On activism

There have been some interesting articles on activism this week, beginning with   “The science of protests: how to shape public opinion and swing votes”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02082-5   Nature 630, 804-806 (2024)   doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02082-5  

This article includes reference to the work by Erica Chenoweth and Maria J Stephens, which I  wrote about at   “(efficacy of) nonviolent protests”   https://gnwmythrsglossary.blogspot.com/2023/04/efficacy-of-nonviolent-protests.html   ,   and an update on that:   “...   the figure can be misleading, Chenoweth cautions. A much larger number of people are probably supporting a successful revolution even if they aren’t visibly protesting”   

The work reported also reveals the importance of having cohesive demands.   But also,   “violent repression of civil-rights protests prompted media coverage that was sympathetic to the protesters’ cause   ...   Knowing this, 1960s civil-rights activists “did things like pick cities to protest where they knew the police would be maximally repressive” ”   The article ends with an important point:   “...   it’s important not to preach academic findings — and to recognize that protesters are often expressing anger, grief and frustration as well as trying to drive change. “Sometimes, people have deep feelings that need a platform and a means of expression,” Wasow says. “The pragmatic concerns about ‘will this be effective or not’ are sort of second order.””  

I couldn’t agree more. Protests and activism are about changing the world into something better - and helping to heal the harm and hurt done. 

There have been some examples of successful activism written about or linked to this week as well:  

• “Who are the Hindujas? Meet the Indian-British billionaires jailed for exploiting domestic workers in Switzerland”   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-23/who-the-billionaire-family-sentenced-to-jail-for-exploiting-/104012170   Activism has played a key role in raising consciousness about modern slavery, and the need to take action on that. This sentencing is an example of that - and of holding the rich and powerful to account     
  The article which led me to this topic was taken down, but now is available again:   “Victory for the Disposables: The Sentencing of the Hindujas”   https://theaimn.com/victory-for-the-disposables-the-sentencing-of-the-hindujas2/      “Slavery: how can we avoid it?”   https://theaimn.com/slavery-how-can-we-avoid-it/     
  

• “Woke capitalism is not to be sneered at. Gen Z is a mighty force for change”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jun/23/woke-capitalism-gen-z   “Young people don’t want prospective employers to merely pay lip service to their liberal social values”   Social licence and social pressures are of great importance in accomplishing progressive change - sometimes being ahead of the law      

• The release of Julian Assange is also an example of successful activism - quiet, backroom style diplomacy, in particular, although the use of a plea bargain has been criticised (as has the media):   “The Release of Julian Assange: Plea Deals and Dark Legacies”   https://theaimn.com/the-release-of-julian-assange-plea-deals-and-dark-legacies-2/      “Assange’s Release: Exposing the Craven Media Stable”   https://theaimn.com/assanges-release-exposing-the-craven-media-stable/     
  

And there has also been a call for more action: 

• “Rights expert urges banks to stop financing Myanmar junta weapons trade”   https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/06/1151541   “Foreign banks are allegedly helping Myanmar’s military junta acquire weapons and military supplies, facilitating a “campaign of violence and brutality” as the civil war there continues, according to an independent UN human rights expert”     
  

All good food for thought, perhaps ...

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

• this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

• there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  
• I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
  

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below. 

Note that, as with my main blog [see here], I am cutting back on aspects of my posts.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/