Why do people organize meetings and protest against the government?
Answers
Certain images are printed on the brains of most Americans: labor union pickets in front of a Depression-era factory, with signs demanding living wages and workers--rights; black men, women, and children marching into the teeth of police dogs and the nozzles of fire hoses in their quest for civil rights and human decency; long -haired young people in tie-dye and beads protesting the Vietnam War.
These are all examples of public demonstrations, groups of people organized to come together at a specific place and time to call attention to a specific issue. Although we often think of demonstrations as negative--against "something," they can also be positive, supporting particular politicians and their ideas, specific initiatives, or existing programs. They are usually meant to influence the way things are done, or the way people think. Whether they're aimed at politicians, bureaucrats, corporations, or the general public, they can take many forms. From large, media -covered marches, to small gatherings to buttonhole legislators in the State House, to street theater on the town common, Americans have long used public demonstrations as a way of getting their points across to those in power.
Can--and should--your organization or initiative use a public demonstration to further its cause? If it can, what do you have to do to get all the right people together in the right place at the right time? After the demonstration, what do you do to build on it?