Protest

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For other uses, see Protest (disambiguation).
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Not to be confused with Political demonstration.
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Demonstration against the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during the Rio+20 conference in Brazil, June 2012
Demonstration in front of the MPR/DPR/DPD building in Jakarta during the 2019 Indonesian protests and riots
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A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval, or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.[1][2] Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate by attending, and share the potential costs and risks of doing so.[3] Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass political demonstrations. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or they may undertake direct action in an attempt to enact desired changes themselves.[4] When protests are part of a systematic and peaceful nonviolent campaign to achieve a particular objective, and involve the use of pressure as well as persuasion, they go beyond mere protest and may be better described as civil resistance or nonviolent resistance.[5]

Various forms of self-expression and protest are sometimes restricted by governmental policy (such as the requirement of protest permits),[6] economic circumstances, religious orthodoxy, social structures, or media monopoly. One state reaction to protests is the use of riot police. Observers have noted an increased militarization of protest policing in many countries, with police deploying armored vehicles and snipers against protesters. When such restrictions occur, protests may assume the form of open civil disobedience, more subtle forms of resistance against the restrictions, or may spill over into other areas such as culture and emigration.

A protest itself may at times be the subject of a counter-protest. In such cases, counter-protesters demonstrate their support for the person, policy, action, etc. that is the subject of the original protest. Protesters and counter-protesters can sometimes violently clash. One study found that nonviolent activism during the civil rights movement in the United States tended to produce favorable media coverage and changes in public opinion focusing on the issues organizers were raising, but violent protests tended to generate unfavorable media coverage that generated public desire to restore law and order.[7]

Historical examples

Gandhi leading his followers on the famous Salt March to abolish the British Salt Laws
Protesters in the middle of the road in downtown Manama, Bahrain (2011)

Unaddressed protests may grow and widen into civil resistance, dissent, activism, riots, insurgency, revolts, and political or social revolution. Some examples of protests include:

Forms

See also: Repertoire of contention
Protester with a "Free The Bee" placard during the COVID-19 protests in Berlin on 29th of August 2020, near the Brandenburg Gate

A protest can take many forms.[9][10] Willingness to participate is influenced by individuals' ties within

social pressures on participants.[3]
Willing to participate will also vary depending on the type of protest. Likelihood that someone will respond to a protest is also affected by group identification, and by the types of tactics involved.[11]

The Dynamics of Collective Action project and the

Global Nonviolent Action Database[12] are two of the leading data collection efforts attempting to capture information about protest events. The Dynamics of Collective Action project considers the repertoire of protest tactics (and their definitions) to include:[13]

