In recent years, there’s been an increasing demonization and denigration of protests. Activists and protestors are portrayed as violent, problematic people who are being paid by local and foreign interests to cause chaos and disrupt the peace. This tactic is used by those in power to maintain the status quo and silence dissenting voices. By portraying protests as violent and disruptive, it discredits their message and delegitimizes their cause. This narrative is not only false, but it also undermines the power of organized demonstrations to bring about positive change. Here’s why we should defend the right to protest everywhere and at all times.
Why we should defend the right to protest
It is imperative that we defend the right to protest because it is an essential aspect of democracy. It allows individuals and groups to express their opinions and grievances to the government and without it the only views that would matter and be considered would be those of the ruling elite. Here are a few reasons why protests matter:
- Protests bring attention to important issues and can lead to positive change
- They serve as a check on government power and can help prevent abuses of power
- Protests allow marginalized groups to make their voices heard and advocate for their rights
- They provide an outlet for citizens to express their opinions and grievances to the government
- Protests can lead to greater government accountability and responsiveness to the needs and concerns of citizens
- They can also help to build solidarity and community among those who participate
- Protests can serve as a catalyst for social and political change
- They are an important form of peaceful assembly and free expression protected by the constitution
- Protests can serve as a safety valve for built-up social and political tension
- They help to ensure that all voices in society can be heard and that democracy is maintained
Accomplishments of protests
Protests, both violent and non-violent are responsible for so many great things in our lives that we presently take for granted. Citizens and workers all over the world engaged and continue to engage in sustained protests, often risking their lives which is why so many countries have:
- The 8-hour workday
- The two-day weekend
- Child labor laws
- The right to unionize
- Women’s suffrage
- Civil rights for minorities
- Marriage equality
- Environmental protections
- Workers’ compensation
- Social security
- Minimum wage laws
- The end of segregation
- The right to vote for everyone regardless of race, wealth and gender
- The legalization of same-sex marriage in many countries
- The right to have an abortion in many countries
- The right to education
- The right to strike
- The right to protest in many countries
- Independence of many countries
Every good thing we have was secured and is secured through sustained protests. The people in power do not willingly, out of the goodness of their hearts set up policies intended for the benefit of the poor. They don’t. They haven’t in the past and they never will. We have to fight and struggle to get everything and then fight and struggle to keep it. To denigrate protests is to spit in the face of the sacrifices our ancestors made. The sacrifices our fellow men continue to make everywhere where there is oppression and exploitation and harm being perpetuated by the powerful.
Protestors may look chaotic and wild and they are often characterized as poor, stupid, impressionable people but it is only through people like them that progress is achieved. The presentable, respectable people in their homes, being quiet and making sure not to upset the status quo don’t do anything of value for society. They offer zero tangible benefits. It’s the Egyptians in the streets who bring down a dictator. The Palestinians in the streets keep the Palestinian right to life and self-determination alive. It’s the protesting children of Soweto who bring apartheid to an end. It’s the ungovernable women and queers in the streets who advance feminism and demand freedom everywhere. The examples are endless.
Don’t be an armchair quarterback criticizing others while making no effort to participate. Get some skin in the game because you have skin in the game whether you like it or not. The policies that harm and kill us will harm and kill you too. Your silence and commitment to decorum will not save you.
Your silence will not save you
Audre Lorde
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