QOTD - Do protesters really accomplish anything?

Original post by Jan05Bride

Sep 01, 2004 09:29 AM

With all the media coverage of the protesters, I was wondering ... Do the protesters really make a difference? Do they swing votes? Do they change people's minds?

As a commuter into NYC, they have just annoyed me all week but then I was thinking - well what are they actually protesting?? I haven't even paid attention to what they were protesting only that they were in my way! So I watched the news a little more closely this morning to what they were protesting and to be honest - the news doesn't really cover the WHAT - they just cover where and how violent/peaceful it was.

What do you think?

ThongLori Posted: Sep 01, 2004 08:01 PM

Re: QOTD - Do protesters really accomplish anything?

I would rather see the people with cardboard signs actually volunteering for the cause they support, or working for the government officials who support it, or just doing something more PROACTIVE!!!

(And I am sure many of them do)

Seems like it would accomplish a lot more than holding up a sign.

DebsNY Posted: Sep 01, 2004 10:20 PM

Re: QOTD - Do protesters really accomplish anything?

I'm stubborn, so if protesters are ticking me off, i like to do the exact thing that they are protesting.

I go to a college in Virginia which is one of those most outspoken when it comes to things like sweat shops, etc... i swear sometimes i think they sit on a computer ever sunday night and decide what the hot new thing to protest is...

they just annoy me.

prncssrachel Posted: Sep 01, 2004 10:25 PM

Re: QOTD - Do protesters really accomplish anything?

I think the concept of protesting is a wonderful thing, and people should continue to do it if they believe in it, but I also think that protesting needs to change with the times. 40 years ago, sitting in the road and shouting and standing naked(well, maybe not this one) got you somewhere. It was the way to do it back then, but in this day and age, that's not the best way to reach a lot of people. You need to know your resources and use them to your best advantage. These people are not doing that. No one knows what htey are protesting, they just know that they ARE protesting, that is not productive. They need a productive way to get their points across, that makes a world of difference.

marymoon Posted: Sep 02, 2004 12:04 AM

Re: QOTD - Do protesters really accomplish anything?

I think just going out en masse sends a message. You can get to a lot of people on the internet, but that's not as powerful as showing someone a group of hundreds of people. Now with the Bush administration 'free speech zones' the officials won't see your message anyway, unfortunately. I think it's still useful. it disrupts our way of life and I agree it cna be really annoying and inconvenient, but sometimes things are so important that they SHOULD disrupt our lives. WHy are we going on like normla when there are people dying in an unjust war, when there are people starving and being decimated by terrorism, war, genocide and starvation, the list goes on. How can we go about our normal lives when there is such unjustice in the world?

It sounds like you went to PCU..LOL

Oct Groom, I rolled my eyes as if to say 'tsk...cynic'...and just cause you were talking :-P