A great analysis. Neotoddlerism is a very apt term, capturing very well many protests we've been seeing lately. However I will not dismiss ALL protests as neotoddlerism. The big civil rights demonstrations and marches of the 60s were non-violent, non-destructive, impactful actions. And in our day, there should be no objection to any orderly march or demonstration, non-obstructive, with civil language, whether the issue is Gaza, climate change, police brutality, whatever. and whether one agrees or not with the positions being taken But we don't see much of that in the US these days. Nevertheless, I am a more than a bit troubled by the idea of some folks that all protesters today (and maybe in Eric Hoffer's day too) are motivated by boredom, or have empty lives they are seeking to provide with meaning through passionate hatred of some group, or are just getting together noisily and seeking attention, or have other primarily ignoble motivations. There are people with consciences who are genuinely distressed by what is happening in Gaza, there are people who understand the workings of the natural world who recognize we are indeed heading toward a type of ecological catastrophe. I confess to being one of the latter. I would participate in an action that was orderly, non-destructive and used only civil language IF I could see that it might actually have some impact. In February 2003 I went to NYC with husband and daughter to join the march to the UN against the war against Iraq that President Bush was about to launch. My daughter and I also participated in the 2014 climate march in NYC. In both cases I hoped that sheer numbers of participants might affect decisions and policy. That did not happen, and I have not participated in any marches since then. For people who, as I said, are genuinely distressed by government or societal behavior they see as very immoral or just very bad in a practical way for humanity, what effective actions are available to individuals? I ponder this but have no good answer.
Best explanation of this is here: https://www.gurwinder.blog/p/the-outrageous-rise-of-neotoddlerism
“Neotoddlerism” is the perfect description of these protest movements.
Just seeing the word, I'd have initially attributed it Donald Trump.
A great analysis. Neotoddlerism is a very apt term, capturing very well many protests we've been seeing lately. However I will not dismiss ALL protests as neotoddlerism. The big civil rights demonstrations and marches of the 60s were non-violent, non-destructive, impactful actions. And in our day, there should be no objection to any orderly march or demonstration, non-obstructive, with civil language, whether the issue is Gaza, climate change, police brutality, whatever. and whether one agrees or not with the positions being taken But we don't see much of that in the US these days. Nevertheless, I am a more than a bit troubled by the idea of some folks that all protesters today (and maybe in Eric Hoffer's day too) are motivated by boredom, or have empty lives they are seeking to provide with meaning through passionate hatred of some group, or are just getting together noisily and seeking attention, or have other primarily ignoble motivations. There are people with consciences who are genuinely distressed by what is happening in Gaza, there are people who understand the workings of the natural world who recognize we are indeed heading toward a type of ecological catastrophe. I confess to being one of the latter. I would participate in an action that was orderly, non-destructive and used only civil language IF I could see that it might actually have some impact. In February 2003 I went to NYC with husband and daughter to join the march to the UN against the war against Iraq that President Bush was about to launch. My daughter and I also participated in the 2014 climate march in NYC. In both cases I hoped that sheer numbers of participants might affect decisions and policy. That did not happen, and I have not participated in any marches since then. For people who, as I said, are genuinely distressed by government or societal behavior they see as very immoral or just very bad in a practical way for humanity, what effective actions are available to individuals? I ponder this but have no good answer.