Given that and the distribution of people with a will to get aggressive about politics in the US, would you rather that this method existed or didn't exist?
First, yes... It is very, very certain to get attention. I tried to cover that it could be used for a variety of reasons and would suggest that one have absolute conviction before trying this. It will, almost certainly, cause harm.
So, it is a method that could be used for causes I agree with or causes I'm vehemently opposed to. To get the greatest amount of attention, it does require quite a few like-minded people who are also going to go through the discomfort with you. It scales democratically.
If you can get 1/300th of the population, about 1,000,000 people with vehicles, conviction, and means - it would shut the whole region down for many weeks. It would be a complete and total shut down of the entire surface transportation infrastructure.
It would scale in a sigmoidal fashion. With greater numbers, it eventually just gets a bit more routine and they will have already undertaken the time to bring in the equipment to move vehicles. So, there is a theoretical point of diminishing returns. I haven't crunched any numbers to speculate as to where that might be.
They are going to be right pissed. The locals, innocent perhaps, would be impacted greatly.
They are going to do things like put the blade down on bulldozers and just ram a path open for emergency vehicles. On multi-lane roads, they are going to smash them into the ditch and median. Towing a single vehicle is a half-hour process, done right, for just hooking up, positioning, and securing the vehicle, as well as disconnecting the vehicle. Add to that the driving time...
You can get some rough estimates, if you wanted.
I mention that to make sure that we all understand the severity. If enough angry people do this, it will shut the whole area down. The effects will ripple out across the nation as it impacts everything from shipping to airport schedules.
Even worse, every few days could be a wave of new vehicles. They'd eventually put up checkpoints and stop traffic. That's fine... You just arrive at the checkpoints at the same time instead of arriving at 1600 Penn. Ave. and you only end up making the mess even larger.
So, I have to say that I'm glad this method exists. I'm glad because it does offer a step between protest and violent revolution. I'm glad because it is something that can be organized by even some of the poorest people. I'm glad that it exists because it scales with participation.
I sort of answered that already, by virtue of my posting. It's not something people think about or realize. It's not a method people even understand unless it is explained.
In all my years online, since before the web was world wide, I've only written about it three times. This was the most comprehensive.
I want to thank you for asking that question. It really makes me think. I'd considered the morality of posting it, as I've considered it twice before. What I'd not considered, prior to your asking, was would I prefer the method not exist.
At this point, I'm going to say I'm glad it exists. While terrible, it is much better than going from peaceful protest straight to violent revolution. It is a power held by the people, with little defense, that requires commitment and agreement. I'd rather that than no options at all.
Again, thanks for the very thought provoking question. I hope I've answered it well enough.
If you don't mind, what are your opinions on the existence of such, the publication of such, or whatnot?
Thanks for the detailed response!