Sarah Stein Lubrano's book Don't talk about Politics shows that protests don't change policy makers minds but they are a good step to helping people take action, and that first step leads to the next more meaningful step e.g. getting more involved in organizing. The protests of old required much more organizing so that also had more meaning. In some ways the ease of communication now means we don't have to put much skin in the game. From collective action science, it's much better to act together to do something e.g. beach clean up, because you become a doer - rather than just a protester - and our brains will rewire the rest so more doing follows.
Thx Jacqueline, it's also at protests that you often find out about the collective action stuff. I think we need to see them as solidarity builders...I also think the symbolism of having them banned says too much for us to let them go.
Re your point about taking more organising etc and thus having more meaning - I agree. It's a very anti-modern concept to remind people that we value things more when they are more effort.
It’s kind of where I’ve ended up with personal ‘protest’ … by doing… not just objecting or saying.
Protesting has almost got too easy … to organise and people to just turn up with little meaning or true intention behind it. When you ask people to back that up with action… it doesn’t hold.
I’ve been to climate protests. Then you ask people where they bank… at the place funding fossil fuels! Or they leave a protest and go and buy a big mac from mcdonalds… hmm..
I’m not about people being perfect… but protest with action is the true power… even more so en masse.
Even better by protesting with a very positive action involving the community, like a beach clean an then it engages wider interest and people become empowered directly and take more care and personal action instead of always out-sourcing the problem as if it’s something other people must fix… i.e government or local council etc…
I’m liking the ‘protest’ over tik tok and the action to switch to upscrolled instead which was founded by a palestinian-australian developer.
I’ve always stood by the simple thing of every pound or dollar you spend is a vote for the future you want to live in. Can apply the same to every hour of time you spend too…
I still don’t fully know the purpose of protest… I think it depends on what that is from a personal perspective.
I think many people protest becausethey expect it to force change, they don’t use protest purely as a means to voice their greivance etc. They want the institutions of that moment to bend to their will. Sounds OK when it’s something you believe in.
Now flip this on its head. Would I like it if people protested to bring back the death penalty and were able to force policy change on that for example…. It can operate both ways.
So protest as a means to voice your grievance, or disagreement on something as a show of solidarity, finding similar voices and community. I think this is an important mechanism for sure. The expectation that everyone that disagrees with the protest should shut up and bend to your demands, that doesn’t sit right with me. No more than a billionairre lobbying officials to get what they want either.
The banning of protest really brings into the much bigger question of free speech which is the real biggie at the moment and even more confusing.
A lot can be said just for the shared community NO!! And the shared catharsis. I can imagine that it does wonders for the nervous system of the individual and the collective
“Protests work when witnessed” — you’re so right Sarah. I don’t know if you have seen the clip of those Minnesotans protesting by singing outside of a hotel where ice agents are staying? Its one of the most moving things I’ve witnessed in a long time.
Do you ever wonder about the need for a protest platform that isn’t run by big tech? Especially now in the age of ai?
Reason is… all the comments, likes, shares, content produced by protest on these platforms, all now feeds the ai machine too, and all that data is collected and ‘understood’ by the tech platforms, so it becomes easier and easier for them to ‘see’ when resistance is about to happen, to learn the lingo, the actions, it can then help them facilitate with the growing movement of ‘thought crime’ where you may not even attend a protest but can be arrested to attempting to plan one… they know all of this because of constant online sharing, falling right into the hands of the tech companies. They want that to happen. They NEED it to happen, to feed the big machine.
It’s a great paradox of this time we live in.
The far-right seem to skirt around this in some respects by being alot more organised in the shadows, on closed private whatsapp groups etc
It is indeed insane and absurd. It's the same with publicity and sharing for my book and podcast...the various platforms court me to have me share my products with them, products which tell readers/listeners to boycott said platforms. They'll make money from us /it all. I write elsewhere in this thread - I'm using and abusing the platforms in this in-between period. The reach I can still get outwieghs the risks. For now.
I was about to say the same Mark. It’s MAD. The mega wealthy social media platforms deliver firsthand accounts of the horrors and crimes of the world they created.
So many of us are trapped; feeling we can’t exit because we only want to go if everyone else comes too… and migrates to a more ethical, open-source, not for profit system. I know they exist, but the tentacles of big-tech are hard to prise off. Just as they planned
I exited instagram this year, I couldn't abide it any longer, especially the pressure to have to pay to use the platform to avoid ads further feeding the beast and being 'verified' or whatever badge they give you, which makes it look like you support them and wear their badge of honor. I've not used any other social media platform for a long time.
I 'have' to maintain Whatsapp for my job and family group chat, I've protested this with my boss many times but to no avail and also had to concede that democratically, my family wants this as a form of communication. I would be isolating myself and making everyone else's life more difficult by removing that. I also 'have' to maintain FB Messenger as it's the only platform my mum uses to communicate as she refuses to use a smartphone... the irony of one replacing the other and so on... but yes, I still use an Apple iPhone, all be it a much older model that I run into the ground before considering upgrading. I looked into buying a fairphone here in the UK - but they still run on Android so regardless of the hardware, you still need to run the OS.
I have a little raspberry pi computer that operates on my home internet network too that blocks all adverts and I can turn off all the background noise of data being collected by tech, even when you're watching TV now - it's fascinating to watch all the internet traffic and who is calling for data... lots of companies you'd never hear of in the mainstream that collect data to sell on. You can also choose who is processing the DNS (basically seeing which websites you are visiting) to avoid this going directly to your ISP, but still... it always ends up in the hands of 'someone' no matter how much protection you try to put in place. My friend has a much more complex system set up with VPN's and back up local servers etc to avoid any of his personal data, family photos and so on, being able to be infiltrated, he really detests that I still use Apple icloud for storing data. As the saying goes though, you're only as strong as your weakest link... mine being my mum.... she shares all sorts of stuff to the point where I have to be very careful what I share with her in the first place, which is a sad place to be!
