I've seen a couple of comments on DU that protestors just want attention and that they don't change things. In one of those posts, Code Pink was disparaged for not accomplishing much against Condi Rice. But of course, the purpose of protesting, especially high brow protestors like ladies in pink taffeta or people in those ridiculous V for Anonymous masks (cause a religious terrorist like Guy Fawkes is such an awesome role model), is not to actual change things.
The point is to raise awareness. If we all wanted to make a reasonable decision about some public policy question, I think what would happen is that we'd all read up on the topic, cull the information into a spreadsheet program, and meet over coffee to figure out the best course of action. Democracy is nothing like that. Democracy is about passion and publicity and about educating the broader public about issues they aren't paying attention to. Thus protests are about getting attention. They're also about raising passions. They're critical to a successful democracy.
Power is about not raising passions or publicity. Power in a democracy relies on quiet acquiescence from the public. Power is about holding equilibrium and protest is about upsetting that balance. When naysayers tells you "Those protestors aren't really accomplishing anything," please remind them that they've accomplished everything just by making you aware of them.
Smart protestors, effective protestors, will relocate the understanding of the problem they protest. Code Pink was immensely successful (or should I say "fabulously successful"?) because they brought attention to the people who were making the horrible decisions to prosecute one needless war badly and one necessary war incompetently. Their stated goal was to be "a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities." Well, since they got going, we haven't had any new ground wars over oil. We've had an air war over oil, but committing ground troops was unthinkable. Anyone who was paying attention to the plans of the neocons in the mid-aughts knows that the Bushies certainly had other wars in mind when they started their drumbeat for Iraq. Somalia, Syria, and ultimately Iran were on PNAC's hitlist. Code Pink and its allies didn't stop that march to a "Long War" (as the neocons called it). But they were the drum majors who led the band.
When you hear about the hippies on Wall Street raising a ruckus, don't measure them by whether a law gets passed because of their monkeyshines. They're not running the train. But they are laying the track. That is to say, they're helping the rest of us understand where the pain on Main Street is coming from. They're making a few extra people question how matters in the economy ought to be gauged. From an economist's point of view, we're not in a recession because large corporations are making profits. The protestors remind us that slimming down overhead (by firing a few thousand people) is not the same thing as increasing business.
Maybe you, dear DUer, already know about it. I assure you, most people don't and most people don't vote and if they do they don't follow the decisions of those whom they vote for. I know you're past the protest stage and you're ready for action from Washington. That's just not where the public consensus is yet. There are still more passions to be raised and there are still more powerful people out there needing to have their balance thrown off and their decisions brought to light. They still hide in the dark; they can still step back from their high windows and pad their comfortable chairs with bonuses. We still need more and we still need bigger protests.
Yes, the masks are silly. But democracy isn't. Holding the derailers of the economy accountable and redirecting public policy to a fairer system will require a lot more attention from a much angrier public. We need the silliness. We need the high concept protests that will draw the attention of a lazy smug media establishment. We need more attention so that a critical fraction of the public starts asking the right questions. That's what creates the change in the long run.
The protestors are like the alarm clock you set by your bed. They're screaming for all of us to wake up. Don't let anyone tell you they're useless if they don't get the work done for you. They're doing all they can. God bless 'em all.
