I'm going protesting

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Poll: Are protests effective?
A little bit
88%
 88%  [15]
Not even at all
0%
 0%  [0]
Not unless someone lights themselves on fire
11%
 11%  [2]
Total Votes : 17

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meccalecca
Voice of Reason


Gender: Male
Location: The Land of Enchantment
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  • #11
  • Posted: 07/23/2013 15:32
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Jackwc wrote:
The general moral of these stories is that protests don't work, for two reasons:


While a generally agree with your critique of protests, you've really overgeneralized, since it's been proven in the past that protests do work when they overcome the obstacles you listed.
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junodog4
Future Grumpy Old Man


Gender: Male
Location: Calgary
Canada

  • #12
  • Posted: 07/23/2013 17:02
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Jackwc wrote:

The general moral of these stories is that protests don't work, for two reasons:
1. The people are often there for themselves, not for the cause, and will try to crudely staple their cause onto the back of the banner as soon as they get a chance. The vast majority of protests I see suffer from a complete lack of organization or a shared goal, and this cripples them tremendously.

2. Getting a bunch of angry people together in a crowded, claustrophobic environment with no REAL defined goal or organization is a surefire way to start a riot, so always be prepared for the possibility of violence. Often there are people there whose sole purpose is to wait for the violence to break out because they want to hurt someone or break something for fun. However, these sorts of protests can often work to the desired effect. Men like Martin Luther King will always be the ones to get the glory, but the contributions of violent radicals like Huey P. Newton will always be just as, if not more, important.


I agree. Most protests are ineffectual because they lack focus. However, protests can overcome these obstacles if the right conditions exist. The WTO protests in Seattle were incredibly poorly organized, and every interest with an axe to grind with economic globalization showed up. The internet was still a new phenomenon, and the police, protest organizers and local government were totally unprepared for the numbers of people who showed up. Further, the worst day occurred on a school holiday. Consequently, you had many kids showing up to check out the excitement, without knowing what it was about. It quickly went from a protest about causes to an excuse to vent at authority or act up without consequence (see Vancouver hockey riots). In the World Petroleum Congress (Calgary), they deliberately organized beforehand and scheduled big events on school days. Yes, it was much smaller scale than Seattle, but it was still peaceful (whether the message was received is another debate). Protests can work if they're organized. A rare and difficult occurrence, but possible.

Further, massive society wide protest (see Egypt) can have effect in developing nations.
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