Sarah, today’s post about the efficacy of protesting make my mind go to how protests form us spiritually and ethically. To physically be in the energy of others who are also awake to the pain of the world, and who respond in nonviolent protest, is a reminder of how beautiful humans can be. I am also beginning to think that one of the best ways of protest against neoliberalism that can’t be touched by anti-protest legislation is the radical care of the poor, and how I can live into that truth.
Love that. Seeing the pictures of tens of thousands of people forming a river of protest in Minneapolis made me think of the “justice like a mighty river” bit from Amos that MLK quoted; it’s the justice that is love, embodied, & incarnational
Protests I’ve attended, taken part in, sometimes helped to organise may or may not have changed policy direction. They did always form a bond of good will and positive energy amongst those taking part. They’ve also produced an intense sense of public responsibility. I’ve been a lifelong protester, letter writer, proponent of social and community engagement ever since the first protest I attended. The impact on the people who take part, as noted by others here, is no small part of the effectiveness of protest.
This is an excellent question and one I've thought a great deal about. I've become very concerned about the crack down on the right to protest, back when they started to curb environmental protests.
I've always been a fan of the protest. I think it's a great visual medium to show those in powers what we, the people, want. It's also great at signalling to others that a bunch of us are putting in the effort - so where are you? Come join us! It's a great atmosphere too when it's a big crowd. The 80,000 person Sydney protest at the domain for the schools for climate strikes pre covid was a great boost for my motivation and 'hope'. But yes - what has this achieved?
I've started thinking that actually it's not protesting/walking on the streets for an hour that would really make a government pay attention - it is if we all just stopped work. The economy would stop. And really what's worse than our precious economies tanking?! That'll really get governments and billionaire owners of companies worried. What will they do? It's not like they can send police round to every single house and drag us to our individual jobs. They could fire everyone but then have no one to re-hire. They'd have to listen to us and give us what we want. Obviously it's not terribly realistic because people have bills to pay and this is where they have us by the balls. In the video you posted where we imagine a different world - I tend to think we have more power than we realise if only we could bandy together.
But of course this is where the education piece comes in. We have to be bothered enough to stop scrolling and mindlessly shopping for crap and realise that there is quite a bit we can do.
The stop work effect is profound...but so much more difficult to pull of in such an entrenched capitalist society.
Iceland did it in 1975 - almost ALL women stopped ALL work for the day. The country ground to a halt. it worked - they got changes to equal pay etc and their first female PM five years later.
I’m hoping Scott Galloway’s efforts to encourage followers to boycott Big Tech with #resistandunsubscribe will pick up steam. His argument is that Trump only responds to markets.
I agree with the idea...but I also heard him on the recent Pivot ep tell Kara that, no, he won't be selling his stock in these companies!
France is doing a campaign to do same BTW
That said, I'm, too, in a tricky position - I was going to do a post with instructions on how to swap out all the tech...but I'm about to launch a podcast, I'm about to launch a book with a publisher that needs me to maintain an amicable relationship with Amazon etc. Having weighed it up, I feel the content of my podcast and book is more important for the moment. Of course, it's VERY anti-tech bros...but they'd have to read the book to catch on...
And here lies part of the biggest problems with the system we live in. We are too deep in it to truly protest with actual monetary effect. We all ‘need’ the tech, we all ‘need’ the companies we hate and protest… so is the protest really real?
I understood that Scott had come to the conclusion that he needed to divest also (listened to the same pivot). And was taking his cash out of Goldman Sachs and sending it to Canada or a regional bank. Timely from an investment point of view also as the bubble is about to burst. And it is the old your enemy is my enemy so let’s fight together
This was where my mind went as well. Carole Cadwalladr wrote today that the Washington Post sacked 300 journalists and stated in was due to the actions of Jeff Bezos. She referred to him as a Tech Fuck boy (I love this term). I am going to check out Scott Galloway, thank you for sharing.
Oh, yes, Bezos has being using the Post as a suck-job to Trump for a while. Now he doesn't try to hide it. I saw an arts writer (who was one of the 300) who said they only kept writers willing to ONLY write about Trump-related arts. This is flagrant fascism now.
I'm seeing a lot of 'unsubscribe' responses on social media, and it seems to be making some impact on large corporations. The only thing they care about is money, so buying less and avoiding their monopolistic companies (where possible) seems like a credible avenue. It reminds me a little of what Mad Fukn Witches have done in Australia to get radio advertisers to drop shock jocks. And even small-time investors gaming the system, a la GameStop. Hit them in the hip pocket with mass strikes etc
Thanks for the tip about Scott Galloway. I'm going to look him up. Sounds like he's doing similar work to Canadian tech journo Paris Marx - re untangling ourselves from Big Tech. YK Hong does similar work too (especially on resisting our 'biometric data theft')
I'll only flag here that Galloway is very entrenched in the manosphere/ arguing women need to date men and procreate with them to save the men camp. And he's pro-Israel. Also see my above comment about his hypocrisy. That said, he's very bright and has influence over young men, so...
I always worry about the leaders of ‘resistance’ just as much as the leaders of power… like the leaders of an army instructing all those on the front line to take on the fight… but are they there too? What is the agenda… is it for personal gain?
I remember a counsellor once telling me this with regards things like self help books. They are not there to help people with their issues, they are mainly there to help the person selling them make money.
‘Protesting’ never did work. It’s literally the state sanctioned and condoned way to funnel public anger and destructive tendencies that would otherwise possibly be used to revolt or change the system. Like, if the state is teaching you to protest a certain way and telling you it’s the only valid way to do it and giving skewed historical narratives to push it (ex. Gandhi and MLK), that should be a glaring red flag that they don’t care and aren’t affected if you do it that way.
