> Thank you, Liza. I'm not totally opposed to mass protests, but my chief
> problem with them is how they are used by some groups as the sum total of
> their strategy. If you look at all the protests organized by the
> International Action Center over the past 5 years, you will see the same
> formula repeated over and over again. Mass rallies and marches, always permitted.
OK, I can't disagree with that - mass protests are one; if they are reduced to the only tatic then they wuill fail
>
> The Mobilization for Global Justice here in Washington, on the other hand,
> organizes a mixture of mass rallies and marches, illegal and unpermitted
> actions, educational events, and much more. This choice of tactics and
> methods allows a diverse range of people to participate and allows them to
> choose what they want to do. This give the MGJ greater flexibility in terms
> of long term strategy.
The one thing I would say is that it is good sometimes to have rallies that are pure permitted rallies with no civil disobediende. This lets people attend who absolutely are unwilling to risk having their heads bashed by the police. If civil disobedience is going on, the police will often start beating on everyone - including people participating legally in permitted areas.
In Portland we had an event where Soccer Moms (and Dads) and kids opposed to the invastion of Iraq surrounded a local park. People came out who normally don't participate in demos - because it was legal, permitted and short. You don't want to give in to police intimidation by limiting rallies to the legal and permitted. Multi-tendency demos make a lot of sense. But it is good to have some where people can come without risking their asses.
>
> I also want to reiterate that I don't think that mass rallies and demos are
> without effect on the general public or the rulers. However, we need to be
> savvy about what we do with this tactic and not make assumptions about the
> historical use of mass spectacles.
>
> Let's face it: four straight hours of speeches is going to turn people away
> no matter how many times Jesse Jackson speaks.
Absolutely. Or, as Michael Moore says about the speeches of Ralph Nader: All the goods stuff is in the third hour anyway.
I wonder if part of the length of some rallies is a misguided effort to give people value for their time in coming out.