To think protesting doesn't work anymore?

[022828MAN]

From BLM, Extinction Rebellion, Anti lock down protests in Melbourne.

I'm not arguing whether the context or reason for the protesting is justified or not, but I just wonder whether protesting is ever going to get results for anyone in this day and age.

It seems as though it's just the go-to answer nowadays, yet I've not seen anywhere it seems to have yielded any results. All I see is prolonged anguish, anxiety, vandalism, violence and arrests.

I feel like police / gov actively won't respond to demands through protesting as they believe it will show them to be able to be manipulated, and therefore they purposely do not give in to protests.

I'm not here to say people shouldn't be vocal when they believe in something, but is protesting the answer in modern times?

Take it up with them.

I did, and you decided to wade in to give me crap for it. Apparently people can say whatever racist claptrap they like but no one is allowed to call them on it.

Pepperwort are you black or biracial?

@Msmcc1212

‘Today 04:42 VettiyaIruken

Walking down a street waving banners has never worked.’

Protests of different sorts have worked. If you are a woman in the UK, the only reason you get to vote is because of protests and direct action.

The madness of the militants… the small body of misguided women who profess to represent the noble and serious cause of political enfranchisement of women, but in fact do their utmost to degrade and hinder it. - Manchester Guardian, 1912

The extreme actions of militant suffragettes hindered their cause far more than helped.

Ok. I admitted I may have missed something. I am not going to respond to any attempts to call me racist for such a reason. Take your anger up on another thread.

Stop gaslighting, Pepperwort.

You decided to start haranguing a poster for responding to racists posts while ignoring the posts they were replying to. You said it’s “inappropriate” to call racists racist. You employed clear hypocrisy in lecturing me for mentioning America while totally ignoring the posts I was responding to which are the ones that brought up America in the first place. You’re bafflingly insisting the thread should only be about the UK when the OP literally mentions Australia. You admit to not having read the thread yet still think it’s your right to play thread police. You’re the one lecturing biracial British people about racism in the UK. You’re the one trying to weaponise racist stereotypes ie “angry black woman” in order to oppress and silence the person you picked a fight with for no reason in the first place.

I think that you actually have to go back to the protests about the Iraq war etc. They were massive, brought together people from all sorts of politcal and social backgrounds and... made no difference at all. Its no wonder that people that were teenagers/young people then are more cynical now than the students which make up a lot (not all) of the protesters now. But even back in the early 2000s a lot of the protests seemed along the lines of "not in my name" - so there wasn't a real belief that it would make a difference but people still wanted to show they didnt support it. Which I suppose was virtual signalling in a way, but I dont know what the alternative is?

Re BLM though, it does seem like African Americans in particular have been asking politely to have equal rights for well over 100 years now, you can't really blame people if they decide to stop asking nicely at this point...

But I agree theres a risk it could play into Trumps hands (he seems to be hoping it will) I guess with find out in a few months.

I agree completely, yetanothernamitynamechange.

I do worry about how BLM is being weaponised and exploited by the right and some things coming out of the US honestly feel so sinister. But what’s the alternative when black people are being slaughtered - literally murdered in cold blood while asleep, or giving lethal injections while receiving medical care?

Look at the protests about this government Dom Cummings Brexit and all the rest. What’s happening? We have a strong Tory government, Cummings is still there, and we’re headed for no deal Brexit. So I agree with OP

I admitted I may have missed something.

I’ve been thinking about this more, and it’s very strange because it’s something that’s both happened to me and that I’ve witnessed happen to others: someone will call out racism (whether it’s one Mumsnet post or a story that’s been covered in the national news) and be attacked or contradicted by posters who admit to not having even read the post/read up on the news case in question.

Some people just have this automatic knee-jerk reaction that whenever they see someone or something being called racist, they must must defend that person or thing without even taking the time to find out the details. I wonder where that impulse comes from.

BLM and the climate change thingy do their cause no good by the aggressive manner of their protests.

@rainwaterflow

I admitted I may have missed something.

I’ve been thinking about this more, and it’s very strange because it’s something that’s both happened to me and that I’ve witnessed happen to others: someone will call out racism (whether it’s one Mumsnet post or a story that’s been covered in the national news) and be attacked or contradicted by posters who admit to not having even read the post/read up on the news case in question.

Some people just have this automatic knee-jerk reaction that whenever they see someone or something being called racist, they must must defend that person or thing without even taking the time to find out the details. I wonder where that impulse comes from.

Sorry, what racism have you pointed out on this thread?!

@ElizabethMainwaring

Yes. It just alienates and angers people. It's bullying in many cases. And virtue signalling. Tedious.

