How many protesters does it take to change a light bulb?

[Payne]

You know, with these new-fangled CCFL bulbs, people might forget how to change bulbs. 

I call being the light bulb replacement specialist! When people forget how to change them, they're going to need to call someone round to change them. I want to be that person!

[Triple Zero]

I'm feeling a tinge of negative energy. I'm not too sure what you meant by that. I'm not by any means saying that I go out everyday with a cape and change the world with my super-human problem solving skills. If you are going to go out and try to get what you want, and you have a large following, maybe posterboard and a sharpie aren't going to accomplish your goals. There are things I want to change, sure, and I have a plan for that. It just seems so damn difficult for a working action plan to happen and so easy to form a picket line. People seem to have more courage in a group. This is certainly true for me atleast. Its always nice to have people agreeing with you. When somebody stands alone, most of the time they aren't even considered as anything but crazy. Yet, history shows us the majority is often wrong.

Speaking as a mother,

before anyone gets hurt, maybe i can clear this up a littlebit

ShoobyDB thinks protesting is just standing there on a picket line with a poster board and a sharpie. That, on its own, isn't really going to change much.

Jenne is protesting for something about her kids' education (im not exactly sure what, but i assume it's a good thing), as far as i've understood she's not just standing in a picket line with a board and a sharpie, but organizing and attending meetings, writing letters and whatnot. that's also protesting, and it's the part that does effect change.
In addition to this, the "big mob with poster boards" style of protesting, if done right, raises public awareness, gets you press coverage and works motivational for the people that organize the protests and get other shit done (seeing so many people supporting one's cause).

But, like so many things, purely on its own, it doesnt do much.

[Cain]

The French also know how to protest effectively.  You get in the faces of the people in charge, do sit-ins in public office, make a mess of the place and make it difficult for them to do anything without being reminded of your presence.  And you of course put pressure on from other angles, from voicing discontent via official channels to elected representatives, up to minor sabotage.

[Jenne]

I'm feeling a tinge of negative energy. I'm not too sure what you meant by that. I'm not by any means saying that I go out everyday with a cape and change the world with my super-human problem solving skills. If you are going to go out and try to get what you want, and you have a large following, maybe posterboard and a sharpie aren't going to accomplish your goals. There are things I want to change, sure, and I have a plan for that. It just seems so damn difficult for a working action plan to happen and so easy to form a picket line. People seem to have more courage in a group. This is certainly true for me atleast. Its always nice to have people agreeing with you. When somebody stands alone, most of the time they aren't even considered as anything but crazy. Yet, history shows us the majority is often wrong.

WHAT THE FUCK are you ON about, man?  Seriously, you don't know a THING about organizing a protest.

"Easy" to form a picket line?  Are you KIDDING ME?  It's EASY to get sockfuckers AWAY from their cheetos and American Idol?  It's EASY to get moms and dads to get someone else to pick up Johnny and Jill from the babysitters so they can plan, execute and stage a protest with those markers and posterboard you are patronizing on and on about?

I don't change my original answer to you:  FUCK OFF.  When AND IF you ever get your "grand master plan" to change the world underway, then come back and talk about how futile my own efforts which have had TANGIBLE FUCKING RESULTS are so puny and meaningless compared to yours.

Either way, you obviously have no idea what the HELL it is you are talking about.

[Jenne]

I'm feeling a tinge of negative energy. I'm not too sure what you meant by that. I'm not by any means saying that I go out everyday with a cape and change the world with my super-human problem solving skills. If you are going to go out and try to get what you want, and you have a large following, maybe posterboard and a sharpie aren't going to accomplish your goals. There are things I want to change, sure, and I have a plan for that. It just seems so damn difficult for a working action plan to happen and so easy to form a picket line. People seem to have more courage in a group. This is certainly true for me atleast. Its always nice to have people agreeing with you. When somebody stands alone, most of the time they aren't even considered as anything but crazy. Yet, history shows us the majority is often wrong.

Speaking as a mother,

before anyone gets hurt, maybe i can clear this up a littlebit

ShoobyDB thinks protesting is just standing there on a picket line with a poster board and a sharpie. That, on its own, isn't really going to change much.

