How do you feel about "inconvenient" protesting

[tippy2k2]

It's rare that I speak about issues with some weight behind them and even rarer that I am the thread builder of it but I have something on my brain that has been bugging me for a while now. There are stories about this on Facebook and whantnot but trying to get a rational discussion out of there is like trying to get a rational discussion out of Youtube. You'd figure people having their real names would make a difference but it really really doesn't...

Anywho, I live in Minnesota (United States). Lately, there have been some major protests in the state for a variety of reasons. Some are protesting fast food wages (the $15 a hour campaign) and some are protesting racism (Michael Brown/blacklivesmatter) but we're not here to discuss specific protests and whether people should or should not be protesting. What I want to discuss is the manner of protest.

On two separate occasions this week, protests have shut down major infrastructure in the state. Once was a group that walked through a major highway, closing down this area for hours. The next day, groups protested on an airport road, effectively shutting down the Minneapolis airport for a little while.

I am conflicted on this. On one hand, protesting is something that people should be allowed to do if they are unhappy. While it would be nice if they protested legally (contrary to popular belief, you can't protest wherever the hell you want), no one pays attention to you if you protest at City Hall. On the other hand, you are impeding everyone else from being able to live their lives whether they agree with your cause or not.

So what do others think on this? Is it alright to protest in this manner?

Note: I wasn't sure if we should be in OT or R&P but I don't want this to be about individual protests or causes so I chose OT. I would respectfully request that this be kept on topic about the manner of protests, NOT commenting on specific protests and whether they're right or wrong. Thank you.

 

[Elfgore]

Never. I don't give a fuck what you're protesting, you do not stop a business from profiting, or shut down an entire fucking highway cause "our issue is important *whine*. Every protester who does should be arrested. It's selfish, childish, and an asshole way to protest.

 

[Rosiv]

I think protesting is a way for people to vent. Any acutal change in laws wouldn't really come of it. For that you would need to lobby for your cause, which costs money.

My school had a protest for the micheal brown shootings in regards to police accountability. The headline for the school newspaper was something along the lines of "don't shoot", with a black and white contrast out the outline of a man with his hands up as the rallying symbol. In major pathways of foot traffic, the protesters shouted phrases over and over again.

"I Can't BREATH!!"

"PLease don't SHOOT!!!"

Etc....

I found the whole thing annyoing. Violent emotions are not as productive as a level head in my opinion. If they want to assist the situation have some type of fund raiser for the victims familly. Funerals are expensive and the proper ones even more so. For a black family living in a not so rich area high expensies would probaly hurt more, so every donation counts.

In closing, if one is to protest, consider the bad will it conjours from people who become inconvienced by it, and why that may not be the only avenue of getting attention for issues.


Sorry for typos, this was typed via a tablet.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Never. I don't give a fuck what you're protesting, you do not stop a business from profiting, or shut down an entire fucking highway cause "our issue is important *whine*. Every protester who does should be arrested. It's selfish, childish, and an asshole way to protest.

Pretty much this.

If you're going to protest by walking down a highway I'll counter your protest by running you over on that same highway.

Contrary to popular belief, protesting doesn't make you the most important person in the universe and the fact that you're screwing over a bunch of completely unrelated people is unacceptable.

If you want to protest fast food wages do so in front of fast food establishments, if you want to protest police shooting then protest outside of police stations. There is never a reason to shut down major roads over your protest.

 

[VanQ]

I am 100% in favor of protesting. I am 100% not in favor of protests getting in the way of people's lives. Protest on the side of the highway, do not block the highway. People need to get to work/school/whathaveyou and by impeding a major highway they could have caused actual loss of life. What if emergency services couldn't respond to a critical situation in time because it was stuck on that highway?

This discussion reminds me of the Warren Farrel protestors at University of Toronto a while back. They were there to protest hateful speech and oppression all the while they were shouting hateful things like "Fuck Warren Farrel" and calling anybody that wanted to listen to him "scum" and all manner of other hateful things. Not to mention they were actually impeding people access to his lecture by blocking all entrances and exits into the complex. The fear of violence was so high that local police had to be called in and the protestors were eventually removed by force because the protestors were beginning to taunt and assault people that wanted to get in, including police.

Everybody has the right for their voice to be heard but you cross a line when you cause others actual trouble or take away the freedoms of another.