The comments in here are shining examples, all talking about how protests made them ‘feel’ and how important they are ‘spiritually’ or to be ‘seen’. Literally nothing concrete about material results, X action achieved Y change in physical reality.
We are so lost in performative online vibes-based ‘activism’ that we forget it’s supposed to affect real life outside of our screens and feeds and feels.
I think you're right. Reading your comment makes me realise I didn't go hard enough with this angle. My point stands, I think. Protest matters when times are good.
We are in the weird transition from comfort and ease to having to revolt and most of the population really don't want to accept this are still drinking the neoliberal KoolAid.
I think your article is relevant to the times and necessary to many, so don’t let me be overly critical. The comments just make it clear that many aren’t quite getting the message. But you don’t get radicalized overnight, it takes lots of gradual steps and exposure, information intake and worldview reformatting. So yeah, good article and thanks for writing it :)
I will say, perhaps my only real critique is the contradiction between your awareness that all this online stuff is a commoditized distraction to keep us content and lazy, but also continued insistence that we performatively engage in ‘resistance’ by consuming online content related to it. It’s kind of a jarring dissonance. But this isn’t your fault, it’s the consequence of a world completely immersed in online fake abstraction and totally out of touch with real physical reality.
I get what you're saying and I've written about this dissonance before. I personally weigh up whether the worth of what I am still able to share on these platforms outweighs the costs of "buying" into these products. I do the same with the worth of being informed via these platforms (in absence of legit media in other forums). For the moment, I feel I need to extract what I can before that line is crossed.
There’s no sarcasm. Like I said, it would be unwise and potentially illegal for me to spell it out for you like you are asking. You have the internet, you don’t need me to sketch out what people do when they rise against their state.
You’re proving my point, yes. Revolutions happen all the time, it doesn’t happen here and now because we are all bickering online in our little ideological bubbles. Saying it back to me sarcastically doesn’t change that?
I read the reference to wiki as sarcasm. Sorry if that wasn’t intentional. I don’t think Wiki is the most reliable source for understanding revolution and methods to achieve it.
I am also fully aware of how revolutions work and methods to achieve them, historically speaking anyway. I wasn’t really pressing for precise instructions, these are fairly obvious.
I was simply asking your views on them, revolutions, that is… do you advocate for them?
As I have expressed in my comments, I am a non-violent person which by proxy means I do not advocate for wars either, often what revolutions falls into.
The purpose of protest is to be a societal relief valve for public anger and dissatisfaction with the system. It’s a relatively harmless way for the state to defuse threats to itself, and this is why the whole ‘peaceful’ angle gets fetishized and played up so much. It’s to prevent this anger and dissatisfaction from building up to actual threats to the system, like revolution.
I’m curious about your thoughts on what means are justifable to fulfill one’s objectives to change a system, if protest is largely pointless and part of the system’s design.
The polls in the US show Trump losing support in correlation with the Minneapolis protests highlighting his fascism. As for "when we are living in a stable democracy with leaders who care about being liked and respond to popular demands", the Democratic Party, for all the weakness some of the leadership has shown, is responding to Trump's being weakened by those protests, finally developing more backbone and coherence. Is the US a stable democracy? No. But the party that still believes in democracy has some leaders whose fault is in waiting to follow public opinion, rather than stepping out in front and, well, leading. Protests moving public opinion moves that portion of the party leadership, which we need to continue to do.
There was just a state legislative special election in a Texas district that had gone heavily for Trump. A Democrat won overwhelmingly, for the first time there in decades. There's now a Democratic Socialist mayor of New York, with massive public support, who was clearly elected on strength of opposition to Trump (as also moved the last Canadian election).
What doesn't work is *not* protesting. Protesting is necessary, but not by itself sufficient. Minneapolis has also shown the great value of communities looking after their neighbors. This shows a road forward that's not dependent on the resistance taking up arms for a hot civil war. It's still a hard road. But it's far too soon -- if it's ever time -- to surrender our hope.
Where I live, the protests have helped us see the large proportion of our neighbors who are paying attention, care deeply about it, and are glad to go public about it. And with the No Kings protests, we have seen this is true across the nation. Keeping our own spirits intact is not nothing.
The point about neoliberalism metabolizing dissent realy cuts deep. When resistance itself becomes commodified, the traditional protest toolkit loses its edge. What's particuarly sharp here is recognizing that banning protests might be the point of no return, yet also acknowledging protests alone cant save a dying system. This tension is uncomfortable but probably exactly where we need to sit right now.
I don't think protests work because there's been so many of them of recent times that a lot of people just think some people are protesting just for the sake of protesting.
on another note, I was watching a video of Ian McKeller quoting Shakespeare. Did you know that Londoners were protesting what they called 'Aliens' (Huguenots coming from France and other immigrants from Germany and Holland) 400 years ago! My, how times have (not) changed!
food for thought anyways :) have a good weekend peeps
I saw recently a shared excerpt on Haley Nahman”s Substack from John Berger’s “The Nature of Mass Demonstrations” (1968) describing protest as a rehearsal in revolutionary awareness, which felt really apt and aligned with what you’re saying in that they both do and do not work at the same time. We are rehearsing for the day revolution comes on a social, physical, practical and symbolic level.
“The aims of a riot are usually immediate (the immediacy matching the desperation they express): the seizing of food, the release of prisoners, the destruction of property. The aims of a revolutionary uprising are long-term and comprehensive: they culminate in the taking over of State power. The aims of a demonstration, however, are symbolic: it demonstrates a force that is scarcely used.
