Have You Ever Formally Protested or Boycotted Anything?

[minniecarousel]

I'm old, and when I was young, my little brother asked for "boycott grapes" because he thought they were a type of grape (like Concord grape). Cesar Chavez was a big deal here in California (in the '60's, I think). We all got a kick out of it.

 

[Magpie]

I would have really liked to have gone to either the protest or the vigil in my town a couple days ago, but there was no way for me to get out there (conflicted with my work schedule). I think it's been fifteen years since I last made it to a protest.

As far as "boycotts" go...

In general, I try to avoid Nestle products (except my elderly, underweight cat will only eat Fancy Feast, so we're stuck purchasing that one). It's not much of a sacrifice, as most Nestle products aren't very good for you anyway (Hot Pockets? Blech.). Heck, if the cat was healthy, we'd be feeding him better food, too. But, he's old and if he wants to end his life eating junk food, so be it. It's better than before, when he was refusing to eat anything.

And I won't purchase anything that indicates a portion of their proceeds are going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. That doesn't mean I won't purchase the product at all, I just avoid anything wrapped in pink packaging. So, I might switch to a comparable product for the duration of the campaign, and then go back when the campaign is over.

Overall, though, I prefer to donate time and money to causes I believe in, rather than protest. We give a fair bit to our local hospitals, the Humane Society, our church, Canadian Council for Refugees, and I also canvass locally for a number of organizations (Heart and Stroke, Diabetes, Cancer, the Kidney Foundation, etc). Plus, we put some money aside each year to help out in specific cases, as they come up (tsunami or earthquake relief, that sort of thing).

I remember my mum refusing to purchase South African wine, years and years ago!

 

[piccolopat]

I am so sorry to see that so many people are unable to have a meaningful but respectful debate with other people who have a different point of view. The problem at UC Berkeley is a prime example. People preach that they want everyone to be tolerant of so many things but in reality they want you to be tolerant of their views but they are not interested in reciprocating. Too many people also protest or boycott without really understanding the issue or knowing what they would do to resolve it. Problems and disagreements never get resolved when people with opposing views refuse to listen to each other.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Overall, though, I prefer to donate time and money to causes I believe in, rather than protest.

I like this sentence very much. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Magpie]

I am so sorry to see that so many people are unable to have a meaningful but respectful debate with other people who have a different point of view. The problem at UC Berkeley is a prime example. People preach that they want everyone to be tolerant of so many things but in reality they want you to be tolerant of their views but they are not interested in reciprocating. Too many people also protest or boycott without really understanding the issue or knowing what they would do to resolve it. Problems and disagreements never get resolved when people with opposing views refuse to listen to each other.

Okay, so keeping in mind that I'm really not up on the whole "Berkeley protest" thing, and I have no idea whether I would support it or not...

I just want to say, as a present day Unitarian who was raised Quaker, being "tolerant" does not mean tolerating anything and everything. Most especially, as a person of good conscience, it means you MUST stand up and speak out against intolerance, and bigotry, wherever you see it.

As a child, for example, it was made very clear to me that if I heard someone use the "n-word", I was NOT, under any circumstances, to tolerate it. Silence is as bad as agreement. I had a responsibility, as a Quaker child, to speak up clear and state that I would not tolerate that kind of language or attitude toward my fellow human beings. My tolerance ends where your intolerance begins.

This can, indeed, lead to conflict. It can lead to shouting and placard-waving, and catastrophic failures in communication. On the other hand, as my pastor was saying just last Sunday, conflict, while uncomfortable and sometimes distressing, is still necessary for growth. So, I remain hopeful.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I am so sorry to see that so many people are unable to have a meaningful but respectful debate with other people who have a different point of view. The problem at UC Berkeley is a prime example. People preach that they want everyone to be tolerant of so many things but in reality they want you to be tolerant of their views but they are not interested in reciprocating. Too many people also protest or boycott without really understanding the issue or knowing what they would do to resolve it. Problems and disagreements never get resolved when people with opposing views refuse to listen to each other.

Problems and disagreements never get solved when people refuse to be honest, when they refuse to look at something through a clear lens and insist on distorting reality to make their points, when they refuse to look at a whole picture instead focusing on parts which fit their narrative and ignoring the rest.

 

[Sanchez]

Problems and disagreements never get solved when people refuse to be honest, when they refuse to look at something through a clear lens and insist on distorting reality to make their points, when they refuse to look at a whole picture instead focusing on parts which fit their narrative and ignoring the rest.

And problems never get solved when the first reaction is to shout down an opponent or call them a racist or a bigot.

 

[L&Lfan]

And problems never get solved when the first reaction is to shout down an opponent or call them a racist or a bigot.

A million thumbs up!

 

[DawnM]

I can top that - I got points once for using an analogy that involved political parties in an entirely non-political thread.

