do protests work?
With K living on the west coast and being more of a night person, sometimes I wake to find a series of texts from him. Last night he texted me about a group of climate protesters who attempted to disrupt a tennis match at the US Open. [I also follow a local climate protest group on Twitter that occasionally blocks traffic.]
I support anybody's right to protest in nonviolent ways, even if I disagree with them. But in the US many kinds of nonviolent protest are illegal, despite our First Amendment. I'd be surprised if these climate protesters were not arrested and charged with a criminal violation, such as trespassing.
This morning I'm curious about whether protest works, or which kinds of protest work. In terms of changing policies or behaviors, in terms of nudging the world toward what the protesters want.
A super quick review of what social scientists have found -- protest can have a range of effects, from backlash to indifference to support. Sometimes protest is counterproductive if it pisses people off, sometimes protest is simply ignored, and sometimes protest encourages people to join your movement. But what makes the difference between pissing people off and encouraging people? And I'm sure the same protest can have different results among different observers, depending on their prior beliefs and present motivations.
One important factor, according to the science, is whether onlookers are able to quickly identify with you and your cause -- can they see themselves, a loved one, or a cherished principle at stake? Or do they instead feel frightened, inconvenienced, or endangered by actions they cannot readily identify with?
But let's assume your protest is designed so most of your audience will sympathize with you and your cause. Then the next step is whether your audience has an easy way to join and amplify your demands, so that effective change results. Will they continue to care tomorrow? Will they contact their elected representatives? Will they donate? Will they change who they vote for? Will they talk about the issue with their family, friends, coworkers? Will they protest also?
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Although blocking traffic or delaying a tennis game might get you attention from the media, is it the sort of attention that promotes sympathy for your cause? Most people driving on a road are just trying to get somewhere else, and delaying them will frustrate them. Most people watching a tennis match ... showed up or tuned in to watch the tennis match, and delaying them will frustrate them.
Designing a sympathetic protest is difficult, or the world would already be a much better place, eh?
I'm reminded of the film How to Blow Up a Pipeline, which I enjoyed. But I'm already on the side of drastically reducing our burning of carbon fuels. I'm already committed to reducing my own consumption in support of this goal, which is a radical position. Most people aren't willing to reduce their own consumption by 80%, even over a span of 20 years -- this would plunge the median family into poverty in the US, according to the median family income, average family size, and official poverty guidelines.
I'd love to ask the climate protesters who disrupted the US Open whether they personally live below the poverty line on purpose in order to set an example for the rest of us.
I'm certainly not there yet, I only have a long-term plan to get there. Because I'm trying to set that sort of example, that over 20 years we need to phase out fossil fuels even if it means reducing our collective standards of living.
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How would I turn my individual choice to reduce consumption into a sympathetic "protest" that would earn free media attention and then converts?
I've thought about creating a single-issue Substack to publicize my climate views, but that's not a protest.
Although I'm currently reducing my consumption by giving away cash, I could also do it by burning cash, and burning cash regularly in public places could be viewed as a protest -- not only against consumption but against many things symbolized by the US Dollar and money in general. Burning cash was part of a fictional protest in the TV series Mr. Robot (I never finished watching that show).
Would people identify with burning cash, however?
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To Be Continued, I need to get up and get my flu shot and commute today.
I support anybody's right to protest in nonviolent ways, even if I disagree with them. But in the US many kinds of nonviolent protest are illegal, despite our First Amendment. I'd be surprised if these climate protesters were not arrested and charged with a criminal violation, such as trespassing.
This morning I'm curious about whether protest works, or which kinds of protest work. In terms of changing policies or behaviors, in terms of nudging the world toward what the protesters want.
A super quick review of what social scientists have found -- protest can have a range of effects, from backlash to indifference to support. Sometimes protest is counterproductive if it pisses people off, sometimes protest is simply ignored, and sometimes protest encourages people to join your movement. But what makes the difference between pissing people off and encouraging people? And I'm sure the same protest can have different results among different observers, depending on their prior beliefs and present motivations.
One important factor, according to the science, is whether onlookers are able to quickly identify with you and your cause -- can they see themselves, a loved one, or a cherished principle at stake? Or do they instead feel frightened, inconvenienced, or endangered by actions they cannot readily identify with?
But let's assume your protest is designed so most of your audience will sympathize with you and your cause. Then the next step is whether your audience has an easy way to join and amplify your demands, so that effective change results. Will they continue to care tomorrow? Will they contact their elected representatives? Will they donate? Will they change who they vote for? Will they talk about the issue with their family, friends, coworkers? Will they protest also?
-----
Although blocking traffic or delaying a tennis game might get you attention from the media, is it the sort of attention that promotes sympathy for your cause? Most people driving on a road are just trying to get somewhere else, and delaying them will frustrate them. Most people watching a tennis match ... showed up or tuned in to watch the tennis match, and delaying them will frustrate them.
Designing a sympathetic protest is difficult, or the world would already be a much better place, eh?
I'm reminded of the film How to Blow Up a Pipeline, which I enjoyed. But I'm already on the side of drastically reducing our burning of carbon fuels. I'm already committed to reducing my own consumption in support of this goal, which is a radical position. Most people aren't willing to reduce their own consumption by 80%, even over a span of 20 years -- this would plunge the median family into poverty in the US, according to the median family income, average family size, and official poverty guidelines.
I'd love to ask the climate protesters who disrupted the US Open whether they personally live below the poverty line on purpose in order to set an example for the rest of us.
I'm certainly not there yet, I only have a long-term plan to get there. Because I'm trying to set that sort of example, that over 20 years we need to phase out fossil fuels even if it means reducing our collective standards of living.
-----
How would I turn my individual choice to reduce consumption into a sympathetic "protest" that would earn free media attention and then converts?
I've thought about creating a single-issue Substack to publicize my climate views, but that's not a protest.
Although I'm currently reducing my consumption by giving away cash, I could also do it by burning cash, and burning cash regularly in public places could be viewed as a protest -- not only against consumption but against many things symbolized by the US Dollar and money in general. Burning cash was part of a fictional protest in the TV series Mr. Robot (I never finished watching that show).
Would people identify with burning cash, however?
-----
To Be Continued, I need to get up and get my flu shot and commute today.