How do you feel about protests?

[TheManBeyond]

Last weekend i was invited to a public protest against the new university system thing which will make our studies go from a 4 years bachelor degree to a 3 year Bachelor + 2 year Master which supossedly (as i think i heard from some) means more money to be paid (because of the master) and less importance to the bachelor title. That's how the european system works in many countries but economy isn't equal for all of us.
Now i don't really know much about the technique aspects of this reform and to be totally honest i'm not really interested but should i?
My point is that i dislike the idea of protesting.
And i really dislike some people protest just for the sake of feeling better with themselves or for the sake of feeling more antisystem because it is cool to hate. I mean i even see in marchs what we call here perroflautas (i swear i saw nanook in that pic for a moment lol) and i get angry because at the end what they want is to belong somewhere, it's weird because they don't feel like the majority but still join a certain collective. Like why would you make a camp and start smoking marihuana in the center of a european capital city like madrid if you only want to show your anger?, i hate that but i don't know why. I believe for some that week had to be like the wildest party ever lived. I guess not for everyone, admit that. In my view you can live a mystical life by your own without showing it off that notiriously. It is just envy of some kind? I want to be sure you get my message, i'm not ranting about perroflautas, i'm ranting about everyone who does the same shit.
It's a really weird feeling i have with the idea of going on a march singing and carrying papers to express how angry i am with the elite politicians.
I understand that people is pissed and maybe that's the only way to get some attention from authority but still there's something i can't get about all of this.
I mean i swear i don't care at all and sometimes i don't know if i should feel bad for it or not, am i being too pasive about life?
How do you see all this anti system stuff?

 

[Analyzer]

I'm pretty "anti-statist quo" but I think protests, political revolutions, and others are pretty useless. If you don't like something try to figure out how to go around it. If not, be aware of your sphere of influence and try to not get effected by such problems. Most of these things I believe are a mental or intellectual problem and you can only really improve(change) yourself.

And yeah I think most people partake in these activities to feel good about themselves. Why do people support retributions like death penalty or torture?

 

[TBerg]

I am dispositionally conservative, but I can see the merit of protests in a variety of cicumstances. The function of protests in most circumstances is to allow minority opinions to have a greater impact in order to keep them feeling like their opinion is important and heard. Without the free exercise of the right to assemble, then the only choice is violent revolution, a tendency that is socially destabilizing.

Other than preventing the overthrow of the government, protests tend to come when there are important issues at stake. Witness the Civil Rights Era in the United States. The reality is that the problems were so grave back then that they had to be addressed in a manner that unmasked the ugly reality underpinning systematic injustice. When MLK faced down Southern thug after Southern thug, it was to hold a mirror up to the behavior of white people to show them the monstrosity of the society all around them, which they were able to avoid using narcissistic psychological maneuvering.

We might find them annoying sometimes, but we really don't want a society without them.

 

[nanook]

I feel similar about most protesting. Until it's big like occupy, it's just a weird circle jerk for people who don't seem to realize that they are not in power. Because they are not a majority. Whether that means they are crazy or that they are ahead of their time and peers. Walking in a small tribe of 100 people just seems to be a weird form of self importance that doesn't compute for me. I hate when people try to assume power by gestures like noise and such. It's almost as bad as wearing a state uniform. It's different in big demos like occupy, because in this case the main argument is your presence and there is nothing wrong with demonstrating presence. I don't see occupy as exclusively anti-someone else, despite that 1% talk, i see it as primarily a celebration of the human element, contrasting the machine like laws of capitalism. It's like a celebration of a stage of consciousness that brings self-awareness to our life. Nevertheless i wouldn't necessarily feel good about participating in occupy, because people just scare the shit out of me in general. My idea of protesting used to be showing your believes in every day life, through clothing, to begin with. I still do this in a subtle way. Also i have boycotted society more than almost anyone. (Without assuming that i am saving the world by doing so).

 

[nanook]

Although it's not possible to have an objective opinion on the motivation of other people (hundreds of them, strangers). My view is sort of a projection. For me, given how distant i feel from public life, it would take severe anger or a borderline psychosis or a state of classic autism to drive me out of my shell and into public protest. But for extroverts who spend every second of their life involved in society, like people who run their own business, showing up on the street might feel like the most natural, mundane and harmless action. Humans have a vast spectrum of states of concessiones, states of linking, associating the meaning of their actions. However the way i feel about protesting is also the way i feel about extroversion.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

A failure is better than apathy Is what I'd say. But a more effective solution would usually be to wait for a better opportunity and increase numbers, and many others.

