It should be obvious that civil protests are largely ineffective based on the outcomes of civil protests over the past 30 years.
I was going to write about how the BLM protests mirrored the early days of the Arab spring, but then I found that someone already twatted that. Then multiple people wrote articles and blogposts calling this a color revolution by the time that I was formatting this.
And now in August it's been picked up by mainstream outlets. The second piece which I've yet to format, focuses on how to fix the foundational problems has been supported by the recent Fusion center DHS leaks.
Not wanting to repeat what's already been said, I instead choose to write about the proper way to describe the current mass civil unrest, and civil unrest in general. But scam hyde managed to outline most of this by the time I began to format the post. I suppose that's punishment for sitting on this since late May.
What is a protest?
Transitive
1. To object to, especially in a formal statement.
2. To promise or affirm with earnest solemnity: "He continually protested his profound respect"
3. Law. To declare (a bill) dishonored or refused.
4. Archaic. To proclaim or make known: "unrough youths that even now Protest their first of manhood"
Intransitive
1. To express strong objection
2. To make an earnest avowal of affirmation -See Synonyms at object.
Noun
1. A formal declaration of disapproval of objection issued by a concerned party.
2. Any individual or collective gesture or display of disapproval.
3. Law.
a. A formal statement drawn up by a notary for a creditor, declaring that the debtor has refused to accept or honor a bill.
b. A formal declaration made by a taxpayer, stating that the tax demanded is illegal or excessive and reserving the right to contest it.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1975
A protest can take the form of a massive public demonstration against something or someone, it could be the simple act of saying no, or writing a letter of protest to send with a bill to the State.
A protest can be violent.
Egerton and Williams recall that when the men reached the jail, it was barricaded and manned by 55 deputies. The veterans demanded the ballot boxes but were refused. They then opened fire on the jail, initiating a battle that lasted several hours by some accounts, considerably less by others.
A protest can result in damaged property.
The rioters stripped the mansion, one of the finest in Boston, of its doors, furniture, paintings, silverware and even the slate from its roof.
on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists. It showed Great Britain that Americans wouldn’t take taxation and tyranny sitting down, and rallied American patriots across the 13 colonies to fight for independence.
The idea of "civil protest" has been a relatively recent invention.
It should be obvious that civil protests are largely ineffective based on the outcomes of civil protests over the past 30 years.
What is a demonstration?
Noun:
1. The act of making evident or proving.
2. Conclusive evidence; proof.
3. An illustration or explanation, as of a theory or product, by exemplification or practical application.
4. A manifestation, as of one's feelings.
5. A public display of group opinion, as by rally or march.
6. A show of military strength.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1975
Any public display of power, whether it be political or military is a demonstration. It's a demonstration when law enforcement burns people alive or conducts snatch-and-grab kidnappings of citizens.
Look at how few you are.
A protest is always a demonstration, but a demonstration isn't always a protest.
Protests require demonstrators who are unrepresented by whatever societal structure they live within. There must be animosity between protestors and their opposition's enforcers.
Enforcers don't necessarily have to be members of the government. They can be private citizens, businesses, foreign governments, or even non-profit organizations.
In the case of the Boston Tea Party, the opposition was the Crown, and it's enforcers were the Red Coats.
More recently, the memo penned by a now ex-google employee was a protest against society and Google.
In this case, the enforcers were social-media society and Google corporate.
Take note of the use of the writers choice of "screed" to describe a lengthy writ outlining someone's first-hand views.
archive source
In a more distant time, the Ludlow Massacre was a protest violently subdued by the Pinkertons.
The farther back you look, the further forward you see.
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A timely example would be the overall behavior of government and the ruling class towards "Black Lives Matter", and their local opposition.
The BLM protests started as proper protests whereby police attempted to contain and control the crowds.
In Seattle specifically, BLM evolved from a protest to a demonstration when the Mayor ordered the police to stand down, which allowed demonstrators to create a secessionist territory.
The decision to board up the precinct — our precinct, our home, the first precinct I worked in — was something I was holding off
You should know, leaving the precinct was not my decision
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In my previous post, "The quantum nature of LAW" I said "the only thing separating the guilty from innocent is enforcement."
The inequitable enforcement of law reveals the true political leanings of law enforcement agents and their handlers.
These examples of BLM "protests" are demonstrations, since the demonstrators have obvious political representation.
Richmond police said they are pursuing a lead in the investigation after responding to the statue late this morning. Officers encountered a group cleaning the graffiti, police told 8News.
“These folks are out here volunteering in the rain to clean it and I applaud them,” Harris continued. “I say thank you to all of you.”
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“The statue in question sits in a federal park and therefore is within the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and the United States Park Police. No arrests were made,” Gertz told The Daily Signal in an email.
Park Police did not immediately respond to inquiries late Monday on the question of arrests.
The lack of arrests is almost certainly a result of two dynamics, either politics or an effort to prevent officers from using force, said Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund.
“Police officers are most likely following orders. Those orders could be based on pure politics, but could also be concern that if police officers intervene, it will result in use of force,” Johnson told The Daily Signal. “In the times we are living in now, any use-of-force incident could put police in a position to be summarily dismissed or face criminal prosecution.”
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Watch as police refuse to do their job, allowing hordes of looters to run wild like a scene out of "World War Z", or that one lion video.
June 29, 2020: Demonstrators show up in mayor's neighborhood
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan expressed outrage after Black Lives Matter protesters showed up at her home Sunday afternoon, despite her previous support and defense of the "CHOP" encampment.
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July 01, 2020: Two days later, mayor shuts down demonstrator's captured territory
Seattle police showed up in force early Wednesday at the city’s “occupied” protest zone, tore down demonstrators’ tents and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks.
archive source
Jun 25, 2020, 2020: Crowd gathers at the capitol
More than 500 people gathered on the front steps of Kentucky's Capitol in the hot midday sun for the #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor rally, over 100 days since Taylor, a 26-year-old ER technician, was fatally shot by police in her Louisville apartment.
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July 14, 2020: Crowd gets arrested for demonstrating at prosecutor's home.
"The protesters chose to occupy the front yard of a home owned by the Kentucky Attorney General and continuously chant towards he and his neighbors," Sgt. Lamont Washington of the Louisville Metro Police Department said in a statement. "All were given the opportunity to leave, were told that remaining on the property would be unlawful, and chose not to leave."
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A destructive demonstration.
If you have a license to protest, you have government recognition, ergo: you're not protesting because you have representation.
That permit is merely an extension of the will of the richest and most powerful people in whatever region the permitted protest is occurring, because those people fund the campaigns of whomever is in office.
Those officials are who allow the permits to be filed.
Instead of protesting, you're demonstrating the popularity of an acceptable opinion.
Sometimes protests take the form of black script on white paper. archive source
Sometimes protests take the form of defending a symbol. archive source
Sometimes protests take the form of practicing natural rights. archive source
And sometimes doing nothing is an act of protest in itself.
You know you're protesting when the entire force of government and society crashes against your message.
