Do Protest Marches Work? Part 3

Perhaps because of the memories of the pictures of Martin Luther King marching down the streets of Montgomery, Alabama, the huge marches against the Vietnam War or the crowds of people in the central squares of Cairo or Tunis, we have been convinced of the need for large numbers of people protesting to effect any change. But what we seem to have forgotten is that these protests started with the actions of a small number of people or even just one. In our haste to convince the world that these change are critical, we have ignored  Margaret Mead's advice " Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has".   

Ghandi never planned on leading over a hundred thousand people to the sea to protest the British Salt Tax, Mohamed Bouazizi would never have dreamed that his self-immolation would lead to the protests of the Arab Spring, and Rosa Parks never imagined that her decision to sit at the front of the bus would lead to marches down the main streets of Montgomery. They made a personal decision to do what they thought was right. In some cases I am sure that they hoped someone else would be supportive - but that is not why they did it. They did not wait for some committee to organize a protest in long meetings using Robert's Rules of Order nor did they wait until there were enough people agreeing to meet at a certain point, at a certain time. They just did what felt right.

One of the most memorable people I have known was a young man who, if you had looked him, looked like a bum. In fact, in a way he was. He frequently travelled riding the rails. He sometimes looked as if the dirt from the road had been permanently etched into his skin. He had gotten use to having few possessions as it is hard to jump on a moving train if you are carrying too much stuff. We spent a few days travelling together - me driving my car back from my two year stay in BC, him going back to the Maritimes. At every road side stop along the Trans-Canada where we had pulled over so he could smoke, he would walk around and pick up the trash on the road and put it in the garbage cans; if there were no cans, he put the trash in his pockets until we stopped somewhere there was one. Not a big deal - certainly what he was doing would never change the world - but it changed my world and that perhaps is enough. I now, a few times year, walk along the dike beside the Cowinchan River just outside my house and collect the garbage that others have left behind.

There are a million things that we can do as individuals that can cause change. Simple things such as saying thank you as if you meant it to the bus drivers, bank tellers and clerks that serve us; not wasting our money buying presents for family members who don't need them, teaching our children that those of us who live in a privileged part of the world have a responsibility to support those who don't, reducing our wasteful use of resources, remembering the profound difference between wanting something and needing something and incorporating that difference into our daily lives or just being kind. The possibilities are limitless.

We also can talk to each other. It is far too easy to condemn those who disagree with us. Most, if not all of them, are not the enemy. We need become, if not their friends, at least good neighbours who care about them and their lives.  If we stop demonizing them - perhaps those on the other side of the fence will stop doing the same to us on the left.

The are some overwhelming issues that we need to deal with. There is a time and a place where people need to stand up and say enough is enough. But let us make sure that before we do that - that we have done all of the other stuff first. A long time ago, when I was first advocating (somewhat loudly) on behalf of some individuals who lived with a disability, I learned that if one is going to do that sort of thing - one needs to makes sure that you have done all of the other steps well.

We need to go back to the basics of creating change and re-learn how to do those things well.