…
The truth is that mass demonstrations are rehearsals for revolution: not strategic or even tactical ones, but rehearsals of revolutionary awareness. The delay between the rehearsals and the real performance may be very long: their quality – the intensity of rehearsed awareness – may, on different occasions, vary considerably: but any demonstration which lacks this element of rehearsal is better described as an officially encouraged public spectacle.”
This is precious. And so much to be said about it. Thank you for writing this. You are no doubt aware that the so-called 3.5% rule is indeed rather more complicated and the supporting evidence more nuanced. Students of civilizational collapse will note that at some point the excesses of the ruling class in the face of abject poverty, hunger and misery of the masses leads said masses to storm the Bastille, ransack the palaces and behead the rulers. (some discussion that even the techbros won't be able to stop their private security forces from doing them in at some point). Unfortunately things are often too far gone at that point to salvage much more than bitter revenge. Students of Ghandi would argue that non-violent protest can move mountains (and indeed is the only thing that can), even under unfavourable circumstances, but of course as the movie of that name made clear, it involved levels of sacrifice that far exceed what pretty much anyone is willing to do currently.
Indeed. Our current predicament with the complicity of the Tech Bros and the unique power of their wares puts many previous theories out to pasture. It is incredible, however, to see those graphs showing the wealth gap just prior to the French Revolution perfectly emulating the wealth gap in the US
Action is where I find balm for my overwhelm, especially protesting.
I was at a dinner at AFOPA the other night, for volunteers. An incredible young Palestinian activist spoke. She shared how much the protests have meant to the Palestinian community , who have felt invisible for many decades. After decades of standing/marching as a group of 6 or 7 , to then be surrounded by thousands has given them strength to keep going. I can’t fathom the exhaustion of their inter generational fight for freedom, while also being invisible .
I will continue to march either way with them, for as long as we are able, even if only for this reason.
First Peoples of Australia, and in colonised countries across the world, must carry that same exhaustion from the intergenerational fight for freedom. If our presence in numbers gives visibility and strength to their cause and to our collective imagination for a better, vastly different life, as Louisa Munch says in her video, then yes, protest helps.
And I agree that being in action is a balm for the nervous system. Sarah has said this many times too.
Yes. If the the underlying purpose of protest is to connect, to ‘see’, to feel the shared pain and grievance of whatever it is then this alone makes it worthwhile, follow that with the reflection it creates back into the world to show those suffering that others do care and they are being seen, then this purpose is fulfilling in itself.
If this is the goal, or your expectation of attending a protest, it serves well. If the expectation or goal is that it will create regime change or instant policy change, I don’t think that’s as effective, not unless it’s very long and very sustained and the protest has to happen in a way to bring the ‘common people’ with you… the ones sitting on the fence, to create a tipping point. When people protest to expect immediate policy change and it doesn’t go their way, I think this is when things turn sour and frustration, anger kicks in and things shift away from the initial principle of the protest. Not the anger and frustration are wrong… but its got to be managed well to not taint the whole thing and then put other protesters off who do believe in the cause… it’s a strange dynamic I suppose.
We can never truly be sure of the butterfly effect of our actions and choices, so whatever we do has to just be in tune with our beleifs, what we believe is who we become and the protest may well be shifting alot of the silent majority in ways we will never know too. I think people protest in their own ways all the time though as well but don’t necessarily shout it from the rooftops because they don’t seek attention from their actions they just live in a quiet, loving, principled way and share that with their close friends and family only.
yes - maybe ALL the groundwork that takes place before anything public happens is more impactful in actually bringing change?
When I am overwhelmed I have to be involved in organising, much of which is quiet or in a small group. Being with other broken hearted humans is self care for me.
Great vid by Louisa Munch. One thing we can't all do is nothing. We all have a humanistic responsibility to do what we can, whether it be protest, boycott, share information verbally or online. When we have strength, we can contribute more, when it's all too much, have a break or do little things but it's all important when we do this all collectively. One of my little things in Bondi is telling people at the end of the queue for Anita's 'gelato' that's it's Israeli and there is far better real Italian Gelateria up the road called Mapo. Many don't care, but some do...it's a little win. See you at Town Hall 5.30pm!
I'll be going to the Sydney rally on Monday night. I've signed numerous petitions and letters in the last few years too. I've written directly to (so-called PM and my local MP) Albo, and got replies from his minion that read like copy-paste efforts. I didn't get a reply at all to my last email (objecting to ASIO's proposed increased surveillance powers) - despite 3 follow ups. So I feel letter writing is pretty futile. The ruling class simply doesn't listen to us. NSW Premier Minns is so completely captured by the Pro-Iz lobby, it's gobsmacking. And yet, not. It's all so relentless. So I guess, we have to be?
and, yes, the Premier has so very much been captured by the lobby. He went on one of these Lobby-funded indoctrination trips to Israel (with Scott Morrison) a few years back)
I had a ‘LIVE’ conversation with Justin about his ‘operational mentality ‘ and why protests don’t work. He is very knowledgeable , organised and engaging on the subject on what we can do now .
Sarah Stein Lubrano's book Don't talk about Politics shows that protests don't change policy makers minds but they are a good step to helping people take action, and that first step leads to the next more meaningful step e.g. getting more involved in organizing. The protests of old required much more organizing so that also had more meaning. In some ways the ease of communication now means we don't have to put much skin in the game. From collective action science, it's much better to act together to do something e.g. beach clean up, because you become a doer - rather than just a protester - and our brains will rewire the rest so more doing follows.
Thx Jacqueline, it's also at protests that you often find out about the collective action stuff. I think we need to see them as solidarity builders...I also think the symbolism of having them banned says too much for us to let them go.
Re your point about taking more organising etc and thus having more meaning - I agree. It's a very anti-modern concept to remind people that we value things more when they are more effort.
I like this!
It’s kind of where I’ve ended up with personal ‘protest’ … by doing… not just objecting or saying.