  • Rally or demonstration: Demonstration, rally, or similar protest, without reference to marching or walking in a picket line or standing in a vigil. Reference to speeches, speakers, singing, or preaching, often verified by the presence of PA sound equipment and sometimes by a platform or stage. Ordinarily will include worship services, speeches, briefings.
  • March: Reference to moving from one location to another; to distinguish from rotating or walking in a circle with picket signs (which is a picket).
  • Vigil: Most vigils have banners, placards, or leaflets so that people passing by, despite silence from participants, can be informed about the purpose of the vigil.
  • Picket: The modal activity[clarification needed] is picketing; there may be references to a picket line, informational picketing, or holding signs; "carrying signs and walking around in a circle". Holding signs, placards, or banners is not the defining criteria; rather, it is holding or carrying those items and walking a circular route, a phrase sometimes surprisingly found in the permit application.
  • Civil disobedience: Explicit protest that involves deliberately breaking laws deemed unjust in order to protest them; crossing barricades, prohibited use of segregated facilities (such as
    lunch-counters
    or restrooms), voter registration drives (to earn non-eligible people the right to vote), or tying up phone lines.
  • Ceremony: These celebrate or protest status transitions ranging from birth and death dates of individuals, organizations or nations; seasons; re-enlistment or commissioning of military personnel; or to anniversaries of any of the above. These are sometimes referenced by presenting flowers or wreaths commemorating, dedicating, or celebrating status transitions or their anniversary; e.g., an annual
    merchant marine memorial service, celebrating Hanukkah or Easter, or celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Dramaturgical
    demonstration
  • Motorcade: Vehicular procession (electoral campaigns or other issues)
  • Information distribution: Tabling/petition gathering, lobbying, letter-writing campaigns, or teach-ins.
  • Symbolic display: e.g., a
    menorah or creche scene, graffiti, cross burning
    , sign, or standing display.
  • Attack by collective group (not-one-on-one assault, crime, rape): Motivation for attack is the "other group's identity",[This quote needs a citation] as in gay-bashing or lynching. Can also include verbal attacks or threats. (See hate crime)
  • Riot, melee, mob violence: Large-scale (50+),[clarification needed] use of violence by instigators against persons, property, police, or buildings separately or in combination, lasting several hours.[vague]
  • Strike, slow down, sick-ins, and employee work protest of any kind: Regular air strike[
    wildcat strike
    .)
  • Boycott: Organized refusal to buy or use a product or service. Examples: rent strikes, Montgomery bus boycotts
  • Press conference: Only if specifically named as such in report, and must be the predominant activity form. Could involve disclosure of information to "educate the public" or influence various decision-makers.
  • Organization formation announcement or meeting announcement: Meeting or press conference to announce the formation of a new organization.
  • Conflict, attack or clash (no instigator): This includes any boundary conflict in which no instigator can be identified, i.e. Black/white conflicts, abortion/anti-abortion conflicts.
  • Prayer Walk: A prayer walk is an activity that consists of walking and praying at the same time. It is done not for the physical benefit but for the spiritual exercise, either publicly functioning as a demonstration or rally.[citation needed]
  • Lawsuit: Legal maneuver by social movement organization or group.
  • Peopleless Protest: Simultaneous online and offline protests involving physical representations of protesters in public spaces that are subsequently assembled online. Developed in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
anarchist protest in France, on October 16th during the COVID-19 pandemic

The

Global Nonviolent Action Database
uses Gene Sharp's classification of 198 methods of nonviolent action. There is considerable overlap with the Dynamics of Collective Action repertoire, although the GNA repertoire includes more specific tactics. Together, the two projects help define tactics available to protesters and document instances of their use.

Typology

March next to the Benito Juárez Hemicycle, 27 August 1968, Mexico City
Russia invaded Ukraine
in February 2022

Thomas Ratliff and Lori Hall[14] have devised a typology of six broad activity categories of the protest activities described in the Dynamics of Collective Action project.

  • Literal, symbolic, aesthetic and sensory - Artistic, dramaturgical, and symbolic displays (street theater, dancing, etc.) including use of images, objects, graphic art, musical performances, or vocal/auditory exhibitions (speech-making, chanting, etc.).[15] May also include tactile exchanges of information (petitions, leaflets, etc.) and the destruction of objects of symbolic or political value. Highly visible and most diverse category of activity; impacts on society (police response, media focus, impact on potential allies, etc.) often are underestimated.[by whom?]
  • Solemnity and the sacred – Vigils, prayer, or rallies, in the form of religious service,
    sacred
    ", or some form of religious or spiritual practice, belief, or ideology. Events where sacred activity is the primary focus are rarely responded to by police with force or presence. Solemnity usually provides a distinct quietness or stillness, changing the energy, description, and interpretation of such events.
  • Institutional and conventional – Institutionalized activity or activity highly dependent on formal political processes and social institutions (press conferences, lawsuits, lobbying, etc.). Often conflated with non-confrontational and nonviolent activities in research as the other or reference category. More acceptable because it operates, to some degree, within the system. Historically contentious issue in regard to the practice of protest due to this integration within the system.
  • Movement in space – Marches or parades (processional activities) from one spatio-temporal location to another, with beginning or ending places sometimes chosen for symbolic reasons. Picket lines often used in labor strikes but can be used by non-labor actors but the key differences between picket and processionals are the distance of movement. Events that take the form of a procession are logistically much more difficult to police (even if it is for the safety of protesters). Marches are some of the largest events in this period.
  • Civil disobedience – Withholding obligations, sit-ins, blockades, shop-ins, occupations, bannering, "camping", etc., are all specific activities which constitute the tactical form of civil disobedience. In some way, these activities directly or technically break the law. Usually given most attention by researchers, media, and authorities. Often conflated with violence and threats because of direct action and confrontational nature, but should serve as a distinct category of action (both in the context of tactical and strategic planning and in the control of activity).[citation needed]
  • Collective violence and threats – Collective violence such as pushing, shoving, hitting, punching, damaging property, throwing objects, verbal threats, etc., is usually committed by a relative few out of many protesters (even tens of thousands). It is rare in occurrence and rarely condoned by the public or onlookers (particularly the media). Usually met with equivalent or overwhelming force in response by authorities.

