Ricstroker
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May 23, 2023 3:05 AM
Ricstroker
28619
1489
77
JeffGriffin
John brown didn't just protest.
TheWombatStrikesAgain
Does Hong Kong belong on this list? Because last time I checked, things weren't going great there.
pleaseconsiderthatImightbejoking
Needs to be asked, annoying for who? Do you really think making commuters late is going to annoy the people responsible for climate policy? If they cared about ordinary people they wouldn't be poisoning the earth in the first place.
djh3ly3000
Only thing missing from this list is the Montreal Screwjob.
rotor1
slavery is alive and well. It just morphed in to Voluntary Monetary system, and the prison system
EngageWithZorp
Don't forget about the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912, 2 people were killed, mill owners schemed a bomb plot to discredit the movement, the cops and national guard mercilessly beat men women and children and all because they wanted a fair wage and decent working hours. It also help shed a light on child workers, one of which was essentially scalped by a mill machine.
NineByNine
Strange Stonewall isn't on there too. Maybe we need to do it again but with way more than just bricks this time. Really get the message hammered home, so to speak.
wearsPantsOften
I was reading through it for this too. I'm sure others are for their thing too. I bet a giant tarp is needed, not just a cardboard sign!
TheAziz
Protests that didn't change the world: hundreds of thousands of people out on the streets against anti abortion laws.
hardytardigrade
Yes, just like US civil rights protests in 1952, or women's suffrage protests in 1876.
Excludos
Man, women have been through a lot. We should band together and end their suffrage
cbale2000
Pretty sure there was a war involved in the slavery one too...
GranddaddyGundam
Not entirely certain I'd put the Bastille on there. 100 years of death and destruction only for a country to kinda get it's shit together.
GranddaddyGundam
Changed the world, yes. But still...
Ifekinlovesauerkraut
Quick reminder: You still want to annoy only certain groups and not everyone.
hardytardigrade
This sounds like the "no, not like that" reaction to protests. I think you may be missing the main point of the sign.
ojioni
Protests did not end slavery in the US. It took a war. I suppose it could be argued that a war is the ultimate protest.
MeestowKitty
Hong Kong protests didn't change fuck all. The CND protests also tended to be anti-nuclear in general which set back nuclear power, one of the greenest energy sources. Also it's really weird to point to the Arab Spring which has caused like 90% of the current violence in the Arab world as a "success." You are not wrong, but also completely wrong, if you know what I mean.
futhor
That famously annoying protest, Sherman's March to the Sea
Myrealnameisunusual
To be fair, the list of brutally repressed uprisings is quite a bit longer...
TheSlurmFactory
Well, I'm guessing protesting for the abolition of slavery didn't include what happened in the US 😅
Youhavinagiraffe
The NHS mentioned on the placard makes it clear it's talking about the British abolitionist movement up to 1833
TheSlurmFactory
But yes, definitely changed the world
KarlderMarder
Well.... some are and did not.
putcleverusernamehere
Kinda wishing that tea party thing never happened
TheBurritoConfederacy
CND?
thricebakedxyz
Can Not be Denied
notinitforthepoints
"cunts named Daniel". After that the world was saved as no one is ever named Daniel ever again
pyroshen
Cold cuts and deli
Axiomatic13
Maaatth
Note that there have been a lot of annoying protests for bad causes too.
Salticido
Why do you mention that?
Maaatth
To add the fact that not all protest are virtuous, therefore some are annoying and illegal for good reasons.
fletcher10
NHS AND HS2 is the dream ❤️
PirateRubberDuck
NHS is underfunded and under staffed. HS2 was halted last time I checked. Both being crippled by the current government. They need to stay more than a dream.
KramerCosmo
HS2 is still going ahead there is a construction site near me.
PirateRubberDuck
I meant more recently than that. The government stopped paying the main contractors. It is probably sorted now, but it just seems like they are determined to cause delays and mess the contractors about.
