What is a protest?

After studying various protests over the course of a semester I have found that most of my initial beliefs about protests have been supported. I said in my first post that protests could be made in many different ways with different groups of people, intentions, and techniques. If anything I have found protests to be more varied than I at first realized. As a class we have examined protests in the forms of speeches, marches, sit-ins, documentaries, art, fashion, music, and countless other forms. In all of these forms, what remains significant is the protesters decision to make a statement against something that they disagree with or wish to change.
One thing that I have learned about protests is that that is rarely all they are. Although some groups like Peta may make protests for a singular goal, many do not. Critical Mass is a protest for some but for others it is a way to have fun and be part of a community. Others see it as a safe way to exercise, while others embrace all of these as reasons to participate. A song may be a protest, but it also could be just a good song, and a piece of fashion or art may be intended to demonstrate ones individuality and look cool. Protests are deeply intertwined throughout all forms of human interaction- what is significant is the intentions and beliefs of the person making the protest and the audiences receiving it. And most surprisingly, the success of a protest is not necessarily only dependent on the number of people who participate or how televised the protest is. Sometimes all a successful protest needs is originality and a lot of peanuts.

Killin in the Name

Killing in the Name is a protest song by the American rock band Rage Against the Machine. The band is notorious for their politically motivated songs and their history of activism. They have been especially critical of US foreign and domestic policy and have been outspoken on issues over human rights.

The song Killing in the Name is off the band’s self titled album and is probably the band’s most popular song. It has received widespread acclaim as well as criticism for its lyrics. The song is primarily a protest against white supremacists and police brutality. The line “Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses” references the Klu Klux Klan and associates them with police forces. The song is a reaction to the LA Rodney King riots. It adresses racism within police forces and white supremacist groups in America and urges revolting against a system that places racist persons in positions of power.

Concerning the power of music as protest, singer Zach de la Rocha has said “I'm interested in spreading those ideas through art, because music has the power to cross borders, to break military sieges and to establish real dialogue."

http://www.ratm.net/lyrics/kil.html

Coulter and Moore as Protesters

Ann Coulter and Michael Moore often appear to be as similar as they are oppossites. While Coulter is an extreme conservative with a history of using fallacious arguments to decry her opponents, Moore is an extreme liberal who repeatedly uses similarly problematic arguments to create what many have considered to be ridiculous conspiracy theories. They have both been extremely vocal in the last decade, having contributed immensly to political discussions and the opinions of voters. But are they protesters?

My final decision is that while Michael Moore is a protester, Coulter is not. The difference is not in their message or in their tactics. The difference is their relationship to the the party in power, or in the status quo. While Michael Moore villanizes and accuses current powerful corporations, institutions, and the Bush administration, Coulter defends capitalism and conservatism while they are both in positions of power. Coulter does, however, enter into the realm of protest in her discusions of abortion. Since abortions are legal under the current administration, she argues in this case against the powers that be. This allows her, for once, to take on the role of a protester.

Ann Coulter

Despite many American's attempts to decry Ann Coulter, she remains a significant writer with amazing influence on voters' opinions. Many of her ideas are actually very popular, as are her books. While many may argue that her ability to persuade readers is small, although her book sales appear to suggest otherwise. The main problem with writers such as Ann Coulter is that they encourage readers to assume that complex issues have black and white answers. Her arguements that liberals are either completely ignorant, foolish, unamerican or not Christian assume that her point of view is absolutely right, and that there are not chances for other interpretations. When readers accept this assumption the opportunity for serious discussion on important issues decreases. This degrades the potential for important conversation between citizens and politicians. These assumptions are also polarizing, and create hostility between conservatives and liberals. They also encourage americans to classify themselves as one of these strict labels, which discourages the opportunity to change opinions and develop better ideas.

Jesus Camp

While the directors of Jesus camp tried to stay neutral towards their subjects, there are some points at which they seem to suggest that the evangelical Christians are extremist and cultish, and that the children have been brainwashed. Some shots, such as one girl runnint out into the rain and shouting that she had to touch 10 drops of rain ten times before she turned 10, would normally be interpreted as a child playing. However, in the context of the film she and her family appear superstitious and extremist. This strengthens the preconceptions that many viewers are likely to hold towards evangelical Christians. The directors also chose to focus on some of the less logical parts of the religion and camp. For example, although one evangelical mother revealed that she was a creationist, little explanation was given to explain her belief. This allows viewers to assume more easily that she and other evangelicals are ignorant. By focusing on the emotional aspects of the religion in scenes such as the speaking in tongues, the directors gave less credence to the Evangelical Christians.

writing

My first step whenever writing a paper is to try to get a firm grasp on the topic. For timed writing assignments I am usually able to get a clear idea of the topic quite quickly. However, more extensive papers such as our Protest paper can take much more work before I can even begin preparing an outline. While doing research, I often try to consider viewpoints and frames that can support potential arguments. This not only allows me a chance to critically examine my own thoughts on the subject, but also allows me to begin organizing a potential outline in my mind. While I can usually see potential arguments while I research, some projects are more difficult. In these cases, I may be forced to take notes and try to organize points and potential arguments on paper.
Once my thesis is clear, I usually try to make some form of outline. While I can usually organize outlines for simple papers in my mind, more complicated ones may need to be put to paper. I usually try to make this part of the writing process take a short as possible it can sometimes take several hours. This was true for our protest paper, which took me quite a while to organize. However, the argument was no longer so complex that I had to write out an outline. Once I had a strong thesis statement the basic paper outline and supporting arguments were clear. I was able to write steadily for a few hours and write my paper without too much effort, since I new exactly what points I wanted to make and how I wanted the paper to flow. Afterwards I read through the paper once to make sure I hadn’t made any mistakes.

Punks and the Yes Men

Both the Yes Men and punks take advantage of appearance to affect the images they present to people. However, while the Yes Men use appearance to achieve what they call “image correction,” punks style uses images to set the group apart from social norms and force others to notice things about their own lifestyles. Both groups are similar in their sense of rebellion. The Yes Men, for instance, make use of pranks to bring attention to consumerism and the misdeeds of major conglomerates. Their appearance is largely a result of this, as they attempt to appear as legitimate business men in order to be associate with the groups they are fighting, and then use more obnoxious images (such as the golden suit and the hamburgers) to point out the problems of these groups. Punks are equally rebellious, but are associated to a much larger degree with degeneracy. They present hostile, shocking images through their use of hairstyle, clothing, and piercing. These shocking images poke fun at social norms, at point out issues of gender roles, stereotypes, and consumerism. The punk movement is far less organized than the Yes Men, and doesn’t have as focused of a goal. While this allows the Yes Men to focus their efforts more on the success of their projects and the attacks on specific people and organizations, the open minded sense of punk culture allows individuals to make it their own, and use it to express themselves through punk style in original, creative ways.