I've come to admire irrational decisions based on emotion. People that come out in small numbers and are crushed violently, maybe they waste their time, become imprisoned, but they impact the society as a whole, they show us that we can rebel, that there is a problem.

I do realise there are various motives involved, however I think it is too late to defend when you are already surrounded, pressed to the wall, or when you are dying of starvation.

The system is heavyweight and brutal, one individual doesn't exist under its feet. A small group is nothing, they may not change much, but they preserve a practice of protest so that it stays in the common mentality as a choice.

Generally speaking, waste of time and ineffective or even negatively impacting others.
Historically speaking, natural and relevant as a fringe activity.

 

[Analyzer]

A failure is better than apathy Is what I'd say. But a more effective solution would usually be to wait for a better opportunity and increase numbers, and many others.

I've come to admire irrational decisions based on emotion. People that come out in small numbers and are crushed violently, maybe they waste their time, become imprisoned, but they impact the society as a whole, they show us that we can rebel, that there is a problem.

I do realise there are various motives involved, however I think it is too late to defend when you are already surrounded, pressed to the wall, or when you are dying of starvation.

The system is heavyweight and brutal, one individual doesn't exist under its feet. A small group is nothing, they may not change much, but they preserve a practice of protest so that it stays in the common mentality as a choice.

Group coordination is useful and important but perhaps there are more effective means than protests. Protests in the political sense, not in the broader sense of a reaction against something. Look how much the Internet has done.

 

[Yellow]

I was a semi-active spectator in an anti-globalization protest once (Seattle in 1999). But martial law was put into effect within an hour or so after I arrived, so I guess that made it a riot rather than a protest. Either way, that was enough for me. I accidentally ran into a protest in London in 2006 over the Dutch cartoonist Muhammad thing, but it was comparatively mild.

Anyway, I am comfortable with the idea of protests when they are over something that can only be solved through an act of civil disobedience, demonstrations of civil unrest, or a general showing of numbers. Like the Georgian demonstrations or the whole Berlin Wall issue.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Group coordination is useful and important but perhaps there are more effective means than protests. Protests in the political sense, not in the broader sense of a reaction against something. Look how much the Internet has done.

Apologies if I didn't speak clearly. I see internet as a viable medium of protest ( broadly I'd think of protest as opposition that puts one at risk of reaction) as well and even more helpful for gathering and spreading ideas.

I would be against violence and forcing their opinion on others.

Now that people can communicate over distance, various means of effective organisation emerged that usually are more useful than presence on and demolition of the streets.

 

[Pyropyro]

Protests are a fine way of displaying a "show of force". However, it's not the only tool one can use to enact change. As Yellow said, civil disobedience is also an effective tactic although a much costlier one since it's quite hard to convince people to get out of their way and sacrifice for the sake of the group.

It's actually a manifestation of power through numbers as opposed to powers through money and powers through position used by the rich and the politicians.

It has its merits but a movement should not rely only on protests to get what they need. They also should practice diplomacy to recruit members and allies or even convince their leaders to back out/change their stance. They also should be training their own brand of leaders should they want their movement to grow and gain momentum.

 

[swagilly]

Protests can be very useful and while I've never participated in any protest, I fought for students rights while I was in college and president of a student group.

As an INTP, I recommend you find a group of determined and capable student leaders to strategies and work with behind the scenes. Your strength is in calm, rational thought not in ranting and raving on the streets.

 

[Nibbler]

I respect protests that have realistic objectives and the means by which they aim to attain the goals are intellectually honest--even if it means throwing tea into the harbor (the original tea party, not the current farce).

But I cannot abide by a protest that is really just shouting someone down, effectively removing their ability to respond (communicate!) and possibly gauge the person's willingness to compromise. Shouting down someone is just hypocrisy and doesn't solve anything other than create a culture of fear of communication and compromise.

I really dislike "My way or the highway!" and "Might makes right!" thinking and "tit for tat" disagreements. If the protest is just more of that, then they can shove their fascist mob dressed up as false "liberators" and false advocates.

The protests in Wisconsin in recent years were encouraging, though they didn't manage to stop Scott Walker. Ultimately Walker remained but it called attention to a lot of problems, educated citizens in how some legislation procedure works and it was intriguing how the Democrats all left the state to avoid a forced vote.

 

[emmabobary]

I hate protests and anything that involves crowds. I dislike the fact of being aware of people complainig and not taking matters into their own hands. Maybe I´m wrong there but when it comes to a problem in the outside I have to work it out on my own, till it eventually works, I supose it´s the hardest way but I get so clumsy working in group.
Also I don´t see the sense in masses, I hate the idea that I am part of a bigger group of humans, i rather think that I´m not.