About the recent Berkeley protest:

[garote]

Kerry and I watched a live broadcast of it from some reporters standing in the midst of the protesters. It was a legit news channel though I forget which one. We heard the helicopters circling overhead, as our little house is only about a mile away from the Berkeley campus.

Comments

[mikeyxw]

"But are you asking these protestors to not only show up and confront a line of armed cops, but also violently engage with anyone else who comes in to hijack their gathering?"

Um, no. My suggestion was. "If they really want the high ground, end the protest or move to a different location when these thugs show up. By that time, they've gotten their message out, so it's not like that will be lost, instead what will be gained is that they will actually be seen as opposing the vandalism these thugs bring rather than enabling it and celebrating the results of it."

No violent engagement needed. I know, it'd suck to have your event cut short because some violent thugs show up. If moving the protest or ending it are too much, how about asking folks to wear white, and maybe film anyone wearing black? This would be a pretty good way to differentiate yourself from the thugs. Until then, expect that people are going to remember the broken windows and fireworks being shot at buildings instead of the large number of people peacefully protesting

All of these would seem pretty doable and would take less organization that setting up protests for 3.2 million people across the country wearing pussy hats... which was actually pretty impressive.

"It's their [College Republicans] event; why can't they take responsibility for policing it"

Well, the protest wasn't their event, although they did provide extra security. The campus and city provided extra police, paid for by the taxpayers. What did the protestors do to prevent themselves from becoming cover to the violent thugs? Celebrating the results afterwards wasn't a good answer.

[garote]

Moving an entire protest somewhere else - most likely away from the group or activity under protest - is both unworkable, and ineffective.

Any plan that protestors make ahead of time to distinguish themselves from invaders - clothing, makeup, passwords, etc - is quite likely to be intercepted by people who are not fully with the program - whether they intend to act violently just because they're dicks, or because their goal is sabotage. Nevertheless these groups do make it very clear in their planning stages that they intend a non-violent protest, and attempt to educate each other about how to keep it non-violent as it's happening. That's a part of the process and it goes all the way back to the 60's and MLK's "self-purification" steps.

And, at the same time, these protests also attract a sizable chunk of people who heard about it last-minute and are keen to show peaceful support. Vulnerable people - senior citizens, women tending to children, teenagers who were just passing by, et cetera - who don't have the benefit of experience or training. These things are messy and community-based in a way that you cannot entirely plan for. That's the way it is especially nowadays, when social media can spread word of your event much, MUCH farther than you ever intended.

So ... your ideas may not be as "doable" as you think. But it's easy to critique.

(Also - did you just ask for a large, diverse group protesting a white supremacist to show up wearing all white?? :D )

I understand that you find the violence of the event distasteful. Just about everyone you (or your words) will ever come in contact with, on or offline, will agree with you there. But there are no trivial solutions, and, I think this last year a lot of people have taken up civil disobedience for the first time in their lives, and that's complicating things.

You might wanna try it yourself if you haven't already - it's very American, and it's also quite refreshing and uplifting. :)