My initial definition of a protest was very broad. Pretty much if anyone had any thought or feeling in his/her mind that was against the status quo, I considered it a protest. Now I believe that this "seed of dissent" must be present to qualify as a protest, but action must also be taken.
As we have seen in class, this action can be something as simple as piercing yourself with safety pins or as complicated as organizing a camp-out in Crawford, Texas. The lines between protest and art have also been blurred in this class...who can say for sure if letting a dog die in a museum is really a protest or the machination of some sick mind? One person's protest is another person's silly grasp for their 15 minutes of fame. But again, I say, as long as it is a protest in that person's mind (and they are more or less sane, not forcing their own miscarriages), then it is a protest. How it is perceived by society is another story.
Effectiveness doesn't make or break a protest either. It would be silly to attribute political or social change to a single protest, for only a few protests in history have shaken the world - Tiananmen Square, for example, or the recent monks protesting in Burma (and now Tibet). Generally speaking, protests serve as a catharsis for the feelings of society's minorities, and while protesters want change in the system, most realize that a single rally will not achieve their goals. Repeated demonstrations, as in the American Civil Rights Movement, can make change, but few would remember Dr. King if he only marched for one day and retired to watch the reaction on his black and white television set.
Also, size really doesn't matter! One person's protest, like Brian Haw's, can become the protest of an entire sect of people. As far as as I know, he didn't have many (or any) people with him outside of Parliament, but he is widely known. Sometimes the protest of a single individual can be even more effective than a protest of the masses. It shows the determination of a single person and gives the movement a strong, effective spokesperson.
Overall, I feel this class has refined my definition of a protest. Before, my feelings were much more scattered. I had a general idea of what I believed a protest was, but I could provide few examples to support my stance. Now I'm really thinking rhetorically...!
1 comment:
I actually think anything can be a protest, but I think how big an impact the protest has on society makes a huge difference on how successful that protest is. For instance, a flier for Animal Rights can be a form of protest, but it probably won't ever be termed a successful protest.
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