I have gotten points but I am afraid if I say what it was I will get them again, but one time it involved Santa.

 

[DawnM]

We used to allow students to walk out for demonstrations. We would watch more than 50% of our students walk off campus and couldn't do anything about it. The thing that irritated me was that most of them just wanted out of class and to hang out with their friends.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Okay, so keeping in mind that I'm really not up on the whole "Berkeley protest" thing, and I have no idea whether I would support it or not...

I just want to say, as a present day Unitarian who was raised Quaker, being "tolerant" does not mean tolerating anything and everything. Most especially, as a person of good conscience, it means you MUST stand up and speak out against intolerance, and bigotry, wherever you see it.

As a child, for example, it was made very clear to me that if I heard someone use the "n-word", I was NOT, under any circumstances, to tolerate it. Silence is as bad as agreement. I had a responsibility, as a Quaker child, to speak up clear and state that I would not tolerate that kind of language or attitude toward my fellow human beings. My tolerance ends where your intolerance begins.

This can, indeed, lead to conflict. It can lead to shouting and placard-waving, and catastrophic failures in communication. On the other hand, as my pastor was saying just last Sunday, conflict, while uncomfortable and sometimes distressing, is still necessary for growth. So, I remain hopeful.

The "protesters" set fires, broke windows, threw rocks....peppered spray attendees and beat one person unconscious. The venue was evacuated and the event was cancelled due to the violence. I can't take away a positive...not one.

I've learned, over the past few years, many want their way...period. They will use, whatever method or means it takes to get it. They believe tolerance or compromise are bad words.

 

[sunshinehighway]

And problems never get solved when the first reaction is to shout down an opponent or call them a racist or a bigot.

Of course they don't.
Sometimes people are being racist or bigoted though and to pretend like they aren't or to pretend it should be ok because we have to tolerate racism or bigotry does nothing to open communication.

 

[sunshinehighway]

The "protesters" set fires, broke windows, threw rocks....peppered spray attendees and beat one person unconscious. The venue was evacuated and the event was cancelled due to the violence. I can't take away a positive...not one.

I've learned, over the past few years, many want their way...period. They will use, whatever method or means it takes to get it. They believe tolerance or compromise are bad words.

Violence should never be the response.
To dismiss all the protesters and what they were protesting because some people were out of control is wrong though. See that's exactly what I was talking about in my previous post. Instead of actually looking at all points, you just use the bad apples as an excuse to dismiss the whole thing rather than trying to understand the larger issue.

 

[wilkeliza]

I am so sorry to see that so many people are unable to have a meaningful but respectful debate with other people who have a different point of view. The problem at UC Berkeley is a prime example. People preach that they want everyone to be tolerant of so many things but in reality they want you to be tolerant of their views but they are not interested in reciprocating. Too many people also protest or boycott without really understanding the issue or knowing what they would do to resolve it. Problems and disagreements never get resolved when people with opposing views refuse to listen to each other.

Going to tread lightly and try not to get points. Tolerance does not equate to being tolerant of those who are racists, bigots, or hateful. I can call a person out on those things and in fact everyone should call a person out on those. SO say you personally believe LGBT couples shouldn't get married but then do nothing to formally stop them form doing so fine whatever have your opinion and I'll be tolerant of it. Once you start acting on your belief in such a way to stop someone else form enjoying the free exercise of their life so in my example actively campaigning against marriage equality then you are a bigot. To me that's the difference in those grey area tolerance things. So yes I am tolerant of your personal choice to be pro-life but I become less tolerant when you work to stop me from having a choice etc.

NOTE: all uses of you is the plural you directed at no poster in particular and therefore should not be taken as the singular you.

 

[Magpie]

The "protesters" set fires, broke windows, threw rocks....peppered spray attendees and beat one person unconscious. The venue was evacuated and the event was cancelled due to the violence. I can't take away a positive...not one.

I've learned, over the past few years, many want their way...period. They will use, whatever method or means it takes to get it. They believe tolerance or compromise are bad words.

Yeah, violence and property destruction is never cool.

However, it doesn't invalidate what they are protesting (which, as I said, I'm not currently up on). It simply means I think they're going about protesting incorrectly. And when they review the tapes, I hope charges will be laid accordingly.

By contrast, in my town we had a protest a few days ago down at an embassy that was exceptionally well organized. A schedule of events was released the day before. Police and the embassy staff were informed of the upcoming protest. Speeches were scheduled, and the organizers got a sound system set up. And when all the speakers had their say, over 1000 people joined hands in a completely peaceful human chain, which stretched all the way around the Embassy. Media wandered up and down the chain, interviewing people. People who needed to get to the embassy only had to ask, and they were let through. A time had been previously scheduled to disperse, and when it came, people did (no doubt relieved to get out of the cold).

