A New Protest

To whom it may concern,

During the build-up to the Iraq War, the United States and the world saw some of the largest protests in history. While this huge show of force brought attention to public sentiment, it did nothing to change the government’s course of action. Subsequent protests have been ineffective or marred in violence, usually accredited to improperly termed "anarchists". These traditional forms of protest have done very little to effect real change as they did in their 1960s heyday. Since that time, protests have been incorporated into the government’s highly controlled permitting process. The effectiveness of the traditional protest has been squandered by this sponsorship of the State. What are missing from these acts of civil disobedience are the sit-ins and boycotts of the Civil Rights Movement. Instead of walking around and screaming for a day, the protests must begin to take action to produce the desired changes. Otherwise, we are simply venting our frustrations. Past protests fought injustices, racism and prejudice that were visible and painfully apparent. The fight today is much more clandestine, which makes it very difficult for a protest to truly connect to an issue and identify with the broader public. What is needed are new, imaginative and pro-active ways to express displeasure with the government. One such example is the nascent Flash mob movement. With so much at stake, how will the federal government respond to these burgeoning populist movements in the future?

GUNNAR HAND, AICP