{"id":12397,"date":"2022-02-20T01:03:05","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T06:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=12397"},"modified":"2022-02-20T01:03:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-20T06:03:08","slug":"are-all-protests-the-same","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=12397","title":{"rendered":"are all protests the same?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cIn a gentle way, you can shake the world.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Mahatma Ghandi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I keep ruminating on the not-so-gentle, collective unrest in the world \u2014 those moments when plaguing protests turn into huger headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see it now in the Canada convoy protest\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cFreedom Convoy.\u201d<\/em> Originally intended to protest vaccine mandates for crossing the U.S. border, vehicular convoys  began early this year, blockading multiple provincial capitals and border crossings. At the time of this posting, there have been no reported deaths nor significant injuries. The economic damage, no less, while still being determined, is currently estimated in the billions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In so many places, in a hyper-partisan world, in which confidence in mainstream politics has become utterly, communally questionable, it seems various pockets of people keep hitting their boiling point, convinced that public protest is the most effective form of political expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s acknowledge a few diverse more that got our attention (fully noting that this account is non-exhaustive)\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d in 2020.<\/em> After the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, BLM organized rallies to primarily protest police brutality and racially-motivated violence against black people. With protests occurring in 140 U.S. cities, property damage was also estimated in the low billions. According to Forbes,<\/em> at least 19 persons died during the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOccupy Wall Street\u201d in 2011.<\/em> Beginning in New York City in September of 2011, the self-declared \u201c99%\u201d initiated a protest against income and wealth inequality and the influence of money in politics. The approximate 2 month protest cost is estimated to have cost NYC somewhere between $13-18 million, resulting in 400+ injuries and 32 deaths worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were more, no doubt, around the globe\u2026 the \u201cAnti-Austerity Movement\u201d in Europe, the \u201cFerguson Unrest\u201d near St. Louis, the \u201cGulabi Gang\u201d in India, the \u201cOrange Revolution\u201d in Ukraine, the \u201cUmbrella Movement\u201d in Hong Kong\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No continent nor country seems immune. To say it mildly, the protests and mass movements of the 21st Century have been significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rumination is thus rampant\u2026 I wonder\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are all protests the same?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are some protests good and right and true and some not?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes a protest good and right and true?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it acceptable for a protest to be violent? If so, <\/em>how<\/em><\/strong> violent? Does it matter?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a protest is violent, does the purpose lose credibility? Validity?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the property of the uninvolved is affected, how should that affect our advocacy?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I consistent in my personal advocacy or opposition?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I more lenient of disruptive or violent tactics when I understand the protestors\u2019 purpose?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I more condemning of disruptive or violent tactics because I have no empathy for the purpose?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And lastly\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do we really believe a gentle way can shake the world?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Note: sources credited for protest data and statistics include Area Vibes, Axios, Forbes, NPR, USA Today, Wikipedia, <\/em>and Yahoo!News.]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn a gentle way, you can shake the world.\u201d \u2014 Mahatma Ghandi I keep ruminating on the not-so-gentle, collective unrest in the world \u2014 those moments when plaguing protests turn into huger headlines. We see it now in the Canada convoy protest\u2026  The \u201cFreedom Convoy.\u201d Originally intended to protest vaccine mandates for crossing the U.S. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “are all protests the same?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12397"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12403,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12397\/revisions\/12403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}