Protests aren't about sending a message to the government. The government doesn't give a shit and will not listen. Protests are about sending a message to the people, about signaling what should be accepted and what should not. Protests are about spreading an idea, about leading by example, about signalling to others "hey, you're not alone in your discontent!"

I think the very word "protest" is wrong. They aren't protests. They're demonstrations.

The anti-ICE demonstrations will not convince an evil government to stop abducting people. But they do send the message to everyone else that we don't have to and in fact should not let ICE abduct our neighbors. The anti-genocide demonstrations were never going to stop genocidal western governments from helping Israel slaughter civilians, but they did help spread a message around the world that people need to do something to try to stop it.

I feel like I should have known this already.

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[–] OldSoulHippie@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's always been about networking. When I was a teenager going to protests, I used to think it was a show of force against the government, but you're right. It's about signaling to the rest of the people where the line is. Some people are just there to generate content for their own ego, but there are always people there looking to get those types involved.

I've been to a bunch of different protests with a bunch of different kinds of people.

There are demonstrators, performance artists trying to make some weird point, there are organizers, aging liberal hippie types who don't have anything better to do, and there are people trying to goad the government or police into reacting.

It is cool when people figure out techniques that make the jackbooted thugs look like they don't know what they're doing. "De-Arresting" people is great. Mob some cops who are trying to cuff someone and disappear them into the crowd. Throw their tear gas back at them. Paint their cars up and smash the windows

One time I accidently went to what turned out to be a Tea Party protest. It was early days, and they hadn't found their "thing" yet. It kind of started as a libertarian lite thing before libertarians were what they are now. Don't get me wrong, libertarians have always been misguided. The vibes were weird. There were people complaining about how their taxes were spent (valid) and a bunch of racists. I heard a guy on the phone with someone at the protest after I'd been there for ten minutes saying something really racist about Obama and realized I was in the wrong place. Got out of there quick.

Protests where I'm from are mostly retired hippies getting permits. It was a good path toward radicalization for me when I realized how performative and toothless it all was.

I'm not saying all protests are bad, but I wouldnt recommend going without a goal, like making connections. The worst protests are when a bunch of people get together with no purpose or leadership.