a question for you- why do you not protest?

[zeeko]

This is a semi-serious question and i hope you fellows reply

I guess this question is perhaps mostly for Americans on the board, but:

there are iraq/fix america protests all the time etc.

I was invited to a "protest iraq" event at the school union via facebook tonight and the first post on the event wall is something like "i would go, but i have class."

There are definite problems in america, and for any student, a problem is the ridiculous cost of education... and yet, MOST students could care less (they might grumble about it to their roommates/girlfriends/parents). They would probably opt to go to class instead of perhaps participating in an all-campus protest advertised via facebook/some bulletin board. The same goes for pretty much any other sort of protest... You always get the real granolaey/geoff crowd to show up, but what would it take to get normal people to care (care=reflecting some public/visible form of disapproval).

Why don't you protest/why do you think MOST people don't? and what do you think would shake people out of the current state of apathy?

[scared?]

it's called apathy...it overtakes a society right before it collapses...

[Transient]

I don't protest because I live in Bumfuck, VT. There aren't any protests around here. When I was in Manchester, NH, I wasn't made aware of any protests locally, and didn't have the initiative to seek them out. I'll go if I'm invited or find out about one some other way, but I have to admit that I'm rather lazy and might blow it off.

I don't feel bad about it, though, because I show my interest by bringing up current events with other people and holding conversations that hopefully sway opinion and cause them to talk to others about it. I don't think "caring" requires protest participation, considering the alternative ways to contribute.

I think most people don't protest due to the classic "one person can't change anything" mentality.

[EtUL]

Because I've never seen a group protest something and also present solution to, or better way of doing whatever they are protesting.

That is ignoring all the protests that are just trying to force your beliefs on someone.

I keep hearing about this "ridiculous cost of education" too. Wasn't the statistic that a college degree nets you a million dollars more over your life span than a high school diploma? My local state school is at 3k a semester. A standard 4 year degree + 1000 a year for books (on the high end, i think) makes that cost 28k. Doesn't seem that bad to me if you are making that much more cash.

Private schools? That's your own fucking priority if you want to pay 20-40k a semester.

[Geebs]

I'd say going to class and getting an education is a perfectly valid reason to opt out of going to a student protest. Plus who the fuck organizes protests on Facebook, ffs?

[scared?]

I'd say going to class and getting an education is a perfectly valid reason to opt out of going to a student protest. Plus who the fuck organizes protests on Facebook, ffs?

lol u r really a dumb person...

[Transient]

The times, they are changin'.

[Geebs]

I'd say going to class and getting an education is a perfectly valid reason to opt out of going to a student protest. Plus who the fuck organizes protests on Facebook, ffs?

lol u r really a dumb person...

Who's the doctor and who's the dishwasher, dum dum?

[LawL]

^lol, that's some severe ownage right there.

[ek]

There is nothing to protest about in Australia, if you're a decently well off Australian white male.

[LBt1st]

Protesting is not going to stop the war.

-Bean

[Underpants?]

are you kidding?

[Tsakali_]

There is nothing to protest about in the US, if you're a decently well off american white male.

point taken

[Transient]

There is nothing to protest about in the US, if you're a decently well off selfish american white male with no children.

point taken

[Peenyuh]

Ever have yer skull bounced off a cop car? Ever had to breath a cloud of teargas? And for what? Just to see that nobody gives a shit?
There are better ways to get yer point across and to actually effect problems. Plenty of great points in this thread already. Communication. Offered solutions. Education is HUGE. If you've got the little pieces of paper, people will listen to you and...get this...take you seriously enough to actually consider changing the way they are doing things. A protest is nothing more than an attention-getter. Quite a useful tool. If the issue is already IN-YER-FACE, that's when you have to start presenting solutions.

The Iraq war is beyond the protest stage.We need solutions. Frankly, I don't have one...not one that will be considered.

The important thing is, get your opinion out there. Offer your thoughts. Talk to 100 people, and if just one or two listen, we're making progress. Give us monkeys enough typewriters..we'll come up with something. A solution that cannot be ignored.

[kel]

I'd imagine it's partly apathy, but probably more fear. It's hard to take calculated 'stand up for a cause' risks when living in an overly politically correct / litigious culture.

