Black Lives Matter may well be the most Consequential group of this era

[malaise]

Student protests on several campuses across America - yes Mizzou set the stage, but Black Lives Matter made the stage possible.

[Dawgs]

1. Students have been protesting on campuses for decades.

I think it's a little early to give the credit to Black Lives Matter.

[malaise]

2. Of course students have been protesting for decades

These are new protests about racism on campus and they were revived by Black Lives Matter.
I also give a lot of credit to the young folks of the Occupy Movement. There will be change.

[Hortensis]

3. If their impact grows into comprehensive police department

reform across the nation, as a formally named organization perhaps yes.

I think we have to give enormous credit to our bystander warriors and their cellphone cameras though. They came first, are no doubt fighting somewhere as I type, and I think we know now will continue the fight in greater and greater numbers.

[malaise]

4. Absolutely - technology and activism usually bring

fundamental change. The bystander warriors deserve lots of credit.

[Hortensis]

9. Yes! I'm very hopeful that we CANNOT continue the bad old ways.

[mythology]

5. People said the same thing about Occupy Wallstreet

It can only be determined after time.

[TipTok]

6. If by 'era', you mean summer 2015...

Beyond that I suspect they will go the Occupy Wall Street route...

[maxrandb]

7. Sorry, but they haven't shown me anything yet

Say what you want about the T-baggers, but they did get out and vote!

If they help us send the t-bagging asshats and the "horse they road in on" to the dustbin of history, then they can be consequential. If not, then what's the point?

In our Democracy, it's action at the ballot box all the "effing" way down to local Dog Catcher that changes things...not action in the streets.

Hope they are not too busy protesting that they forget to vote...and I'm sorry, but part of voting is VOTING AGAINST SOMETHING AS WELL

You either send a message at the ballot box that we are not going to take it anymore, or you're just an enabler.

Anyone who has been paying attention can truly see that the Republican Party ought to suffer such a bloodletting election in 2016 that they turn tail and run like a scalded dog, but they won't, because people will buy into that BS that "both parties are the same", or "I'm not voting for the lesser of two evils". You know what you get when you don't consider voting for the "lesser of evil"? You get nothing but pure evil.

Even a 3RD Way Democrat is 1000 times better than a One-Way Republican. Without power and elected office, we can screech all we want about progressive causes, but we will get nowhere. Or we can elect sane Democrats and then put the pressure of our votes to bear against them.

Why in the world would a politician want to move in a more progressive direction when voters aren't there to support them?