[Charlotte N]

There always seems to be something that people dissagree with in their community or country. There are a few ways to respond to this, but I wanted to know everyone's opinions about protesting!

Have you been to a protest- why/why not? what was it like? did it work?
Do you find protesting a good means of showing your opinion, or a waste of time? Is it your duty to protest if you dissagree with something?
Any memorable protesting stories?

anyway, let's get some posts rolling!

[Justine S]

I must say I'm a fan of protesting. Since I was very little my family has taken me out to various protests - community, global, and environmental issues. I liked them because everyone was together fighting for what we believed in. I found them fun because we ran the protest in a way that was enjoyable for the participants, but also an effective means of speaking up.

On one occasion we won our point (something community related - sorry can't remember exactly), and they said it was in part because they saw the kids out their protesting (me and one other). I always remembered that because it made me realize that going out does make a difference, and you're not just one of the crowd wasting your precious time.

I don't think it's your duty to protest if you disagree with something. There are many means of taking action, if one does choose to take action - e.g. writing letters, e-mailing the people involved, etc.. But if you enjoy it and you want to, then by all means get out there and protest!!

[Duncan P]

I agree, protesting can be an indespensable tool. However, I have never protested, but that's mostly because I'm too lazy to organize one and I never recieve any information about a protest that's going on.

[Charlotte N]

Quote

Since I was very little my family has taken me out to various protests

I think it was with your family that I went to my very first protest awww... how cute!

I've been to a few protests in my day. Most have been community oriented which didn't really make a big difference to a vast number of people, but made a big difference to our community. I also went to a political protest a few years ago against the BC liberal government with my family (good ol' family bonding). A LOT of people came out from accross the province which made me feel like I was a part of something big.
Protests can get ugly though. I've never been to a protest-gone-wrong and I hope I never will because riots are NOT a good way to prove a point.
I like protests because I think that if people get together they can get their opinion out and show there's support for an issue! I think that if you care about an issue you need to get your opinion out there somehow and protesting is a good way, but not the only way.

I'm also a fan of writing letters though as the environmental issues club knows

[Justine S]

I'm a fan of writing letters like Charlotte is. I think it's a constructive, peaceful way of taking action. The problem with it is that it doesn't necessarily display your thoughts to the people around you.

That's partly why I feel protesting is so effective: even if it doesn't completely solve the issue, it shows the people around you that they are not alone in thinking there is another way. It takes courage for one person to stand up and speak out. If they see that other people are out there doing the same thing, it is much easier to join in - and more fun too !

There's power in numbers...

[dart_hayley]

I think protesting is a way of expressing your thought, i think protesting is good as long as it doesnt get out of hand! Some people can go over the top and that i disagree with!

[Charlotte N]

Just a note: I just went to the illegal protest in Victoria over class sizes and teachers rights and must say it was a lot of fun while being (I think) effective.
Unfortunantly the Government is yet to negotiate which means we're probibly not going to be at school for a long time yet.
There were 12,000 people there (they estimated) which leads me to the point that if there is a protest that you care about, just go because the more people the more effective the protest and the more pleasant it is for all the other protesters.