Youhavinagiraffe
Yeah green activitists in the UK consistently being against the construction of new train lines and high-speed rail is really annoying. That plus green party local counsellors opposing the construction of solar farms. Nimbyism isn't environmentalism!
flarflarf
not sure i'd really call the storming of the bastille a "protest"
BeerFueledAdventurer
Aggressive negotiations, perhaps??
swordsnguns
It’s a very insistent protest
strapontin
A successful protest.
PickleForBreakfast
The bastille was emptied beforehand because they were expecting it. Only 6 prisoners remained at the time of the storming. Not sure if I would call that 'succesful'
Valaar
It was a symbol, and the fall of Bastille showed what angry starving people could do.
SaFalken
NHS literally told me they wouldn't help with my mental health assessment. I'm spiraling FUCK them
hddg
Join the gym.
JustAFoolInTheWorld
okay CHAD mental health help is not putting on muscle mass its fixing the brain! Helping you come to terms through trauma and unless weights have a fooking phsychaitry degree they aint gonna help a damned thing.
JustAFoolInTheWorld
yeah the uk nhs mental health is non exsistant, was abused for 38 years, dogs tortured infont of me to keep me in check, struggle with serious agorophobia, ptsd, anxiety, depress, suicidual tried recently about 4 days ago got a carer but mental health help ZIP just some silly volunteer tart telling me to try self help books or meditation, no thanks give me pills and real fucking shrink!
dontfloatmygoat
Berlin Wall? That came about through the Cold War and came down because of perestroika. Not really a protest either side.
TierfreierNichtraucherhaushalt
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monday_demonstrations_in_East_Germany
dontfloatmygoat
Hmmm. Ok. Partly due to.
JustAFoolInTheWorld
Well maybe if your grandfather dies in the back of a ambulance having a stroke cause traffic is backed up due to Just Oil twats blocking the road maybe THEN you wont appreciate what they are doing.
Flightpath1
I was wondering about how stopping hundreds of cars with their motors running instead of letting them get to where they need to go and stop their motors..... is it helping the enviroment?
JustAFoolInTheWorld
I also know for a fact he was not the only one because as we were sorting out his death certificate a parent couple came in and their son had died of a allergy attack cause the ambulance couldnt get there so F those protests that disrupt, seriously EFF them to hell for what they have done, I am always so proud of people who punch them, drag them out the road cause we are sick of it in uk.
freshthrowaway1138
Condolences for your grandfather, but this should be a wake-up call to remember how many people are dying because of your society's actions. We are killing people because of our inaction about climate change, and will continue to kill children and grandparents for centuries to come if we don't act today. If you're tired of your family dying, then you should empathize with the deaths of other people's family.
freshthrowaway1138
Welp, looks like he blocked me, so here's my reply- Ah yes, the "go protest somewhere else" reply. Because that's been working so well after the past few decades of protests. And no, I'm not saying that he died for a bigger cause, he died from a situation out of his control- which is what is happening around the world. Every driver needs to know that their inaction is killing people. Dying in a traffic jam and unable to reach help is an apropos way of describing the world.
JustAFoolInTheWorld
Oh feck off with that seriously its okay cause he died for a bigger cause, he didnt want any part of that he wanted to live but was denied that cause some idiots wanted to sit in a road rather than outside big oil company offices our outside goverment buildings! Target them and stop screwing over the little guys cause serious your turning the public off your causes big time.
freshthrowaway1138
Keep in mind that most of those protests that are listed would also be backed by violent actions at the time. We need to either change peacefully or protests will be replaced with more forceful direct actions.
sixtimesseven
Arab spring didn't turn out well for most. Hong Kong did not go well. Cnd is a new one
fletcher10
You have to try
Myrealnameisunusual
Don't think the Berlin wall fell because of protests either..
