"My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel--it is, above all, to make you see." -- Joseph Conrad (1897)
do you think marches do any good? i have participated in a few, mostly in support of AIDS awareness and fundraising, but I always wonder if "marches on washington" etc do any good? what do you all think?
I think the Vietnam marches worked well because they were fairly new to the American culture? Not sure. Ricia, you bring up many good points on marching. I don't know how much it reaches the psyche of our leaders ( I personally believe only the pocketbook or the "right" people complaining make a diff to our leaders), but I do believe perhaps it can help those on the fence and also remind the American public just how many folks may not like what is going on. I live in the Seattle area, and we have lots of protests and marches here compared to much of the US, and it seems that much of the media coverage of it makes it sound like a bunch of hippie throwbacks are out causing riots and trouble, rather than focusing on what the protest or march is about. So that's why I wondered if it was helping much, but I think you have reaffirmed my participation. =)
The Vietnam marches were not a new phenomenon, but a part of a long history of American radicals protesting in public and putting their bodies on the front lines, from abolitionists to suffragettes to union activists to the civil rights marches--Vietnam protests were just one example ....
Dramatic, concentrated instances of feets-in-the-streets will make an impact, especially if they gather a cross section of Americana to show up in big numbers.
More and more we are encouraged to disregard the public sphere and public spaces... we do at our peril.
7 comments:
blogger contingent?
Ricia,
What is going on up North--does Canada have a strong protest movement?
do you think marches do any good? i have participated in a few, mostly in support of AIDS awareness and fundraising, but I always wonder if "marches on washington" etc do any good? what do you all think?
Seemed to have an effect during the Vietnam War... Imagine a million people marching on DC? What would be the impact on the public consciousness?
I think the Vietnam marches worked well because they were fairly new to the American culture? Not sure. Ricia, you bring up many good points on marching. I don't know how much it reaches the psyche of our leaders ( I personally believe only the pocketbook or the "right" people complaining make a diff to our leaders), but I do believe perhaps it can help those on the fence and also remind the American public just how many folks may not like what is going on. I live in the Seattle area, and we have lots of protests and marches here compared to much of the US, and it seems that much of the media coverage of it makes it sound like a bunch of hippie throwbacks are out causing riots and trouble, rather than focusing on what the protest or march is about. So that's why I wondered if it was helping much, but I think you have reaffirmed my participation. =)
Thanks for the background Ricia...
Susanne,
The Vietnam marches were not a new phenomenon, but a part of a long history of American radicals protesting in public and putting their bodies on the front lines, from abolitionists to suffragettes to union activists to the civil rights marches--Vietnam protests were just one example ....
Dramatic, concentrated instances of feets-in-the-streets will make an impact, especially if they gather a cross section of Americana to show up in big numbers.
More and more we are encouraged to disregard the public sphere and public spaces... we do at our peril.
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