[obsidian]

I'm a Canadian, so obviously this doesn't directly apply to me, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it's a situation that's "out of sight, out of mind". It takes part in a whole different part of the world so many people are having difficulty equating that to something that is really happening.

Plus there's a bunch of gun toting yokels in the US who thinks that we should "bomb the hell out of them and let God sort them out". I've actually heard people use that phrase and makes me grieve for the future of humanity.

[Tsakali_]

it has alot to do with the fact that even a "hand to mouth" US citizen, has a "better" life(style) in comparison to most countries out there...they are comfortable....you'd have a better chance at getting them to stand up by canceling a popular tv show than carpet bombing the entire middle east region.

[tnf]

I protest by educating...and by that I don't mean that I stand on a soapbox and preach each day, but I attempt to battle (or protest) ignorance by teaching the voters of the future how to approach a problem rationally and how to educate themselves so that their opinions and beliefs are truly their own and not simply one that has been given to them.

Looks better in writing than it tends to go in the classroom, when kids really just want to know what they are supposed to do or say instead of really wanting to spend any time thinking about an issue.
That spills over into the voting public no doubt.

[Fender]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d86_1206479478

[Peenyuh]

it has alot to do with the fact that even a "hand to mouth" US citizen, has a "better" life(style) in comparison to most countries out there...they are comfortable....you'd have a better chance at getting them to stand up by canceling a popular tv show than carpet bombing the entire middle east region.

Until you've come over here and spent some time with - and I mean more than just the few hours or couple of days a celebraty would do - with the homeless people in some of our cities, your statement will remain ignorant. Better off than MOST countries?

I remain respectful of your opinions and ideals, but You push the limits of MY understanding. My experiances cannot be given to you. Your experiances cannot be given to me. I will rely on you to explain the truths of your environment. And I will rely on the truths of those who experiance misery that I cannot possibly understand. I will not compare the suffering of a starving child anywhere in the world with the suffering of another starving child elsewhere. It diminishes the fact that both are suffering and require my help and compassion.

EDIT: If you're an American, I apologize for assuming otherwise. My statement stands.

[Tsakali_]

I'm greek but I live in the US for the past 14 years or so.

I should clarify... "hand to mouth" assumes that someone is at least willing to work for a living. In that respect yes I believe non-lazy people can easily make a life for themselves in this country.

On the point of the homeless, I'd like to point out that greece has homeless people but, not in the same sense, since even homeless people build their own communities, through hard work ( we call them gypsies )

yes that's not the true meaning of a gypsy but they tempt to take in the rest of our unfortunate citizens making them part of their family, considering that they are willing to contribute to that community

[Peenyuh]

I wish that more Americans would consider the problem rather than shove it under the rug. Sadly, most people here just want the cops to run the homeless out of town. To let someone else deal with it. Alot of people don't really see the suffering, because the people suffering are compelled to hide. They are dismissed out-of-hand. They are made to feel ashamed. They are preyed upon by youths who learned scorn from uncaring parents. One Christmas, a few years ago in Seattle, 800 people were counted as homeless in the downtown area. 300 of those were children. Alot of people I know in Seattle were VERY suprised to see that report on the local news.

It kills me, knowing these things. What I can do, is offer a kinder response when confronted by this suffering. To do what I can to return a feeling of Humanity. If I'm having lunch, and I see an obviously hungry person (if you look, you can see how obvious), I'll share. If I have any money, I'll by them their own lunch. Everyone of us can do something other than words, I think.

I really did not mean to climb onto a soapbox, but this is a subject that is deep in my heart.

[YourGrandpa]

Here's another question. Why isn't the rest of the (allied) world's population protesting? People of France, England, Australia, etc. aren't rioting in the streets. I'm gonna guess it's for the same reasons the people of America haven't taken to the streets.

[Big Kahuna Burger]

i do protest, but i don't necessarily think it's going to get much accomplished. the mainstream media shows polls of the president's approval rating at ~20% and nothing happens. 4,000 US soldiers killed, nothing happens. democrats hold congress for over 2 years, nothing happens.

it's not apathy, just after trying for so long i've given up hope.