Your experiences with protests. What do u think about them?

I think this issue might be worthwhile since we been seeing a lot of protest lately around the world which go from the heroic attempt to overthrow brutal dicatator to... I WANNA A NEW PAIR OF SHOES!!!!

But going back on topic tomorow Ill be going to a large protest related to cuts on the education budget... and tear gas and water houses are almost certain to be brought up. Since is my first time I dont know what to expect...

Protests are the least effective form of expressing opinion and getting change. Violent revolution and the ballot box are the most effective. (The former especially so when the latter is unavailable.)

Unless the protest is violent, you won't see tear gas or water hoses.

When I was in middle school we had a protest break out in our school. Some high schoolers came by and caused trouble as well. There were silly children with signs walking around and assholes doing things like throwing large metal trashcans down from the third floor. We were eventually put on lockdown and my English teacher, whose room I was stuck in for a good long while, proceeded to scold us for getting worked up over something we didn't understand and for doing shit like the aforementioned trashcan throwing.

Other people did things like march in the streets, and clog up traffic more than normal, for immigrant rights. The high school near us had more or less just left the campus save some people like my friend who stayed behind and did things like nap or play video games in the computer labs.

Needless to say my only personal experience with these has been very bad. It caused trouble, didn't do a damn bit of good from what I saw, and put me in a foul mood.

edited 6th Sep '11 5:29:23 PM by Aondeug

Recently in Wisconsin we had about 100,000 people marching on the capitol to express disgust with the Union busting that our governor and his legislature were doing. I say his because they were basically rubber-stamping every piece of partisan legislation for him.

No protest of this magnitude has been seen since Vietnam.

...protests are nice if the people in them are smart enough to not fall to mob mentality.

People, however, are stupid, so most of the time it just goes horribly, horribly wrong...

Problem is there are,specially with this budget cut measure, always violent people among largely peaceful crowds.

I wouldnt throw rocks or do anything besides chanting slogans. But certainly, sooner of later there will be tear gas.

edited 6th Sep '11 6:14:53 PM by Baff

I like to think about it in sociological cause-effect, action-reaction terms.

If you decide to be violent before the soldiers/police/whatever become violent, then I don't give a damn how much tear gas or how many rubber bullets you have to deal with—and if you start shooting/really hurting/killing people, then it's a totally different ballgame.

If they're violent first, then everything is fair game...

Wisconsin has taught me that protests don't matter.

~shrug~

They don't.

I have mixed feelings about protests.

It sort of seems a rather rude and risky way to accomplish change, particularly when the protesters decide to block traffic, accost folk just trying to get to work, etc. And there's a huge risk that the protest will result in accidental violence on the part of the protesters, their opponents, or authorities, be misused by extremists or criminals as a cover or excuse for criminal activities, or become a full - blown riot. On the other hand, many peaceful protests accomplish nothing because its just a few people carrying signs and the press does not interview them so word does not get out.

On the other hand, large peaceful protests have accomplished things. Ghandi and Dr. King achieved massive protests with very little violence from their own side. The people of Egypt accomplished what might otherwise have taken a revolution with hundreds of times more injuries and deaths, though those protests were not without unnecessary violence from the pro - change side.

Wisconsin failed I think, because rather than reveal injustice, thus garnering universal reluctant support from the general public, it revealed just how divided the country has become.

edited 6th Sep '11 6:29:11 PM by FrodoGoofballCoTV

I'm fine with protests as long as they don't fuck up traffic or other things. People have to get to work, and taking up a road marching and holding signs and hampering those peoples' abilities to get to work is just a dick move, no matter how you view it.

Protest have a massive impact when enough people attend.

If you have Lived in Turkey, South America, or the Middle East you should know.

In Europe it appears they are not as useful... but they are more propense to rioting for some reasons.

Even in the States. Vietnam protests (I dislike alot about hippies but whatever) made an impact.

edited 6th Sep '11 7:48:39 PM by Baff

Protests are meaningless in democracies unless they motivate people to vote.

That is why the protests here in Wisconsin didn't work like people hoped. There was a shitton of turnout for the protest because, well, people like the spectacle, but when it came time to vote those people quickly found out that the huge number wasn't actually reflecting a the majority opinion—partially because of a lack of voter education—and that they'd failed to really rile up a strong opinion in their favor in the voting population...

Protest motivate people to vote. Just wait for the next election in Wisconsin.

Honestly? My only active experience with protests has been the May Day riots(got activated) and Martial Law during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. My dad is LAPD and was there for the entirety of the LA Riots after the bank robbery.

Neither were good experiences. People get really stupid and do really stupid things, then they bitch and moan when they get put in their place for it.

Other than that, most protests that I see and hear of are usually for things I don't support in the first place, so I usually have an ill opinion of them. Things like anti-war protests, pro-immigration rallies, pro-lifers, anti-gay protesting, and other such events where I don't agree with the opinion of the protesters.

edited 6th Sep '11 8:06:13 PM by Barkey

I really don't see tear gas and water hoses being brought out at an education-budget protest. If so I think there's bigger problems than the budget in your local area.

You underestimate the importance of education...

Is that sarcasm or not? Because I understand the importance of education, but I don't see a rally over it getting so out of hand that tear gas and hoses need to get involved.

edited 6th Sep '11 8:42:22 PM by HeavyDDR

@Heavy: Context: The Governor himself talked about how he was planning to send plants into the Madison protests to incite violence.

Do you have a link? That's freaky. I don't doubt you, but I mean, golly.

He was prank-called by someone in Buffalo pretending to be David Koch, and Walker revealed a big chunk of his plans in earnest to the guy.

BRB, finding link.

EDIT: Found. Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBnSv3a6Nh4

edited 6th Sep '11 9:17:54 PM by Enkufka