Protesting has almost got too easy … to organise and people to just turn up with little meaning or true intention behind it. When you ask people to back that up with action… it doesn’t hold.
I’ve been to climate protests. Then you ask people where they bank… at the place funding fossil fuels! Or they leave a protest and go and buy a big mac from mcdonalds… hmm..
I’m not about people being perfect… but protest with action is the true power… even more so en masse.
Even better by protesting with a very positive action involving the community, like a beach clean an then it engages wider interest and people become empowered directly and take more care and personal action instead of always out-sourcing the problem as if it’s something other people must fix… i.e government or local council etc…
I’m liking the ‘protest’ over tik tok and the action to switch to upscrolled instead which was founded by a palestinian-australian developer.
I’ve always stood by the simple thing of every pound or dollar you spend is a vote for the future you want to live in. Can apply the same to every hour of time you spend too…
Ah, but now that they are harder to do (in the UK and Australia), does that make them more meaningful, more important?
I’m not sure.
I still don’t fully know the purpose of protest… I think it depends on what that is from a personal perspective.
I think many people protest becausethey expect it to force change, they don’t use protest purely as a means to voice their greivance etc. They want the institutions of that moment to bend to their will. Sounds OK when it’s something you believe in.
Now flip this on its head. Would I like it if people protested to bring back the death penalty and were able to force policy change on that for example…. It can operate both ways.
So protest as a means to voice your grievance, or disagreement on something as a show of solidarity, finding similar voices and community. I think this is an important mechanism for sure. The expectation that everyone that disagrees with the protest should shut up and bend to your demands, that doesn’t sit right with me. No more than a billionairre lobbying officials to get what they want either.
The banning of protest really brings into the much bigger question of free speech which is the real biggie at the moment and even more confusing.
A lot can be said just for the shared community NO!! And the shared catharsis. I can imagine that it does wonders for the nervous system of the individual and the collective
“Protests work when witnessed” — you’re so right Sarah. I don’t know if you have seen the clip of those Minnesotans protesting by singing outside of a hotel where ice agents are staying? Its one of the most moving things I’ve witnessed in a long time.
keep witnessing, keep liking, commenting, sharing x
Do you ever wonder about the need for a protest platform that isn’t run by big tech? Especially now in the age of ai?
Reason is… all the comments, likes, shares, content produced by protest on these platforms, all now feeds the ai machine too, and all that data is collected and ‘understood’ by the tech platforms, so it becomes easier and easier for them to ‘see’ when resistance is about to happen, to learn the lingo, the actions, it can then help them facilitate with the growing movement of ‘thought crime’ where you may not even attend a protest but can be arrested to attempting to plan one… they know all of this because of constant online sharing, falling right into the hands of the tech companies. They want that to happen. They NEED it to happen, to feed the big machine.
It’s a great paradox of this time we live in.
The far-right seem to skirt around this in some respects by being alot more organised in the shadows, on closed private whatsapp groups etc
It is indeed insane and absurd. It's the same with publicity and sharing for my book and podcast...the various platforms court me to have me share my products with them, products which tell readers/listeners to boycott said platforms. They'll make money from us /it all. I write elsewhere in this thread - I'm using and abusing the platforms in this in-between period. The reach I can still get outwieghs the risks. For now.
I was about to say the same Mark. It’s MAD. The mega wealthy social media platforms deliver firsthand accounts of the horrors and crimes of the world they created.
So many of us are trapped; feeling we can’t exit because we only want to go if everyone else comes too… and migrates to a more ethical, open-source, not for profit system. I know they exist, but the tentacles of big-tech are hard to prise off. Just as they planned
I exited instagram this year, I couldn't abide it any longer, especially the pressure to have to pay to use the platform to avoid ads further feeding the beast and being 'verified' or whatever badge they give you, which makes it look like you support them and wear their badge of honor. I've not used any other social media platform for a long time.
I 'have' to maintain Whatsapp for my job and family group chat, I've protested this with my boss many times but to no avail and also had to concede that democratically, my family wants this as a form of communication. I would be isolating myself and making everyone else's life more difficult by removing that. I also 'have' to maintain FB Messenger as it's the only platform my mum uses to communicate as she refuses to use a smartphone... the irony of one replacing the other and so on... but yes, I still use an Apple iPhone, all be it a much older model that I run into the ground before considering upgrading. I looked into buying a fairphone here in the UK - but they still run on Android so regardless of the hardware, you still need to run the OS.
I have a little raspberry pi computer that operates on my home internet network too that blocks all adverts and I can turn off all the background noise of data being collected by tech, even when you're watching TV now - it's fascinating to watch all the internet traffic and who is calling for data... lots of companies you'd never hear of in the mainstream that collect data to sell on. You can also choose who is processing the DNS (basically seeing which websites you are visiting) to avoid this going directly to your ISP, but still... it always ends up in the hands of 'someone' no matter how much protection you try to put in place. My friend has a much more complex system set up with VPN's and back up local servers etc to avoid any of his personal data, family photos and so on, being able to be infiltrated, he really detests that I still use Apple icloud for storing data. As the saying goes though, you're only as strong as your weakest link... mine being my mum.... she shares all sorts of stuff to the point where I have to be very careful what I share with her in the first place, which is a sad place to be!
Sarah, today’s post about the efficacy of protesting make my mind go to how protests form us spiritually and ethically. To physically be in the energy of others who are also awake to the pain of the world, and who respond in nonviolent protest, is a reminder of how beautiful humans can be. I am also beginning to think that one of the best ways of protest against neoliberalism that can’t be touched by anti-protest legislation is the radical care of the poor, and how I can live into that truth.
It performs a ritualistic role. I feel that when I'm at protests.
