Anthony,
Firstly, I want to draw a distinction between a
protest and a
demonstration. This distinction is often lost in this strange country which does not respect and hold holy the eternal wisdom of Grandpa Lenin. This wisdom, which might not prove upon examination to be all that holy, eternal or even wise, was nevertheless a foundational force in my childhood. Right now seems as appropriate a time as any to resort to it gratuitously.
And so, a demonstration. We had a demonstration every May 1
st in Leningrad (Grandpa Lenin was so wise, they named a city after him while he was still alive!). Attendance at the demonstrations was voluntary, but one risked being tagged an "enemy of the people" if one elected to sleep in on this day. So we went. Every year. Thousands of people walking down a street, carrying banners and flags, chanting various things. The city was prepared: busses and trolleys were rerouted, street-cleaning crews employed in advance, etc. This is a demonstration. Everyone getting together, planning a day to 'stand up and be counted' to show the world we believe in something or other (Grandpa Lenin's wisdom in this case).
This is not a protest.
I've been to many demonstrations (though they've been called protests) in this country. I've been to DC to walk for peace and against the IMF, I walked repeatedly in San Francisco for peace and Mumia. But these were not protests. The one protest I've been decidedly fortunate to participate in took place on March 18
th, 2003 in San Francisco. It was a planned but unsanctioned event. People got together in small bands in various places around the city and walked, and stood and sat and lied in intersections, preventing cars from moving. Some people were hit by cars whose brakes and/or driver's conscience were malfunctioning. Many were arrested. On two separate occasions, drivers got out of their cars and threatened to "beat the living fuck" out of me if I did not move. Cops on motorcycles, lined up in a row of 40, physically budged protesters back when we threatened to take over the Bay Bridge. Hundreds of people made human chains around office buildings, letting noone in. Twenty thousand people, with no prior organization, walked the streets and closed the city down. It was a functional model of anarchy. It was people power. It was a protest.
Demonstrations are good things. They have a role to play. But they are not protests. Protests are active. Protests take risks.
The reason more people show up at demonstrations than at protests, and the reason that the various social and biotic injustices with which we disagree and individually protest are
not united is simple. If all those themes were united, and we all protested (not demonstrated) against them, that would be a revolution. And people don't
really want a revolution. We're way too comfortable.
Which is OK. Revolutions aren't sustainable anyway. So if there's a demonstration, and you want to call it a protest, and it's a beautiful day outside, I say go for it. As long as you keep this in mind: the little lifestyle choices we make on a daily basis are far more consequence-bearing than any march we might walk alongside of.
