From emancipation to women’s suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass movement has shaped the arc of US history
Trump’s first and second terms have been marked by huge protests, from the 2017 Women’s March to the protests for racial justice after George Floyd’s murder, to this year’s No Kings demonstrations. But how effective is this type of collective action?
According to historians and political scientists who study protest: very.
From emancipation to women’s suffrage, from civil rights to Black Lives Matter, mass movement has shaped the arc of American history. Protest has led to the passage of legislation that gave women the right to vote, banned segregation and legalized same-sex marriage. It has also sparked cultural shifts in how Americans perceive things like bodily autonomy, economic inequality and racial bias.
Thanks to the protests being effective, Palestine is no longer being genocided, immigrants aren’t being sent to concentration camps, and the US is not threatening random countries… oh wait
Short term gain. It’s more about long term awareness. It is unfortunate for those now. But it’s not something that changes overnight.
What is awareness going to do? People are already plenty aware of what’s going on, this was one of the first genocides to be livestreamed.
Awareness of the future leaders of the regions. Some things are not an immediate fix.
ok so it will get fixed after the damage has already been done, got it
A reductive way to put it. But hey. If you have any better ideas, go get em.
I’m not saying I have better ideas, but if it doesn’t fix anything until it’s too late, “very” is not a good word to describe its effectiveness
But you crap on mine for understanding that I don’t have any better ideas too, but am aware of what protests do in terms of change? Got it.
What’s wrong with that? The title of this post was that protests are “very” effective. I’m arguing that they’re not, and apparently so are you.