiences; ‘cute winter boots’ has become an online codeword for political dissent. The ‘winter boots’ term developed due to its intention to spread information about dealing with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) as a response to Trump’s increased deportations. The meaning of the term has since devolved, and a search will now yield advice on how to conceal your identity at protests, information about Trump’s policies, and political theory recommendations.
The problem? None of this really seems to achieve anything. The meaning of the ‘cute winter boots’ isn’t a well-kept secret - open the comments on any of these videos and someone will explain its meaning. If TikTok wanted to suppress related content, it would be easy - the videos are neatly categorised by #CuteWinterBoots. No actual organising is being done under the tags, and many of the videos are entirely abstract (one TikTok simply shows the Mockingjay symbol from The Hunger Games edited over a pair of winter boots). The information they spread isn’t top secret or forbidden - you could find it with a single search online.
The makers of these videos probably have genuine intentions, and some of their information really is valuable, but the codified ‘cute winter boots’ seems to me like kids playing as adults, like teenagers who grew up on fantasy novels are cosplaying as revolutionaries with no real commitment to social change. If these people want to create a genuine challenge to the political order, they should engage in organisation in their communities, whether that be with protest, direct action, volunteering, fundraising, or any number of different ways to make a material difference. I think most people with experience in grassroots activism would see the silliness in this trend.
An unintentionally illuminating aspect of this online ‘activism’ is that this codeword for dissent exposes its own central flaw through its naming - the activism, like a pair of cute winter boots, is a trend. This Spring, steel toe caps and the revolution are in! Summer… back to flip flops and resigning to late-stage capitalist dystopia? Ultimately, there is no long-term commitment to making change happen.
It also points to the commodification of activism. TikTok will tell you how to conceal your identity in a way that looks stylish. Shein is selling Keffiyeh print scarfs. Buy a balaclava on Amazon and get it delivered in time for the uprising! The poison of capitalist consumerism has seeped into the cracks of anti-capitalist mobilisation.
This isn’t a unique case of political action becoming a trend online. Luigi Mangione’s (alleged) assassination of Brian Thompson, the billionaire health insurance CEO responsible for unquantifiable suffering and death, was a radical feat of direct action. It was the type of act that we might expect to spark the origin of a wider movement of political unrest. Mangione has become something of the expected martyr-like figure among some online leftist circles, though the mainstream treatment of this case is one of a trend. Mangione was a hot topic on Twitter for a few weeks; he was treated a sex symbol, a meme, a cultural icon. Two months later, people are already moving on - Mangione isn’t mentioned nearly as regularly, and the American health insurance system remains unchanged.
Perhaps if people had considered the weight of Mangione’s act on a deeper level, a more sustained challenge to the status quo could’ve been made. The online world shifted the focus to the character of the shooter rather than the ramifications of the shooting. Mangione struck a match that could have sparked a radical change, but we are failing to fuel the fire.
Internet communities have a tendency to dilute and pervert leftist ideas in a fundamentally detrimental way. They will try to tell you that Melania Trump is a girlboss, and that violent resistance to oppression is unjustifiable. They will show you the aesthetic of the monarchy and the aristocracy as if this somehow excuses their contribution to the subjugation of millions. They will tell you that sex work is liberatory and feminist, and that commercial surrogacy is not exploitative merely because the surrogate consents. This, combined with the commercialisation and trendiness of activism, composes a difficult environment for change to originate.
None of this is to claim that the internet is intrinsically and exclusively harmful to activism - it is a double-edged sword. The trend cycle provides a challenge to activism, but the communication and transnational community building facilitated by the internet is hugely beneficial. The Kenmure Street Protests, for example, saw hundreds of people in Glasgow coming together to prevent the movement of a Home Office van containing two men at risk of deportation. After eight hours of the van being surrounded, the men were released. This is an extremely successful example of a direct action that could not have occurred had the message of the detainment not been spread by local activists on social media (see a Tweet from the day here). It also serves as a hopeful reminder of the goodness of people; - the protestors’ shouts of “they are our neighbours, let them go!” was a comforting indicator that community is not lost.
Social media can be a productive tool for mobilisation. During the past 500 days, footage of Israel’s genocide in Gaza spread widely because of the internet. While some Zionists try to deny the genocide (others declare it proudly), the information spread online challenges this denial. International solidarity with Palestine and Palestinians thrived during this severe wave of Israel’s ethnic cleansing project, facilitated in part by social media. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in cities around the world to protest for arms embargoes and boycotts of Israel, numbers that surely would not have come together through word of mouth and flyposting alone. While harmful, the internet can also be a tool for good.
Ultimately, despite the new challenges presented by fast moving trend cycles and aggressive consumerist rhetoric, hope is not lost. Our world is filled with brilliant and intelligent activists committed to making our communities into better places using whatever means necessary. They will sow noble seeds in poisoned soil until they flourish.
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