Being able to protest freely and peacefully is one of the cornerstones of American democracy. In President Trump’s America, though, protests have been more frequent and specifically directed at the president and his policies than at any time probably since the Vietnam War.
The New York Times’ Tina Rosenberg has compiled a list of effective citizen’s action tactics from across the world to ensure that your voice is heard and effective.
One of the tactics Rosenberg uses is to “promote hope, not fear.” This tactic worked in the anti-Pinochet movement in Chile. Before turning to advertisements of rainbow-and-flowers and intense voter registration drives, the movement took 15 years before they turned their tactics on its head. They pushed against Pinochet’s “me or mayhem” message with hope for free elections, instead of focusing on the bad.
An example of failure of a progressive movement, Rosenberg cites, is Brexit. The Remain campaign focused on the bad and how much it would lose if it left the European Union. The Leave campaign pushed fear of immigrants and the EU as a bureaucratic institution, and ended up winning. Had Remain focused on hope instead of fear, it may have won.
This step-by-step citizen action plan focuses on using facts, creating an inclusive brand, focusing on specific actions and even making a non-racist Tea Party.
Read the full story here (via The New York Times)
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Header photo: Protests against the election of Donald Trump. By Lorie Shaull, via Flickr.