If they're going to be effective, that is, if they're going to make government's uncomfortable, protests have to be something more than a moment of shouting in a specific location, with all the proper permits and etc. that can then be promptly ignored by the powers that be, protests have to disrupt business as usual.
I'm not a proponent of violence, so I think the best form of protest is a peaceful occupation. OCAP have done numerous versions of this tactic, mainly to good effect, usually to achieve a very specific goal. Protesters should take over some government building and stay there until their goal is reached. In extreme cases, private property (say of a weapons manufacturer or corporate criminal) can also be occupied.
The best people to do this are the unemployed, university students during the summer break, and retired people.
Corporations take our consumer dollars and fund lobbyists and other public relations hacks to influence the government and the political culture. We don't have their resources. If we are to have full-time activists they should, must be, people who can commit to long-term endeavours.
Instead of deriding the unemployed, or idealistic young students, when they protest we must all recognize and defend their ability to do the job for the rest of us, tied to some debt bondage of one form or another, jobs, families with young children, etc. cannot do. Obviously retired people should have our respect for their wisdom and their passion.
The people who can take the time out of the rat-race should be used strategically by the left to achieve its goals.
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3 comments:
It seems that most here still don't want to rock the boat. With our economy hurting the construction industry here, in what should be an enormous work potential is fizzling away, the union hall that I'm retired out of does not have any picket plans for the immediate future. Not even informational ones that at least 4 of my friends and I have volunteered for, rejecting even reimbursement for our gas fare, I told them we'd be happy to walk picket anywhere in the state. (Even where McCain, the "Elder Statesman" of my state, is scheduled to speak; Hint hint.) "We,ll get back to you. It seems that, at least here in Az., everyone's holding their breath until November,(or Jan., for the optimists.) and then...what?
One could attribute some of that to the timidity of established union leaders who imagine that access to government is worth more than effective confrontation, but the hesitancy of the left in general to move beyond words (I stand guilty of my own condemnation) is amazing.
When I try to suggest ways to use discussion boards as a venue to discuss genuine strategy I'm usually met with a resounding silence.
We like to bitch ad infinitum, but to act, not so much.
Well, I think that Glenn Greenwald agrees with you, and he and some others, I guess, are trying to continue the momentum that was sparked by the Immunity BS. While we may get hijacked again by Steny Hoyer and Pelosi, it shouldn't stop a deliberate, constant, and invigorated oppositional force. Or not, but it doesn't hurt to try. I've already given more than I can afford, (How can I afford not to?) to help the democrats who are running against these immoral "blue dog" fuckheads. Really, if more of us were to just nudge some others a lily bit more, things can happen. As much as I'd love to see some Tibetan Monk-style displays of protest here in the US and Canada, whatever isn't just ignoring the problem is a help.
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