Protest 2.0
by Ari Holtz
Published: March 31, 2008
On March 18th and 19th, protesters marked the five-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq with marches, rallies and blockades in Washington, D.C. Twenty-something protestors mixed with baby-boomers who once protested the Vietnam War on the same streets. People chanted, held up pun-filled posters, blocked entry to government buildings and were arrested en masse. A question, however, remains - in 2008, if thousands of people march in the streets, does anyone hear their call?
The answer - no.
Protest marches have a long and storied history in America. The Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements in the 1960s affected great change, both culturally and politically. Since those halcyon days of dissent, however, marches have become impotent and ignored. The recent Iraq War protests received only passing mention on the nightly network newscasts. In terms of the collective consciousness and water cooler buzz, they were practically invisible. Even the largest protest in American history, a gathering of 500,000 people in New York City for the 2004 Republican National Convention, resulted in little change, whether political, cultural or in moving the national debate in any particular direction.
What’s the problem here? Is it the message of the protesters? That seems unlikely. The war in Iraq is an unpopular one, the administration that leads it even more so. The majority of the country is displeased and angry with the direction of the country. Protests that address this should resonate.
The trouble lies in the method of protest. The standard protest march is, well, played out. It’s stale. There has been little change or evolution in protest form since the ‘60s, save for the addition of papier-mache puppets. Yes, papier-mache puppets. How can anything remain effective having not changed for four decades?
What is desperately needed by those who want their voices of opposition to be heard is the creation of a Protest 2.0. What would this Protest 2.0, long delayed in its release, be comprised of? Protest must speak to the youth, the vanguard, those who set and start cultural trends. Then, like everything from Uggs to Soulja Boy to Guitar Hero, it filters up the age spectrum and into the mainstream. Walking down a city street chanting oh-so-clever, oh-so-witty slogans while waving around signs made with poster board and Sharpies is so done. It’s, like, pre-Apple IIE in a time of MacBook Air.
Protest in its essence is communication. You have beliefs, ideas that you want to communicate to others, persuading them to consider your perspective. Mass communication in 2008 is technological in nature. It’s messaging with text or Google Talk or AIM, it’s social networking with Facebook or MySpace or LinkedIn, it’s the dissemination of ideas through YouTube and Twitter.
The new generation of protesters, should they want to be effective, need to use these platforms to unite the like-minded and build their movements. The youth are not apathetic and detached. They care. Those who are ripe to be moved, to be inspired, to be motivated to work to change the country, can be reached. But they must be reached about war and peace, politics and policy through the same channels by which they make friends, meet friends, make plans and construct their worlds. And, really, what places do marching and puppets, oak tag and chants occupy in the lives of the modern and the young?
It is not yet clear how the technological vessels of modern social interaction can be best harnessed for the purpose of protest. The task hasn’t yet been accomplished, or accomplished with any great success or effect. The time is near, however, for someone to bring protest into the modern age. Protest is not dead, it is only dormant. And the individual who reawakens it will be a visionary.
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