Love that. Seeing the pictures of tens of thousands of people forming a river of protest in Minneapolis made me think of the “justice like a mighty river” bit from Amos that MLK quoted; it’s the justice that is love, embodied, & incarnational
Protests I’ve attended, taken part in, sometimes helped to organise may or may not have changed policy direction. They did always form a bond of good will and positive energy amongst those taking part. They’ve also produced an intense sense of public responsibility. I’ve been a lifelong protester, letter writer, proponent of social and community engagement ever since the first protest I attended. The impact on the people who take part, as noted by others here, is no small part of the effectiveness of protest.
This is an excellent question and one I've thought a great deal about. I've become very concerned about the crack down on the right to protest, back when they started to curb environmental protests.
I've always been a fan of the protest. I think it's a great visual medium to show those in powers what we, the people, want. It's also great at signalling to others that a bunch of us are putting in the effort - so where are you? Come join us! It's a great atmosphere too when it's a big crowd. The 80,000 person Sydney protest at the domain for the schools for climate strikes pre covid was a great boost for my motivation and 'hope'. But yes - what has this achieved?
I've started thinking that actually it's not protesting/walking on the streets for an hour that would really make a government pay attention - it is if we all just stopped work. The economy would stop. And really what's worse than our precious economies tanking?! That'll really get governments and billionaire owners of companies worried. What will they do? It's not like they can send police round to every single house and drag us to our individual jobs. They could fire everyone but then have no one to re-hire. They'd have to listen to us and give us what we want. Obviously it's not terribly realistic because people have bills to pay and this is where they have us by the balls. In the video you posted where we imagine a different world - I tend to think we have more power than we realise if only we could bandy together.
But of course this is where the education piece comes in. We have to be bothered enough to stop scrolling and mindlessly shopping for crap and realise that there is quite a bit we can do.
Thanks for the great post Sarah.
The stop work effect is profound...but so much more difficult to pull of in such an entrenched capitalist society.
Iceland did it in 1975 - almost ALL women stopped ALL work for the day. The country ground to a halt. it worked - they got changes to equal pay etc and their first female PM five years later.
Wow. And that's after just one day! Even if just half of us did this for only two days - imagine the impact then!
I’m hoping Scott Galloway’s efforts to encourage followers to boycott Big Tech with #resistandunsubscribe will pick up steam. His argument is that Trump only responds to markets.
I agree with the idea...but I also heard him on the recent Pivot ep tell Kara that, no, he won't be selling his stock in these companies!
France is doing a campaign to do same BTW
That said, I'm, too, in a tricky position - I was going to do a post with instructions on how to swap out all the tech...but I'm about to launch a podcast, I'm about to launch a book with a publisher that needs me to maintain an amicable relationship with Amazon etc. Having weighed it up, I feel the content of my podcast and book is more important for the moment. Of course, it's VERY anti-tech bros...but they'd have to read the book to catch on...
And here lies part of the biggest problems with the system we live in. We are too deep in it to truly protest with actual monetary effect. We all ‘need’ the tech, we all ‘need’ the companies we hate and protest… so is the protest really real?
I understood that Scott had come to the conclusion that he needed to divest also (listened to the same pivot). And was taking his cash out of Goldman Sachs and sending it to Canada or a regional bank. Timely from an investment point of view also as the bubble is about to burst. And it is the old your enemy is my enemy so let’s fight together
This was where my mind went as well. Carole Cadwalladr wrote today that the Washington Post sacked 300 journalists and stated in was due to the actions of Jeff Bezos. She referred to him as a Tech Fuck boy (I love this term). I am going to check out Scott Galloway, thank you for sharing.
Oh, yes, Bezos has being using the Post as a suck-job to Trump for a while. Now he doesn't try to hide it. I saw an arts writer (who was one of the 300) who said they only kept writers willing to ONLY write about Trump-related arts. This is flagrant fascism now.
My mind has been wondering 🤔 what happens when you give roids to little boys with damaged psyches and lots of money 🤦🏻♂️
This level of uber evil is new , with hormone therapy and an unchecked addiction to power
I'm seeing a lot of 'unsubscribe' responses on social media, and it seems to be making some impact on large corporations. The only thing they care about is money, so buying less and avoiding their monopolistic companies (where possible) seems like a credible avenue. It reminds me a little of what Mad Fukn Witches have done in Australia to get radio advertisers to drop shock jocks. And even small-time investors gaming the system, a la GameStop. Hit them in the hip pocket with mass strikes etc
Mad FuKn Witches did such a great job...even with that name!
Thanks for the tip about Scott Galloway. I'm going to look him up. Sounds like he's doing similar work to Canadian tech journo Paris Marx - re untangling ourselves from Big Tech. YK Hong does similar work too (especially on resisting our 'biometric data theft')
I'll only flag here that Galloway is very entrenched in the manosphere/ arguing women need to date men and procreate with them to save the men camp. And he's pro-Israel. Also see my above comment about his hypocrisy. That said, he's very bright and has influence over young men, so...
Good to know, thanks Sarah.
Thanks for flagging this
I always worry about the leaders of ‘resistance’ just as much as the leaders of power… like the leaders of an army instructing all those on the front line to take on the fight… but are they there too? What is the agenda… is it for personal gain?
I remember a counsellor once telling me this with regards things like self help books. They are not there to help people with their issues, they are mainly there to help the person selling them make money.
‘Protesting’ never did work. It’s literally the state sanctioned and condoned way to funnel public anger and destructive tendencies that would otherwise possibly be used to revolt or change the system. Like, if the state is teaching you to protest a certain way and telling you it’s the only valid way to do it and giving skewed historical narratives to push it (ex. Gandhi and MLK), that should be a glaring red flag that they don’t care and aren’t affected if you do it that way.