 

[DementedSheep]

Can't say I like it but a protest that isn't in some way inconvenient is a protest that's pointless. The point of a protest is to show you're too big a group to be ignored and draw attention to an issue. If you protest somewhere polite and out of the way it dose nothing.

Of course you can go to far. If they are doing airport and major highways I'd be surprised if people didn't get charged. Here the airport is classed as an essential service so you can get some pretty hefty fines for disrupting it and shutting down major highways is dangerous.

 

[IceForce]

Depends.

If they're blockading something, it depends on how relevant that something is to the protest.

Workers going on strike and protesting outside (and disrupting) their place of work? Perfectly acceptable.
Protesters disrupting completely irrelevant businesses or commuters? Not acceptable.

 

[Tanis]

I don't think it's right.

You shouldn't risk people's lives or jobs who aren't part of your protest, just to get your 5 minutes on some cable news show.

Also:
RIOTING does nothing but make you, your cause, and your community look like SAVAGES.

So, don't do it.

 

[manic_depressive13]

I find people who get huffy about protesters "inconveniencing" them are about as pathetic as people who get pissy over having to wait in line. Sometimes there's going to be a legitimate reason, sometimes it's because someone decided to fish pennies out of their purse. But it's an integral part of life my friend. If it bothers you that much you need to take a deep breath and maybe pull your head out.

People need to stop thinking their convenience trumps other people's rights. The reason you enjoy what quality of life you have today is because people got on the streets and fought for it. Some things are more important than your convenience, even some people can't get over themselves long enough to see that.

 

[Kopikatsu]

I find people who get huffy about protesters "inconveniencing" them are about as pathetic as people who get pissy over having to wait in line. Sometimes there's going to be a legitimate reason, sometimes it's because someone decided to fish pennies out of their purse. But it's an integral part of life my friend. If it bothers you that much you need to take a deep breath and maybe pull your head out.

People need to stop thinking their convenience trumps other people's rights. The reason you enjoy what quality of life you have today is because people got on the streets and fought for it. Some things are more important than your convenience, even some people can't get over themselves long enough to see that.

As was mentioned, you don't have a right to protest wherever you want. You need a permit to hold a protest that blocks a street or somesuch. In these cases, it's the protesters who are acting like their goal trumps the rights of others.

 

[manic_depressive13]

As was mentioned, you don't have a right to protest wherever you want. You need a permit to hold a protest that blocks a street or somesuch. In these cases, it's the protesters who are acting like their goal trumps the rights of others.

What right? The right to get to places in a timely fashion? The right to not be inconvenienced? Governments don't like giving permission to protest, especially when that government is, say, wantonly allowing police to murder its citizens.

So again, I not only have zero sympathy, but also zero respect for people who whine about protesters. I can just vaguely hope that one day when they or a loved one are murdered by cops, or left to die by a gutted healthcare system, or in a war torn country waiting for their papers to be processed so they can be "legitimate" refugees, they find solace in the fact that they weren't stuck in traffic for half an hour that time when people were trying to draw attention to injustice.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I don't really mind, to be honest.

Yeah, it can be a pain in the arse when you're trying to get to work or somewhere else, I was recently delayed by three hours trying to get out of the city as all of the buses were stopped due to protests, but it's one of the few ways to make an impact and make people pay attention.

We've had quite a few protests recently about water charges, austerity, truck drivers, teachers...

These have delayed roads, effectively shut down shipyards, closed schools for a day and caused other temporary inconveniences. I may not totally agree with all of the causes or some of their methods but I understand that sometimes things like that need to be done to get the government and the people at large to listen.

 

[Queen Michael]

All I can say is this. Whenever a protest makes me late, I get annoyed. I don't get supportive. I don't get interested in what the movement is about. I just think "Damn protestors!" They're making my day worse and thinking it's going to get them my enthusiasm. They might as well walk past me on the street, hit me in the guts, and hand me a flyer.

And if we're talking riots I have even less sympathy. People who mess up store windows and throw rocks aren't protestors. They're vandals. They just want to run amok and feel good about it. Nothing more.

 

[MHR]

You protest to get noticed, not for your own health, so how it happens can vary. But whether or not I agree with how inconvenient they're allowed to be depends on what people are protesting. Boston tea party for example was largely criminal and hurt trade by throwing perfectly good stuff into the ocean, but it was for a good reason.