Some forms of

public demonstrations
or rallies.

  • nonviolent
    action by groups of people.
  • Picketing
    , a form of protest in which people congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in ("crossing the picket line"), but it can also be done to draw public attention to a cause.
  • Street protesters demonstrate in areas with high visibility, often employing handmade placards such as sandwich boards
    or picket signs in order to maximize exposure and interaction with the public.
  • Lockdowns and lock-ons are a way to stop movement of an object like a structure or tree, and to thwart the removal of actual protesters from the location. Users employ various chains, locks and even the sleeping dragon for impairment of those trying to remove them with a matrix of composted materials.
  • Die-ins are a form of protest where participants simulate being dead (with varying degrees of realism). In the simplest form of a die-in, protesters simply lie down on the ground and pretend to be dead, sometimes covering themselves with signs or banners. Much of the effectiveness depends on the posture of the protesters, for when not properly executed, the protest might look more like a "sleep-in". For added realism, simulated wounds are sometimes painted on the bodies, or bandages, usually made to appear bloody, are used.
  • incarceration
    .
  • Radical cheerleading. The idea is to ironically re-appropriate the aesthetics of cheerleading, for example by changing the chants to promote feminism and left-wing causes. Many radical cheerleaders (some of whom are male, transgender or non-gender identified) are in appearance far from the stereotypical image of a cheerleader.
  • e-zine Urban75, which advertises as well as publishes photographs of the Critical Mass event in London, describes this as "the monthly protest by cyclists reclaiming the streets of London".[17] However, Critical Mass participants have insisted that these events should be viewed as "celebrations" and spontaneous gatherings, not as protests or organized demonstrations.[18][19] This stance allows Critical Mass to argue a legal position that its events can occur without advance notification of local police.[20][21]
  • Protest in South Africa
    .

Written demonstration

Written evidence of political or economic power, or democratic justification may also be a way of protesting.

  • Petitions
  • Letters (to show political power by the volume of letters): Used by some letter writing campaigns, especially those with a form letter that supporters are given to sign

Civil disobedience demonstrations

A protester photobombing a news reporter during a protest in New York City
TET passed candidates who are protesting over SSC scam in West Bengal, beneath the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Kolkata Maidan.

Any protest could be civil disobedience if a "ruling authority" says so, but the following are usually civil disobedience demonstrations:

As a residence

Destructive

Black bloc members spray graffiti during an Iraq War Protest in Washington, D.C.[22]

Non-destructive

  • Silent protest[23] – protests or parades in which participants are nonviolent and usually silent in an attempt to avoid violent confrontation with military or police forces. This tactic was effectively used during the Arab Spring in cities such as Tehran and Cairo.

Direct action

Against a government

special status
.