I wasn't there, but I watched it live on CBC.ca. It warmed my heart.

 

[piccolopat]

Okay, so keeping in mind that I'm really not up on the whole "Berkeley protest" thing, and I have no idea whether I would support it or not...

I just want to say, as a present day Unitarian who was raised Quaker, being "tolerant" does not mean tolerating anything and everything. Most especially, as a person of good conscience, it means you MUST stand up and speak out against intolerance, and bigotry, wherever you see it.

As a child, for example, it was made very clear to me that if I heard someone use the "n-word", I was NOT, under any circumstances, to tolerate it. Silence is as bad as agreement. I had a responsibility, as a Quaker child, to speak up clear and state that I would not tolerate that kind of language or attitude toward my fellow human beings. My tolerance ends where your intolerance begins.

This can, indeed, lead to conflict. It can lead to shouting and placard-waving, and catastrophic failures in communication. On the other hand, as my pastor was saying just last Sunday, conflict, while uncomfortable and sometimes distressing, is still necessary for growth. So, I remain hopeful.

I never said people shouldn't stand up for what they believe in but it is important to discuss issues rather than assume you understand what someone else said or did. In your example, if you heard someone use the "n-word" you said you would speak up. What if you only half heard the conversation and instead of the "n-word" they used the word niggardly. You might confront someone unnecessarily and cause problems. The word niggardly has caused some people to react negatively in the past simply because they didn't understand that this word has nothing to do with the "n-word". Also, the "n-word" is accepted by some people in some situations such as in some kinds of music or when used by members of the race it is associated with. Personally I think the word should either be acceptable to use by everyone or not used by anyone.

 

[L&Lfan]

I'm glad all turned out well. But I feel as if I needed to get into the embassy, I shouldn't have to "ask" any protesters if I may be let in. That just doesn't seem right to me, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[robinb]

The "protesters" set fires, broke windows, threw rocks....peppered spray attendees and beat one person unconscious. The venue was evacuated and the event was cancelled due to the violence. I can't take away a positive...not one.

I've learned, over the past few years, many want their way...period. They will use, whatever method or means it takes to get it. They believe tolerance or compromise are bad words.

From what I read you're right about the people who instigated the violence were "protesters" ... complete with the quotation marks. They were agitators who interrupted the peaceful protest already taking place. So, the positive take away you should have is that there were indeed peaceful protesters who have no association whatsoever with the people who perpetrated the violence.

 

[Magpie]

I never said people shouldn't stand up for what they believe in but it is important to discuss issues rather than assume you understand what someone else said or did. In your example, if you heard someone use the "n-word" you said you would speak up. What if you only half heard the conversation and instead of the "n-word" they used the word niggardly. You might confront someone unnecessarily and cause problems. The word niggardly has caused some people to react negatively in the past simply because they didn't understand that this word has nothing to do with the "n-word". Also, the "n-word" is accepted by some people in some situations such as in some kinds of music or when used by members of the race it is associated with. Personally I think the word should either be acceptable to use by everyone or not used by anyone.

Meh, I think if I said, "WHAT did you say?" and they responded, "I said 'niggardly'!" then we'd all have a good laugh and that would be that.

And yes, obviously context matters. Am I using this word to hurt someone, and make them less than me? Or are we just having a live reading of Huckleberry Finn?

In any case, I think we'll have to agree to disagree, because I feel strongly that words we choose DO matter. Words have power and history. Words exist within their cultural context. Certain words are not acceptable in every situation, or by every person.

If you want to reclaim a word that's traditionally been used to denigrate your group, that's your right. But, especially if I'm part of the group that originally did the denigrating... yeah, I'm not going to go there. Maybe in 100 years when we're all cool with each other, we can all use this word. But we are so definitely not there yet.

 

[luvsJack]

Yeah, violence and property destruction is never cool.

However, it doesn't invalidate what they are protesting (which, as I said, I'm not currently up on). It simply means I think they're going about protesting incorrectly. And when they review the tapes, I hope charges will be laid accordingly.

By contrast, in my town we had a protest a few days ago down at an embassy that was exceptionally well organized. A schedule of events was released the day before. Police and the embassy staff were informed of the upcoming protest. Speeches were scheduled, and the organizers got a sound system set up. And when all the speakers had their say, over 1000 people joined hands in a completely peaceful human chain, which stretched all the way around the Embassy. Media wandered up and down the chain, interviewing people. People who needed to get to the embassy only had to ask, and they were let through. A time had been previously scheduled to disperse, and when it came, people did (no doubt relieved to get out of the cold).

I wasn't there, but I watched it live on CBC.ca. It warmed my heart.

With all due respect, Berkley was not a "protest" it was a riot and when you resort to rioting, your message does become invalidated by your own actions. Same with any other "protest" that becomes a riot.