Grassroots protests have sprung up all over the country in response to proposed immigration legislation. Many of these protests have occurred in Utah recently, and they have involved everyone from adults to middle school students.
The reactions to these protests have been mixed, with some people arguing that this is the best way for people to politically change the current situation and others claiming that these protesters have actually given more fuel to their opposition.
Protest organizers need to examine their objectives and their methods to make sure that their efforts aren’t inadvertently undermining their real goals.
Middle school students walking out of school does little to convince people that immigrants have respect for the rule of law. Encouraging those who are ignorant about the issues to participate in the protest can also backfire-although it makes the protest bigger and more noticeable, these people cannot articulate the larger, stated goals of the protest itself.
Protestors need to think about what messages they are sending to the public at large-and whether or not there would be a better way to send the messages they want.
As insignificant as it may sound, what impact would waving the American flag as opposed to the Mexican flag at rallies have on moderate-to-conservative people who have yet to make up their minds on the immigration issue?
Perhaps the most powerful aspect of protest is forcing your group and issue into the public eye. Widespread, grassroots protests can give recognition to that which had previously been denied by whatever ruling elite is currently in place. Many times, a lawful protest is the only recourse some groups and individuals have to gain an audience with the public and the government.
At the same time, however, protesters need to be careful not to damage their own efforts.
There are ways other than protesting to further one’s political agenda. Getting involved at local caucus meetings, pooling resources to lobby government, letter-writing campaigns and engaging local political parties can all go much further in gaining political acceptance for a particular group or idea. These methods can be far more effective than a large, noisy rally-and they also have a big impact simply because such methods are viewed as having a more legitimacy.
All in all, protestors need to remember that, while they have the right to protest, they don’t want to unconsciously damage their own cause by sending a blurred, mixed or completely incorrect message to the public.