Against a military shipment

Against a planning application or development

  • NIMBY ("not in my backyard") – protest by residents of an area against a development in the area they see as undesirable

By government employees

Protest inside the Wisconsin State Capitol

Job action

Main article: Industrial action

In sports

In modern times sports protests have become increasingly significant, causing more people to take notice. Sporting protests can be about any number of things ranging from racial justice to political wrongdoings.[24] Some of the most prominent sports figures being Tommie Smith, Jhon Carlos, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robison, Colin Kaepernick and Billie Jean King have all pushed forward change by this method of protest. However, the majority of people don't believe sports and politics belong together, saying,“ Most of us who love sports want to forget about politics when we watch games.[25]” Nevertheless, this statement can still be controversial since others believe that sports athletes should use their platform and wealth to encourage change. Either way protesting in sports is an important form of protest that has gotten significant media attention and has caused significant change throughout modern times. During a sporting event, under certain circumstances, one side may choose to play a game "under protest", usually when they feel the rules are not being correctly applied. The event continues as normal, and the events causing the protest are reviewed after the fact. If the protest is held to be valid, then the results of the event are changed. Each sport has different rules for protests.

By management

By tenants

By consumers

Information

Civil disobedience to censorship

  • Samizdat (distributing censored materials)
  • Protest graffiti

By Internet and social networking

government surveillance.[26]

Literature, art and culture

Against religious or ideological institutions

Economic effects against companies

Protest march in Palmerston North, New Zealand
Protesters outside the Oireachtas in Dublin, Republic of Ireland

A study of 342 US protests covered by

publicly traded stock price. The most intriguing aspect of the study's findings revealed that the amount of media coverage the event received was of the most importance to this study. Stock prices fell an average of one-tenth of a percent for every paragraph printed about the event.[27]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Protests.
Look up protest in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. ^ "Definition of PROTEST". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  2. ^ "PROTEST (noun) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary". www.macmillandictionary.com. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  3. ^
    doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-041719-102523
    .
  4. ^ St. John Barned-Smith, "How We Rage: This Is Not Your Parents' Protest," Current (Winter 2007): 17–25.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-955201-6
    .
  6. ^ Daniel L. Schofield, S.J.D. (November 1994). "Controlling Public Protest: First Amendment Implications". in the FBI's Law Enforcement Bulletin. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  7. ^ Omar Wasow. "Agenda Seeding: How 1960s Black Protests Moved Elites, Public Opinion and Voting" (PDF). Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  8. ^ "6ตุลา".
  9. ^ Baldwin, Brent; Kruszewski, Jackie. "Why They Keep Fighting: Richmond Protesters Explain Their Resistance to Trump's America". Style Weekly. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  10. ^ Pinckney, Jonathan; Rivers, Miranda (25 March 2020). "Nonviolent Action in the Time of Coronavirus". U.S. Institute of Peace. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  11. doi:10.1177/2378023120925949
    .
  12. ^ Global Nonviolent Action Database
  13. ^ "Dynamics of Collective Action Project". Stanford University.
  14. S2CID 147285566
    .
  15. ISBN 978-88-6977-241-2
    .
  16. ^ Mcgrath, Ben (13 November 2006). "Holy Rollers".
  17. ^ "Critical Mass London". Urban75. 2006.
  18. ^ "Pittsburgh Critical Mass". Archived from the original on 28 September 2009.
  19. ^ "Critical Mass: Over 260 Arrested in First Major Protest of RNC". Democracy Now!. 30 August 2004. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007.
  20. ^ Seaton, Matt (26 October 2005). "Critical crackdown". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  21. ^ Rosi-Kessel, Adam (24 August 2004). "[*BCM*] Hong Kong Critical Mass News".
  22. ^ https://www.flickr.com Image of black bloc members during an Iraq War protest in Washington, D.C., 21 March 2009
  23. ^ Parvaz, D. "Iran's Silent Protests". Al Jazeera.
  24. S2CID 144155586
    . Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  25. ^ Zirin, Dave (9 September 2008). A People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play. The New Press.
  26. ^ Newman, Lily Hay. "How to Use Social Media at a Protest Without Big Brother Snooping". WIRED. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  27. Deseret Morning News
    . p. E3.
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