Jenne is protesting for something about her kids' education (im not exactly sure what, but i assume it's a good thing), as far as i've understood she's not just standing in a picket line with a board and a sharpie, but organizing and attending meetings, writing letters and whatnot. that's also protesting, and it's the part that does effect change.
In addition to this, the "big mob with poster boards" style of protesting, if done right, raises public awareness, gets you press coverage and works motivational for the people that organize the protests and get other shit done (seeing so many people supporting one's cause).

But, like so many things, purely on its own, it doesnt do much.

Oh don't bother trying to get through to this numbnuts.  They're too busy shitting on people who do good deeds for their fellow fucktard.

But thanks, tripzip, all the same. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I'm feeling a tinge of negative energy. I'm not too sure what you meant by that. I'm not by any means saying that I go out everyday with a cape and change the world with my super-human problem solving skills. If you are going to go out and try to get what you want, and you have a large following, maybe posterboard and a sharpie aren't going to accomplish your goals. There are things I want to change, sure, and I have a plan for that. It just seems so damn difficult for a working action plan to happen and so easy to form a picket line. People seem to have more courage in a group. This is certainly true for me atleast. Its always nice to have people agreeing with you. When somebody stands alone, most of the time they aren't even considered as anything but crazy. Yet, history shows us the majority is often wrong.

Nice armchair you've got there. Looks comfortable.

Protesting is about raising awareness, and it can be very effective. For groups who have a lot of like-minded people but not a lot of money, it's a way of getting publicity and press coverage for something they could not otherwise afford to bring to public attention.

From that angle, protesting is extremely effective.

[Jenne]

You're wasting your breaf, Nigel...Shoobydoobydoo has already made up his/her mind on this.

They KNOA ALLLLLLL!!!!oneone

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Protesting is about raising awareness, and it can be very effective.

Can you name one protest since 1968 that any effect whatsoever?

[Payne]

Fathers4Justice had the effect of raising much lail, in the UK.

I don't think they ever got what they were protesting for though.

[Jenne]

Protesting is about raising awareness, and it can be very effective.

Can you name one protest since 1968 that any effect whatsoever?

MINE!  *egomaniac extraodinaire*

[Cramulus]

In hunting around, I found this quote:

From my observations of the media over the past 30 years, the only protest that appears to have had any effect on what politicians have already decided, is that of the Poll Tax demonstrations.

(which I hadn't heard of)

so as it turns out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poll_Tax_Riots
The Poll Tax was abandoned. So yes, the riot succeeded in it's goal.

But is a riot the same thing as a protest?


Anyway, there's one, and perhaps the only one, since 68. 

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Fathers4Justice had the effect of raising much lail, in the UK.

I don't think they ever got what they were protesting for though.

Results are all that matter.

[Jenne]

I know for a fact that the demonstration we staged a couple of years ago against the Governator (we trolled out little red wagons with kids and tons of letters from parents, right up the Capitol Building steps in Sacramento) worked.  He didn't try this bullshit until THIS year, when the economy was starting to tank WORLDWIDE.

But, you know, shit like this doesn't make the 11 o'clock news, so no one's paying attention.  Me, I've made it my JOB to pay the fuck attention to what goes down in this area--if I'm going to work so hard at it, I'm not going to be tolling for nothing.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Protesting is about raising awareness, and it can be very effective.

Can you name one protest since 1968 that any effect whatsoever?

3/15, SUCKA

[ShoobyDB]

This is abuse! I came here for an argument!
I'm going to stray off topic for a second. If I have an opinion that differs from yours, its only because I feel that way, not because I'm trying to offend you. So maybe a conversation is possible now? Not just mud-slinging like politicians?

Anywho, I agree that different methods yield results. The more active you are, the more effective it will be. I think public awareness is good, but it seems the reason the public is not aware of certain issues is because they don't care. Its probably really hard to present all the facts of an argument in certain situations, and most people don't want to read a pamphlet or flyer while they are out doing errands. What would be the best way to get a point accross and actually make people think about it?