The comments in here are shining examples, all talking about how protests made them ‘feel’ and how important they are ‘spiritually’ or to be ‘seen’. Literally nothing concrete about material results, X action achieved Y change in physical reality.
We are so lost in performative online vibes-based ‘activism’ that we forget it’s supposed to affect real life outside of our screens and feeds and feels.
I think you're right. Reading your comment makes me realise I didn't go hard enough with this angle. My point stands, I think. Protest matters when times are good.
We are in the weird transition from comfort and ease to having to revolt and most of the population really don't want to accept this are still drinking the neoliberal KoolAid.
I think your article is relevant to the times and necessary to many, so don’t let me be overly critical. The comments just make it clear that many aren’t quite getting the message. But you don’t get radicalized overnight, it takes lots of gradual steps and exposure, information intake and worldview reformatting. So yeah, good article and thanks for writing it :)
I will say, perhaps my only real critique is the contradiction between your awareness that all this online stuff is a commoditized distraction to keep us content and lazy, but also continued insistence that we performatively engage in ‘resistance’ by consuming online content related to it. It’s kind of a jarring dissonance. But this isn’t your fault, it’s the consequence of a world completely immersed in online fake abstraction and totally out of touch with real physical reality.
I get what you're saying and I've written about this dissonance before. I personally weigh up whether the worth of what I am still able to share on these platforms outweighs the costs of "buying" into these products. I do the same with the worth of being informed via these platforms (in absence of legit media in other forums). For the moment, I feel I need to extract what I can before that line is crossed.
There’s no sarcasm. Like I said, it would be unwise and potentially illegal for me to spell it out for you like you are asking. You have the internet, you don’t need me to sketch out what people do when they rise against their state.
You’re proving my point, yes. Revolutions happen all the time, it doesn’t happen here and now because we are all bickering online in our little ideological bubbles. Saying it back to me sarcastically doesn’t change that?
I read the reference to wiki as sarcasm. Sorry if that wasn’t intentional. I don’t think Wiki is the most reliable source for understanding revolution and methods to achieve it.
I am also fully aware of how revolutions work and methods to achieve them, historically speaking anyway. I wasn’t really pressing for precise instructions, these are fairly obvious.
I was simply asking your views on them, revolutions, that is… do you advocate for them?
As I have expressed in my comments, I am a non-violent person which by proxy means I do not advocate for wars either, often what revolutions falls into.
So the purpose of protest is to force a change to match with the protesters ideals?
Through what means? Any means?
What about the counter protesters who want things to align with their ideals?
Is this the idea of war?
The purpose of protest is to be a societal relief valve for public anger and dissatisfaction with the system. It’s a relatively harmless way for the state to defuse threats to itself, and this is why the whole ‘peaceful’ angle gets fetishized and played up so much. It’s to prevent this anger and dissatisfaction from building up to actual threats to the system, like revolution.
So the purpose of revolution is to force a change to match with the revolters ideals then…
Through what means?
Etc…
I think the answer to the question is both self-evident and weird that you’d need to ask it.
I’m curious about your thoughts on what means are justifable to fulfill one’s objectives to change a system, if protest is largely pointless and part of the system’s design.
I’m not sure why that’s weird to ask though?
I would say the question borders on fedposting.
The polls in the US show Trump losing support in correlation with the Minneapolis protests highlighting his fascism. As for "when we are living in a stable democracy with leaders who care about being liked and respond to popular demands", the Democratic Party, for all the weakness some of the leadership has shown, is responding to Trump's being weakened by those protests, finally developing more backbone and coherence. Is the US a stable democracy? No. But the party that still believes in democracy has some leaders whose fault is in waiting to follow public opinion, rather than stepping out in front and, well, leading. Protests moving public opinion moves that portion of the party leadership, which we need to continue to do.
There was just a state legislative special election in a Texas district that had gone heavily for Trump. A Democrat won overwhelmingly, for the first time there in decades. There's now a Democratic Socialist mayor of New York, with massive public support, who was clearly elected on strength of opposition to Trump (as also moved the last Canadian election).
What doesn't work is *not* protesting. Protesting is necessary, but not by itself sufficient. Minneapolis has also shown the great value of communities looking after their neighbors. This shows a road forward that's not dependent on the resistance taking up arms for a hot civil war. It's still a hard road. But it's far too soon -- if it's ever time -- to surrender our hope.
Where I live, the protests have helped us see the large proportion of our neighbors who are paying attention, care deeply about it, and are glad to go public about it. And with the No Kings protests, we have seen this is true across the nation. Keeping our own spirits intact is not nothing.
The point about neoliberalism metabolizing dissent realy cuts deep. When resistance itself becomes commodified, the traditional protest toolkit loses its edge. What's particuarly sharp here is recognizing that banning protests might be the point of no return, yet also acknowledging protests alone cant save a dying system. This tension is uncomfortable but probably exactly where we need to sit right now.
yes, it's a strange paradox
I don't think protests work because there's been so many of them of recent times that a lot of people just think some people are protesting just for the sake of protesting.
on another note, I was watching a video of Ian McKeller quoting Shakespeare. Did you know that Londoners were protesting what they called 'Aliens' (Huguenots coming from France and other immigrants from Germany and Holland) 400 years ago! My, how times have (not) changed!
food for thought anyways :) have a good weekend peeps
Yup, migration (aliens!) always surfaces in times of turbulence. They are the perfect scapegoat.
I saw recently a shared excerpt on Haley Nahman”s Substack from John Berger’s “The Nature of Mass Demonstrations” (1968) describing protest as a rehearsal in revolutionary awareness, which felt really apt and aligned with what you’re saying in that they both do and do not work at the same time. We are rehearsing for the day revolution comes on a social, physical, practical and symbolic level.