What's going on now? I disagree with it almost entirely. I don't care that you're clogging up the road as much as that you're doing it for a dumb misguided reason.

But if the protesting didn't inconvenience someone, it wouldn't be noticed today. That's how it works. I've protested before on the side of the road for various things, never caused any problems for anyone but the establishment we were protesting around, and the couple of cops that are obligated to hover around in case the 10-30 mostly hippies on the sidewalk with signs start a riot, right? The people at the places we were protesting were certainly pissed that they were inconvenienced by it, but tough shit, that's the entire point. Stop doing thing _________ that's making people pissed.

You don't protest where nobody has to see you and doesn't have to think about you. That doesn't get results. You might as well go back home and write angry letters and facebook posts at that point.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Only protest I heard anything about recently was a bunch of people hanging around outside an abortion clinic, harassing and scaring off the women trying to enter the clinic...

And that's just not on. We get it. You don't like abortion. But to harass people who are already dealing with something incredibly difficult and painful is not on.
It's sick, no matter what your beliefs on the matter, it's not OK to do that...

Go hold your protest somewhere else... -_-

Ahem. Beyond that, I don't really know. Interfering with things that have nothing to do with what you're protesting about seems a little off, then again interfering directly with what you're protesting can be problematic too...

 

[FirstNameLastName]

I would have to agree with what most people have said here, I think people should definitely be allowed to protest what ever they want, but i don't think people should be allowed to protest wherever they want.
I get that sometimes extreme measures are necessary, but it large depends on the context. If we are getting ready for some full blown armed insurgency against some brutal totalitarian government then yes, we have little need for laws. But if it's just people protesting taxes, religion, or some other minor politics then there does still need to be some form of order.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Just how are you going to get your message across in a positive way when you're inconveniencing the people you're trying to garner support from? Sure, you'll probably get more attention if you go out in the middle of the road shouting about Healthcare but that attention probably isn't going to be positive. People are most likely not going to listen to you, in fact all you'll be doing is creating contempt for you and your movement by association since most people will be thinking "why won't this asshole get the fuck out of the way?" rather than look for a deeper meaning from your message. You draw more flies with honey than vinegar as they say, just being loud and in your face won't necessarily get your message across better. On top of that, there's always the possibility you may being doing a tad more than just making a guy wait in traffic. People have lives of their own, you have absolutely no idea what 30+ minutes in traffic could do to them so don't be an asshole just because your feelings apparently matter more than them.

Except you don't need honey to attract flies. You can also attract flies by flinging shit, and when honey is going for $14 a kilo, spoon feeding honey to entitled jerks may not be an option.

 

[LongAndShort]

Well, I guess since it's a trade off between raising awareness and possibly generating negative emotions attached to your cause it depends on the context and aim of the protest.

When protesting the actions of a business or larger entity than inconveniencing people can be the right way to go. Say, you're upset that an airport is building a new runway over a fox sanctuary and so you protest by effectively forcing the airport to close for a few hours those inconvenienced businesses and commuters might hold the airport responsible for not simply giving in and building the new runway a hundred metres to the right (not on the fox sanctuary).

Things like civil rights protests, especially where there isn't a clear 'fix' or 'answer', run the risk of pissing off possible supporters by inconvenience, becoming less "that group trying to achieve justice for the foxes killed during the building of other runways" and instead "that group that made me late for work and almost got me fired because they're upset about foxes or something. Who the fuck cares about foxes anyway? I just wanted to get to fucking work."

So yeah, as with everything in politics context is vital.

 

[chiggerwood]

They have no right to do it, and it undermines their cause. They are causing people to be late to work, possibly making them lose their jobs. They are putting the public and themselves in danger, They are being a nuisance, and I steadfastly refuse to listen to anyone that does this.

Snip

No I will not blame the airport/line I will blame the protesters. There's ways to get you message out there without costing innocent people their precious time and hard earned money. People who do these inconvenient protest are doing nothing but holding peoples jobs, pleasure, time, and money hostage. And here's another angle that makes this unjustifiable; what if there's someone going to the airport with an organ that needs to be delivered, or someone on the highway that needs to get to the hospital, be it a worker or a patient? With a patient they're only endangering one life, but with a worker they're endangering tens to hundreds due to short staffing or overworked care workers. So yeah there is no context where this is justified.