I Must Protest

I read recently that some of the arrested protesters from the G-20 conference were accepting plea bargains and being released. What caught my attention was that this was a full month after the conference had been held, and these protesters were still dealing with the ramifications of their actions. A month later, it blew my mind. Do these people not have jobs, homes, families, lives? Were these things worth losing or being separated from for such a time just to get a message out? After reading about these individuals, I came to a conclusion that the extreme form of protest we see prevalent in our world today is ineffective, wasteful and dangerous and instead of affecting change, it maintains the status quo.

Do you want to know the net result of extreme protesting? A wasted day, traffic congestion, increased sales at Staples, inconvenienced pedestrians who have nothing to do with those being protested and tons of generated anger, fury, hurt feelings and misplaced vitriol of which our world does not need more. That’s it. Sure, the message of the protesters gets out, and perhaps by chance a few people may show some middling interest in their cause. But for the most part, the only people getting fired up are ones already on board with their mission, or those on the opposite extreme who could care less about said cause but find the whole situation terribly inconveniencing and extremely annoying.

What I really do not understand is how protesters feel that causing such demonstrations really affect the change they seek. Does it really work? Does all the effort, planning, procurement of supplies, risk to personal safety and freedom, risk of breaking laws or injuring innocent bystanders really do anything positive for their cause? Does some CEO sit in her office watching a protest and say; Wow, gee maybe we should change things. Or does a world leader sit back in quiet reflection as thousands protest below and ponder how to act upon the demands being vehemently thrust upon him? Or does public opinion really sway so greatly that the cause is picked up by millions of like minded individuals solely because a band of people were unafraid to shout their opinion from the street corners? No, from what I’ve seen, most people watch protesting groups and think they are a bunch of law breaking crackpots. Even those who do not break laws, or are peaceful and genuinely believe in their cause are lumped in with those who do go to ridiculous, illegal and dangerous extremes to make their point.

I witnessed a peace protest once in Denver, and the reaction of those not involved ranged from mild annoyance to slight curiosity to extreme disinterest. I watched those around me and their reactions after the march had passed, and nary one person was moved to jump up and rush to join. Most stared on in trivial amusement and then went back about their day. People tend to avoid such extreme actions because it makes them uncomfortable, they fear possible repercussions from law enforcement or others or they just do not feel that strongly about the issue at hand. Does that mean they do not care? No. It means they do not want to be swept up a tidal wave of extremism to affect change. And I do believe some people would be moved to join the cause, but feel that if their passion for the issue does not match those marching or protesting, then perhaps they do not care that much at all and just ignore the whole thing.

I guess I just cannot see what this particular form of objection toward something really generates in regards to an end result, which no matter the protest or cause always seems to be some sort of change. It seems that causing such a ruckus does so little toward making that change happen, and so much more toward turning public opinion away from those working so hard to get their voices heard and their concerns addressed.

Do not get the wrong idea. I think those who demand, want, need, speak up and work for change is vital to our society and our world. If we did nothing but stare placidly out our windows at the world rolling by, nothing would ever change. As creatures, humans have a tendency to want and make their situations better, sometimes in minor ways and sometimes in grandiose ways. We need people willing to speak out, stand up and inspire the rest of us that it doesn’t always have to be like this. We can make things better for everyone. We can do better than we have, we can do more. But hanging from signs and disrupting meetings seems like such a fruitless way of transforming our world.

History is ripe with those who stood up, turned public opinion in their favor and affected real change. Brave individuals who were willing to make a stand and say, we need to change things and for the better. But all of those who were successful in really making change occur were never ones who advocated violence or who went after those they opposed with vitriol and venom. They never made their stand by destroying property, endangering bystanders or rioting. They used words, ideas, dreams and the power of the people to make our world better. They were never afraid to stand up, but when they did, they pulled people together for their cause and beliefs, not pushed them away with extremism.

We live in a 24/7 media cycle, with options almost ridiculously unlimited in ways to communicate a message or entice people to your cause. Getting people on your side to influence public opinion always works. If enough people get fed up, things will change. But if you use tactics that just turn off, or worse anger, the general population your hard fought efforts will be for naught.

Use that media cycle to your advantage and grab that public opinion. Start websites, twitter, face book, text, call, blog, vlog, put up billboards, get on news programs, be interviewed and interview others that can get your message out to greater numbers. If you still want to get out on the street, fine. Hand out pamphlets, open a store front to talk about the issues at hand or put up campaign style lawn signs. Run for public office and make changes within the system. Work for one of the companies that vex you so and start enacting change from within. There are so many ways you can work to make the differences you seek, and these are merely a drop in the bucket, that would be far more effective than a protest. Plus, you wouldn’t have to spend the day in the elements marching in a circle like a demented merry go round. And that would be a change for the positive.