[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Due to recent controversy spanning multiple topics, our society is no stranger to the concept of organized protests. When injustice becomes the norm, so does the collective movement of communities to band together and speak out against it. Although some of these events have huge societal support and bring far more awareness to certain issues, not all protests and rallies can say the same. From a social psychology perspective, people believe they are truly making a difference when they attend protests and enjoy the group identification experienced when everyone is there to support a common goal. Once a collective identity is strongly formed, the act of protesting becomes a much more popular idea to the public.
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However, while enjoyable social events like the Undie Run gain public attention and participation, many more solemn protests for important social justice issues like immigration and media representation of minorities boast only marginal attendances. These events are not as effective as they could be, not only because not enough people are going, but also because their objectives are typically only to spread awareness rather than to take purposeful action. Although a large group of people showing up in the same place to express dissatisfaction or anger over an issue is in fact an action, it is a passive one, and we need more to truly evoke change. As beneficial as it is to be aware of social problems that plague our society, simply acknowledging these issues in a public sphere do nothing for their resolution.
This is not to say that awareness does nothing; awareness brings publicity to a problem and encourages people to do something about it. But words and signs and media attention are simply not enough. Rallies may publicly show that certain people in society desire change, but most of them don’t give protesters the tools to manifest that ambition. This is partly because in most cases, protestors are not in a life or death situation. After the day is over, each individual can go home and continue their daily routine. Columbia professor Dana Fisher said, “There needs to be a representation of the population that’s willing to sacrifice their time … You need people coming out on more than one day. You need sustained action.”
But it’s not quite that easy to ensure that any given rally will inspire its participants to work on the issue consistently when the event is over. That is precisely why we need to change the crux of this type of event from being simply a public spectacle to actually enacting change. Imagine a protest or rally (that still made the news) but did more than show people walking from one place to another in solidarity. Instead, imagine if organizers created protests in which attendants were each given a piece of paper and asked to write a letter to a government official to change legislation, plan a meeting with local or national politicians, create sufficient media opportunities to gain traction, or take steps to enact actual change and plan for the future. Perhaps then we would see the change so many protests advocate.
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