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animal rights campaigners jailed
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handofdave
handofdave
3515 posts

Edited Jan 22, 2009, 12:48
Re: animal rights campaigners jailed
Jan 22, 2009, 12:44
There seems to be a schism going on related to several issues when it comes to the subject of using violent protest.
The riots in Greece, for example... I think everyone here agrees that the anger is a legitimate emotion and needs some form of channeling.
But how that anger is channeled...

It's my observation that smashing things up typically goes this way: Someone from the state, or the corporate world, offends and infuriates a segment of the population. A segment of that segment protests. A segment of THAT segment takes it upon themselves to demonstrate their anger with violent action. That violent action typically involves property damage that targets unrelated third parties. The larger world looks on and sees gangs of destructive anarchists raging. There is a backlash against the aims of the protesters in general, as most people end up connecting the vandalism with the goals of the legitimate protest.

And so ultimately violent protest can and frequently does create a backlash against the protesters, even the peaceful ones, and serves to further isolate and stigmatize people who have legitimate grievances that the wider populace would otherwise support.

Collective rage is unfocused and usually just ends up breaking a lot of shop windows. Some might get a thrill out of being in a melee or justify it as being a 'sincere' reaction to whatever injustice is being addressed, but when the end result is that the aims of the protesters are confused with those of youth violence it just backfires and further marginalizes the primary aims of the protest itself...

I'm not dismissing the value of direct action. Occupations of buildings, sit-ins, marches, boycotts, there are plenty of ways a movement can effect change without resorting to random destruction, or even targeted destruction. The tactics must gain the sympathy of a wider audience, tho, if they are to succeed. If the only aim is to satisfy the anger of a small group then the result will likely be public antipathy and further retrenchment of the status quo.
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