LiberalViking
They don't have to go well to change the world.
thelegendofthetwistednavigator
CND was the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. It's older than me but I'd hardly consider it successful in any way. They left a logo you might recognise
hotfezz
They are part of the reason Ukraine was disarmed
thelegendofthetwistednavigator
Not sure about that. From what I remember at the time, it was largely a political/financial decision during the collapse of the USSR
KittyKlimt6
And guess who foretold that arab spring is going to be winter? Feminists. But bc they're feminists, or women, noone listened. They better had. Different outcome likely.
dorenavant
Yep. Arab Spring started in Tunisia and more than a decade later the country now faces even more authoritarian rule. Same with Egypt. It’s saddening.
cepacolusmaximus
we have to get past thinking that fighting evil shitheads taking over positions of power is something that can be "over." That the work will never be done doesn't mean it's not worth doing.
dorenavant
I never said otherwise. “Dum spiro spero”.
implosion3
There are also protests which changed the world for the worse and do nothing to benefit humanity. The Jan. 6 insurrection protests as well as Pro Brexit demonstrations come to mind. Then there are these outspoken assholes :
TsunamiJohn
That's why we need to have disruptive protests for good change. Because evil people will have no trouble or qualms making things disruptive for negative change.
Admiral27
Well, the sign said "changed the world", not "changed for the better"
TheCarolingian
CND was in the 70's...iirc?
hotfezz
Famously completely ineffective (except in Ukraine, famously to their benefit)
oldscrotumthewrinkledretainer
CND was started in 1957 according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_Nuclear_Disarmament
gesel
Ih8thisSoMuch
And guess what they said about civil rights (or Vietnam, et al) protests at the time
happywalker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UC_Davis_pepper_spray_incident
isetprettygirlsonfire
That was occupy protests circa 2011
EveryGOPAccusationIsActuallyAnAdmission
It's so sickening that this happened so close to home, in Davis California. California is supposed to be better than this shit.
violetknows
Jesus Christ we’ve been putting up with this shit for too damn long
VictusVonGuyver
This is tame. No dogs sicked at them, no water hose spraying them during freezing temperatures, no teargas grenades shot at their faces, not cracked skulls. I'm not diminishing this, just pointing out how this is famous but the North Dakota pipeline protests that happened are forgotten with all the above.
MattScifiBandit
This was about tuition hikes at UC Davis. I was there
putcleverusernamehere
Seated protesters were maced at a tuition hike protest?
MattScifiBandit
Yes
hddg
Standard police procedure. They had it coming.
LoudBirb
PutItInNeutral
Troll account. Almost exclusively downvoted comments. Feel free to ignore.
ToSisPoS
Don’t just remark, report.
EveryGOPAccusationIsActuallyAnAdmission
Doing my part!
Khatapillah
Fuck I'd like to hurt that fucking pig for doing that
Omnomnomicon
He cried about the negative attention he got.
GraveyardWater
He got a 38K workman's comp award, because he got depressed after people were said mean things about him after this incident.
theyallwenttoMexico
Was that to replace unearned wages due to the work incident or was it more like a gift?
TsunamiJohn
That still is way too much money, but if he isn't working then good luck lasting more a year in CA on those wages.
NateintheNorth
Year? That's hard to live on in semi-rural MN for a year. I'd imagine CA it'd be a few months.
StarSumiaki
So many people fail to understand the necessity of truly disruptive protest. If all it took was asking nicely, we wouldn't still be asking.
Isthe4thtimethecharm
I tried to argue when people were against black lives matter that their right to protest is very important. I don't care if you believe in what someone is protesting for. Their right to do it is the most important thing.
prettydumb
yes which often leads to war. if thats what youre prepared for, good, but dont half ass it and get mad when it just seems to backfire
Xenarion
I still remember when the mention of protests on Imgur would be met with a mass of comments advocating running over protesters.
ceceoh
Can’t get run over if you stand close to a building, like The Capitol. /s
Maaatth
Sure, but there are disruptive protests for wrong causes too. And These people will take your argument to support their causes.
StarSumiaki
As is inevitable. But we can't shy away from discussing things just because somebody might take it as permission to do something wrong.
PutItInNeutral
Numfar! Do the dance of revolution!
Gaiashining
Except now the protestors are disrupting the wrong people. Anyone who thinks holding up people trying to get to work etc is going to effect change is very sadly mistaken. Company offices, government offices are the places to be.
