I think different political factions are inclined to protest differently.
For lefties, it’s generally an organized affair involving one or more pre-existing organizations providing logistical support and planning out slogans. I think anyone living in a major city has seen protests of this kind, so I can be relatively succinct.
For righties, it’s a “civic duty” sort of thing, where people who are passionate and have the means just sort of show up and sort of figure things out on their own once they’re there—they’re much less enthusiastic about shouting rhyming slogans and handing out signs. The early Tea Party protests fit this theme, as do other rightie protest movements before some kind of official organization steps in.
For populists, the idea of people showing up in force and showing the government who’s in charge is the point, and the aim is to establish an organic kind of chaos that precludes efforts to disperse them while demonstrating to interested parties that there is a ‘crown in the gutter’ that can be picked up by backing them. The yellow vests are a good example.
While there’s some overlap, I would expect that the sort of person who feels at home in one genre of protest would be uncomfortable in at least one of the others, to the point where it’s arguable that they aren’t the same medium.
Maybe it’s a populist medium, more than a leftist medium?
I think different political factions are inclined to protest differently.
For lefties, it’s generally an organized affair involving one or more pre-existing organizations providing logistical support and planning out slogans. I think anyone living in a major city has seen protests of this kind, so I can be relatively succinct.
For righties, it’s a “civic duty” sort of thing, where people who are passionate and have the means just sort of show up and sort of figure things out on their own once they’re there—they’re much less enthusiastic about shouting rhyming slogans and handing out signs. The early Tea Party protests fit this theme, as do other rightie protest movements before some kind of official organization steps in.
For populists, the idea of people showing up in force and showing the government who’s in charge is the point, and the aim is to establish an organic kind of chaos that precludes efforts to disperse them while demonstrating to interested parties that there is a ‘crown in the gutter’ that can be picked up by backing them. The yellow vests are a good example.
While there’s some overlap, I would expect that the sort of person who feels at home in one genre of protest would be uncomfortable in at least one of the others, to the point where it’s arguable that they aren’t the same medium.