I have been wondering where the heads and heart of youth today is at given everything that is going on.
As a product of the 60's - tame as I was - I can't believe there is so little protest going on in campuses these days...when the times are so similar-ish.
The fellow in this video gives me hope. He makes me think I have been looking for protest in all the wrong places.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
STUDENTS: A CHALLENGE FOR YOU
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Protests solve nothing. The people who protest in universities now will either still be protesting and accomplishing nothing 20 years from now (hello to the people with the "$TELMACH" sign a few years ago) or still be in school on our dime.
ReplyDeleteIt's your right to protest, yes, but it's also my right to tell you to go home.
Protest does not solve things but it sure does contribute to resolving things...if for no other reason than it is putting issues on the public agenda.
ReplyDeleteThose issues may not otherwise make the MSM cut or meet the content control criteria of certain centralized political powers.
But protest does not always make a difference...and therefore you are right - you can tell me/them/us to go home. I like that about democracy.
Passive or passive aggressive cynical citizenship who chose to stay home is even more futile in finding solutions. I don't like that about democracy.
Protests never contributed to anything. It is someone's right to do so in a free society, absolutely. But what about those of us who agree with the clear justification of the Iraq war? The peacenicks would be the first to try to stop our rights.
ReplyDeleteThere was a great article in the newspaper about the former Greenpeace co-founder who stated taht such silly protests do nothing to support change.
ReplyDeleteeric - Who said anything about silly protests? Polar Bear suits are silly. Too many ENGOs are about fund raising using such stunts not about effecting change.
ReplyDeleteNot all protest is silly but Greenpeace is a master at that form of protest.
Anon @ 1:23 - on what basis do you say "...Peacenicks would be the first to try and stop our rights"?
ReplyDeleteFreedom of speech means you have to respect the same freedom for those with whom you disagree.
I recall Adali Stevenson in the UN in the 60's saying words to the effect to Russia's Nikita Khruschev "I disagree with everything you say sir, but I will defend with my life your right to say it."
That is where I come from. Are you so timid as to not stand up for your freedom of speech - or afraid to exercise it polticially like so many Harper Cons seem to be?
Try in 2003 where I was proudly part of a pro-liberation of Iraq march downtown when the peacenicks tried to get us banned yet wanted to continue. Freedom only for their narrow views.
ReplyDeleteProtest never got us anything? How about these few examples:
ReplyDelete- Ghandi's nonviolent resistance
- the Million Man March
- Earth Day 1970
- Anti-Vietnam Protests
- Seattle 1999
Sure it's difficult to draw causality, but there's no way you could seriously argue that these events didn't dramatically impact the political milieu.
Good post Ken. This is a really worrying issue that I tend to have mixed feelings about. You should check out Wattenberg's 'Where Have All the Young Voters Gone?' I don't know if I completely agree with him, but it's an interesting (and depressing) thesis.
You just proved my point.
ReplyDeleteWhat did Earth day 1970 accomplish? Nothing, there's much more pollution today than then.
Seattle 1999? Absolutely nothing accomplished, period. There's more world trade today than 9 years ago.
There's way you could seriously argue that these events did anything to dramatically impact the political milieu. If nothing it showed the public that these protests are nothing more than fringe elements of our society.
It's hard to know if nothing was accomplished through the, for example, 1970 and 1999 protests. After all, we have what we have today. As for pollution after 1970 - at least now we have developed policies and mechanisms such as Environmental Impact Assessment, that came about in the same time period and with the same spirit as those protests. While projects are rarely rejected based on EIA reports, it is certain that many problematic plans have been corrected as a result of that process.
ReplyDeleteFrom a Chinese perspective (since I'm in China), protest has been quite useful on the environmental front. Protest in Shanghai resulted in the cancellation of the development of a Maglev train through the city due to radiation pollution concerns. Widespread protest in the city of Xiamen last year over improper environmental approvals for a petrochemical plant (I think) near a residential area also resulted in the proper evaluation of the development plan.
Finally, protests are not always important for changing things, but are important for helping society at large decide on what it wants. A radical protest can help the "majority" focus and decide that it doesn't want to be radical, or that it wants to progress at a more moderate pace - and that is important for democratic development as well.
Good to hear from you again neo...closer to home the protests around the old EUB spying on citizens and infiltrating their efforts managed to kill the EUB.
ReplyDeleteNow we have two new quasi-judicial bodies with new Chairs and some "retired" old members. This is a product of protest.
Ken, not sure if you got my e-mail messages before, maybe they got tagged as spam? Anyway, just thought I'd let you know I'm working in a Chinese NGO in partnership with several government departments developing a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) for China, that is likely to resemble Californian and UK LCFSs, and if successful, may well affect China's long-term interests in, say, bitumen...
ReplyDeleteIt's a very interesting process and will have a very interesting outcome, I think. I'll keep you posted, if you're interested.
Cheers,
Rob
rob [atsign] sinocanadian dot net
What was wrong with the EUB obtaining public information anyway? Nothing.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 7:50
ReplyDeleteA quasi-judicial - non-political, administrative body with delegated power to indepentently and fairly decide public policy issue that is hiring private plain clothed investigators and infiltrating (spying is more accurate)citizens and citizen's groups appearing beofre them is something you have no problem with?
Please tell me you are not involved public policy or politics in any way.
Again, what's wrong with that?
ReplyDeletePlease tell me you are not claiming to run an intelligent blog in any way.
If you thought the EUB actions were appropriate why do you feel you have to hide YOUR identity on an unitelligent blog? What are you afraid of?
ReplyDelete