Agree! I have no sympathy for anyone on strikes or attending a protest. Usually it causes ME inconvenience. 😡 It may have worked 100 years ago, but this day and age the internet is more powerful.

I would class myself as part of the ‘silent majority’ and absolutely despise XR - privileged idiots. Your post suggests that your views are those of the "silent majority" - I don't think that you can assume the "silent majority" all think the same way.

It works in countries whereby true change is needed in the face of utter horror, murder, violence, corruption etc. This country is actually pretty tame, no matter what people think: marching here is not the same as say in America, India, Japan etc.

@yetanothernamitynamechange

Re BLM though, it does seem like African Americans in particular have been asking politely to have equal rights for well over 100 years now, you can't really blame people if they decide to stop asking nicely at this point...

Women have been asking for change for a lot longer, and as noted, got nowhere via protests. The working classes have been exploited since forever in Britain, and we have good reason to think (e.g. Miners strikes, the constant policies against us) that protests will not be useful.

In both cases, rights are being rolled back, which is by itself a good indication that those in power do not listen to discussion. Councils try in vain.

@MereDintofPandiculation

I would class myself as part of the ‘silent majority’ and absolutely despise XR - privileged idiots. Your post suggests that your views are those of the "silent majority" - I don't think that you can assume the "silent majority" all think the same way.

I would say it’s a pretty safe assumption actually. XR has very little credibility, it’s just a student and hippie pensioners protest movement.

The ‘silent majority’ prefer to separate their plastics for recycling, feel bad about leaving lights switched on, support tree planting. The silent majority do not all want to be told to be vegan, told to not fly (by celebrities flying into attend protests), wear ‘vintage’ clothes and never buy anything new. The silent majority quite like mod cons and are not prepared to be told by unwashed (quite literally when you look at them) protesters how to live their lives.

Not sure why it's tedious to exercise democratic rights. Damaging property has zero to do with protesting, it's just criminal behaviour. It should negate the right to peaceful protest, which historically has achieved a lot.

As a PP said, I think the BLM riots and looting will actually win Trump another term. Do they realise the repellent effect they have on a huge amount of the population?

Sadly, I fear that this might be true. But Biden has condemned the lawlessness as well, whilst supporting peaceful BLM protests. But the looting really does need to stop.

The BLM protests on my home town worked beautifully, they were socially distanced in a local park, finished the time they said they would and left minimal litter. This helped the whole town focus on the issue at hand and really aided community cohesion. This is a good protest

XR are cunts. They prevented me getting the bus to work thus forcing pregnant me to push my toddler 30 mins both ways on a rushed early commute.

The lady In my office who is in a wheelchair and relies on that bus was prevented from working those 2 weeks. Hope she didn't have any bills to pay or anything ....

They actually shot themselves in the foot as I was too tired after all that to cook or recycle those 2 weeks so I just got deliveroo and chucked the packages in the bin, I used to be really passionate about climate change but they've managed to change that for me...

@ZombieFan

Why dont these so called 'protesters' do something positive for a change rather than destroying things all the time.

Which ones are you referring to?

Why are they 'protesters' in quotation marks?

What do they destroy?

What would you have them do?

How do you personally stick up for your beliefs?

letmethinkaboutitfornow the whole point of strikes is that they cause inconvenience. Did you think they ought to be slotted neatly in to an hourly timeframe or something?

I hope they work in Belarus as the alternative is that a dictator stays in power by crushing peaceful protest with violence.

Although they have been very small it's also good to see for example the recent protests in the UK against the Chinese treatment of Uighers. Even if they don't achieve anything, they send a clear message that we know and see what you are doing and it's not okay. In a similar way to the anti apartheid protests for example.

ER on the other hand seem to be conducting a masterclass in how to alienate people from a cause that most people are actually sympathetic towards.

@EvilPea

I’ve thought this for a while, our voices just aren’t of value.

Like HS2. Costing billions, irreversible damage and with very very little support. Yet no one listens, the powers that be continue.

Politicians can easily ignore marches, because unless they translate into votes they are inconsequential. And with so many marches going on all the time, any individual march becomes less impactful. Oh God another fucking march? What's this one about? If you live in London or somewhere constantly brought to standstill by fucking marches you quickly become irritated by them, even if you broadly agree with the issue.

Bottom line - your vote is your voice. In between elections, signing petitions about stuff you care about so it gets debated in parliament gives you a voice. Get involved in local/national grassroots political action if you want to have a voice. But marching is a waste of time IMO.

@ForrestTrump

What’s the alternative?

It'll only change IMO when the majority of the population care about it. If suicide bombers can't bring about change why would sign wavers?

I think suicide bombers have bought about immense change. Look at all the laws we have restricting what we can and can't do now, compared to 20 years ago.