“The aims of a riot are usually immediate (the immediacy matching the desperation they express): the seizing of food, the release of prisoners, the destruction of property. The aims of a revolutionary uprising are long-term and comprehensive: they culminate in the taking over of State power. The aims of a demonstration, however, are symbolic: it demonstrates a force that is scarcely used.
…
The truth is that mass demonstrations are rehearsals for revolution: not strategic or even tactical ones, but rehearsals of revolutionary awareness. The delay between the rehearsals and the real performance may be very long: their quality – the intensity of rehearsed awareness – may, on different occasions, vary considerably: but any demonstration which lacks this element of rehearsal is better described as an officially encouraged public spectacle.”
I love this - rehearsals of revolutionary awareness
This is precious. And so much to be said about it. Thank you for writing this. You are no doubt aware that the so-called 3.5% rule is indeed rather more complicated and the supporting evidence more nuanced. Students of civilizational collapse will note that at some point the excesses of the ruling class in the face of abject poverty, hunger and misery of the masses leads said masses to storm the Bastille, ransack the palaces and behead the rulers. (some discussion that even the techbros won't be able to stop their private security forces from doing them in at some point). Unfortunately things are often too far gone at that point to salvage much more than bitter revenge. Students of Ghandi would argue that non-violent protest can move mountains (and indeed is the only thing that can), even under unfavourable circumstances, but of course as the movie of that name made clear, it involved levels of sacrifice that far exceed what pretty much anyone is willing to do currently.
Indeed. Our current predicament with the complicity of the Tech Bros and the unique power of their wares puts many previous theories out to pasture. It is incredible, however, to see those graphs showing the wealth gap just prior to the French Revolution perfectly emulating the wealth gap in the US
Action is where I find balm for my overwhelm, especially protesting.
I was at a dinner at AFOPA the other night, for volunteers. An incredible young Palestinian activist spoke. She shared how much the protests have meant to the Palestinian community , who have felt invisible for many decades. After decades of standing/marching as a group of 6 or 7 , to then be surrounded by thousands has given them strength to keep going. I can’t fathom the exhaustion of their inter generational fight for freedom, while also being invisible .
I will continue to march either way with them, for as long as we are able, even if only for this reason.
Her weeping thankfulness was humbling .
That's a very important reason.
First Peoples of Australia, and in colonised countries across the world, must carry that same exhaustion from the intergenerational fight for freedom. If our presence in numbers gives visibility and strength to their cause and to our collective imagination for a better, vastly different life, as Louisa Munch says in her video, then yes, protest helps.
And I agree that being in action is a balm for the nervous system. Sarah has said this many times too.
I love this.
Yes. If the the underlying purpose of protest is to connect, to ‘see’, to feel the shared pain and grievance of whatever it is then this alone makes it worthwhile, follow that with the reflection it creates back into the world to show those suffering that others do care and they are being seen, then this purpose is fulfilling in itself.
If this is the goal, or your expectation of attending a protest, it serves well. If the expectation or goal is that it will create regime change or instant policy change, I don’t think that’s as effective, not unless it’s very long and very sustained and the protest has to happen in a way to bring the ‘common people’ with you… the ones sitting on the fence, to create a tipping point. When people protest to expect immediate policy change and it doesn’t go their way, I think this is when things turn sour and frustration, anger kicks in and things shift away from the initial principle of the protest. Not the anger and frustration are wrong… but its got to be managed well to not taint the whole thing and then put other protesters off who do believe in the cause… it’s a strange dynamic I suppose.
We can never truly be sure of the butterfly effect of our actions and choices, so whatever we do has to just be in tune with our beleifs, what we believe is who we become and the protest may well be shifting alot of the silent majority in ways we will never know too. I think people protest in their own ways all the time though as well but don’t necessarily shout it from the rooftops because they don’t seek attention from their actions they just live in a quiet, loving, principled way and share that with their close friends and family only.
yes - maybe ALL the groundwork that takes place before anything public happens is more impactful in actually bringing change?
When I am overwhelmed I have to be involved in organising, much of which is quiet or in a small group. Being with other broken hearted humans is self care for me.
Kai Tempest's "Other People's Faces" comes to mind
Great vid by Louisa Munch. One thing we can't all do is nothing. We all have a humanistic responsibility to do what we can, whether it be protest, boycott, share information verbally or online. When we have strength, we can contribute more, when it's all too much, have a break or do little things but it's all important when we do this all collectively. One of my little things in Bondi is telling people at the end of the queue for Anita's 'gelato' that's it's Israeli and there is far better real Italian Gelateria up the road called Mapo. Many don't care, but some do...it's a little win. See you at Town Hall 5.30pm!
I'll be going to the Sydney rally on Monday night. I've signed numerous petitions and letters in the last few years too. I've written directly to (so-called PM and my local MP) Albo, and got replies from his minion that read like copy-paste efforts. I didn't get a reply at all to my last email (objecting to ASIO's proposed increased surveillance powers) - despite 3 follow ups. So I feel letter writing is pretty futile. The ruling class simply doesn't listen to us. NSW Premier Minns is so completely captured by the Pro-Iz lobby, it's gobsmacking. And yet, not. It's all so relentless. So I guess, we have to be?
and, yes, the Premier has so very much been captured by the lobby. He went on one of these Lobby-funded indoctrination trips to Israel (with Scott Morrison) a few years back)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1868571110083520/posts/4214669122140362/
Was this what the dumbo feather guys were up to?
The most effective technique is calling. They MUST answer. (02) 6277 7700
I had a ‘LIVE’ conversation with Justin about his ‘operational mentality ‘ and why protests don’t work. He is very knowledgeable , organised and engaging on the subject on what we can do now .
https://open.substack.com/pub/courageousconversation/p/daily-empowerment-strategies-for?r=a9nqc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web×tamp=469.4
Thanks Susan