StarSumiaki
Well, yeah. You have to disrupt the right people (and also make exceptions for emergency service vehicles).
channelranger
A protest that doesn't inconvenience anyone is just a shitty picnic. The *point* of a protest is to be loud, disruptive, unignorable. The problem has gotten so bad you have resorted to forming a mob in the street, yelling, and hoisting signs to make your anger heard- that is the very heart of a protest.
datester35
Yeah but why disrupt people who are unaffiliated with what you're protesting? Disrupt those who are responsible. Like protest in front of a building where the laws are made, not a random street / sidewalk.
NineByNine
"Have you tried being polite??" protests ARE the polite way. You really don'tw anna find out the IMPOLITE way, because it's called rioting.
cabalin
You mean like the French do ?
NineByNine
unironically yes. The French have the right goddamn idea.
Eakira
A date marathon with Madame Guillotine, as I like to call it.
TheMadOnion
Only a a disingenuous fuck face sits around and says there's no need for destruction or disruption in a protest. And that The existence of these things somehow invalidate the entire protest. What they conveniently ignore is the years of less disruptive protest leading up to what we have now. When they won't listen to us eventually we make them listen. And if they still won't listen force them to.
PlayingCroquetOnMars
I think the mob on Jan 6 would agree with you, and it's an extremely dangerous view. At what point does disruptive protest become a riot, a coup, a revolution?Generally people like the idea of disruptive protest until it's about something they disagree with.
channelranger
That's a stupid way to think about it. What, protests and riots are bad because nazis can do them too? *Why* you do things matters a lot. Punching someone in the face can be anything from heroic (protecting someone in odds that don't favor you) to horrid (Abusing someone much weaker than you) but that doesn't mean punches are evil.
quadraspaz1
I think that the Jan 6th rioters were doing what they thought was right with the (dis)information that they had (selectively) received. The US government is corrupt, the swamp does need draining, small acts aren't going to achieve that, but it sure as hell isn't going to be Trump that makes it better or any other republican/Conservative. Maybe we need Zarniwoop
StarSumiaki
You say that as if there's never legitimate reason for riot, coup, or revolution. Regardless, protest is a tool. Every tool has its use. If we refuse to use a tool because of how others can abuse it, all we really accomplish is handicapping ourselves. That tool is out of OUR toolboxes, yes, but the abuses will happen regardless. We cannot reach our future walking the moral high ground alone, and no path forward cannot be perverted. Terrible people are in power. We must do what must be done. 1/2
StarSumiaki
I despise the J6 insurrection. It was misguided at best and wicked at worst per capita involved. But not even it is enough to dissuade me from my advocacy. They are facing consequences for their actions --as should any protester who infracts the law regardless the cause-- and that suffices. This is one area where I would much rather spend energy fixing problems and connecting with people as prophylaxis, than trying to abolish our tools out of fear for what wickedness can be done by them.
Xenarion
When you try to kill someone, I'd say.
MKESewerRat
Ding ding. A protest's true strength is in halting capital. No one has to die for that.
LoquaciousDude
Many also fail to understand the powerof bringing attention to an issue, which a non distrubtive protest can do. Sometimes that’s enough sometimes distruption is needed
KatByte0
the problem is the internet has changed that. It's easy to inform people of a problem now, it's hard to make them care or bother to look deeper than "this problem exists".
strapontin
Pray tell when "bringing attention to an issue" was enough.
darthnerdus6236
Bringing attention to an issues is literally the first step to anything.
Shoutrr
i'd say the "metoo" movement
Shoutrr
(dunno if it was "enough" as in "it stopped", but it definitively put some disgusting people in jail or black listed
vcgetdown
The current president of the United states had a female accuse him of sexual misconduct and she was straight up ignored (Tara reade) so it really was just used as a bludgeon against people they didn't like. If the person was liked then suddenly nobody wants to hear it
Shoutrr
it's because it's bullshit. over the years she made contradictory accounts, and other testimonies contradict what she said, she was caught lying multiple times, including under oath.
OmgOptimized
Ignored? The wikipedia page (oh yeah, that it exists at all kind of contradicts "ignored"), has 93 citations.
Scahrossar
It didn't change much, except put a few powerfull people in jail and killed the career of a few others. Very limited success really.
Shoutrr
it also served as a warning to other similarly shitty people that they're consequences now